Gene Herman has shared the results of several of his outings in his lovely 1949 (first series) Dodge coupe. On the fourth of Novemeber, he went for a drive and encountered a few other old cars all within a short time, and posted them at the Cohort. First up is this 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 limousine or sedan. Like many limousines (done right), the rear portion of its roof and rear-most window look like rather coupe-like, although that’s not how the Fleetwood was built. Although it does make for interesting speculation if Cadillac had made a very formal Fleetwood coupe.
Here’s the front ends of these cars, separated by eight years. As much as has changed in that time, many basic elements are still the same. Single headlights set high on the front end of the fenders, and a low, horizontal grille. Brand identification, as if it was really needed on the Cadillac, rides on the front end of the down-turned hood. And a hood ornament sits on top. All of these design elements date back to the 1938 Lincoln Zephyr, and would not be usurped until the 1959 GM cars, with their low set headlights and high-set horizontal grilles.
Somewhere further down the road, Gene encountered this old Chevy pickup, from about 1968 or a bit later. And what do they share in common? Maybe a six cylinder engine? Three speed manual? Four wheels?
And the final encounter was with a VW Beetle, a 1962 or older. Now here there’s quite a bit in common stylistically, even if this Dodge is a coupe and not a fastback. But they’re both originally products of the 1930s, and there’s plenty of evidence of that. The Dodge had lost its running boards by then, but the thick window surrounds and their rounded shapes are tell-tales. The Dodge’s rear window looks like it might swap out with the VW’s, although the Beetle didn’t use one that big until 1958.
Every time I see pictures of Gene’s Dodge out on the road, I get pangs. This is a car I could really enjoy taking out for a spin in the Oregon countryside, and I’d probably find four old cars to shoot with it in the first half mile. I’d never be able to actually get anywhere…
There is something about that Dodge I really love. Not just the Dodge itself, but the entire post-WWI/pre-postwar cars period. Probably has a lot to do with all those memories of the ’37 Buick Special I once owned.
Not a lot of difference in that 10-12 year period. Widen the hood, remove or hide the running boards and move the shifter from the floor to the column (or add a semi-auto or full automatic transmission in a minority of cases) . . . . and that’s about it.
When you’re talking traditional American car, this is what comes to mind for me, not the later V-8 powered, low and huge dinosaurs.
Thanx, Syke. The ’37-’38 Buicks are among my favorite pre-war cars. Very handsome automobiles. When driving the Dodge, I sometimes wish it had the two additional cylinders that your Buick did! 😉
What a terrific journey in that awesome Dodge. Paul, I agree; it would be awesome to take this Dodge for a drive.
This Dodge causes pangs here, also. For years, my grandmother had a 1947 Dodge sitting in the woods near her house. I long dreamed of restoring the car, although as I grew older reality crept in more. It was still surprisingly solid until she had some trees harvested off her 40 acres and the skid loader ripped the side off the Dodge. Later, when scrap metal got so high, she sold it to somebody for $50 just so they would haul it away.
Thanx for choosing my pix and writing this piece, Paul. I should mention that I did not set out to find these cars when I went for what turned out to be my last drive of the season, but encountered them quite by chance in true Curbside Classic fashion. They will all be tucked away in a few short weeks once the snow flies, with the possible exception of the Chevy pickup.
The condition of the Caddie presented a dramatic contrast. It had been stored for a very long time. Although the paint was dead, the exterior looked quite good showing no rust and very little pitting on the chrome. However, when I opened the driver’s door to take a look at the interior, the combination of the smell of moth balls, mildew and mouse pee just about knocked me over and it wasn’t even a hot day.
On the other hand, the little Beetle (it’s a ’61 or ’62) was a fairly recent restoration, neat as a pin and cute as a bug. I had a long and very pleasant conversation about our respective cars with the woman who owns it, at one point touching on the very issue you mentioned about both cars having clear pre-war roots.
I’m sorry to say that the Dodge is now hibernating in my garage and will be for the duration of the long season of cold and dark that is rapidly approaching.
Love the old Dodge. I enjoy reading about its encounters with other classics, and the last photo has its own sense of history for me. Before I was born in 1963, my mom had a ’38 Plymouth and my dad had a blue ’61 Beetle. I don’t know if the two cars were photographed together, but it would be interesting to come across one in a box in the the basement somewhere. The Plymouth was sold before I was born, and I came home from the hospital in the VW, which we kept until about 1970.
Another fan of Gene’s Dodge. I get the same pangs that PN gets. There is just something of an old-school elegance about those early postwar Mopars.
Those old Fleetwood 75 limos were really nicely done. What passes for a modern limo is so offputting to me. These were the picture of grace, class and old money.
I agree about the limos, JP, especially ones like the stretch Hummers and Ford Excursions. I mean, they’re TRUCKS fer chrissakes! How is that elegant?
I suppose the genre has been redefined. Rather than be transportation TO the party, they have become the venue FOR the party!
I like the Cadillac C-body factory limos, they had a more balanced appearance than many of those Town Car stretches which are so long, they can get stranded on humps. One was actually lost this way on a RR crossing after it got stuck & a train? approached. Luckily it was evacuated 1st.
I agree as well. A modern stretch limo, especially a ridiculous stretched SUV, has no class and is simply tasteless vulgar bling on wheels. Give me that old Cadillac..or a Lincoln, or a Chrysler Imperial, or a classic Packard limo any day.
I’ll narrow the Beetle down to a ’60-62 based on the door handles and padded sun visor.
Love the Dodge, too!
I had a 1957 hardtop Sedan de Ville for a couple of years back in the late Seventies. I particularly liked the “basket handle” rear window treatment later used on Camaros and Firebirds. I preferred the flat topped ,forward raked fins also. This was also the first model that didn’t have the flying lady mascot. The twin blade ornament was used again in 1958. The mascots disappeared until the wreath and crest made their reappearance in the 70s. This was a very nice driving car and and I thought the styling was quite elegant compared to what followed in a couple of years. I have always loved Cadillac limos from the Fifties through the Sixties, The rear passenger compartment is so roomy and plush. But I always knew I would look pretty silly driving it around by myself. That was what the 60 Special was for.
I agree entirely about the attractiveness of the 1957 Cadillacs and am probably one of very few people in the hobby who absolutely loathes the look of the ’59’s.
You’re not alone. GM screwed with the Cadillac in ’59, and as far as I was concerned never really got it back on track.
Great car. Nice friends.
Thanx, Don.
THAT DODGE ! . (be still my beating heart) .
I’d love to get some wheel time in it and would happily pay for the gas , food and drinks to do so .
IMO Greg , you don’t need those two extra cylinders , just top quality radial LT tires and up to snuff brakes (they’re dual leading shoe and so should always stop fast straight and true) , if you really need more ‘ oompf ‘ there’s dual carby setups available for your ‘ floating power ‘ flathead , I highly recommend using two Carter 2100’s and a long open flow muffler to help breathing but not be too noisy .
The others are nice too ! .
-Nate
Thanx, Nate. Two out of three ain’t bad. I’ve got the radials and the brakes, but I’m still running on the single carb. A couple of friends have P15 Plymouths with twin carbs and they will step right along.
Here we are on a tour in the Summer of 2014. You can see we all had our air con on. 😉
what makes this old car so pretty are the full wheel covers this was a mopar thing
look at the 56 ford ads fairlane converts and t birds with hub caps For crying out loud,dads
54 plym savoy has wheel covers I have a photo of it!
Gene ;
As a Mechanic I find proper tuning to be the most important for driving pleasure ~ very few vehicles I encounter old or new , are properly tuned .
Your flathead for example , is a serious PIA to do routine valve adjustments in , some years (? most ?) require you to jack and block , remove the right front wheel and inner fender liner before even touching the blistering hot engine so no one ever bothers and one slightly tight valve reduces power significantly , if softly so most think the lack of crisp power is a function of vintage engine design when it’s decidedly not .
Another thing is full advance timing , typically 30° ~ 32° BTDC all in in these old engines , again , critical to proper power under load and setting the timing @ idle is never going to get you the proper timing where it’s most important .
Me , I have factory training and so prefer the ” throttle ping test ” as a final adjustment.
Anyways , I love old MoPar Coupes , those three look beautiful , nice to see them out and about like they’re designed to be used , not sitting in a garage / museum somewhere , pining for the open road again .
-Nate
I’m sure my old bus would benefit from a valve adjustment but that’s a task I haven’t tackled yet. I put a serious tune on it last Spring (points, condenser, distributor cap, rotor, plug wires and spark plugs) and that improved performance significantly. The plug wires were the old style copper core type with lacquered fabric insulation that might very well have been original to the car!
I should point out that my comment about occasionally wishing for two more cylinders was said with my tongue firmly placed in my cheek. I live in the mountains and often encounter some VERY steep grades. Most of the time the old girl will pull all but the longest of them in third gear. Of course, I’m sure it could always run better. That’s part of the fun of “tunable” old cars, innit?
I had never realized, until now, that the new models were not introduced until mid-year ’49. There is a “second series” ’49 at a repair shop near my house–what a difference from these older-style cars! The general shape is similar but the details are very, very different.
Of course, it’s still a gradual change compared to the ’49 Ford versus the ’48. That must have looked like something from outer space with it’s slab sides.
At any rate, this is a beautiful “first series” and it’s fun to see it with other classics in the wild.
Yup. Second Series 1949 cars across all four Chrysler lines didn’t hit the showrooms until well into the calendar year. I believe Ford was a little late to the dance too, but I’m not 100% sure of that. So not only did GM scoop the industry with their fresh new 1949 designs but they beat everyone else out of the gate, too.
P.S. And thanx, Chris. I really like it a lot.