After restoring my 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air, I wanted to bring 1960 nostalgia to life. Many car show patrons kidded me about how many friends could fit in the trunk to sneak into the drive-in. I got to thinking that since most drive-in theaters have been demolished or shut down, why not build a scale model drive-in diorama in the trunk, complete with a working screen (iPad), snack bar, cars, playground and surrounding buildings? So, after several weekends, it was done, including the external speaker, tray full of food, and background photos. It has been an instant hit, with such comments as “I have never seen anything like this at a car show!” “I loved going to the drive-in,” and other memories. Fans of all ages love interacting and do double takes when walking by and turn around and come back.
Now, I have not only the original restored classic car, but a complete nostalgia trip for fans of all ages.
In 2014, I had the opportunity to purchase a one-owner family-owned 1960 Chevy Bel Air 4-door sedan in original condition, a real survivor and offered at a reasonable price. My wife supported me and contributed to this purchase. It was a running driving and licensed car but not used very much recently. The Grandson (now a senior) had used it since his Grandpa gave it to him in 1974, drove it for 3½ years, then parked it for the next 18 years in the family garage, servicing it twice a year during that time. He drove it daily from 1999-2009, year-round driving to work.
It had rust from winter salt. The rear quarter panels and trunk panels, rockers and front fenders had rusted. You could see the road in the trunk because the inside fender panels were completely gone. The windshield was cracked, and there were a few dents and dings also. The tires were fairly new with raised white letters. No power equipment, stick shift (3-on-the-tree) with overdrive, no factory radio.
I decided to try to keep the car as original as possible for several reasons:
- I didn’t have the tools, shop, money or expertise to make it into a ground up restoration.
- Most of the exterior and interior (minus the rust) and the chrome were in good condition.
- Survivor cars were pretty rare and I felt like people would appreciate the originality.
- It was a family sedan, over 1⁄2 million made and people would identify it as being more like the car that either they or their parents had.
- Body panels and other parts were obtainable at a reasonable price.
My son Dave and I spent many hours buffing the original paint to see what was underneath all that oxidation. It looked pretty good, minus the rusty panels, dents and dings. My mechanic looked at the tires and said he could buff them out to expose the wide whitewalls that were part of the lettering. We got the windshield replaced, painted the rims red, mounted the tires that were now wide whitewalls, and put the dog dish hubcaps on. It looked pretty good for a survivor. Even though it had rust issues and some interior issues, I was asked to bring it to a small car show in Orem, rusty panels included. We got our first car show experience as classic car owners. No awards for sure!
My brother-in-law had started fixing the body panels that I had purchased, but his health was declining and working on the car was not good for him. My neighbor owned a Maaco body shop and gave me a reasonable estimate for fixing the rusty panels that my brother-in-law had cut out. I went to Metal Mart and bought a large sheet of 16 gauge steel so the inside of the rear fender panels could be fabricated. So, I had Maaco fix one rusty panel on the left side front fender to test their quality of work. They did a good job, so I let them fix the rest of the panels, including fabrication of inside panels, dents, and dings, and repaint it with its original Roman Red color. Because it was winter in 2014-2015, I rented a storage space for 3 months while the new paint cured. They did a fantastic job and I then felt like it would be well received at car shows!
In the spring of 2015, I entered the car in the UVU Auto Expo, the same event my son and I were filming. While filming the show, the chairman tracked me down and told me that I had been awarded a Sponsors Choice award. It was exciting to see that the hard work was appreciated by one of the show sponsors.
We decided to add a little nostalgia to the car exhibit. I purchased a drive-in movie speaker and we fabricated a stand for it, hooked it to a laptop and played drive-in commercials from inside the back seat. This brought comments about the drive-in and many older adults were explaining to their grand kids about what a drive-in theater was. We also got comments about how big our trunk was and how many friends you could sneak into the drive-in. We also got an award for “Best Original” at the Annual Courtyard at Jamestown Care Center in Provo.
The comments at 2016 car shows on the size of our trunk and positive reception of the drive-in speaker got us to thinking about the large trunk area. After some measuring, it was determined that a diorama of HO (1/87) scale would fit in the trunk. We had no experience with this, but decided that the best way to create a nostalgic theme from the 1960’s would be to create a diorama of the Timp Drive-In in Orem. This was our family’s favorite drive-in theater, which we went to in the ’70s and ’80s. So, after some research, I purchased online an HO model of a drive-in as a kit, with the basic screen, ticket booth and snack bar/projection room.
My daughter Vicki agreed to construct and paint it. It had a place for an iPad mini to play movies. I also bought 50 HO scale generic cars, along with a few classic cars, and set the drive-in up on a card table. The realism was awesome. One thing led to another…. purchasing a Dairy Queen my son Dave assembled and painted, a gas station Vicki assembled, street lighting, grass, gravel like paint, trees, bushes, grass etc. My wife Pat photographed the surrounding valley mountains and lake, and they were enlarged and glued to background boards. My daughter Lindy sent a classic car and trailer. This was all assembled on a 4 foot x 3 foot foam board, attached to plywood for portability. After we got the main board inserted, Dave noticed the trunk had a rear deck with nothing on it. So, I sent away for a farm, bought some cattle and farm equipment, and inserted the rear deck diorama into the trunk.
The first showing was at the UVU Cruise Night, then the UVU main show. The spectators were blown away by the diorama, with comments such as “I have never seen anything like this at any car show,” “This brings back so many great memories,” etc. The kids really loved it, as it was viewable at their level and on such a small scale, like toys. Parents and grandparents could now explain to the grand kids all about the drive-in.
The fact that it was actually playing movies on the screen was a show-stopper. People would casually walk past the car and then do a double-take. Their entire entourage would turn around to check out the trunk and the car. Added to that was the car-hop tray with the realistic fake food, the drive-in speaker and of course the originality and restoration of the car. We had achieved the 1960s nostalgia that we wanted. Since the drive-in was added we have received 14 awards, and made many adults and kids smile and remember the days of the drive-in movie. We continue to make enhancements to both the car and the drive-in.
(a revised version of an older post)
This is so terrific! What fun for all the show goers. Huge awards to you for imagination and creation! Love the car as well.
I love everything about this post and the story. A 1960 Bel Air four door sedan in ‘red’ must be rare and nice to see you added the wide whitewalls. I am very fond of the full size 1960 Chevys with wonderful childhood backseat memories cruising around San Francisco and road trips in Northern California in a new 1960 Impala convertible. Other than my own classic car my primary hobby is collecting precision 1:24 scale model cars with a few special 1:18 added for good measure. Constructing diorama’s is an art form and love them for their precision and detail. Your subject of a drive-in movie theater is a perfect subject.
In early 1967 I turned sixteen and given one of the families T-Birds. Dad would cover all the expenses except gas, thus I had to get a job. In short order I got a night job at a drive-in movie theater in Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg & Pope AFB. Lots of young G.I.’s and their first new cars so I really experienced seeing some of best in 1960s cars. My primary job was running to waiting cars, get ticket money, running back with tickets and perhaps popcorn that we sold even at the ticket booth. Secondary job was chasing down cars with people hiding in the trunks and having them pay-up when I saw they unloaded their cargo. I was very good at spotting cars riding a little low and to this day when reviewing classic cars the ride height must be correct. Best job ever for a car nut teenager in the 1960s and a movie buff to this day. It was a mom & pop operated movie theater and they treated their teenage employee’s like family. I had to show them my high school report cards each term and if my grades fell below ‘B’ they would cut down my working nights until I could prove my grades improved. I could write a short-story of all my experiences working at a drive-in movie theater in a military town from 1967-69. When I left for college in 1969, my employers gave me $500 to get me started and that was a lot of money in 1969.
This article brought back so many of my wonderful memories so thanks for posting. It is very special your family all participated in your project.
Looks so good. No pics of interior though.
This is fun to read; a nice car and clever surprise in the trunk. But despite being the right age, I feel no nostalgia … I’m pretty sure I’ve never ridden in a batwing Chevy nor many other late 50’s or early 60’s full-size GM cars. And I can only recall ever going to one drive-in movie, Young Frankenstein in 1975 when I was 18. I can remember the movie pretty well, but I don’t remember the car; maybe a Mustang, probably no one rode in the trunk.
I got my Dad’s 55 Ford when I turned 16 but couldn’t drive until I paid for my own insurance in 1972. My sisters were not charged extra for it but teenage guys it went up quite a bit
The expressions on the faces of the folks in the final picture tell the story. People who wouldn’t know a 1960 Bel Air from any other “old car” are clearly enchanted and enjoy what you’ve produced. I think that’s success on all levels.
Drive-In movies were a fixture of my youth in the 1960s and 1970s. They’re responsible for my fixation on dancing hot dogs, snack bars (let’s go to the), and propensity to falling asleep during most films…even those where I’m not wrapped in blankets in the back of some station wagon somewhere.
👍 I owned a 4-dr, ’60 Chevy with a 283 ci V-8 and 3-on-the-tree, but no diorama in the trunk. Car got me through my last two years of college and made me a lifelong admirer of the SBC engines.
I went to a few drive ins way back when. In retrospect they really weren’t that much fun, although I had some enthusiasm for them for some reason. Not a big fan of Chevy’s from that era either, or really in general.
But your original one with the diorama in the trunk is just dynamite, especially as it works! That is just so cool. My complements and a tip of the hat to you for your fine work.
What a fantastic and well done addition to your classic Chevy ! .
The working screen ices the cake .
I grew up going to drive – ins so I began taking my young son to them in the 1980’s as many around L.A. were closing .
Mostly we went to the long gone Pickwick Drive -In in Burbank, Ca., anyone who watched TV back then knew it was many shows used it for filming .
Many good memories of my son and I there .
-Nate
Now I`ve seen everything!
You really capture the best spirit of the old car hobby. Sharing the experience with others. Sharing the car and the experience of the drive in. When I take my old Plymouth to a Cars and Coffee I have a lot of conversations with people of every age and walk of life. I also get into a lot of conversations when using it for errands and at the gas station. That’s one of the most fun things about driving an old car.
I was just reading last week about how the pandemic provided an unexpected boost to some drive-in theatres’ business, as in places where lockdowns were instituted regular cinemas were closed, but drive-ins were allowed to continue operating as social distancing was built into the outdoor environment with separate cars for seating.
After decades of technological and social changes that harmed drive-ins, from the adoption of daylight savings time to VHS/DVDs/streaming to bucket seats, finally some recent developments seem poised to boost the drive-in movie industry. You’ve likely seen “digital signs” or “digital billboards, changeable large screens that are self-illuminating (no projector required) using AMOLEDs or OLEDs that are bright enough to be easily read in bright daylight (and thus can be obnoxiously bright at night if they’re not appropriately dimmed). Anyway, these large OLED screens completely redo the economic feasibility of drive-in movies, allowing films to be shown in daytime and dusk as well as nighttime. In addition, the large batteries in modern cars with hybrid or all-electric drivetrains can keep heat, A/C, and defoggers going even without an engine running, and modern car infotainment systems with DSP features like Dobly Atmos audio make the soundtracks much more realistic than from the single speakers of yore.
Bravo good sir!