Text by Patrick Bell.
It has been a while since we last had a driveway gallery, and today we are focusing on the suburbs, which were a new thing in many of these images. They are mostly from the 1950’s with a couple from the 1960’s for good measure, so climb aboard the tour bus and we will hit the road.
A gentleman was posing with a sharp, new looking 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala Sport Coupe. The Impala was a new top of the line nameplate for this year, and the available body styles were coupe and convertible. The house may have been a duplex since it had two garages, and the season looked like early spring.
In this driveway was a 1953 Buick Special 4 door Tourback Sedan with optional back up lights, snow tires on the rear, and a license plate too far away to read. The tin worn had begun its mission on at least the quarter panel and rear bumper. The house was on a corner lot and had the typical ’50’s accessories such as a tall TV antenna and aluminum lawn chairs on the porch, and it looked like another duplex.
A lady appeared to be talking to her neighbor with a 1956 Ford Ranch Wagon in the driveway that had another unreadable license plate. The house had an odd garage door, or more likely the garage had been closed in and converted to a room. The steps to the front door looked rather steep, it was trash day, and the image was dated 1959.
Here were twin six cylinder powered 1957 Chevrolet Two-Ten 4 door sedans that were probably company cars. These cars were tough and reliable, reasonably inexpensive to operate, and had great resale value so they looked good to company bean counters.
Now we are back at the house shown in the first image, and the man in the white shirt was back as well. In the driveway this time was a 1958 DeSoto Fireflite Shopper 6 passenger wagon with a trailer hitch, and a 1941-1942 or 1946-1947 Pontiac in the garage. And this looks like a summer time image.
This house looks fairly new, and mostly in the garage was a 1958 Chevrolet Del Ray or Biscayne with a V8 engine and possibly a Maryland license plate. And there was a man looking out the front door to see who was taking a picture of his house.
There was a nice sunroom on the back of this house where you could sit and look at the sharp 1957 Ford Country Squire parked by the basketball goal. The upper tailgate was open plus several windows on the house so it was a nice warm day.
A 1960 Rambler Classic Super sedan was ready and waiting to take this lady to some sort of event. They were in the driveway of a recently constructed detached garage where T-lock shingles were used.
Fifties Ford products with four doors and fender skirts were the cars of choice at this household. On the left was a 1957 Mercury Montclair with the optional 368 cubic inch Turnpike Cruiser V8 and Quadri-Beam Headlamps, the new four headlamp system. It also had an Alabama license plate used in 1957 and 1958. On the right was a 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Town Sedan with aftermarket chrome vent shades and an Alabama plate used in 1958 and 1959, and issued in Morgan County where the seat is Decatur, plus a State Farm Insurance bumper sticker. Both cars also had a military base style bumper decal, and someone was watching out the side door here as well.
Two youngsters appeared to be selling something on a cool day with a sign on the tree and their goods on a table and chair. The driveway was occupied by a 1957 Buick Special 2 door sedan, the least expensive way into the “Newest Buick Yet”. It looked like it had been around the block a few times, but overall had good posture.
A mother and son were posing with a 1959 Ford Country Sedan while dad took the picture. It had the factory style two tone, plus the hood was also white. That may have signified it as a company car with the company colors. It also was wearing a 1959 Texas license plate. Parked in the street was a 1952-1954 Ford Mainline Business Coupe, and across the street in the carport was a 1955 Plymouth Suburban wagon.
Mercury’s most popular model for 1957 was occupying the driveway of this new ranch style home in a new development. It was a Monterey 4 door sedan, and was equipped with the optional Quadri-Beam Headlamps that were available in all but two states. The lawn may have been planted, but had not grown much yet, and there was a new tree planted as well.
Plymouths were the pick in this driveway, with a sharp 1960 Fury 2 door hardtop in the foreground with the optional “Sport Deck” fake spare tire on the deck lid. It also had a mysterious license plate. It was definitely a New Jersey plate of the style first issued in 1952, but the mystery is why it was on this car as they were all replaced in 1959. Parked in front of it was a 1957 Belvedere 4 door sedan. The man standing along side was well dressed, but he did not look like he wanted to be there.
1963 was the least popular year of the Ford Thunderbird “Bullet Bird” generation, but Buick’s new Riviera was giving it a run for it’s money. This Hardtop model in resale red inside and out was a looker, and the stylish lady seemed to be pleased. It had a Tennessee license plate issued in Shelby County, where the seat is Memphis. Chevrolets were across the street with a 1962 full size sedan parked at the curb and a 1960 Biscayne or Bel Air in the driveway.
Thanks for riding with us and have a great day!
Nice collection. Thank you.
You can drive down the street and know exactly what make and model the cars were.
Today you have a $35,000 car that looks like every other car in the parking lot at the grocery store.
All plastic that the parts just snap together.
Just curious; how did you know the ’57 Montclair had the optional Turnpike Cruiser 368?
That white hood on the ’59 Ford wagon is quite odd.
The 1959 Ford station wagon may be showing Texas A and M colors, not a copany car as suggested.
Great tour, thanks so much… Went well with breakfast
The round badge on the front part of the fender.
The cars looked classier then, as did the owners.
Homes were, for the most part, fairly plain but not so their cars.
Here is a close up.
Thanks for asking.
Good eye! I’d forgotten about that.
Third picture is likely California. Yellow plate on Ranch Wagon and style of the house and yard. Small and cheap tract homes were common, 600-800 square feet, so converting the garage to living space was done as the family grew.
I’m glad to help out with the New Jersey license plate mystery. Those 1952-56 NJ plates (6 1/2 × 10 11/16 in. in size) could actually be used (if properly validated) through 1960, when New Jersey’s black-on-buff plates became mandatory. The buff-colored plates were issued first in 1959, but it took a year to get all earlier tags reissued.
NJ issued orange-and-black plates in 1958 & ’59 as well, but those were all 6×12 plates – the earlier plates remained valid. It’s certainly odd though to see one of those earlier plates on a newer car, but technically it was allowed.
I believe the latest aluminum tabs (in the bottom center of the plate) were issued in 1956, and after that I think those plates were validated by windshield stickers, but I’d not positive about that.
Thanks, Eric. I knew you would be willing to lend your expertise.
I figured it probably was a timing issue. The car was likely purchased in late ’59, and for some reason the owner liked his old plate and decided to keep it even though it would have to be replaced within the next year. According to Jim Moini’s website the ‘YZ’ suffix indicated a remade plate, and the ’59 replate was not completed until January of ’61.
Thanks for the added detail!
I’m struck by the oddity of the bike in front of the DeSoto wagon in the fourth photo.
It seems to be a Schwinn middleweight cantilever frame “boys” bike with a cable to the rear. It might be a Corvette, American or Tiger? But it seems to have been modified for a tall, adult male rider. The front fender is gone. That could be because the feet of a tall male would easily hit the fender on a tight turn. The gooseneck seems to be a replacement; it is extended way too high to be safe. The handlebars have been changed so the hands are placed even higher. The rear fender is not stock on any Schwinn middleweight. There does not seem to be any front caliper brake. It could have the two speed Bendix coaster brake hub from the American. It has an accessory generator and tail light.
I think it is set up for the tall guy to ride around the neighborhood after he gets home from work.
The guy in the red shirt is the homeowner, the couple to the right is his parents the other guy is probably a younger brother. Note the rear fender has also been shortened and the high arched handlebars are not stock. The bike probably belongs to his son and has been modified to look like a motorcycle.
I think the rear fender on the bike was originally the front fender. This was something I remember kids doing as a way to customize their bikes. Likewise the high rise handlebars. Changing the handlebars might be why the front brake is missing. A part may have been lost during the change over and it was easier just to eliminate the front brakes.
I think i see a front caliper, some two speeds didn’t have a shift cable you pushed back on the peddles to shift, it’s possible it has a 3 speed and a coaster brake with a front cable brake, but i don’t see the lever, i have a panasonic set up like that the brake lever is on the left. But the bike is newer. Or it’s just a single speed with front and rear caliper brakes. Cal has the fender figured out, a front fender on backwards, keeping your back dry from the rooster tail in the rain.
Nothing odd about the bike it was very typical to make these mods on a bike. The handle bars are called raisers and we bobbed the rear fenders. You can see these mods on Wizard motor bikes too usually done on a Schwinn bikes. It’s kids makes their bikes into a hot rod ride a cousin to motorcycles.
What amazing to me is there was no fat person in those photos, it is another proof our modern day foods are bad for us.
Or maybe they all smelled like stale cigarette smoke.
I didn’t know until now that the Mopar fake-spare-tire thing was called a “Sport Deck”. That’s a more appealing name than what I usually hear it called…
Horrible trouser fashion back then. More like sacks than trousers.
I love these old pictures especially when the clothing fashions coordinated with the car colors.
Unfortunately I lost most of my old childhood photos in a fire many decades ago.
Pictures I lost: Mom loved turquoise and in the late 1950s we had matching turquoise & white Olds 98 Holiday two door hardtop and a Starfire convertible. At the same time we had a new hillside home in California, of course painted white with turquoise trim. Later Mom bought a new 1960 T-Bird convertible, white with turquoise interior. Mom at one time had been a fashion model, and I remember some of the pictures of her and her cars. Sadly, all those pictures were lost in a fire many decades ago.
I love these old pictures especially when the clothing fashions coordinated with the car colors.
Unfortunately I lost most of my old childhood photos in a fire many decades ago.
Pictures I lost: Mom loved turquoise and in the late 1950s we had matching turquoise & white Olds 98 Holiday two door hardtop and a Starfire convertible. At the same time we had a new hillside home in California, of course painted white with turquoise trim. Later Mom bought a new 1960 T-Bird convertible, white with turquoise interior. Mom at one time had been a fashion model, and I remember some of the pictures of her and her cars. Sadly, all those pictures were lost in a fire many decades ago.
Great collection of homes, cars and, gents, your comments. Growing up in New York City, I was fascinated with suburban living when we had a chance to see how suburbanites enjoyed life.
I have seen those hideous fender skirts on those Mercury and Fords before, but didn’t realize that they were contemporary. Really ugly.
In regards to the 1960 Plymouth Fury with N.J. license plates. The wheat colored with black lettering license plates changeover did not begin until late 1959 and did not finish until 1961. The plates began in alphabetical order and were issued to owners in alphabetical order of their names. The new plates were mailed from Trenton, N.J along with little key tags with the new license plate number on them. Registrations and license plates were and are still transferrable from a former car to a new car. From the looks of this, those old plates were transferred from a previous car by the owner to this current car. When the owner received the new style plates from Trenton, NJ, then would be required to put on the new license plates, and remove these older ones. The silver tab shown on the old plate was issued with the last new numbers of the new year when the registrations were renewed.
I always wonder how many of the cars in these pictures are still on the road. So many really nice cars and in lots of cases, the owner looks like they take care of them. Sadly the tin worm probably got most of them.
So many memories brought back by looking at these pictures .
-Nate
1960 Rambler Classic Super:
The lady reminds me of my mother as she is wearing white shoes and white gloves with a white purse which means its post Easter. The veil hints that she is on her way to church which was very common for women back then.
That last lady with the “bullet bird” could be my mom.
About the same age and both redheads.
Nice looking car, too.