Text by Patrick Bell.
If colorful cars are your thing you have come to the right place today. Bright color technology and usage came to all price ranges of cars in the 1950’s, and combined with chrome to the excess it was a great decade for car style. We have a nice gallery of some of the milder versions this time, but keep your shades handy just in case.
A stylish lady was posing with a sharp 1954 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Catalina on a warm sunny day. This was the first year for the Star Chief line and the last year for the flathead straight eight engine that went back to 1933. Other two tones in the background were from the left a red and white 1954 Oldsmobile Starfire Ninety-Eight with a 1953 Ford nosing in behind it, and a white over blue 1954 Plymouth Savoy 4 door sedan followed by a tan 1951 Chevrolet De Luxe Station Wagon.
A family was out on a ride in their close to new 1953 Chevrolet Two-Ten Sport Coupe when they stopped for a photo. This was a new companion to the Bel Air Sport Coupe which outsold it by over a seven to one margin. It was canceled for 1954 but came back and stayed during the Tri-five era. This one was dressed up with a radio, outside mirror, wheel trim rings, and had a Connecticut license plate.
Warm days are a good time for a cruise, and it looked like that was what this couple and a 1954 Ford Crestline Victoria were up to. The windows were down and the driver had a seat pad for extra support. The big news for Ford this year were the choice of two overhead valve engines, the all-new 239 cubic inch Y-block V8, and the 223 cubic inch I-block Six cylinder, an enlarged displacement version of the previous 215 cubic inch six that first arrived in 1952. Both were available in all body styles.
The photo notes on this one report the location was Durham, North Carolina, and the year 1960. North Carolina did not require front license plates, but the City of Durham was kind enough to provide one. This Ford Customline Fordor sedan was also a 1954 model, and did have the new Y-block V8 along with a custom two tone treatment with the white lower body. To the right was a 1957 Dodge, and to the left a V8 powered 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala convertible with what appears to be a Maryland license plate. Across the street on the left an Austin A35 2 door saloon, with a white over blue 1956 Pontiac 870 or 860 4 door station wagon in front of it.
The whole gang was out for a ride in a Willys-Overland Jeepster on a not so warm day. These were built from 1948 through 1950, and the first two years were the same while the 1950 model received a ‘V’ shaped grille and new front fenders. So this one was a 1948 or 1949 model and had a mild custom paint job as the fenders were the same color as the main body from the factory. Search results indicate the lighthouse in the background was the Sankaty Head Light on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.
This was “Gramma’s Crown Victoria” according to some photo notes, and she chose a dressed out model. It was a 1955 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria with a 272 cubic inch V8, dual spotlight/mirror’s, fender skirts, full wheel covers, white wall tires, and a continental kit. Parked on the other side of it was a 1947 or 1948 Ford Super De Luxe Fordor sedan with a visor.
A gentleman was standing with a 1956 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan with a license plate that looks like a 1959 Ohio issue, and his shirt matched the car. The ‘V’ on the grille signifies it was equipped with the 277 cubic inch Hy-Fire V8, along with full wheel covers and whitewall tires. It appears like there was some rust at work on the lower sides of the body on this three year old car.
Another continental kit, this one on a 1954 Oldsmobile 88 or Super 88 Holiday Coupe. It was also equipped with a 324 cubic inch V8, full wheel covers, whitewall tires, and a license plate I don’t recognize.
If I had to choose a favorite 50’s car this would be the one. My first car was a four door version of this 1956 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan, but I did not keep it very long. This one was nicely equipped with the 292 cubic inch Thunderbird V8 and fender skirts. It had some curb rash on the white walls but otherwise looked like new. In the background from the left a 1947 Chevrolet, 1946-1951 Willys-Overland Jeep Station Wagon, and the coupe is hard to see; maybe a 1938 Chevrolet?
A grandmother, grandson, and a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe were enjoying a Kodak moment in a rural area of rolling hills. It had the optional 265 cubic inch Turbo-Fire V8 along with a 1958 issue New York license plate and a slightly bent grille. Today you could easily think all Chevrolet made was 2 door models, but this Sport Coupe was actually number four in sales for the year. It was beat by three sedans with the Two-Ten 4 door in first place, followed by the Bel Air 4 door, and Two-Ten 2 door was number three.
This looks like a hard working man who may have washed his 1956 Plymouth Savoy 4 door sedan recently since the hose was still out. It had the 277 cubic inch Hy-Fire V8, three outside mirrors, and a 1959 Michigan license plate issued in Wayne County, the home of Detroit. The Savoy was the mid range trim line of three and this sedan was actually the best seller for the year.
Looking good in white over turquoise was a 1956 Imperial Sedan with Airtemp Air Conditioning and dual outside mirrors. This one comprised of over 65% of the sales for the year out of three body styles, but with total sales of 10,458 the excitement was short lived. Across the street in the driveway was a 1949-1952 Pontiac 4 door sedan.
Now we are at the Imperial Motel on the beach. The location is unconfirmed but it sure has a Daytona Beach, Florida vibe. A lady was taking in the ocean view while leaning on a 1957 Pontiac Star Chief Custom 4 door Catalina. The back seat was loaded with stuff, it was missing one its stars, and had a Cypress Gardens bumper sticker on the front.
This gentleman looked like a frugal man and his automobile choice is evidence as well. His 1957 Buick Special 2 door sedan was the least expensive way into a new Buick for the year. The engine was a 364 cubic inch V8, and the two tone and wheel covers are the only options I see. There was no radio antenna, outside mirror, or whitewall tires. The license plate appears to be a 1957 Ohio issue, and I am sure it was a good road car.
A little further up the GM spectrum was this 1957 Cadillac Sixty-Two Sedan de Ville from California. The Cadillac engine was a hair larger than Buick with a 365 cubic inch V8 (Oldsmobile’s was 371!), and of course the Hydra-Matic Drive transmission was standard across the board. The Sedan de Ville was the sales leader for its inaugural year in 1956, but dropped to second to the Sixty-Two Sedan for this year.
And we will leave you today with a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 2 door sedan, one of America’s favorite classic cars today. It was a V8 model, and had a radio, outside mirror, and full wheel covers for options. This model was 8th in sales for the year out of 19 body styles offered, and of the four 2 door sedans offered it came in third, besting only the One Fifty Utility Sedan. In spite of it being not so well loved when new it is my favorite body style, and this one looked good in that Sierra Gold.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
The setting in NY for image 10, the 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with grandma with the Kleenex hiding in front, is possibly between Rochester and Syracuse in the region with Drumlins. A Drumlin is a rounded hill left by a retreating glacier with a lot of gravel under the top soil, usually longer north to south (~ 1 mi. by 1/2 mi.) They are located roughly between Lake Ontario and 40 miles south, and can be seen in Terrain mode in Google Maps.
I’d quite forgotten that there was a 210 hardtop coupe in ’53. I really like the wheels with the hubcaps and trim rings. In fact, I prefer those almost invariably over the optional full wheelcovers on cars back then. There was much more depth to the look than the rather flattish wheelcovers, which often were also too overdone and garish.
I’ve always had a sweet spot for the original Jeepster, and I could see myself in one. We had a neighbor who got one just as we were leaving Iowa City; I loved it.
That blue over blue ’56 Fairlane with the Thunderbird V8 is exactly the same as the car that I was driven to the hospital in at up to 100 mph after my hand got badly injured in a machine on the Mennonite’s farm. It belonged to the son of the neighbor where we were working. They took it because it was going to be much faster than the tired old Studebaker pickup we had driven over to their farm in.
Picture 4 appears to been taken at the Poplar Apartments in Durham, which is very close to Duke University (and that likely explains the Maryland-plated car in the background).
Here’s a then-and-now comparison and Google StreetView link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/spLz2EeYyp4hw1Zj9
Regarding the mystery license plate in Picture #8 (’54 Olds 88 coupe), it looks like a New Jersey plate to me, with possibly the color being a bit off, either due to reflections in the original photo, or recoloring afterwards.
Those Jersey plates were distinctive with their stacked letters, but the plate in the vintage shot also appears to have an aluminum tab in the bottom center. Those plates were dated 1952, but New Jersey issued aluminum tabs to go over the “52” for several subsequent years.
Also, while most NJ plates of that era were relatively small (11.68″ wide) and had only three characters after the stacked letters, some counties had to issue plates with an extra character, like this one, and those were a larger 6.5″ x 13.25″ size, which would seem to match up with the one in the photo as well.
I can’t believe the rearview mirror on at least the driver’s side wasn’t standard!
Gotta LOVE the ’54 Olds 98 *Starfire* convertible in the background behind the top photo (of ’54 Pontiac) !
I am another who had forgotten all about the 210 hardtop Chevrolet offered in 1953.
In the photo beneath it, the “seat pad” in the 54 Ford hardtop looks like one of those that allowed air to circulate between the driver and the seat, and which prevented instant sweating and sticking to vinyl seats on a hot day. My mother almost always had one of those in our not-air conditioned 64 Cutlass with the dark green vinyl seats.
Finally, that copper and white 56 Bel Air looks just like one owned by a friend of my mother when I was a tot. I remember thinking that those round taillights were awfully small for the big housing that surrounded them.
The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air looks pretty good in “Sierra Gold.”
That approximation of “beer bottle brown” seems to be making a comeback these days.
Looking at the photo of that ’56 Ford Fairlane, I took notice of the older cars in the background. Looked like early 40s models. One of them looked to be near the end of its lifespan.
Those side view mirrors mounted way out on the fenders of the 56 Plymouth Savoy look so out of position. I can’t imagine getting any useful views out of them.
Love these shots.
I certainly do miss the all the color, and the chrome. It may not have always been in the best taste, but it presented a cheerful picture. I’m keeping color alive. Picture taken at the Motel Inn, San Luis Obispo.
Our family car for many years in the 1960s/70s was a second-hand 1959 Dodge station wagon (actually a Canadian-market “Plodge”). I’ve always thought of it as the ultimate 1950s car: tailfins! pushbutton automatic!! two-tone paint: salmon pink and metallic bronze!!!