Text by Patrick Bell.
You don’t see people hand washing their cars much anymore, or at least I don’t. As a car washer from way back, even I haven’t done it in at least 20 years. The pickups and SUVs that rule the roads today don’t lend themselves to washing at home, unless you have some scaffolding on hand. In its day, hand washing was an experience that most everyone took part in at least once in a while, so let’s take a look back and see how it was done.
We begin with a lady in her hair curlers washing a close to new ’68 Pontiac Firebird that was purchased at McKissick Pontiac in San Leandro, California. The emblem on the hood appears to indicate it was equipped with the 350 cubic inch V8, along with the Rally II wheels and a dealer installed pinstripe. She was working hard to keep it clean. For an earlier view of this pair, see HERE.
A gentleman was cleaning the windshield on a V8 powered ’50 Ford Custom Deluxe. He was wearing a green shirt to go with the dark green car.
Three women were washing away on a ’50 Chevrolet Styleline De Luxe from California. I see only one door handle, which would make it either a 2 door sedan or a Sport Coupe. Behind it was, a ’47-’49 Studebaker convertible.
Here we are in Seattle, Washington, at what appears to be a Standard station, where a ’51 Chevrolet Styleline De Luxe 4 door sedan was getting a wash job. The attendant was really working on that wheel and tire, and here was another green car and matching shirt. At the pumps was a ’55 Ford Fairlane, and on the rack a ’49 Plymouth. Across the street was a Safeway store.
This ’53 Ford Crestline Sunliner was freshly washed and looked sharp in red (coral?) and black. It was wearing an Illinois license plate issued in ’56, and was equipped with a spotlight/mirror combination. The windows were down and they were ready to go for a cruise.
A two Ford household in New Jersey on a cool winter day. The lady of the house was washing a ’57 Fairlane Club Victoria, while next in line was a ’54 Customline or Crestline. New Jersey changed to the new standard 6″ by 12″ license plate in ’57, so the old style plate on the Fairlane would indicate it was purchased in late ’56.
A young man was caught washing a ’61 Chrysler Windsor 4 door hardtop. Its license plate appears to be an Ohio issue. That big car should have kept him busy a while.
This was possibly a two Volkswagen house with a ’63-’66 Karmann Ghia Coupe out in the driveway for a bath. and with what appears to be a Type 3 Squareback in the garage. The Ghia obviously had a New Jersey license plate.
It was ’66 Chevrolet day at this car wash where you could save 31 cents. There were two white Bel Airs in the foreground (4-door sedan and wagon) and a sharp black Impala wagon making an exit. It was well optioned with one of the Turbo-Jet (396 or 427) engines, roof rack, bumper guards, and wire wheel covers. In the background was another black Chevrolet; a ’65 Impala Sport Coupe, along with two white Fords; a ’62 Galaxie 500 on the left, and the newest of the bunch, a ’67 Custom or Custom 500 4 door sedan on the right. The man on the left appeared to be waiting for the attendants to finish his car, while there were two sets of people (family on the left and two women and a man) in the center waiting for their car to exit the wash. One of them likely belonged to the Impala wagon.
Our final image of the day is a step into the 70’s with a ’79 Pontiac Sunbird getting hosed down. It was equipped with aftermarket wheels and a hard to see white stripe around the front end like an early Camaro RS.
Thanks for joining us and to all good day!
The black & white 57 Ford in NJ: Lady, did you know the rite side rear window was open? !!
Hey Patrick, we have a P30 van we run to the farmers market every Saturday. Washing vehicles isn’t a priority around here but when kids started drawing faces in the dirt and a few comments about looking a little shabby, it was time for a bath. 2 hours and 2 5gallon buckets of hot soapy water later it turns out the truck is white not gray!
Fun photos! Here’s a picture of a guy i labeled “Joe Cool.” He finished washing his car aa now he is polishing it.
A period carwash episode from my personal history – https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-kids-2-1968-datsun-1600-510/
I’m the only fool within miles that washes my own cars. Coupes and sedans can be done quickly. When I had an HD pickup that was quick too, just slab sides and hop in the bed to get the roof.
There are a couple of places near me that have hand washing stations as well as a few automated washing berths, and they remain popular. Those are the only ones I’ve used lately; having lived for about 15 years in places without a water hookup I got out of the habit of hand washing. True that I don’t see many people washing cars at home anymore, not sure why that is.
Unless it can be done online, no one does much of anything anymore.
Here’s my Dad washing the car, dated 1952. Can anyone identify this Pontiac?
I think it’s a De Luxe Torpedo Business Coupé from the early’40s. Nice car.
Here’s an advert for one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/225531376222
Hey I still hand wash my vehicles. Even the wife’s Honda Passport and my Silverado with a topper on it. I must be the only one within miles doing it though. Old habits die hard I guess.
I think you are real close, Charles. It had a long quarter glass so I would call it the 2-door sedan model, either a ’41 or ’42.
Unless it can be done online, no one does much of anything anymore.
Not sure how this one shows twice. Does not belong here. It’s a reply to “la673”.
I have never, and will never subject any car I own to any form of automatic or semi automatic car wash. The ONLY way to wash a car you care for, is by hand, at home.
The most expensive part of a car to correct or repair is the cars paint work, body and interior trim. Correct cleaning / polishing plays an important role in protecting a cars paint. It’s takes me a full day to wash a car, then I need at least 4 or 5 hours the following day to polish it. But this work if done correctly will ensure the cars paint looks as good 20 even 30 years after it rolled off the assembly line.
Correct car washing also gives your body a good workout, so you live longer! In my experience its the people who don’t care greatly about the car they own who take the easy option of running through a quick drive through car wash. Not me. I spend at least 15-20 mins on each tire to ensure I have super white, white walls. No automatic wash will do this for you.
So, I don’t agree that ‘hand washing’ is a thing of the past. It’s still very much a part of daily life, at least for real car enthusiasts.
I still wash my car by hand and wax it with the change of the seasons. I don’t let the dealer clean it when it goes in for a service, either.
I think it’s a great way of checking on the condition of the car – including the tires – and of properly appreciating the subtleties of the design. It’s also a great workout, as you say.
I think one reason is most vehicles are so much wider and higher now. Sometimes you just can’t reach everything by hand. Then you got more HOAs and local ordinances and water restrictions that prohibit washing cars at home. Then a whole lot of modern society who won’t do anything for themselves that involves getting out of a seat.
I do just about everything at home, repair, vacuum, detail including under the hood. But I like to wash the undercarriage and that would just splash up mud from my driveway. Also I prefer the products infused in the water at the car wash station.
But I won’t do an automatic wash. The ridiculous pressure will strip paint and pinstripes from my old cars. And there isn’t an automatic wash I know that will remove all bugs and film and other junk.
So I go to the 24 hour manual wash when it’s late and there will be nobody waiting. A couple bucks to start it, spray it down good with soap till the timer runs out. Then go over the whole car with a microfiber cloth to remove all gunk, takes me about 20 minutes. Wheels and tires at the end. Also with it being late, it won’t dry out before I’m done. Then another couple bucks and I rinse off everything with the wax water mix, till the timer runs out.
Whenever I travel to a show, I seek out a nearby 24 hour manual wash, and do this the night before the show.
Washing the undercarriage is one thing that draws me to automated car washes. I haven’t found a good way to spray the entire undercarriage by hand, other than lifting the car with a jack and stands which is more work than I’m willing to do.
Nice wagon.
Nice pix .
Until this year I too was a hand wash guy, as everyone mentions, it’s easier on the paint .
Sadly I cannot do it anymore so I’ve been trying out a few different touchless car washes, they do an okay not great job .
-Nate
I get the disdain for automatic car washes, but a counterpoint to consider is that they are more effective than we are at blasting the corrosive salt out of the undersides, wheel wells and other points during the winter. I’m in Toronto, which gets a lot of snow and freeze/thaw conditions through the winter, so we have a high sodium diet for cars (people in New York state can probably relate).
In my neighborhood apparently I am known as the car guy. I have washed my 2004 Focus every single week, except when raining, for the last 21 years. The 91 626 every week since 2010 when given to me. My wife’s every two to three weeks as it is hard to get her car at home when I have the free time. The other cars being covered are done quarterly. Undersides not an issue as they stay clean no matter how old. In short I have been hand washing cars since I was 12 which makes it just under 60 years.
So no car washes for me and with 60 years experience I have my routine down when it comes to products to use. My cars are a breeze. My wife’s needs more time to vacuum the interior than clean the exterior. She gets it more dirty in three weeks than I can, in my cars, in a year but her make up is impeccable.
DIY carwash businesses are still active in dusty places like Oklahoma. Most have closed here in Spokane.
The small Orange on Black ’57 plate one the ’57 Ford had to be an earlier issue, but not necessarily a 1956 issue. Back then New Jersey allowed plates to be transferred between cars, and the little silver tab at bottom center was the year-to-year update on an earlier plate.
That particular one has a “U” as the County Designation, noting as being issued in Union County. Dad’s 1957 Plymouth Savoy had plate UK 44L transfe3rred from his 1950 Nash statesman, and the ’51 Chevy we bought used from the father of one of my Linden HS classmates had a similar plate – also with the “U”.
Our UK44L and the other UK small Orange on Black plate with annual tab updates were later replaced with NJ’s black on straw 3-letter and 3-numeral standardized plates EDP-613 and EDP-620.
Fitting, as I later started my career in “EDP” – initially called Electronic Data Processing, and later “IM” for Information Management.
My younger brother couldn’t afford the insurance on his 1964 GTO 389ci 4-speed convertible and swapped titles with dad for the 1960 Falcon so the cool plate went to toe Falcon, and the Falcon’s PGI-??? plate went onto the GTO – now called PIGGY !