What have you done today
- Thread starter Mad4slalom
- Start date
Nassau65
CCCUK Member
A 1957 bel Air. Along with the 1959 Cadillac ( in all forms) the two most iconic cars of the fifties to most people’s thinking.Saw this at a local car show today......
View attachment 30890
'50's Chevy Bel Air, Old Glory up the flagpole, laden car hop tray on the window (when did you last see one of those?).....Fabulous!!
teamzr1
Supporting vendor
I had an uncle who had like a 1958 Caddie and once a family gathering we all piled in, and I as being a young kid was made to sit on the back seat floor for 2 hours drive !
The damn thing pumped exhaust there, and I puked my brains out and was dizzy the whole day
Could not sit there again for the long drive home !
I refused to ever ride in that Caddy again !
The damn thing pumped exhaust there, and I puked my brains out and was dizzy the whole day
Could not sit there again for the long drive home !
I refused to ever ride in that Caddy again !
Nassau65
CCCUK Member
As we always had large dogs growing up ( Alsatian, Great Dane, Irish wolfhounds, dad always had a large American estate to hand for them.
Saturday mornings after football the whole team including dogs would pile in the wagon to be taken for chips and then dropped home.
No seatbelt laws in those days ( late 60’s early 70’s)
Great fun.
Saturday mornings after football the whole team including dogs would pile in the wagon to be taken for chips and then dropped home.
No seatbelt laws in those days ( late 60’s early 70’s)
Great fun.
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teamzr1
Supporting vendor
Nor back than where I lived, you drove 2 miles out of town and
then the road signs would say "no speed limit, drive safely" (but not at night) and I could haul ass
Well to about 110 MPH anyway as the cars back then were too heavy, had no balls and speedo would be pegged
then the road signs would say "no speed limit, drive safely" (but not at night) and I could haul ass
Well to about 110 MPH anyway as the cars back then were too heavy, had no balls and speedo would be pegged
Chuffer
CCCUK Member
Where was the show ? Car looks familiar with the laden trays . Stunning !Saw this at a local car show today......
View attachment 30890
'50's Chevy Bel Air, Old Glory up the flagpole, laden car hop tray on the window (when did you last see one of those?).....Fabulous!!
antijam
CCCUK Member
This was the annual Carnival and Car Show held by our local secondary school, (Katherine Lady Berkeley's school - established in 1384, although the Car Show hasn't been going that long ). The school is only 500 yards from my home so I don't really have an excuse not to turn up.
In spite of the heat, a great and very varied turn out. As well as the Bel Air there was this very imposing Caddy....
....and an equally imposing Packard next to a beautifully restored baby blue Bristol 400. I asked the owner if this was the original colour; apparently the car was originally black but the blue was rather surprisingly a factory original colour.
My 350 'Vette was parked next to a 350 Pontiac. My soft top was up since I wanted to get back in the car later without incurring flesh burns!
.....and Ian, our local C8 owner decided to leave it at home and give his rather nice (but slightly lowered) Ferrari an outing instead.
A really good day!
). The school is only 500 yards from my home so I don't really have an excuse not to turn up.In spite of the heat, a great and very varied turn out. As well as the Bel Air there was this very imposing Caddy....
....and an equally imposing Packard next to a beautifully restored baby blue Bristol 400. I asked the owner if this was the original colour; apparently the car was originally black but the blue was rather surprisingly a factory original colour.
My 350 'Vette was parked next to a 350 Pontiac. My soft top was up since I wanted to get back in the car later without incurring flesh burns!
.....and Ian, our local C8 owner decided to leave it at home and give his rather nice (but slightly lowered) Ferrari an outing instead.
A really good day!
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Chuffer
CCCUK Member
I dug out these shots took back in 2017 of a lovely Buick with fully loaded trays at regular American car meet in Westbourne , Bournemouth when down there visiting a friend.
Your Chevy made me think of it .
antijam
CCCUK Member
Carhop trays were very much of the era but the increasing popularity of the drive - through fast food enterprises in the '50's and '60's led to their demise. Still, don't forget that July 24th is National Drive - Thru Day. (although I'm not sure we actually celebrate it over here? )
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Chuffer
CCCUK Member
I remember the clip on trays for the inside of UK cars when I was a kid . My dad had a set for Morris Minor . They were certainly more conducive to the vagaries of British weather than the US ones at a drive in movie on a hot summer night !Carhop trays were very much of the era but the increasing popularity of the drive - through fast food enterprises in the '50's and '60's led to their demise. Still, don't forget that July 24th is National Drive - Thru Day. (although I'm not sure we actually celebrate it over here? )
As for National Drive Thru day , I don`t think a drive thru KFC or a Costa Coffee in the UK is worthy of a celebration ????
teamzr1
Supporting vendor
Carhop trays were very much of the era but the increasing popularity of the drive - through fast food enterprises in the '50's and '60's led to their demise. Still, don't forget that July 24th is National Drive - Thru Day. (although I'm not sure we actually celebrate it over here? )
Do not forget drive in movies, those food trays were very useful,
esp if in the back seat with a hot chick
antijam
CCCUK Member
After owning my ’71 for more than 5 years I’ve just discovered today that ‘Astro ventilation’ etched on the door glass is not just a marketing slogan but refers to an actual functional ventilation system.
Functional turns out to be a bit of an exaggeration in my case but it’s hardly surprising I hadn’t noticed its presence before since my car is a ‘Vert and 99.9% of my driving is done with the top down – when there is always a happy excess of ventilation.
When raising my roof this morning (the car’s outside at the moment and we have at last been getting some showers) I noticed for the first time what is obviously a vacuum actuator in the right corner of the rear bulkhead and it appears coupled to what I had previously thought were just passive ventilation flaps. There’s nothing in the owner’s handbook about how this mechanism might operate but a web search tells me that with the heater control off.....
.......the vent flaps remain open, allowing through ventilation from the front of the dash to the rear of the cabin but when heat is selected the flaps close to allow the cabin to warm up.
I guess you’re never too old to learn something new?
So, I fire up to generate some vacuum and twiddle the heater thumb-wheel and sure enough the actuator has a brave attempt at moving the flaps. It’s only partially successful since some of the supporting metalwork is distorted....
.....and most of the hinge points in the linkage are pretty gummed up (arrowed yellow below). After some straightening, cleaning, and lubrication, actuation is much improved although I notice one of the brackets securing the left-hand door is broken. I fashion a piece of wire as a clip to temporarily repair this (arrowed red)......
.....and we finally seem to have Astro ventilation doing what it’s supposed to.
I’m not sure I’ve achieved a noticeable improvement, since so far I’m not really sure if the heater is very effective; there always seems to be a generous amount of warmth coming from other sources.
What I still find puzzling is the fitting of the carpet around the flaps. It’s stuck to the bulkhead below the flaps but untidily hangs free to allow the vents to operate.
Does this look normal or is mine just an untidy car?
Functional turns out to be a bit of an exaggeration in my case but it’s hardly surprising I hadn’t noticed its presence before since my car is a ‘Vert and 99.9% of my driving is done with the top down – when there is always a happy excess of ventilation.
When raising my roof this morning (the car’s outside at the moment and we have at last been getting some showers) I noticed for the first time what is obviously a vacuum actuator in the right corner of the rear bulkhead and it appears coupled to what I had previously thought were just passive ventilation flaps. There’s nothing in the owner’s handbook about how this mechanism might operate but a web search tells me that with the heater control off.....
.......the vent flaps remain open, allowing through ventilation from the front of the dash to the rear of the cabin but when heat is selected the flaps close to allow the cabin to warm up.
I guess you’re never too old to learn something new?
So, I fire up to generate some vacuum and twiddle the heater thumb-wheel and sure enough the actuator has a brave attempt at moving the flaps. It’s only partially successful since some of the supporting metalwork is distorted....
.....and most of the hinge points in the linkage are pretty gummed up (arrowed yellow below). After some straightening, cleaning, and lubrication, actuation is much improved although I notice one of the brackets securing the left-hand door is broken. I fashion a piece of wire as a clip to temporarily repair this (arrowed red)......
.....and we finally seem to have Astro ventilation doing what it’s supposed to.
I’m not sure I’ve achieved a noticeable improvement, since so far I’m not really sure if the heater is very effective; there always seems to be a generous amount of warmth coming from other sources.
What I still find puzzling is the fitting of the carpet around the flaps. It’s stuck to the bulkhead below the flaps but untidily hangs free to allow the vents to operate.
Does this look normal or is mine just an untidy car?