Slide of the Week RSS
Homemade Sports Coupe, Irwindale, CA 1951
Someone’s pride and joy sits proudly posed curbside before a big rock pile, trio of ‘49 Dodge sedans, ‘39 Ford Coupe and ‘20-something model A Ford. If a Jeep and a Ruffles potato chip had a baby this would be it. Clearly someone poured their heart and soul into this highly original garage craft project. And, yes the results are an inspiration to behold in every way. But…fair WARNING: don’t look at it too long because it will hypnotize you.
First of all that lipstick red and buttercup yellow two-toned paint scheme is stunning! Who needs a chrome bumper when you can have a yellow one? The expression on that mustached face-of-a-front-end couldn’t be more honest. That nearly unnoticeable hand cut grill is priceless. The perky pointed front fenders; streamline side panels and sassy, slanted tailend simply define unpretentious poetry in motion even while standing still. And how about the slight curve of the hood and whatever that chrome knob is sticking up through it. Make sure you don’t miss the rake of the frameless windshield; and eye-catching antenna set on the bias where the door should be but isn’t. But who needs doors when you have a car like this. You just jump in and out of it! And don’t mind the fact that it’s topless. So what if it rains. A few refreshing raindrops never hurt anybody.
In the most unassuming way tthe character of a car represents the dawn of a new age of high-styled, small-scale two-seater cockpit coupes made for the smart set du jour. It was two years ahead of Chevrolet’s Corvette debut in 1953 and Ford’s original Thunderbird with the porthole window in 1955.
We’ve all seen many automobiles in our day but never ever have we seen anything even close to this. No matter how you look at… it or it looks at you… this smart speedster oozes heart and soul from stem to stern.
Here’s to homemade, open-air sports coupe and YOU!
Posted Saturday, August 8th, 2009 under Slide of the Week.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Gee, it doesn’t appear that the front wheels have room to turn very far from side to side. You would need a football field to make a u-turn! Perhaps this is why this car never made it big.
Nice car, truely a classic.I wonder what happened to it. It may have ended up near by in one of the many junk yards that infested the area. The photo was taken at Santa Fe Dam, I’d recognize those rocks anywhere. Santa Fe dam at the time was just recently completed.
You should mass produce that car
love the books….
You don’t want to miss out on the re-opening of Harvey’s Broiler in Downey in September…car-hops and drive-in service, just like the old days…and those thick chocolate shakes….
oh, Charles, you didn’t: “YOUR INVITED”?
surely you know that what’s called for here is the contraction for “you are,” which of course is “you’re” -
has your fifth-grade teacher perchance passed on, Charles?
if not, I pray she’s not on your email list to witness such a shocking infraction -
(I think that both she and I are willing to overlook the “tthe character” typo) -
otherwise, it’s an outstanding entry in an always amusing series of emails – keep ‘em coming -
Tom L. is right about the location. Santa Fe dam is there on Arrow Highway in Irwindale. That parking area is probably what is today a nursery, west of the entrance to Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area. The sheet metal body looks to be made from corrugated tin, particularly from the way the hood rises in the middle.
Just curious – is it street legal? Must have been because of the license plate. Also, did you do any research to see if it’s still around somewhere? maybe in a museum, or someone’s collection. Hope it didn’t end up in a scrap yard.
This car would have looked good parked next to a Ford Tri-motor airplane.(199 produced between 1925 and 1933.) The Tri-motor had a corrugated aluminum fuselage and wings. It was built for strength, not for speed.
Dear Charles,
Could the chrome knob actually be a pipe for air intake–some hint of a proto super charger? Given the date of the photo, I expect the material the car is made of was readily available when the military started tearing down Quonset huts that had gone up all over southern California during the War. That would make it all aluminum–way ahead of its time! One of your best slides of the week. Thanks.
Another great photo and essay. Hat’s off to you, Charles! One gem after another.
Sure looks as if the knob on the hood would be the “doorway” into the engine area… Instead of a pop-up hood, you just turn the knob and voila, the door opens…. How nifty is that??? We used to have a shed made out of the corrugated metal… who would have thought a car too!
That’s the coolest damn car I’ve ever seen…
Not only is there a corrugated car, but also a Model T in the background.
so beautiful and restfully positive
Great slide!. Here is another idea as to where this was takein. On the very far right of the photo just above the light blue car – it looks likes stones. If so – then it would be by the sign that says Santa Fe Dam next to the spillway.
Enjoyed your show last Friday in the Farmland, Los Angeles. You are quite creative.