Custom Car Chronicle
Custom History

The Perfect Stance

 

THE PERFECT STANCE

 

From the beginning of Custom Restyling cars have been lowered from stock height to create a more exclusive look. The amount and angle of lowering can change the looks of a car completely. Stance is everything.



This article is based on my own personal ideas and preferences about this subject, based on my years of studying the history of the Custom Car, and general feel for style and balance. It heavily relies on statements made in the past by Custom Car icon’s, and most of all on the large collection of historic Custom Car photos we have access to today. This article has been on my mind for a long time, but a recent observation of multiple Custom Cars with the rocker panels literally on the floor at the 2016 GNRS, was the mark for me to actually write it all down.

I know, judging from the huge number of “laying frame” cars, that there is a large group of people who really appreciate this fad. But at the same time, when I see these “laying frame” cars are referred to as being “Traditional Kustoms“, I realize that perhaps some of the younger enthusiasts might get confused about the “stance” of these cars, and if this is period correct or not, and perhaps even if it looks good or not. This article will not be about ways to lower the cars, static, hydraulic, air-ride, or any other method. This will be pure about the looks, the design and the way the cars sit in relation to the road.

 

Stance is Style related

The subject of lowering and getting the right stance for the Custom Car is something that is a bit complexed. When I talk about stance I’am talking about the relation between the body and the ground, the way the tires/wheels are related to the body of the cars, the open space left between the ground and the lower parts of the body, and the way the tires sit inside the wheel opening. From the factory most every car came with a rather high level stance. This was most practical for every day use when there was always enough distance between the road and the bottom of the car, especially on the poor roads back then. But a lot of people must have noticed these cars looked better when four or moor people would sit in it and the car was dropped due to the added weight.

I think that every Custom Car has a certain balance between the ground and the bottom of the car that is just perfect for that particular car. But to make it more complexed this same car dressed up with a different set of wheels and perhaps a different style paint-jop created in a different era, will need a different stance to look at its best. For instance a 1949 Ford styled as a early 1950’s custom with wide whites, a chopped top and fender skirts looks the best when it would be lowered all around, but an inch or two more in the rear. This same car with the skirts removed will look better with less lowering in the rear. And if the same car is repainted with a wild panel style paint job as how it was done in the late 1950’s early 1960. Then it would look better with a California stance, where the front is lowered more than the rear creating an “aggressive” stance.

And then above all, there is of course the personal taste in what looks good, and what not. Some like the cars as drivable low as possible, with the rear dropped more for the desired speed-boat look, others like it to sit a bit higher, and level. The stance you are looking for really defines the style your car will fit in. It is possible to mix these styles a stances, but over all, it just does not look right to have a 60’s style custom with a tail-dragging stance, or the way around. Below is a sample showing what the difference in style and stance can do.

CCC-48-ford-late-1950sThis image appeared in an late 1950’s magazine with a body style obviously created in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s with a rearward flow on the chopped padded top. Most likely a new owner wanted to update the appearance and added new smaller white wall tires, painted wheels and small hubcaps and a high stance with forward rake. Mixing styles that do not really go well together.
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CCC-48-ford-early-1950sI digitally changed the top image to a little more how it might have looked in the late 1940’s early 1950’s. Only changes as stance and the addition of the fender skirts.
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As far as I have been able to find out the early Custom Car and Hot Rod magazines did not really write much about lowering the cars. There are a few technical articles on how to lower the cars using different methods. But the design effects of lowering the cars, and what the stance difference would to to the rest of the car was as far as I know never really published back then.

CCC-almquist-1947-lowering-instructionsThis little write up about the technical aspect of lowering your car comes from the 1947 Speed and Mileage Manual published by Edgar Almquist.
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Roughly said we have several distinctive styles we can refer to.

  • Early Customs, the 1940’s style (customs created in the late 1930’s to around mid 1940’s); The stance was mostly about level, mildly lowered, perhaps an inch or two.
  • 1940’s style (customs created from the mid 1940’s to the late 1940’s): The stance was lower than what was common on the early style customs and often  the cars were lowered more in the rear for a “tail-dragging” look.
  • 1950’s style (customs created from the early 1950’s to around 1955): The stance in general was a bit lower than the 1940’s and the tail-dragging look was still very much desired.
  • Mid / late 1950’s style (Customs created from the mid 1950’s to the late 1950’s); The stance was lowered all around, more level, but much lower than in the earlier styles.
  • 1960’s style customs (Customs created in the late 1950’s to mid 1960’s): the stance was a forward rake, lowered more in the front than in the rear. Also called “California rake”
  • Lowriders (customs created from around mid 1960’s up to the late 1970’s): The stance was very low, hence the name low-rider, but since it was achieved using hydraulics, the stance could be adjusted in any way. The Low-riders are in a league of their own, and will not be used as a sample in this article.



After that there are no real new developments, or typical styles developed in customizing that stand out, or can be named. It was mostly a repetition of the styles from the past. Until the “laying frame” style came around in the late 1990’s early 2000’s. The laying frame originally came from the low-riders. With the low riders this very low stance still made some sense. Usually thees cars used small 14″ wheels and it all kind of worked together. Later with the development of air-ride suspension the extreme low “stance” was adapted by the mini-truck scene, who took it to the extreme. Later this extreme rockers on the floor lowering could be seen on junked rusted cars, and eventually the technique was getting so popular that it was also adapted to cars restyled with elements from the 1940’s and 1950’s. Full 1950’s styled customs, with the rockers on the floor when parked, and mostly an very high stance in the drive mode. In the last couple of years this style has become very popular.



Early Customs

When the pioneer custom Car builders created the first custom cars, they must have looked at the Coachbuild cars, and noticed that these cars mostly had smaller windows, and a lowered from stock stance. It instantly made these cars look longer, more exclusive than anything else on the road. The pioneers started to lower their cars as well, but since the roads were still rather poor in the 1940’s, they only could go perhaps in inch or two. And that was just enough to make these cars look so much more interesting, sometimes more like how the designers had pictured them in the sales ads. In the early years it was most common to lower the cars the same amount on the front as on the rear. This stance did work very well for the styling on the reast of the car. The early customs were often based on cars that were still a bit more boxy, and if the cars had chopped tops, those were usually also chopped level, even the early padded tops had a little less flow on the rear portion of the top than what they later on had. So the shape of the early customs, fitted really well with a level, mild lowering.

CCC-stance-wes-collins-34-fordCreated in the early 1940 Wes Collin’s 1934 Ford shows the typical early stance. (partly dictated by the not to tall fenders on the 34 Fords.)
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CCC-stance-early-36-ford-coupeThis 1936 Ford 5-window coupe was restyled around 1941. It shows a level chopped top, and a level medium lowering. It made the car look very classic, showing the full white wall section on the front, and part of the wheel under the fender skirt at the back. The ride height was also practical an the far from perfect roads back then.
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CCC-stance-early-40s-mercuryThe restyling on this 1940 Mercury from the early 1940’s already shows a bit more streamlining than the 36 Ford above. The padded top has a nice flow, but not as much as cars from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s would have. The lowering is still medium, and level.
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Lowering the 1940’s style.

Later in the 1940’s, starting shortly after WWII the cars used for customizing (mostly from the early 1940’s) were starting to get a bit more bulbous and teardrop shaped. The tear drop shaped bodies, and fenders were accentuated by angle chopped tops (more taken out of the back for a more pleasing flow) and more flowing lines on the padded tops in case of convertibles. The stainless side trim followed thes shapes straight from the factory. The flow of the car was all towards the read, and the customizers found out that this flow could be even improved upon when the car was lowered more in the rear than the front. The lowered suspensions now often needed some sort of chassis modifications as well. The frames usually were C-ed in the back, when a C-shaped section was removed from the frame rails so that the dropped rear axle would not hit the frame when the car would hit a bump. An other method was to create a new “U” shaped frame section which would be set in place over the rear axle to allow full travel. This last method was more work, but made sure the frame would keep its original strength. Often the drive shaft tunnel needed to be raised as well to make sure the drive shaft would clean the floor tunnel at all time.


Going 30 miles and hour standing still.

 

CCC-Sam-Barris-1940-Merc-11This low angle photo of Sam Barris’s 1940 Mercury convertible shows the perfect speed-boat, tail-dragger stance that was very popular in the mid – to late 1940’s. Notice how all the lines on the car flow towards the rear, and how well positioned the white wall tires sit inside the front wheel opening. The front end on the car was lowered relatively mild.
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The cars in this era had the looks of a beautiful speed boat emerging from the water. Sometimes they were referred to as an animal like a puma waiting in ambush for a pray, with its nose up in the air, and legs all ready to jump up. Much later the term “tail-dragger” was used for this style of cars. Originally the tail-dragger name was used for full fender cars up to 1948 only. But in more recent years the term tail-dragger is being used for any custom car with a lower stance in the back than the front.

CCC-stance-andril-zaro-40-mercs-02The Barris shop was also responsible for the restyling, and stance on these near identical 1940 Mercury coupes for Al Andril (left) and Johnny Zaro (right). The cars both have the perfect speed-boat stance. And the fact that Al’s Mercury has black wall tires on the back make it look even lower.
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CCC-stance-andril-zaro-40-mercsAnother photo of Al Andril and johnny Zaro’s 1940 Mercury’s shows the “agresive” speed boat looks and that it feels like these cars are on the move, going 30 miles an hour standing still. The front end on both Mercury’s was lowered not all that much. (Al’s Merc now also has white wall tires on the back).
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CCC-stance-wally-welch-41-fordThe Ayala’s were responsible for the stance on Wally Welch’s 1941 Ford in the later part of the 1940’s. On Wally’ Ford is also appears that the car has speed while standing still. Mild lowering on the front, more on the rear. 
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Lowering in the early 1950’s

Towards the end of the 1940’s and in the early 1950’s the cars started to get lowered more and more. Although there were still a lot of more conservative lowered cars around. You did see more and more cars that were lowered more all around, but especially lowered more in the front than before. Most cars still were lowered more in the rear, but the difference between lowered in the front and the rear became less. Instead of the more aggressive sprinting speed-boat looks from the 1940’s the cars now had a bit more mellow floating low above the road feel to them. The new body styled with integrate fenders started with the 1948 GM cars and most other brands in 1949 have a lot to do with this change in stance style as well.


Driving at same height as you park it.

 

CCC-stance-barris-larson-41-fordIf you compare this 1941 Ford convertible with the one from Wally Welch above you can see the difference in style. Harold Larsen’s Barris restyled Ford has been chopped more, and also been lowered more all around, and especially more in the front. It still has the speed-boat look, but the stance appears to be a little less aggressive. 
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CCC-48-mercury-sedan-stanceEven relatively stock four door sedans could look extremely good with just the right lowering/stance.
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CCC-stance-gaylord-shopThis is an interesting photo taken in 1949-50 at the Bill Gaylord shop. It shows Bill’s personal 1949 1949 Mercury convertible which George Barris had just chopped and for which Bill was constructing a padded top. Ben Mario’s unchopped Buick convertible and Bill’s chopped and padded topped 1941 Ford. The 1941 Ford has the new super low look, while the Merc and the Buick have a much more conservative near level style of lowering.
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CCC-valley-custom-jilek-fordThe Valley Custom Shop in Burbanks, Ca excelled when it came to fine proportions in body and stance. They chopped the windshield, sectioned the body, raised the fenders and lowered the suspension on Ralph Jilek’s 1940 Ford convertible. The car is lowered level, but due to a slightly lower rear wheel opening the car looks lower in the back. Perfect balance, a speed-boat stance would not have worked on this car.
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CCC-stance-larry-ernst-chevy-01
The Barris shop was always extremely good in finding the perfect stance for their restyled cars. The 1951 Chevy for Larry Ernst has been extended in the rear, therefor the car was lowered a bit less than others created in the same time. However the slightly lower dropped rear gives the car the perfect balance.
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CCC-stance-dan-landon-chevy-02Dan Landon’s 1949 Chevy coupe has the absolutely perfect speed-boat look, going fast standing still. Notice how the bottom lip of the rear wheel is barely visable below the fender skirts, and most of the white wall from the front tire can still be seen. The teardrop shape of the body and especially the rear fenders make this speed-boat stance work very well.
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CCC-stance-quesnel-merc-01In the early 1950’s there were also some samples of very low cars. Jerry Quesnel’s 1949 Mercury is a good sample of this. The different can be seen very well in this photo compared to a near stock 1950 Mercury.
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CCC-stance-quesnel-merc-02The Quesnel Mercury was very low in the front covering most of the top portion of the white wall, and at the rear where the skirts covered the complete wheels and portion of the white wall. Jerry’s Mercury was however used for daily transportation driving this low, but it took some skills to do that.
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CCC-barris-ralph-testa-50-merc-04Ralph Testa’s 1950 Mercury was lowered a bit more conservative than Jerry Quesnels. It was also on a bit more angle with the rear still pretty low, but the front showing much more of the white wall. The Testa Merc as it can be seen in this photo looked like it was speeding while being parked. This was the look most people were after in those days.
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CCC-valley-custom-jacques-fordAnother sample of extreme lowering on an every day driver was Ed Jacques’s Valley Custom Shop restyled 1941-42 Ford Coupe. The frame was heavily modified to be able to drive the car this low. The front fender openings were opened up to allow the white walls to show and make steering this low car easier. The rear was lowered slightly more so that the shape of the fenders and stock height top worked the best with the stance.
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The Custom Cars from the 1940’s and 1950’s were usually the only car the owner had. So these cars were driven on a daily base. Hence the less lowering in the 1940’s when the streets were just not as good as in the 1950’s.  And suspension travel was often very much needed. But in the 1950’s the roads improved a lot, and the guys became very comfortable driving their very low customs all over the place. We do have to keep in mind that traffic back then was not as hectic and “aggressive” as it is today. Bob Hirohata drove his Barris Kustoms Restyled 1951 Mercury from Los Angeles to Indianapolis in 1953. And the car was very low as the photos below show.  The car was already low, but with Bob a friend and their luggage inside the car was even lower. Still the car handled very well and there were no real problems driving it like this. However Bob mentioned that he did remove one lowering block on the drive back home, to make it all a bit more comfortable.

 

CCC-stance-barris-hirohata-merc-drivingBob Hirohata’s Mercury looks absolutely stunning with the wonderful speed-boat stance when they arrived in Indianapolis for the Custom Auto Show in 1953. Drive it like you park it at its best.
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CCC-stance-barris-hirohata-mercAnother photo of the Hirohata Mercury shows the great looking nose up speed-boat stance. As this low angle shows all the lines on the car flow together towards the lower rear section. If the car would be raised in the back this wonderful flow effect would be destroyed. 
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When Jim McNiel did an amazing job restoring the Hirohata mercury in the 1990’s it was for unknown reasons decided to change the wonderful speed-boat stance on the car to a slight forward rake. I have no idea why this was done, but it does change the effect of the car completely. For this article it offers a good look into what the difference of stance can do to a car. Below is a photo of the Hirohata Mercury I took in 2009. The top photo shows the car how is really sits, very low in the front completely covering the white walls and even the top of the Sombrero hubcap. One of the ground rules for stance on a custom is that if you run fender skirts the car should be lowered level, or with more drop in the rear. A forward rake with skirts just never works well, it creates odd proportions. The Hirohata Merc is a car that especially cannot have a forward rake due to all the flowing lines towards the rear. The forward rake works counter productive. The lower image below shows the car with a Digital Restyled new stance much more like how the car was in the 1950’s.


CCC-stance-hirohata-merc-compared2The lower image with the digital raised front suspension make the car flow much nicer. In fact the front could have been raised a little more, showing slightly more of the white wall tires for an even more dramatic stance.
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Lowering in the mid/late 1950’s

From 1952 the car designs became a bit more cubic again and all four fenders were now completely integrated on all models, and the. The new design of the cars dictated a slight change in stance style for customs as well. The preferred style for may customs was low and mostly level with perhaps a slight drop at the rear. More towards the end of the 1950’s the actual lowering of the cars was influenced by adding of full length dummy lake pipes. These lake pipes mounted below the body made it look like the cars were even lower than they really were. From around 1956-57 more and more cars with a forward drop were created. At first the angle was subtile. The car was lowered all around, and where the car used to be dropped more in the rear, it was now the trend to lower the front an inch, perhaps two inches more. Especially the new model cars, from 1955 and up where given this froward rake. This forward stance was later named “California” rake. You still saw customs dropped evenly all around, or a little more in the back, especially when the cars had skirts mounted. But if you wanted to be part of the latest trend, then your car had no skirts and was set on a forward California rake.


CCC-stance-barris-dragoo-54-mercRonnie Dragoo shows the stance for the mid 1950’s for the “boxy” cars, a 1954 Mercury in this case. low all around, but slightly more in the rear.
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The design of the cars also changed from 1955 and up. The rear fenders became taller and more extreme with a more wedge shape towards the end of the 1950’s. This more wedge shape really dictated the style of the stance for these cars as well. The wedge shape had a forward slant, which looked even more extreme if the car was set on an angled forward rake. Tail dragging with the wedge shaped rear fenders never really looked as good as the California rake, giving the car an eager, aggressive look.  A level very low stance was another option that worked really well and gave the car a more mellow slow going feel.

CCC-lanny-ericson-collection-05LeRoy Goulard’s Shoebox Ford was one of those late 1950’s customs that was extremely low, but was still being used on the streets from time to time. Although LeRoy pointed out that the stance of the car was far from practical.
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CCC-larry-watson-buthoff-56-chevy-03N1959 slight California rake made even lower by adding full length lake pipes and Bellflower tips at the rear. Harry Buthoff’s 1956 Chevy painted by Larry Watson. 
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CCC-jim-doss-58-Chevy-02-WJim Doss 1958 Chevy was lowered level and looked extremely good that way.
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CCC-stance-larry-watson-late50sLine-Up of customs in the late 1950’s shows that you either had to have a full level lowering or a slight forward rake.
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Lowering in the 1960’s

Later in the 1960’s more an more customs were lowered with the help of hydraulics. First only on the front, allowing the cars to be parked with an extreme forward rake, and still be able to drive when the suspension was raised. Later the rear was also lowered with hydraulics… which led to the birth of the Low-Riders.

CCC-stance-early60s-marx-55-chevyMax King’s Larry Watson painted 1955 Chevy was a great sample of the extreme rake lowering using hydraulic front suspension.
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A Custom car should be driven the way its parked.

I have often heard this comment when people see the laying frame customs. Well at least it is how it was in the early days up till the hydraulics made their entry in the custom cars scene. It started not to long after WWII, but got really popular in the early 1960’s leading up to the Low-Rider scene in the later part of the 1960’s up to the 1980’s and a rebirth in the last decade or so.  Back in the late 1950’s and early/mid 1960’s when you wanted to win more points at the car shows your car had to be low, very low, basically too low to use the cars as daily transportation. Fortunately most of the guys who were creating these cars had some money to spend and had daily drivers, so the custom cars could be used for show only. And perhaps only be driven from time to time to the local drive in. Even though these cars were un-practically low, they still had a stance, they still had space between the floor and the rockers, making them look like they could drive/float away…



Samples of the effect of lowering.

To show the full effect of lowering/stance of a car I have created a few Digital manipulated samples. All based on the same 1949 Ford Coupe. A rather boxy style car, but the flow on the top gives it some character. Another model car, as in an early 1940’s model with all separate fenders, or a late 1950’s model with large wedge shaped tail fins would have created different effects using the samples below. Most cars came from the factory with a rather high level stance. The higher stance was practical and made sure the car could be driven on bad roads with no problems. But even the factory sales brochures and ads showed these cars illustrated with a much lower suspension. Just to make them look more attractive, longer and perhaps more exclusive.

CCC-stance-49-ford-sales-adThis is an sales advertisement illustration of the 1949 Ford. The stance of the car is drawn much lower than it really was (see photo below) to make the car look longer, and larger. 
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CCC-shoebox-stance-01Stock from the factory most cars come with a level, rather high stance.
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CCC-shoebox-stance-02Mildly cleaned up body and a lowered all around stance give the car a completely, much more attractive look. This would be the perfect ride height for this un-chopped coupe. The full white wall tire at the front can still be seen.
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CCC-shoebox-stance-03With fender skirts added more weight was added to the rear, and the car could be dropped an inch or so more in the rear to enhance the new flowing lines. 
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CCC-shoebox-stance-04With the top chopped the proportions of the body change, and the car can be lowered an inch more in the front and a little more in the back. The top was chopped a bit more in the back creating more of a rearwards flow, which allows for a more dropped in the rear stance. The bottom of the skirt is now about level with the rear wheel, showing only a hint of the wheel itself. “Ultimate Stance” for this type of custom.
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CCC-shoebox-stance-05In the later part of the 1950’s this shoebox Ford would have had a forward rake. Preferably the white wall tires would have been less wide and other hubcaps or wheels would help the effect even more.
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CCC-shoebox-stance-06This is a big No-No, but I wanted to show it here anyway. Forward rake with skirts. The combination just does not work at all. 
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CCC-shoebox-stance-07Chopping the top with the combination of forward rake with skirts will also not make it look any better.
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CCC-shoebox-stance-08And the last version is what we see a lot in the last decade or so. Laying Frame, modified frame with air-ride (or similar techniques) suspension which is deflated completely to let the frame and rockers sit on the the floor (or very close to it). You cannot drive the car this way. Since the style is very popular I think it will stay around for some time. But I hope people will not refer to it as Traditional, or Kustom, or call it perfect stance.
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A Custom Car is designed to look fantastic, no matter how you look at it. Standing still, and perhaps ultimately on the road cruising around having the most perfect stance. I have heard stories about guys having customs with tail-dragging stance cruising around at 20 miles an hour, getting a ticked for speeding. Only because the the car looked like it was going 20 miles an hour standing still and perhaps going 50, while doing no more than 30. These guys were of course not looking to get tickets, but they sure where after creating the ultimate stance for their ride. And they would drive them the way they parked. them. If that stance was low, it meant, they had to adjust their driving, especially when they had to deal with parking lot or drive way entrances. But that was all worth it if that meant you would be able to drive your car around with the perfect stance.

The stance of a custom car is very important for its overall look. The perfect stance for a car depends a lot on which style the car is been created it, as well as the overall design of the restyled car. As this article shows each style had its own different preferred stance. Stance can make or break a car. The right stance for a car should enhance the overall looks of the car, make it look longer, more classic, more aggressive or more as if it is floating.

Stance is about the relation between the shape of the body, the space between the road and the car and the way the tires fit inside the wheel openings. It gives a car its attitude.


(© Custom Car Chronicle 02-2016)


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Rik Hoving

Rik is the CCC editor in chief. As a custom car historian he is researching custom car history for many years. In 2004 he started the Custom Car Photo Archive that has become a place of joy for many custom car enthousiasts. Here at CCC Rik will bring you inspiring articles on the history of custom cars and builders. Like a true photo detective he will show us what's going on in all those amazing photos. He will write stories about everything you want to know in the realm of customizing. In daily life Rik is a Graphic Designer. He is married to the CCC webmaster and the father of a 10 year old son (they are both very happy with his excellent cooking skills)

18 thoughts on “The Perfect Stance

  • Wow, Rik! You took us to the church on this one. I love how you summed it all up in your final statement. Your digital displays showing how the shape of the body, stance, and relationship to skirt choice and wheel openings are Righteous pure gospel.

  • Another great article that Rik has given us custom fans! Getting the stance right is so critical to the overall look. I remember looking at that white ’46-8 convertible back in the day and wondering what it would look like if it was lowered more. Now I know and it looks awesome. Ronnie Dragoo’s Mercury was always one on my favorites and he nailed the stance on that one!

  • Standing ovations , wheels and stance make or brakes the car , speedboat stance on a traditional custom is a must , index finger under the skirt must find the rim edge , front suspension slightly higher , I mean what a article , again beautiful 🙂 !!!
    Wolf

  • I just scored some 1952 Hop Up “little pages” at an antique store on a recent trip. On the subject of stance: In the May 52 issue an article “Pontiac Custom” featuring Dan Roach’s 1950 convertible restyled by “Al Ayala’s Body Shop” elicited this editorial by the magazine: “The only suggestion Hop Up would make is to raise the back of the car a little to make it ride level–doing away with the ‘speedboat’ effect.”

    As early as 1952, then, peer pressure through the power of the pen was forcing the speedboat stance out of style!

  • Well written Rik. I personally like the traditional look of the Dragoo merc.but if it was slightly higher in the front it would still look good. The car has to be drivable and I prefer methods other than air bags to get the ‘look’

  • Thank you Rik. You’ve spelled this out better than I could, so I intend to direct a few of my friends to this article in the hopes of having them stop insisting that my car “should be way lower”. Bah!

    Another wonderful insight into why some customs work and others just miss the mark!

    Dave

  • ur right larry , back then some people would make fun at us for having our cars so low belive it its true, some squerrills just did not get it, my cars i had em all low, kustoms looked good the way they were lowered back in the 50,s,,,, know today i myself do not like to see a car with its rocker panels an bumpers kissing the asphalt where did that come from , excuse me but it looks like thay just brought it dropped it there, it just takes away the looks of a nice looking kustom period just me an my 2,cents what do i know,

  • Let me add my voice to the choir Rik…..
    Really great article that will be a primer on how customs should be lowered.
    As far as the term “Traditional” goes. Well. Lets just say that it has become a catch phrase. Almost like a marketing term when it comes time to sell your car.
    Thanks again…..
    Torchie

  • Great article Rik. This should be a must read for every x mini trucker who gets into Customs. Stance is so important it can not be stressed enough. You know me Rik, I been really preaching this for years. I was on a quest of my own to get my car to sit right. I been preaching it lately on Instagram and making some good hashtags. A traditional custom needs to have a traditional stance or #driveheightisparkingheight. I know sometimes this topic gets into a heated discussion but its only out of pure passion for these cars and their style. I love this feature Rik, great job.

  • Very interesting article that covers an important aspect often overlooked in the last decade, as you mentioned. I can think of at least 10-15 very nice kustoms that were discounted in overall appearance because of their “too low” stance. I know I’m guilty in this regard, as evidenced by the airbags I had in my Ford in the early 2000s, but now I am back to coils and leaf springs and marshmallow Goodyears…and I have to say even the ride is better. The whole time I was reading this article, I could see Jeff Neppl with a ticket book, writing tickets feverishly to kustoms that had the laying frame disease… 🙂

  • Great article Rik, maybe if I had history lessons like this at school I would have paid more attention. One thing which you briefly mentioned in the article is the relationship between stance and wheel and tire choice (In the later part of the 1950’s this shoebox Ford would have had a forward rake. Preferably the white wall tires would have been less wide and other hubcaps or wheels would help the effect even more.). I’d love to read more about this, not just tyre choice through the different eras but wheel choice as well. For example, is full hubcaps with 1″whitewalls ok? Maybe possibility of a future article? Thanks.

  • Bulldogcarcrazy

    LIKE MY WIFE SAYS! BAGS ARE FOR GROCERIES.. Learn how to Maneuver your car over speed bumps and Steep Diveways..

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