Photoshop customs
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I always liked these cars, they have a very clean and understated look. Surprised that more of them haven’t been customised.
Rich Zocchis ’56 was about the only one I remember.
Seeing Riks post with this Lincoln, I was reminded how I never liked the front end treatment on these cars. Thought I’d try out something a bit different, without just turning it into a Mercury-alike. It looks a lot less angry now at least.
James D, I totally agree on the not too attractive front end on this year Lincoln. From its to tall bumper, to its sad looking grille opening.
Yours has a nice European feel to it. Love your ability to Digitally shape metal and make it look good.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing
I was junkyarding once and found one of these beasts. I thought that grille just needed some tweaking. Remove the center bars, straighten the drooping sides, and cover the join with more teeth. I reworked the bumper, too.
Yours has a nice European feel to it.
Looks like a Mk1 English Zephyr grille in there.
I too find the sad grille and the headlights very unattractive on these cars. The whole lot needs redoing.
Ol’ 55.Ā Quentin’s mention of Tom Waite’s song of nostalgia was perfect timing.Ā For Rik for sure.Ā But for all of us with 55, the cars of 55…and for some of us senior teenagers, the old gang of ’55.
Rik suggested I might offer thoughts on our 55 Chrysler project.Ā Some will recall the 55 Dodge I had, that went on to new caretakers so I couldĀ do the build on Brule, the phoenix 37 Chevy coupe.
The Virgil Exner Forward Look bodiesĀ that brought life back into the Chrysler line in 1955 are timeless.Ā Exner’s visionary partnership with the Ghia coachbuilders of Italy created flowing forms never imagined in the stodgy styling studios of America’s big 3.
That said, “what if” kept coming to my mind.Ā And to minds more savvy than this study hall daydreamer.Ā Dream on, Stephen Tyler and Arrowsmith would sing.Ā Dream till your dreams come true.
Imagining is one thing.Ā Imaging is quite another.Ā And in my humble view, none can image the custom car…in tribute to the past, or visions to the future…than Rik Hoving.Ā Customizing owes a tremendous debt to Rik for his photo archive in preserving a unique artform, and equally important, for his digital offerings of…”what if”.
Throughout the life of Custom Car Chronicle, a whole Global community has benefitted from Rik’s unselfish sharings.Ā The articles we created together over the years now especially have been fulfilling.Ā As with Rik’s support of Memo Ortega’s priceless stories and images of that Golden Age of customizing in that land of California the rest of us across the land could only yearn for, as we dog-eared our copies of the “little pages”.
Then, with Rik’s sharings, we at the CCC became shop visitors with periodic glimpses of projects going on today, all across the Globe.Ā Including that of Tom Black, and his sportsters.Ā With designs off the drawing board of his nephew Eric Black.Ā Most recently, that foreshortened Chrysler!
“What if”.Ā Rik and I began tossing about ideas of Virgil Exner’s “what if” at the 1955 model year’s beginnings with Ghia.Ā What if Exner had carte blanc, a free hand without the Chrysler boys wringing their accountant hands.Ā Without ham-fisted heavy chrome “ornamentation” thought more appropriate to the pedestrian of Main Street’s comfort level.
That tacked-on finny chrome bezel with a tail light lense hanging aft.Ā Ditch the bezel.Ā Flip the lense.Ā Mold it in, foreshortened to fit.
That White Rabbit lip with paired dental work.Ā Merge the sections, as the Italians were doing, with Maserati, Ferrari. the French with Talbot Lago.
With Rik in the lead, a chopped top.Ā A mild chop.Ā Proper proportions.
Cleaned up Forward Look lines.
And from his Pantone palette, a lime green, mid-50s period perfect (yet not in your Ditzler paint chip book!).Ā A lime so pure it made my wife salivate, like tasting a dry white wine.Ā No, honest, that’s what Dotti said when she saw what Rik had created.
We aren’t done yet.Ā And for this old teenager of 1955 and designer of 55, may never materialize beyond our “what ifs”.Ā But someone with shared passions, and deeper pockets, may take the dream and dream till their dreams come true.
Well spoken Larry.
I personally like to see something out of the ordinary turned into a custom.
Much like James D and Dave’s versions of the Lincoln.
I always thought that the stock grill on the Lincolns looked like an upscale version of a Hudson.
Plus I never have been fond of the headlights either.
I always think they are from aĀ modernĀ Mercedes.
That being said. I would like to try my hand at one.
Torchie.
The molding on the front of the hood and how it curves down and out across the top of the grille…reminds me of Vincent Price’s moustache.
The molding on the front of the hood and how it curves down and out across the top of the grilleā¦reminds me of Vincent Priceās moustache.
I actually cooked dinner for Mr Price and his wife.
They were both accomplished chef’s and Gourmands.
And very nice people.
Torchie
In 2019 I did a series of Digital Restyled 1938 Ford Sedan images. Over the past few weeks I used my spare time to do another version of this Custom Sedan.ā£ I was inspired by a recent Steve Stanford design, and a model car I built back in the early 1990’s. I built a street rod version of a Custom Car inspired 1937 Ford Sedan Convertible. Ever since I had done that I wanted to do a more traditional Custom version of it.ā£
ā£
I decided to use the ’38 Ford Sedan, because I already had it modified with a beautiful Custom Grille. I modified the chopped sedan top with moved forward c-pillars, angled back windshield with modified A-Pillars shaped somewhere in between a convertible and a sedan A-pillar shape. The door side windows had to be modified a bit at the front to look good, and the header over the windshield was modified to look like a convertible header. I reshaped the drip rail from the b-pillar back and added a padded top. ā£
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I did three variations with different tires, bumpers and grille.ā£
The original photo I starred with
Inspiration…
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing
Beautiful design and work on that Morris James. I really like that.
Those slight curved lines on the wood work really make all the difference. I hope somebody gets inspired.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing
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