Ultimate fin car???

I'm in the middle of doing a turquoise '57 Bel Air coupe. I have recognized for a while that the '57 Chevy is rarely chopped, restyled, or even dechromed. Like the 49-51 Mercs, they have been popular from the first day they were made, and still command a premium price.

Here is my question:

What is the ultimate fin car? Lots of them had little fins, but I am talking about the ones that have big fins as a major styling point. Are any more popular than the '57 Chevy?

If you could get any fin car for free... what would be YOUR choice?

I'm thinking these are candidates....

'57 Chevy
'59 Caddy
'60 Ford
'58 Plymouth
'57 T-bird
Studebaker Golden Hawk
'59 Chevy
'59-'60 Buiks
late '50s early '60s Imperials
some of the late '50s to '61 Chryslers or DeSotos
'60 Chevy
Others?

What are your thoughts? If we narrow it down to 3-4, maybe we can put together a poll.

Jay, I think I read somewhere that the 60 Plymouth had the largest fins in that era (even outdoing the 59 Caddy).

I guess I already have my favorite, although I sometimes think I should have held on to the 57 Dodge along with my Plymouth.

AND WHY DOES THIS NEW FORUM SEEM TO SCRAMBLE THE ORDER YOU UPLOAD PICTURES?

Mike... I must be psychic. I had a "vision" of what you might like! Spooky! :-)~

I would credit "Christine" for some of the popularity of that model. Wasn't there a ProMod called Christine?

...and on a related note... Did you see what that stock '56 Dodge ragtop sold for at the auctions? ...$104,500!!! :-o

".....Wasn't there a ProMod called Christine?...."

Yep sure was, and then there was the AL Scheib (480?) Hemi powered 57 Fury.

But I think my favorite 57/8 Plymouth would have to be the "Suddenly" Hot Rod Magazine Special that competed at Dayton and Bonneville. I think there is a replica of it at the Peterson Museum as the original disappeared long ago.

57 Desoto I had one and realy loved it great riding car Next would be 60 Chevy

Mopar's could possibly "Rule" but a few of the
Caddy's were top "Finners" in there day also.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/h...08/Finner1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/h...08/Finner2.jpg
I'm a bowtie dude but I never cared for the '57 fins.

I may be biased, BUT, I'd go for the Caddy!!

Oooops! I need to add the 59-60 buick, and those Imperials with the floating tail lights and head lights!

Yeah Jay, glad you added the Imperial--don't remember what year it was but if I ever find one that is both affordable and buildable good possiblity everything else would get put on hold till the Chrysler was built!. When I was a kid I worked at a gas station, a Doctor in town had one of the Imperials, it was almost a privilege to just service the car when he came in...When he stopped for gas, he always got a bit of extra service, too! What a classic!!!!

Dave, I have a friend in the Hill Country of Texas that has several old cars and one of them is a very Looooooooooooooooooooooooong Imperial. If you would like, I could drop him an email and see if he is tired of it sitting around gathering wasp nests.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MelloYello

Dave, I have a friend in the Hill Country of Texas that has several old cars and one of them is a very Looooooooooooooooooooooooong Imperial. If you would like, I could drop him an email and see if he is tired of it sitting around gathering wasp nests.

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If it's one of the one's I'm thinking of (wish I could remember what year they were) I definitely be interested in at least seeing some pics of the car!

I've got an email off to him and I think it is an early to mid 60's but not real sure.
If he gets back and wants to part with it, I'll try and get all the info and some pics.

Here's a great link that show Imperials by the year.
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/index.htm

Thanks! I'm finally moving down to Texas this fall so it wouldn't be real tough to go get a look at it....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike P

".....Wasn't there a ProMod called Christine?...."

Yep sure was, and then there was the AL Scheib (480?) Hemi powered 57 Fury.

But I think my favorite 57/8 Plymouth would have to be the "Suddenly" Hot Rod Magazine Special that competed at Dayton and Bonneville. I think there is a replica of it at the Peterson Museum as the original disappeared long ago.

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Mike, I remember this one!!! I started buying magazines in '58, and remember reading about it in Hot Rod.

59 ford---I had 2 door business coupe that had been Illinois Dept of Ag car----only option on it was v8---292 3 speed----of course I took it a little bit further---first, dual quads on the 292, then E475 410 cu in Edsel, 361 fe edsel, 406 dual quad nascar fe---changed to a Ford 4 speed right after they came out in 61 or 62? I even put a radio in it!!!!!yes sir push button AM with a rear speaker!!!!

The 59 ford skyliner(retractable hardtop) won an award for styling at the Brussel's World Fair---

For me,it would have to be a late 50s Mopar..A good opportunity to build another stroked B/B for it...:cool::cool:

Got my first ticket in this exact car, red leather interior.
Google Image Result for http://www.toywonders.com/history/Studebaker-Golden-Hawk/StudebakerGH_mainpop.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Yeah Jay, glad you added the Imperial--don't remember what year it was but if I ever find one that is both affordable and buildable good possiblity everything else would get put on hold till the Chrysler was built!. When I was a kid I worked at a gas station, a Doctor in town had one of the Imperials, it was almost a privilege to just service the car when he came in...When he stopped for gas, he always got a bit of extra service, too! What a classic!!!!

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When I got to AZ in '73, there was a body shop in Mesa that had a '58 Imperial sitting at the back of the lot, solid black, white leather interior. I stopped one day and inquired about it. They told me the fellows name who owned it and gave me his phone number. I called him and asked if the car was for sale. He said yeah, what do you have to trade for it. I had sold out all my stuff in N.C. before coming out west, so the only thing I could think of was a Polaroid camera that had belonged to my dad. I said I would trade it and the guy said "bring the camera to my house and I'll sign over the title". I did and he did. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have made the deal if he had known that I only wanted the motor, a 392 Hemi. I pulled the hemi and Torqueflite out of it and junked the rest. See how smart I am? All I had to do was sit on it for 20 years.

The motor and transmission went into a '57 MGA roadster. Then, before I could get it done, a fellow came along and wanted to buy the body, but not the motor/trans. I pulled them and he towed the body away. Another fellow I knew had a flatbottom boat and was looking for a motor for it, so we made a deal and I helped him put it in the boat. I had been through the motor and freshened it up with a Racer Brown cam and assorted goodies, including two four-barrels, so it moved the flatbottom pretty well.

That is the sad story of how one beautiful Imperial met its demise.

"......That is the sad story of how one beautiful Imperial met its demise......"

Not to get too far off topic, but I personally believe that one of the main reasons that a lot of the old 51-58 Chryslers, Dodges and DeSotos survived the crusher (especially the less popular more door and luxury versions) was the fact that they still had a HEMI under the hood. The number of 392 HEMIs that are still out there amases me considering that it was only in production for 2 years and only fitted into the high end Chryslers.

One unusual "fin" treatment that also comes to mind is the 58 Chevy. Not nearly as pronounced as the sideways fins (wings) on the 59 and 60 models, I personally kind of developed a soft spot for them, although a lot of people will claim that one of the big factors for the popularity if the 57 Chevy was the introduction of the 58 :eek::LOL::LOL:

the 1957 Ghia Crown Imperial was a big car . there was one out back of a body shop up north over 25 years ago i work at rusting away $$$$$$

On a related topis, I ran into a friend at a car show last night. He just found a '60 Buick two door he will probably buy. :-)

:LOL:In an earlier century---(long,long ago, in a place far aWAY) as we were traveling across the country, we kept an eye out for what was behind the barns--looking for New Yorkers and Imperials so we might find a 392---remember buying 4 blocks from a gut one time----what are you ever going to do with 4 blocks??????:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::3dSMILE::

http://www.gmdownunder.com/57thunderbird6b.jpg
http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/...dan_Rear_1.jpg
Then there is the sunbeam tiger
http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...am_tiger_3.jpg
59 Seville is pretty flashy
http://www.1959cadillac.com/images/fins_close_up.jpg
I think these are the biggest I've seen!
http://images.hemmings.com/wp-conten...ng_resized.jpg

But wait there is more
I loved this one as a kid
http://www.barris.com/gallery_cars/T.../batmobile.jpg
http://www.stationwagonfinder.com/wp...3/packard1.jpg


But ultimately it does seem the 57 Chevy's show up intact all the time. Heck they even made them into boats they were so popular!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZkSl7JBP8P...400/finned.jpg

Heck I forgot the trucks too
http://hooniverse.com/wp-content/upl...20-720x429.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/15...3d2ae942f9.jpg

http://image51.webshots.com/51/5/56/...1FcabpT_ph.jpg

Some how it always seems to come up "Mopar" don't it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jerry clayton

:LOL:In an earlier century---(long,long ago, in a place far aWAY) as we were traveling across the country, we kept an eye out for what was behind the barns--looking for New Yorkers and Imperials so we might find a 392---remember buying 4 blocks from a gut one time----what are you ever going to do with 4 blocks??????:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::3dSMILE::

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jerry you should of told him you were in to weight lifting .i still remember when i was a kid my dad lifting and carrying them blocks to the basment and kept the cranks by the back door.mom was not loving that

Thanks for putting up the pics Steve!!! Some really unique stuff from back in the days when styling was still a consideration at the car companies!!!

I know its one of the trendy rides, but the 59 chevy is still leader in my book!

Interesting responses. I was hoping to see if there were some clearly favored cars, but it seems that the choices vary a lot.

I know Im biased but the 59 ElCamino has to be the best of the fins

It seems that I am hearing most about the 57-60 plymouth... the '59 Caddy... and the '59 Chevy.

I thought the '60 Chevy would have more interest. I always thought of it as the better styling package of the 59-60 Chevy bodies.

I am sure that the '57 Chevy is the most commonly built finned car, so I thought it would jump up there in peoples minds, but obviousy the fins aren't big enough to be thought of as a "fin car". I guess "size really does matter". :-)

Maybe I should have asked "Which of these models would you want for yourself?" Too late now.

Hotrodpaint
I think the fins and lights combo are what really make them stand out. Reminds me of rockets, which brings out the kid in me every time I see them! Like these
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1388/...19069be398.jpg
http://www.gracerivers.com/wp-conten...9-Cadillac.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1351/...51231abc7a.jpg

I would rate the '59 Caddy as #1: tallest, and longest, if not the fattest. Whenever someone mentions fins on cars, that is what first comes to my minds eye. There were sure a lot of different styles of fins back in those days, though; one that most folks probably don't think about, or don't even consider to be a fin was on the '59 Pontiac. I'd say it was the most unusual style; certainly not the biggest, but the twin fin style only showed up on the '59 Pontiac as far as I can recall.

I know the '59 Caddy has always gotten the credit as "the ultimate fin car", but I doubt many people would choose it for their own. That is what I was really after, was the "most popular" fin car.

I would go for the '57 Bel Air, since mine was one of my favorite cars, and they are always being rebuilt over and over! I went to a little local show Saturday, and there were three there... but no Caddys. How many times have you seen a '59 Caddy at a car event lately???