HOW LONG IS YOUR GARAGE?

[stretch cab]

HOW LONG IS YOUR GARAGE?   

 

This is why the '50s were such a special time !

 

Continental kits were special

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The good ol' days ....  

[Paul Dobbin]

58' wide and 36' deep.   Holds 11 cars, but not the Land Yacht size pictured

[The 55er]

Continental kits were special? They detract from the looks of all the cars pictured and make them especially ugly. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by The 55er (see edit history)

[Peter Gariepy]

It’s not the length of the garage, it’s how you use it. 😋

[edinmass]

2 minutes ago, Peter Gariepy said:

It’s not the length of the garage, it’s how you use it. 😋

 

 

White that may be true, oversize is always better. 😎

[John_S_in_Penna]

38 minutes ago, The 55er said:

Continental kits were special?  They detract from the looks of all the cars pictured and make them especially ugly. 

Agreed!

But how common in the 1950's were these additions,

whether from the factory or from the after-market?

If anyone has first-hand memory, please share it.

Perhaps on 1% of cars at most?  And what type of

person added something like this?

 

[John Byrd]

Paul Dobbin, that is the 1st time I've seen the "telephone dial" wheels put to an appropriate use, ha !  They killed the car's look. (Porsche 924 if I remember correctly)

 

EDIT: Incidentally, our garage is not only too short, but not very wide....OR.... my cars are too big and we have too much "stuff", ha !

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by John Byrd (see edit history)

[John Byrd]

3 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Agreed!

But how common in the 1950's were these additions,

whether from the factory or from the after-market?

If anyone has first-hand memory, please share it.

Perhaps on 1% of cars at most?  And what type of

person added something like this?

 

John, I remember only one car in my hometown that had one. It was a perfect way to ruin a 61 Galaxie's gorgeous look.....

[The 55er]

I don't attend a whole lot of car shows but to me it seems the continental kits are just another unnecessary "gaudy, hey look at me" accessory in an attempt to make someone's car stand out from the rest of the crowd whenever the car is out in public. They rank right up there with the unnecessary car hop trays, headlight visors, curb feelers, extra antennas, cruiser skirts, and of course the little crying children dolls some people have to display at the front corners of the car. Most of these silly accessories are unnecessary and detract from the looks of the car IMO. 

[Mark Huston]

Over accessorized cars cause me to yawn and then walk on by.   I would rather look at a bone stock plain jane four door sedan, as built by the factory, unrestored original, with a six cylinder engine than the continental kit cars pictured in this post.  

[SC38dls]

They are as bad as going to a show and seeing every car has the hood open. Totally distracts from the beauty and lines of the car.  If someone wants to see the engine open it, show them and close it again. Is it so hard to do? 

dave s 

[Paul Dobbin]

It's all personal choice.   Some guys lke ugly cars or flashy onea while others go for a notalgic look based on their past.  Some like movie stars cars becaue the think it makes them look cool.  If the owner likes it, respect it and get over it.   If all the cars at a show were the same, none of them would be special.  

[George Smolinski]

I'll call your continental kits & raise you an Eldorado Convertible.

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

You ain’t a bluffin’, George!!

[edinmass]

My 1921 hollow block garage in Florida will fit a Model T, but nothing else. Even then, it's tight. Over the years most have been extended longer, and will fit a modern mid size car. You would think a three bedroom home in 21 would have had a larger garage. 

[1937hd45]

 

 

The only usable parts from a 1950s Packard IMO, nice looking car, continental kit , and STUPID LOOKING spot lights would off and on eBay in 45 minutes. 

 

Bob 

[JamesR]

2 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Agreed!

But how common in the 1950's were these additions,

whether from the factory or from the after-market?

If anyone has first-hand memory, please share it.

Perhaps on 1% of cars at most?  And what type of

person added something like this?

 

 

Great point, John. I hardly watch any new movies since more entertaining old movies from the 1940's and 50's are free on youtube...i.e., I've seen a lot of old movies and I'm always taking note of the old cars I see in them. I honestly can't remember any old movie that had a car with a continental kit in it. I'm sure there are some out there, I just haven't seen any that I can recall. 

 

BTW, I also see a lot of old movies where the cars NOT all cleaned and polished up to look nice. And not a lot of wide white wall tires, either.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

4 hours ago, stretch cab said:

HOW LONG IS YOUR GARAGE?   

 

This is why the '50s were such a special time !

 

Continental kits were special

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The good ol' days ....  

 

 

  YES!

 

  Ben

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

3 hours ago, The 55er said:

Continental kits were special? They detract from the looks of all the cars pictured and make them especially ugly. 

 

 Just one mans opinion.  I liked them then. I like them now!

 

  Ben

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

2 hours ago, SC38dls said:

They are as bad as going to a show and seeing every car has the hood open. Totally distracts from the beauty and lines of the car.  If someone wants to see the engine open it, show them and close it again. Is it so hard to do? 

dave s 

😝😝

 

  Ben

[hidden_hunter]

1 hour ago, edinmass said:

My 1921 hollow block garage in Florida will fit a Model T, but nothing else. Even then, it's tight. Over the years most have been extended longer, and will fit a modern mid size car. You would think a three bedroom home in 21 would have had a larger garage. 

Our place was built in 38 and they forgot that cars have doors on both sides… The carport is hard up against the fence so passengers can’t get out, a royal pain with a child seat

[Buick35]

4 hours ago, stretch cab said:

HOW LONG IS YOUR GARAGE?   

 

This is why the '50s were such a special time !

 

Continental kits were special

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The good ol' days ....  

My 35 Buick has the spare tire in the rear,would that be considered to be a continental kit?

[JACK M]

[TTR]

Most “Bling” or trinket accessories, especially when “piled on” to any single vehicle, regardless of its year, make or model, tend to give an air of a Pimp-mobile, …

… which in itself may not be a bad thing, …

… especially if aligns with the owners chosen profession.

 

OTOH, how many members who were old enough in the ‘50s, recall commonly seeing these types of “accessories” at the time ?

 

Same with WWW tires ?

Edited December 13, 2021 by TTR (see edit history)

[GARY F]

I could sit and polish that chrome and stainless all day on that Limited.

[TTR]

5 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

And what type of person added something like this?

 

1 hour ago, TTR said:

… a Pimp… ???

 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

I was and am definitely NOT a pimp.  You folks are thinking like the old codgers you/we are!  I turned 16 in 1953.   I don't know what percentage of cars had these and other "bling" back then. I do know there was a lot.

  WWWs?   Not 4 inch ones we see on "correct " cars today.!  

   Continental kits?  I can't give a number.  I can say probably not a day passed without seeing a few. Teenagers and young folks lusted after anything to set them apart from the old folks of the day.  Hence fender skirts, VISORS,  continental kits , lowered, loud pipes.  You name it.  Some of us remember.  Some of us [ some of you} were/are nerds.

 

 

  Ben

[Rivguy]

Continental kits, not my thing unless it was built in like an actual Lincoln Continental or early Thunderbird. But I like WWWs on all kinds of cars. I wouldn't call any of these additions "pimp cars." A blinged out (modern term) older car, used to be referred to as a g**k wagon because it was covered with tacky geegaws.  These don't have any  pimp connotations. That's a style associated with the SuperFly movie car built by Ray Dunham. There were quite a number of chromed up later model Cadillacs driving the streets of Oakland where I grew up. Big chrome grille, Big chrome driving lights,  Big bumper guards, Flying lady on the hood, WWWs,chrome skirts, half vinyl top with the  famous  "diamond in the back!" Don't forget the boomarang TV antenna on the trunk. Have any of you heard of a S.L.A.B.?

[Fossil]

Long low and stretched doesn't normally ring any bells for me and I certainly wouldn't extend my garage to house one. But dang that white 56 Ford almost changes my mind. That thing is as clean as a new bridal gown. Unfortunately it's about as unpractical. 

I think My garage is 26' foot deep. 

[keiser31]

I wanted my garage longer, but we had plum trees. My honey said I could extend to the trees, so I added the 6 foot x 24 foot section. The trees are now gone....mmmmmm....UPDATE! She said, NO!"

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[37_Roadmaster_C]

To me there is a marked difference between a "Continental Kit" and those gawd awful stretched, chrome plated bling mobiles!!!  Some cars look fine with rear mounted spares and on some it destroys the elegant lines of a classic. To each their own, but classy is best!

[TTR]

1 hour ago, Rivguy said:

Continental kits, not my thing unless it was built in like an actual Lincoln Continental or early Thunderbird. But I like WWWs on all kinds of cars. I wouldn't call any of these additions "pimp cars." A blinged out (modern term) older car, used to be referred to as a g**k wagon because it was covered with tacky geegaws.  These don't have any  pimp connotations. That's a style associated with the SuperFly movie car built by Ray Dunham. There were quite a number of chromed up later model Cadillacs driving the streets of Oakland where I grew up. Big chrome grille, Big chrome driving lights,  Big bumper guards, Flying lady on the hood, WWWs,chrome skirts, half vinyl top with the  famous  "diamond in the back!" Don't forget the boomarang TV antenna on the trunk. Have any of you heard of a S.L.A.B.?

Perhaps I'm too young and since I didn't grew up around these types of cars, i.e. excessively accessorized/blinged/geegaw'd/trinketed late model ones and only saw such in movies, usually featuring ethnic heritage drug dealers/pimps/etc and occasionally some Palms Springs country club characters driving them, so whenever I see one (or more), I can't help it but my mental image connection automatically associates both.

 

Or they make me think someone carried away with their J.C. Whitney catalog.

 

To me, these represent 1950s equivalent of todays brightly/glitterly colored late model Lamborghinis or R-R's one can see in rap videos and alike.

 

And don't get me wrong, IMO, anyone can do whatever they want with their car(s). Set it on fire or have it dropped off a cliff, as it's theirs to do so.

I had/have clients preferring some odd (to me) features on theirs and for some I've made it clear that I wouldn't like be caught dead driving such, but most have seemingly had good enough sense of humor to just get a chuckle out of it.

 

Besides, most '50s American higher end cars came with quite a lot or perhaps even too much bright trim, glitter and geegaw accessories from the factory, but I guess that just isn't/wasn't enough for some. 

 

 

[f.f.jones]

I grew up in the SF Bay Area in the '50's and was quite aware of the then current trends in both new and older (hot rod and custom) cars. As I recall, continental kits were quite popular. Maybe it was a regional thing, but when the T-bird and the Continental were new in '56, I recall seeing mostly Chevrolet Bel Aire hardtops with that accessory. I also recall Buicks that had the factory/dealer kits, but I don't remember seeing Chrysler products. A couple of my grade school teachers owned Chevys with continental kits and a friend's family had a '60 convertible.

Many '49 thru '51 fords were severely lowered in the rear and then added the kit with rollers under the bumper to keep from scraping over dips in the road.

I spent some time in New England in the early '60's and was surprised to see the majority of cars were of the "plain-Jane" family sedan variety in contrast to the more premium models common in California. Practical New Englanders didn't spend unnecessary dollars for a car that might rust away in a few years. That might help to explain to some extent why continental kits aren't as popular with eastern members.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by f.f.jones (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

7 minutes ago, f.f.jones said:

I grew up in the SF Bay Area in the '50's... continental kits were quite popular. Maybe it was a regional thing, but when the T-bird and the Continental were new in '56, I recall seeing mostly Chevrolet Bel Aire hardtops with that accessory.

I spent some time in New England in the early '60's and was surprised to see the majority of cars were of the "plain-Jane" family sedan variety... 

 

 

That's really good insight into the times, Mr. Jones.

Thanks for contributing that.  My father, in rust-prone

Pennsylvania, never spent the money for a higher-end model

either.  

 

And the two Chevrolets you picture look pretty good with

their Continental kits and no other gaudiness.  In the later

1950's, factory models were much more heavily adorned,

and I think the less-adorned cars look better if one is to have

that kit.

[Hornet Driver]

As we drive the Hudson Jet-Liner around town, the onlookers enjoy seeing it - never a complaint about the kit.

[58L-Y8]

"Continental Kits" while advertised as a practical solution to the need for more luggage space, were primarily about lending distinction to the rear proportions i.e. greater length implied luxury.  Of course, the 1940-'48 Lincoln Continentals were still regarded as stylish luxurious, exclusive cars, how better to associate one's plebian car than a version of its most prominent feature.   Function notwithstanding, the extended bumper and spare looks ungainly and ill-proportioned on most any car saddled with one.  

 

In fairness, there are a few cars which actually carry the 'continental kit' off well, the 1953-'54 Packard Caribbeans for example.  The design was more integrated with the fender ends prominently flanking making the spare and bumper look less like an afterthought. 

Edited December 14, 2021 by 58L-Y8 (see edit history)

[hook]

[58L-Y8]

5 minutes ago, hook said:

The major difference with the pre-war rear-mounted spares and the postwar 'continental kit' is pre-war it was simply functional placement of necessary equipment.  Postwar it was a pretentious affection of style.  

[60FlatTop]

That's a 130 inch wheelbase Avalanche in front of the Riviera. 40' has worked out well.

 

 

[Str8-8-Dave]

Boy- I've dodging around garages for years, is the garage long enough, is the door opening wide enough, is the door high enough?

 

My dad's first Ford lease car was supposed to be a 1959 Edsel Corsair but the Edsel got cancelled so he got a red 1960 Ford Sunliner Convertible instead.  Measured across the widest part of the body, the car was 60 inches wide across the tail fins.  The cinder block garage my dad built had a 6ft wide door supposedly, the opening actually measured 62 inches.  My dad parked that car in the garage a few times successfully, my mother- not so much, she scraped the stainless trim trying to back the car out one day, it never went in that garage again.  It was big enough to accommodate the 1931 Buick 8-86 coupe my dad dragged home from a local watermelon farm.  that was a great car!  At the ripe old age of 12 I learned how to smoke my dad's cigarettes in that car... 

 

The garage door in my 24'x36' summer home in Garden, MI was too low...  for the 20' 1965 Chris Craft fiberglass Sea Skiff I restored, hull #12 of only 80 fiberglass Sea Skiffs up to the late 1990's, the other 13,000 something were wood boats made in Algonac, MI.  On the trailer with the dolly wheel all the way down the Chris was 95" tall so I had the contractor raise the header and the door from 80" to 96".  Then, with the trim tabs disconnected from their cylinders and hanging down and with the boat turned on a slight angle the boat could be pushed back until the stern rub rail hit the back wall studs of the garage the door would close with anywhere from zero to 1 inch clearance to the door.  Whew- that was close!

 

My garage in Port Huron, MI is 24' x 36'.  We decided we just had to have a 5th wheel camper so I bought a 2017 Ford F-350 Superduty pickup with the 6.7L diesel engine in it.  I had to give up some features I wanted on the truck like push button start because you could only get that on a 4 door Crew Cab model which even with the 6-1/2' bed was too long.  I wound up with a Supercab model with 6-1/2' box that was about 14" shorter than the Crew Cab.  My dream was the trailer would lead to construction of a 40x60 pole barn at the summer place with 14' high doors- it never happened...

 

This is one of 80 20ft Chris Craft Sea Skiffs built at the Cortland, NY Chris Craft Plant from late 1965 to 1967.  these boats were Chris Crafts first experiment with fiberglass boat manufacturing.  I was still courting my second wife when I restored the boat and this picture was taken in her garage where she let me not only work on the boat but tie up 2 bays while doing it!

 

 

This picture was taken the day the boat was launched for the first time at the public launch ramp about 1 mile from the cottage.  this was our waterfront in Garden Bay, a subset of Big Bay DeNoc, Lake Michigan.  The boat was moored in front of our cottage during summer visits.  

 

The boat was powered by a Chris Craft converted Chevrolet 327 sporting solid lifters and

Carter AFB carburetor.  I was winterizing the boat with my home brew winterizing setup

which consisted of this plastic tank which supplied anti-freeze to the raw water pump

while the engine idled.   This was a recirculating arrangement I dreamt up consisting of 

the tank you see here supplied with antifreeze from (next slide please)-

 

this catch tank which catches antifreeze discharged from the exhaust and when the float

level on that pedestal pump trips the float switch pumps the antifreeze back to the supply

tank inside the boat in the previous picture...  

 

Here we have the 95" high boat being veeery carefully backed into the garage thru the 

96" high garage door...

 

Before the boat could be backed into place I had to disconnect the trim tab cylinders

 

Then with the start rub rail against the wall studs...

 

the trailer receiver misses the garage door by about that much...

 

Safe and sound until next season...

 

This is the 2017 Ford F-350 Supercab pickup with the 6-1/2 ft box in our garage in Port Huron... 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Str8-8-Dave (see edit history)