The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Going for a 60's custom look

I am considering going with a retro customization on my 65 C10 sort wide. I am trying to find out what the kids were doing to customize their hot rods in the 60's. How did they have their seats done? Was the 4 speed popular then? What kind of wheels were the going trend? Do any of you remember any of this or have other ideas or suggestions as to what was the most popular in the 60's on the kids' hot rods? Is there a site that might have pictures or notes on this?

Any and all thoughts are welcome.
Thank you.

I'm working on my '65 right now. Going for a 60's custom look. I think one of the best things you could do would be to get magazines from the 50's on up. Stuff like "Rod Builder", "Custom Cars", "Rodding and Restyling", "Rod n Custom" and of course "Hot Rod". There's plenty of others too. Check ebay. There's always a ton of 'em on there.
-David

4 speed with a T handle Hurst shifter, thrush mufflers on headers with exhaust pipes ending before reaching the rear axle, rear end jacked up, black tuck and rolled interior, Torque Thrust 5 spoke wheels, candy apple red paint job, 8-track player under dash, fat rear cheater slicks and skinny drag tires on front, tiny steering wheel made of chain links, wobbly hula dancer figurine in rear window and fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. Everybody who rides has to chip in a quarter for gas except the girls.

...or,if you want an early sixties look (as opposed to late sixties),go with chrome reverse wheels,wide whites,a grill full of chrome bullets,metallic blue or red paint(maybe with scallops)over shaved bodywork,all white interior(or combo of body color & white),and lowered of course.The last one always seems to be in style.

But,yeah,as previously posted,check out old Rod & Custom or CarCraft mags.These make for fascinating reading.

Jay

My favorite look from the old days was when a guy would jack up the rear end of a car/truck. The exhaust pipes would then be run parallel to the ground; so they sort of hung out under the car/truck. The pipes would end right in front of the rear axle. My dad had a 65 Mustang when he was a kid that he bought almost new and he had cheater slicks, a jacked up rear end, a t-handle shifter on the three speed, and some other stuff that I forget. Good uck on your quest.

Kyle

Whatever you do, just don't "backdate" the truck. By that I mean, full wide whites with red steelies, etc. Nothing worse than a '60s car/truck done '50s style. Era-specific would be what I call "pinner" whites (1" whitewall) with either Radirs, Cragars, early Americans, or my favorite, chrome reverse with candy painted centers complete with spider caps. Body mods don't matter half as much as the paint--flake, candy, pearls, and of course the icing with cobwebb, lace, or fogged panels. Gotta have some angel hair somewhere too. Eddie Martinez-style Naugahyde--but diamond-tuft or pleated! There's plenty more, but the old magazines should serve you well for reference. Obviously, '60s custom is one of my favorite styles.

Sounds like you guys have it covered nothing more to say except maybe three barrels or two fours on that 283 or 327 with alot of chrome.

Mexican blanket seat covers - or is that too new!

WOW !!! Excellent responses!!! Thank you very much. Keep em coming, the more ideas I can get, the better chance I have of doing an awesome 60's retro look. You are are right R.F., I will work very hard not to go to far back. 50's would look good on a 50 model but not a 65 C10.

Thanks again and keep the ideas coming!

actually kids in the 60's wouldn't have been hackin on a 65 truck, or their dad woulda beat the hell out of'em, in the 60's kids were hot rodding 40's and 50's stuff, so what you'll be doing is actually makin a "hot rod" of the 80's

Bill

Not entirely! Just as they did back in the '40s, many customs were fairly new vehicles to start with. Sam Barris chopped his first '49 Merc before the car was a year old. Larry Watson painted a number of cars straight off the lot in the late-'50s/early-'60s. The exception is, this is a truck, and save for icons like Kopper Kart and the R&C Dream Truck, it wasn't too common to see them done up as such.

What I want to know is, when will '70s customs get their turn again?! Guess my '75 C10 flatbottom-hauler/mild lowrider will have to wait a little longer!

455 Olds engines were swapped into Chevy trucks in the mid sixties, gobs of torque.

Yeah,good point. I guess a '65 is getting well into the sixties for those mods.Very early '60's
seem to be like the very late '50's,but alot changed through-out the decade.
Compare haircuts in 1960-61 to those in 1968-69!

Jay

Donny, not sure why you'd want to copy a particular look when you don't already have a pretty clear idea what it is.

Disregard advice to slavishly follow a particular genre. You'll just end up with a truck that looks like the gazillion others owned by people who do that. Lead, don't follow. Original thinking is king. There's nothing wrong with putting stuff from different periods together. You can have paint that takes its cues from one era and, say, wheels and tires from another, and interior treatment from another.

Start with a look you know you like from seeing it on someone else's ride, then put your own twist on it. That can be a small thing or a radical departure. Take the time to doodle some ideas out.

If you like wide whites, WTF, have them. If you like satin green paint or red and yellow stripes, then cool. Whatever. Put the stamp of YOUR personality on your ride. Go your own way, not someone else's.

Konformity Kills.

[/QUOTE]Yeah,good point. I guess a '65 is getting well into the sixties for those mods.Very early '60's
seem to be like the very late '50's,but alot changed through-out the decade.
Compare haircuts in 1960-61 to those in 1968-69!

Jay [/QB][/QUOTE]

Then again, slap a 1960 hood on a '65 and a whole lotta people would be hard pressed to tell you that it's a '65 or be able to point out the differences which are subtle to the non Chevy truck freaks. [img]http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/4269/64c10custom27be.th.jpg[/img]
I happen to like the red rim steelies and whitewalls on this '64. It's all about preference and what you like. It's your truck and who cares if you wanna do it 50's style or 60's or 80's. Put rainbow paint, Cragars and jacked up air shocks in the rear if that's what you like. Research, get ideas, stare at old magazines for hours on end and then make your truck your own.
-David