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Oakland, California, circa 1958. "Collision and fire." A 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air carbecue. 4x5 acetate negative from the News Archive. View full size.
Behind the '58 Chevy lurks a California Highway Patrol (I believe) cruiser. It sports a retroreflective shield on the door. That must have been the early years for such.
[CHP door emblem is a star; Oakland PD had a shield like this. -tterrace]
As a kid growing up in Queens, NY, during the late 50's, I remember seeing many '57 Plymouths running around minus their hubcaps, a popular item acquired at "Midnight Auto Parts"!
That spotlight was called a Dummy Spot Light, only a chrome dome with a two screw bracket it mounted to. A big seller in the 60's like spinners and fuzzy dice.
1958 Chevy behind the three police officers.
are from Pep Boys or J. C. Whitney. '56 Chevys had 15-inch wheels, and '57 Plymouths had 14-inch -- their hubcaps weren't interchangeable. The real things from '57 Plymouths looked like they were made of spun stainless steel (not cheap plain, thin chrome plate) and had detailing around the edges. As a 13-year-old, I could spot the difference at 50 yards. Better to have used a set of real '56 Olds spinners (with the Saturn logo) if you really wanted to impress anyone.
Dave, can we take a break from the car wrecks for a while?
Looks like a little custom pin striping there by the passenger spotlight. This car was probably some kids pride and joy.
We had a two-door '57 Plymouth station wagon and those hubbies are right from our family car.
Looks like this '56 Chevrolet was owned by a young person judging by the name painted on the fender, the accessory spotlights, the pinstripe spiderweb painted below the spotlight and what might be a high school graduation class front license plate frame with "1957" on the bottom. And yes, those '57 Plymouth "cone" wheel covers that were so popular with kids back then. The name "SIERRA" could indicate the car's original color scheme, Sierra Gold over Fawn Beige, as seen in this photo of a restored '56 Chevy convertible.
[I'm betting "Sierra" refers to a school. -tterrace]
Let's put the fuel filler right behind the taillight!
Great idea, Earl!
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