by "RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
Published 04/11/2017 at 09:33
by "RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
Published 04/11/2017 at 09:33
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STARS: 5
If you don’t like that rear light configuration, Dodge had at least two more on that sheet metal, because of reasons. This particular Dodge was for sale on
forwardlook.net
four years ago and is now in Australia.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 09:46, STARS: 1
Damn that back window goes up high. Practically a skylight for back seat passengers.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 09:55, STARS: 1
Alternately, you don’t have any back seat passengers and you put a foil-lined sun oven back there. But yeah, that’s probably the most glasstastic fastback of the early 60s that exists.
The other two rear light configs are this:
and this:
Although there seems to be a variation of the version without high-mounted tails that has additional reds next to the backups - if stock, that would mean four configurations. And they don’t seem to be consistent! The version in the main post is more usual for Phoenix (maybe), the high tail-less version seems to be most common on Senecas and D500s, and the inset version for wagons and Polaras, but I’ve seen a lot of different mixes.
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
04/11/2017 at 10:00, STARS: 0
Wow, that last one is spectacular!
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 10:04, STARS: 0
The Polara trim style rear was available with the YUGE glass fastback as well:
Not too horribly expensive if you can catch one when it comes up for sale. The one above was sold in Oz for 30k aus/22k US, and then there’s this one:
http://bringatrailer.com/2016/07/14/rare-two-door-hardtop-built-440-powered-1961-dodge-polara/
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 10:07, STARS: 0
Yeah, I was thinking that cooking your backseat passengers was a realistic possibility. That seems like a lot of combinations. In a cursory search, I found a Phoenix with backup lights set far apart (not bracketing the license plate) and a Pioneer with no backup lights at all. Suspect that they were throwing shit at the wall to see what stuck. This wasn’t Virgil Exner’s finest work.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 10:11, STARS: 0
From the Wikipedia page on the Dart - this may explain a good chunk of the variety:
Virgil Exner ’ s 1961 styling with its reverse fins, rear fender scalloping (the headlights were widely referred to as “ ingrown toenails ” ) and concave grille was highly unpopular with consumers. [10] The low position and small size of the Dart ’ s tail lights just above the corners of the bumper, was also criticized and drivers of following cars complained that they could not see them. The wraparound taillights projected light sideward, not rearward. [11] By mid-year, Dodge made auxiliary taillights available at extra cost through its dealer network. However, these large round lights were mounted near the inboard side of the reverse fins, and aggravated the already awkward styling
:
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
04/11/2017 at 10:13, STARS: 1
Whoah, NP all day
Must resist... urge...no place...
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 10:16, STARS: 0
There’s some guy who has a ‘61 Polara with the front end from a ‘61 Fury swapped on. Works flawlessly because the doors are the same.
Then there’s this one with a Chrysler 300G front end bolted on and further tampered with:
The original nose isn’t bad, just kind of there:
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 10:19, STARS: 1
The Polara was longer, which meant they tweaked things just slightly, which meant they took the opportunity to have the outside-fender lights - but they then had the Dart wagon on partial Polara bits and pieces, from what I can figure out. I’ve also seen multiple versions of the lights on ‘61 Furys - the originals were also criticized as being an afterthought.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 10:20, STARS: 0
I actually hate the front of the ‘61 Dodge. The Plymouth looks fine, and in my view, the ‘61 Chrysler front end is the best-looking of *any* ‘58-63 American car - and I’m biased a little toward GM. This is what I see when I look at the front of a ‘61 Dodge:
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 10:21, STARS: 1
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 10:32, STARS: 1
In other words, you strongly endorse the Fury swap that guy did, but the 300 swap would probably be sacrificing a prettier car overall.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 10:36, STARS: 0
Yes, but for several reasons. I like the color combo of the Fury swap a lot better, and I also have a strong preference for the stock look on anything of this vintage. The ‘61 300G (in black, thank you) is one of the most beautiful cars of all time - but I wonder if most of the bits on that swap came from lower end Chryslers? Other than the grille itself (and side trim), I’m not familiar with the differences.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 11:32, STARS: 1
I’m perhaps a little weird, as I like the Imperials with their bizarre floating headlights.
And yet... they didn’t do anything quite as bizarre in back.
It was the ‘61 Fury that got the same overhanging deck with recess treatment in back as the Imperial got up front.
...and with a misfire on the taillights, for the most part.
The obvious plan, then, is to get a Polara, ditch the front sheet metal, get a ‘61 Fury, steal the nose and stick it on the Polara with Polara badge relocated, get repro or damaged ‘62 Imperial nose pieces, section 1-1/2” out of the middle and mount to Fury, obtain mid-year ‘61 Dart taillights to replace existing ones on Fury and better match the floating headlights, and done. Resell Polara, keep totally bitchin’ “I am a table” Imperial-nose Fury.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 11:44, STARS: 0
Imperials are in a class of cool all their own. And I’d argue that the free-standing taillights on that car are at least a *little* wild. So, if I understand correctly, you want a ‘61 Fury with a ‘62 Imperial nose and the ‘extra’ taillights from a ‘61 Dart? I think I get that, although I’m not sure the Dart taillights would mate up without a lot of work - and you’d have to remove/relocate the ‘Fury’ emblem on the back.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 11:46, STARS: 0
Also, my tastes are a little weird, because I think that, in my head the 2 peak years for American automobile design were 1961 and 1965. The two years are vary different (duh), but I love a LOT of cars from both years. ‘61 Dodges are cool, but they’re about my least favorite from the Big 3.
"Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer" (dash-doorhandle-and-bondo)
04/11/2017 at 12:21, STARS: 0
This is right around the time Virgil Exner’s styling genius went from industry leading to jump the shark very quickly
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 12:32, STARS: 0
The best setup for the taillights would be for them to be freestanding in some recognizably similar way to the headlights. Not sure how one would do that other than with motorcycle units.
Maybe combine the above with some ‘62 Comet S22 units?
The heck of it is, the Fury is down at the nose, flat around the tail, while the Imperial is flat around the nose, down at the tail. They’re almost backward from one another, but the Fury nose wouldn’t even remotely work on the Imperial.
The ‘62 Imperial unbroken “U” of fin line is incredibly elegant, but the nose doesn’t really do anything to set that off, and it seems like the nose should be down to match it in some way. What would it take to make a front that would work better?
To match the rear bumper, we first would need the front bumper off a ‘60 (or another rear).
We then need something with a “keel” to it to have a complementary fin going forward. We need ‘61-’63 Lincoln repro front fenders or fenders for a ‘64-’66 Imperial.
Imperial ones would be an easier fit and easier to trick into the contour line on the body. Might even work with a rear bumper mounted on front. Less relief down to the hood, though.
We then need a custom valance, a “U” trim, and the overgrill and grill from a ‘67 Toronado.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 12:42, STARS: 0
Hmmm, this would be interesting. But I think the answer to your taillight dilemma is closer than you think.Why not pair up these?
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 12:55, STARS: 1
Shit, you’re right. There’s a seam line *right there*. Flip upside-down, lead the body to the contour as needed, done. Cakewalk - if you can find the lights.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 12:57, STARS: 0
But yeah, the “find ‘62 Imperial nose parts” part of the Mopar Master Plan has now mutated into “find ‘62 Imperial, steal nose, put on better nose”.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 13:10, STARS: 0
While trolling for sexy Exner pics, I ran across a mention that some of the early ‘60s designs were wrapped up by understudies while Exner was out of commission with a heart attack(!), and when he got back he was all “muh tailfaings!” and alleged that those design which were now finless were “plucked chickens”.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 13:14, STARS: 0
Yeah, I’m thinking those taillights won’t be on ebay at 10 for $20 with free shipping. But hey, we’re just dreaming here, right?
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 13:18, STARS: 1
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/191931569828?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true
SWEET FANCY MOSES
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 13:29, STARS: 0
Hmm, I think I’m getting lost now. I think we want the front and rear of a ‘62 Imperial, but just not matched with each other? The ‘62 front goes with a *heavily* reworked rear, somewhat similar to a ‘61 Fury but with quad, freestanding taillights from a ‘61 Imperial, and the ‘62 Imperial rear goes with something like the ‘60 Imperial nose? I’m struggling to find something that really matches the rear of the ‘62 Imperial. That bumper reminds me of the ‘57 Merc - which won’t work.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 13:32, STARS: 0
Whoa - - I’m not terribly shocked at the price, but the lens chips scare me a bit. Pitting was to be expected, and the dent can be addressed, I think.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 13:53, STARS: 0
Three cars: a ‘61 Polara, a ‘61 Fury, and a ‘62 Imperial. Either get Polara with bad nose or remove nose and resell (or shelve parts), put ‘61 Fury nose on Polara, put narrowed ‘62 Imperial nose on Fury, change Fury rear lights, engage in hideously complicated hackup of Imperial with eBay junkyard and repro parts of various origins to create The Exnerstein Monster. For Science.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 14:16, STARS: 0
OK, I’ve got the first two. Seems like the back half of the ‘62 Imperial won’t require much work. For the front end, how about this - with the top of the fender re-worked to match with the rear of the Imperial, and a completely different, more period-correct bumper, and a lot of re-work to the hood:
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/11/2017 at 14:21, STARS: 1
I had down for the Exnersteain monster that hidden headlights are pretty essential, but I was thinking with Toronado units instead of Riv, and promoting the fin outline up front with ‘64-’66 Imperial front fenders. Putting the “U” profile under the grill instead of over it might work...
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 14:24, STARS: 0
In addition to that, the ’62 Mopars were designed on a different scale than the cars ended up, I believe.
Think Exner designed the 62s as full sized cars, then they were downsized by underlings - poorly. Someone had to be the fall guy and it ended up being him.
55-61 Mopars are some stunning cars, but those unibodies were shit from what I’ve heard.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/11/2017 at 14:29, STARS: 0
It’s all custom work anyways - can probably take elements from both gm cars. I meant the Riv for design cues, not to lift it as is- too much clash between eras.
What I LOVE about the Riviera are vertical stacked hidden headlights — with the forward lean, the grille, and the point at the center of the hood.