When Chrome was King!…Chrome loaded cars in the 50s – 60s
A few of weeks ago, someone called me and asked if I would checkout his Oldsmobile he was restoring. I said great and made an appointment to look at the car. It was a 1957 Oldsmobile 88 two door Coupe. He was in the middle of a frame off restoration. The chassis, the engine compartment is all cleaned and painted. There is all new wiring. He was doing a good job with the resto. He showed me all the parts he had sent out to be chromed, it looked like all of them. There was 200 items to be chromed!
The cars in the Fifties and Sixties are loaded with chrome, both inside and out. I have a soft spot for the 1957 Oldsmobile, I owned three of them in the Seventies. A 98 Four Door, an 88 Convertible, and an 88 Station Wagon. I spent hours cleaning the chrome just on the inside of the car; half the dash is chrome. They had massive bumpers and grills, they are all chromed. Most of the manufacturers in the Fifties and Sixties used a lot of chrome. That is all gone now.
I see some of the newer cars do not have an ounce of chrome on them. Everything is plastic. The bumpers are plastic, the grills, even the interiors are mostly plastic and vinyl.
So, the days When Chrome was King!…The chrome loaded cars in the 50s – 60s are all behind us. Now we can find a car from the Fifties and Sixties eras to be restored with all the beautiful chrome.
The client who has the Oldsmobile said he would finish the resto around August. He would like to list it around November. I cannot wait to see and take photos of all that chrome!
Keep them Rolling!… Bill
Old Iron AZ LLC
Bill Abatecola
Miki Abatecola
Tucson, AZ
520.390.7180
(844)OLD-IRON 844.653.4766
Fax: 844-771-3132