So, I was cruising e-bay, as you do, when an auction comes up that no one
has bid on. Its a six pack of 1957 Science and Mechanics magazines. Every
other month's edition, starting with February. And its cheap too, but I
really could not tell about the content. But, what the hey, what can you
get for four bucks these days anyway?
So, they arrived today. Earlier this week I received another ad, except it
was an oops. Its for 1957s. I thought it was 1958. Minor disappointment
for me, but it'll look good on the 1957 page, so no real loss, all things
considered. I open the packaging. I am not thrilled. The magazines are
small, the pictures grainy, the writing designed for a mind set that I don't
really share. I ain't gonna get too excited about building a fibre glass
boat without a mold. But the article on Test Driving a 1930 Ford Model A
could be OK. I drive one fairly regularly, so it might be fun to get a
mid-century perspective, when the cars were only thirty years old.
And so it goes. Not much in April. June? Testing a '57 Buick. In August
they test drove a Russian car, the Pobeda. They say it is a hodge podge of
old ideas stolen from Detroit, wrapped up in an uninspired, ill
manufactured, package. But apart from that they liked it. In October, lots
of stuff about the new Edsel. Not even gonna go there.
So, so far, a bit of a bust. Maybe good for a '57 owner to have in his
trunk or back seat at a car show, as a prop, but that's it. Then, in
December, pay dirt. "1958 CARS - How they compare. What unusual features
do they have?" Unlike Motor Trend, which cannot seem to see past the
popular big three of the day, Ford, Chevrolet and Plymouth, this magazine,
designed as it is for weekend tinkerers and mechanics, is really interested
in the mechanicals, not the surface. This quote sums it up:
"Meanwhile, the stylist is supposedly busy molding brand new, eye-catching .
. . concepts into the body shell. (gap) . . . "but adjustments seem to be
. . . amendments to . . . existing designs." [Here's the good part, quoted
in full.] "No '58 car we have seen to date shows such fresh and daring
ideas (like them or not) as the completely new design theme that burst onto
the automotive scene in last year's Chrysler line."
There are some good pieces on Ford and Chevy, technical pieces on Air
Suspension and fuel injection, both new concepts in 1958. A pro's and con's
piece on unitized / body on frame chassis design.
The Chrysler line section is very good. It begins by posing the essential
question, "DO HIGH TAIL FINS sell more cars than torsion bar suspension?
(This magazine loves torsion bar suspension, by the way, saying it is
infinitely superior to 'air bag' suspension. One is simple and proven. The
other is complex and prone to difficulties and failure.) The new fuel
injection systems are discussed with a certain disdain, and the analysis
proved to be correct. The new "Auto Pilot" gets a thumbs up, however.
It breaks down each of Chrysler Corp's lines. Imperial comes off very well.
A couple more details I did not know, such as a fractionally lowered seat
that provides a tad more head room and thigh clearance at the steering
wheel. It says the '58s have a redesigned radio, internally, with a
"push -pull electronic circuit to increase fidelity of response, eliminate
second order harmonics and reduce noise interference."
And, finally, does anyone with a '58 have this gizmo? The remote control
outside rear view mirror? Mine does not, and it isn't a feature I have ever
heard of before on these cars. If anyone does have it, I'd love to see a
picture of the mirror, and the dash control. My mirror is very hard to
adjust correctly. It is so far away, you have to get out, move it, get back
in and check to see if it;s OK. Its rare to only need one such foray.
Hugh
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