--- David Charles Gedraitis <dcg@xxxxxxx> wrote: > The UPS man just delivered the new gas tank for my > recently inherited toyota, and as he was looking at > my '61 newport sitting in the garage, he told me > "nice thunderbird" *sigh* I always thought the > "Chrysler" spelt out across the grill was fairly > obvious, especially since sometime ago I painted > those letters black for the purpose of making > them stand out. Know what you mean. I had a Chevy guy pull up next to me in the 300-K (Nick Nichols was actually riding shotgun for this) and ask what it had in it. When I said "a 413", he asked "what kinda oddball engine is that?" (I thought about telling him he needed to go home and listen to some Beach Boys records, particularly "Shut Down"...) Getting back to the "nice T-bird" '61 Chryslers, there's a closer connection than most of us like to admit there. The '61s were done in '58 while Ex was recuperating from a heart attack, and Chrysler hired Wm. Schmidt and Associates as outside consultants. Short version of the story, Bill Schmidt was in charge of Lincoln-Mercury styling in the mid-50s, having done the Lincoln Futura showcar, (later the TV Batmobile) and '56 and '57 Lincolns before jumping to Packard, opening his independent firm after S-P's Detroit operations folded. He was undoubtedly still at Ford when the earliest incarnations of the canted '58-'60 Lincoln headlights (which later reappeared on the '61-'62 Chrysler and '61 DeSoto) were on the drawing board. There was about a year where Chrysler basically had two styling staffs coexisting with each other, with the Schmidt people (including Dick Teague, also formerly of Packard and later VP of AMC styling) expecting Ex to retire for health reasons (there was about an eight-month period where he wasn't around much), and it's not really clear today who supervised what in '61, although the Valiant and Lancer look like Exner-supervised restyles of the '60 Valiant, and there seems to be little question that Ex supervised the '61 Imperial (who else would've dared do the freestanding headlights?). The similarities to earlier Schmidt-designed Lincolns in the '61 Chrysler & DeSoto suggests that, although Ex was back in charge when final details were scrutinized, the Schmidt people may have had their strongest influence here. One could also make a case for '50s Mercury influence on the '61 Plymouths and Dodges, particularly the Plymouth and Polara taillights. History does not record Schmidt's reaction when his former underling at Ford, Elwood Engel, took over Exner's job... > ah well-at least that doesn't happen with my > kaiser-no one even ventures a guess.... What? Nobody's ever asked where you got a flat-windshield Wagoneer? (rotflmao) ===== Mike Sealey, San Francisco CA '57 Plymouth Sport Suburban '64 Chrysler 300-K 2dr Hardtop __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com
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