1950 Pontiac Parts

Doane Yawger: Scoping trends at cruise night

It was a Friday night to remember for months to come, just about as much fun as a car buff should be allowed to experience.

It doesn't get much better than attending cruise nights. These regular events, generally hosted by a fast-food restaurant or another business, offer the public a unique opportunity to check out vintage vehicles up close and visit with like-minded enthusiasts.

And it's free, which doesn't hurt, either.

One of the best cruise nights in this area takes place the first Friday of the month at the Sonic drive-in restaurant in Atwater, near Bellevue Road and Winton Way.

Last week's event had well in excess of 100 vintage vehicles representing pretty much all

the interests in today's old-car culture. The weather was ideal, people were friendly and well- behaved and the cruise night lasted nearly four hours.

Yes, cruise nights often feature the same cars and trucks. That's not a problem; I always enjoy checking these familiar vehicles out again.

Surprisingly, this time there were a number of vehicles I had never seen before, and that's always a good thing.

Based on what I saw at Sonic, several trends seem to be emerging.

Chevrolet pickup trucks made from the early 1960s to 1972 seem to be gaining stature with old car buffs.

There were easily a couple dozen of these vintage trucks at Sonic, some fixed up to magazine quality and others that looked like they had spent the day working on a ranch.

Another strong showing at Sonic were Chevy trucks manufactured from 1948 to 1954; more than a dozen of these faithful workhorses with amazing potential were on hand. One you'd call a full-on street rod was painted in an orange and cream color combination with a gleaming late-model V-8 engine, modern interior and lowered suspension, along with gorgeous woodwork in the bed.

Another 1950 Chevy truck was freshly restored to near-stock specifications and painted in an eye-catching metallic bronze color; a third one that caught my eye was painted a pearl white and had whitewall tires and subtle lowrider influences.

Another 1950 Chevy pickup was bright red with big whitewall tires. It looked like a fire chief's car -- but much too fancy to be out in the field or getting dirty working.

It's possible to build one of these postwar Chevy trucks pretty much from scratch using modern reproduction parts, so we may see even more of them in the years ahead.

Of course, replacement parts also exist to resurrect an old, worn truck to showroom-new condition. While they're a rugged truck, it has many pleasing design elements, as well.

Hemmings Find of the Day – 1950 Chrysler Windsor limousine at ...

This beauty is an 8-passenger limo formerly used for funerals and weddings. It has a 6-cylinder flathead powerplant, with a 4-speed fluid-drive transmission. It is one of only 174 Chrysler Windsor limousines built in 1950. The paint job was done 25 years ago, is quite nice and has a beautiful deep shine. As far as we know, the interior was restored around the time it was painted and is a deep powder blue velvety fabric. The original headliner is intact and in excellent condition, with no stains or tears. The tinted windows, and the majority of the car except for a few of the wires that had to be replaced, are original equipment. A custom-made cover is included and we will throw in the chauffeur’s hat!

We purchased the car in Charlotte, SC, in 1999 from a funeral director who used it for funeral services when requested.

We used it for our daughters’ weddings and picnics. It has been quite a popular wedding conveyance for the daughters of many of our friends, and they really seem to enjoy having this car in their wedding photos.

I’ve always figured Chrysler kept non-luxury long-wheelbase sedans and limos in the market for so long (through ’54) for two reasons; mainly because DeSoto sold so many as taxis, especially in NYC where 5 passenger rears were mandated, and less so because there was a small but viable market for large-family cars to add to the volume, especially before 3 seat wagons became common. Both the NYC regulations expired, and those wagons became more common, beginning in 1955.

My very first car was a 50 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe 2 door. I was the third owner when the car was about 13 years old. My Uncle who worked at the local Chrysler/Plymouth dealership had driven for years as a commuter car. Colors were reverse of this car, light blue exterior and dark blue interior. When I got it it still had Rayco seatcovers which I removed to reveal almost perfect interior. Same flip up window cranks! Car was a slow boat but I enjoyed it for a couple years.

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