37 replies to this topic

[Bob Riebe]

https://www.macsmoto...959/#more-82057

 

That title from this site or REAL cars, not battery powered wannabes, is interesting because the 1959 Chevy was hideous but then1960 Chevrolet was not bad , SO, I looked to see what was the difference.

Well the big difference was not in the batman wings.

 

1959

 

 

1960

 

 

While the wings were hammered down and not so apparent from the side, it was the hideous front end that was changed and was a HUGE improvement.

Now  you could put enough batteries in that trunk to go 500 miles.

Edited by Bob Riebe, 01 February 2021 - 00:58.

[Red Socks]

The 1959 car is a nonsense.

Clearly it is on modern wheels and very low profile tyres, not available 70 years ago, which totally  destroy the proportions of the car and its period ground clearance.

[Roger Clark]

The shows how tastes differ.  For me, 1959 was the year of the Mini, the 105E, the 3.8-litre Mark 2 and the 250GT SWB.

[Charlieman]

It is worth noting that in the UK and many export markets, cars like the Triumph Herald and Anglia 105E were more successful than the Mini for a couple of years. Even the ageing Morris Minor had a special edition, the Minor Million.

[Vitesse2]

The 1959 car is a nonsense.

Clearly it is on modern wheels and very low profile tyres, not available 70 years ago, which totally  destroy the proportions of the car and its period ground clearance.

The wheels on the 1960 one are nothing like the original either. And it was the era of whitewalls. Ground clearance on the 1960 car looks wrong too - it's either been lowered at the front or jacked at the back, as it shouldn't have that slightly nose-down look.

 

Contrast and compare: https://www.barrett-...ORT-COUPE-44257

 

It is worth noting that in the UK and many export markets, cars like the Triumph Herald and Anglia 105E were more successful than the Mini for a couple of years. Even the ageing Morris Minor had a special edition, the Minor Million.

Someone at Dagenham worked out that the early BMC Minis cost £30 more to build than they were sold for. BMC reckoned they countered that by a combination of some creative accounting, price loading on the De Luxe models and selling 'optional extras' like a heater, seat belts and door mirrors. The original Minis were very basic ...

[Ray Bell]

I always preferred the '59 Chev to the '60 model...

 

That fin arrangement didn't go over too well in its squared-off form while the front of the '59 wasn't all that bad, I thought.

 

Compare this one, then, it's a '59:

 

[Geoff E]

... selling 'optional extras' like a heater, seat belts and door mirrors. The original Minis were very basic ...

 

Having just checked a book of 1964 Autocar road tests, I can report that seat belts were not fitted to most cars.  For example, the Healey 3000 and Sunbeam Alpine had none.

 

External mirrors were likewise far from universal.  Among those without were the Cortina Super and the Austin Westminster.

[Vitesse2]

Having just checked a book of 1964 Autocar road tests, I can report that seat belts were not fitted to most cars.  For example, the Healey 3000 and Sunbeam Alpine had none.

 

External mirrors were likewise far from universal.  Among those without were the Cortina Super and the Austin Westminster.

Oh, indeed. But selling those as 'optional extras' was a way for the dealer to bump up his profit margin. My father was game to tackle most jobs on his cars, but drew the line at things like drilling into the bodywork to fit mirrors. A lot of cars didn't even come with seatbelt anchors as standard, let alone the belts, which weren't mandatory in the UK until 1967.

[10kDA]

The '60 including wheels and tires is in essence just the way 59 and 60 Chevys looked in the parking lot when I was in high school. Cragars or Americans in front and often chromies in back, same rake - children these days call it "stance" , 327 2bbls wannabeing 348s or dreaming of 409s. The 59 above is obviously the work of a child; the pinchers-and-rubberbands look is just plain lame on a car of that vintage.

 

I liked the 59s better across the GM board. Their stylists dialed things back a notch for 60 and lost some of the Jetsons-ish vibe. Maybe sales were lower than expected for the 59s and more conventionality was viewed as an appropriate response? I won't bother to check sales figures since I don't care what the herd was/is doing. My grandfather bought a 60 Buick because he bought a new car every 6 years and that was that. If it had been my money I would have broken the cycle for the 59 or bought a 59 after the 60 was out and had seen its changes - albeit with the eyes of a 6 year old. Someday I may pull the trigger on a 59 Electra if the price is right and I settle on selling my Rotec R3600.

[Michael Ferner]

The wheels on the 1960 one are nothing like the original either. And it was the era of whitewalls. Ground clearance on the 1960 car looks wrong too - it's either been lowered at the front or jacked at the back, as it shouldn't have that slightly nose-down look.

 

 

... like a Red Bull! :vomit:

[Bob Riebe]

The '60 including wheels and tires is in essence just the way 59 and 60 Chevys looked in the parking lot when I was in high school. Cragars or Americans in front and often chromies in back, same rake - children these days call it "stance" , 327 2bbls wannabeing 348s or dreaming of 409s. 

Similar here except same wheels on all four corners.

A close friend of mine had a blue one with a three-speed stick on the floor; that was the way he bought it.

Who ever did the work, did good , not hack job.

 

Really jacked up rear ends did not show up till around 1970 when so many dorks screwed up their cars with wannabe Pro-Stock jacked up rear-ends.

My home town though had a lot hot rodded full size two-door sedans, some were the true hub cap equiped big-block sleepers.

[10kDA]

Similar here except same wheels on all four corners.

A close friend of mine had a blue one with a three-speed stick on the floor; that was the way he bought it.

Who ever did the work, did good , not hack job.

 

Really jacked up rear ends did not show up till around 1970 when so many dorks screwed up their cars with wannabe Pro-Stock jacked up rear-ends.

My home town though had a lot hot rodded full size two-door sedans, some were the true hub cap equiped big-block sleepers.

Right, the Pro Stock look was what everybody seemed to be going for.

 

The older brother of one of my friends had one of the sleepers you mention. It was a Plymouth with a 426 Max Wedge and I can hear his impatient, annoyed voice reciting "It's NOT a Hemi..." to this day. Of course the first thing he did was put chromies with Baby Moons on all four corners. Those were the first muscle cars, trim level = taxi cab or something you'd see plainclothes cops in.

[David Lawson]

I have an original 1960 Austin Seven Mini Deluxe, not only did the deluxe come with a heater that barely warms the interior but it also benefits from an additional passenger side sun visor. Luxury indeed.

 

David

[Ray Bell]

Chrysler Australia for the years 1958 and 1959 assembled 4-door Dodge Custom Royals and Plymouth Belvederes with their huge fins...

 

Though these were priced as a 'luxury car' (and sized that way too alongside the '50% of the market' Holdens) they have very few luxury features and there were certainly no power-train options. All were automatic, all were V8s (361 in the Dodge, probably the same in the Plymouth), they were built up from packages from Canada. Also packaged from Canada were De Sotos assembled in like fashion by Buckle Motors in Sydney. Ford were assembling the Fairlane 'tank' models in those years.

 

We had no Buicks, Oldsmobiles or Cadillacs except a few privately imported ones, but Chevrolet and Pontiac were assembled locally with 6-cylinder engines.

 

In 1960 Chrysler Australia cut back and only assembled the Dodge Phoenix, now using the 318 Poly engine and Torqueflite.

 

The local Chrysler offering was the Chrysler Royal which was up against Ford's main big-car seller, the Royal being based on a 1954 Plymouth chassis and running gear and offered with the 250ci flathead six in automatic or overdrive manual form, the 230 flathead six with straight 3-speed manual, while the option of a 303ci Poly V8 with Powerflite (2-speed automatic) was available. They body on this car was pure 1954 from A-pillar to C-pillar, though the roofline was raised a little in 1960, and it had 'Forward Look' fins and frontal styling which increased the overhang at both ends.

 

Against Holden, Ford offered the Zephyr and Consul range, though the Consul wasn't seen as opposing Holden as it wasn't a six. They weren't to introduce the Falcon until late 1960, while Chrysler didn't bring in the Valiant until 1962.

 

BMC, on the other hand, had multiple choice. 1959 saw the Austin Westminster - leather seats and a 4-speed or automatic - and the identical car badge-engineered as a Morris Marshal as their 6-cylinder contender. These were like the Humber Snipe, dearer than Holden but not much bigger while the Hawks were an oddball. A little cheaper were the Holden-sized but 4-cylindered Morris Oxford, Austin A60 and Wolseley 15/60 sharing the same Farina-style body and those dreadful Armstrong top wishbones. All 4-speeds (with two low gears) and no automatics.

 

Smaller 4-cylinder cars were here in abundance in 1959. Simca's Aronde from Chrysler, Hillman Minx (almost as big as the A60s...) sharing bodywork with more expensive Singer Gazelles, BMC's 1500cc B-series engines drove through the B-series gearboxes to frail A-series rear ends in the Morris Major, Austin Lancer and Wolseley 1500, the Lancer being an Aussie restyle. Volkswagen's 36hp Beetle was here in large numbers and the Peugeot 403 sold well on the back of Round Australia Trials successes. Citroen ID and DS models weren't smaller, but their sales were.

 

Fiat were about to launch their 1800 six, but we had the 1100s right through the fifties as well as Skoda's Octavia. And getting into the smallest car category we had the Renault Dauphine, Fiat 600, Fiat 500, Morris Minor (no Mini until 1960 IIRC), the Anglia and the Prefect.

 

I hope I haven't missed too many there...

[malomay]

There were plenty of Standard Vanguards around as well in Aust.. At least there were in my Dads backyard in Tassie !

 

He had at least 3 through the 60s & into early 70s & I can still remember at least 1 of them actually running when I was a very little tacker....the other 1 I used to play in.

 

They weren't a bad looking car all in all, not sure how reliable they were though.

[E1pix]

The true horror is realizing a ‘72 Nova actually looks pretty good now.

[Odseybod]

I have an original 1960 Austin Seven Mini Deluxe, not only did the deluxe come with a heater that barely warms the interior but it also benefits from an additional passenger side sun visor. Luxury indeed.

 

David

Plus lights in the rear storage bins, I think, as well as either side of the speedo binnacle to illuminate the front parcel shelf. Luxury indeed.

[BRG]

I have an original 1960 Austin Seven Mini Deluxe, not only did the deluxe come with a heater that barely warms the interior but it also benefits from an additional passenger side sun visor. Luxury indeed.

 

David

But was the string that opened the doors of a higher quality on the Deluxe?

[Vitesse2]

I have an original 1960 Austin Seven Mini Deluxe, not only did the deluxe come with a heater that barely warms the interior but it also benefits from an additional passenger side sun visor. Luxury indeed.

 

David

With or without a vanity mirror for the lady passenger? 'With' was probably another 'optional extra'! Despite the fact that Kay Petre was employed as an interior design/colour consultant by BMC I don't recall any of my father's various Morrises and Wolseleys having a mirror on the driver's side sun visor.

 

But was the string that opened the doors of a higher quality on the Deluxe?

I think the DL might have actually had upholstered doors and a handle - as opposed to the painted metal interior of the standard model. Same horizontally sliding window though.

[David Lawson]

Plus lights in the rear storage bins, I think, as well as either side of the speedo binnacle to illuminate the front parcel shelf. Luxury indeed.

 

Mine does have those lights, I had forgotten they were extras. I love the absolute basic specification of the early Minis. mine is March 1960 - sadly the string door pulls have long gone.

 

David

[David Lawson]

With or without a vanity mirror for the lady passenger? 'With' was probably another 'optional extra'! Despite the fact that Kay Petre was employed as an interior design/colour consultant by BMC I don't recall any of my father's various Morrises and Wolseleys having a mirror on the driver's side sun visor.

 

I think the DL might have actually had upholstered doors and a handle - as opposed to the painted metal interior of the standard model. Same horizontally sliding window though.

 

My passenger sun visor does have the vanity mirror, maybe my door handles were fitted from the beginning but I don't know. I never realised how much money BMC threw at the deluxe.....

 

David

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by malomay
There were plenty of Standard Vanguards around as well in Aust.. At least there were in my Dads backyard in Tassie !
 
He had at least 3 through the 60s & into early 70s & I can still remember at least 1 of them actually running when I was a very little tacker....the other 1 I used to play in.
 
They weren't a bad looking car all in all, not sure how reliable they were though.

Ah, I thought I'd forgotten a significant make...

Vanguard were on the cusp of changing from the big four to the six about 1960, while the Standard 10 had probably been dropped by '59 and the Herald was in.

[Odseybod]

Did Australia get the unlovely Pennant between the 10 and Herald, Ray?

[Ray Bell]

Not by that name, at least...

 

We had the Mayflower, of course, and the Standard 8 and Standard 10, with a kind of upmarket Standard 10 called the Standard Cadet.

[Odseybod]

Don't think you should feel too deprived, Ray.

 

 

 

[Ray Bell]

Yes, it's easy to not feel deprived about that one...

 

I've never even seen a picture before, but it helps me understand why Chapman used their rear axles in the Lotus 7s.

[Lee Nicolle]

The 1959 car is a nonsense.

Clearly it is on modern wheels and very low profile tyres, not available 70 years ago, which totally  destroy the proportions of the car and its period ground clearance.

Actually bum up was very common, the car sits near flat when carrying passengers

[Lee Nicolle]

https://www.macsmoto...959/#more-82057

 

That title from this site or REAL cars, not battery powered wannabes, is interesting because the 1959 Chevy was hideous but then1960 Chevrolet was not bad , SO, I looked to see what was the difference.

Well the big difference was not in the batman wings.

 

1959

 

 

1960

 

 

While the wings were hammered down and not so apparent from the side, it was the hideous front end that was changed and was a HUGE improvement.

Now  you could put enough batteries in that trunk to go 500 miles.

Batteries? Those things dragged their bums on the ground with a load of passengers. 

Another dumb thing about electrikity cars is that with near half a tonne of batteries they are stupidly HEAVY.

The correct tyre for a Prius has a higher load number than a full size car. And they are hybrid!!

In turn they should be charged more rego costs for the extra damage they do too roads.

I had a comparison given to me that the over 2 ton Tesla does more damage to the roads than a 5 tonne truck which has a far bigger tyre contact patch. How true? Dont know but I suspect somewhere close.

[Lee Nicolle]

Oh, indeed. But selling those as 'optional extras' was a way for the dealer to bump up his profit margin. My father was game to tackle most jobs on his cars, but drew the line at things like drilling into the bodywork to fit mirrors. A lot of cars didn't even come with seatbelt anchors as standard, let alone the belts, which weren't mandatory in the UK until 1967.

Most 50s 60s cars had sufficient floor strength to  mount belts.  With the 2x3" plates provided in the kits. Centre pillar was the issue though most fitters and dealers had kits to sleeve the pillar.

Mirrors generally were very easy. Many simply clamped on the door window frame. Or 2 or3 self tappers onto the door. Or the ugly pommy mirrors out on the guards usually had either screws or 1.4 " thread nut and bolt. 

Here in Oz front seat belts became law in 1966. Though anchor points were mandatory for a few years before.

[Lee Nicolle]

The '60 including wheels and tires is in essence just the way 59 and 60 Chevys looked in the parking lot when I was in high school. Cragars or Americans in front and often chromies in back, same rake - children these days call it "stance" , 327 2bbls wannabeing 348s or dreaming of 409s. The 59 above is obviously the work of a child; the pinchers-and-rubberbands look is just plain lame on a car of that vintage.

 

I liked the 59s better across the GM board. Their stylists dialed things back a notch for 60 and lost some of the Jetsons-ish vibe. Maybe sales were lower than expected for the 59s and more conventionality was viewed as an appropriate response? I won't bother to check sales figures since I don't care what the herd was/is doing. My grandfather bought a 60 Buick because he bought a new car every 6 years and that was that. If it had been my money I would have broken the cycle for the 59 or bought a 59 after the 60 was out and had seen its changes - albeit with the eyes of a 6 year old. Someday I may pull the trigger on a 59 Electra if the price is right and I settle on selling my Rotec R3600.

The 60 with proper sidewalls looks and functions far better than those wanker 18s and 20s. 

I am getting requests for that stuff for 60s and 70s classics regularly. I try to talk people out of it because in reality they are dangerous because of the load they throw into the suspension. It must work as I have never sold anything bigger than an 18!!

[Bob Riebe]

I do not know what variants you had over there, but you could get heavy duty suspension on this side of the pond.

 

Here are quasi-performance standards for  2 door full Chevrolets in 1959 & 1960

 

https://www.automobi...sedan/1959.html

 

https://www.automobi...sedan/1960.html

[10kDA]

I'm sure there was what was known as a "___ Code" for heavy duty suspension options intended for police cars etc but I don't know what that code was. The 59s and 60s I was familiar with had Suspension By Owner - all these cars were at least 8 years from new and had been through many hands. If any had been ordered with heavy duty suspension it was probably lost to time, and completely unknown to the then-current owners. Not saying none of them were factory equipped with upgrades, but I doubt if many owners knew it at the time.

[Lee Nicolle]

Chrysler Australia for the years 1958 and 1959 assembled 4-door Dodge Custom Royals and Plymouth Belvederes with their huge fins...

 

Though these were priced as a 'luxury car' (and sized that way too alongside the '50% of the market' Holdens) they have very few luxury features and there were certainly no power-train options. All were automatic, all were V8s (361 in the Dodge, probably the same in the Plymouth), they were built up from packages from Canada. Also packaged from Canada were De Sotos assembled in like fashion by Buckle Motors in Sydney. Ford were assembling the Fairlane 'tank' models in those years.

 

We had no Buicks, Oldsmobiles or Cadillacs except a few privately imported ones, but Chevrolet and Pontiac were assembled locally with 6-cylinder engines.

 

In 1960 Chrysler Australia cut back and only assembled the Dodge Phoenix, now using the 318 Poly engine and Torqueflite.

 

The local Chrysler offering was the Chrysler Royal which was up against Ford's main big-car seller, the Royal being based on a 1954 Plymouth chassis and running gear and offered with the 250ci flathead six in automatic or overdrive manual form, the 230 flathead six with straight 3-speed manual, while the option of a 303ci Poly V8 with Powerflite (2-speed automatic) was available. They body on this car was pure 1954 from A-pillar to C-pillar, though the roofline was raised a little in 1960, and it had 'Forward Look' fins and frontal styling which increased the overhang at both ends.

 

Against Holden, Ford offered the Zephyr and Consul range, though the Consul wasn't seen as opposing Holden as it wasn't a six. They weren't to introduce the Falcon until late 1960, while Chrysler didn't bring in the Valiant until 1962.

 

BMC, on the other hand, had multiple choice. 1959 saw the Austin Westminster - leather seats and a 4-speed or automatic - and the identical car badge-engineered as a Morris Marshal as their 6-cylinder contender. These were like the Humber Snipe, dearer than Holden but not much bigger while the Hawks were an oddball. A little cheaper were the Holden-sized but 4-cylindered Morris Oxford, Austin A60 and Wolseley 15/60 sharing the same Farina-style body and those dreadful Armstrong top wishbones. All 4-speeds (with two low gears) and no automatics.

 

Smaller 4-cylinder cars were here in abundance in 1959. Simca's Aronde from Chrysler, Hillman Minx (almost as big as the A60s...) sharing bodywork with more expensive Singer Gazelles, BMC's 1500cc B-series engines drove through the B-series gearboxes to frail A-series rear ends in the Morris Major, Austin Lancer and Wolseley 1500, the Lancer being an Aussie restyle. Volkswagen's 36hp Beetle was here in large numbers and the Peugeot 403 sold well on the back of Round Australia Trials successes. Citroen ID and DS models weren't smaller, but their sales were.

 

Fiat were about to launch their 1800 six, but we had the 1100s right through the fifties as well as Skoda's Octavia. And getting into the smallest car category we had the Renault Dauphine, Fiat 600, Fiat 500, Morris Minor (no Mini until 1960 IIRC), the Anglia and the Prefect.

 

I hope I haven't missed too many there...

Chryslers were assembled at Keswick. Here in SA, the building that was flattened only a few weeks ago.

Maybe elsewhere? Though I doubt it. CKD from Canada and different spec cars than the US cars. As were the Canadian cars as well

Later on I feel it was at the truck plant, or maybe Tonsley Pk. Dodge Phone boxes defenitly were assembled at Tonsley. Up to the square ones about 68? Replaced by Valiant VIPs and Later Chrysler by Chrysler

Ford did the same with Fairlanes in 66 and Holden assembled Chevs and Pontiacs until around 69. Replaced by Broughams then Statesmans.

There was a few very odd  very late 60s GMs, Chev engines in Pontiacs, as well as Holden 308s. Which were also used in Impalas.

There seemed to be hotspots for Chevs, here in SA the Yorke Peninsula with Toop Motors and Beaufort in Victoria where there was a large amount of Chevs parked everywhere until the last couple of decades.

Rich farmers and night club owners seemed to be the main customers for all of these cars.

And yes GM and Chrysler had no imagination of what they were selling with base pov pack versions with sixes and 3 on the tree.

Ford had Customlines and Barge Fairlanes that outsold the other two

Chrysler with Royal had a V8 though base engine was the flatheads sixes. The Kingsways and similar were all flathead, in the late 50s!

A friend has a Bitsa Kingsway and Plymouth Savoy. Those two have different chassis, different flathead different front and rear panels but the doors are the same but mouldings are not. I never knew there was THREE versions of that flathead for the late 50s.

Chevs only got the V8 option by 61.

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 04 February 2021 - 02:54.

[Lee Nicolle]

I do not know what variants you had over there, but you could get heavy duty suspension on this side of the pond.

 

Here are quasi-performance standards for  2 door full Chevrolets in 1959 & 1960

 

https://www.automobi...sedan/1959.html

 

https://www.automobi...sedan/1960.html

Aussie versions all got more ride height to deal with our roads. All of them.

I own a 71 Oz assembled [CKD from Canada] Ford Galaxie. Started life about 2" higher than the US models. And as an LTD a bit down spec to the US models as well. Though we got the pillared hardtop body, evidently rare in the US. The back is sagged from towing F5000s and caravans! Front has been lowered

[Lee Nicolle]

There were plenty of Standard Vanguards around as well in Aust.. At least there were in my Dads backyard in Tassie !

 

He had at least 3 through the 60s & into early 70s & I can still remember at least 1 of them actually running when I was a very little tacker....the other 1 I used to play in.

 

They weren't a bad looking car all in all, not sure how reliable they were though.

We had a few in South Oz as well. My first cat @ 13 was a very rough Vanguard ute around 1952.  I pulled the head and did  a valve grind and put it back together and it ran! Good paddock basher. We had an 11 acre back yard

My father also had a Beetleback sedan, A Spacemaster ute, a  Spacemaster sedan and my brothers Vanguard  beetle back stockcar and later on we had a Spacemaster sedan with a tram car compressor in it to blow water out of a bore. Worked well but the poor thing boiled its brains out a few times. Always restarted though. Later on that bore got an electric submersible pump. This all in the 60s and 70s.

The second ute was always worked very hard, mostly in the vineyard though I do remember him getting pulled over because the number plate was obscured, they had a folding numberplate that swung down when the tailgate was open. BUT the poor thing had its bum on the ground with the tray full of new fence droppers. At least a ton

Later on one Anzac Day we picked grapes in the pouring rain and I drove the ute home up the hills. Thing would have had at least a ton of grapes [and water in the buckets] on the ute plus a 7 by 5 trailer with probably closer to two ton. First gear flat out up the hills, poor thing was working really hard. I was scared of being pulled over being so overloaded, having only recently got my licence

But all was well, the 2 ton 34 Dodge truck had  over  3 ton as well. 

Get hung now for such things!

[Ray Bell]

Lee, there were two basic Chrysler flatheads dating from the thirties to the late sixties...

 

The shorter of the two, beginning with 201ci from memory, topped out in the early fifties at 230 and never grew from that. The longer engine was designed to give 'outside the USA' engine plants greater flexibility and had a smallest size of about 217ci (again, from memory) and went as big as a 265. Its head was 25" long, the smaller engine's head was just under 24" long, so you can easily tell them apart by measuring the length of the head.

[Lee Nicolle]

Lee, there were two basic Chrysler flatheads dating from the thirties to the late sixties...

 

The shorter of the two, beginning with 201ci from memory, topped out in the early fifties at 230 and never grew from that. The longer engine was designed to give 'outside the USA' engine plants greater flexibility and had a smallest size of about 217ci (again, from memory) and went as big as a 265. Its head was 25" long, the smaller engine's head was just under 24" long, so you can easily tell them apart by measuring the length of the head.

Evidently a 250 cube version. Largely used in industry. 

I do know Chrysler went out of their way to have different engines in every brand. So much stuff was entirely different. 

In the 50s that was fairly common but Chrysler had more brands!! Chrysler, Dodge Desoto, Plymouth as well as Fargo in commercials. Generally all competing against each other.

[doc knutsen]

The 1959 car is a nonsense.

Clearly it is on modern wheels and very low profile tyres, not available 70 years ago, which totally  destroy the proportions of the car and its period ground clearance.

Not to mention destroying wheel bearings in short order.