is this even a c body?

[70NPORT]

The rear end of the 60' Valiant looks "gay".......why the lincoln-esqe spare tire bulge?????

 

[Stormer]

You guys already know my answer.
Yah, I loved them too. I know you all are starting to think I'm gay.

(Sent using Forum Runner)

Nope, I'm not starting to think you're gay. I've always thought you were. ;)

 

[Bryan]

It was all about style in those days. Continental kits and trunk mounted spares were in vogue. Designing and building cars was craft and cars were works of art and changed every year. Even if they used the same basic body, there was enough change that one would not mistake a 59 for a 60 ect. Chrysler was the leader of the pack during those years. They made some of the most beautiful cars ever crafted and as far as I'm concerned... they have stood the test of time. Even the lowly Valiant was a work of art compared to the transportation modules we have to put up with today.
If you ever saw pictures of Virgil Exner's prototype 1962 and 1963 Plymouth and Dodges, as they were supposed to be you would think they were beautiful.. He was forced to redesign the cars (while using many of the already finished body stamping dies) at the last minute, reducing the size by almost a quarter. All because of a silly rumor started by a Chrysler exec. Supposedly, the exec overheard someone discussing the fact that GM and Ford were downsizing in 62. What was actually happening was GM and Ford were introducing smaller lines (Chevy II and Fairlane/Comet) while retaining their full size lines. After the mistake was realized and Chrysler had committed everything to smaller cars, they needed a scapegoat for tanking sales. Virgil was that guy. Elwood Engel was hired to replace him and pretty much saved Chrysler's butt with his totally new 1965 designs, but it wasn't because Exner had failed.



Anyway, enough .... I think they were all beautiful, even the stopgap Chryslers of 63 and 64.......

 

[Fratzog]

Thanks for the history lesson. Always nice to learn something new but some things never change in the corporate environment. S%i# always flows downhill as Virgil found out.

 

[cm23uoc]

I've seen pics of the original 62 fiberglass models with undistorted proportions. Still not sure if they would have caught consumer tastes of the day.

 

[70NPORT]

It was all about style in those days. Continental kits and trunk mounted spares were in vogue. Designing and building cars was craft and cars were works of art and changed every year. Even if they used the same basic body, there was enough change that one would not mistake a 59 for a 60 ect. Chrysler was the leader of the pack during those years. They made some of the most beautiful cars ever crafted and as far as I'm concerned... they have stood the test of time. Even the lowly Valiant was a work of art compared to the transportation modules we have to put up with today.
If you ever saw pictures of Virgil Exner's prototype 1962 and 1963 Plymouth and Dodges, as they were supposed to be you would think they were beautiful.. He was forced to redesign the cars (while using many of the already finished body stamping dies) at the last minute, reducing the size by almost a quarter. All because of a silly rumor started by a Chrysler exec. Supposedly, the exec overheard someone discussing the fact that GM and Ford were downsizing in 62. What was actually happening was GM and Ford were introducing smaller lines (Chevy II and Fairlane/Comet) while retaining their full size lines. After the mistake was realized and Chrysler had committed everything to smaller cars, they needed a scapegoat for tanking sales. Virgil was that guy. Elwood Engel was hired to replace him and pretty much saved Chrysler's butt with his totally new 1965 designs, but it wasn't because Exner had failed.



Anyway, enough .... I think they were all beautiful, even the stopgap Chryslers of 63 and 64.......

Wow, that was very informative.....ol' Exner got the heave ho over someone else's f--kup, sounds familiar. Thanks!

 

[70NPORT]

I've seen pics of the original 62 fiberglass models with undistorted proportions. Still not sure if they would have caught consumer tastes of the day.


View attachment 7068

Now THAT front end is good looking....and a full seven years ahead of its time too. Looks like they lost it and went off the rails towards the tail end though.

 

[polara71]

i'd like to see the rear end of that car.... The side view looks good

 

[Fratzog]

That's a beauty! As good as or better than anything else out of Detroit at the time.

 

[detmatt]

Yeah that is nice, clean lines, kinda sexy and certainly not in a gay way. It reminds me more currently, of the prototype of the modern Charger as a coupe that was making the auto show circuit prior to the release of the sedan, which did eventually grow on me.

 

[Bryan]

Some Plymouth and Dodge Prototypes and a rear view of a DeSoto Convertible Prototype. I found these shots on ebay and AllPar. The DeSoto likely would have ended being produced as a Dodge or lowline Chrysler. You can see the front view of the DeSoto in the background of the studio picture. I think they are all fabulous. I like the rear end of some better than others, but you can't have it all, I guess. If only they would have gone the way they originally planned to..

 

[70NPORT]

Some Plymouth and Dodge Prototypes and a rear view of a DeSoto Convertible Prototype. I found these shots on ebay and AllPar. The DeSoto likely would have ended being produced as a Dodge or lowline Chrysler. You can see the front view of the DeSoto in the background of the studio picture. I think they are all fabulous. I like the rear end of some better than others, but you can't have it all, I guess. If only they would have gone the way they originally planned to..

View attachment 7072

View attachment 7070View attachment 7071

The tail is actually quite nicely done after all, nice symmetry going on there. However, the big "deformed oval" type detail above the rear wheel IMHO is not working.

 

[polara71]

Nice detective work Bryan

 

[mdh157]

wow...........some really neat designs there........seems like some of the best designs Detroit puts out, they never make.

 

[polara71]

Thats the truth.... How do the determine it'll be a flop

 

[Bryan]

I can't find the picture anywhere, but as I remember, there was supposed to be a pillarless (hardtop) wagon in both Plymouth and Dodge lines too.
My favorite is the darker Fury with the formal roofline. You can definately see where they took the fenders, doors, quarterpanels, grills ect and chopped them down to fit the smaller car. I like the 62-63 smaller cars, but they are not amongst my favorites. You can tell they are out of proportion and should have been a lot bigger.

 

[1978 NYB]

Nice designs. Saw the turbine car at the Chrysler Museum.

 

[detmatt]

Very kool! Those are all made from clay for the most part, correct?

 

[1978 NYB]

Yep, in the design phase and for wind tunnel testing.

 

[cm23uoc]

Don't know about Chrysler, but GM partly also made fiberglass models, they also did design work for the European daughters and shipped these to Europe for building the prototypes.