Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe

As I always like to say, when in doubt, Tri-Five. I've been slow in posting again here, so today we're looking at a 1956 Chevy Bel Air hardtop.

Danville Street Sighting - 1956 Chevrolet Nomad

Today marks the fifth day of the fabled countdown to Christmas.

On the fifth day of Christmas my archive gave to thee:
Fine Nomad bling,
Ford Thunderbird,
Beige French shed,
Tuned Chevy LUV,
and a Park Lane down on the street.

Honestly the 1955-57 Chevy is my go-to car to feature when I'm lazy and don't feel like writing. Don't get me wrong, they're great cars and very collectible, with classic looks and plenty of potential for upgrades. But even as I type this I find myself feeling like I'm restating what I said in my previous several Tri-Five Chevy posts. However. This is the first Nomad wagon here on California Streets, and that makes it notable.

Danville Street Sighting - 1956 Ford Thunderbird

Today marks the fourth day of the fabled countdown to Christmas.

On the fourth day of Christmas my archive gave to thee:
Ford Thunderbird,
Beige French shed,
Tuned Chevy LUV,
and a Park Lane down on the street.

Isn't she sweet. We've taken a look at a few early Thunderbirds on California Streets and this is the second '56 to appear here. My area has a lot of these cars, with an entire club chapter bringing T-Birds to local car shows year after year. This one appeared near the high school on a weekend, as cars for sale often do in Danville. I've come across an awful lot of Danville street sightings there.

Livermore Street Sighting - 1956 Ford Thunderbird

When I was a kid I had a fairly limited range of interest in cars and one of my favorites was the first-generation Ford Thunderbird. Children aren't the most sophistocated creatures so I guess the most iconic designs make the biggest impression. For me it was the '57 Bel Air, the '59 Cadillac, '70 Chevelle and various bedroom-poster fare such as the Viper RT/10, Ferrari F50 and Lamborghini Diablo. Take a look on eBay sometime at the most common diecast models for sale and you'll see what I mean about what appeals to kids. That said, the early T-Birds are very pretty cars. I always preferred the '57 when I was young but the '55 and '56 have their own merit and my interest in them has grown over the years.

Danville Street Sighting - 1956 Chevrolet Corvette

Every month on the first Sunday morning, the Blackhawk Automotive Museum holds a Cars and Coffee meet in their parking lot. A lot of local enthusiasts show up, from car club members to nouveau riche exotic owners to some older gentlemen just looking for a good excuse to get their favorite classics out of the garage. It's always different and a nice little free show for a couple of hours. After one of these meets I ventured into downtown Danville and ran across a car I didn't see at Blackhawk, this black and silver 1956 Corvette convertible.

Livermore Street Sighting - 1956 Chevrolet Two-Ten Sedan

California Streets has been on a sort of hiatus for the past month, owing to real-life responsibilities and a lack of motivation to write. So I employed my rule of "When in doubt, Tri-Five Chevy". Here's a 1956 Chevrolet Two-Ten (or 210) pillared sedan.

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1956 Packard Four Hundred

It seems fitting to me that some of the last Packards were named after Roman aristocrats and medieval politicians. The patricians held titles of wealth and power from storied civilizations that rose and fell, much as the great luxury car manufacturer Packard emerged from the horseless carriages of the nineteenth century only to fizzle out as a fish-faced, rebadged Studebaker in a market that had moved on. The latter days of Rome still had some splendor, and Packard's last shining moment was the 1956 lineup with its Patrician, Caribbean and Four Hundred.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1956 International Harvester SM-120 Metro Van

If ever there was a vehicle I should have posted on St. Patrick's Day back in March, it's this one. Either that, or the Irish community will be happy that I didn't force another stereotype of Irish culture on the holiday of their patron saint. This colorful International Metro with its manic-looking leprechaun and his disturbing mechanical friend are trademarks of O'Grady Plumbing, a business based in San Francisco. A small (I'm sure very small, only a few at most) fleet of these little vans serve as rolling billboards for the company, to be parked in visible locations in the city. I doubt that the Metros see much active duty given their age, condition and rarity.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk

Several days ago a reader contacted me about a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk for sale in San Francisco and recognized it as belonging to the collector I colloquially refer to as "Fifties Guy". I figured it was a good time to pull it out of the archives.

Castro Valley Street Sighting - 1956 Ford Customline Tudor Sedan

Berkeley Street Sighting - 1956 Austin A135 Princess Limousine

Oh, sure, it looks like a Rolls-Royce. It has the upright Parthenon grille, the Spirit of Ecstasy, the general proportions of a classic British luxury car.
But look closer. The grille is indeed a Rolls unit, probably from a Silver Cloud. The rest of it is an Austin A135 Princess DM4 limousine. As with a number of British cars, dating the exact year and even the exact model name is difficult because so few visual changes were made over the production run. These limos were built from 1952 to 1968, yet are exceedingly rare with only 200 made. What did change, was the name. If pre-1957, it's an Austin Princess. If late 1957-1960, it's a Princess IV. If post-1960, it's a Vanden Plas Princess.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1956 Nash Metropolitan Convertible

There are some cars that, when you see them, you just have to smile. One of the cutest vehicles to come out of the 1950s has to be the Nash Metropolitan.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1956 Ford F-100 Custom Cab Pickup

Malibu Street Sighting - 1956 Seagrave 70th Anniversary Series 1000-300 Fire Truck

It's not every day you see a car or truck with a name that's as long as the vehicle. But Seagrave Fire Apparatus didn't mess around when they came up with the name for this fire truck. Seagrave has been around for a long time, since 1881. In 1951 they celebrated their 70th year in the business with the 70th Anniversary Series. Apparently they were like Disneyland and never let a big anniversary go to waste, so the series continued in production for some 19 years. Seagrave prided itself on being the 'greatest name in fire apparatus' - and it says so on the side. As far as I can tell, power for a truck like this came from a gasoline V12 engine producing 300 horses, with a 4-speed manual transmission.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1956 Packard Patrician

The story of Packard is a long one, but unfortunately it doesn't have a happy ending. The name Packard conjures up images of graceful 1930s luxury cars with tall, distinctive grilles and long hoods. The company itself was a pioneer of automobile design, with their first cars rolling off the line in 1899. The earliest models were true horseless carriages, some resembling the Olds Curved Dash Runabout. As time progressed, Packard became one of the recognized names in luxury, and persisted as a high-end marque even through the Depression. In the mid-thirties, though, Packard saw the need to diversify and offer less expensive "aspirational" cars to attract more buyers. These cars were something of a catch-22; they kept the doors open longer, but they also cheapened Packard's brand image.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1956 Ford F-100

It takes a special combination to make me feature an old pickup truck. Many of them have wonderful stories to tell in all their scratches and dents, of fishing trips and construction jobs. Or the time they overheated and the owner kicked the fender in frustration. At the same time, though, I also factor in the vehicle's age, rarity and whether it's in good shape or has interesting patina. And while it seems like every other vintage custom truck out there is a 1956 Ford F-100 -- they have a cult following in the hot-rodding community -- I see very few unrestored stock examples - especially the much rarer long-bed variety.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1956 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe de Ville

There is just something about a vintage Cadillac. They have what you might call... presence. Cadillacs of the 1950s have more presence than most, with tailfins and massive bodies often festooned with chrome, the ultimate symbols of luxury and conspicuous consumption in America. If you drove a Cadillac, you had really made it. The only other cars that could touch it in its day were Continentals and Imperials. Nothing else came close. Standard of the world, baby!

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria

I've been saving this one for a long time. Almost a year ago, my friend and I went to Santa Cruz and were wandering around downtown looking for something to do. Lo and behold, this beautiful 1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria came rolling down the street. No sooner had it parked than my friend and I started taking pictures.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1956 Studebaker President

The name President evokes grandeur, importance, celebrity status. But what about Studebaker? That name sounds a little less fancy. Studebaker was one of America's oldest car companies and this is the second one to be featured on this blog. President was Studebaker's top model in the 1930s, then was dropped after 1942. Then in 1955, the President was reintroduced as the premium nameplate on their cars. 1956 saw a much-needed redesign which brought the President more into the style of the day, with an upright front end and modest tail fins out back, although the basic body was the same as the 1953 model. In keeping with popular themes of the era, this '56 President also features bright chrome side moldings, two-tone paint and whitewall tires. V8 power was standard. Only 18,209 were built in 1956. The President series was dropped after Studebaker and Packard merged in 1958. Sales plunged further in a poor economy, and 1958 saw the advent of the "Packardbaker", a horrid mess that looked like a catfish. The President was now a lame duck and Studebaker changed its focus to the Lark compact.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1956 Imperial Southampton

It used to be that Cadillac and Lincoln had a serious competitor in the top-line domestic luxury segment. That competitor was Chrysler's Imperial division. Promoted to brand status in 1955, Imperial had long been the top model in Chrysler's lineup. Now it was its own division to further set it apart from "lesser" Chryslers.