50s and 60s modifications ideas

[Rover2003]

I don’t want to really take the car away from the 50s when it comes the look don’t want stuff like chrome where it shouldn’t belong anyone got any genuine 50s or 60s modifications ideas

[les]

Pair of driving gloves with vent holes, leather cover for steering wheel, radiator muff, parking lamp clipped to drivers window and Perspex wind shield for same, valve radio, back support for drivers seat, and don’t forget the wooden gear knob, old boy !!

[philthehill]

Sun visor.

Spot and fog lights.

Badge bar.

Riley 1.5 brakes.

Period anti roll bar.

Period anti tramp bars.

Many of the Mini Cooper tuning parts.

Period wide wheels.

https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/aquaplane.htm

https://mk1-performance-conversions.co. ... rchive.htm

https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/classic_tuning.htm

Here is my 948cc bored to 998cc and using all 1960s tuning equipment. The engine was built by myself in the in the 1960s.

WDF engine 2.jpg (217.49 KiB) Viewed 1813 times

[Mick Lynch]

Pair of driving gloves with vent holes, leather cover for steering wheel, radiator muff, parking lamp clipped to drivers window and Perspex wind shield for same, valve radio, back support for drivers seat, and don’t forget the wooden gear knob, old boy !!

Rimbelishers, wide interior mirror (kangol?) tartan rug and “hands off Suez!” Bumper sticker

[les]

Tartan rug, yes

[philthehill]

Plastic fly deflector attached to the front of the bonnet. Window tray. Electric demister attached with rubber suckers. Radio with receiving licence. Rubber blocks under the seat frame to raise the back of the seat. Head rest that clips over the seat back. Fiberglass extended boot lid for extra capacity. Webasto roof vent. Faux leather roof. Bullet holes in the window glass stickers. Tiger in my tank stickers. Slip over plastic seat cover to give a sports racing type seat. Mirrors. Door mounted spot light. Gear lever extension. Boot rack. Seat belts. Stone guards over the headlights. Custom flash. Twin horns. Peco or similar twintube booster. Gauges on a crinkle of chrome mount bracket. Bradex Auto rest back rest. Mud flaps. Maplight. Flasher set. Interior car mats. Safety ash tray. Dowty fan. Roof rack trunk. Battery charger coil. Windscreen washers. Servo. Fire extinguisher. Burglar alarm. Rev counter.

[ianmack]

There are good reasons why most of these things went out of fashion

[Rover2003]

There are good reasons why most of these things went out of fashion

True but I do love a old car with modifications from the era it was around for the Moggy 50s and 60s

[philthehill]

Have a look in old magazines like Car Mechanics from the 1950s 1960s and you will get plenty of ideas of what modifications/alterations are or were available.

[Rover2003]

Have a look in old magazines like Car Mechanics from the 1950s 1960s and you will get plenty of ideas of what modifications/alterations are or were available.

I’ll have to dig them out want modifications that make the car my own but still has the originality of the 50s Split screen don’t want to have alloy rocker covers and stuff

[philthehill]

If you want ideas for performance modifications look at old Car and Car Conversion magazines from the 1960s.

[ManyMinors]

Personalising a car is exactly that. Personal. 2 people will hardly ever agree on what is tasteful and desirable! A grille muff is one thing I remember being a common thing - as well as a fog lamp and a reversing lamp. As somebody has already said, parking lights were very common too - in fact I think they were a legal requirement if you parked in the street at night in those days.

[Rover2003]

Personalising a car is exactly that. Personal. 2 people will hardly ever agree on what is tasteful and desirable! A grille muff is one thing I remember being a common thing - as well as a fog lamp and a reversing lamp. As somebody has already said, parking lights were very common too - in fact I think they were a legal requirement if you parked in the street at night in those days.

I have a grill muff somewhere for the van I’m restoring so I might just put it on the decent on my 56

[Myrtles Man]

And don't forget the nodding dog!

[geoberni]

As somebody has already said, parking lights were very common too - in fact I think they were a legal requirement if you parked in the street at night in those days.

The requirement hasn't really changed. Many modern cars still have a 'Parking Light' function, whether it's having the indicator stalk down while turning the ignition off, which was very popular in models sold in the 80s, to simply having a 'P' setting on the Lights Switch.
The Minor had it's little switch to turn off the Speedo Lighting when the side lights were on, but the 'Parking Light' allowed parking with a single small bulb perhaps only 3W draining the battery, instead of 4 x 5W lamps.

The Highway Code still says:
Rule 248
You MUST NOT park on a road at night facing against the direction of the traffic flow unless in a recognised parking space.
Laws CUR reg 101 & RVLR reg 24

Rule 249
All vehicles MUST display parking lights when parked on a road or a lay-by on a road with a speed limit greater than 30 mph (48 km/h).
Law RVLR reg 24

Rule 250
Cars, goods vehicles not exceeding 2500 kg laden weight, invalid carriages, motorcycles and pedal cycles may be parked without lights on a road (or lay-by) with a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) or less if they are:

• at least 10 metres (32 feet) away from any junction, close to the kerb and facing in the direction of the traffic flow

• in a recognised parking place or lay-by.

Other vehicles and trailers, and all vehicles with projecting loads, MUST NOT be left on a road at night without lights.
Laws RVLR reg 24 & CUR reg 82(7)

How often do you encounter vehicles parked facing the wrong direction so that the rear reflectors are useless!

[geoberni]

I don’t want to really take the car away from the 50s when it comes the look don’t want stuff like chrome where it shouldn’t belong anyone got any genuine 50s or 60s modifications ideas

That doesn't rule out Fluffy Dice then.... although I wouldn't recommend a large '70s pair, they'd be guaranteed to get you stopped for obstructing the windscreen. Perhaps a pair of Poker Dice on a key chain might be more appropriate.

The WWII origins of 'Fluffy Dice' can be found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_dice