In a few short years-following the heights set literally and figuratively by Detroit's most lovably outrageous creation, the 1959 Cadillac-the swooping, soaring, chrome-encrusted excess emblematic of the late '50s was yanked firmly down to earth to land on sober flat planes typified by this month's dream car: the '64 Pontiac Bonneville-stately sister to the GTO.
To my eye, the mid-'60s offerings of Ford, GM, and Chrysler are among my favorite candidates for customs because relatively little work is necessary to tighten them up, and what small amount of ornament they left the factory sporting more often than not seems at home and appropriate. Certainly the X-Acto knife-sharp lines of this car speak eloquently for themselves.
So let's not upset the applecart with regard to the Bonneville. I'm not even going to advocate dropping the top-hey, I swear I'm not being lazy-because to do so would throw off its proportions and, as has been pointed out in the past by the venerable Alexander brothers, chopping isn't necessary to create a custom.
The only bits of brightwork on the original, save for the door handles, emblems, and the rocker moldings-which we've trimmed down to a thin shadow of their former selves-are the strips affixed to the grille. They're gone now. I've elected to cover the stacked vertical headlights with Mercedes SL-like polycarbonate covers for a smooth, mysterious look. A healthy airbag lowering follows and she rolls on reversed rims with spiders and trim rings inside skinny whitewalls.
Inside the greenhouse and trunk are a couple acres of white pearl Naugahyde tuck 'n' roll. Shoving the candy sky blue mass forward is a nicely warmed-over 389 mated to an up-to-date overdrive.
And there you have it-a slick and not-often-seen custom undertaken with a minimum of mods for a maximum amount of eye appeal.