The quality of some of the roadsters featured 50 years ago was first rate. The influences of Indy-style racers in design and quality are apparent. I was fortunate in my teen years, in the '60s, to cruise around in a late-'40s/ early-'50s track roadster. I was always impressed with how the design allowed for a great deal of comfort as well as less wind buffeting than the popular T-buckets of the time. The downside was that the small grille opening limited how many cruise laps we could make on a summer night before it wanted to overheat.
A new-millennium version could include the old Indy/circle track styling with the advantages of new tech-maybe a Quad 4 engine with a five-speed or overdrive automatic transmission and a Desert Cooler radiator to keep things cool (though the trips outside town to cool down were fun). Old-school methods, employing a double Z'd frame and channeled body, give the proper profile. The lowered interior floor to the bellypan allows a comfortable seating position.
An integrated nose design brings the headlights into the grille shell and allows engine heat to exhaust along the length of the hood. The availability of new tin, frame, windshield, etc., makes this dream easier to fulfill than in the past.
Bonneville? Sure, because the feeling you have when you are on the open road in one of these is that it wants to go fast.