--- David Charles Gedraitis <dcg@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> The UPS man just delivered the new gas tank for my
> recently inherited toyota, and as he was looking at
> my '61 newport sitting in the garage, he told me
> "nice thunderbird" *sigh* I always thought the
> "Chrysler" spelt out across the grill was fairly
> obvious, especially since sometime ago I painted
> those letters black for the purpose of making
> them stand out.
Know what you mean. I had a Chevy guy pull up next to
me in the 300-K (Nick Nichols was actually riding
shotgun for this) and ask what it had in it. When I
said "a 413", he asked "what kinda oddball engine is
that?" (I thought about telling him he needed to go
home and listen to some Beach Boys records,
particularly "Shut Down"...)
Getting back to the "nice T-bird" '61 Chryslers,
there's a closer connection than most of us like to
admit there. The '61s were done in '58 while Ex was
recuperating from a heart attack, and Chrysler hired
Wm. Schmidt and Associates as outside consultants.
Short version of the story, Bill Schmidt was in charge
of Lincoln-Mercury styling in the mid-50s, having done
the Lincoln Futura showcar, (later the TV Batmobile)
and '56 and '57 Lincolns before jumping to Packard,
opening his independent firm after S-P's Detroit
operations folded. He was undoubtedly still at Ford
when the earliest incarnations of the canted '58-'60
Lincoln headlights (which later reappeared on the
'61-'62 Chrysler and '61 DeSoto) were on the drawing
board.
There was about a year where Chrysler basically had
two styling staffs coexisting with each other, with
the Schmidt people (including Dick Teague, also
formerly of Packard and later VP of AMC styling)
expecting Ex to retire for health reasons (there was
about an eight-month period where he wasn't around
much), and it's not really clear today who supervised
what in '61, although the Valiant and Lancer look like
Exner-supervised restyles of the '60 Valiant, and
there seems to be little question that Ex supervised
the '61 Imperial (who else would've dared do the
freestanding headlights?). The similarities to earlier
Schmidt-designed Lincolns in the '61 Chrysler & DeSoto
suggests that, although Ex was back in charge when
final details were scrutinized, the Schmidt people may
have had their strongest influence here. One could
also make a case for '50s Mercury influence on the '61
Plymouths and Dodges, particularly the Plymouth and
Polara taillights.
History does not record Schmidt's reaction when his
former underling at Ford, Elwood Engel, took over
Exner's job...
> ah well-at least that doesn't happen with my
> kaiser-no one even ventures a guess....
What? Nobody's ever asked where you got a
flat-windshield Wagoneer? (rotflmao)
=====
Mike Sealey, San Francisco CA
'57 Plymouth Sport Suburban
'64 Chrysler 300-K 2dr Hardtop
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