Part III

[artandcolour]

how about a 4 door Squire version of the '64-66 Thunderbird! i owned a Diamond Blue '64 coupe for almost 30 years.

 

a Cougar hybrid sportscar. based on the Guiguiaro concept Mustang of a few years ago. i mixed the tunnelback roof of the '71-'73 Cougar with the taillight graphics of the original '67-68.

 

a Crown Vic replacement, here in police cruiser livery...

 

another retro chop. this is a '72 Mark IV, but with the feeling of the much sportier '84 Mark VII. no opera windows here!

 

a new Breezeway, here in B segment size, based on the new Fiesta concept.

 

how about a chop that needs restoration? this Engel-designed '62 Continental not only shows a coupe bodystyle, but a version of the new 'twin grilles' that Lincoln is now using.... the whole idea of 'what if' cars right here.

 

what if the original 1940 Lincoln Continental also came as a woody luxury estate?

 

a hybrid GT for Mercury, the Cyclone, based on the Ford GT.

 

Arrive Unruffled—a true Executive Express, a Mustang-based Lincoln GT. chop done before the now de-rigeur split grille. i still like this one a lot.

 

 

i've got at least another 100-150 FoMoCo chops. this is enough for now!

-casey/artandcolour

Edited January 31, 2010 by artandcolour

[Reigner92]

I love that Mercury Cyclone! It is very well done and the design is fantastic, as it is with your rendering of the Cougar as well. I hope we get something like either of those for the upcoming Capri. Speaking of which, has the rumor of the Capri been comfirmed?

[artandcolour]

I love that Mercury Cyclone! It is very well done and the design is fantastic, as it is with your rendering of the Cougar as well. I hope we get something like either of those for the upcoming Capri. Speaking of which, has the rumor of the Capri been comfirmed?

 

 

i'm not sure. i think i read about a Focus sport coupe in the works, perhaps that would be the Capri? or Puma? or...

 

i recognize your name Reigner—AWCC, right? it's been quite a while!

[rmc523]

Yup, I love the Cyclone and Cougar as well.

 

 

There were some good times over at the AWCC before it imploded!

[Mark B. Morrow]

Thanks artandcolour. The '64-'66 T-Bird Wagon is fantastic. I like the Cougar and CV too. The '63 Lincoln chop looks a lot like Engel's early Imperial clays when he took over at Chrysler in 1962.

[artandcolour]

Thanks artandcolour. The '64-'66 T-Bird Wagon is fantastic. I like the Cougar and CV too. The '63 Lincoln chop looks a lot like Engel's early Imperial clays when he took over at Chrysler in 1962.

 

 

thanks Mark! i love what Exner did in his prime, but i'm equally as fascinated with the Exner/Engel period, where Elwood was trying to rationalize Ex's last work. I've always worked in publishing, designing everything from newspapers to magazines and now books. back when i was a staffer, many times in my career i had to come into a publication and pick up the reigns from other talented designers for one reason or another and try to do the same thing. i can only imagine what Engel felt like roaming the halls of Chrysler styling amid all the falling sales and changing presidents and trying to decide just what the hell he was going to do!

 

i've done some chops recently of this Exner/Engel period. they're not FoMoCo, but i hope no one minds.

 

this first one is a reinterpretation of the full sized Chrysler of '63 and '64. my version would be a mythical 'first gen' Cordoba, meant to counter the '63-'64 Grand Prix with it's clean sides and tasteful styling. i lengthened the hood and shortened the deck a bit, more in line with pics I've seen of Exner's still-born S models.

 

 

this is my version of the '64-'66 Imperial, a tour-de-force of facelifting if i ever saw one, (his not mine, lol) since the platform was the same as the '57 Imperial. i made this a true Crown Coupe, a 2 door limousine...

 

 

another version of the Imperial Coupe, this one a bit less extreme. This is more of a "Continental' coupe, entirely fitting with the Engel inspired '64-'66 Imperial.

 

 

this is my cleaned up version of the '62 Dodge Dart, the mistakenly downsized full-sized Mopar, the reason the Custom 880 had to be so quickly introduced. i gave it curved side glass, which Ex wanted but couldn't get, and i cleaned up the geegaws and odd trim pieces, although I added a couple near the headlights. this is more of a resto-mod with the dark window frames and wider tread.

 

 

again, a '62 Mopar, this time a Plymouth. this was originally a 2 door post, but i made it a true Sport Fury with a semi-fastback roof, again, in line with some prototype photos i've seen of the large stillborn Chrysler line.

 

 

a resto-mod version of the first Barracuda. i changed the C pillar to make the rear glass less overwhelming, but emphasied the remaining Exner touch near the rear bumper by chroming the bodyside 'bomb' coming out of it. i added somewhat Foose-ified large wheels/tires. even though the first Barracuda came out in early '64, a couple of years after Ex left, it was based on the Valiant of '63, which he did have a hand in.

 

 

and since i see you have a restored '66 Bird, a couple more Tbird chops. this first one is another chop from the same photo of the wagon above. it's a 4 door, 3 years before the first '67 suicide door Landau.

 

 

and this last one is a squarebird version of the Italien fastback concept car from '62 or '63. i really didn't care for the original Italien when i saw it in magazines as a kid, but i now think it's gorgeous. this one is perhaps less successful, but i like it as a variant of the regular notchback coupe. the Tbirds of this time carried almost zero sidetrim, but i added some polished aluminum along the lower swage line, in keeping with the Italien theme. i think it works here.

Edited February 3, 2010 by artandcolour

[Reigner92]

Can you do a front view of the Cyclone and of the Cougar to go with the rears you created please? I would love to see your takes on those.

thanks.

[artandcolour]

i'll add those to my 'list' but it will be a while, lol. i haven't really had time to chop for a couple of months now. all of these have been in photobucket for a while.

 

i think the Cougar would be closer to the original Cougar than the current 'waterfall' grilles on Mercurys. i liked the latitude that designers had back then, instead of having to keep the family ties so close as they do today.

 

and the Cyclone would most likely be very aero, with a horizontal underbumper grille, but with vertical vanes in it, perhaps climbing up onto the hood in some artful manner. thanks for the suggestion though!

Edited February 3, 2010 by artandcolour

[Mark B. Morrow]

Great work artandcolour. I love the Chryslers and especially the T-Birds. my '66 is Vintage Burgundy with the wire wheels, just like the sedan and fastback.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Mark B. Morrow

[artandcolour]

your Tbird is gorgeous! i'm still mesmerized when i see the top in action! just the trunk opening 'backwards' at the touch of a button is still thrilling for me, lol! my Bird was a '64 hardtop in Diamond Blue with medium blue interior. it was pretty lightly optioned, with power windows and driver's seat, but only AM radio and no AC. i had that car for almost 30 years. growing up in the '60s we had a new '66 Country Squire in your Vintage Burgundy with a beige vinyl interior. it's a beautiful color that isn't seen enough these days.

[Mark B. Morrow]

your Tbird is gorgeous! i'm still mesmerized when i see the top in action! just the trunk opening 'backwards' at the touch of a button is still thrilling for me, lol! my Bird was a '64 hardtop in Diamond Blue with medium blue interior. it was pretty lightly optioned, with power windows and driver's seat, but only AM radio and no AC. i had that car for almost 30 years. growing up in the '60s we had a new '66 Country Squire in your Vintage Burgundy with a beige vinyl interior. it's a beautiful color that isn't seen enough these days.

 

 

My Bird was originally painted "Honeydew Yellow" which was really "Snot Green". When I got it in 1989 it had been repainted "Springtime Yellow" which wasn't bad with the black top and interior. During the restoration I ordered a can of the paint mixed to the color code and when I opened it I just couldn't bear to apint it that color. Since I was goinmg to change color anyway I went with the Burgundy. My car was pretty well optioned with A/C, Power windows, driver's seat and AM/FM. I found a loaded parts car and added power vent windows, reclining pass seat, door speakers from an AM/8 Track and the woodgrain dash from the Landau option. The only thing I didn't add was the cruise control as the parts car didn't have all the parts. I finished the car in 1991 and put 30k on it in 10 years. It doesn't get much use since I bought the Mustang and finished it in '99.