to compete in the late 50s fin wars, Chrysler Australia went absurd, and bolted on optional wings, ON TOP of the wings the car was made with... called them Saddle Wings
Though tailfins were fashionable, the AP2 featured fins on top of fins.
The saddle fins were optional, but most cars left the factory with them. Although the top fin looks part of the body, it was actually bolted on.
The story of the Australian Chrysler Royal is quite well covered in this link. Chrysler Australia continued to build badge-engineered version of the 1953-54 Plymouth thru 1955 and 1956 before the Royal came out in '57. In the 1960s my grandfather had a 1956 DeSoto Diplomat Custom - essentially a Plymouth with a toothy grille. I got to drive him around in it in 1968 when he had a hip operation. Re the Royal there is a rare V8 (313) AP3 from 1963 that appears at local events here occasionally. Because the Royal was built on a full frame, unlike the forward-look cars built in North America, they were popular as ambulances, usually with fibreglass bodies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Royal_(Australia)
The story of the Australian Chrysler Royal is quite well covered in this link. Chrysler Australia continued to build badge-engineered version of the 1953-54 Plymouth thru 1955 and 1956 before the Royal came out in '57. In the 1960s my grandfather had a 1956 DeSoto Diplomat Custom - essentially a Plymouth with a toothy grille. I got to drive him around in it in 1968 when he had a hip operation. Re the Royal there is a rare V8 (313) AP3 from 1963 that appears at local events here occasionally. Because the Royal was built on a full frame, unlike the forward-look cars built in North America, they were popular as ambulances, usually with fibreglass bodies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Royal_(Australia)
ReplyDeleteYes, all appear to have been assembled with the saddle fins attached, an early example of "mandatory options". The 1958 Packard used the same idea.
ReplyDeletehttps://nihilistnotes.blogspot.com/search?q=Catfish
thank you, and wow, you are very thorough in your posts! How do you select the word to research?
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