You think the early 5 mile bumpers were excessively long? CC Cohort William Rubano caught this ’57 Cadillac with a continental spare kit that makes a Pinto’s shelf bumper-butt look positively anorexic.
Here’s a wider view. So when did these aftermarket kits become popular? I never once saw a Cadillac in Iowa with one, for all the five year I lived there. But when we moved to Baltimore in 1965, I saw a goodly number of slightly-elderly Cadillacs sporting them (and other bling) in the African-American neighborhoods. So it would appear like with so many things in music, fashion, etc., black urban culture effectively popularized the continental spare kit. And old white guys are still imitating it, although I suspect most of these were done some years/decades ago. Does anyone still make conti spare kits??
Here’s this bad boy from the front. Turns out we’ve never done a proper CC on this vintage, but I don’t have the time just now, and I’d rather it wasn’t sporting the non-Harley-Earl-approved rear appendage.
It does make for quite a sight rolling down the street.
Undoubtedly the Cadillac headed down the road with a badly scrubbed right-rear tire as a result of pulling too close to the curb. From the pictures, the tire appears to be pushed hard against the curb; if it missed it, it was millimeters away. “Quite a sight rolling down the street,” for sure, but quite a job ahead cleaning the whitewall tire. It usually requires something fairly aggressive — perhaps a fine-grade steel wool and detergent — to remove the scuff marks.
I agree that it’s a shame to have this enormous, over-stated spare tire on one of Detroit’s most beautiful 4-door hardtops of the late 1950s. The elegant 1957 Cadillac was arguably one of Harley Earl’s most beautiful designs, but placing a spare-tire kit on the back is simply a reflection of one person’s originality, and as they say, “one man’s meat is another man’s poison.”
But its cool that this is not a universal kit. It has a matching Fleetwood fender-trim extension. Its impressive some firm produced such an obscure custom trim piece to fit a GM option package on a one-year-only old car.
Sounds like something JC Whitney would sell.
My dad always told me to use S O S soap pads or brillo on whitewall tires but a friend told me about westleys bleech white ,it came in a pump spray bottle and it worked like magic
Came out blue IIRC, used to use it on our family cars.
Yes there still are continental kits: click here for website
That car must be fun to parallel park. Don’t even think about going up a steep driveway. Takes some long tailpipes to reach the bumper outlets.
Worst accessory ever (at least until fuzzy dice or gigantic wheels). Continental kits were standard on 1956 Thunderbirds. (Was this perhaps their first modern appearance as factory equipment?) 1955 and 1957 T-birds had the spare in the trunk.
Lincoln Continental (obviously) and Nash used Continental kits before the 56 Thunderbird, although the Lincoln wasn’t a kit. It was built in.
Come to think of it, I think they were built into the Nash Metropolitan too.
Good point!
I was referring to built in units, not options or accessories. It certainly is an integral part of the original Lincoln Continental’s style. I am not persuaded about Nashes (other than Metropolitans) or the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser (cited elsewhere). It is interesting how the style was mimicked in later Lincoln trunks and arguably Chrysler products as well (Valiant, Imperial). When I was young, I would marvel at those bumper extensions. I suppose I still do, especially this one with its precisely matching trim. It certainly does make the trunk almost inaccessible.
The ’53 Packard Caribbean came standard with one also. I think they ruin the looks of the ’56 TBird. Of course, I can’t stand them on any car. I watch those Mecum and Barrett Jackson auctions on TV and notice that just about every ’58 Impala that rolls across the block is cursed with one . I remember when many of the cars that now have them at shows and auctions were new and can’t recall seeing very many continental kits.
Someone in the other end of our county actually has a ’69 Lincoln sedan with gold trim and a continental kit. It kind of stands out.
Thank you. Perhaps that completes the list of standard Continental spares. (Then there’s a fairly long list of optional OEM units, not to mention aftermarket ones).
Ford added the continental kit to the ’56 TBird because of complaints about how the spare tire took up all the room in the trunk of the ’55s. The facelifted ’57 TBird had a larger trunk (and more rear overhang).
Except for the people who stuck full width continental kits on ’55 and ’57 T-birds. This has always been an upscale town for accessories, mostly factory items, but way to many continental kits. My doctor when I was a kid had a bronze,with white top ’57 T-bird with one, I even had a ’55 aqua with white top Bird that some idiot put a kit on. It was a pain to remove. I’ve had a ’55 Lincoln convertible, ’55 and ’56 Pontiac Star Chief convertibles, 2 Cadillac converts, and ’53 and 56 Packard Caribbean convertibles with continental kits, I removed all of them. Driving at high speed was like dragging a parachute, and the handling on all of them was screwed up with the kits. Some kits were like the ’56 T-birds that only had a chrome “U” bumper extension leaving the rest of the rear alone. Ford and Mercury around 1952-53-54 had what they called a Coronado kit, it was a fake metal tire section with hubcap that didn’t extend past the bumper at all, but was bolted to the trunk-lid. Those looked kind of cool. The most horrifying I ever saw was a gorgeous black with red interior and white top 1958 Buick Limited convertible, until I saw the massive Continental kit with fully chromed wheel. I liked the longer rear fenders on the Limited, but with the huge Continental kit it was disastrous.
There’s still a market for the kits, usually for the 50’s to 80’s RWD sedan that already has every singe other customizing gee-gaw stuck on it. Such kits are never on plain cars, they usually also have the full stainless trim package, fender skirts, extra antennas, chrome spotlights, flipper hubcaps /chrome wheels, curb feelers and a pimp grille.
I’m an old white guy and I usually customize and modify my project cars, so I should be the right demographic for such kits. But I would never install one myself. Too heavy, costly, useless and tacky for me.
However, I can admire them on someone else’s car because I hate to judge or put down their pride and joy. So good for this guy. He’s an old car enthusiast like us so this kit looks great to me.
It’s too bad it wasn’t a bit better integrated into the design. I think this car would look better without it. These ’57 Caddies had beautiful lines, much nicer than the ’58s or the over-the-top ’59s.
It’s an ugly solution to a real problem. As far as I can tell, spare tires took up an ungodly amount of trunk space in American cars until the late 1970s.
My theory is that gas tanks used to be located under the trunk, so there was no room for spare tires. So I guess that when safety concerns moved the gas tanks behind/below the rear seat, there was room under the trunk floor for the spare.
Some cars used the shelf in the trunk behind the seat above the rear axle to store the spare. I once had to extract it from that position in my ’67 Imperial. The trunk is so long that I couldn’t reach the tire from the outside; I literally had to climb into the trunk to get a handle on the stupid thing.
I believe that Panthers kept that design (tire on the shelf) until the end.
Yes, the Panthers kept the tire on the shelf above the rear axle.
The Volvo 240 series, like the ’80 I had, still had a tall enough trunk, with the gas tank above and partially behind the rear axle, that the spare could be stored upright in a well on the driver’s side of the trunk, easy to access (as was commonly done in cars of the 40s and 50s).
The 240 sedan actually could carry spares on both sides standing up in the wells by the 1/4 panels. It was a good way to carry 2 studded tires without using up a lot of trunk space, and added a little extra weight over the rear axle as well.
We kept 2 studded tires year round in the trunk in case the weather turned bad while on the road.
I had to remove the spare tire from my Crown Vic’s trunk once, and remember having to stand inside the trunk in order to get it out (and once again to get it back on top of the axle). I felt pretty silly doing it, so I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who’s dealt with that.
The spare in the ’57 Caddy does stand upright, although at an odd angle and too close to the center of the trunk. Photo below.
As far as Panthers are concerned, I don’t know about the Vic or Grand Marquis, but the spare in my 2005 Town Car stands upright in a well directly against the right fender; it does not sit above the axle.
It depends Australian Ford Falcons had their spare wheels recessed into the top of the fuel tank.
http://store.allmusclecarparts.com.au/ford/falcon-xw-xy-gt-fuel-tank.html
My 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood has the full size spare in the front of the trunk, laying at an angle cocked up on the hump for the rear end, just like late B-bodies. It definitely takes up a lot of room, but the trunk is bigger than a Caprice trunk so I’ve never succumbed to the temption to leave it at home. And yes, to take it out or put it in you may as well just climb in there and sit down.
But yeah, arguably functional or not these are still hideous.
Can’t really remember where the spare lived on my ’91 Crown Vic, but on the ’97 Crown Vic and the ’03 Marauder, it lives on the shelf. The compact spare on the ’97 tucks away nicely up there and doesn’t intrude on anything; the full height (though reduced width) spare on the Marauder did intrude slightly into the “box” of the rest of the trunk since it was taller than the shelf was long.
I’ve never minded the solution that GM used on the A/G and B-bodies in the 80’s–compact spare mounted nearly vertical along the right side of the trunk. It wasn’t ideal but it was easy to get to and didn’t eat up too much space. It did preclude a full-size spare, but the donut will do in a pinch.
A real problem, yes, but I doubt this was an effective solution. Kinda renders the trunk useless. You can’t get to it anymore 🙂 Unless there was a remote trunk button and you could load it from the side…
That’s a lot of hangover….. Err overhang. Both are headaches.
Nice Caddy though.
Here’s someone on eBay with an official (GM approved, whatever) NOS setup for a ’56 Pontiac–interesting to see how much is involved: http://www.ebay.com/itm/56-PONTIAC-NOS-GM-ACCESSORY-CONTINENTAL-KIT-part-988646-/371435700087?hash=item567b4aff77:g:arsAAOSwHjNV8afU&vxp=mtr
This was what I removed from my 55 and 56 Pontiac convertibles, and sold for $150 each, but that was in 1965.
The garishness of the kit is somewhat balanced (and equaled?) by the kitschy Dagmar bumper.
Back in the mid 1960s
I test drove one of these monster 1957 Fleetwood’s minus the Continental Kit..
Exactly the same car in light blue with a white top, the car was in excellent condition except for worn thin paint on top of the front fenders from constant waxing. . The used car dealer said take it for the day and try it out, so I did.. I passed for $1800, way more car than I needed plus gas mileage was a consideration. Ended up with a 1960 Impala 283cu that was equipped with the dreaded Turbo Glide Trans.
I have a dozen 1957 caddy Hub Caps in storage exactly like the ones seen on this car.
I hate these things. Surely one could stick a spare tire (or fake spare tire as most of them are) to the back of a car without sticking a freaking swim deck from a boat off the rear bumper. I like gaudy things, but this is just plain tacky and tasteless.
“There is nothing more durable than a bad idea.” -H. L. Mencken
I hate going to car shows and seeing the beautiful ’50s cars laden with this kind of “teeny-bopper” garbage: cont. kits, fender skirts, headlight visors, goofy hubcaps, aftermarket spotlights, blue dots, etc. Check out vintage photographs of ’50s & ’60s street scenes on CC–almost NOBODY did this to their cars! In the original brochures the cars are rarely shown with kits and skirts (even if they were optionally available).
SO BAD:
SO BAD is probably the nicest thing that can be said
On cars that came factory equipped with the Continental kit, the wheel did not protrude excessively. The body and the trunk panels were built to accommodate the spare tightly to the rear panel. The Lincoln Continental trunk had a lid that opened from the top, quite a reach! The ’56,’57 T Bird was trying to look sporty like an MG or other European sports car. All the after market kits look like Hell in my opinion. There’s a ’56 Pontiac sedan that has an aftermarket kit and it looks just as bad as this Caddy’s. I had a’57 Caddy and the flat hood gave better visibility than the bulbous ’56 model, (had one of those also!) I loved the flat forward leaning fins, round Eldo style tail lamps and the “basket handle” rear window design, which was re-used on the second gen Camaro and Firebird. On the other hand I’ve always liked the simulated spare on the Lincoln Mark series.
That simulated look on the 56-57 Continental Mark II, wasn’t so much simulation. When the trunk was open the spare was upright where the trunk impression was, It was a pain in the ass to get anything past it into the trunk
That would be a nice car without the bumper turd.
It’s not my taste… But it was considered very cool at the time…. Don’t forget the pine air fresheners! And I really don’t mind seeing it as a tribute to times past… Like crew cuts and brill cream… Which… When I think of it, is exactly what CC is all about. Thanks for posting this!
Like Brylcreem, not cool in 1964 and certainly not cool now. Maybe in 1954(?) but…
Also appreciate CC, enough to make a small contribution.
I am doubly amazed: first by the ludicrous extreme of the Continental spare tire kit, and second by the immaculate condition of this 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood.
This has to be a proud owner to keep the car like this. I don’t know if it could be returned to its stock condition with the parts still on it; I think probably not. Besides, this way, he’s preserving something more rare than the stock Cadillac Fleetwood, even if he has to avoid even minimally steep driveways and ramps.
I do think the spare tire stands too vertical. Perhaps it would look a smidgen better if it tilted to match the angle of the tailfins.
Might add a touch of distinction to your everyday Camcordia.
Continental kits are not my cup of tea, but I have to tip my hat to this one, if only for the workmanship and care to detail. This was not a hastily cobbled addition, it all seems to be a cohesive effort to make it look factory. My main beef with Continental kits is that it actually makes it impossible to reach and use the trunk, so other than for the look, they are useless.
I have a 1957 cadillac and I have a continental kit for it but the part you put the wheel on to when the wheel is on I can not put a wheel trim on the rim can anyone help please