Vintage Snapshots: At The Beach! – Cars By The Beach – ’50s, ’60s & ’70s

Text by Patrick Bell.

It’s time to hit the beach again and see how people added some sea salt to the tin worm’s diet.  Many of the images are from Daytona Beach, Florida, while the rest I was not able to quickly determine the location.  So grab your shades and sun lotion and let’s go!

A gentleman was enjoying his trip to Daytona Beach per a photo search.  He was cruising in a ’55 Ford Customline Tudor Sedan with a V8, Fordomatic, and a New Jersey license plate.

Apparently this couple forgot to bring any beach furniture and the lady had to lounge on their ’54 Pontiac Chieftain Custom Catalina.  It doesn’t look very comfortable, but it did make a good photo.

There is a lot to absorb in this image.  The newest I see were a white ’62 Ford Country Sedan and a white ’62 Rambler Classic, both in the driving lane, and at the far end of the same lane is possibly a white over red ’63 Chevrolet Impala.  At the water’s edge is a blueish ’62 or ’63 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova, and in the right upper edge is a light green ’61-’63 Rambler American, one of four Ramblers.  The oldest I can ID are the white over coral ’54 Cadillac Coupe with factory air, one of four Cadillacs, and the white over red ’53 or ’54 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe in the water.  Some other interesting units in the foreground; a white over black ’55 or ’56 Thunderbird, and a dark blue mid-fifties Hillman Husky Estate and red Volvo 122S were the two foreign cars.

Search results indicate this was another image shot at Daytona Beach, this time with a ’50 Studebaker Champion Regal De Luxe Starlight Coupe with an elaborate grille guard.  The lady passenger got caught with her eyes closed.

This lady does not look dressed for the beach.  She was posing next to a ’54 Buick 2 door Riviera that appears to have three VentiPorts, which means it could be a Special, Century, or Super.  It is equipped with dual outside mirrors that were unusual at that time, unless you towed a trailer.

A casual but stylish lady posing with a ’56 Pontiac Star Chief 2 door Catalina.  In the background left perhaps a ’57 or ’58 DeSoto, and to the right a ’58 Chevrolet Biscayne 4 door sedan.

It looks like it was a nice day for a cruise on the beach in a ’55 Oldsmobile 88 Holiday Sedan.  This was the first year for the four door hardtop and they sold well, but not as well as the regular four door sedans.

A ’61 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan with E-Z-Eye Glass and a relaxed looking gentleman enjoying a can of Schlitz and a day at the beach.

It is hard to tell what the object of the photo was, as we have five seagulls, three beach houses, and a ’64 Ford Country Sedan with a droopy headliner in the middle.

We are back at Daytona Beach with the Sun and Surf Motel in the background.  The young lady was catching some rays next to a ’62 or ’63 (going by the rocker molding) Chevrolet Corvair Monza Club Coupe with a ’61 model wheel cover.

Daytona Beach once again is our location with a ’66 Plymouth Barracuda in Light Mauve Metallic that looks close to new.  This was the last year of the first generation of the Barracuda.

The beach was fairly quiet on the day this ’71 Pontiac Safari wagon from Ohio was out for a cruise.  This was the first year of a major restyle where the disappearing tailgate was introduced in the wagons.  That idea disappeared when the downsized restyle arrived for the ’77 model year.

It was GM day at Daytona Beach in this image taken in 1976 per a search.  Seven out of the ten cars showing were GM products with two Fords (black over maroon ’68 LTD 2 door hardtop and a brown ’73 or ’74 LTD 2 door hardtop with an aftermarket opera window), and the lone Mopar was the white ’67 Dodge Dart 270 4 door sedan in the lower center.  Next to the Dart was a gold ’63 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova wagon which was the oldest, and the newest were the white over gold ’76 Pontiac Grand Prix with T-tops on the left edge, and the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight this side of it was a ’75 or ’76.

Another Ohioan, this one a ’73 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu Colonnade Hardtop Coupe.  This was the first year of the Colonnade style.

Thanks for hitting the beach with us and have a great day!

More Vintage Photos Here