So I ended up buying the damn buggy. Spent the last couple weeks doing work on it with my son, who wanted a summer project car anyway. Rebuilt the brakes, repaired a damaged shifter rod bracket, fixed a worn steering column bushing, modified the seat mounting brackets to install adjustable seat sliders and new seatbelts, put in larger (and much cuter) headlights, etc. We just got the turn signals installed and functioning today so finally took it on a ride around town, and it’s a lot of fun! The motor is a rebuilt one that was installed in November so it’s running great and we didn’t have to touch that, at least.
I think I now definitely have enough early 1960s vehicles (sailboat not shown) so next time I get tempted I seriously need you guys to step in and put a stop to this madness.
Your and @FGD135 reasons all sound quite plausible. And (embedded in your mention of distortion?) a single pane of glass with compound curves may have been too difficult to create at the time.
Even slide-outs can get stuck. Depending on where they are (side or rear), that could mean being unable to safely drive the vehicle. Something like this also makes me think about how many low-clearance bridges we’ve got around here.
Still, inflatable rooftops might cause less damage:
You’d think there would be a light on the dash for something like that. Actually, that tire is giving me flashbacks to another hazard. Once when I was driving on a major highway, the spare tire came flying off the back of an RV moving through traffic. It has been attached behind a roof ladder mounted on the back. Fortunately, the ladder didn’t come off with it.
I watched the tire bounce a few times (it even whacked a concrete divider - which did not help), and saw a couple of other cars swerve to avoid it. Luckily, I was able to pass it without getting hit. The RV driver probably had no clue it came off, and any thought of catching up to it to alert the driver was lost - because it was moving much faster than my car. I can see the top of my spare tire in the rear-view mirror. However, there are lots of RVs with bikes, sports gear, and other equipment mounted on the back in an area where visibility is limited or non-existent.
Still, inflatable rooftops might cause less damage:
