To you younger people in the audience looking at this topic: Yes, this roleplay has been one of the more persistent ones on the site, dating back to the days of Gundam Wing Chat, or so I've gathered: even I haven't been around that long! That's no reason for you to not want in on this, however! The focus on realism will probably mean that you'll have to do some research, but that's as easy as asking your grandparents about what they remember about that time period. (Something tells me you'd rather do that than crack open a history book, especially during summer vacation.)

Aside from family, try taking in various media such as movies, TV shows and music produced during the time period to get a slice of life from that day and age. Then as now, movies inspired companies to roll out their latest models for the silver screen. If you've ever been to the annual Woodward Dream Cruise held in the metro Detroit area, the rush of Americana you got from seeing all those boats on wheels and muscle cars is as good a barometer of the general "vibe" of the era as any, barring all that Cold War stuff.

As you can see, there's a bit of a learning curve to it all, but in my experience the best RPs usually have one. If nothing else, it keeps out the flotsam and jetsam. ;)