Mystery car pix

kyfdx

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

I'd take the Honda that is next to the Mustang II

Because you had one just like it?

Not quite.. I had a Gen II Accord (82), but I regret buying the Mustang II in 1977. That Honda would have been an infinitely better purchase.

magnette

I assumed initially that the oldest car in this shot would be the Oldsmobile convertible but what is the white car in the background poking out to the rear of the dark utility truck? - its behind the end of the wire fence.

magnette

The cars in the 70's picture included a dozen or more that were not known on this side of the pond - pretty much anything except the Red Pontiac, the Hondas and the Mustang.

All those routine sedans of the time were not seen here - or only from personal import or US Military staff on bases like Mildenhall

stickguy

magnette said:

I assumed initially that the oldest car in this shot would be the Oldsmobile convertible but what is the white car in the background poking out to the rear of the dark utility truck? - its behind the end of the wire fence.

not sure. has a late 50s Mopar vibe to me.

fintail

The white car at background far right to the right of the truck to me strongly resembles a 55 Plymouth.

stickguy said:

magnette said:

I assumed initially that the oldest car in this shot would be the Oldsmobile convertible but what is the white car in the background poking out to the rear of the dark utility truck? - its behind the end of the wire fence.

not sure. has a late 50s Mopar vibe to me.

stickguy

see, I was right!

imidazol97

How about 57 Plymouth Belvedere if I've got the right car in mind?

Lostwrench3

1959 Chrysler Saratoga in the black and white photo.
As to this yellow one, a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere. It could be a 1957.5, we need to see the front. Andy, do you have a photo of the front?

fintail

Car to the left of the utility truck definitely looks like a 57 Plymouth.

imidazol97

Lostwrench3 said:

1959 Chrysler Saratoga in the black and white photo.
As to this yellow one, a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere. It could be a 1957.5, we need to see the front. Andy, do you have a photo of the front?

The yellow 57 was an example to compare the white car behind the fence next to the white building with.
I didn't edit correctly and left some artifacts of html in the post. The yellow car is my picture just to compare the side trim. It is not Andy's fault things got mixed up.

But here's the front of the 57 Belvedere

andys120

Four headlights? I thought they didn't come in til '58MY?

imidazol97

Fake quads. The inner light is a parking light.

fintail

Another old Mopar on Swiss plates.

Lostwrench3

imidazol97 said:

Fake quads. The inner light is a parking light.

Ahaa! A 1957.5!
Ok, Pop Quiz.
What is different on the front end of this 1957.5 Plymouth Belvedere from the 1957 Plymouth Belvederes which first came off the assembly line that year?

texases

I think that's a pair of driving lights, place holders for the '58 high beams.

ab348

Given the lack of turn signals/parking lights elsewhere in front, that is what they are, not driving lights. The difference between this example and the earlier models is in the front roll pan under the bumper. Originally the slots were wider and jarring-looking, so mid-run they were altered with a vertical bar dividing each slot as seen above. Early production reportedly also had that front pan painted silver regardless of body color but that was changed partway along.

Lostwrench3

Bingo! Very good, ab348. The slots went from wide 6 to narrrow 12.

magnette

I couldn't see that Mopar in the corner properly - thanks for sorting out out

fintail

This site exists as part of a mall (the one here is very successful) to this day, but the building has been massively modified or possibly razed and something similar built:

stickguy

Nice red cougar. And yellow car obscured by the green Granada (the ultimate expression of 1975) looks like a gen 1 Scirocco.

tmart

Brown Pinto in the background.

fintail

I think the yellow car is indeed a VW, but I suspect it is a Dasher. A yellow Dasher is also quite 1975.

texases

Pretty sure it’s a Scirocco with the base steel wheels.

magnette

The Dasher, which we got as the first Passat, was always in those bright colours - Red Yellow or Lime Green, as I recall.

fintail

The yellow car appears to have the "buttress" on the hatch like a Dasher, which was also available with steel wheels. I'll even wager it is a 2 door Dasher, virtually extinct now:

andys120

texases said:

Pretty sure it’s a Scirocco with the base steel wheels.

Sciroccos were seldom seen in the US w steel wheels as alloys were standard. I'd go w Dasher/Passat.

ab348

Is that Cougar a convertible? If so I’ll take it.

andys120

ab348 said:

Is that Cougar a convertible? If so I’ll take it.

Possibly but I don't think so, I think it is not a Cougar, if it were the roof back would not be at nearly vertical angle to the trunk (whether coupe or convertible.)

fintail

I think the dark/black Cougar at left might be a convertible, but maybe not.

Directly above it I see a GM clamshell wagon and a red 911/912.

ab348

fintail said:

I think the dark/black Cougar at left might be a convertible, but maybe not.

Yes, that's the one I was looking at.

fintail

There appears to be like a matte/gloss contrast between the roof area and rear fender of that car. I am leaning towards convertible.

ab348 said:

fintail said:

I think the dark/black Cougar at left might be a convertible, but maybe not.

Yes, that's the one I was looking at.

andys120

ab348 said:

fintail said:

I think the dark/black Cougar at left might be a convertible, but maybe not.

Yes, that's the one I was looking at.

I screwed up, I thought you were looking at the red car near center pic, I'm having trouble w that one. It looks a bit like a Mustang but the roof line is wrong and no side sculpting.
The black car on left does look like a 70s Cougar 'vert.

fintail

My local mall before it became enclosed:

texases

Old ideas are new again!

tmart

I’ll grab the Lark and the 56 Chevy.

stickguy

Is the front right blue convertible a comet? Next to a yelloW rambler wagon

fintail

I believe the yellow wagon is a ~63 Comet, a somewhat unusual car in wagon form these days, I think.

tjc78

texases said:

Old ideas are new again!

I was just going to say the same thing.

ab348

The blue convertible on the lower right is a '65 Plymouth Fury I believe. I like the gold or green mid-60s AMC Rebel convertible on the opposite side.

fintail

I notice a lack of 60 Fords in this pic.

I was thinking the convertible to the right of the 56 Chevy is a 66 Galaxie?

ab348

fintail said:

I notice a lack of 60 Fords in this pic.

Must of been an elitist part of town back then. I note a '59 Olds along with (I believe) a 1960.

There is a nice '65 Chrysler 2-door HT lurking on the right.

fintail

I remember my dad saying early 60s Fords were bigtime rusters. I wonder if they did that here, too.

There's a beige smaller car 2 to the right of the 2 door looking Mopar wagon parked at left - looks foreign, perhaps Dauphine or Ponton.

ab348 said:

Must of been an elitist part of town back then. I note a '59 Olds along with (I believe) a 1960.

There is a nice '65 Chrysler 2-door HT lurking on the right.

andys120

I think the blue 'vert is a '65-ish Plymouth. The red convert coming towards camera in front of "Thompson's" is a 1964 Pontiac/Tempest/LeMans/GTO (hard to say which).

fintail

The parking lot of the nearby high school, 1958. Typical stuff I think - today it'd be loaded with higher end late model material, as this is an affluent entitled area:

magnette

Black and white wagon on the right under the first yellow awning - Is that a Rambler?

Lostwrench3

4th from left - 1950 Mercury.

andys120

I went to HS in a well-to-do Long Island town where many families had several cars (and boats) but hardly anyone drove to school except a dozen or so hot rodders who had jalopies dating from the40s and early 50s. The rest of us walked or took the bus.

The newest car I see is the Buick closest to the camera, I think it's a 1955 Roadmaster. The oldest is a tall club coupe about halfway up the second row, probably belongs to a
hot-rodder.

fintail

6 cars to the right of the Mercury, next to a shoebox Ford coupe, appears to be a 55-56 Ford convertible. Several cars down the line towards far right I see the rear quarter of a ~57 Mopar wagon, no doubt "mom's car".

I see the club coupe style car, it does appear to be the oldie. Gives me the vibe of a 37-38 Chevy. At far left upper corner, next to what looks like a 55 Chevy wagon, looks like maybe a 41 Chevy coupe.

I went to HS in a small town, and many drove as soon as possible, in whatever was available. In a setting where few had a lot of money, it didn't matter much what one drove, simply driving to school was an exciting ideal.

tmart

56 Ford, 55/56 Ford Country Squire, bunches of 49-51 Fords.

fintail

1958 high school might be a bit too daddy-o for most here. How about foreign car supermarket, 1972: