Mystery car pix

stickguy

Pretty sure it’s not a 510. And that sedan certainly looks French.

ab348

While we ponder the mysteries of Fin's Vancouver pic, here is another one from just a few years earlier. Blows up to a massive size but is a bit fuzzy when you do. Some unusual stuff here too.

magnette

The car in front of the Pinto looks like an Isuzu Bellet -the earliest version from about 1964 onwards. I've never seen one and the only pictures I have seen are of the 2 door but the rear wheel arch and the shape of the c pillar look about right I think

The car ahead of it is a Mini - either a Morris Mini Traveller or an Austin Mini Countryman. they were made - with wood as in this example - from about 1961 until 1967 or so
Unlike the Morris Minor Traveller the wood on the Minis was not structural. they also made a version without the wood - sold for a little less in UK - but now a wood trimmed Mini Traveller/Countryman is worth significant money - for a small and basic car - if in solid condition - about as easy to find as a unicorn really! Originality would be the key though.

Given what is ahead of him and directly behind him the guy in that Pick up must feel like Gulliver in Lilliput

stickguy

Is that a rover on the curb behind the VW bus? And nice MB SL convertible in the parking lot.

ab348

magnette said:

The car in front of the Pinto looks like an Isuzu Bellet -the earliest version from about 1964 onwards. I've never seen one and the only pictures I have seen are of the 2 door but the rear wheel arch and the shape of the c pillar look about right I think

Just looked that up and that must be it. I should have recognized it because there was a local connection for me. In the later 1960s Belletts were actually shipped in knocked-down versions and assembled in Sydney, Nova Scotia for a time.

Here is a better pic of the early Bellett:



Here is the tale of the local assembly:

http://www.oldcarscanada.com/2010/04/1965-isuzu-bellett.html

magnette

stickguy said:

Is that a rover on the curb behind the VW bus? And nice MB SL convertible in the parking lot.

Yes - Its a Rover P6 which at that date would be a first edition Rover 2000

I think the MB is a 190 but also in that car park is an Austin Healey 3000 on the far wall

magnette

ab348 said:

magnette said:

The car in front of the Pinto looks like an Isuzu Bellet -the earliest version from about 1964 onwards. I've never seen one and the only pictures I have seen are of the 2 door but the rear wheel arch and the shape of the c pillar look about right I think

Just looked that up and that must be it. I should have recognized it because there was a local connection for me. In the later 1960s Belletts were actually shipped in knocked-down versions and assembled in Sydney, Nova Scotia for a time.

Here is a better pic of the early Bellett:



Here is the tale of the local assembly:

http://www.oldcarscanada.com/2010/04/1965-isuzu-bellett.html

Glad you found a picture of the rear end of the Isuzu - I have just found one but can't post it anyway at present
Also the link for "old cars Canada" looks interesting too

magnette

Returning to another theme Isuzu got started after WW2 building the Hillman Minx under licence from CKD kits initially for the JDM -starting with the rounded one from about 1952 and carrying on with the one with fins from the later fifties - only for Japan though I think - I don't think they were allowed to export them in competition with the ones made here under the terms of the licence

magnette

In the Vancouver picture there is a black 58 Chevrolet which I think is a 2-door - it's the nearest car on the left. Is that a Delray?

Michaell

kyfdx said:

Michaell said:

omarman said:

I like what's left of that F-150. Wasn't that unusual to see real "work trucks" in 1976. That 450 SEL would have cost around $20K back then maybe? In 2020 money that's about $90K or more?

$91k and change....

S-Class today is probably $125K+

Wasn't @abacomike looking at one with an MSRP of, like $107K?

omarman

Spotted 2 first gen Corvairs. One in the parking lot at left and second Corvair parked on street next to the lot.

ab348

In the B&W Vancouver pic there is another unusual car in traffic passing the intersecting street on the right, just ahead of a '59 Plymouth. Could it be a second Rover?

stickguy

Looks close.

Also a white 4 door rambler ahead of the VW bus.

fintail

I was waiting for magnette to chime in about the Bellett. Sold for a short time in the US, too, along with the Bellel - I am certain I have seen one of each locally.

In the latest b&w Vancouver pic, I see a Volvo 444/544 (likely the latter) parked on the street facing away, past the cross street, in front of a Beetle.

Regarding S-class prices,inflation does weird things, and I think they sell below MSRP now more than then. The big price differential is from the 90s - a 1992+ 500 SEL had a MSRP around 85K base - new ones are cheap, adjusting for inflation.

kyfdx

stickguy

looks like the big Healey (3000?) that was in the last Vancouver picture. Gorgeous car.

fintail

Vancouver, 1986 (clicks and zooms well, thanks ab348 for the Vancouver archive hint):

kyfdx

stickguy said:

looks like the big Healey (3000?) that was in the last Vancouver picture. Gorgeous car.

Source says it is a '57 model

tmart

fintail said:

Vancouver, 1986 (clicks and zooms well, thanks ab348 for the Vancouver archive hint):

Econoline van at left, Plymouth/Dodge minivan, Voyager/Caravan.

Michaell

Corolla lift back front and center. I remember going with my dad to look at one for my mom back in the day.

ab348

I believe an early/mid ‘80s Buck LeSabre coupe going out of frame on the right.

fintail

The car under the covered area, beside the Toyota, is that zenith of automotive evolution, the Ford Tempo.

The big coupe at right appears to have some kind of wheel option.

stickguy

I loved the Celica SR-5 liftbacks back in the day. one of the many things I wanted but never got! maybe someday.

to the right, a mid-70's Coralla 2 door. Same vintage and style as the one I had (but mine was a 5 speed E-5). the white one looks like a strippo model)

75 or so Camaro to the left. Looks like the front end went into a sink hole.

bhill2

magnette said:

In the Vancouver picture there is a black 58 Chevrolet which I think is a 2-door - it's the nearest car on the left. Is that a Delray?

Opposite end of the trim line. It's an Impala, which was a new (sporty) special version of the top line Bel-Air. It had three tail lights per side instead of two in the other Chevies (oooo, fancy) and all manner of upgrades in the interior. Available in hardtop and convertible so you're right, a 2-door.

andys120

The 1958 Impala was an important car in that it stepped outside the Sloan brand hierarchy of (Chevy/Pontiac/Olds/Buick/Cadillac). An aspirational buyer could get luxury features at a lower cost than stepping up to a Buick or Caddy. Alfred Sloan (ret. 1956) probably opposed it on grounds that it compromised the brand integrity of the more exopensive cars.

The emergence of "personal/sports cars in the mid-50s (Thunderbird/Corvette) had already
heralded the end of the strict brand hierarchy .

fintail

Other cars in the latest Vancouver shot include a Fairmont and 70s Blazer at left, and a MB R107 and early 80s Continental at right.

Built for the World's Fair (this image is likely from the same year), this hotel is where the Beatles, among other celebs, stayed when visiting Seattle:

tjc78

The Continental is a Mark VI (80-83).

ab348

1962 Chevy Impala convertible exiting the Edgewater.

ab348

Found this pic on my hard drive and don't think I've posted it here before (apologies if so). As the print proclaims, June of 1970. Blows up decently. No idea where this was.

stickguy

Bullet mustang on the left. With a rare foreign car in front of it. Lancia or Alfa? Has that FIAT shape to it.

Big Buick (a ‘60?) in front of that. And half a maverick bottom right.

fintail

Backed in, at the edge of the lot, in the distance, center, is a facelift (1968+, I believe) Citroen DS.

omarman

1969 Mustang notchback beside the Bullitt.

ab348

There are a pair of flat-roof 4-dr hardtops center-left, a '60 Impala and a '59 Buick side by side.

Ahead of the '67 Malibu center-right is a '65 Impala 2-dr HT, but ahead of that is what looks like an import of some sort I cannot ID. Then 2 cars to the right of that is a rakish-looking convertible that also is a mystery.

Lostwrench3

1959 Buick.
1964 Cadillac.

magnette

bhill2 said:

magnette said:

In the Vancouver picture there is a black 58 Chevrolet which I think is a 2-door - it's the nearest car on the left. Is that a Delray?

Opposite end of the trim line. It's an Impala, which was a new (sporty) special version of the top line Bel-Air. It had three tail lights per side instead of two in the other Chevies (oooo, fancy) and all manner of upgrades in the interior. Available in hardtop and convertible so you're right, a 2-door.

I don't think I've ever identified a Delray in one of these photos so I keep thinking this might be it each time. It's only because the Delray was not known elsewhere - I don't imagine any came to Britain - and as far as I know I've never seen one in real life either.

andys120

Net to the Bullet 'Stang, a notchback version (MY '68 IIRC). Foreign job in front of fastback Mustang is almost certainly an Alfa-Romeo Giulia 1600 TI, my favorite 4door sedan esp in "Polizei" trim.

https://www.mpuarticles.com/uploads/2018103926.png

bhill2

magnette said:

bhill2 said:

magnette said:

In the Vancouver picture there is a black 58 Chevrolet which I think is a 2-door - it's the nearest car on the left. Is that a Delray?

Opposite end of the trim line. It's an Impala, which was a new (sporty) special version of the top line Bel-Air. It had three tail lights per side instead of two in the other Chevies (oooo, fancy) and all manner of upgrades in the interior. Available in hardtop and convertible so you're right, a 2-door.

I don't think I've ever identified a Delray in one of these photos so I keep thinking this might be it each time. It's only because the Delray was not known elsewhere - I don't imagine any came to Britain - and as far as I know I've never seen one in real life either.

I don't think a lot of Delrays were sold to the general public. They were bought mostly as fleet vehicles; taxis, pool cars for businesses, and such. They were pretty stark inside. Most retail customers chose the Biscayne or the Bel-Air trim levels.

ab348

Another 1960s Vancouver shot which expands to a huge size. A few interesting cars to be spotted here:

stickguy

Volvo 120 behind the big Mercedes

magnette

It's rare that the largest sedan in one of these pictures is European car - but there is the M-Benz 600 being followed by a Volvo Amazon - also Volvo Duett approaching in the distance above the hanging traffic lights
Also on the kerb to the left of the picture is a Metropolitan
Also an Austin A60 Cambridge approaching - its following the Amazon but has a car crossing it.

magnette

I think there may be a further BMC Farina (it may be a Morris Oxford mkVI rather than another Austin) - two cars behind the VW van diagonally beyond the MB600

ab348

Just to the left of the M-B as we see it here is a VW bus. Right behind that, largely but not completely obscured, is an odd-looking older design with a wide lower body but with a narrower top section perched on top. No idea what it may be.

magnette

There is a 59 Ford with the large tail lights heading away from us about to pass the oncoming MB.
the dark car ahead of that Ford may be a Vauxhall Viva HA - or an Epic
I think the parked car on the extreme left lane of the picture may be a Mercury Comet.

Lostwrench3

Right Front - 1964 Canadian Plymouth Valiant.

magnette

ab348 said:

Just to the left of the M-B as we see it here is a VW bus. Right behind that, largely but not completely obscured, is an odd-looking older design with a wide lower body but with a narrower top section perched on top. No idea what it may be.

I was looking at that.

My first thought was another Austin - a pre Farina Cambridge perhaps ie A50 or early A55 - but I can't believe BMC cars would be so well represented

fintail

Wow, a "big Mercedes" indeed - a W100 600, which would have cost around $25K USD in the 60s.

Not a fintail or 60 Ford to be seen, but I suppose the 600 makes up for that.

Could be anywhere, but the topography reminds me of Hastings St, east of downtown

omarman

2nd car ahead of the '59 Ford looks like a '60 Falcon.

Lostwrench3

That 1959 Pontiac is an easy one to ID.

ab348

So much to see here. The '65 fullsize Pontiac convertible near the front of the picture would be quite the find today. Three cars ahead of it in that lane is a tallish station wagon of some sort, perhaps a '54 Chevy? I cannot tell. Parked off to the left in the distance is a Nash Metropolitan (oops, noted by @magnette).

bhill2

fintail said:

Wow, a "big Mercedes" indeed - a W100 600, which would have cost around $25K USD in the 60s.

Not a fintail or 60 Ford to be seen, but I suppose the 600 makes up for that.

Could be anywhere, but the topography reminds me of Hastings St, east of downtown

Oh yeah. Back in the day, if I could have afforded either one, I would have had trouble choosing between a 300SEL 6.3 and a 600. The former would be more maneuverable, but that 600 was SO purty. Unfortunately, I would have had to inherit the money from a rich relative and I was distinctly short on rich relatives.