It's Time to Play "WHO AM I"?

fezo · April 2011

43 out of 48 and all but one were clerical errors (thinking I clicked one box when I clicked another - had the 55 and 56 Chevys reversed when I knew better and mixed up my Kaisers. I was born in 1951.

There were some educated guesses in there but a lot of them were good old multiple choice specials - you eliminate what you know isn't right and there it is...

ateixeira · April 2011

I'm bad a guessing, or just have bad luck.

On nearly every question, I got 2 out of 4. You find a logo or styling cue that stands out, and can pick 1 or 2 correctly, then the rest is basically a guess.

I missed nearly all those guesses. Oh well, I don't play the lottery and I guess it's a good thing - I'd never win!

fezo · April 2011

My killer was catching all those funny things and then hitting the wrong thing on those Chevys. Doh!

qbrozen · April 2011

finally gave in and did it. 69%. Not bad for a guy born in 1973.
I got the one with the ornaments all right. The one with the Henry J and Kaiser I got all wrong, which surprised me. On several, I KNEW 2 and guessed 2 and almost always guessed wrong. Oh well.

Mr_Shiftright · April 2011

I got 100% but that's only because I think I once owned all of those cars :P

Actually I had to guess on 3 or 4 and got lucky.

Mr_Shiftright · April 2011

Okay, so nobody got #1178 Who Am I # 1178

and so I'll tell you it was George Keller, who made the Keller car.

Mr_Shiftright · April 2011

Okay, now I'm really going to get tough:

I was the only Ford Co. car (or at least the only one Shiftright remembers) that used a GM carburetor!!

Who Am I?

hints: 4-barrel / big block

hpmctorque · April 2011

I'd guess Lincoln, but couldn't guess the year.

hpmctorque · April 2011

I'm an American luxury brand that used GM's Hydra-matic transmission for five years. Who am I, and in which model years did I offer Hydra-Matic?

isellhondas · April 2011

I assume you meant in a non GM brand?

How about a 1949-1953 Lincoln?

omarman · April 2011

I'll guess the 1971 Mustang 429 CJ with a Rochester Quadrajet 4bbl. Only reason that rings a bell is because I had a '71 Mustang 302 V8 in high school. I don't know if any other models came with that engine/carb combo. My ex-girlfriend's father had an original 1970 Torino Cobra 429 and he said that the Holley carb on that engine was original equipment.

hoosiergrandad · April 2011

Didn't T-Birds use them for a few years?

jwilliams2 · April 2011

Ford used the GM Rochester Quadra-jet in some 429ci motors as I recall....in maybe '73 or so.

Mr_Shiftright · April 2011

Yep 70-71 on the Cougar Cobra Jet but not the Super Cobra Jet...for some odd reason they elected to use Air Injection instead.

Problem was, Ford didn't have a clean carburetor for emissions, so they used the Rochester for that short while.

hpmctorque · April 2011

You nailed it. Yes, Lincoln, but I think the years were '51-'53. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

Mr_Shiftright · April 2011

I offered a very rare factory sunroof in 1939 and the first factory-built station wagon for my marque in 1940. During World War II, my factory stopped building cars and made 20mm, 37mm and 155mm artillery, while other American automakers mostly made tanks and trucks and aircraft engines and parts.

Who Am I?

tjc78 · April 2011

Oldsmobile?

Mr_Shiftright · April 2011

Very GOOD! Gold star!

Yes, Oldsmobile just started "waking up" around 1939 and would go on to become one of the more innovative GM brands of the postwar period as well with continuing Hydra-Matic and their rocket 88 engine, and even turbocharging later on.

isellhondas · April 2011

So true and so hard to believe Oldsmobile is no more. I think they had the first automatic transmission in 1940 didn't they?

The "bubble coupes" of 1949 and 1950 were basically a Chevrolet with that "rocket" V-8 installed. They were hard to beat in their day!

bhill2 · May 2011

If you read a certain magazine you will know this, because it's what reminded me.

I wasn't the first car to offer air conditioning, but I was the first to offer a fully integrated fresh air heater/AC system with all components either under the hood or on the dash (no evaporator in the trunk). Who am I and what year did I debut my system?

hpmctorque · May 2011

I'd guess Nash, but don't remember the year. Some time in the mid-latter '50s, maybe?

bhill2 · May 2011

You are correct in your answer of Nash. Anyone want to contribute the year?

omarman · May 2011

I would have guessed Pontiac in '54. Was it Nash in '54? What was the magazine tie-in from the original clue? It's still early and I haven't had caffeine. :sick:

Easy bit of trivia for me to remember about that year concerns running back Archie Griffin. Griffin was born in '54 and wore #45. He was the Heisman winner in 1974 and again in 1975!

bhill2 · May 2011

Omarman, you are correct in saying '54. You would have gotten half credit for Pontiac because they did indeed come out with an AC system with all components contained under the hood. It was, however, not integrated with the heater and I think it still only recirculated cabin air as opposed to bringing in fresh air. The magazine reference was to Old Cars Weekly, which had an article on the Nash system in the latest issue.

isellhondas · May 2011

I believe I was the first car to ever have a vinyl top applied over my metal roof and I was built in the good old U.S.

Unheard of at the time.

Who am I?

hpmctorque · May 2011

I am a '51 Ford. I believe you could also get the '51 Mercury with the vinyl top. Sharp cars!

motorcity6 · May 2011

Had a 50 Ford Crestliner with flathead V-8, 3 on the column w/overdrive..Body color was bronze with brown and brown vinyl roof..Great car, purchased new, some engine modifications and dual ehaust..Car was driven approx 50k mi and traded in on another Ford..

Side story, Ford dealer in Indpls, who was the original selling dealer after tradein reset the speedo to show 25k mi..Several yrs later the new owner contacted my family on a title mistake and he stated that the speedo reading at time of his accident due to a sandstorm in Ariz was 145k mi, car was totaled..

After turning 16, my first car was a 48 Chevy Fleetmaster, which was a handed down to me and I managed to blow the engine and later roll the car..It survived with a new engine and a few new body parts.

Back to the 50 Ford Crestliner, it was fast and fun..60 in o/d first and 90 in o/d second gear..and around 115 in o/d third..In essence it had 6 speeds forward..

Our run of overdrive trannies and flat head V-8s was extended to 51, 52, and 53 models with the 54 model our first automatic V-8, Fordomatic with overhead valve engine..

hpmctorque · May 2011

"50 Ford Crestliner with flathead V-8, 3 on the column w/overdrive..Body color was bronze with brown and brown vinyl roof"

Neat car. Interesting story.

Those flathead V8s with dual exhausts sounded great.

isellhondas · May 2011

You nailed it! Good job!

isellhondas · May 2011

I grew up in a Chevy town and Fords weren't very cool.

One summer, a guy parked a 1950 Crestliner on a busy street corner with a For Sale sign in it. This would have been in around 1968.

Of course, I had to stop and look at it. It was a typical rust free So Calif car but it had it's share of scrapes and scratches etc. It was well used but overall, it was in good shape. It was priced at 200.00. It sat there for several weekends until it finally disappeared.

hpmctorque · May 2011

I wonder what that Crestliner, in that condition, would be worth today?

So, I take it Chevys were considered cooler in your town, in the early '50s. The few Chevys that were modified with split manifolds sounded neat. One guy in my town in WI had a '51 Plymouth with a split manifold, milled head, and other mods he wouldn't disclose, making it pretty quick for its day. He won quite a few bets against Fords and Chevys.

omarman · May 2011

That well known Frank Gorshin star vehicle, Dragstrip Girl, spawned a movie poster with a hot rod and a pair of 4 barrel carbs thrusting out of the engine bay. Who were the original vehicle builders and the carburetor maker offering factory-built high performance 4bbl V-8 engines long before the muscle car era? And what year did this airpower begin?

berri · May 2011

Wasn't the Crestliner just sort of a place holder because that chassis couldn't be converted to meet the new hardtop coupes from GM and then Chrysler? IIRC it wasn't much of a seller either. so I could see how it might be worth some money today. I always though the subsequent 52-54 Ford's were decent lookers for their day.

hpmctorque · May 2011

You're correct regarding the Crestliner, and I agree with you on the '52-54s.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2011

A 50s Crestliner today, in "fair" condition, but solid, complete, unrusted, running....should be worth about $8500. As a nice clean #3 driver, about $17K and as a very sharp #2, north of $30K. The buyer pool for this type of car may be shrinking fast, however.

hpmctorque · May 2011

"The buyer pool for this type of car may be shrinking fast, however"

A agree, as people who can remember the Crestliner dwindle. As for me, I remember it, but wouldn't buy one at those prices. I'd enjoy seeing one at a car show, though.

lemko · May 2011

My Dad's first car was a black 1950 Ford coupe, but it wasn't a Crestliner.

isellhondas · May 2011

Here's a nice one that could be yours!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Rare-50-Crestliner-SOLID-Vinyl-Top-Flat-Head-V8-A- WESOME-/190530771637?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2c5c84dab5

Mr_Shiftright · May 2011

Sort of an odd-looking thing, isn't it.

hpmctorque · May 2011

That's indeed a nice one.

Totally different, but that two-tone reminds me of a deep maroon and black New Beetle in the showroom of a local VW dealer. It really looked sharp. Color(s) can make such a difference!

isellhondas · May 2011

Yes, my town was a Chevy town. A few guys had Fords but they were far from cool. Convertables were laughed at and Chrysler products were few and far between. Even today a lot of the old "Cholos" remain and it's not uncommon to hear the sweet sound of a split manifold on an old Chevy six.

1948-1954 Chevys were probably the most desired and the town is still full of them.

isellhondas · May 2011

Yeah, they were odd. did you watch that short video? I was trying to decide if that interior fabric was original. It appeared to have a black vinyl headliner and I don't think it came like that but I can't say for sure.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2011

I have no idea. I'm not very keen (or interested) in what's exactly correct on mass-produced cars. If it's close to right, that's good enough for me. Of course, I'll research things like this for people who deem it important but if it were my car, I could care less if the glove compartment hinge was really from a '51 instead of a '50.

isellhondas · May 2011

Oh, I'm not that fussy either and in the case of an oddball like that Crestliner, it would be near impossible to find reproduction interior fabric anyway unlike a '55 Bel Air.

I was just wondering if you happened to know.

Mr_Shiftright · May 2011

No, I don't have any good books on that particular car. I could probably find out but it would require some time to do that. I have to say I've never seen anything like that on a similar type of car, so it does look a bit dubious.

Nice thing about cars *that* obscure--nobody else knows either!

berri · May 2011

Didn't Kaiser do that same vinyl roof thing in lieu of hardtops (or convertibles in their case) around the same time as the Crestliner?

fintail · May 2011

I was thinking of that car too, the Kaiser Virginian

There was also a Model A with a fake convertible top.

isellhondas · May 2011

Yeah, I do remember the Kaisers had something similar that almost looked like bamboo or straw.

isellhondas · May 2011

You know, Ford made a lot of versions of the Model A and the one I'm thinking of was a "Victoria". Very rare and actually very nice looking.

I know that at least some of those did come with a padded top.

And I think they also made a coupe that was susposted to look like a convertable with side irons and all.

Now I'm going to have to go look!

fintail · May 2011

The Victoria was a pretty car for the price and time. The car with fake landau bars was simply the "sport coupe" IIRC. When I was a kid an old friend of the family had one...looks like a convertible, but it isn't.

It's Time to Play "WHO AM I"?

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