Mystery car pix

stickguy

maybe when the next Sentra gets released?

Mr_Shiftright

Now stop that!

ab348

stickguy said:

Wasn’t the 14th the same day the lady in Chicago bought hers?

The Henry Ford account is wrong according to everything else I've read. Tucker said he saw a crowd at the St. John's, NF Ford showroom on introduction day and bought it on the spot, which would have been April 17th, 1964.

andys120

omarman

stickguy said:

Wasn’t the 14th the same day the lady in Chicago bought hers?

There's an article on Hagerty which states Tom and Gail still possess the original bill of sale and invoice, with the former fully notarized as “PAID Conditionally By Check, April 15, 1964.
But it appears that there are several different accounts of the sale date for Stanley Tucker's Mustang #1 including this account on Wiki:
On April 15, 1964, Tucker was driving past the Ford dealer when he noticed a big crowd in the dealership on introduction day and stopped in to see what the commotion was about. By the time he finished dinner that evening, he decided that he had to have that car.

On April 16, 1964, Tucker walked into showroom. Mr. Parsons, owner of the dealership, wanted to retain the car for a few days because it was the only Mustang he had in stock, but Capt. Tucker persuaded him to make it available the next morning. A deal was reached and a check was written on the spot.

But where's the documentation for all the claims about the original date of sale for Mustang #1?

qbrozen

andys120 said:

Haven't we done this one?

1955 Chrysler 300

stickguy

Sharp looking boat

stickguy

might have run out of cars and have to start over?

Mr_Shiftright

We could expand to notable one-offs and race cars, also commercial vehicles.

berri

First year of the 300 I believe

The first Mustang year was interesting because that model drew a wide range of buyer interest; young and old, male and female...

ab348

Here's a mystery car for you:

andys120

qbrozen said:

andys120 said:

Haven't we done this one?

1955 Chrysler 300

Yep ,it's a first year 1955 Chrysler C-300 . They didn't go for he ascending letters until 1956 w the 300B, the '57 was a 300C etc.

tmart

ab348 said:

Here's a mystery car for you:

I like the hood ornament, but don’t think my wife would let me buy it!

fintail

Some kind of BMC ADO16, headlights look a little like those on a NA spec MB W113.

Mr_Shiftright

And besides all that, immensely affordable! There was something for everyone--hardtops, fastbacks, convertibles/6 cylinder/8 cylinder/ "K" code/ "GT"/ automatic/3 speed stick/4-speed stick.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

And besides all that, immensely affordable! There was something for everyone--hardtops, fastbacks, convertibles/6 cylinder/8 cylinder/ "K" code/ "GT"/ automatic/3 speed stick/4-speed stick.

If you wanted a real sports car you could get the Shelby GT-350 and eventually the GT-500 if you wanted a muscle car.

omarman

And the best rental car Hertz had to offer.

Mr_Shiftright

Somebody at Hertz must have had WAY too many martinis for lunch to come up with that idea.

omarman

I thought the idea came from Shelby American. Not that they weren't drinking too.

andys120

fintail

With the old timey windshield, appears to be a 356 pre-A.

ab348

tmart said:

ab348 said:

Here's a mystery car for you:

I like the hood ornament, but don’t think my wife would let me buy it!

Should not be a total surprise given the style of the picture that the car is a 1960s ITALIAN model, the 1964 Innocenti IM3, based as @fintail noted on the BMC ADO16 but offering a few of its own pieces like the front end design and, surprisingly, a unique dashboard:

andys120

fintail said:

With the old timey windshield, appears to be a 356 pre-A.

That's it Fin, it's a 1952 Porsche 356. As you know 356s produced before the introduction of the 356A series in 1955 are now referred to as "pre-A". The first 356As had a single pane windscreen with a Vee shape so they could use the old bodies.

andys120

stickguy

some sort of Studebaker. there is one in a driveway not too far from me that looks like that back end. In kind of ratty condition.

thebean

Just guessing, maybe a '49 or '50? Before the bullet nose?

lostwrench1

thebean said:

Just guessing, maybe a '49 or '50? Before the bullet nose?

Nope, it's after the bullet nose. 1952.

berri

Starliner or some such name for that wrap around rear window coupe

thebean

Ah, thanks. I really like this one better than the bullet nose (don't tell @uplanderguy over on the Stude board - heresy).

ab348

lostwrench1 said:

thebean said:

Just guessing, maybe a '49 or '50? Before the bullet nose?

Nope, it's after the bullet nose. 1952.

That's it. The '53 looked much better but had problems with quality and structure.

The young lady in that picture is just lovely.

berri

That coupe was called a Starlight

andys120

berri said:

That coupe was called a Starlight

That's right, it's a 1952 Studebaker Champion Starlight. Apparently Studebaker beat the Big 3 by introducing a single pane windshield in 1952. Cars by FoMoco, GM and ChryCo still had divided two-piece glass in '52.

1952 Was another big year for the "I shoulda waited" syndrome. The '53 Studes were design classics >

lostwrench1

Hmmm, not really. In 1952, Ford, Mercury, Rambler, Nash, Lincoln, and a bunch of GM cars had a one piece windshield.

berri

Those 53 Studebaker lines still look good today though

texases

No better looking year IMO. 

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

Hmmm, not really. In 1952, Ford, Mercury, Rambler, Nash, Lincoln, and a bunch of GM cars had a one piece windshield.

My bad, my recollection was that practically everyone went the one piece in the same year but you re correct that '52 was the year most did switch. Notable exceptions were Hudson, all MoPars, Chevrolet and Pontiac.



Oddly, the rest of the GM lineup did go one piece in 1952, a year ahead of Chevy and Pontiac.



Does anyone know if having the one piece glass first helped Ford and Merc vs. Chevy and Pontiac in 1952?

andys120

berri said:

Those 53 Studebaker lines still look good today though

It's such a clean, sharp look it was bound to wear well, Studebaker used it on various Hawks into the 60s although the fat C-pillars on the Hawks didn't work nearly as well as the slim posts on the '53s.

I don't think Studebaker ever did a pillar-less four door for the Loewy-style cars. Odd since those were all the rage in the 1950s/60s.

ab348

The 4-door versions of the Loewy design just never looked right to me.

imidazol97

The shape is not as eye-appealing as the two doors, by a lot.

I love the fenderside air vents that could be opened from inside in varying amounts on our Studebaker. As long as you were moving, you got air blowing in onto your legs and over your body. Who needs air condition!

My Mustang had manual air vents too on the 67. I believe they used air from the same intake as the heater through the cowl.

ab348

imidazol97 said:

My Mustang had manual air vents too on the 67. I believe they used air from the same intake as the heater through the cowl.

My Cutlass has the same. If you ordered A/C you didn't get them.

berri

I think that era Studebaker Conestoga wagon also looked better than the 4 door sedan.

Mr_Shiftright

texases said:

No better looking year IMO. 

Unfortunately, built on a chassis better suited to 1933. I mean, To be fair, not too many American manufacturers were dabbling in exotic technology in terms of suspension, brakes and steering. In the boom-boom 50s, it was all about style and luxury appointments.

fintail

Would those fender vent areas be rust nests?

I like having fresh air ventilation - of all my dad's old cars, I remember it most on the 68 Fairlane, maybe because of the satisfying feel and gentle thud it made when operating. The fintail has it too, the opening is a chrome framed intake just ahead of the windshield, something seen in one form or another on all period MBs.

andys120

My TR-4A had a simple but surprisingly effective airflow system. The was a hinged flap in the space between the hood and the base of the windshield, it was controlled by a simple under dash lever and when opened allowed air into the cabin via dash vents that looked much like the vents in modern A/C systems. This was pretty effective unless you weren't moving on a hot day.

Best of all, it was fool proof unlike almost every other system in that car.

Mr_Shiftright

Remember the heater control valve on an Austin Healey Sprite? It was a garden valve you turned on and off by the firewall----LOL!

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

Remember the heater control valve on an Austin Healey Sprite? It was a garden valve you turned on and off by the firewall----LOL!


And they say British cars were unreliable. You can't break climate controls that simple!

andys120

ab348 said:

The 4-door versions of the Loewy design just never looked right to me.

You can tell that the Loewy Studes would have made nice 4-dr H/Ts. I assume Studebaker Execs decided it was worth the expense of engineering and tooling to develop one, yet they managed to come out with the innovative Wagonaire and the Avanti.

berri

I think maybe rear window ventipanes might have helped the 4 dr sedan looks a bit, and the greenhouse probably would have looked better as a 4dr HT. But it still wouldn't have taken the tiara home.

bhill2

ab348 said:

The 4-door versions of the Loewy design just never looked right to me.

That was due at least in part to a really unfortunate decision by management. They decided to put the sedans on a shorter wheelbase than the coupes (and hardtops). As a result, the coupes and hardtops were beautiful. The sedans, not so much.

andys120