Mystery car pix

omarman

I like this Capri theme! That last one looks like a '54 Lincoln Capri. Rear quarter panel trim catches the eye.

lostwrench1

Mr_Shiftright said:

General Patton would have loved that grille.

I was stationed in the city in which he had his terrible car accident.

berri

Re: the Ford Consul Capri - something about that coupe reminds me of the last Packards and the 4 dr reminds me of an early 60's Rambler for whatever reason (Maybe the greenhouse).

andys120

fintail said:

mystery car, a 55 Lincoln Capri? Kind of like the one that filled in for the Mercury in the hill scenes on "The Long Long Trailer.
.

It's a 1954 Lincoln Capri. AFAIK this was the first Ford product to carry the Capri name. Capris were introduced in 1952 as a submodel of the Lincoln Cosmopolitan, then became a stand alone model through 1959. Lincoln Capris dominated the Carrera Panamericana in its last years 1953-54.

The 1958-59 versions may have been the largest passenger cars in US production history.

andys120

stickguy

1960ish Checker. Marathon wagon? Not sure what they called them.

berri

I recall getting brochures at the Chicago Auto Show back then while Checker was trying to get into the mass market. They also had kind of a formal landau type sedan for sale.

andys120

stickguy said:

1960ish Checker. Marathon wagon? Not sure what they called them.

Yep, it's a 1964 Checker Marathon A-12 Wagon.

berri said:

I recall getting brochures at the Chicago Auto Show back then while Checker was trying to get into the mass market. They also had kind of a formal landau type sedan for sale.

Yup this is an '82>

Stretch versions of both sedan and wagon with 8 doors were available. The 8 door wagon was called the Aerobus.>

stickguy

when i was a kid, there was a widow that live a few houses down the had a civilian checker. It was white. I seem to recall it being an interesting sight to see a little tiny white haired old lady, piloting that car around.

lostwrench1

Years ago I attended a massive demolition derby in Massachusetts. The winning car? A Checker.

andys120

Mystery Dash:

stickguy

Datsun. 240Z? early car so 1970

ab348

Dude should have bought better mats rather than those homemade jobs.

andys120

stickguy said:

Datsun. 240Z? early car so 1970

Oh yeah, if you've ever been in one you can't mistake those gauges in the middle. I really miss analog instruments

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

when i was a kid, there was a widow that live a few houses down the had a civilian checker. It was white. I seem to recall it being an interesting sight to see a little tiny white haired old lady, piloting that car around.

I owned a civilian Checker in Colorado. Awful car to drive but very reliable. It had a Continental flathead 6 that ticked over at about 400 rpm, 3-speed manual transmission with overdrive. A friend of mine took a civvy Checker and made it into a taxicab and rented it out for movies and TV commercials. I would occasionally wrangle the car for her, staying on set with it and sometimes driving it for the camera. One time I got to meet Ridley Scott, who was filming a bank commercial (many well-known directors do this kind of pickup work because it pays very well). I also babysat a '36 Plymouth Phaeton on the set of Joy Luck Club. Damn thing stalled during filming. I had to go over and get it running while everyone waited around. Fortunately, filing the points clean did the trick (phew!). Director NOT happy.

Sound glamorous? It's not. Very tedious work, and aside from a good lunch, rather poor pay and long hours. You also have to guard your car with your life. TV and movie people will screw it up the minute you look away.

I did enjoy how the movie people take a restored car and make it look beat-up--with fake dust, rust spots and dents. Pretty cool. Some movies rented 20-30 cars for a period street scene. Most just sat there the whole day.

andys120

stickguy

A mercury with Pontiac wheels?

tmart

60’s Mercury Comet.

andys120

tmart said:

60’s Mercury Comet.

Yup, it's a 1963 Comet/260 convertible.

stickguy said:

A mercury with Pontiac wheels?

Those are Magnum 500 stamped steel wheels that were optional in some cars back in the day. They're similar to the Rally II wheels seen on Ponchos and other GM iron.

Most Comets were pretty nondescript but the convertible body combined with a striking color combo and nice wheels makes for a real looker. I own a black over red BMW convertible and passersby often tell me they like it.

That combo was somewhat popular in the 50s and 60s but is rarely seen now.

ab348

Locally there is a beautifully restored '63 Comet convertible like the one shown, red on red, sans those wheels (which are a matter of personal taste I suppose). Although it really wasn't much of a car even back in it's day, they do like nice when done up. When I see one I'm reminded of this old music video by the criminally underrated Suzy Bogguss.

https://youtu.be/fUTFWqkFf98

omarman

My brother drove one of these in the early 70s and at the time I thought that the Japanese imports would never catch up.

Under the hood of my brother's car the engine was like this:

stickguy

Opel Kadette. I had a 75 Manta at one point. Seemed like an exotic at the time.

ab348

That looks like an Opel Kadett to me. That radiator appears to be the size of a large textbook.

stickguy

60 HP doesn't generate much heat I guess.

texases

We looked at one of those in '68 I think, thank goodness we got the Valiant instead.

Michaell

Oliver!

fintail

Bob Lutz had a memorable photo op with one:

omarman

Car and Driver took another memorable pic of their Opel Kadett wagon road test car in a salvage yard.

My brother's car was a 1971 Kadett B 2 door coupe with a 1.1 litre and 2 carbs with a 4-speed. I remember going with him to the local Buick dealer to buy a new filter to fit that oval shaped housing. The air filter was packaged in a square box and came out as a normal looking round filter. But when you squeezed the sides of the air filter, it fit perfectly into the air housing for the twin solex carburetors.

imidazol97

andys120 said:

I don't believe I've ever seen one of these in my lifetime. I wonder how many were sold.

andys120

Don't feel bad if you don't know this one, I didn't either.

Michaell

andys120 said:

Don't feel bad if you don't know this one, I didn't either.

Fiat Croma.

andys120

Nope the Croma was a size larger, using the same platform as the Saab 9000 and the Alfa 164. Good guess though, you're in the right era.

Michaell

andys120 said:

Nope the Croma was a size larger, using the same platform as the Saab 9000 and the Alfa 164. Good guess though, you're in the right era.

I saw the article that picture was attached to, just remembered the model incorrectly. I'll see if anyone can come up with the right answer.

texases

I knew that logo looked familiar, but when I searched it didn't come up. Even now, searched 'Fiat logo history', most don't include that one.

andys120

Fiat used those diagonals as it's logo during the 80s and 90s IIRC. They are now using a red background w FIAT lettering similar to the laurel wreath that graced the hood go my 1971 124 Sport Spider.

Now:


Then:

omarman

I recall seeing the diagonal emblem on the little Fiat Uno hatchback grill and found this pic on the FCA Group history for 1980-1990:

Mr_Shiftright

Might be a Fiat Tempra.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

Might be a Fiat Tempra.

That's it. The Fiat Tempra was a small sedan made from 1990-99 on a platform shared with the Alfa 155 and the Lancia Dedra. It was made in Italy, Brazil, Turkey, and Vietnam.

andys120

magnette

This is a Talbot Lago, possibly a Grand Sport, but the coach builder could be one of several.

French high class cars were killed off by taxation from the late 40's.

andys120

magnette said:

This is a Talbot Lago, possibly a Grand Sport, but the coach builder could be one of several.

French high class cars were killed off by taxation from the late 40's.

Yup, that's a 1950 Talbot-Lago TS with body by Saoutchik. The styling is uncharacteristic for Saoutchik who was know for really flamboyant designs. It's a shame that the high performance French builders were taxed out of existence.

andys120

omarman

Passing Dino's Lodge headed away from the camera a two tone white and coral 1957 Ford Custom 300 Fordor Sedan.

lostwrench1

1962 Cadillac Deville
1959 Lincoln Continental
1954 Pontiac Chieftan

ab348

That looks like a cousin to @andre1969 's DeSoto parked at the curb. This is Sunset Strip in L.A.

lostwrench1

At the curb - A 1957 Chrysler Saratoga.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

1962 Cadillac Deville
1959 Lincoln Continental
1954 Pontiac Chieftan

How can you tell it's a DeVille from just the grille?

How can you tell a '59 Continental from a '58?

lostwrench1 said:

At the curb - A 1957 Chrysler Saratoga.

How can you tell? Looks like any other late 50s MoPar from what little is visible.

omarman

There may be other clues but 1958 Lincoln Continental had round tail lights like this:

stickguy

What a barge! 229” long, and 80” wide. So about the size of a 4 door F150.

omarman

stickguy said:

What a barge! 229” long, and 80” wide. So about the size of a 4 door F150.

Longer than a Ford Excursion! But with a roll down back window instead of the F150 power sliding back glass.