Mystery car pix

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

I might call it something else.

"Cute" was not the word that sprang to mind, no.

andys120

It's a 1975 Mazda Chantez GL with a curb weight of 1080lbs.
I never heard of it either but it is cute in an English bulldog kind of way to me.

"

lostwrench1

Front wheels need an alignment check.

ab348

Perhaps Mazda in that era was not used to that requirement.

andys120

stickguy

Makes it easier when the name is written on the picture for you!

texases

This one sold for $93,500 in 2011:
https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo11/auction/lots/r155-1959-fiat-abarth-750-zagato-double-bubble-coupe

fintail

Which in this speculative market probably means it is worth 193K today.

Here's something I saw up on the lift in the shop at Volo, not sure if it is real etc:

andys120

Looks like a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe/289. These won the 1965 FIA Championship for GT cars, beating the Ferrari 250/275 GTOs.

Mr_Shiftright

@texases --- no, the Fiat Abarth hasn't appreciated much at all since 2011. Factoring in 2% inflation per year, then it's been a very incremental increase. Figure $120K is all the money today.

andys120

No photograph can capture the oddness of the Double Bubble Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato if you were to see one in traffic. It's really tiny but very aggressive, as if you were seeing a quarter scale Ferrari GTO or something like that.

They look pretty cool on race tracks too.

andys120

lostwrench1

Well, it reads Oldsmobile Cutlass. I'll go with 1964.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

Well, it reads Oldsmobile Cutlass. I'll go with 1964.

You're on the money Wrench. The ad is captioned "1964 Olds Cutlass F85" but IIRC correctly F85 was the original name for the Olds compact cars and the Cutlass was an upmarket version w more standard features and trim (similarly as in Pontiac Tempest LeMans.) So shouldn't it read " 1964 Olds F85 Cutlass?"

Of course a lot of those original model names got dropped along the way (the exception being Skylark IIRC).

lostwrench1

I find that is correct. It should be "1964 Olds F85 Cutlass."

andys120

SKIRTS?>



Or NO SKIRTS?>

stickguy

None, for sure.

kyfdx

I think that one looks better with skirts. It came that way, right?

lostwrench1

Even though those skirts came with the '65 Pontiac Grand Prix, I vote No.

Mr_Shiftright

It's more graceful without them; otherwise, you have to look at a vertical surface in the rear that's large enough for drywall.

Skirts make the car look too heavy IMO.

andys120

They do make the car look longer and lower but they also make it look too big and butt heavy. They also hide the snazzy looking eight lug wheels (seen on every restored Poncho of the era but originally an expensive and rarely seen option).

I like the color of this car and it's one of the few that wears a vinyl roof well. BTW-those rims are tiny by current standards (14"?)

I like skirts on many 50s/60s era cars but on this one I'd have to say no.

kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright said:

It's more graceful without them; otherwise, you have to look at a vertical surface in the rear that's large enough for drywall.

Skirts make the car look too heavy IMO.

In my experience, the fender isn't finished properly without them. Sort of a rough edge. (not visually, actually) It was that way on our '67 Bonneville and '72 Lincoln.

Mr_Shiftright

I see your point there, but this particular car is not flattered by the skirt--whereas some cars might prove what you say.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

I see your point there, but this particular car is not flattered by the skirt--whereas some cars might prove what you say.

Wow that's something for you to say, you're usually pretty negative about skirts. You are of course entitled to be. I can't resist posting one of my favorite "skirt jobs">

Mr_Shiftright

That skirting totally works on that particular car--the skirt line matches the fender line perfectly, and also the rear window sweep.

It's harmonious in design, and it flatters the car--

Of course, this is all subjective (to a point), but I do think that car design should have certain "rules".

I'm really sensitive to the "stance" of a car--it has to look right. Too much or too little room in the wheel wells, or the "car on stilts" look--all that gets my attention.

It's like with a "gasser"--you wouldn't want that "stance" on a Lexus, but it looks great on a 50s drag car.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

That skirting totally works on that particular car--the skirt line matches the fender line perfectly, and also the rear window sweep.

It's harmonious in design, and it flatters the car--

Of course, this is all subjective (to a point), but I do think that car design should have certain "rules".

I'm really sensitive to the "stance" of a car--it has to look right. Too much or too little room in the wheel wells, or the "car on stilts" look--all that gets my attention.

It's like with a "gasser"--you wouldn't want that "stance" on a Lexus, but it looks great on a 50s drag car.

Well said Mr S.

andys120

Where to get your car "skirted">

ab348

I'm trying to ID that white-over dark 2-door just to the left of the group of people. Obviously customized, but what did it start out as, perhaps a Studebaker coupe?

The Caddy in the foreground looks to have had some custom work done also.

stickguy

Not my field, but I assumed it was a stude.

fintail

The white over dark coupe to the left of the people appears to be a Muntz Jet with a customized front end.

ab348

fintail said:

The white over dark coupe to the left of the people appears to be a Muntz Jet with a customized front end.

Ah, perhaps. It would not take much to improve on that original front end.

andys120

The light colored Caddy is a '57 with the hood emblem removed and two small holes added for some reason. It would be the newest car, the other Caddyak looks like a '56.

andys120

The stock front of the Mutz Jet>

Reminds me of the fences they used put in front of early Porsches>



Looks pretty bad but better than what that low front end would look if a Buick backed into you!

ab348

andys120 said:

The light colored Caddy is a '57 with the hood emblem removed and two small holes added for some reason. It would be the newest car, the other Caddyak looks like a '56.

I didn’t think anything other than the Eldorado 4-door HT had quad headlights in ‘57.

andys120

ab348 said:

andys120 said:

The light colored Caddy is a '57 with the hood emblem removed and two small holes added for some reason. It would be the newest car, the other Caddyak looks like a '56.

I didn’t think anything other than the Eldorado 4-door HT had quad headlights in ‘57.

Good catch AB, then it's a '57 Eldo Brougham which had no hood ornament but seems to have had taller front glass and different side trim!

I'm really confused. There were Eldos in '55 and '56 but the pix i find all have tall front w/s s
Anyone?

lostwrench1

The 50's Cadillac shown in the black and white photo is a creation of the California Style Customs Shop. They must have had car creations which didn't necessarily have parts of cars of the same year.
The combination of the location of that side "air intake" grille and the location of the parking lights make this Cadillac a 1956 Eldorado.
(I like the missile tubes in the hood. They must be loaded. The work crew is staying far away.)

andys120

Makes sense, thanks Wrench.

andys120

berri

Skirts on a 65 Pontiac Grand Prix; what's next fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror, a necker knob on the steering wheel and a hula dancer on the dash Please, no painted flames or glass packs either.

boomchek

@andys120 Polski Fiat 126p. Also known in Poland as the "maluch" meaning the little one. One of the most affordable and common cars in Poland during the 70s and 80s.

Built from early 70s to 2000. They came with a tiny rear mounted 2 cylinder engine. Not uncommon to see these in the summer time towing relatively huge camper trailers.

andys120

Y/up, it's the Polski Fiat 126P and boy is it tiny, looks about 1/2 the size of a 128.

andys120

Michaell

Some sort of a kit car based off a Fiat X 1/9

andys120

Michaell said:

Some sort of a kit car based off a Fiat X 1/9

The only things it has in common w the X-1/9 are transverse mid-engine placement and a five speed manual (not the same one as the Fiat). Otherwise different make, different cylinder count, different nationality. Back to the drawing board Michaell.

boomchek

It's gotta be some sort of a French creation.

kyfdx

I think it's British..

texases

I see an AC logo on the roof pillar.  What model? Beats me. 

andys120

kyfdx said:

I think it's British..

texases said:

I see an AC logo on the roof pillar.  What model? Beats me. 

You're getting warmer, there's another AC logo on the hood.

Mr_Shiftright

That "thing" is an AC 3000ME. They made a whoppin' 82 of them. Ford V6, 3.0L, mid-engined, but it wasn't very fast and had lots of teething problems They were made 1979 to 1984. It was briefly taken over by AC Scotland but that company died within a year. Then in 1988, it got revived again under a manufacturer calling itself "Ecosse"------which ironically brings us back to Michael. The Ecosse company produced this "thing" with a turbo 2-liter Fiat engine and called it the "Signature". I have no idea if any actually hit the road but there are photos of them. Sounds like the British version of Avanti--you just can't kill it.

AC was a venerable company, founded in 1908. I think it went belly-up around 1990 or so.

andys120

It's not entirely accurate to say they went "belly-up". The components of AC ,which over time has made everything from "invalid carriages" to railway cars, have changed hands and names
so many times that it's hard to say whether they're still around or not.

It's complicated, really complicated!