Mystery car pix

fintail

The old timer car in that pic is a 37 Chevy. I like the white new Ford pickup with wide whites behind a ~50 Pontiac at center left.

ab348

fintail said:

The old timer car in that pic is a 37 Chevy. I like the white new Ford pickup with wide whites behind a ~50 Pontiac at center left.

Same here. That '57 Ford pickup design always appealed to me, more than the '58 and years that followed. This one looks like an early minimal/non-work pickup.

andys120

At the bottom is a nice old Caddy, a '46 or '47 with a roof treatment of some kind like the vinyl coverings that became popular in the 60s. presumably a top-line model, (Fleetwood or
Series 62?)

andys120

stickguy

Volvo 120 series wagon. I guess those are called Amazons. Not sure if 125 was ever a thing! No clue of what year but I assume early 60s someplace.

berri

I'll guess an early 60's Volvo wagon

bhill2

andys120 said:

Late model Volvo 122 wagon. My dad bought a '68 2dr in that color. Fun car to drive and he (and I) loved it. My mom and sister hated it because the high dashboard and rear shelf gave them claustrophobia. Different priorities, I guess. He traded it in on a '68 144. To make it easier for my mom to drive, he got an automatic. God, that auto sucked the fun out of the car.

andys120

bhill2 said:

andys120 said:

Late model Volvo 122 wagon. My dad bought a '68 2dr in that color. Fun car to drive and he (and I) loved it. My mom and sister hated it because the high dashboard and rear shelf gave them claustrophobia. Different priorities, I guess. He traded it in on a '68 144. To make it easier for my mom to drive, he got an automatic. God, that auto sucked the fun out of the car.

Yup, that's a 1966 Volvo 122S (Amazon) wagon. The Amazons are my favorite Volvos ever.
I lived in the town where race driver Art Reilly had a Volvo dealership.

I think there were a few years when Volvo was making both 120 series and 140 series cars.

ab348

Big wreck on I-10 in L.A. circa 1960! Lots of stuff to see in this one:

andys120

A couple of imports towards the camera: the small white car near the cop on the left is a Fiat 1100 (Millecento) one of Fiat's most successful designs in Europe and elsewhere but rare in the US.

Next to the tractor trailer on the left we can see a Jaguar Mk.I Salo..er Sedan, the predecessor of the more popular Mk.II.

In the next lane sandwiched between a mid-50s Packard and a fire truck is a barely visible Fiat 1200, the larger successor to the aforementioned 1100 (subject of a recent MCP).

At the very bottom of the picture is a very fresh looking Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle) with the big rear window which indicates a post 1958 car.

I can't make out the car on its roof but it's smallish so probably also an import of some kind.

Great picture AB348!

ab348

Thanks Andy, I liked it because it blows up real good and even after that you can zoom in further on your screen without losing much detail.

A couple of other interesting things: it appears the LAPD (assuming it is them and not CHP here) used Ford and Chevy police cars those years. I see what I believe is a '56 Ford cruiser behind a pair of '58 Chevy cruisers which are all behind a '59 Ford cruiser, all pulled off to the right.

Over on the far left side, I see what looks like a rare '57 or '58 Dodge C-600 cabover truck with a tarp top directly in front of a Studebaker bullet-nose. Which reminds me: when I was a kid, trucks like that with tarpaulin or canvas tops were fairly common but they are virtually nonexistent these days. I wonder what the attraction of those was?

fintail

Cool pic indeed, fun to see the variety of brands. I notice the 56 Caddy convertible behind the Fiat at left is smashed up too. Upside-down car is a 57 Chevy, I assume a Bel Air 4 door post. 59 Caddy convertible in the rightmost lane is hard to miss. Behind the Jag a couple other unusual cars, a 55-56 Packard 2 door HT and a big Nash behind that.

lostwrench1

Bottom center - 1953 Chrysler.

ab348

Other interesting things about that picture - I count at least 5 tow trucks. One of them appears to be giving a boost to one of the ambulances (or vice-versa), since both have their hoods up next to each other. Finally, there is something covered by a tarp on the center median next to the upside-down Chevy - hope it isn't a body.

andys120

ab348 said:

Other interesting things about that picture - I count at least 5 tow trucks. One of them appears to be giving a boost to one of the ambulances (or vice-versa), since both have their hoods up next to each other. Finally, there is something covered by a tarp on the center median next to the upside-down Chevy - hope it isn't a body.

Sadly it probably is a body given that this photo was taken before seat belts were in common use. Flip a car while not wearing a belt and you'll be gone to another world.

lostwrench1 said:

Bottom center - 1953 Chrysler.

Right, the divided rear glass disappeared in 1954.

Anyone have a guess on the upside down car?

ab348

andys120 said:

Anyone have a guess on the upside down car?

@fintail identified it earlier as a '57 Chevy.

lostwrench1

ab348 said:

andys120 said:

Anyone have a guess on the upside down car?

@fintail identified it earlier as a '57 Chevy.

The wheel covers point to that's being correct.

tmart

Several Fords, 56, 57, 58, and 59’s.

andys120

OK, I do see the wheel covers on the upside-down car. I can see a piece of the Bel Air side trim as well.

andys120

stickguy

BMW 8 series. No idea how to tell the 50 from the 60. And I think there was a 6 cyl version to go along with the 8 and the 12?

kyfdx

andys120 said:

840i. (no V12 badge on the C-pillar)

texases

I preferred the 635, the 8 series didn't do a lot for me.

andys120

840i. (no V12 badge on the C-pillar)

Badge or no badge it's a 1994 BMW 850CSi

boomchek

One of my favorite looking cars of all time, the BMw 8 series. Judging by the wheels I'd say it's an 850 CSi which I think was the most powerful version.

andys120

ab348

Isuzu VehiCROSS. Those look like 16" wheels which would make it a 1999 model.

fintail

15-20 years ahead of its time. I still see those now and then around here, I suspect this area had a significant percentage of sales.

andys120

ab348 said:

Isuzu VehiCROSS. Those look like 16" wheels which would make it a 1999 model.

It's a MY 2000 Isuzu VehiCross.

ab348

Aftermarket wheels if it is a 2000 then, as they came with 18" chromes.

andys120

Matched set>

stickguy

looks like a mid 50s suburban towing a mid 50s refrigerator laying on it's side.

andys120

stickguy said:

looks like a mid 50s suburban towing a mid 50s refrigerator laying on it's side.

Well you're right about the Suburban part but the divided front glass was gone by the mid-50s. IIRC those avocado fridges didn't catch of until the 60s.

berri

Darken the green just a bit on that Chevy and trailer and you'd have the Chicago Transit Authority (transportation, not music) bus and L/subway colors back then.

imidazol97

andys120 said:

Matched set>

Great picture!

Mr_Shiftright

Also a whoppin' asking price!

andys120

For the record, it's a 1952 Chevy Suburban and a Royal Palace trailer.

andys120

Brochure Art>



Gotta love the way the art makes it look as long as an ocean liner and low enough to jump over.
Make/model not too hard but do you know MY?

ab348

1959 Olds Ninety-Eight Holiday Sedan.

andys120

ab348 said:

1959 Olds Ninety-Eight Holiday Sedan.

Yup.

Judging by the size of the driver (who is noticeably smaller than the mannequins behind her )that thing must be the size of a city bus. And how about that trunk which looks bigger than the passenger cabin. Just the car for a hard -working hit man (or woman?)

ab348

There is a restored 2-door version of that locally in those same colors, just a gorgeous car. I got to hang around with the owner for a bit last year. It truly is massive. You almost need to pack a lunch to walk around it.

Mr_Shiftright

andys120 said:

ab348 said:

1959 Olds Ninety-Eight Holiday Sedan.

Yup.

Judging by the size of the driver (who is noticeably smaller than the mannequins behind her )that thing must be the size of a city bus. And how about that trunk which looks bigger than the passenger cabin. Just the car for a hard -working hit man (or woman?)

I worked it out to scale. The car is about 35 ft. long.

berri

Buddy of mine in high school drove a used one. It was an aircraft carrier, that's for sure

andys120

berri

Maybe 62 or 63 Mercury Comet

lostwrench1

berri said:

Maybe 62 or 63 Mercury Comet

It's the '62, the cheap model. The Custom or Standard.

Mr_Shiftright

"Cheap" is the operative word all right. And this was an upscale Falcon, so you know we haven't hit the bargain basement yet.

Probably the "cheapest" car of the time was the Rambler American. Not saying it wasn't a "good" car, but it was certainly built to a price, with a flathead engine and decals marking the instrument panel.

I guess you could nominate the King Midget?

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

berri said:

Maybe 62 or 63 Mercury Comet

It's the '62, the cheap model. The Custom or Standard.

Yup, it's a '62 Comet Custom.

lostwrench1

The King Midget! There's a name from the past.
12 HP from 1966 to 1970.

andys120