Mystery car pix

andys120

fintail said:

Smallish dark red 2 door parked in the back appears to be an Opel Rekord.

I can't make out the plates, but by the building style, I am pretty sure this is in Germany or Austria.

If that's sothere's a lot of Detroit iron around. The Nash Metropolitan in the foreground isn't exactly American, they were made by Austin for AMC. I can't place the Kombi parked next to the small window VW, is it a Borgward?

1955 and '56 Fords are hard to tell apart. The gray four door is probably a Fairlane but I'm not sure which year.

tmart

The grey Ford is a 56 Fairlane, not a 55.

bhill2

andys120 said:

fintail said:

Smallish dark red 2 door parked in the back appears to be an Opel Rekord.

I can't make out the plates, but by the building style, I am pretty sure this is in Germany or Austria.

If that's sothere's a lot of Detroit iron around. The Nash Metropolitan in the foreground isn't exactly American, they were made by Austin for AMC. I can't place the Kombi parked next to the small window VW, is it a Borgward?

1955 and '56 Fords are hard to tell apart. The gray four door is probably a Fairlane but I'm not sure which year.

The Kombi has a DKW look about it to me, but I am but an egg when it comes to European cars. The Rambler wagon is a ‘58 or ‘59.

lostwrench1

The Rambler wagon is a '59 Cross Country.

fintail

There's an awful lot of German metal in the pic for a domestic shot, and the building has that "postwar military housing" look to it, still in use on installations there today. A couple cars have "W" prefix plates, those could be US Forces plates or Vienna regional plates. The color also appears to match 1959-60 US forces plates.

I believe the kombi is a DKW.

andys120 said:

fintail said:

Smallish dark red 2 door parked in the back appears to be an Opel Rekord.

I can't make out the plates, but by the building style, I am pretty sure this is in Germany or Austria.

If that's sothere's a lot of Detroit iron around. The Nash Metropolitan in the foreground isn't exactly American, they were made by Austin for AMC. I can't place the Kombi parked next to the small window VW, is it a Borgward?

1955 and '56 Fords are hard to tell apart. The gray four door is probably a Fairlane but I'm not sure which year.

magnette

That Thunderbird looks like the converted Jaguar E type made into a hearse in the film Harold & Maude

magnette

I'd say the blue Estate Car / is a DKW 1000 Kombi or one of its relatives which fits the setting too.

Going back to that Anglia under the tree on the earlier photo the length of the window before the c-post would indicate a four door so it isn't an Anglia, and the larger Ford Classic which was available as a 4door doesn't look right either. I thought about the Lloyd Arabella but they are 2 door too - is it some version of an Opel?

lostwrench1

fintail said:

There's an awful lot of German metal in the pic for a domestic shot, and the building has that "postwar military housing" look to it, still in use on installations there today. A couple cars have "W" prefix plates, those could be US Forces plates or Vienna regional plates. The color also appears to match 1959-60 US forces plates.

I believe the kombi is a DKW.

andys120 said:

fintail said:

Smallish dark red 2 door parked in the back appears to be an Opel Rekord.

I can't make out the plates, but by the building style, I am pretty sure this is in Germany or Austria.

If that's sothere's a lot of Detroit iron around. The Nash Metropolitan in the foreground isn't exactly American, they were made by Austin for AMC. I can't place the Kombi parked next to the small window VW, is it a Borgward?

1955 and '56 Fords are hard to tell apart. The gray four door is probably a Fairlane but I'm not sure which year.

I had Army duty in Germany for 14 months and that photo looks so much like off-post military dependents' housing.

transamsd73

About half way back on the left is a white VW Karmann Ghia. The little white car to the right looks like an Austin Healy.

transamsd73

In the photo with the building, is that a Crossly wagon next to the Beetle?

andys120

transamsd73 said:

About half way back on the left is a white VW Karmann Ghia. The little white car to the right looks like an Austin Healy.

You're talking about the convertible on the extreme right (in front of the black '30s sedan)? Shape of trunk and top is wrong for a big Healey and it's also too big for a Sprite.

kyfdx

magnette said:

That Thunderbird looks like the converted Jaguar E type made into a hearse in the film Harold & Maude

It's weird. I was just talking to an Uber driver about a neighborhood theatre that closed in the early '80s. And, that's where I saw that movie in the '70s.

andys120

tmart

Well....it’s a Nissan wagon from Maryland. I’ll leave the year and model for you guys!

tjc78

I'm going for an 88

Michaell

Stanza wagon

andys120

tjc78 said:

I'm going for an 88

Close it's a 1987 Nisan Maxima wagon.

kyfdx

andys120 said:

tjc78 said:

I'm going for an 88

Close it's a 1987 Nisan Maxima wagon.

My uncle had one.. great car for the '80s

stickguy

I’d buy the modern version of that car right now.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

I’d buy the modern version of that car right now.

It's called a Regal TourX. You can be the only one in your neighborhood.

stickguy

Too big. Too bulbous.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Too big. Too bulbous.

It is really long..

ab348

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

I’d buy the modern version of that car right now.

It's called a Regal TourX. You can be the only one in your neighborhood.

Maybe in your state. Not even offered in Canada.

kyfdx

Since GM makes it in Europe, I’ll guess it won’t be available anywhere, before long.

jpp75

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

Too big. Too bulbous.

It is really long..

Plus that interior by Fisher Price. Ugh. It ruins a good looking car.

andys120

sda

63 Pontiac Grand Prix, I like.

lostwrench1

With '63 Bonneville wheel covers.

andys120

sda said:

63 Pontiac Grand Prix, I like.

I like 'em too, especially in dark blue. The '63 GP gets my vote for best looking Poncho ever.

lostwrench1 said:

With '63 Bonneville wheel covers.

If you see one now they invariably have the eight-lug wheels optional on most big Pontiacs but only about half got them in the day. I couldn't find any pics of any w regular wheel covers.

imidazol97

Beautiful Gran Prix.

andys120 said:

If you see one now they invariably have the eight-lug wheels optional on most big Pontiacs but only about half got them in the day. I couldn't find any pics of any w regular wheel covers.

Is this the standard wheel for the 63 Grand Prix? I looked at a brochure but the picture is oblique and I'm having trouble telling. 99% of the Grand Prix's on google images are the 8-bolt. They must have made a lot of those wheels. I like them.

The insert picture isn't working for me today so I'll post the link.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr27mPt-GR4/WZUc9ZxDXbI/AAAAAAAA44o/_yb2wmITdecIK6i60EOgh3pptdajj0BzACLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg

ab348

imidazol97 said:

The insert picture isn't working for me today

Yes, it and the emoticons seem to be hit and miss now. An improvement over them not working at all I suppose. I've found that when they do not work now, the only cure is to reboot, and after the system returns they may work for a while.

berri

I think the 63/64 GP stands out, although I also liked the 69 - 71. Very different animals though.

imidazol97

Are these the standard wheels?

andys120

imidazol97 said:

Are these the standard wheels?

I don't think so, that car has been significantly but not expertly modified (there was no 455CID in '63). I've looked for pics of a '63 GP without the 8-lug wheels and only come up with shots that show wheels at an angle so you can't tell what they are.

ab348

I could find several types of wheels/covers on '63 big Pontiacs: the 8-lug aluminum wheels which were optional, those wheelcovers shown above on Catalinas and Star Chiefs, and ones with a spinner center added as shown on the original GP picture that I believe were standard on Bonnevilles. There were also optional wire covers and custom sport covers which resembled a chrome reverse wheel. I couldn't find anything that stated definitively what was standard for the GP.

omarman

imidazol97 said:

Are these the standard wheels?

I found a couple '63 GP pics with wheel covers like that.

ab348

Yes, after I posted I found this ad. Those must have been the standard GP covers.

https://www.streetsideclassics.com/vehicles/2288-dfw/1963-pontiac-grand-prix

omarman

ab348 said:

Yes, after I posted I found this ad. Those must have been the standard GP covers.

https://www.streetsideclassics.com/vehicles/2288-dfw/1963-pontiac-grand-prix

Ok that link has some good pics which open up to show lots of detail.

berri

I forget; was the 63 GP considered an actual separate model that year like in 64? A friend of mine's father drove a 64 GP. Kind of a grey with black vinyl roof and interior. IIRC, that was a somewhat common set up on the 64's. Quite a nice vehicle really.

ab348

The GP became a distinct model in ‘62.

berri

Thanks, I forgot all about the 62 GP. As I recall, it wasn't as distinctive nor promoted as heavily. Was the 62 a mid year introduction?

ab348

It was in the '62 brochures I've seen, so I think it was there from the beginning of the model year.

berri

My memory may be off, but I seem to recall that the GP really took off with the 64 model. At least I seemed to see more of them on the road that model year than prior.

ab348

We never got them up here in Canada until the B-special 1969 version was introduced. Prior to that the full-size Pontiac here was on a Chevy chassis and used different model names. There really wasn't an equivalent to the Grand Prix.

andys120

berri said:

My memory may be off, but I seem to recall that the GP really took off with the 64 model. At least I seemed to see more of them on the road that model year than prior.

My recollection is that '63 was the year the GP took off sales wise. The '63 and '64 versions were the only ones to get a distinctive roofline. '62s and 65 on versions had the same roof as the Catalina IIRC.

berri

So many neat personal coupes back then like GP, Riv, Toronado and Thunderbird.

andys120

berri said:

So many neat personal coupes back then like GP, Riv, Toronado and Thunderbird.

I agree but despite the fact that there are more two/three vehicle families than back then nowadays nobody wants a car with only two doors, even if it's a truck or Jeep.

andys120

lostwrench1

1958 Olds 88 Fiesta.

berri

Actually saw one of those at an old car show last year. Not many around and if you see one, it seems more likely to be the Buick Caballero version. I believe in 1958 Mercury also had hardtop wagons and maybe Chrysler.