Mystery car pix

ab348

Looks like a very pretty '53 Mercury Monterey wagon.

andys120

ab348 said:

Looks like a very pretty '53 Mercury Monterey wagon.

Here we go again, it's captioned as a 1953 Mercury Colony Park but I s'pose it could be a Mercury Monterey Colony Park.

ab348

The 1953 Mercury brochure online makes no reference to a Colony Park. Wiki says that name didn't get used until 1957.

berri

Maybe a 52 or 53 Mercury wagon. Not sure if they called the top of the line Colony Park back then.

omarman

The 1952 Mercury Custom Series Station Wagon pictured here is chassis number 52LA33972M and appears to be the mystery car posted. According to that site it was last auctioned for $134,750 at 2013 RM Auctions - St John's.



Text from a 2012 auction of the same chassis number posted at the RM Sotheby's site states, "Mercury had never had series designations, but for 1952, a line with upscale Monterey trim was adopted, comprising a four-door sedan, a hardtop coupe, and a convertible. A basic “Custom Series” offered two- and four-door sedans, a hardtop sport coupe, and two station wagon models."

ab348

Not the same car. Lacking both the script on the rear quarters and the vertical chrome slash trim piece on the rear doors. Appears to be a different color too.

bhill2

berri said:

Maybe a 52 or 53 Mercury wagon. Not sure if they called the top of the line Colony Park back then.

I did the kind of research that one only does on a Sunday afternoon (or evening) and the 'Colony Park' name started in the '57 model year.

andys120

stickguy

2002 Turbo. Slightly modified!

andys120

stickguy said:

2002 Turbo. Slightly modified!

Yup, it's a 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo, a precursor to the M-cars and to all the turbo-charged Bimmers of today. Bumpers have been removed.

omarman

ab348 said:

Not the same car. Lacking both the script on the rear quarters and the vertical chrome slash trim piece on the rear doors. Appears to be a different color too.

Hillcrest green color. Script on rear quarters and rear door trim are all there in the 1952 Mercury Custom Series Station Wagon pic which I posted above.

The mystery car pic posted on the previous page was featured in the 2012 RM Sotheby's auction. Screen shot of the 2012 RM Sotheby's auction page below. Same chassis number as the car I posted . Same car.

imidazol97

Does anyone know how many of the Mercury woodie were sold? That's gotta be rare.

berri

@bhill2
Thanks. I'm thinking the Ford Country Squire wagon name may have preceded that arriving in maybe 55 or 56? Regardless, the both put out some nice looking station wagons over the years. Personally, I've always kind of appreciated station wagons and owned several over the years.

fintail

I've long thought the 52-54 Fords/Mercuries were underappreciated - they bridged the gap between older pontoon styles and modern 1955 styles better than other lower priced makes. I've joked for a long time that the buyer of a new 54 Chevy must have been pretty put off when he saw the 55 models - a Ford was less of a jump.

andys120

fintail said:

I've long thought the 52-54 Fords/Mercuries were underappreciated - they bridged the gap between older pontoon styles and modern 1955 styles better than other lower priced makes. I've joked for a long time that the buyer of a new 54 Chevy must have been pretty put off when he saw the 55 models - a Ford was less of a jump.

I agree with you. It must have been a confusing time to buy cars. Sometimes they changed styling radically, other times not very much.

andys120

stickguy

A Citroen convention! Has to be in France.

is that a DX convertible?

andys120

stickguy said:

A Citroen convention! Has to be in France.

is that a DX convertible?

It sez DS-21 on the trunk lid. Convertibles were called Decapotable
Which translates roughly as "removable head.

ab348

Ah, those French girls...

Oh, there's a car?

stickguy

I meant DS. X was a typo.

ab348

stickguy said:

I meant DS. X was a typo.

You were distracted like I was.

ab348

magnette

Hi Stickguy - thats the Commer TV detector van alright - presumably there is one in a museum somewhere.

magnette

In the Innsbruck shot the grey Kombi is a slightly earlier Opel Rekord Caravan than the tan coloured one.

In the shadows to the left of the picture is a DKW F102 or one of the Audi models it evolved into during the early 60's (60/70/ 90 etc)

andys120

stickguy

a fiat from the 1970s!

andys120

stickguy said:

a fiat from the 1970s!

1974 to be exact. Anyone want to name the model.

ab348

Fiat 130.

andys120

ab348 said:

Fiat 130.

Yes, styling by Pininfarina.

andys120

stickguy

Jag XK150 FHC?

andys120

stickguy said:

Jag XK150 FHC?

Yup, MY1960, last year of production IIRC

ab348

ab348 said:

Nobody bit on this so I'll spill. It is a beautiful Peugeot 406 coupe, built late '90s/early '00s, designed by Pininfarina.

fintail

One of the last big non-premium brand coupes before the CUV obsession.

andys120

ab348 said:

ab348 said:

Nobody bit on this so I'll spill. It is a beautiful Peugeot 406 coupe, built late '90s/early '00s, designed by Pininfarina.

I can see the tiny PF badge ahead of the rear wheel but IMO they dropped the ball on this one, it's a copy of generic Asian styling. I thought it was a Toyota we didn't get.

andys120

tmart

Early 60’s MGA?

fintail

Twin Cam model

andys120

tmart said:

Early 60’s MGA?

Yup, it's a 1962 MG-A Mk.II

fintail said:

Twin Cam model

Nope, not a TC, it's powered by a 1600 cc pushrod four-banger.

I was surprised to see the stamped disc steel wheels wearing knock-off hubs but if you look closely you can make out the lug nuts that hold the wheels on. Contrary to the ad they're not functional knock-offs.

kyfdx

andys120 said:

tmart said:

Early 60’s MGA?

Yup, it's a 1962 MG-A Mk.II

fintail said:

Twin Cam model

Nope, not a TC, it's powered by a 1600 cc pushrod four-banger.

I was surprised to see the stamped disc steel wheels wearing knock-off hubs but if you look closely you can make out the lug nuts that hold the wheels on. Contrary to the ad they're not functional knock-offs.

My friend has the same car. (Yes, a MKII). In red with black interior. He has owned it since 1969!

It's had a body off restoration, twice, since he's owned it. He also owns the Magnette that I've posted on here, before.

ab348

The badge adjacent to the chrome vents on top of the fenders can easily deceive someone into thinking it is a Twin Cam when looking at a distance. These ones say 1600 MK II.

fintail

Aha, that's what I thought I saw.

ab348

Rare photo of @fintail 's ancestral home. :laughing:

stickguy

Jeepster panel van down the row

fintail

Apparently South Africa, surprised there are no fintails in the pic given the sign, architecture, and surrounding cars. German cars were/are yuuuge in SA, and many fintails were sold there, I think MB even had a branch plant there by that time.

One I can spot in the middle of the parked line is a Standard Vanguard. Also a Singer Gazelle next to the Jeep. I notice DKW/Auto Union signage, and there's one of those in the line as well, 2 to the left of the Vanguard.

andys120

Just past the Jeepster, a Hillman Minx/Sunbeam Rapier/etc.?

fintail

I think the Minx/Rapide car, two tone, is a Gazelle.

Car near to the camera with a primer spot on the rear fender appears to be an Austin A40/Somerset.

sda

ab348 said:

Rare photo of @fintail 's ancestral home. :laughing:

ab348 said:

Rare photo of @fintail 's ancestral home. :laughing:

It’s interesting to observe that there is hardly any shine on the paint of any of the cars in that picture. Neat pic.

andys120

kyfdx

Looks great!

I always get Triumphs wrong, so I'll pass.