Mystery car pix

andys120

Just ahead of the white VW, an early '50s Packard.

laurasdada

Love the splash of color the Corvair brings to Fremont St. And, man, look how tiny that Karmann Ghia looks amongst the yachts.
Great picture!

andys120

stickguy

Gorgeous car and color.

Is that an OSCA?

tmart

Looks like an AC.

andys120

tmart said:

Looks like an AC.

Yup, AC? what?

fintail

Aceca?

andys120

fintail said:

Aceca?

Yep that's a 1955 AC Aceca, essentially an Ace with a fixed roof. It was followed by the AC Greyhound, a four place coupe that wasn't nearly as pretty. As you know the Shelby/AC Cobra was a direct descendant of the Ace roadsters.

AC Cars LTD was founded in 1901 and was one of the first makers of "sports cars".

andys120

omarman

My first ride in a Mercury Cougar was in a new '67 but all blue no vinyl top. Mystery car has authentic hood/grill alignment. Maybe an XR7 emblem on the roof but can't tell from this angle pic.

andys120

Yup it's a 1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7. Misalignments of that kind were the rule in those days. I imagine CAD has made it easier ans cheaper to make parts that fit together properly.

andys120

kyfdx

‘67 Coupe DeVille?

fintail

I think 65-66. Could also be a Calais.

andys120

kyfdx said:

‘67 Coupe DeVille?

A little off, it's a 1965 Cadillac Coupe DeVille from the era when a Caddy couldn't be mistaken for anything else from any angle.

ab348

Let’s go back in time to LAX circa 1966. Remember, the White Zone is for loading and unloading only.

andys120

Red car on far right is a Mercedes "Ponton" coupe (W180 ca. late 50s.)

fintail

Don't you tell me which zone is for loading, and which zone is for unloading.

Ponton coupe would have been a rare spot even then. Speaking of Coupe deVille, there's a 55-56 in the background.

Michaell

fintail said:

Don't you tell me which zone is for loading, and which zone is for unloading.

Ponton coupe would have been a rare spot even then. Speaking of Coupe deVille, there's a 55-56 in the background.

LAX is a disaster, now - they just regulated that all Uber/Lyft/Taxis have to meet their party at an off-site lot and cannot pick people up from the curb.

I also remember flying in and out of LAX as they were building the second level of roadway - this was done in preparation of the 1984 Olympics.

omarman

"Listen, Betty, don't start up with your white zone :@ again."

M/Y 1962 Impala still looks the best of the 3rd gen.

andys120

The Ponton might be the oldest car in that pic. They were replaced by Fintails after '59 but
the split window Microbus could be older.
The Ford Falcon driving past is third gen (1965-70). Other mid 60s cars appear, the yellow Mustang (65-66) and behind the palm tree, the nose of a 1965 Buick Riviera. Likely date for the photo would be 1965-6.

fintail

I think the Caddy next to the Falcon is the oldie in the pic. Falcon is 66-67.

omarman

'66 looks like a good guess for the Falcon. The '65 Falcon body sides are more sculpted and the '67 Falcons had a long horizontal bar separating the grill.

andys120

fintail said:

I think the Caddy next to the Falcon is the oldie in the pic. Falcon is 66-67.

Oops, I overlooked that one. Caddy looks like mid 50s, '55 or '56.

andys120

Did someone say "misaligned hood?"



Those aren't OEM wheels.

stickguy

Or seats

Lostwrench3

My '68 LeMans, shown in my photo, had that exact same rise of the hood in the corner in front of the driver. I simply pushed down on it after closing the hood and all was then well.

transamsd73

Nice 67! Loved the one I had, a long time ago! Mine had a Sprint 6 with 3speed on the floor. Same colors as this one.

andys120

Yup, it's a 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400. I had a 1970 GTO convertible w the same colors and the same 400 CID motor. IIRC the hood was misaligned w the urethane plastic nose piece,
a common problem for a few years until they worked out how to manage the newfangled plastic.

andys120

I'd forgotten all about this little weirdo>

stickguy

is that a Honda 600? Probably not. but lose to right size!

andys120

stickguy said:

is that a Honda 600? Probably not. but lose to right size!

Nope, the Honda 600 was a lot prettier. Hint: It is Japanese.

andys120

No takers for the little green frog-car? Here's one in red>

fintail

Somewhat awkward Toyotas aren't just a 2010s thing, but that one (Sports 800) isn't menacingly ugly anyway.

ab348

Here is the direct opposite of that bizarro-world Toyopet. Hard to believe that back in the New Frontier era, people were driving a car like the one featured in this shot as regular daily transportation. This is one in its original condition as sold and it is impressive, if a bit excessive.

Lostwrench3

Red 1959 Cadillac next to a 1956 Ford next to a 1953 Chrysler.

fintail

I see the batwing fins of a 59 Chevy in the cars parked in the background, far right.

imidazol97

It's ugly. And it's cute. A real conflict in my reactions.

Does it give the same dual characteristics in person? Has anyone seen one?

kyfdx

Reminds me of the last generation MR2. Kind of ugly, but I sort of wanted one.

ab348

This 1959/60 pic from Vegas will test your ability to ID vehicles based solely on their quarter panel/rear greenhouse design. The first 4 or 5 on the left are what's in play. I wonder if the red Corvair pictured is the same one we saw earlier on Fremont St.? Click to enlarge.

Lostwrench3

Front left - a nice 1960 Ford Fairlane 500.
A 1954 yellow Cadillac and a turning 1956 Olds.

tmart

White over red could be a 52-54 Ford.

fintail

Looks like a 60 Comet next to the 60 Ford, and a full size 60 Mercury next to the Comet.

andys120

The red Corvair is likely a first year (1960) unit. Billy Eckstine was/is considered one of the transcendant jazz talents of the era.

andys120

ab348

Let's revisit LAX, this time in what is supposed to be 1970. But does anyone see a 1970 model-anything in the pic? Click to enlarge.

tjc78

I'll go with 84 for the four eye'd Mustang. Good color.

omarman

Ahead of the Mustang coupe looks like a '70 Monte Carlo.

andys120

omarman said:

Ahead of the Mustang coupe looks like a '70 Monte Carlo.

IMO that could be a late '60s Olds. Give the preponderance of mid-late 60s iron, I'd date that pic as ca.1967. Anyone see a post-67 car?

fintail

Yeah I think that's a midrange Olds in front of the Mustang, with a pretty later Corvair coupe behind it.

Looks like a 68/69 Olds Cutlass (a certain someone here will know the year) to the right of the Corvair. A little forward and to the right, a yellow and black ~68 Satellite with a 64 Galaxie in front of it. In the shade further to the right I see a few shapes which suggest 69/70.