Mystery car pix

andys120

stickguy said:

looks like a tan Renault 5 (Le Car) under the 59 sign, and a white Fiesta back row center. Dark blue car near right is the Euro version of the OmniRizon. Was that a Simca?

IIRC the Euro version of the Omni-rizon was badged as a Talbot. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig

ab348

Looks like a Morris Marina on the left side, with a vinyl roof.

andys120

I found this interesting because the cars are identified as belonging to students. Where I went to HS in a well-to-do LI suburb almost no one drove to school in their own car except the hot rod/customizing set and I don't see many that type of car (the black slopeback 1940s (Chevy?) car is one.



Right click to enlarge.

fintail

Maybe in an area without much transit - it looks like suburban sprawl now, but maybe wasn't close to 60 years ago. I went to high school in a small town, and a lot of kids had cars, as for some it took a lot of pressure off parents, and they had no other way to get to activities.

I'll pick off the Willys Jeep "Station Wagon" 3 to the right of the fastback car, and 2 to the right of that looks like the rear of an early Falcon. Maybe another early Falcon in front of the old fastback car.

kyfdx

fintail said:

Maybe in an area without much transit - it looks like suburban sprawl now, but maybe wasn't close to 60 years ago. I went to high school in a small town, and a lot of kids had cars, as for some it took a lot of pressure off parents, and they had no other way to get to activities.

I'll pick off the Willys Jeep "Station Wagon" 3 to the right of the fastback car, and 2 to the right of that looks like the rear of an early Falcon. Maybe another early Falcon in front of the old fastback car.

Your high school years might have been a little later than this picture...

imidazol97

Is that a Fintail 3rd car past the Willys?

fintail

I think I see the reverse slant C-pillar of a Rambler, which indeed resembles a fintail from some angles, and general size and proportions.

imidazol97 said:

Is that a Fintail 3rd car past the Willys?

ab348

A couple from my hometown today. The first is below, although you might think it actually is from Merry Olde England at first glance. Right-click/view to enlarge:

ab348

This second one is the Volvo dealership where my dad bought his two Volvos in the early '70s: a '68 144 that had been hit and repaired (which was undisclosed) and crabbed when driving in a straight line because of poor straightening of the structure; and a new '73 144 which was just a horrible car that had endless problems. I had been looking for a picture of this place for a long time when this recently appeared.

fintail

I see allegiance to the Union Jack was still strong in the first pic (either that or the cars were cheap, or both). In the first pic, at far left, perhaps a 1957 (Ford) Meteor basic model (Niagara?) . The little wagon near the building is interesting, perhaps a Morris Oxford derivative.

Volvo 164 parked on the street in the 2nd pic, with the fancier grille, I thought those were somehow related to a Jaguar when I was a little kid.

ab348

British cars were inordinately popular here in the 1950s/60s. Not really sure why though I have no doubt that the price (we loved cheap cars) and the relatively good fuel economy compared to Detroit iron had something to do with it.

Here's one that might be mistaken for Europe but is local to me, along with an obligatory Fintail shot. Even in that photo, only 1 of the 4 vehicles is North American, the other 3 all European.

fintail

I like the Ponton pic, reminds me of Savannah or Charleston. What's in front of it, a Dauphine maybe?

Fintail is a comparatively upmarket 6 cyl (W111) model. I have to imagine in that climate, they didn't last forever - no cars of that era will win awards for rust resistance, and MBs were no different. I suspect in harsh climates, most were off the road by 1980 or so. Looks like the Zodiac/Zephyr was acquiring some patina too.

tmart

ab348 said:

A couple from my hometown today. The first is below, although you might think it actually is from Merry Olde England at first glance. Right-click/view to enlarge:

57 Ford Customline @ left.

ab348

Last one for now. This is a little later, late '70s most likely, featuring a car never sold in the USA. Blows up with a right click/view.

tmart

andys120 said:

I found this interesting because the cars are identified as belonging to students. Where I went to HS in a well-to-do LI suburb almost no one drove to school in their own car except the hot rod/customizing set and I don't see many that type of car (the black slopeback 1940s (Chevy?) car is one.



Right click to enlarge.

Next to the Jeep is a 52-54 Ford. Under the “High” appears to be 55 Ford.

fintail

Lada, sold as the "Signet" in Canada IIRC. Not bad looking cars to my eyes, but I bet they really dissolved in that climate.

ab348 said:

Last one for now. This is a little later, late '70s most likely, featuring a car never sold in the USA. Blows up with a right click/view.

ab348

Yes, a Lada Signet. Awful cars. The body steel was actually thicker than most other cars of the era but that was the least of their problems. My cheapskate brother bought one new and regretted it.

In the fintail pic, what strikes me most are the two very small children (sisters?) crossing the street unaccompanied by an adult. Virtually unheard of today.

andys120

fintail said:

Maybe in an area without much transit - it looks like suburban sprawl now, but maybe wasn't close to 60 years ago. I went to high school in a small town, and a lot of kids had cars, as for some it took a lot of pressure off parents, and they had no other way to get to activities.

I'll pick off the Willys Jeep "Station Wagon" 3 to the right of the fastback car, and 2 to the right of that looks like the rear of an early Falcon. Maybe another early Falcon in front of the old fastback car.

Wow, you have sharp eyes, I think those are Falcons, perhaps those are the newest cars in that 1961 photo. At least those damn kids mostly didn't get new iron. The two sports cars are relatively new, a 1956-57 TR-3 (they got outside door handles in '57) and a Healey Sprite
Mk.1 /"Bugeye" (1958-61). Sprites were favored by post HS teens in my town.

I'd guess the Buick facing the Triumph is a '55. To it's right a '56 Ford and then a '54

tmart

Ford next to the Buick is a 55 due to round parking lights.

fintail

Back to the Sainsbury pic, there are two Horizons to the right of the white Fiesta. IIRC these existed as both Simca and Talbot. Red car in front of those on the corner appears to be a Talbot Sunbeam. The R5 in the back row is between a Volvo 340 and an Austin Metro, and next to the Marina is a Sierra.

Back to the supermarket, might need to zoom in, but should be some pickings here:

ab348

I'll pick the low-hanging fruit and take the Spitfire and the XJS. Looks like a Vauxhall Chevette next to the Spitfire.

texases

Is that a Pug 504 wagon next to the XJS?

fintail

Close, 505 wagon, and a couple cars down, a 505 sedan. Ab348 is right with his picks, of course.

andys120

bhill2

Gotta be a '59 Desoto, but I'm not sure of the trim level. Medallion on the rear fender makes me think Sportsman. The side decoration seems a little tame but that may have been an option.

andys120

bhill2 said:

Gotta be a '59 Desoto, but I'm not sure of the trim level. Medallion on the rear fender makes me think Sportsman. The side decoration seems a little tame but that may have been an option.

Yup, it's a 1959 DeSoto Firesweep Sportsman IMO an exceptionally good looking car for a generally dismal styling year. I recall trying to steer my Dad to one or
another of the great MoPar designs from that year but we ended up with a Mercury, One of the pigs I learned to drive on, the other was a 6cyl Biscayne w no power assists!

andys120

If you looked at this and thought, hey that's not a 356, it doesn't look right, you'd be right.
So what the heck is it?

stickguy

One of those Subaru engined replicas? Just spent 20 minutes watching jay Leno drive one. I want one.

andys120

stickguy said:

One of those Subaru engined replicas? Just spent 20 minutes watching jay Leno drive one. I want one.

Nope this one uses Mini powertrains mountedbut it's not a replica, as you can see the propostions are off, way off>

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/12266789.jpg

The French company that makes them used to make replicas but decided to build cars that "suggest" the old classics but drive like more modern ones.

stickguy

well, that angle is certainly different. was hard to tell with the head on shot, with the reflections especially. that looks like a 911 with a 356 nose clip!

fintail

Those mirrors look all kinds of wrong, maybe just a bad angle

andys120

That thing is a 2016 PGO Speedster II and it's one of several odd designs made by a small company in the South of France using Mini-Cooper drivetrains behind the driver which is the only reason you might prefer one over an actual Porsche 356 since it might have better handling than P-cars w their motor hanging way out in back.

Actually, BMW/Mini missed the boat when they created the Mini-Cooper Roadster using a two seater body but keeping the regular Mini FWD drivetrain up front. No-No-No, "roadsters" do not have FWD. They should've put the Mini engine transverse behind the driver and called it a Sprite, similarly to what Fiat did in creating the X 1/9 using a 128 drive train.

Here's the skinny on PGO Automotive.>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGO_(Automobile)

stickguy

omarman

Bond Bug 1970 later became Landspeeder in 1977.

tmart

Interesting side mirror!

magnette

tmart said:

ab348 said:

A couple from my hometown today. The first is below, although you might think it actually is from Merry Olde England at first glance. Right-click/view to enlarge:

57 Ford Customline @ left.

You've got a mk 2 (in the distance) and a mk 3 Morris Oxford (or possibly Cowley) as well as the Minor.

More British cars than in any of the UK Sainsburys shots in some cases but that is because the colour ones are a bit later and have more of the then new European and Japanese imports in them.

magnette

I knew someone who had a Bond Bug and had previously had a Reliant Regal (so probably at that stage wasn't on a car licence ) - he was at school with me in Wales before I left to go to college.

He must have liked the orange colour though as he finally got on four wheels with a Honda Z which was only available here in orange and I think maybe Lime Green might have also been offered..

ab348

Interesting pic here for me personally, likely from 1970 or so. From the early '70s to the early '80s our house was 1 block away from here. While we seldom if ever patronized this gas station (Dad was a Shell man), the building in the right edge of the pic was the Bank of Montreal branch were he took me to open my first bank account and where I did my banking for years, even after I moved out of the area. Even more interesting was that when I purchased the Cutlass from the original owner's estate in 1993, her brother who was handling the sale said that this station was where she always took it for service. I was hoping I might even see it in the shot but no luck.



Here's a Streetview shot of what it looks like today:

imidazol97

Interesting how the church changed its design...

ab348

imidazol97 said:

Interesting how the church changed its design...

More than the design. It was a church of one of the traditional North American religions back in the '70s but some years ago they vacated and now it is an Asian church of some sort. The sign out front is in a language I cannot read.

texases

In the older photo are some of those wires for electric trolleys? Reminds me of the trolley wires in Cincinnati in the '60s.

fintail

Looks like the church sign is in Korean, likely a western religion, they all seem to be Christian variants here anyway.

I think I see a backed-in 63 Chevy near the building, center.

ab348

Halifax had electric trolleys until 1970 so some of those may be that.

stickguy

omarman

"I'm from Holland. Isn't that vierd?"

omarman

Another movie mystery...

“Idlewild Airport. 1963”

sda

With a 65 Chevy, lol

omarman said:

Another movie mystery...

“Idlewild Airport. 1963”

andys120

Ray Liotta sitting on the trunk of a 1965 Chevy Impala. I never heard of the movie.

texases

Goodfellas?

omarman

Iconic scene from Goodfellas despite the “Idlewild Airport. 1963” caption with 747s landing and Henry (Ray Liotta) posing with the '65 Impala.

Great soundtrack too. From Wiki: Scorsese chose the songs for Goodfellas only if they commented on the scene or the characters "in an oblique way". The only rule he adhered to with the soundtrack was to only use music which could have been heard at that time.