Mystery car pix

stickguy

truck full of SAABs including a Sonnett. Looks like when the 99 first came out? a couple Triumphs parked in front. a spitfire and sprite, with at couple a few down.

bhill2

magnette said:

Black and white wagon on the right under the first yellow awning - Is that a Rambler?

Yup, good eye, Magnette. I make it a '64 from the side chrome strip, but it could be a '63. In either case it's the top trim line (770).

andys120

Interesting shot, given the number of old Saabs, it'd have to be New England , Colorado or Canada (mid 60s?)

The Triumphs by the fence are a TR-4 and a Spitfire to its right and a couple over is the tail of a white GT6

andys120

Just past the white Saab is the front end of a red Rootes Group sedan that may be from the last Gen of Hillmans sold here. It is facing a British Ford Cortina 2-dr. that was only rarely seen this side of the pond. It looks like the plain-Jane version rather than the Lotus-Ford with the high-revving Lotus-1600 Ford DOHC.

stickguy

bottom left, next to what looks like the tail end of a Dart, is the nose of a Jag sedan.

andys120

ab348

That's a Willys Aero, probably a '52. Kind of a neat little car that almost nobody bought.

fintail

The "Western Union" car from Back to the Future II.

Import Car Superstore was in Austin TX, probably the only place there one could have bought a Saab then.

andys120

ab348 said:

That's a Willys Aero, probably a '52. Kind of a neat little car that almost nobody bought.

Yep, it's a 1952 Willys Aero Ace which went on to a second life in Brazil where it stayed in production from 1960-71

bhill2

stickguy said:

bottom left, next to what looks like the tail end of a Dart, is the nose of a Jag sedan.

Based on the leaper on the hood, I bet you're right.

magnette

Amongst the British imports at that dealers is a red Sunbeam -its a late Arrow related model and is a Rapier or possibly an Alpine. If you look closely it appears to be British registered though LHD, and is therefore probably sent through the tax free export scheme which was used variously for overseas service personnel based in UK, tourists buying a car here and shipping it home, or dealers importing demonstrators.

magnette

Also at the Saab etc dealers is the Ford facing us in the distance an LTD?

The Tavern behind the transporter looks authentically British, as it resembles a lot of 70's pubs in our suburbs etc with a style which harked back to Tudor times but was a replica of the wood framed buildings of yore but actually covering the structure of a contemporary brick / concrete building.

magnette

At the 50's high school there is a VW - its above the nearest Mercury. - Just above that on the next row back there is a dark Studebaker 4- door sedan - it looks like the Land Commander or similar that I used to have as a Dinky toy.

magnette

High school again - Going along the nearest line of cars there is a gap before a Ford shoebox (great name that) and the second car beyond it after the black sedan is something with quite a streamlined tail- a big sedan. It suggests something like those streamlined Lincoln Cosmopolitans from about 1950, but there was a Mercury using the same shell too and presumably more commonplace.

Its funny but when you look at these old car parks it is the everyday cars which wouldn't have attracted any attention then that are the fascination now. Even with that transporter full of Saabs and surrounded by sports cars its the Sunbeam and that Cortina that are the oddities.

The mark 2 Cortina was seen everywhere here but at car shows now there is a better chance of seeing a Lotus version than a standard 2-door saloon like the one in the picture let alone an estate model which would be virtually extinct.

magnette

The Saab and Triumph brands would have been a good match for a dealer then as the motor used in the Saab 99 was related to that for the Dolomite and its sisters too.

fintail

I think those Sunbeams were sold on this side of the pond as an Alpine, for a brief moment of time around 1970, same for the Cortina.

That is indeed a then-late model 2 door LTD in the background.

Here's another angle of the Imported Car Supermarket (might help to open image in new window and zoom):

magnette said:

Amongst the British imports at that dealers is a red Sunbeam -its a late Arrow related model and is a Rapier or possibly an Alpine. If you look closely it appears to be British registered though LHD, and is therefore probably sent through the tax free export scheme which was used variously for overseas service personnel based in UK, tourists buying a car here and shipping it home, or dealers importing demonstrators.

magnette

Yes, over here we got the same fastback Rapier as an Alpine as well - I think ours was a single carb version while the Rapier was the twin carb one. Hardly saw any and I think the only external difference you could see easily other than the badge on the boot was that the Rapier had a sort of vinyl panel on the c-pillar and the Alpine didn't.

ab348

Dealership staff standing out front watching the new arrivals coming off the car carrier.

Is the first one coming off from the upper deck a Marina? I'm not totally sure. I see a Saab on the lower deck. Lots of interesting stuff on the front row of the used lot - a Fiat 124, a BMW, a Spitfire GT6, a Toyota Crown 2-door, a MG, a TR-6, and a TR4 or 250.

tmart

65 Ford with a Pinto following.

stickguy

The white cars? That’s a maverick.

fintail

66 Ford in front of the Maverick - close to a 65, but they changed it just enough I think the Toyota hardtop is a Corona - the Crown did exist then and was sold maybe as high as two figures, but is extraordinarily rare (and weird and kind of cool).

I see a large old fashioned white car with landau bars, facing the dealership building. Maybe a just-postwar Jag?

I see a Saab 99 with an apparent vinyl top on the car carrier - never seen one like that before.

Also notice there are cars on the roof of the building.

tmart

Thanks for the clarification.

andys120

ab348 said:

Dealership staff standing out front watching the new arrivals coming off the car carrier.

Is the first one coming off from the upper deck a Marina? I'm not totally sure. I see a Saab on the lower deck. Lots of interesting stuff on the front row of the used lot - a Fiat 124, a BMW, a Spitfire GT6, a Toyota Crown 2-door, a MG, a TR-6, and a TR4 or 250.

The Fiat 124 is a second gen(1970-73) 1608cc Sports Coupe with four headlights. The BMW looks like a 1602, it doesn't have the blackout grille indicating a 2002.

fintail

Another view, apparently after the truck was unloaded:

stickguy

didn't notice the Volvo 120 before.

whats the yellow with black top convertible up under the overhang? can't get enough resolution to see that.

and looks like a Dodge or Plymouth dealer must live upstairs! A part of red dusters among other stuf.

andys120

Front row right are a pair of Triumph 6-cyl roadsters, The dark one is a TR-6, and the red is a '68-'69 TR-250 almost identical to one my brother owned. This dealership must have sold a lot of Saabs, there's two Sonnets in the middle!

ab348

stickguy said:

and looks like a Dodge or Plymouth dealer must live upstairs! A part of red dusters among other stuf.

Not only those but a '69 Plymouth behind the first row on the front lot and what looks like a '71 or '72 Satellite on the roof next to what could be a '72 Sport Fury with the big double-loop front end.

andys120

stickguy

That is a cool car.

magnette

Thats a Simca Oceane - a derivative of the Aronde - made about 1958-62 or so I think. There was also a coupe which was called the Plein Ciel.

andys120

magnette said:

Thats a Simca Oceane - a derivative of the Aronde - made about 1958-62 or so I think. There was also a coupe which was called the Plein Ciel.

Yup, the enormous popularity of the Aronde lead Simca to build sporty derivatives of it.
including the Simca Sport Oceane/ P60. Coachwork was by Facel and like many Euro cars of the era reflected American styling motifs.

Oddly the fixed roof version was called the Sport Oceane Plein Ciel even though "plein ciel" is French for "open sky".

magnette

Yes, I've always thought the Simca Oceane was an attractive car - not a proper sports car but in the style of the Sunbeam Alpine. I don't recall Simca selling them in Britain but I've seen them in France and so on over the years.

fintail

The reason for the Import Supermarket pics was this, someone taking delivery of a new (end of the line for a quirky old style) car:

magnette

If that Saab 96 was end of line it would mean it was made in Finland - they moved 96 production there for the last couple of years.

fintail

End of the line for the US anyway. The pic is from 1972, and I think the 96 was done here by 73.

andys120

I've never seen a Saab with that sort of two tone paint.

andys120

Most of the sports car classics of the 1950s are represented here, I'll call the back XK-120 Fixed Head Coupe on the left.

stickguy

Early Porsche 356 and a couple MGAs.

magnette

Early Hillman Husky park behind the 356

fintail

Probably a Ford Taunus 17M to the right of the Jag, maybe an Opel beside that.

andys120

There's a Triumph set between two big Healeys, the TR is an early TR-3, those started production in 1955, The red Austin-Healey is likely a 100-6, those date back to '56, the green Healey is a 100-4 (the scallop grille is the tell).

The green Porsche is a 356A (1955-59), their first real production model and the first to come here in any numbers

bhill2

I would love to opine that the red boat in the second row is a Jag Mark ViI or maybe VIII, but the grille looks too narrow. Is that just the angle or am I off-target?

andys120

bhill2 said:

I would love to opine that the red boat in the second row is a Jag Mark ViI or maybe VIII, but the grille looks too narrow. Is that just the angle or am I off-target?

Yeah, the red car, second row next to building could be a Jag Mk. VII/VII/IX. Those were somewhat popular back then (mid-late 50s)

ab348

One thing I find interesting about that pic is that the signage on the building identifies it as a dealer for English Ford, but they do not seem to be a Ford dealer otherwise. It implies that there were separate dealer networks for Ford imports vs domestic models back then. I wasn't aware of that.

ab348

Hey, it's a nice day for a little competition, maybe a slalom in the parking lot?

stickguy

Obligatory ford falcon (red wagon) in the background

stickguy

And I love the blue on the Camaro RS

andys120

Early Porsche 911 or 912 next to guy w red sweater. Its's wearing steel wheels w hubcaps so likely an early '65'-'66 unit, the five spoke Fuchs alloys were on nearly all US Spec Porsches by '67. Oldest car visible is the Volvo PV44 w the divided front glass behind the Camaro.

tmart

I’ll grab the Mustang and Volvo 1800.

ab348

I wonder if that is a cargo rack on the roof of the Mustang or an home-design roll bar.