Mystery car pix

andys120

stickguy

Best looking early T bird IMO. Is that a 63? I can’t ever keep years straight.

andys120

Not a '63, anyone else wanna try.

ab348

That narrows it down to a 1961 or '62. I'll say '61 based on the grill, I think the '62 was fancier.

Lostwrench3

Big clue - Horizontals on the side rear = 1961.

andys120

Yup that's a 1961 Ford Thunderbird. 61-63 'Birds had the same basic shapes with trim differences to tell MYs apart. I call 'em all Banana Birds because they look like bananas w wheels.

The pictured car is wearing the optional and rare wire wheels, not sure if they are made by Kelsey-Hayes or Dayton.

ab348

Here's a shot of downtown Morgantown, WV in the '60s. Blows up nicely with a right-click/view. Was surprised to see the foreign vehicle parked on the right-side curb. Bet it was a prof from WVU.

stickguy

Citroen DS? Must have been a WVU professor. Same for the Volvo PV 3 cars back, following the VW bus and a black rambler.

ab348

Maybe they were making a group buy of tweed jackets at Crane's Clothing.

fintail

61-62 Ford pickup at left has wide whites, fancy.

Approximate location today:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6290253,-79.9565903,3a,75y,25.99h,101.76t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEfL9xenNsQDFFTgbgOYkSA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

texases

Looked to be thriving then. Now? Not so much...

magnette

WV view
Black Rambler American behind green VW type 2

tmart

57 Ford Country Sedan wagon on the left and a red 55 Ford Country Sedan wagon on the right behind the Lincoln. Also a 56 Ford behind the man on the right.

Lostwrench3

3rd vehicle on left - 1957 Plymouth Savoy.

bhill2

And the white car behind it has gotta be a '59 Chevy (likely an Impala). Nothing else has fins like that.

ab348

Here's something you don't see every day:

magnette

Thats a Simca Huit (8) Sport introduced about 1950/1

ab348

Exactly! Not getting much past you lately.

magnette

It's this lockdown - can't go anywhere really and more time to be on the site.

fintail

Colorful:



(right click to enlarge)

tmart

Gremlin, Maverick, several VWs, Ford Country Squire, couple of Cougars, boat tail Buick.

stickguy

Nice 68 chevelle next to tan gremlin. Green Capri with black vinyl roof in the center. A blue Capri. White and red pinto. And a rambler next to it.

omarman

Harvest Gold 1973 Buick Riviera in front of a White 1974 Chevelle Laguna S-3.

edit to add: I just read something in another topic about memories of Avocado Green and Harvest Gold appliances.

stickguy

Up top Right. a blue duster. To the top left, a yellow gold duster (the one with the front half vinyl roof)

fintail

I don't see any MBs or similar, I do see a few Toyotas - looks like 2x white Coronas, a Corolla, and a Carina. Also a nice newish squarebody pickup next to a red Beetle at upper left, and a couple rows back from that to the right next to a Vega, a 62 Impala 2 door HT.

omarman

Light Blue '64 Ford Galaxie is the oldest domestic car that I can make out. Maybe the Rambler is older. Not sure how old the VWs are.

ab348

Colorful indeed! Even the asphalt is red. :laughing:

andys120

It's odd that the only imports are Beetles and Capris. This must've been taken in the mid-west or deep South.

fintail

It was the 70s, surprised it wasn't blood orange with paisley accents

re: imports, there are at least 4 Toyotas.

ab348 said:

Colorful indeed! Even the asphalt is red. :laughing:

texases

With the palm trees it's not the mid-west. More likely the gulf coast. Maybe Houston?

magnette

What is the white four door station wagon parked half out of shot in the distance? - it looks really long.

bhill2

omarman said:

Light Blue '64 Ford Galaxie is the oldest domestic car that I can make out. Maybe the Rambler is older. Not sure how old the VWs are.

FWIW, the Rambler is a '60, so yeah it's older.

magnette

There is an AMC Ambassador nose first above the white and red Pinto - its in the row beyond between a wood panelled station wagon and what I think is a white Pontiac

texases

magnette said:

What is the white four door station wagon parked half out of shot in the distance? - it looks really long.

Maybe an International Travelall?

fintail

The large white vehicle at upper right appears to be a Suburban.

omarman

2nd car on left of the '69 Kingswood Estate wagon looks like the back of a '67 Thunderbird Landau 2 door HT.

andys120

fintail said:

The large white vehicle at upper right appears to be a Suburban.

It looks too low to be a 'Burban or a Travelall. Maybe it's a stretched wagon like the ones they used for airport shuttles.

ab348

No, I believe it is a Suburban based upon the angled C-pillar, shape of the side marker light and length of the cargo area.

ab348

fintail said:

I don't see any MBs or similar, I do see a few Toyotas - looks like 2x white Coronas, a Corolla, and a Carina. Also a nice newish squarebody pickup next to a red Beetle at upper left, and a couple rows back from that to the right next to a Vega, a 62 Impala 2 door HT.

The Carina is quite the sighting, rare even when new. Unique taillight design.

There are a couple of '73 fullsize Mopars here, a '73 Chrysler sedan and a Plymouth Fury coupe, also a '73 I believe. Talk about large! No wonder people panicked to get rid of them when the petroleum embargo hit.

Lostwrench3

I went from a '73 Pontiac Catalina with 400 cubes to a new '80 diesel Rabbit.

magnette

Thanks for clarifying the Suburban - I thought it might have been a Travelall - having never seen one - but forgot how big the Suburban can be too. Even a Suburban is not commonplace here - only in Central London perhaps and perhaps confined to Embassy or Airport areas.

fintail

I bet that was fun. I wonder how many others made similar changes. My dad went from a 70 Mustang to a Plymouth Horizon. My mom went from a big 70s T-Bird to a Tempo.

Can't imagine having a Suburban anywhere in the UK. I recall seeing one of the oversized mid 00s Durangos in Germany, and shaking my head (I suppose it could have been from a military person, but still, wrong car for the area)

Lostwrench3 said:

I went from a '73 Pontiac Catalina with 400 cubes to a new '80 diesel Rabbit.

fintail

That's a way to differentiate them, horizontal vs vertical lights.

My grandpa had a fuselage Chrysler, I bet it was fun during the gas crunch - but he kept it until through the late 70s. Story goes he really wanted to like it, but it wasn't as good as his 65 (although probably no worse than anything else of the era, I've heard stories about hard starting and cold driving issues), however he didn't let it go maybe to not admit this.

ab348 said:

The Carina is quite the sighting, rare even when new. Unique taillight design.

There are a couple of '73 fullsize Mopars here, a '73 Chrysler sedan and a Plymouth Fury coupe, also a '73 I believe. Talk about large! No wonder people panicked to get rid of them when the petroleum embargo hit.

fintail

Seattle, February 13, 1982 (can be clicked and expanded):

texases

On an aircraft carrier? Bringing cars back from Viet Nam? Somewhere else?

Michaell

texases said:

On an aircraft carrier? Bringing cars back from Viet Nam? Somewhere else?

Just regular ferry service...

ab348

^^^ That was my question as well. Too late for Viet Nam though.

Is that a rare Mercury LN7 I see lower right?

Fascinating to see the two Plymouths side by side, a '63 and a '69. My, how you've grown.

Trying to ID the small car upper right behind the U-Haul and next to the Toyota pickup. Greenhouse looks like a Pinto but the rear panel, not so much.

andys120

texases said:

On an aircraft carrier? Bringing cars back from Viet Nam? Somewhere else?

Good eye Tex, the rig on the left edge of the deck is the gizmo with lights to signal incoming aircraft if they are in correct position to land on deck. The low slung yellow vehicles are tractors for towing planes on deck. As for cars on the bottom just to right of a Pinto hatch
is a 1st gen Honda Prelude ('80-'83?). Most of the cars visible are post Vietnam era (after 1975)

fintail

The setting for the pic is labeled as the USS Enterprise, moving from Alameda to Seattle. I assume they are sailor's cars.

fintail

Definitely an LN7, I think the EXP gained the bubble rear window later in life. Car behind the U-Haul looks like a Pinto to me, Amusing to me that the U-Haul is being towed by a Datsun B210 - I bet that was fun.

There's one oldie in the pic, too.

ab348 said:

^^^ That was my question as well. Too late for Viet Nam though.

Is that a rare Mercury LN7 I see lower right?

Fascinating to see the two Plymouths side by side, a '63 and a '69. My, how you've grown.

Trying to ID the small car upper right behind the U-Haul and next to the Toyota pickup. Greenhouse looks like a Pinto but the rear panel, not so much.