Mystery car pix

imidazol97

4 Studebakers in the row against the brick building with the shack.

The farthest is a 52 with the hooded taillight.

fintail

I like the VW Notchback in the dealer holding lot (barbed wire even there and then). I was under the impression that model wasn't officially exported here, at least USDM. Maybe it was.

For the used car lot, I think there's a Studebaker Starlite just to the left of the little building.

ab348

fintail said:

I like the VW Notchback in the dealer holding lot (barbed wire even there and then). I was under the impression that model wasn't officially exported here, at least USDM. Maybe it was.

We definitely got them in Canada. I didn't realize the USA did not.

What struck me about that Type 3 notchback is that it is two-toned. I have never seen that before.

fintail

I am pretty sure I read the notchback wasn't sold here. I have seen only maybe one or two locally, where the squareback and fastback were everywhere here for a long time, finally becoming less common maybe around the turn of the century.

Two tone must have been a very deluxe model.

ab348

From Toronto again, "City of Ponycars", 1972. Everyone loves a good parking lot picture, expandable. Only see a single import at first glance, apparently belonging to the lot attendant, rates must have been pretty stiff:

fintail

MB W114/115 just to the right of the attendant's box, wouldn't have been more than a 4 year old car at the time.

omarman

Just to the right of the MB looks like a '70 Javelin.

Near the guy walking the lot, parked nose in looks like a '71 LTD, another Javelin and a '71 Cougar.

stickguy

Nice Endura nose Firebird, and an early C3 Vette next to a flat nose Monte Carlo

Michaell

fintail said:

I am pretty sure I read the notchback wasn't sold here. I have seen only maybe one or two locally, where the squareback and fastback were everywhere here for a long time, finally becoming less common maybe around the turn of the century.

Two tone must have been a very deluxe model.

Folks traded in their early 60's Beetle for a Squareback in '67, after my sister was born.

We drove that car from CA to NY and back in the summer of 1971. I hadn't realized then how much of the interstate highway system hadn't been built at that time.

Sadly, the engine gave up the ghost in the summer of 1973, and the parents bought a new Toyota Corona to replace it.

fintail

Must have been a VW thing of the era, at least the engines were easy to rebuild or swap out.

In 1970, my mom bought a new Beetle. Sometime around 1974-75, before I was born, it suffered engine failure (my mom says my dad "blew it up"). My dad replaced the stock engine with one from a Porsche 912, which apparently had its own set of issues, faster but not as reliable. My mom's big T-Bird then replaced the Beetle, apparently had no trouble selling it with that engine.

Michaell said:

Folks traded in their early 60's Beetle for a Squareback in '67, after my sister was born.

We drove that car from CA to NY and back in the summer of 1971. I hadn't realized then how much of the interstate highway system hadn't been built at that time.

Sadly, the engine gave up the ghost in the summer of 1973, and the parents bought a new Toyota Corona to replace it.

andys120

The Firebird is a 1970 (Best F-Bird ever IMO), next to it is a Gen 1 Mustang wearing trick wheels and then a 1970-ish Dodge Challenger..."City of Ponycars" indeed!

ab348

The City of Toronto archives continue to be a treasure trove of great pics. How is your 1970-ish Fiat-spotting?



This might be more Fiats than I have ever seen in one place in Canada ever. In my experience, a lot of Fiat dealers here back then were like this place, small, often a gas station repurposed to include a dealership. Although this one not only includes a car wash as well, but also a restaurant!

Interesting side note: the old looking building in the background with the "Daltons 1834" sign was the source of many home-baking ingredients sold across Canada. My mother used Daltons shredded coconut forever along with their glace fruit assortments at Christmastime. I couldn't believe how old and small their facility was when I saw it here. The brand still exists but not in this location.

stickguy

I see an 850 sport spyder toward the left. Next to a nose in (so seeing the taillights) of what actually looks to me like a Datsun 510

magnette

I went past our local Fiat dealers just now - we are allowed to drive locally now as lockdown measures ease a bit and saw many Fiats - all 500s except one of the 124 Spiders from a year or two ago.
Dealer also sells Suzuki and Alfa Romeo...
By contrast he also sells Nissan on his adjoining showroom on the next block.



Meanwhile, on this picture the middle car prominently between the 128's is a 124 Special T with the double headlights. There is another a bit further along on the left.

andys120

magnette said:

Meanwhile, on this picture the middle car prominently between the 128's is a 124 Special T with the double headlights. There is another a bit further along on the left.

I believe All 124 Sedans sold in the USDM had four headlights. I've never seen or heard of the Special T version so I 'spect it was never officially sold here. Canada of course is another story.
I owned a '71 124 Spider 1600 so I'm fairly familiar w what they offered here and when.

magnette

Fiat sold the 124 as a two headlight car initially in the UK, and much Europe and then sold upmarket versions - we got the 124T but there were probably others - with 4 lights.
Our initial 124's looked like the later Lada 1200 - presumably the body dies that Fiat sold to Russia were the original ones for the two light version.
Lada also had four light versions later but named theirs (one was the Riva)

ab348

When 124 sedans were first sold here in Canada they were dual-headlight models too.

All of the Lada Signets (their 124 version) sold here in the 80s were 4-headlight models. I don't recall the later versions with squarish headlights ever making it here as nobody was buying Lada cars by then. The Niva (the little almost-military looking SUV) remained slightly more popular for a while.

magnette

Yes - the Lada was very popular here as it was cheap and the basic 1200 range was pretty reliable. The first ones had two round headlights - we didn't get the late square ones.

I had a colleague who had one for a long time and it was only when it was damaged in an accident that she got rid of it, but replaced it with the next generation Lada - the Samara - which ws much less reliable for her.

The Niva was sold here but was less successful as they only imported it in LHD - the conversion for RHD was too difficult for the way their 4WD worked I think - but they are really good little trucks as they are really tough - the ones that are here are generally successful in off-road events, according to the motoring press.

fintail

Those Fiats in that climate, I wonder how they looked after the second winter.

I still recall seeing a Lada Signet wagon in Vancouver when I was young - even then I knew it was something very unusual. I think the final run of Signets sold in Canada had the larger rectangular headlights. Every now and then one could see a Samara too, although those maybe aged off faster, I remember them being more or less sold as scrap at about 5 years old. The Niva fared better, as they have a cult around them, and one can still find examples in BC anyway.

Over at the BP station at right near the Daltons building, there appears to be either a fintail or a W108/109.

andys120

Brochure art>

ab348

Audi 100LS above. Trouble-prone car.

From around that same time, Toronto is calling again. Posting this solely because of the car hiding behind the light post in the middle which I cannot ID. British, Italian, or what I do not know. There are a few others deserving of spotting too.

stickguy

No clue but looks Italian to me.

Easy ones, early Vega, gen 1 bronco, and a spitfire.

andys120

You have to go some to show me a Euro car from that era that I've never seen but I have no idea.(:

magnette

The car hiding unsuccessfully behind the post is a Jensen CV8...

andys120

magnette said:

The car hiding unsuccessfully behind the post is a Jensen CV8...

Dang it, he's right!

ab348

I think @magnette got it! I just looked it up and that is an interesting car. Apparently Leno owns one. Only 500 made, all except 10 of them RH drive. Chrysler powertrain. Fast for its time too.

magnette

They made one or possibly two convertibles but otherwise all coupes, and they are not uncommon survivors here - I've seen them at car shows most years

fintail

Wow, an earlier Jensen, rare spot at any time.

The big fuselage Chrysler at right looks like a coupe version of the one my grandpa had at that time. I bet resale fell through the floor with the first gas crunch.

ab348

fintail said:

Wow, an earlier Jensen, rare spot at any time.

The big fuselage Chrysler at right looks like a coupe version of the one my grandpa had at that time. I bet resale fell through the floor with the first gas crunch.

The size differential between it and the Vega parked next to it is stunning. Those really were land yachts. As the B-52s sang:

"Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as a whale
And it's about to set sail" :laughing:

fintail

I'm sure a fuselage sedan only had 6 seatbelt spots, but probably could have fit 10, especially as people were maybe a little smaller then.

NADA yellow book and KBB I have from 1976 shows a 71 NYer with an average retail price of $1625-1690, just under a third of new base price. Depreciation like a modern day Euro lux car, and that's with the higher inflation of the time.

ab348 said:

The size differential between it and the Vega parked next to it is stunning. Those really were land yachts. As the B-52s sang:

"Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as a whale
And it's about to set sail" :laughing:

ab348

Nothing to see here, move along please...




I have never seen an add-on hardtop like that.

stickguy

weird top on that MGB. Over on the right early and later (70 and 74?) Mavericks. and a nice Camaro (74 or 75?) on the left.

Man, that oddball furrin car in the center really sticks out!

fintail

Furrin car is a Renault 16.

magnette

That after market hardtop looks like one offered here as the Bermuda, and I've just looked it up. It was made by Williams & Pritchard and back in the mid//late sixties it was on sale for about £50. It was quite common at the time and was available in the usual MGB colours

ab348

The MGB hardtop just screamed U.K. of the '60s/'70s to me. Thanks for the info!

magnette

You do see the odd one at a car show although I can't say they are common now. I think they are probably a bit brittle as there are quite a few perspex panels and inevitably all the plastic must deteriorate plus there is probably a tendency replace them with the factory spec original when restoring a car nowadays.

I had an MGB roadster for about 13 years and never bothered to buy a hardtop as I parked in the street and without a garage I never had anywhere practical to store one. Can't say I particularly missed it and I did tend to put the roof down when I could - the downside of a hardtop is that if you take it off you have to put the soft top back on - bolting on the pram irons etc and unless you are sure it isn't going to rain that isn't practical in our climate.

My compromise was every time I changed to a new hood cover - they always split eventually and leak of course - then I would have the one with the zip out rear window - not the basic factory fit fixed perspex window.

With the rear window open it was great and I carried loft ladders, bits of shelving or all sorts of garden stuff at different times too.

ab348

I spent some time visiting Toronto in the '80s as my best college buddy relocated there for his work with his lovely wife, so I visited for a week or so at a time on several occasions and took to exploring, plus I had a number of business trips there as well. To Canadians from other parts of the country it was considered the center of our universe with many HQs of Canadian business and our national media located there, so we knew a bit more about it than we otherwise would. Toronto even then was a vast sprawling city and to a relative country mouse like me was fascinating. I enjoyed the downtown core where I would stay on business. I haven't been back in a few years but thanks to Streetview I can see that it has totally changed and is almost unrecognizable to me now, with lots of the old buildings along Yonge St demolished in favor of new towers.

Back when I was visiting one thing I noticed was that it had a large number of empty lots as it began transitioning from manufacturing/processing downtown. Many of those were converted to surface parking at the time. Here is one of those lots, apparently an informal used car lot of sorts. A bit of an eclectic collection.

tmart

I’ll grab the Cougar and Stang.

omarman

'72 Torino parked on the left side of the lot.

stickguy

Volvo 164 behind the poke. And a peugout (504?) nose in front row

stickguy

Corvair in front of the Torino.

magnette

Beyond that Peugeot 504 there is a 204 Estate
I am not sure about the car between the 504 and the Mustang - I assumed a Toyota Corolla but am unsure of the date as there were loads of them

stickguy

Not a corolla. And I think it is rear engine. Guessing some sort of Fiat.

fintail

Must have been a Peugeot dealer, with a 404 wagon at far right with a sedan behind it.

Small mystery car between 504 and Mustang gives me a Japanese vibe, but I can't quite place it, could also be a small Italian or even French model.

Michaell

ab348 said:

I spent some time visiting Toronto in the '80s as my best college buddy relocated there for his work with his lovely wife, so I visited for a week or so at a time on several occasions and took to exploring, plus I had a number of business trips there as well. To Canadians from other parts of the country it was considered the center of our universe with many HQs of Canadian business and our national media located there, so we knew a bit more about it than we otherwise would. Toronto even then was a vast sprawling city and to a relative country mouse like me was fascinating. I enjoyed the downtown core where I would stay on business. I haven't been back in a few years but thanks to Streetview I can see that it has totally changed and is almost unrecognizable to me now, with lots of the old buildings along Yonge St demolished in favor of new towers.

Back when I was visiting one thing I noticed was that it had a large number of empty lots as it began transitioning from manufacturing/processing downtown. Many of those were converted to surface parking at the time. Here is one of those lots, apparently an informal used car lot of sorts. A bit of an eclectic collection.

Thanks for the old pix.

My first trip to Toronto was around 1990-ish. Stayed downtown and my hosts took me to a Jays game.

I was fortunate enough to go back quite a number of times over the years. Sometimes downtown, sometimes in the suburbs. I love the underground mall that connects all the buildings downtown - was great to walk to the customer office from the hotel without having to go outside.

Someone once referred to Toronto as "New York, if run by the Swiss".

ab348

When I first viewed the pic I assumed the small car between the 504 and the Mustang was a 1960s Corolla like this (sans the fender mirrors):



The little car at the far left of the lineup looks like a Mini, with just a single driving light mounted in the center. But who knows for sure.

Seeing the old ad for Lavoris mouthwash painted on the wall of the adjacent building took me back in time! I'm not sure if it is on the market any more.

fintail

The car at far left is definitely a Mini or variant.

texases

Did that Corolla sell in the US? I don't remember ever seeing it.

ab348

texases said:

Did that Corolla sell in the US? I don't remember ever seeing it.

I think so. I seem to recall ads in the car magazines of the time. I know they sold them here back then.

magnette

The glass on that little car looks like it should be a Toyota but it looks too narrow and tall.

Did the Glas 1304 sell in Canada?