Mystery car pix

andys120

Post-63 Falcon in foreground w a TR-3A visible above it.

stickguy

texases said:

In the '60s that's about all there was, sedans and trucks, and trucks were for work.

Well, there were way more 2 door coupes and convertibles, not to mention a plethora of station wagons (the CUV of the day, before being replaced by minivans, then of course CUVs.)

texases

Yeah, I should have said cars and trucks, there were next to no SUVs, no CUVs.

stickguy

That’s true dat.

magnette

ab348 said:

Not a Toronto Archives pic but another vintage Toronto picture today. Yorkdale Shopping Center opened in 1964 and was one of the first large enclosed malls in Canada. Looking at other pictures of it from around the time of opening, it seems very similar in design to our first enclosed mall here that opened at that time too, only larger. This is a nicely composed shot from its first few days. It expands very well:



I can't see a picture on this one

kyfdx

https://s3.amazonaws.com/btoimage/prism-thumbnails/uploads/2017/10/01/2017930-yd-60s.jpg-resize-_opacity_100-frame_bg_color_FFF-h_2500-gravity_center-q_70-preserve_ratio_true-w_1400_.webp

kyfdx

I couldn't see it on my iPad, either

imidazol97

Beyound the TR3, there's a 63 low line Chevy wagon in green. But there's a fin sticking up in burnt orange behind the rear of the Chevy wagon.

Looks familiar. A Chrysler product?

ab348

I noticed that pic had some odd extra info in the file name and it tried to save itself as a "WebP" image, whatever that is.

Try this:

texases

Look at the tires on that Falcon. About the same size as on some baby buggies these days!

magnette

fintail said:

Do you know of any online resources for all that?




Hi Fin

I have been trying to think what online information is available and much of what is about is either too simplified or dwells more on personal number plates etc.

The site “old car classic” gives a good summary of the number blocks that were used by each of the number codes allocated - you can for example enter “BB” and it comes up with pretty much what I said on Newcastle - at least for that code.

https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/reg-letters.htm

However it doesn’t show the right details for certain codes particularly where different local authorities swapped them in the period around 1963 onwards and again in the 70’s which were die to new towns being given codes from unused blocks in say, London

Also doesn’t distinguish between ABC 123 and 123 ABC so you have to assume each code has a start date (BB was 1903) an end date which is generally later than 1960 and the third date when given is the reverse, I think.


To get a list of the Codes with the Authorities correctly allocated Wikipedia has a pretty good history under “Registration plates United Kingdom.

It lists all the usual stuff and it has codes listed to show where they changed area - for example XA was used by London between 1920 and 1963 and then by Kirkcaldy in Scotland thereafter (only on year suffix plates)

It's avery long Wiki entry though - the bits that are of any interest really for old cars etc start with section 2.2 "History" and the codes there are more clear.

Our system was systematically amended as more and more numbers were needed but in remote bits of Scotland all this was completely unchanged for sixty years - Shetland Islands issued one series starting PS1 in 1903 and reaching about PS 4000 by 1964, and went straight from that to APS 1 C by 1965

The changes were due to centralising the issue of plates with national computer systems and simultaneously reorganising the (ancient) counties so they became redundant to the process - codes were still vaguely located in regions but since 2001 all the previous codes were changed and our system was different thereafter

The book on all this is by L Newell “History of Vehicle Registrations of United Kingdom’ - its about 270 pages and abut A5 size and the last edition in was 2008 - it’s not a page turner though but no-one is likely to be making it into a film anyway

stickguy

Ab, that image not showing for me either

magnette

kyfdx said:

<img





When I tried to download that on my Mac it didn't want to play... Apparently WebP is not compatible with Mac - well not this one anyway

ab348

I discovered via research that WebP images are an attempt by Google to reinvent the .jpg/.gif wheel. Apple iOS devices do not support it and neither do certain browsers. The second post I made has it converted to a .jpg and hosted elsewhere so should be visible to all.

andys120

magnette

@ab348
The second post I made has it converted to a .jpg and hosted elsewhere so should be visible to all.

No - can't open that either- it says the file .jpg appears to be damaged

It isn't compatible with Mac OS and I would need to download a special workaround.

tjc78

48 ish Chevy Fleetmaster

magnette

Meanwhile this is Stockholm apparently -circa 1960
Spot the odd one out

andys120

An Edsel? In Sweden? And a whole lotta Euro iron but nwhere's the Saabs and Volvos?

imidazol97

And there's a Ford Fairlane across from that beautiful Edsel.

magnette

I am so unfamiliar with Edsels but as the trim area on the rear flanks is outlined in black is that a top of the range Citation?
And I can see a very small blue Vespa 400 - just up from the Edsel is a tree and at the top is a Grey/White Fiat 1200 - its parked in front of it

stickguy

I see a few Volvo PV 2 doors (white in 2nd row and some black ones), at least one 120 series, and a red Amazon up by the building.

imidazol97

The Citation was the top of line and Corsair was second. The filler shape inside that rear color area helps distinguish them, plus they may be on a different chassis: Mercury for the Citation instead of Ford like the Corsair in 1959. If I read right in 1958 the Corsair was on the larger chassis.

Citation By Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA - 1958 Edsel Citation, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69241929



Corsair from Wiki

fintail

A black and red 58 Edsel 4 door HT in Sweden, and not because of a modern Raggare enthusiast, fun. What's next, a 60 Ford?

At far left in the row nearest the camera is a fintail, appears to be a W110. In front of that, a Karmann-Ghia, beside that a 6cyl Ponton, and a VW microbus beside that.

In the background near the building I see a red and beige Volvo Duett.

Oh, and thanks for the license registration link, I'll have to bookmark that for when I have any bouts of curiosity. An amusingly complex system.

magnette said:

Meanwhile this is Stockholm apparently -circa 1960
Spot the odd one out

fintail

All of your Yorkdale pics worked for me.

64 Impala 2 door HT beside the TR3 is nice looking.

ab348 said:

I noticed that pic had some odd extra info in the file name and it tried to save itself as a "WebP" image, whatever that is.

ab348

magnette said:

@ab348
The second post I made has it converted to a .jpg and hosted elsewhere so should be visible to all.

No - can't open that either- it says the file .jpg appears to be damaged

It isn't compatible with Mac OS and I would need to download a special workaround.

Grrrr. Why do software outfits make things so complicated?!? I can see all of these on my PC using Firefox.

Try this, third attempt:

tmart

57 Ford at left and a Falcon front and center.

omarman

All the pics show on my PC Firefox as well.

Green vehicle at upper left looks like the back of a 2nd gen El Camino but can't be sure.

magnette

Ah - now I can see it on Safari on my Mac... I can't see anything you haven't already commented on really.

It always makes me laugh when I see someone in a spy or crime film going in and tapping a couple of keys and stealing the secrets by letting some download to go through to crack the case - computers are brilliant in so many ways but the amount of things that don't work give so many non critical irritations at the same time...

magnette

fintail said:

A black and red 58 Edsel 4 door HT in Sweden, and not because of a modern Raggare enthusiast, fun. What's next, a 60 Ford?

At far left in the row nearest the camera is a fintail, appears to be a W110. In front of that, a Karmann-Ghia, beside that a 6cyl Ponton, and a VW microbus beside that.

In the background near the building I see a red and beige Volvo Duett.

Oh, and thanks for the license registration link, I'll have to bookmark that for when I have any bouts of curiosity. An amusingly complex system.

magnette said:

Meanwhile this is Stockholm apparently -circa 1960
Spot the odd one out

Yes - that Edsel looks like a flamingo in a duckpond in those surroundings.

magnette

Here's today's 60 Ford courtesy of the Baltimore Police - they weren't using these by the time of "The Wire"

No - now it won't let me post pictures again - EDIT - not Safari now this time it worked on Firefox. This is the only site I ever go to Firefox really- everything else is ok with Safari for me usually

magnette

While I can here is another old picture - apparently somewhere in the suburbs of Portland Oregon.




I appreciate it's too old for our site but what is the old car pulling away ? My first thought was one of those Hupmobiles or Grahams which used a Cord body - it isn't an actual Cord as it appears to have rear wheel drive

ab348

I find the dog waiting at the corner to cross the street interesting.

fintail

60 Ford wagon is interesting because it is a 2 door model, pretty rare nowadays.

Old car moving away is not a Cord or derivative. I am thinking a "flatback" Buick from around 1937.

I recall a Piggly Wiggly in Tacoma until maybe 1990, maybe later.

tmart

magnette said:

While I can here is another old picture - apparently somewhere in the suburbs of Portland Oregon.




I appreciate it's too old for our site but what is the old car pulling away ? My first thought was one of those Hupmobiles or Grahams which used a Cord body - it isn't an actual Cord as it appears to have rear wheel drive

49/50 Ford, two 56 Fords, 57 Chevy.

ab348

fintail said:

60 Ford wagon is interesting because it is a 2 door model, pretty rare nowadays.

The latest issue of Hemmings Classic Cars has an article on the '61 Ford Starliner and there is a sidebar piece talking about the 1960 version as well. I knew that the '60 was less popular than the '59 but the difference was startling - about 450,000 '59s sold but only something like 289,000 1960s. The '61 brought numbers back up to the mid-300,000s. Also the '60 was almost 82 inches wide and quite a bit heavier than the '59. The '61 model rolled back both of those numbers a bit. The article confirmed what I always suspected just from observation - the '61 went to a softer rear leaf spring which the article says affected handling for the worse. I always saw '61 and '62 Fords being very low in the back which was probably due to that.

fintail

I know there was a recession then, maybe 60 was the peak. I recall my dad talking about how the 60 was the "widest Ford ever" or something along those lines. I suspect weight and being rust prone doomed a lot of those cars by the time they were 10 years old.

All I know about 61 Ford rear suspension is here:

ab348 said:

fintail said:

The latest issue of Hemmings Classic Cars has an article on the '61 Ford Starliner and there is a sidebar piece talking about the 1960 version as well. I knew that the '60 was less popular than the '59 but the difference was startling - about 450,000 '59s sold but only something like 289,000 1960s. The '61 brought numbers back up to the mid-300,000s. Also the '60 was almost 82 inches wide and quite a bit heavier than the '59. The '61 model rolled back both of those numbers a bit. The article confirmed what I always suspected just from observation - the '61 went to a softer rear leaf spring which the article says affected handling for the worse. I always saw '61 and '62 Fords being very low in the back which was probably due to that.

tmart

Isn’t that picture from the Blues Brothers?

stickguy

American Grafitti.

tmart

Thanks, I had it down to AG or BB. 50/50 shot. Memory not quite as good at this age!

ab348

In my trying to fix that pic of Yorkdale Shopping Centre yesterday I was looking for another source for the picture and stumbled onto these. Both pics should expand nicely. One is indeed from the Toronto Archives but the other is not. Both appear to be from around the same time. I guess the sports car craze in the mid-60s was such that a shop in the mall was a winner. I do recall the days when new cars used to be displayed in the concourses of early enclosed malls. Quite the fun thing for me as a kid,

stickguy

I love the guy with the wife and 2 toddlers looking at the E type. Good luck with that buddy.

Interesting mix, with a jag and VW Karman Ghia, and a gaggle of mustangs.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

I find the dog waiting at the corner to cross the street interesting.

LOL. Me too. Has anyone identified the breed and age of the dog, in keeping with the usual info
we provide on this site?

imidazol97

ab348 said:

fintail said:

60 Ford wagon is interesting because it is a 2 door model, pretty rare nowadays.

The latest issue of Hemmings Classic Cars has an article on the '61 Ford Starliner and there is a sidebar piece talking about the 1960 version as well. I knew that the '60 was less popular than the '59 but the difference was startling - about 450,000 '59s sold but only something like 289,000 1960s. The '61 brought numbers back up to the mid-300,000s. Also the '60 was almost 82 inches wide and quite a bit heavier than the '59. The '61 model rolled back both of those numbers a bit. The article confirmed what I always suspected just from observation - the '61 went to a softer rear leaf spring which the article says affected handling for the worse. I always saw '61 and '62 Fords being very low in the back which was probably due to that.

I would evaluate the Ford models and the sales in terms of what Chevrolet looked like and offered in engines and performance for each of those model years. The cars and the image the buyer felt they were purchasing, even if not the sleekest model and biggest engine, were very much a part of the culture in those years.

From 1962.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frtVqCZub-0

ab348

One other point I forgot to mention about the HCC article on the '61 Starliner was that the photos show that Ford still used the archaic separate steering column and shifter rod setup on the steering column. Not sure when that finally went away.

fintail

She's real fine, my 406?

I see a blue and white Rambler behind the red Mustang convertible with wheels in the colo(u)r pic.

andys120

ab348

fintail said:

I see a blue and white Rambler behind the red Mustang convertible with wheels in the colo(u)r pic.

I'm thinking that is a '65 Fairlane.

Lostwrench3

1954 Chrysler New Yorker.

fintail

Oof, I think you are right. Mustang should have made me think that.

ab348 said:

fintail said:

I see a blue and white Rambler behind the red Mustang convertible with wheels in the colo(u)r pic.

I'm thinking that is a '65 Fairlane.