Mystery car pix

fintail

Official car of the 1962 World's Fair:

andys120

Oldsmobile Starfire, Olds' version of the Pontiac GP more or less.

andys120

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

Whatever it is that's not a Cord 810/812 or anything that borrowed the Cord styling, The rear glass is haped much larger and more rectangular than the tiny windows on the Cord.



That said it's hard to say what it might be.

The newest car visble is a '57 Chevy Bel Air four poster quite a bit newer than others in the pic except the black Ford wagon ('55?).

magnette

ab348 said:

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

I hadn't noticed him before - has he got four legs? He looks intent at something but probably quite road conscious living local to a busy crossing like that - I think some dogs are a lot safer than most people !

Not that we ever had a dog that was sensible...

magnette

fintail said:

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.

I was thinking it was a Cord derivative but with no real expectation of having found one - those Grahams and the related Hupmobile Skylark must have been pretty rare.

Also there appears to be a differential visible below the old car which I thought rather ruled out FWD Cord - that's when I thought about the derivatives.

magnette

Is that the year of the Oldsmobile Dynamic 88? or was that an ongoing model?

bhill2

I gotta mention that suicide door '50/'51 Studebaker turning right. My folks had a '51 that is the first car I remember (mostly because sliding across the seat charged you up like a battery).

tmart

andys120 said:

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

Whatever it is that's not a Cord 810/812 or anything that borrowed the Cord styling, The rear glass is haped much larger and more rectangular than the tiny windows on the Cord.



That said it's hard to say what it might be.

The newest car visble is a '57 Chevy Bel Air four poster quite a bit newer than others in the pic except the black Ford wagon ('55?).

The Ford wagon is a 56.

imidazol97

bhill2 said:

I gotta mention that suicide door '50/'51 Studebaker turning right. My folks had a '51 that is the first car I remember (mostly because sliding across the seat charged you up like a battery).

That brought back memories. We had a 50 Studebaker 2 door, and I remember the seats were great static generators. Painful taking hold of the door handle.

ab348

I could have sworn we have had pics of the Cliff House in San Francisco here previously, but a search reveals no results.

I have a few shots to choose from but think I'll try this one:



Pictures were disabled for direct posting in Firefox today on the PC where it almost always works, but MS Edge installed itself overnight and I tried that as an alternative, which shockingly worked for the moment.

stickguy

black chevy I think is a 59. parked next to a 61? and of course, the required Falcon (62?) and Econoline. Just missing a 1960 Ford!

The Caddy Limo is interesting. Not attractive though, too bulky.

Lostwrench3

imidazol97 said:

bhill2 said:

I gotta mention that suicide door '50/'51 Studebaker turning right. My folks had a '51 that is the first car I remember (mostly because sliding across the seat charged you up like a battery).

That brought back memories. We had a 50 Studebaker 2 door, and I remember the seats were great static generators. Painful taking hold of the door handle.

My parents had a 1951 Studebaker Champion. My father called it the Green Hornet.
It had a starter activation button on the floor under the clutch pedal.
I had great fun when having high school classmates in the car. After they got into the car I would say "Bang on that door so I can start this thing". They would say "What?" I would say "Bang on the door." While they were hitting the door, I would depress the clutch pedal under which was the starter button which they didn't see nor knew existed. The starter would activate, the engine would turn over and run. Word spread among the guys at high school how it was necessary to bang on that car's door to start the car.
We had that bought used car until the late '60s.

magnette

When I was a student I had a 1973 Ford Escort 1300 mk 1 for couple of years.
The Escort had a novel windscreen washer button on the floor to the side of the clutch pedal (RHD)

Even then most cars had a stalk to control the washers and wipers, but this model just had a stalk for the two speed wipers and the button on the floor.

The floor button had a prominent inner bit and a sort of rubber ring round it - if you tapped the ring with your foot you got a squirt of water and if you hit the middle you got a single wipe. You could combine the two for wash wipe - I always found it really convenient

Anyone in the car couldn't see this so I would say the wipers and washers were voice activated and experimental - one or two gullible passengers believed me sometimes

Nothing like as good as a Studebaker Champion though - my student cars were a whole different scale from that - more Minis, Morris Minor Traveller, Escort etc..

fintail

Those early Escorts have some decent value now, I think.

Fintail also has a foot button operated windshield washer, near where a clutch would be. It's a manual pump, so it kind of squirts rather than sprays. Of course, like on most old cars, the high beams are also a foot button, headlight and wiper controls are on the dash.

magnette said:

When I was a student I had a 1973 Ford Escort 1300 mk 1 for couple of years.
The Escort had a novel windscreen washer button on the floor to the side of the clutch pedal (RHD)

Even then most cars had a stalk to control the washers and wipers, but this model just had a stalk for the two speed wipers and the button on the floor.

The floor button had a prominent inner bit and a sort of rubber ring round it - if you tapped the ring with your foot you got a squirt of water and if you hit the middle you got a single wipe. You could combine the two for wash wipe - I always found it really convenient

Anyone in the car couldn't see this so I would say the wipers and washers were voice activated and experimental - one or two gullible passengers believed me sometimes

Nothing like as good as a Studebaker Champion though - my student cars were a whole different scale from that - more Minis, Morris Minor Traveller, Escort etc..

fintail

SF, 1982:

stickguy

jelly bean celica up front next to a Sunbird. and nice 68 Firbird on the curb. I like that style.

ab348

Yeah, the Firebird is about all I would want in that group.

magnette

Yes - my Magnette has a dip switch to control the headlight high beam on the floor next to the clutch - so did my 68 Morris 1000 Traveller

fintail

Now who wouldn't want the Datsun (maybe an F10) parked on the street up the hill, or what looks like an early Corolla behind the Rabbit?

IIRC, the fintail's foot pump washer also makes the wipers swipe once.

stickguy

that isn't an F10 I don't think. My sister had one. what a lousy driving car.

nice 75ish Corolla wagon. I had a 2 door in the same brown color. I think the orange car 2 back from the C10 is an early, 1970 or so, Corolla.

and how could you miss the big Benz (3.5?) up the top of the hill?

fintail

White car in front of the Monte on the hill appears to be a Datsun anyway, maybe has a thickish B/C-pillar which made me think F10. I bet a mint one of those could do well on BaT.

MB at the top of the hill appears to be a W116, could be anything from a 280S (I believe the last carbureted MB to enter this market) to a 450SEL, all on the same platform.

omarman

Maybe a '77 or '78 Datsun 210.

The 310 was a better looking replacement for the F10.

stickguy

that could be. I made a mistake though. My sister had a 310 (hatch like the red one above), not the weird little F10.

fintail

Forgot about the 310. Another one on every corner here for ages, then around the turn of the century, started to vanish fast.

fintail

(click zoom etc)

61 Squire, close enough to a 60, I'll allow it.

tmart

59 Ford wagon. 52/54 Ford.

ab348

Interesting business name.

andys120

kyfdx

andys120 said:

Is that a 128 coupe?

andys120

Is that a 128 coupe?

Nope, it's a Gen II (1969-72) Fiat 124 Sport Coupe/1600, a really nice practical but sporty car that got lost in the shadow of it's Spider sibling.

kyfdx

andys120 said:

Is that a 128 coupe?

Nope, it's a Gen II (1969-72) Fiat 124 Sport Coupe/1600, a really nice practical but sporty car that got lost in the shadow of it's Spider sibling.

It's beautiful

ab348

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there.

Here’s a shot courtesy of Vintage Los Angeles, from around 1977, featuring the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and LaBrea Ave. Lots of stuff to ID here.

fintail

Just beside the Dodge-looking van with a popped open sunroof under the Cat Stevens sign, I spot a sliver of the C-pillar section of a Scirocco. Small white pickup at center slightly left appears to be a Courier.

stickguy

white volvo 144 heading away, next to a dark blue Seville. and 2 cars ahead, a white Rambler america

bhill2

Small nit, I think the white Rambler is a Classic.

ab348

I don't think we've seen this pic of the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas before. From what I see it was probably taken no later than 1966 or '67. In the front row there is a vehicle that must be nearly nonexistent today, but lots of other things to call out too..

stickguy

I assume you mean the blue wagon. Is that an Opel? Doesn’t look familiar.

Toward the left a white early Corvair, and 2nd row, the rear of a light blue mercury comet.

And funny how the green dodge pick up sticks out as an oddity. Not these days!

andys120

stickguy

not sure what it is, but it is gorgeous!

tmart

ab348 said:

I don't think we've seen this pic of the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas before. From what I see it was probably taken no later than 1966 or '67. In the front row there is a vehicle that must be nearly nonexistent today, but lots of other things to call out too..

Do you mean the 60 Ford wagon?

imidazol97

And it's a wagon.

ab348

tmart said:

Do you mean the 60 Ford wagon?

No, the blue one next to it.

fintail

60 Ford wagon looks like a 2 door, nice.

Blue wagon at the end of the row at right appears to be a Toyota Crown - a real unicorn then and especially now.

2 to the left of the 60 Ford looks like a 68 Chevelle sedan (maybe a hardtop), possible newest car.

tmart

57 Ford Fairlane 500, light blue over white.

andys120

ab348

Nobody bit on Andy's pic but here is its story: https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/classic-cars/a32900022/street-spotted-1962-fiat-1600s-osca-is-a-rare-italian-delight/

ab348

Looks like heavy traffic today on the Don Valley Parkway, assuming today is in 1973.

stickguy

Early pinto hatch in the fast lane! And looks like a Datsun 510 a couple cars ahead. And way up top a Volvo 140. With another Volvo on the inbound lanes.

Interesting that even in 1973, seems like all the cars from that 59-61 vintage disappeared. These days, seeing 12 YO cars in traffic is common. Just much less noticeable.

magnette

There is a Sunbeam / Hillman Arrow two ahead of the Pinto and in girth at least showing why our cars were better in country lanes than on freeways...
Here (as a Hunter or equivalent) that was a normal family four door saloon

By contrast the 68 or so Lincoln following the approaching Volvo looks enormous

stickguy

Never heard of that hill an. I was pretty sure it wasn’t actually a 510 but was closest I could come up with, and in the pad don’t always get the best resolution.