Mystery car pix

tmart

I spy a Chevy II Nova, a Maverick parked, and a Thunderbird barely visible.

ab348

That's the (not so) rare Maverick Luxury Decor Option like our family had, except ours was white with brown vinyl outside.. If that one leaked as much as ours did in Vancouver's climate it must have been a treat.

fintail

Corona Mark II wagon even, which is a somewhat rare submodel.

In the parking lot at left, I see some oddballs, including a Mini with an apparent Union Jack roof, 1st gen Celica coupe beside, and maybe an MG beside that.

Location of this one bugs me, I can almost place it, but time has changed so many of these locations that even by the time I was young, they were different. It's looking towards downtown from the south or southeast. Maybe on Main or Cambie, possibly as far west as Oak or Granville, but I don't think past that area.

andys120

andys120 said:

Apparently some of the companies that made cockpit canopies for fighter planes hit on the idea of making then for cars. Damned if I ever saw a car so equipped.

Yes, i've seen photos of presidential cars so equipped. Ike's Lincolns had bubble tops.

sda

I know atleast one member of this forum that recognizes this dash!

stickguy

dash is a late 60's Cutlass of some kind

stickguy

street scene, up 2 ahead of a white Econoline is a Datsun 510. and an early Pinto at the curb.

in front of the Maverick is an Orange (I think) Toyota. And a Red Volvo in front of that, behind the Cougar.

ab348

sda said:

I know atleast one member of this forum that recognizes this dash!

How did you sneak into my garage?!? :laughing:

Oh, wait a sec. That pic doesn't have a clock. So it's not my car. {whew}

ab348

In the Vancouver pic, there are two '60s Pontiacs, a '66 4-door HT and a '63 2-door HT Parisienne. In both (esp. the '63) you can see the inset wheels caused by use of the Chevy chassis by GM Canada under the Pontiac body.

sda

ab348 said:

sda said:

I know atleast one member of this forum that recognizes this dash!

How did you sneak into my garage?!? :laughing:

Oh, wait a sec. That pic doesn't have a clock. So it's not my car. {whew}

That was taken the day my parents sold my grandmother’s 68 Cutlass S that she special ordered new. It did have ac and rear defogger, a noisy two speed fan directed at the backlight. Those were the actual miles.

fintail

These were posted on a local vintage photo group by a member showing the cars owned by his parents back in the day - nothing too difficult, but I like the variety:





(this one appears to have a 1981 registration sticker):

magnette

The last one is a Mazda RX4 although I don't know if that is what they called it over there

ab348

Opposites attract I guess - her with a series of little sporty imports, him with a big floaty Detroit luxo-barge (and seriously bad taste in hats).😆

fintail

Living the good life in the disco era:



That RX-4 hardtop is insanely rare today, a real unicorn. Notice the "Rotary" badge at lower right next to the tail lights.

ab348

I just noticed that the RX-4 had a vinyl roof.

stickguy

I always loved the 1st gen Capri. I recall looking at one back in my HS/College beater car days, but it was not a good one. In a snowy area, they did rust, hard.

andys120

I think the shield on the side of the Capri denotes a V6 version, most had the British Ford I4 and not much power.

ab348

Courtesy of Alison at Vintage Los Angeles, Sunset Blvd. circa 1968:

stickguy

would have guessed earlier than 1968 based on the older cars. Looking for something that new! White Cutlass might be the newest car. I guess that could be a '68.

Brown Falcon Ranchero at left front.

Lostwrench3

I'll grab the 1960 Plymouth.
Did we ever get an ID of the blue convertible on page 1186?

stickguy

don't think so. Studebaker though, right? Champion script on the side (not that I can actually read it)

Lostwrench3

And, on the right, a 1962 Buick.

omarman

The gulfstream aqua Ford Galaxie and Ice Station Zebra banner both look 1968.

andys120

stickguy said:

Brown Falcon Ranchero at left front.

That's not brown, it's covered with orange/brown scale rust. I dunno how a car could get that rusty in dry SoCal.

Yesterday I spotted a 1962 Falcon 4door in local traffic. The grey paint was shot with no shine, ditto the chrome but the car was completely straight with no missing trim or dents.

andys120

Just past the Ranchero, the red fender of a 1964 Pontiac. The yellow car peekig out past that may be a second gen Falcon 4-door. The oldest car visible is the red/white '56 or '57 Buick to the right of photo.

How strange, no VWs in LA 1968 traffic!

ab348

andys120 said:

How strange, no VWs in LA 1968 traffic!

Take a closer look, there is one lurking.

For the Ford contingent there's a yellow last-gen Falcon Sport Coupe near the front and way in the back a '68 Torino.

stickguy

the red VW is a fastback or squareback, not a bug.

there are at least 3 bugs in the parking lot on the left. And a dark blue foreign looking wagon. Maybe a Toyota.

andys120

I can see the nose of Beetle just past the yellow '65 Chevy on left and the roof of a dark blue one.

omarman

What is the green car in front of the Torino at far left? At first the shape and color reminded me of an early 70s Dodge Coronet. Low profile front end like this taxi from The French Connection.

I remember Detroit iron from '68 having thicker, bluff front ends

fintail

I think the wagon under the "25" sign is a Datsun 411.

fintail

Looking east on the old Lake Washington floating bridge, towards Mercer Island and Bellevue back when most of both were very much just boring middle class bedroom communities:

ab348

omarman said:

What is the green car in front of the Torino at far left?

It's too blurry to be certain but my first thought was a '68 fullsize Chevy.

Lostwrench3

stickguy said:

don't think so. Studebaker though, right? Champion script on the side (not that I can actually read it)

Based on the rear bumper set up, I'll go with that 1964 Studebaker as being a Daytona.

omarman

I googled 1968 chevy fullsize which looks to be a match for the green mystery car. Thanks, I could not figure that one out as I kept trying to place it in the Mopar family.


And also saw pics for a concealed headlight option in 1968 (Caprice?) which I had totally forgotten about.

The General was a commanding force in car styling back then. Even the Corvair still looks good to me.

kyfdx

omarman said:

I googled 1968 chevy fullsize which looks to be a match for the green mystery car. Thanks, I could not figure that one out as I kept trying to place it in the Mopar family.


And also saw pics for a concealed headlight option in 1968 (Caprice?) which I had totally forgotten about.

The General was a commanding force in car styling back then. Even the Corvair still looks good to me.

I just saw one of those last week! At first, I thought maybe a Riviera was headed my way... I don't ever remember seeing one like that, before.

fintail

I remember when I was a student in the late 90s, a professor at school had a very clean 69 Caprice (IIRC badged 396) as a daily driver, dark blue, with hidden headlights. GM really was on top of styling, but it's hard to go wrong with hidden headlights - a 69 LTD looks cool with them, too. Maybe the last gasp of modern cool before some things maybe got out of hand in the 70s.

tjc78

That color really works on that car.

tmart

fintail said:

Looking east on the old Lake Washington floating bridge, towards Mercer Island and Bellevue back when most of both were very much just boring middle class bedroom communities:

49/51 Ford, a 52 and 53 Ford, 2 55 Ford wagons, 56 Tudor Ford, a red MG.

magnette

Just next to the bridge there are a couple of people wearing red. The white small car they are standing beyond looks like a Hillman Minx - about a Phase IV and it may be a convertible

andys120

It looks more like a Morris Minor to me than a Minx. The white/green car car is a Nash Rambler wagon. Just behind the topless MG-TD is the oldest car , a green ('46'-'48) Ford,
I guess it could be a Mercury.

fintail

I decided I would look in Vancouver too. August 1976, many nations represented here (click zoom etc):

Michaell

Is that a Renault 4 in front of the Pinto?

omarman

I like what's left of that F-150. Wasn't that unusual to see real "work trucks" in 1976. That 450 SEL would have cost around $20K back then maybe? In 2020 money that's about $90K or more?

fintail

Car in front of the Pinto is even more rare than a Renault, I think.

The F-series in the pic wasn't too old then, either.

Yep, a 450SEL was around 20K then, effectively top of the line.

Michaell

omarman said:

I like what's left of that F-150. Wasn't that unusual to see real "work trucks" in 1976. That 450 SEL would have cost around $20K back then maybe? In 2020 money that's about $90K or more?

$91k and change....

stickguy

slightly crunched up Orange Corolla.

is that a Morris Traveller with the white door? Something like that?

ab348

I think about half of that generation of Corollas were that butterscotch color before they disintegrated into a pile of rusty chips.

I am somewhat stumped by the import ahead of the Pinto. My first take was an Alfa of some sort but I am not at all convinced that is what it is.

I believe that is a 1970 Coronet wagon at the front of the line. That rear trim design must be quite rare.

stickguy

I have no clue about The blue 4 door or the wagon 2nd in line,

kyfdx

Michaell said:

omarman said:

I like what's left of that F-150. Wasn't that unusual to see real "work trucks" in 1976. That 450 SEL would have cost around $20K back then maybe? In 2020 money that's about $90K or more?

$91k and change....

S-Class today is probably $125K+

ab348

stickguy said:

I have no clue about The blue 4 door or the wagon 2nd in line,

I think the#2 wagon might be a Datsun 510?

The blue 4-door is some funny furrin Euro car. Maybe French?