Mystery car pix

stickguy

Only the wheel flips. Pedals and even the layout of the manual trans stays the same.

magnette

@fintail Yes, the London picture is an AC 2 litre - they made those from about 1948 to 1954

The Irish border - the BelAir is easy enough but the Wolseley is the 15/50 which was the 1956 development of the original 4/44, replacing the 1250cc engine with the 1489cc one (like my Magnette)

The 4/44 had a straight chrome line on the side which only went to the middle of the front doors, while the later 15/50 got the longer strip which curved down and reached the middle of rear doors, like this

magnette

@kyfdx

Yes the Irish Republic does drive on the left like the UK so at least that doesn't complicate the only land border the UK has (unless you count the ground in the Channel Tunnel)

The Wolseley is registered in Belfast, in the North and the Chevrolet has a Dublin registration from the republic although what actually happened when Ireland was partitioned in the 1920s was the original codes had been allocated for the whole UK including all of Ireland, and the counties that remained in UK, in the North, like Belfast, carried on with the system as normal, and in the south they did the same because they didn't need to change it - indeed if in the twenties or even the sixties if someone bought a car in England and took it to Ireland they could just pay a new road tax and retain the British numberplate - the Irish county they had moved to just added it to their list for tax purposes. Only changed if it was one with a year letter after 1963 -Ireland didn't have seven digit plates

It worked the other way too if a car came to England from Ireland until we got a more complex system with year letters.

sda

imidazol97 said:

A 56 Chevy with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side of the car. I've wondered about the pedals on cars with the steering wheel flipped: are the pedals reversed or is the right foot for the gas and left foot for the clutch?

Pedals are not reversed, clutch on the left, brake center, accelerator right.

imidazol97

stickguy said:

Only the wheel flips. Pedals and even the layout of the manual trans stays the same.

sda said:

Pedals are not reversed, clutch on the left, brake center, accelerator right.

Thanks. I'd always wondered...

fintail

NorthTown Mall, Spokane, 1960 (now an enclosed mall, and seems to be still surviving as malls fade away):



(should zoom in)

tmart

54 Ford, 58 Ford, and a 60 Ford.

bhill2

I'll grab the 58 Impala because of its baroque beauty.

ab348

An early VW roughly center of the picture parked all by itself. The requisite '60 Ford somewhat to the left of that.

I'd be interested in the ID of the black sedan parked down by Grants facing the CY'S panel van and the Jeep station wagon. It looks like something the strongman leader of a totalitarian Eastern Bloc regime might be shuttled around in.

Lostwrench3

.......and a '57 Pontiac and a '56 Pontiac and......

Lostwrench3

.....and a '46, '47, or '48 DeSoto. Would need to see the tire size.

andys120

47-52 Kaiser or Fraser parked in front of furniture store on left.

ab348

Domestic automobile design was just about to reach supersonic speed here, making the survivor cars of the late '40s and early '50s look totally obsolete.

andys120

https://img.hmn.com/900x0/stories/2020/04/15163734/CC189-SS1-06.jpg

Lostwrench3

ab348 said:

An early VW roughly center of the picture parked all by itself. The requisite '60 Ford somewhat to the left of that.

I'd be interested in the ID of the black sedan parked down by Grants facing the CY'S panel van and the Jeep station wagon. It looks like something the strongman leader of a totalitarian Eastern Bloc regime might be shuttled around in.

As to the black sedan, the side windows, the roof above them, the thickness of the B and C pillars, and the squared off top of the rear wheel well shout a Chrysler product. The best match I could find is a 1950 Plymouth.

andys120

Lostwrench3 said:

ab348 said:

An early VW roughly center of the picture parked all by itself. The requisite '60 Ford somewhat to the left of that.

I'd be interested in the ID of the black sedan parked down by Grants facing the CY'S panel van and the Jeep station wagon. It looks like something the strongman leader of a totalitarian Eastern Bloc regime might be shuttled around in.

As to the black sedan, the side windows, the roof above them, the thickness of the B and C pillars, and the squared off top of the rear wheel well shout a Chrysler product. The best match I could find is a 1950 Plymouth.

The black sedan behind the Jeep All-Steel is a first gen Kaiser or Frazer ('47-'53).

i'm not sure when VW stopped making the two piece rear glass, I think around '55.

Lostwrench3

andys120 said:

Lostwrench3 said:

ab348 said:

An early VW roughly center of the picture parked all by itself. The requisite '60 Ford somewhat to the left of that.

I'd be interested in the ID of the black sedan parked down by Grants facing the CY'S panel van and the Jeep station wagon. It looks like something the strongman leader of a totalitarian Eastern Bloc regime might be shuttled around in.

As to the black sedan, the side windows, the roof above them, the thickness of the B and C pillars, and the squared off top of the rear wheel well shout a Chrysler product. The best match I could find is a 1950 Plymouth.

The black sedan behind the Jeep All-Steel is a first gen Kaiser or Frazer ('47-'53).

i'm not sure when VW stopped making the two piece rear glass, I think around '55.

Ahaa! That's why I couldn't perfectly match it to a Chrysler product.
Yes, it is a 1949 or 1950 Kaiser or Frazer. Those years based on the wide side strip on the side's bottom.

fintail

IIRC VW went to oval window for MY 1954.

andys120 said:

The black sedan behind the Jeep All-Steel is a first gen Kaiser or Frazer ('47-'53).

i'm not sure when VW stopped making the two piece rear glass, I think around '55.

bhill2

andys120 said:

https://img.hmn.com/900x0/stories/2020/04/15163734/CC189-SS1-06.jpg

Oh dear heavens, a 63 Impala SS convertible with a six! Someone needs to answer for this!

andys120

Yup, there were a number of Impala and Malibu SS cars with Six cylinder power.

sda

Hard to imagine an SS with a 6 and Powerglide. All show and no go. Even having a 283 would be a disappointment, but at least it would have a V8 voice.

ab348

That '63 Impala convertible is the same in terms of color combo (except for the SS option) as the car my oldest brother had back in '66 when he got married. It too was equipped with the 230 6-cylinder.

magnette

Two to the left of the Kaiser/ Fraser is a 40/41 Chevrolet 2-door - I think the trim on the sides of the hood identifies that year

I think the grey wagon to the right below the NORTHTOWN sign is a Plymouth Suburban from about 50/52 but they made wooden ones as well until about 51

andys120

Only one classic surfer wagon in this shot. I can't tell if the woody is a Ford or a Mercury.

magnette

55 Chevrolet - a 150?
two down from the woody is a 59 Mercury

fintail

I spotted the 41 Chevy too - I was actually expecting more prewar cars, given the area (low-rust climate, and people who might have been into keeping things).

magnette said:

Two to the left of the Kaiser/ Fraser is a 40/41 Chevrolet 2-door - I think the trim on the sides of the hood identifies that year

I think the grey wagon to the right below the NORTHTOWN sign is a Plymouth Suburban from about 50/52 but they made wooden ones as well until about 51

fintail

Maybe a Beetle at far left, mostly hidden?

andys120 said:

Only one classic surfer wagon in this shot. I can't tell if the woody is a Ford or a Mercury.

andys120

fintail said:

Maybe a Beetle at far left, mostly hidden?

Mght be a Beetle, can' see much.

Halfway down is a '59 Mercury, the car I learned to drive on. Least likely to be a surf wagon.

ab348

The taillights on the Ford or Mercury wagon appear to the the kind the are mounted on a hinge to let them remain visible if you are driving with the tailgate down.

tmart

56 Ford and a 58/59 Thunderbird. 57 Chevy convertible.

imidazol97

Enlarges nicely.

stickguy

is the yellow car on the left behind the blue 30s vintage unit a Nash Rambler? Looks like one of the newer cars here.

tmart

51 Ford, a 56 Ford, two 57 Fords.

fintail

30s car at left is a 37 Chevy, probably the oldest car there. Car behind it is a Rambler, maybe a 57 - called "AMC Rambler"?

imidazol97

The AMC Rambler is a 57.

The picture is supposed to be 1958 Johnson City, TN. Are there any 1958 models in this pic?

The colors on some of the older cars don't look historically right, but this is a colorized picture. I
thought the bright fresh colors that haven't aged on some of the prints was great.

magnette

That Nash Rambler resembles my Dinky toy when I was a kid

The approaching pink and blue 55 Chevrolet appears to be a 2-door wagon - is that a Handyman?

fintail

I see a few forward look cars with 4 headlights, but can't tell if they are 57 vs 58. Otherwise, no apparent 58s.

bhill2

tmart said:

56 Ford and a 58/59 Thunderbird. 57 Chevy convertible.

If I can refer back to this view, I can't quite get the green car between the yellow Imperial and the 58/59 Tbird. Anyone?

andys120

The '55/'56 Chevy wagon at bottom left sports a color scheme I've never seen, light blue over Tan.

Lostwrench3

bhill2 said:

tmart said:

56 Ford and a 58/59 Thunderbird. 57 Chevy convertible.

If I can refer back to this view, I can't quite get the green car between the yellow Imperial and the 58/59 Tbird. Anyone?

1950 Chevy Fleetline.

ab348

andys120 said:

The '55/'56 Chevy wagon at bottom left sports a color scheme I've never seen, light blue over Tan.

That's because it is a black & white pic that someone has colorized. All colors are a guess.

imidazol97

andys120 said:

The '55/'56 Chevy wagon at bottom left sports a color scheme I've never seen, light blue over Tan.

The colorization seems to have changed neutral tan colors to a coral tan tone.

I'd guess the 55 Chev is this color combination with the green on the roof, and the colorization made the green much too electric green.

imidazol97

I keep seeing one possible 1958 model car in the picture: the fourth car parked on the right of the picture looks like a 1958 Dodge, based on the front bumper style AND that the rear tailfin appears to have a chrome strip in it.

andys120

bhill2

Lostwrench3 said:

bhill2 said:

tmart said:

56 Ford and a 58/59 Thunderbird. 57 Chevy convertible.

If I can refer back to this view, I can't quite get the green car between the yellow Imperial and the 58/59 Tbird. Anyone?

1950 Chevy Fleetline.

Thanks, Wrench. On review, I think you're right. I couldn't make the rear side window shape work, but I think it was a trick of perspective and/or shadow.

ab348

The exotic car pictured appears to be a Maserati 3500 GT.

tjc78

ab348 said:

The exotic car pictured appears to be a Maserati 3500 GT.

Probably a 61 or so, I’d wager.

andys120

tjc78 said:

ab348 said:

The exotic car pictured appears to be a Maserati 3500 GT.

Probably a 61 or so, I’d wager.

Yup, appears to be an early example of one of the outstanding Gran Turismo cars of the 60s.

magnette

Maserati coachwork - is it by Touring?

ab348

"Gosh Mabel, look at that! They must all be going to one of those Hollywood parties or something!"

"Landsakes! I can't wait to get back to Peoria, Earl! This place is just too strange!"

From the Ruscha pics at the Getty, summer, 1966.