Mystery car pix

ab348

The two cars I was hoping to have generate some interest are on the right end of the lineup. I'll leave the last one to others but next to it is what must be a very rare 1960 Dodge wagon with two-tone. Up close it would look something like this:



Yowzers.

andys120

1960 Dodge :Polara wagon.. At the time I didn't much car for the '60 Dodges but I've come to reallylike their expressive styling.

stickguy

Rambler next to the corvair.

bhill2

Rambler next to the Dodge wagon too. A '58-'60 American ( the one next to the Corvair is a '60 mid-size, sometimes referred to as the Classic).

magnette

@fintail

Yes that was a 100E Ford van - the Matchbox model had the Prefect grille which would've been the 7cwt model here with the slightly larger engine and the one in my picture has the later grille for a smaller one (5cwt) which matches the late 100E Popular which was a run off model until the 105E Anglia van was launched in 1960/61 here.

(cwt equals hundredweights which was part of our archaic measuring system then - one hundred weight was eight stone or 112 pounds) - before we went metric with the rest of the world. Having said that we still use tons and I never know my weight in kilos although we don't weigh in pounds like in US and instead say in stones and pounds.

ab348

Americar on FB offers up this 1965 pic from Taos, New Mexico. Expands well.

magnette

This one is in Sacramento CA and is described as a CA State Office building car park - opens if prompted



One or two imports too

magnette

I would suggest its about 1959 and offer the 59 Rambler - Ambassador? with the somewhat smaller vehicle in front of it adjacent to the post in the middle of the parking area

Also the 49 Chrysler in the left hand space adjacent to the 58 Mercury

ab348

A couple of funny little furrin cars there but I'll take the couple of first-gen T-birds. I guess state govt jobs in Sacramento paid well even back then.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

kyfdx said:

'60 Ford

But it's a rare one. Not painted white like 90% of those I find pictured are.

That's actually a good color on the Ford. In my Indiana area, most were various shades of turquoise and light greens and blues that Ford offered.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

Americar on FB offers up this 1965 pic from Taos, New Mexico. Expands well.

"Historic" architecture?

Nice looking Impala on the left.. '65?

imidazol97

magnette said:

This one is in Sacramento CA and is described as a CA State Office building car park - opens if prompted



One or two imports too

1950 or so Studebaker in rear row with a 1954 Mercury on the right end. 53 Chevy left of Studebaker with 55 Chevy and a 1950 or so Chevy.

sda

I like the 65 Country Squire. It has a crisp, clean look to it. IIRC it was the 66 model was when Ford introduced the versatile two way opening tailgate. Our neighbors had a loaded 66 Country Squire, white exterior, pw, ac, big 428 (9?) engine.

fintail

Would have been a 428, 429 didn't come around until maybe 1968.

sda said:

I like the 65 Country Squire. It has a crisp, clean look to it. IIRC it was the 66 model was when Ford introduced the versatile two way opening tailgate. Our neighbors had a loaded 66 Country Squire, white exterior, pw, ac, big 428 (9?) engine.

fintail

190SL and TR3 facing each other in the middle. Also maybe a 100E Anglia 3 to the left of the TR3. Maybe 1959, I don't immediately see anything newer.

magnette said:

This one is in Sacramento CA and is described as a CA State Office building car park - opens if prompted
One or two imports too

fintail

Looks like a 64 big Ford backing out of or pulling into a spot in the distance.

ab348 said:

Americar on FB offers up this 1965 pic from Taos, New Mexico. Expands well.

Lostwrench3

1954 Pontiac next to a 1950 Pontiac.

andys120

Sacramento:
Second row from sidewalk, parked near post and facing a Nash Ambassador, the rarely seen Fiat Multipla 5 seat microvan. Oldest car is the dark 46-47 MoPar parked lower left. It's also the tallest, towering over the '58 Merc it's next to.

Taos:
That street looks exactly like San Marcos Plaza in Chandler AZ, a historic street with lots of interesting restaurants ans stores including Arizona's best Brew Pub, San Tan Brewing (not visible in photo>

tmart

imidazol97 said:

magnette said:

This one is in Sacramento CA and is described as a CA State Office building car park - opens if prompted



One or two imports too

1950 or so Studebaker in rear row with a 1954 Mercury on the right end. 53 Chevy left of Studebaker with 55 Chevy and a 1950 or so Chevy.

55/56 Ford Customline

magnette

Sorry I managed to post just after Taos NM but the wagon the right there is a 57 Chevrolet 210 Beauville as it has the less ornate side trim.

magnette

At Sacramento there are two Brits on the right hand street - a Hillman Minx convertible just under the tree and a Vauxhall Victor further on in the shade.

I don't see any VW's in that shot although the Multipla is a similar concept in some ways
Also a 58 Plymouth Savoy I think in the foreground

imidazol97

The 59 Chevy and the Plymouth parked on the street, end to end, make a good
comparison of the styling of the two companies low end products. I thought the
59 Chevy was radical at the time but by comparison the wings along with the two level
air intakes at the front look better to me.

imidazol97

Where have all the 1960 Fords gone in the last few pictures?

andys120

imidazol97 said:

Where have all the 1960 Fords gone in the last few pictures?

You rang?

Here's the most desirable 1960 Ford model>

sda

ab348 said:

The two cars I was hoping to have generate some interest are on the right end of the lineup. I'll leave the last one to others but next to it is what must be a very rare 1960 Dodge wagon with two-tone. Up close it would look something like this:



Yowzers.

A pillar less wagon, and great color combo.

fintail

I think maybe they weren't born yet

imidazol97 said:

Where have all the 1960 Fords gone in the last few pictures?

imidazol97

andys120 said:

imidazol97 said:

Where have all the 1960 Fords gone in the last few pictures?

You rang?

Here's the most desirable 1960 Ford model>

Is that a second '60 behind the 5 8 Chev?
The 57 Chev looks like it has a metal sunvisor that was popular in the early 50s.

tmart

Sunliner was definitely desirable, but personally, I liked the Starliner. I had both.

ab348

tmart said:

Sunliner was definitely desirable, but personally, I liked the Starliner. I had both.

In my experience, convertibles are far more appealing during the process of buying a vehicle than they are during the ownership of same. For day to day use the Starliner (in this case) would be preferred, plus the fact that the roofline looks great. As a collector car, the convertible might be more appealing but you are limiting the number of days you can use it of course, assuming you don't want to drive it much with the top up which is not usually all that pleasant.

I'm sure it's been done and I just haven't seen one, but I always thought that a '60 Ford Starliner would be a wonderful basis for a customizer to work with and just tweak some of the aspects of the exterior. It is such a unique body design.

fintail

I'd might also rather have the hardtop. I've always seen the Starliner greenhouse as influenced by forward look Mopar hardtops, and that's not a bad thing. Convertible issues could be more than the fun, especially if you can have a hardtop which also gives a windows down feeling. Maybe if one lived in California or something.

andys120

I guess you're a convertible guy or you aren't. I currently own two, a 2016 Mustang 2.3 and a 2006 BMW 335i w folding h/t. I admit there are disadvantages. The BMW has fabulous outside visibility for winter driving, better than anything else you can think of but no room for a spare tire or a decent size gas tank.

There's no way I'd consider a Mustang or Camaro hardtop, Outside visibility IMO. on both are poor, it's like driving in a tunnel IMO.

I checked on Hemmings for 1960 Sunliners, there's only one for sale there>

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/ford/sunliner/2452557.html

fintail

I'd be more inclined to have a retractable folding hardtop than a cloth top = theft/vandalism concerns me, along with aging - but the same time, retractable tops can have serious costs when they need work or fail.

I notice that Sunliner has the reflectors on the lower arches of the rear bumpers. Nice cruiser.

Only one original/non-custom Starliner listed there, too

Cool color, and I like the AC unit, but the paint mismatch on the passenger door would drive me insane. I think my dad's 60 wagon had that same upholstery pattern (but was red and white, with the insets kind of red/black/white pattern, IIRC).

texases

Folding hardtops are great, except when they're damaged. Friend bought a 2 year old 335i, a week later had a 5 mph (max) accident while backing out of a parking lot spot. Threw the trunk lid and mechanism out of alignment, totaled the car...

fintail

The top is a big problem area on R230 SLs, too - the motors leak and the tops fail, then you're out like 4K, and it is a common issue on older models especially.

I have a weird fear of the top being knifed, or letting water in - then again, I've only ridden in or rented convertibles, never owned one.

andys120

I don't like the folding h/t that much. I've had no problems w mine but I dislike the lack of trunk space and the small gas tank that comes with it.

Cloth tops now are generally well designed and will last at least 20years and most are as weatherproof as any tin top. I think my next convertible will be an M240i.

tmart

fintail said:

I'd be more inclined to have a retractable folding hardtop than a cloth top = theft/vandalism concerns me, along with aging - but the same time, retractable tops can have serious costs when they need work or fail.

I notice that Sunliner has the reflectors on the lower arches of the rear bumpers. Nice cruiser.

Only one original/non-custom Starliner listed there, too

Cool color, and I like the AC unit, but the paint mismatch on the passenger door would drive me insane. I think my dad's 60 wagon had that same upholstery pattern (but was red and white, with the insets kind of red/black/white pattern, IIRC).

Exterior wise same as the one I had! Sure brings back memories!

ab348

I was basing my driving experience comments on '60s American convertibles. My '64 Skylark convertible was fun to drive on a nice day with the top down, except for the cowl shake when crossing certain kinds of road imperfections and the general looseness of the structure. Put the top up, though, and you got to deal with all that along with the top structure making its own set of noises, and somewhat theoretical wind/water sealing. It got chilly in there on cold days too. Not a lot of fun.

andys120

Convertibles have improved tremendously since the 1960s. One of the biggest breakthroughs was the glass window replacing the clear vinyl. Another was power tops.

fintail

My last convertible experience, a rented Jag F-Type in Germany, had no apparent top issues, but visibility (for a taller driver anyway) was troublesome with the top up - felt like being in a cocoon. And because I was on vacation, I had the top down all the time - freezing weather, just turn up the heat.

Neat car though, like a slightly smaller and cheaper Aston Martin:



Years ago, I knew a guy with a first series Corvair convertible. Fun to ride in with kind of a VW sound to it, I think the exhaust was tuned. Not something you'd want to crash, I suspect.

stickguy

My only convertible was a Miata. With the top up I had lousy visibility. My head was up in the roof and Blindspots big. No issues of course with top down!

ab348

andys120 said:

Convertibles have improved tremendously since the 1960s. One of the biggest breakthroughs was the glass window replacing the clear vinyl. Another was power tops.

Of course. But we were talking older cars like the '60 Ford.

fintail

60 Ford should have a power top and maybe a glass window, right? I wonder what reinforcements they did when chopping the top on a car that big and heavy - might be amusing on railroad crossings.

ab348

fintail said:

60 Ford should have a power top and maybe a glass window, right? I wonder what reinforcements they did when chopping the top on a car that big and heavy - might be amusing on railroad crossings.

Power top most likely. I know my Skylark had one although if you cheaped out and bought a '64 Special convertible you got a top assembly with counterbalance springs. I bet that was fun to wrestle with.

I don't think glass rear windows became a thing in most domestic convertibles until the mid-late '60s. My Skylark had plastic.

The main reinforcement on mine was a fully boxed frame instead of the regular open-sided C-channel type closed cars had. It also had little metal wedges screwed to matching locations on the inner end of the door and the door jamb to limit movement. Beyond those things I dunno what else they might have done. Whatever they did, it wasn't enough.

andys120

IIRC the glass rear window was first seen on Mustang convertibles circa 1967-8

fintail

I wonder what it was like in a big Caddy or Lincoln etc, too. I think I've read the late Eldo convertibles in the 70s were pretty flexible.

Maybe glass windows in the 40s era? Not sure if plastic tech was good then - but maybe bad plastic is the issue. Come to think of it, old time touring cars had side curtain windows made from "isinglass" or similar, a transparent flexible material.

ab348 said:

Power top most likely. I know my Skylark had one although if you cheaped out and bought a '64 Special convertible you got a top assembly with counterbalance springs. I bet that was fun to wrestle with.

I don't think glass rear windows became a thing in most domestic convertibles until the mid-late '60s. My Skylark had plastic.

The main reinforcement on mine was a fully boxed frame instead of the regular open-sided C-channel type closed cars had. It also had little metal wedges screwed to matching locations on the inner end of the door and the door jamb to limit movement. Beyond those things I dunno what else they might have done. Whatever they did, it wasn't enough.

sda

I had a 70 DeVille convertible as a project/weekend car when I was in college. Though it had some cowl shake, it wasn't bad. The top sealed tight, no leaks and wind noise with the top up wasn't bad but certainly not as quiet as the coupe. Not a very good picture.

fintail

Looks just like Rodney Dangerfield's car in "Easy Money":

sda

fintail said:

Looks just like Rodney Dangerfield's car in "Easy Money":

Correct, though I had a red leather interior. It was a fun car (in its own way) to cruise around. I used to joke that when you 'pressed the pedal' the ole girl lifted her fender skirts and scooted.

ab348

Vegas, baby, 1960.

stickguy

2 Imperials, of a style I don't think I ever saw before. And is that the obligatory 60 Ford in the back behind a TR-3?