Mystery car pix

andys120

ab348 said:

I think that’s a Japanese Beetle. I hear they are difficult to kill.

Japanese only by adoption (i.e. registration). It's actually a German-made 1949 Volkswagen 1200 body which has had it's original chassis replaced by one from a 1961 model. Significant differences from later Beetles sold in the USDM include the single exhaust, lack of vent windows, semephore turn signals built into C-post, tiny tailights and of course the divided rear glass (replaced ca. 1955 by oval IIRC). Interior differences were even greater with different seats, steering wheel and fancy gauge surrounds.

andys120

stickguy

Probably in its natural state with the hood up. Looks very ratty, whatever it is.

sda

Renault 4

andys120

sda said:

Renault 4

Yup the Renault 4 was popular in Europe and elsewhere during the 1970, 80s and 90s. I t was perhaps the pioneer FWD hatchback preceding the Fiat 128 and VW Golf. The 4 was introduced in 1961 and stayed in production until 1994, probably the longest production record of any single model. The Renault R3 and R4 were closely related
It was made in every inhabited continent.

andys120

fintail

Any time I see a Renault 4 I think this:

https://youtu.be/DZBbZqce1uY

tjc78

@fintail said:
Any time I see a Renault 4 I think this:

https://youtu.be/DZBbZqce1uY

Ha ha. Me too. Great movie.

ab348

Unknown location, so call it Somewhere, USA, early 1960s.

andys120

There's our '60 Ford wagon on right. It's next to a '56 Ford Crown Victoria

sda

A Studebaker to the left of the 61 Olds parked on the side of Stevens Drugs

fintail

61 Ford police car behind the 60 wagon (which may be a 4 door Ranch Wagon, I don't see the rear quarter trim of a Country Sedan).

explorerx4

I think a 57 Plymouth behind the police car.

andys120

White 1955 Ford two-dr parked in front of Stevens Drug. Behind it, barely visible a Hudson Step-Down!?

andys120

What's the car behind the green '49-'52 Chev. It looks a bit like a '55Chevy but its too small. Opel?
Vauxhall?

tmart

ab348 said:

Unknown location, so call it Somewhere, USA, early 1960s.

The black Ford next to the 60 Ford wagon is a 55, not a 56. Does not appear to be a Crown Vic, no chrome bar on the top. To me it appears to be a Sunliner. The parked white Ford is a 56, not a 55. Has the wide chrome side strip versus the narrow one on the black 55.

tmart

andys120 said:

What's the car behind the green '49-'52 Chev. It looks a bit like a '55Chevy but its too small. Opel?
Vauxhall?

55 Ford, 59 Ford. Definitely not a 55 Chevy. I agree an Opel or Vauxhall. My wag is Opel.

fintail

Yes, the import is an Opel Rekord.

andys120

Opinion on theoldmotor.com is divided, one poster thinks it was a Vauxhall Victor another id'd it as an Opel Rekord. Given the relative scarcity of Vauxhalls in the US, as opposed to Opel being sold by many Buick dealers I'd say it's most likely a Rekord, ca. 1960.

bhill2

Yes, as someone who was a car freak, even back then, I can say that it is an Opel Record. I think that it contained some of the styling elements of the Vauxhall.

andys120

bhill2 said:

Yes, as someone who was a car freak, even back then, I can say that it is an Opel Record. I think that it contained some of the styling elements of the Vauxhall.

Both Opels and Vauxhalls of that period used mid-50s GM styling languages and looked like mini-Chevies or Buicks.

fintail

The Vauxhall Victor resembled a maybe 3/4 scale Pontiac (and did not exist in 2 door form, and also never had the reverse angle C-pillar of the Rekord seen in the vintage pic):

ab348

Montreal, 1966. Someone had a very bad day.

sda

And another ugly 62 Meteor! @fintail is right, it does remind me of an Olds but not as well done.

ab348

1961 Meteor.

explorerx4

That look was copied by in '67 by Oldsmobile.

fintail

Looks like a 64 Chevy wagon parked behind a Falcon/Econoline van.

sda

Like this:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://img.hmn.com/fit-in/900x506/filters:upscale()/stories/2018/08/280031.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/love-is-the-answer-1959-oldsmobile-98-holiday&tbnid=W_fgutHwV488MM&vet=12ahUKEwiY88Tpwej5AhXBc98KHVVEBN8QMygBegUIARDkAQ..i&docid=Z9-VOqYofn8rsM&w=865&h=506&q=1959 oldsmobile&hl=en-us&client=safari&ved=2ahUKEwiY88Tpwej5AhXBc98KHVVEBN8QMygBegUIARDkAQ

explorerx4

stickguy

Lady Di’s ford escort?

ab348

Yes, that's Diana's 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo S1, just under 25,000 miles, sold for an eye-watering £724,500 this weekend at Silverstone.

fintail

Funny thing, hot hatches of the era are such a big thing in that part of the world that it would be worth a hefty sum (although not close to that bid of course) even without its provenance.

Interestingly, there was a similar wheel design used on the first gen Tempo "Sport" (not sure if identical, but maybe).

stickguy

funny thing, today I was unpacking a box and for some reason all the paperwork from my first new car (1985 Colt GTS) was in there. Definitely a hatch. Still one of the best handling cars I ever owned, and fantastic seats. But without the turbo motor (and a whopping 62 HP) it definitely was not "hot". Maybe not even tepid.

fintail

A friend attended the 2022 PNW Radwood event yesterday (80s-90s themed show), and spotted this:

stickguy said:

funny thing, today I was unpacking a box and for some reason all the paperwork from my first new car (1985 Colt GTS) was in there. Definitely a hatch. Still one of the best handling cars I ever owned, and fantastic seats. But without the turbo motor (and a whopping 62 HP) it definitely was not "hot". Maybe not even tepid.

sda

@fintail said:
Funny thing, hot hatches of the era are such a big thing in that part of the world that it would be worth a hefty sum (although not close to that bid of course) even without its provenance.

Interestingly, there was a similar wheel design used on the first gen Tempo "Sport" (not sure if identical, but maybe).

They offered the Tempo Sport only as a 2dr I believe. I thought it was an attractive package but didn't care for the awkward rear quarter styling.

stickguy

other than the stripes and wheels (and rear wing I think) that was my car. same color and I can see the open headrests. I think that one might be a Turbo (pretty sure they offered it in that series too)

sda

That’s when Mitsu was making good cars. They had a certain uniqueness, like Mazda, about them which I found attractive.

explorerx4

What makes this Bentley special?

fintail

stickguy said:

other than the stripes and wheels (and rear wing I think) that was my car. same color and I can see the open headrests. I think that one might be a Turbo (pretty sure they offered it in that series too)

Yep, it's a Turbo, at least per my friend.

stickguy

I would be shocked if there were any of the NA GTS models still out there. certainly not preserved/restored like that. I have no clue if you can find out, but I would bet that very few base motor GTS package cars were even sold.

fintail

For MY 1985 anyway, sport trim could be had on the sedan and coupe. I think for at least that year, blackout trim and the wheels were the only real exterior differences - they also had different engine tuning, and I believe were manual-only. I think they also had different headrests. Here's a brochure image of a sedan:



I remember these clearly, as we had a 1985 GLX with the polycast wheels usually seen on better equipped Tempos. There was a sport model sedan in town, and I was kind of envious of the racier looking trim and those wheels. (I also think the sedans were better looking than the coupes)

sda said:

@fintail said:

Funny thing, hot hatches of the era are such a big thing in that part of the world that it would be worth a hefty sum (although not close to that bid of course) even without its provenance.

Interestingly, there was a similar wheel design used on the first gen Tempo "Sport" (not sure if identical, but maybe).

They offered the Tempo Sport only as a 2dr I believe. I thought it was an attractive package but didn't care for the awkward rear quarter styling.

Michaell

That tempo is similar to the one my wife drove when I met her.

texases

Saw this on one of those 'how do they build it' shows:

stickguy

That should have been on “why the heck would you build it?”

texases

What, you don't like its 'classic' design?

magnette

That Opel back a few posts ago outside the Mint would have been the most basic version which I think would have been the Rekord 1200 at that time

magnette

Heavy Freight

Not sure if this one would need to be driven by someone from the teamsters but our idea of a pick-up truck in the sixties.



Stranger in a Strange Land

This one is clearly Mopar but the locals have clearly objected to it parking in this suburban street which is in 1968 Manchester ..



I don't kind what model it was but can say it was registered, in 1959, in Huntingdonshire which was home to several USAF bases at the time.

I think the same car - which probably belonged to the photographer - was parked behind both vehicles

magnette

That Bentley - I see it was photographed by the Australian Border Force

Was it worth it's weight in street value recreational substances when examined?

ab348

magnette said:

That Bentley - I see it was photographed by the Australian Border Force

Was it worth it's weight in street value recreational substances when examined?

Yep, that's the one.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a41000929/bentley-drug-smuggling/

texases

My 'classic' is made from scratch in KL, Malaysia, pretty impressive, aside from the styling...