Mystery car pix

texases

My understanding is that Honda, along with some other Japanese makers, didn't want to pay Bosch royalties for the fuel injection technology. That's why they kept carbs so long, creating the crazy rat's nest of vacuum hoses many of them had as a result.

xwesx

Society, in general, wasn't quite as rabid about cutting carbs as they are now.

tjc78

My Stepbrother’s first car was an 87 LXi. It was fuel injected.

fintail

Sunset Strip, 1985 - should zoom well enough to pick out a few:

bhill2

Lostwrench3 said:

bhill2 said:

My 81 Rabbit diesel had a hammering 51HP. That one was a real screamer.

Me too, a1980 non turbo diesel rabbit purchased new.
With no passengers, zero to sixty, 26 seconds.
I loved that car.
Final mileage, 289,000 miles. I knew a guy who got 400,000 miles on his.

I loved mine too. It got me through grad school with 42 MPG and not a hiccup. My only frustration with it was that I was in So Cal and had relatives in No Cal. Between us was Tejon pass. Got used to the scenery along that stretch. When I met my future wife, we took the trip in her 78 TBird with a 400 ci engine. I don't think it noticed Tejon pass.

stickguy

Looks like an Alfa GTV in front of the Volvo 260. Next to a C10 that is probably the most valuable car in the shot today!

'54 Ford Fairlane under the KIIS? the white one. Looks Ford to me but slightly like a Rambler in the taillight area too.

3 back on the Left behind the corolla coupe looks like a gen 1 Jetta.

tmart

It may be a Ford Fairlane but it’s not a 54. A 54 didn’t have a square roof line. Also, the Fairlane began in 55. In 54 it was the Crestline.

texases

More like a ‘57 Ford.

tmart

@texases said:
More like a ‘57 Ford.

Don’t think so. The only square top in 57 was on the Skyliner hardtop convertible.

fintail

I think the Fairlane under the sign is a 62-63

ab348

On Sunset, I see a Chevy Cit-AAA-tion.

https://youtu.be/9VzdgDh9Ilg

andys120

texases said:

Same with my '83 GTI, a bit over 2000 lbs, I think, and geared SHORT. So it was great 0-70 or so, and handled well. I got 25 mpg, in town or on the highway.

That short-gearing was the reason I didn't keep mine for very long. It was great for city traffic but annoying on the highway (3500rpm @ 70 mph IIRC).

texases

Yep, around 3500 rpm. It spent most of its life in Anchorage, was my commuting car, so very few highway miles.

sda

Eldorado behind the Volvo

tmart

White Ford Econoline. Appears to have windows on the side so it could be a Club Wagon.

fintail

And ahead of the Econoline, a TC at right and what looks like a 69-70 Mustang at left.

Here's a fun one, I see this on my jogging route. Can't see a thing under the cover, but I looked at old street view images and found it - it has been there for over a decade. Hint: a typical state for this kind of car. The front end has kind of a prow, and it has a malaise railroad tie bumper:

sda

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1975-dodge-dart-swinger&psig=AOvVaw0d5L22AK10-kwEcG8ByFti&ust=1684462772619000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjRxqFwoTCJjsj_7m_f4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Dodge Dart?

fintail

sda said:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1975-dodge-dart-swinger&psig=AOvVaw0d5L22AK10-kwEcG8ByFti&ust=1684462772619000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjRxqFwoTCJjsj_7m_f4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Dodge Dart?

Think something with a rep for being much less reliable. Less American, too.

tmart

Dodge Dart Swinger.

stickguy

@fintail said:
Think something with a rep for being much less reliable. Less American, too.

Mid 70s Jag XJ?

ab348

Pivoting to vehicles that are actually visible to the naked eye, here is a late '60s shot of some town out west, possibly Utah. Zooms some.

explorerx4

68 Torino GT closest to the camera.
Nest lane closer to the curb, 65 Impala, possibly followed by a 68 Impala, a 66 and 67 trailing it.
Picture gets kind of fuzzy that far back.

stickguy

Nash coming toward camera In the intersection.

fintail

stickguy said:

@fintail said:

Think something with a rep for being much less reliable. Less American, too.

Mid 70s Jag XJ?

Good eye (or good guess)!

I had been thinking it was an E21 or something, as the front end looks like it has a forward rake, but I couldn't see much. Then it finally dawned on me to check streetview:



It's a Series III.

fintail

In the apparent Utah city, driving away, 2 in front of the Beetle is a 63 Chevy likely a Bel Air, and what looks like a 65 Ford in front of that.

stickguy

educated guess from the hints, and the nose looking pretty low.

fintail

Today is Mt. St. Helens day - 43 years ago. Here's a pic from Moses Lake, with a few vehicles that should be identifiable - zooms fair enough (I remember this K-Mart clearly when I was a kid)

xwesx

Hard to believe it is that long ago already! That's an impressive amount of ash for the distance, though I think Moses Lake was right in the path of the prevailing winds after that eruption. I don't recall really getting any ash in northeastern Oregon, but I do remember some absolutely spectacular sunsets and my parents saying that it was because of the eruption.

1971 (possibly 72) GMC 3/4 ton. Most likely a C20 based on how high it is sitting, but I can't see the front axle to tell if it is a 4WD.

bhill2

Rabbit beside the GMC.

As luck would have it, I was on a plane from LA to Seattle when it happened. I got to have a late night visit to the airport in Vancouver BC, where there were, of course, no border agents. After a considerable time in a small (for a planeful of people), we got a long bus ride to Seattle. At the border and agent came on and asked "Did any of you folks buy anything in Canada?" One passenger replied "We couldn't even get a g--d---- cup of coffee in Canada." The agent said "You folks have a nice trip", and beat a hasty retreat.

stickguy

Celica front and center.

Might be a Datsun B210 hatch up by the building

explorerx4

Someone with a bicycle outside the entrance to the store.

kyfdx

We visited MSH in 2017, while on vacation. It's an impressive and sobering story.

ab348

What I find interesting is the large cloud of ash to the left of the pic. Is that coming off the roof I wonder?

kyfdx

ab348 said:

What I find interesting is the large cloud of ash to the left of the pic. Is that coming off the roof I wonder?

There is a guy on the roof. Might be brooming it off.

texases

My MSH-adjacent memory - Harry's restaurant in Anchorage, good place, named after Harry Truman, who refused to evacuate MSH.

fintail

xwesx said:

Hard to believe it is that long ago already! That's an impressive amount of ash for the distance, though I think Moses Lake was right in the path of the prevailing winds after that eruption. I don't recall really getting any ash in northeastern Oregon, but I do remember some absolutely spectacular sunsets and my parents saying that it was because of the eruption.

1971 (possibly 72) GMC 3/4 ton. Most likely a C20 based on how high it is sitting, but I can't see the front axle to tell if it is a 4WD.

Yes, there seemed to be a direct line between Yakima and Moses Lake where ashfall was highest - inches. Spokane maybe got an inch, and places to the south a dusting. I have no clear memory of eruption day, but I remember the aftermath, the ash stuck around for a few years, in mounds that resembled slightly dirty snow. It seemed to sink into the ground, you could get just below the surface and find an ash layer.

Here are some now obscure cars in Ephrata:

xwesx

Interesting timing on this, but Helens I think celebrated #43 in her own way. My son and I drove through there almost exactly a year prior. It was such a perfect day, too!

https://youtu.be/MmMPECwYJmY?t=100

Yeah, I have no memory of the eruption except for just recalling being wowed by the vast, intense orange of the sky at sunset. Looking out across the valley while pressing my nose against the sliding glass door....

fintail

xwesx said:

Interesting timing on this, but Helens I think celebrated #43 in her own way. My son and I drove through there almost exactly a year prior. It was such a perfect day, too!

https://youtu.be/MmMPECwYJmY?t=100

Yeah, I have no memory of the eruption except for just recalling being wowed by the vast, intense orange of the sky at sunset. Looking out across the valley while pressing my nose against the sliding glass door....

I hadn't heard about that, interesting - mother nature making sure we know she is there. I've been up to Johnston Ridge both in terrible and good weather. As I was interested in it when I was a kid, every time is a treat. I also hiked around Spirit Lake in 1995 - still pretty barren then compared to now.

kyfdx

texases said:

My MSH-adjacent memory - Harry's restaurant in Anchorage, good place, named after Harry Truman, who refused to evacuate MSH.

What year was this?

texases

This was ‘83-‘95. I don’t know when it closed.

fintail

A real menagerie here in Aberdeen WA on March 15, 1960 (zooms well):

ab348

1960 Mercury front right. Might still have the Monroney sticker on the side window.

Michaell

ab348 said:

1960 Mercury front right. Might still have the Monroney sticker on the side window.

I had to look it up - I hadn't realized the Monroney sticker was introduced that early.

explorerx4

I guess that Studebaker uses the park by sound method.

kyfdx

texases said:

This was ‘83-‘95. I don’t know when it closed.

What I meant to ask: When did Harry Truman refuse to evacuate MSH?

texases

All about Harry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_R._Truman

tmart

52/54 Ford at right, 57 Ford Fairlane 500.

ab348

Suddenly it's 1960. Wait, it IS 1960!

kyfdx

ab348 said:

Suddenly it's 1960. Wait, it IS 1960!

'60 Ford

kyfdx

texases said:

All about Harry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_R._Truman

Ahh.. Not sure how I didn't know that.

I was confused. I thought maybe there was an earlier threat of eruption, while he was president, and he was refusing to evacuate residents.

This makes a lot more sense.

My ignorance is multiplied by the fact that I've toured Truman's Little White House in Key West. And, that's after I'd been to MSH, just three years before. You would think I'd take note of that.