Mystery car pix

andys120

Funny thing about that Buick, IMCDB (mis)identifies it as a'54 Skylark and I was fooled by that based on the shape of the windshield and side spear. Hence my previously mistaken clue about it being a "well-known model".

Well the '54 Skylark has no portholes as the white conv does but it did have Kelsey-Hayes wires as it does not. I believe that is a "Special" emblem on the flank.

Here is a picture of both the '54 Skylark and the '56 Special>



Apologies to the previous Poster, but I can't tell if it's a '55 or '56. It could certainly be either.

They had more of a skirted look, as opposed to the full cutouts Buick used in '55-56 and again in '57.

You know I think you're right.

imidazol97

I agree that the white convertible is '55 Special.

andys120

Uh, maybe not. I'd forgotten that Buick went to the wraparounds in 1954 for their entire line.

Looking at this brochure art leads me to think it could well be a '54 Special. Note the prominence and position of the "Special" emblem.

Your guess is as good as mine.

wgrafer

The white Buick convertible is definitely a 1954, and definitely not a Skylark. If my eyes and monitor were better I might even be able to read 'Special" on the side!

andys120

imidazol97

The wheel covers are the only thing in the view we have unique to the '54. The '55 and '56 had different covers shown.

The '54 had a raised bulge along the rear fender top, but the picture doesn't include enough view behind the wheel to see if it's there or not. So '54 may be the answer.

stephen987

Well, I was thinking Deutsch-Bonnet till I spotted the four rings in the grille area. Auto Union?

andys120

Actually no, it was not sold as an Auto Union. You're getting warm though.

stephen987

Hmm. Too early for the resurrection of the Audi brand. Some species of DKW, then.

andys120

That's basically what it is. The DKW Monza was basically a kind of DKW Karmann Ghia based on the DKW 3=6 sedan (AKA DKW Sonderklasse/DKW F91).

Like the K-G, production of the bodywork was farmed out, in this case to three different firms who provided the fiberglass coachwork. There are active DKW Monza clibs who make distinctions between the cars based on which of the three coachbuilders provided the body, even though only minor differences distinguish them.

It isn't known how many were built but it's on the order of less than 100 to perhaps 300 between 1955 and 1957.

andys120

tmart

Toyota Land Cruiser, mid 80's?

andys120

That's right Tmart, LC Nuts call it an FJ60, it's a 1984.

andys120

Jost

I think the Buick in the background is a '57

Jost

I believe this is a Chinese knockoff of BMW X5

andys120

I think the Buick in the background is a '57

:confuse: Oh boy, we've narrowed it down to some year between '54 and '57, just like most of the rest of the cars in the picture. :sick: :sick: :confuse:

andys120

I believe this is a Chinese knockoff of BMW X5

Yep, it's a Shanghuan CEO, An Italian Court recently dismissed a BMW complaint against Shanguan, apparently because the CEO looks nothing like an X5 from the front>

andys120

imidazol97

The rear of the distant Buick matches this 1955



The rear of the trunklid on the 57 doesn't have the massive chrome emblem. The 56 has a smaller backup light housing instead of a jet exhaust-shaped chrome piece.

This is 1956:

andys120

The rear of the distant Buick matches this 1955

Yes it does but it also looks like a '56 Chevy>



Could be either IMO.

imidazol97

The chrome piece on the side of the car goes from the top of the rear wheel well directly to the backup light housing on the car in the picture just like the 55 Buick. The chrome piece on the Chev goes down to the bumper level.

And the shape of the heavy Buick emblem in the middle of the trunk matches the 55 Buick.

That's been a really interesting picture. I'm surprised there hasn't been a discussion about the Cadillac in the picture. Is it possible to tell which model? I'm not well-versed on Cadillacs.

imidazol97

The blue on this '56 Chev was really rare in my area. I can't recall seeing one. The blues were blue-green. I wonder what the pallette of colors looked like for the 56 Chev?

andys120

Pastel baby-blues as well as aquas were quite common in the New York area where I grew up. in the 50s. Back then there was a much bigger color selection of most cars. Andre1969 could probably direct us to a good source for '56 Chevy colors.

My favorite combo on those was a light ivory over a mettalic brown. I built a scale replica using that combo.

fintail

I remember I once saw a 56 Nomad in "Sierra Gold and Adobe Beige"...not two colors I would usually like, but the car was gorgeous in that combination.

andys120

Still no takers on 19497? Here's another picture of one>

tmart

Looks like a Jeepster or maybe a Wagoneer , but no clue as to the year.

wgrafer

How about a '70-'71 Jeepster Commando?

andys120

How about a '70-'71 Jeepster Commando?

The cars pictured were '67-'70 models.

Who can tell me what company made Jeepster Commandos?

lostwrench1

Kaiser made the Commandos from 1966 to 1969. AMC bought Kaiser in 1970.

andys120

Kaiser Motors was the builder of the Jeepster Commandos until 1972, they bought Willys, the originator of both Jeep and Jeepster, in 1953. After AMC bought Kaiser the Jeepster name was dropped and the cars became "Jeep Commandos".
Production ceased in 1973.

andys120

andre1969

Here's a paint chip chart for the 1956 Chevy. I'm guessing that light blue pictured above was the "Nassau Blue"?

Looking at that chart, it's odd to think that there were only 15 colors (13 pictured, plus black and white, which usually aren't included on paint charts). It just seemed like there was an even wider variety of colors than that! Still, today you're lucky if you get 8 or 9 colors, and they tend to be subdued these days. And with two-toning at the time, the combinations were practically endless!

Edit: Here's page two, which lists the two-tone options available (but no pics). I guess GM just guessed which combinations would be the most popular, and limited it to those. I imagine if left to their own devices, the American public would have ordered some truly hideous combinations back then!

imidazol97

1967 Cougar. It has neat wheels.

andre1969

I'd guess a '69, only because of the side marker lights. While they were required starting in 1968, usually they had more unique shapes that year. For 1969, most of them were just rectangles...and sometimes were just reflectors, rather than lights.

Pretty color...I always liked that light, silvery green. The other week when we were talking about early 70's full-sized Buicks in the classic car forum, that's the shade of green I was thinking of, that they looked really good in.

andys120

That "Nassau Blue" is quite different from the Metallic Nassau Blue used on Corvettes and Camaros of the 1960s.

Come to think of it, back in the day the Police cars in Nassau County NY where I grew up were painted bright orange over dark blue. The county seems to have adopted an incorrect shade of blue.

This is the emblem of the Royal (Dutch) House of Orange-Nassau>

That blue is close to the shade in Andre's chart, whereas Nassau County uses a much darker blue>

It's all apropos of nothing but it struck me as curious.

stephen987

I believe the Cougar convertible is actually a 1970 model.

imidazol97

The paint card page says "over" and I think there are more colors. I know there was a bright yellow that was sometimes two-toned with black for that year. Crocus yellow doesn't look rich enough. My cousin had one. It had been wrecked and the knee impressions were in the lower dashboard-guess they didn't believe in seat belts.

I can't figure out how to get another page of colors because I don't know how andre got to the page he gave us!

andre1969

Actually the "over" was the second page I posted, which listed the 2-tone colors. It didn't show pictures, but just listed the combinations by name.

However, here's Page three, which was a supplement and lists new colors that were added for the Spring, as well as new 2-tone combinations. Unfortunately, no paint chips, just word descriptions.
Page four listed the Corvette colors, as well as interior colors. I guess the interior parts that were actually painted only came in a few colors, while the plastics, fabrics, and vinyls were available in a wider variety?

That website I found is http://www.tcpglobal.com . They have a ton of paint charts to wade through.

andys120

You're right Stephen, the green 'vert is a 1970 Cougar.

wgrafer

Can anyone tell me the difference(s) between a '69 and a '70 Cougar? Maybe it's noticeable from the rear, but for the life of me I can't see any difference in the view shown.

stephen987

'69 Cougar has a flattish grille with horizontal bars, '70 has the waterfall (similar to '67-68.) Here's the '69:



and here's the '70:

andys120

stephen987

Eww. Buick Skyhawk Nighthawk Edition. 1977?

wgrafer

Thanks! Now I get it.

andre1969

I think those are actually nice looking little cars, based on their style. It's once I think about what they're really made out of that I want to hurl. This is a bit embarrassing to admit, but when my Mom was shopping for a new car in 1980, I wanted her to get a Chevy Monza!

andys120

Buick Skyhawk Nighthawk Edition. 1977?

I'm afraid you're correct Stephen,eew indeed.

stephen987

THe original 1975 models were pretty cleanly styled, but they got progressively more cluttered over the ensuing few years. Here's the original '75 Skyhawk, followed by the '79 Skyhawk "Road Hawk."

See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com

andys120

They all looked pretty awful to me.

stephen987

We had a '76 Monza 2+2, same basic car as the Skyhawk but with the Vega four-cylinder instead of the Buick V6. I really liked the styling (I was ten at the time). The Monza's quality control was awful, worse even than the Fiats and MGs that preceded it in my family's stable. The "Firethorn Red" paint ranged from burgundy on the hood to maroon on the roof to reddish gold on the left front fender, and the body-colored urethane molding around the (externally mounted) sunroof curled up in the summer sun like the edges of a lasagna noodle.

Later on, in high school, I dated a girl who drove a '76 Mustang II Ghia with the 302 V8. Faster, but less predictable. But that's another story. . .