Mystery car pix

stephen987

I don't know... Do you think the Hornet had "three on the tree", with dual seats instead of a bench?

Yes. Actually AMC cars frequently used the dual "comfort seats" with a column shift--even a manual. You'll see this on Hornets and Pacers, and I think also the Matador and Ambassador sometimes.

This one, however, is an automatic. The third pedal is the parking brake.

Other US manufacturers often paired the column shift automatic with true bucket seats--especially common with GM midsize (A-body) coupes from the '60s and '70s.

Even Camaros sometimes came with the column-shift automatic and buckets. But the weirdest combo was the rare bench-seat Mustang, which retained the floor shifter even on automatic examples.

fintail

My old car has a column shift auto and buckets, too:

See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com

stephen987

Nice one, Fintail. '61 220S?

fintail

64 220SE, a late car with 4 speed auto, dual circuit brakes, etc.

stephen987

Very nice. I grew up on the W114/W115 series, which don't quite have the flair of the, um, fintails. . .

fintail

No MB really has had the flair since...the fins were a gutsy move, tacked on right as they were going out of style. And to think, in 1959 it was considered very modern and restrained. The 114/115 are good little shoeboxes though.

stephen987

Well, I do like the lines of the W126 cars, especially the SEC:

andys120

Still no ID for #21097, it's a pretty rare one so Ill help youse out, here's a phot of it with a better-known cousin from the same maker>

stephen987

Well, it took some research, and a BIG FAT CLUE, but I think it might be a De Tomaso Guara.

fintail

Those are pretty much modern classics now, "youngtimers" as they are called in Germany. Design looks pretty nice from something made during the height of malaise.

fintail

DeTomaso something

Pantera looks funny updated.

andys120

De Tomaso Guara it is. Follow link for details on this rare bird.

andys120

stephen987

TVR of some sort. Speed Six?

andre1969

Other US manufacturers often paired the column shift automatic with true bucket seats--especially common with GM midsize (A-body) coupes from the '60s and '70s.

I had a 1969 Dodge Dart GT that was like that...bucket seats with a column shift automatic. I thought it was kinda strange at the time that they equipped a car like that.

andys120

TVR of some sort. Speed Six?

AFAIK TVR never used the name Speed Six, that was a 1920s Bentley sports racer.

The black roadster is a TVR Chimaera (1992-2003) powered by the ubiquitous Rover-Buick V8.

andys120

texases

'59 Bonneville? I didn't know they had the Photoshop stretch back then...

And did Pontiacs actually have wider wheel tracks then other GMs?

p.s.-Here's a more-realistic view:

imidazol97

It's my impression that the tracks actually were wider by an inch or so. Whether that was from changes in the whole frame or in parts that carry the suspension being extended to give the wide track, I don't know. Maybe there is a mechan ic from that era who knows.

andys120

It's my impression that the tracks actually were wider by an inch or so. Whether that was from changes in the whole frame or in parts that carry the suspension being extended to give the wide track, I don't know

I have the same impression. A lot of it was visual, created by styling. I think the split grille was used to give the front extra width. Pontiac may not have had the best styling but their brochure art was loaded with stretched out images that made the cars look impossibly wide and low. >

The Bonnies in this brochure look like aircraft carriers seen in profile>

stephen987

TVR Speed Six article at Wikipedia

Speed Six was the name of the first in-house TVR engine, and in models offering a choice between the six and a V8, the name Speed Six was used to denote the "trim level," as in "TVR Tuscan Speed Six."

Alas, the Chimaera was not one of these. It was powered by a slightly massaged Rover V8.

andys120

I stand corrected Stephen, I was unaware of TVR ever making their own engines.

Trademark laws must be pretty loose in the UK, the Bentley Speed Six was one of the most famous names in the history of Bentley.

It's something like Bristol making an engine and calling it the "Silver Ghost".

imidazol97

Wiki on Wide TRack:

two of Pontiac's greatest marketing inspirations — the split grille and the Wide Track slogan. The latter was not just ad copy, either, as Pontiac pushed its wheels further out toward the fenders than anyone else and created what were considered to be the best-cornering full-size cars in the industry.

I tried to find data on the track width of similar GM cars for comparison, but didn't.

stephen987

yeah--or Ford marketing a "Rocket V8"

As for TVR, one of the priorities of the company's management in the 1990s was to produce as much as possible of the cars without recourse to outside suppliers. Thus, they went from outsourced engines, electrical components, etc. to an almost completely in-house arrangement. The cars got much faster, and more expensive to build too. This was almost certainly a factor in the company's financial problems after 2000.

berri

I think the 59/60 Pontiac looked more like the aircraft carrier, especially in that wraparound glass 4 dr flat top hardtop style! Believe it or not, the 61 Pontiacs actually looked a bit small compared to some of the 61 mid priced competition when they first came out.

berri

I remember that those early wide track Pontiacs didn't fit in the tracks at some of the car washes. Wide track was a great marketing gimmick at the time, but I'm not sure it really did anything for you.

andys120

I'm not sure it really did anything for you.

It did wonders for Poncho sales which took off in the '60s.

berri

Agree, but I don't think it really helped handling or ride any. Pontiac had great marketing in the later 50's and 60's.

lostwrench1

Pontiac's wide track was between 1 and 3 inches wider than GM's Buick and Oldsmobiles of the wide track era.

penf

The white one was super rare, it's a Fairthorpe TXS with a 2 liter Triumph engine, it's not a kit but a production car and now races classic evens in Japan.

I say was super rare but a TXSS sports racer has just been found in a barn in England, this one has the 2.5 liter triumph TR6 engine. Quite a find, maby the only remaining one in existence!

andre1969

It's my impression that the tracks actually were wider by an inch or so. Whether that was from changes in the whole frame or in parts that carry the suspension being extended to give the wide track, I don't know. Maybe there is a mechan ic from that era who knows.

The wider track was from suspension parts. From 1959-64, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles used the same frame, which was a perimeter frame, and had the typical somewhat shallow trunk with the gas tank strapped underneath. Chevies and Buicks used the wasp-waisted "X" frame, and had a deep well trunk with the gas tank mounted more vertical, between the rear axle and the trunk well...sort of like a modern Crown Vic.

In 1965 they all went to a perimeter frame, but I think Pontiac still used different suspension components to make for a wider track, for a few years.

andre1969

Believe it or not, the 61 Pontiacs actually looked a bit small compared to some of the 61 mid priced competition when they first came out.

Actually, there's some truth to that. In 1959-60, Pontiac used a 122" wb for Catalinas and 124" for Star Chiefs and Bonnevilles. In 1961, the Catalina moved down to the same 119" wb that the Impala used. The bigger Pontiacs were also cut slightly, from 124" to 123".

I think the Catalina's wheelbase went up to 120 or 121" for 1962, but can't remember if the Bonneville did or not. All I remember is by 1967, my Catalina's on a 121" wheelbase, while the Bonneville/Executive was on a 124", and they put the extra 3" in about the most useless place imaginable...just before the rear axle. So basically, the rear wheels sit back further in relation to the C-pillar. The passenger cabins are the same, so you don't get any extra room inside, although it does give you more trunk space...way up front where you'd never be able to reach!

lostwrench1

1959 Pontiac Catalina
Starchief
Bonneville

Front track - 63.7 inches
Rear track - 64 inches

stephen987

magnette

That's great - shows what junk can accumulate round a car when it hasn't moved for a while. It might well be unique, as they can't have built many to start with....

magnette

I'll hold back on this one for the moment but the registration is from 1966 and of more relevance it was issued in Staffordshire. (BF)

lokki

Looking at the back garage wall, I'd say that it was put away no earlier than 1967 and no later than 1970..... :P

lemko

stephen987

Ford Granada (Euro), early '80s?

lemko

Close. It's actually a 1978 Ford Granada 2.3L Mk II.

I posted it because my Dad had the 1978 American Ford Granada:

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stephen987

Yes. Appalling.

stephen987

Funny how the little car from Staffordshire looks so Eastern Bloc, given its origins. . .

lemko

stephen987

Well, based on the front end treatment it seems to me like a very long stretched Lincoln Versailles, ca. 1978. But the scale is off, somehow.

lemko

Actually, that is what it is. I thought people would mistake it for a 1980s-era Town Car.

andys120

. I thought people would mistake it for a 1980s-era Town Car.

Too many side windows.

andys120

michaellno

Holden Commodores - same as our late Pontiac G8.

State of Victoria HP in Australia.

fintail

I finally got around to looking at all the pics from the Supercar Registry street scenes page. Out of all the pics, I found one fintail - and it's a cool pic. A foreign car dealer, ca. 1961 I would guess. Lots of odd cars to identify here:



Those oddballs represent the first line of an invasion that would eventually have a huge impact on the upper middle end of the NA market.

Slightly larger version here

magnette

It's the fibre-glass I think it makes it look clunkier...and of course it's rear wheel drive...