Mystery car pix

andys120

You're showing your age Shifty.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh I don't know. It all looks so....innocent and uncomplicated...of course, that's not true....but what year are we in there? 1956/57? Just in time for a nuclear holocaust. But we liked IKE and there WAS Elvis, ("Heartbreak Hotel", 1956) so.....

You can still find places like that on Highway 50 in Nevada. In fact, I think the same people are still there....

tmart

L-R: Buick, Olds, Ford, Buick, Olds(WAG)

andys120

You can still find places like that on Highway 50 in Nevada.

The very motel in the pic is still there in El Centro California under the same name. Perhaps it was different in Cali but back East in '56 it was a big deal to have a pool in a motel. Most had only installed room TVs in the past few years.

Yes it does seem sweet and uncomplicated but I was just a kid then.

tmart

A pool was a requirement for a motel stay. No pool, keep driving!

andys120

Nice job of identifying the makes (except for the last one) Tmart, but perhaps someone could take a stab at years/models.

tmart

56 Buick, 56 Olds, 56 Ford Customline, 56 Buick, still don't know the older white over blue.

lemko

A pool was required if you had kids.

michaellno

A pool was required if you had kids.

So true.

In the summer of '71, my family took a vacation where we drove from California to New York and back ... in a '68 VW Squareback. Dad drove, mom rode shotgun, my 4 year old sister rode on her lap and my 7 year old self had what little space was available with the rear seat folded down and luggage piled in.

The daily agenda was to arise around 4AM and get on the road, drive for approx. 12 hours, then find a hotel with pool to relax / refresh in. Stopping around 4 in the afternoon guaranteed enough daylight to enjoy the pool.

The places we stopped on the way out were:

Evanston, WY
Kearney, NE
Mendota, IL (Dad had a Navy buddy who lived there)
Youngstown, OH

berri

Maybe around a 52 lower level Buick sedan?

berri

What I remember as a kid was that it wasn't unusual for the motel occupants to sit out and meet each other in the evening. Today people seem to keep to themselves more, even in the perhaps more social Midwest and South. I guess everyone is just more preoccupied and stressed these days.

andys120

The '56 Buick has four portholes indicated a top-of-the-line model presumably a Roadmaster. The old car in the corner looks like a '50-52 Buick.

imidazol97

How about a 56 Buick Roadmaster or Super

1956 Oldsmobile, there's something special because the side trim is linear going to the V point. Maybe it was a Holiday Coupe?

Ford I can't see the rear lights well enough--55 or 56? Low line model.

1956 Buick, Century, Roadmaster, Special

And a 1951 Buick on the right.

andys120

Oh yeah forgot about the Super being a Four Porter.

'55-'56 Olds looks like a high-line but I don't know them well.

andys120

imidazol97

1961 Buick convertible

Is it "Electra"?

berri

I think its a 62 Buick Electra

explorerx4

HA that's good. Funny thing is I wasn't on an automotive site. It just caught my eye on the right side of the screen.

andys120

Yup, it's a 1962 Buick Electra 225. Back in the day I had a chance to drive one with a 401 motor that belong to my buddy's Dad. It's still my favorite of those land yacht convertibles.

berri

I liked the 61/62 Buicks, but I guess I'm a bit partial to the 61 Pontiac and its really clean lines.

andys120

fintail

Looks like the petrified remains of a Maserati 3500 GT

andys120

Yeah, pretty sad, isn't it?

Mr_Shiftright

Looks like a very early one, maybe 1958? Not sure you could come out alive restoring that one. It'd be iffy--being an early one, not as desirable as later version. It's potentially valuable, maybe $100K==$125K beautifully restored, but they're a bear to do and the payoff really isn't that great.

andys120

It's a late one Shifty, 1962 MY (IIRC they replaced these in '63 or '64 with the Frua-bodied 3500GT). I guess if you were handy and knowledgeable you might be able to clear a small profit after paying the asking price of $36500.

Mr_Shiftright

You know, I don't think it is a '62 because it doesn't have that little quarter window in back. But the Italians....they could easily change mid-stream in designs. Do you have a VIN # on it?

$36K? Lots of luck with that. Try 15K seller.

fintail

Old Italian metal shouldn't be stored at the bottom of lakes.

ateixeira

I like that new 6 also. The current one is droopy-nosed. That is definitely improved.

andys120

Ad sez chassis # is # AM1011410. For more details follow link in prior post.

scottl

I know this is over three years old, but I'll be even more precise. That is a 1969 AMX interior with Recaro seats out of a 1988 Mazda 323 GTX. I happen to have owned both of those cars!!!!

kyfdx

Wow.. you've got a good memory..

I had a 323 GTX, and while those seats look familiar (now), I would have never picked up on it..

link to picture

andys120

Those look very similar to the Recaros that came on my '83 VW GTI.

andys120

stickguy

looks like an Allard, but too new to be an original. re they coming out with a recreation or continuation of these?

Where these called the J2?

I actually know a guy (well, he owned a used car and classic store nearby, and had one inthe showroom) with a real one of these. He also had an actual Cobra there too, and he used to vintage race them.

andys120

Good guess Stickguy, this car is similar in concept, layout and vintage to an Allard but it was entirely American made and that's not a reproduction but a restored original.

andys120

It's time to close out the red roadster in #27729. Hint: the wheels are
Halibrand mags, the same type fitted to Indy roadsters in the 50s and 60s.

texases

Kurtis Kraft roadster, 1955ish?

andys120

Yes, sold as the 1955 Kurtis Kraft 500S.

Like the Allards these used various V8s ranging from Ford/Merc Flatheads to Caddy and Olds OHVs and Chrysler Hemis. They were mostly used on production sports car racing or dirt oval racing but could be licensed for street use.

andys120

wgrafer

1962 Plymouth Belvedere, across the street a '60 Cadillac limo. The tough one is the one following the Plymouth - kind of looks like a '64 Oldsmobile convertible...

andys120

I don't have any idea what's behind the '62 Plymouth, could be anything.

andys120

wgrafer

1961 Dodge Polara! Top-of-the line......

andys120

Yep, top-of-the-line and one of the weirder fender shapes of all time. A buddy of mine grafted a pair of those t/ls onto a '47 or '48 Ford street rod which came out surprisingly well

andys120

fintail

I'll guess a shot from France ca. 1970

I'll just take two Fords, the Anglia 105E in the foreground and the Capri not far from it.

andys120

Anyone else, there are a lot of easy ones in that shot?

tmart

Bug, second from bottom.

explorerx4

Quite a few Citroen's and at least one Peugeot.

andys120

Oh there's three or four Pugs and at least that many Citroens. I see three Ami 6s, a DS/ID and a couple of 2CVs. Surprisingly I can only make out a couple of Renaults, an R8 and an R12. There are several Simcas including a dark grey Aronde in the far row next to the yellow Dyane.

Beyond the Aronde and the Pug 403 you can make out a second VW Beetle at the top right, it's black.