Mystery car pix

andys120

andys120

We have a couple of unclaimed mystery motors

#30989 and #31007. Here they are again.

Hint: this is a 2.0 liter I-six with an OHC head. It's not Italian or a Jaguar.



This one is a pushrod 3.5 liter V8 with aluminum block and heads.



Going...going...

grahampeters

G'day

Triumph TR8, probably late in run. The engine started life as a Buick and was acquired by Rover for the Rover 3500, subsequently used in Range Rover first series and ended up in the TR8.

However there are some oddities about the image which make me wonder if it is a transplant

Cheers

Graham

andys120

You're right Graham, it's the all Aluminum Buick-Rover V8 (215 CID) as fitted to a TR8. This particular example has been customized with red-painted valve covers and perhaps an aftermarket air cleaner.

Anyone got the OHC six?

Mr_Shiftright

AC Ace roadster?

andys120

That's right Shifty, it's the Bristol Six as seen in the AC Ace, AKA "Ace Bristol".

Apparently later Aces used a Ford 2.6 from the contewmporary Zephyr.

andys120

Tell us the year of this picture, most cars in it were fairly old when this was taken.
Extra points for location.

Notice the number of cars w three in front seat.



BIGGER, more cars.

jwilliams2

Uh, your "bigger" link says 1956 in New york.....

stever

Notice the number of cars w three in front seat.

Yeah, huddling for warmth. Looks like miserable weather.

berri

I'll take a few swags. 53or 54 Chevy, 55 Ford, 49 Plymouth, 53 or 54 DeSoto cab, 49 or 50 Chevy, 53 Ford and 53 Merc, a 49 or 50 Mopar of some sort, 54 Buick, 52 Pontiac, 53 Chevy, maybe a 52 Olds and maybe a 48 Buick. Can't really make out any others.

andys120

Good job Berri but you're off on the Buick. It's a '55 or '56 but definitely not a '54. It may be the only '56 car in this 1956 picture.

Taken a year later this picture surely would've shown a VW, MG or some Euro import.

berri

What always interests me in these cityscapes is the lack of Independent makes. I guess they really were a very small part of 50's America. We had more than a few in the neighborhood I grew up in, but it was lower middle class with many people buying used cars, and I'm sure the Independent makes were relative bargains on the used car lots. I know cars are far superior today, but I miss the styling and its excitement from back then. But heck, I still still prefer the looks of a Boeing 707 or Lockheed Constellation to today's airliners as well.

imidazol97

That's a 55 Buick.

andys120

What always interests me in these cityscapes is the lack of Independent makes. I guess they really were a very small part of 50's America.

Now that you mention it, it's pretty odd that there isn't a Studebaker, Nash or Kaiser in that picture. There were plenty of those running around the NYC area; my Dad owned a Frazer from '47-'53. Studebakers and Hudsons were as common as Dodges or Chryslers.

andys120

wgrafer

Right you are - a '55 Buick it is (the newest car visible). AND there's one other '55 here - the black '55 Chevy on the extreme right!

Anyone know exactly where in NYC this was taken???

Mr_Shiftright

Recollection from my youth, and from old photos I have of NYC streets, it looks like maybe 1 or 2 independents might be seen on a long city block of cars.

I do remember as a teenager being perfectly aware that these independents were all dying. (as well I should, with family members working for Packard, Studebaker and Renault) They were definitely "uncool" except maybe for the 4-speed Hawks--they were considered "oddballs" but they could command respect, whereas a Kaiser-Frazer was nowheresville. I don't think I ever saw an Avanti in all of Manhattan.

Chevy big blocks and Mopar hemis and wedges were the gold standard for us. Buicks and Oldsmobiles were for "adults" (or adults wanting to be kids), Cadillacs for old rich people or gangsters. Pontiacs belonged in California, and if you drove a foreign sports car you were either a suburban kid or someone smoking a pipe. AMC cars were regarded with a great deal of skepticism and suspicion.

andys120

Anyone know exactly where in NYC this was taken???

I can't place it definitively but I think it's the Henry Hudson Parkway which connects the West Side Highway to the Saw Mill River Parkway.

grahampeters

G'day

SO it is rear engined and European. Some of the lines say Karmann but it is not a Ghia. The lines are just a bit too frumpy but the headlights remind me a bit of a late fifties Fiat

The fake wire wheels with hubcaps over the wheelnuts suggest a bit down market.

I wonder if it is one of those little Italian houses that built cute sportscars off Fiat underpinnings; I never can remember any of their names, but Italians loved them. Gian something or Cis something

I will admit being stumped

Cheers

Graham

stever

wgrafer

Looks like young Roger Moore as 'The Saint' with his early if not first Volvo P1800 - maybe 1963??? maybe 1964??????

stever

Very good, it's a '62.

The 100 Greatest Movie and TV Cars of All Time (Inside Line)

stever

Another one from my link. And you can consider both the car and Columbo as rumpled.

Mr_Shiftright

I used to have one of those cars, but not the very rare ragtop. They were very nicely built cars indeed. 4-speed column shift. Very feminine car.

andys120

Columbo's car, which always seemed as rumpled as he was, was a Peugeot 403 Cabriolet.

andys120

Don't feel bad Graham, I had never heard of this number until I ran across it on the net. You've got the right idea but instead of being a Fiat-based special built by Italians it's Renault Dauphine-based and built by Frenchmen who turned out a couple of dozen before building the Renault Floride
(a euro-mart precursor to the US Market Caravelle).

Anyone?

stever

Yep, a 1959 model.

ateixeira

URL if you can't see it:

http://www.productioncars.com/send_file.php/mercury_bobcat_1980_2.jpg

robr2

Oh, I can see it just fine!

I'm gonna guess it's a 1980 Mecury Bobcat.

ateixeira

Did the giant orange lettering on the side give it away?

robr2

Go look at your post and you'll see...

andys120

Extra points if you can name the show and tell us what country those plates are from>

There's just a little showing of the car on left but it's a very recognizable car.

jwilliams2

Looks like a Fiat 128 Sport Coupe, and that's James Garner, so I would guess The Rockford Files. Plates look odd, being a US size holder under a fake Swiss plate.....and maybe that's a SL Pagoda parked next to it?

andys120

You've got 'em all covered Jwilliams2. Don't ask me what Swiss plates are doing in TRF; I must've slept thru that episode.

andys120

If you're well-versed in the history of European imports you might know the name of the dealership this car is in front of>

lostwrench1

The Rockford Files
"The Big Ripoff"
October 25, 1974

andys120

Remember this little number from #31022>



I don't think anyone is going to get it so I'll fill you lot in. It's a Brissoneau 750 about 20 or so were built on Renault Dauphines by Brissoneau et Lotz which started as a builder of railroad rolling stock and eventually built Renault Florides which in themselves have an interesting history. If Wikipedia is correct the Floride was made because Renault was jealous of the success VW was having with their Karmann-Ghias which were nothing more than Beetles with sporty bodies.

When it was introduced to the US market where it enjoyed some success the Dauphine-based sportster was renamed the "Caravelle" because Renault feared the name Floride wouldn't sell well outside Florida. It just shows how little understanding some Euro-makes had of the American market. Renault sales peaked in 1959 when the little French 4-door and it's Caravelle siblings outsold Volkswagen. You know the rest.

bhill2

you might know the name of the dealership this car is in front of>

I might; is it Max Hoffman's? I'll guess XK120 for the Jag, although I am somewhat vague on the differences among the XK1xx models.

andys120

Yes, that is Max Hoffman's Park Avenue showroom, known as Hoffman Motors.
Hoffman was on the forefront of selling and distributing the European makes in the U.S., especially Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Jaguar, Allard, Alfa-Romeo and BMW to name some but probably not all.

It was he that came up with the idea for the Porsche Speedster, the BMW 507
and he who ordered a variant of the BMW 1602 with the 2 liter motor from the four door 2000 which became the 2002 and changed BMW forever.

Yup, that is a 1949 Jaguar XK-120 Roadster equipped with fender-skirts that were probably detrimental to brake cooling but IMO looked really cool>
Skirts!

I saw a Jag equipped like this one with disc wheels and skirts, painted black
with a tonneau over the right seat. I followed it for miles cuz it looked so cool (there are advantages to living in a town with a race track).

andys120

qbrozen

twin turbo Supra - the last gen sold here in the US.

On second look, I suppose it doesn't have to be a turbo model. Could be an N/A with the spoiler stuck on.

andys120

Yup it's a 1995 Toyota Supra, caption doesn't say if it's a turbo.

andys120

lemko

1955 or 1956 Imperial sedan. That particular example has air conditioning per the little scoops on the rear fenders.

andys120

Yup, it's a '55 but I find it hard to believe they sold any without a/c. Having air and electric windows was universal on luxury models by '55 IIRC.

berri

I can't recall, was it Imperial in 55/56 or still Chrysler Imperial? I know in 57 it was a separate line, but not sure on these models?

andys120

I dunno, paging Andre1969 (our resident MoPar Maven). If I had to guess I'd say they were Chysler Imperials.

imidazol97

>Andre1969 (our resident MoPar Maven).

In Andre's absence, I checked Wiki and found the answer:

"In 1955 Chrysler spun off the Imperial as its own separate marque in an attempt to compete directly with the Cadillac and Lincoln luxury marques offered by General Motors and Ford, respectively, rather than the traditional Chrysler competitors Buick and Oldsmobile."

Wikipedia

berri

Thanks. 55/56 was an interesting period for Detroit.

andys120