Mystery car pix

stickguy

would have been a wonderful day to get in the car, open up the moonroof, and take a drive to look at used cars!

bhill2

whenever I see a picture like this, I think about how nasty it must have been to try and man handle those barges around in tight quarters like that.

Actually, most of the cars in the picture, esp. the Cadillacs, probably had power steering. The power steering of that era provided very low steering effort (and no steering feel whatsoever).

qbrozen

yeah, if it wasn't for that pesky work thing. Even if nothing to do, I have to be here.

ateixeira

What a beautiful, clean design.

Mr_Shiftright

As Colin Chapman used to say: "Add lightness".

Sometimes, though, he added a bit too much lightness :P

andys120

wgrafer

Well Andy, this one tough picture. The only semi-familiar vehicles are the pale blue possibly '54-56 Cadillac in the distance and the Jesse Jones '60-'65 Chevy milk truck! :confuse: Where were these 'races'?????

explorerx4

The long white building in the background has 'Vxxxxxxx International ???????' on it.
I was thinking either Virginia or Valencia.
Jesse Jones in Virginia sells a 'Racing Dog' hot dog.

andys120

Where were these 'races'?????

I think Explorerx4 is probably right, VIR (Virginia International Raceway) near Danville VA opened in 1957 and attracted sports car aficionados from the Carolinas and DelMarVa which accounts for the number of foreign cars in the foreground.

If the two red cars the girls are sitting on don't look familar the grey car between them and the hot dog truck has a very distinctive shape, It couldn't be anything but a ----.

texases

But I saw this on the way home today, same color scheme (seems pretty common for that model/year):

lostwrench1

On the left, a 1953 Chrysler New Yorker.

lemko

1956 Dodge Royal or Coronet? I'm not good on Dodge names of this period. I believe the hardtops were all called Lancers.

bhill2

Yeah, I think this one is a 'Custom Royal'. It's not a Lancer, but I think they made one with four doors.

au1994

The red car in the foreground is an Alfa, I think. Maybe a Guilia?

andys120

The red car in the foreground is an Alfa, I think. Maybe a Guilia?

Yup, it's one of Alfa's most beautiful cars a late 50s Alfa-Romeo Giulietta Sprint, probably a Veloce with aluminum doors and hood. There's another directly in front of it.



Surely someone can ID the grey car next to the truck.

wgrafer

And the yellow one on the right is a '69 Plymouth Roadrunner :shades:

wgrafer

"Surely someone can ID the grey car next to the truck. "

OK - looks like a Saab 96, maybe 1960-1961????

texases

"1956 Dodge Royal or Coronet?"
The owner (and this photos tag) said it was a '55 when I asked him - any way to know for sure?

edit - nevermind, yes, this is a '56, now that I looked at some more pics...

andys120

Saab 96, maybe 1960-1961????


It's definitely an early Saab, either a 93 or a 96.

andys120

fintail

Austin 1100, I think, sold here as the less than reliable Austin America.

lemko

Could also be the Morris variant. This car was replaced by the awful Austin Allegro.

andys120

You guys have the right idea but that is the version of the BMC ADO16 that was built in Italy as the Innocenti I4 in the mid 1960s.

andys120

stickguy

mid-80s el Camino. must be some deluxe trim package model.

wgrafer

The hood ornanment looks more square than the El Camino, so I'll go with a GMC Caballero. Maybe '86-'87, but they all looked alike to me...

bhill2

Yeah, I'll agree with mid-'80s Caballero, given the hood ornament.

odie6l

1984 Holden Monero Ute (1984 Chevrolet El Camino)

Odie

kyfdx

Wouldn't a Holden Monaro be right-hand drive?

andys120

Yup, it's an '87 GMC Caballero which was virtually identical to it's Chevy El Camino counterpart.

andys120

lemko

tjc78

I'm thinking a 4 door Chevette.

fintail

Jowett Javelin, one of the cooler cars from dreary postwar blighty

andys120

Jowett Javelin,

Keerect, it's from the '47 MY.

uplanderguy

From the position of the side molding visible, I'd say a Pontiac T-1000.

bhill2

I get the impression of a more angular car than a Chevette/T1000. I would tend toward one of GM's midsize or even a late 70s downsized full-sized entries.

stever

kyfdx

TR-6 and an MGB... both early '70s?

texases

I think it's a TR-4

stever

The MGB part is right, even if the decade isn't.

andys120

The red car is a '68 Triumph TR250, my brother had one just like it. It was an interim model which combined the body and chassis of an IRS TR-4A with the straight 6 later seen on the TR6. The faded red paint is typical of most red-painted cars of the era. Red paint began oxidizing very quickly unless compounded yearly.

TR-250 were sold only in the US. The rest of the world got the same car with fuel-injection which was known as the TR5 PI (for Petrol Injection).

The green car is an MGB ca. 1966-67.

stever

Well, the story says it's a '67 TR250, but the '66 MGB is the owner's ride. So you're probably right. Not sure how much of that is oxidation you're looking at or just plain old dirt.

These two guys got a new duty assignment back in the states and decided to drive there in their sports cars - from Panama.

Imagine - a true life story about British reliability.

andys120

Notwithstanding the story, I don't believe there was a 1967 TR250. 1967 was the last year for both the Healey 3000 and the TR4A. The newly formed British Leyland Motors hoped that the TR250/TR5 would serve as a replacement for both beginning with the 1968 model year IIRC.

tjc78

You left us hangin on the field car!!

lemko

I'm wondering if others can identify it because I'm not sure what it is. I believe its an early 1980s Chevrolet Citation hatchback or some variant. I believe I see the remnants of the rear window behind the back door and ahead of the hatch.

tjc78

OK, I looked at some Chevettes and the bumper is spot on but like was mentioned it could be a T-1000. The Citation bumper doesn't have the two vertical "bump" strips.

jlindh

I don't believe the MGB is a '67. My '67 had back-up lights on either side of the license plate and no "ears" on the knock off wheel hubs, apparently due to Fed requirements. The tool kit contained a special "wrench" to remove the hub as I recall.

I believe that the '67 was also the last year for the larger tach and speedo, crinkle paint dash and glove box. All due to the addition of a padded dash

Mr_Shiftright

The MGB "Bible" says that back-up lights were introduced in the summer of 1967 so it could be an early '67 car.

I also agree that the TR 250 can't be a '67.

I've owned both MGBs and a TR 250 and a TR 6 and all of them were extremely reliable. You just have to look after them and never let a monkey touch your SU carburetors. I drove those cars all over creation and I can't recall ever being stranded.

FUNNY THING (can anyone explain this?)---if I lent the cars to someone, invariably, at LEAST half the time, the car would break down, but never for me. Go figure.

andys120

never let a monkey touch your SU carburetors

My bro's TR250, like my TR-4A, was equipped with Stromberg, not SU carbs. Mine were finicky as all get out but his always seemed to stay in sync. :confuse: