Mystery car pix

kyfdx

Original Lotus Elan?

explorerx4

A John Player edition?

stever

robr2

2014 Fiat 500 "1957" Edition.

andys120

Actually it's a Lotus Europa wearing the black/gold JPS livery. Apologies, I tried to delete the overly large photo but the ever-multifunctional Edmund's software was not accepting any revisions. :mad:

stever

Yep, pretty cool (hopefully this isn't a repost, and the forums are supposedly "back").

andys120

grahampeters

G'day

I know what it is and you guys are going to enjoy it!

Cheers

Graham

kyfdx

Is that the new Chevy SS?

andys120

Chevy SS?

Yup, it's the LS3 V8-powered 2014 Chevrolet SS the latest re-badged Holden Monaro to reach our shores, the last being the short-lived Pontiac G8.

andys120

robr2

Dodge Demon??

andys120

Dodge Demon??

Well you're half right.

berri

Plymouth Valiant (Scamp?). I forget the sports version name. I think the Dodges may have had vertical toothed grilles.

grahampeters

G'day

Actually a rebadged Holden Commodore. Very well sorted and pleasant to drive.

Unfortunately, Australian s have lost there appetite for large V8 sedans so this model might be the last which would end GMH production in Australia

Cheers

Graham

explorerx4

Dodge Demon was a twin to the Plymouth Duster.
The 340 was a potent engine.

texases

70-ish Dodge Dart (the Dart had the 'formal' roof). Brother had one, I had a '72 Duster with those decorative hood scoops and hood pins. The 198 cid slant 6 never tested the pins, that's for sure!

magnette

Quite frankly I'm disappointed that whoever is responsible for this site still can't write whatever code you need to reactivate a button that allows posting of images - it is a fiddly job to try and do it manually.

fintail

Hey, the place was down for days - as it least it is working again. Baby steps. Sometimes IT "professionals" can't be hurried

Kind of a motley mix there, I'll pick off the Fiat 600 in the middle.

magnette

Hi FIn ! - Yep - that's Fiat 600 in the middle...

andys120

To the left of the little Fiat is a big Jaguar saloon, it's hard to tell a Mk VII-thru Mk IX but the relatively thin chrome around the grille suggests a Mk. VII (Mark Seven for those who don't read Roman) from the early 50s.

magnette

Hello Andy - yes, I think that's a MkVII too - the chrome gets more elaborate for the later cars.

Mr_Shiftright

Kind of a blivet, the Mark VII, but Sterling Moss did rally in one! The later Marks make good parts cars for XK 150s.

lostwrench1

I'll grab the 1950 Chevrolet.

fintail

Car at left has me a little confused, one of the larger Renaults? Car at right with the slightly oversized headlights seems familiar too. I think there's a Peugeot 403 behind the Jag.

magnette

Yes, Lostwrench - it is a Chevrolet, although I don't know the exact model - was this a Fleetline or something?

magnette

The car on the left is a Renault - and I thought the other one behind the Jag was a similar Renault - now you have me wondering if that one is a Peugeot 403, although I still think it looks like this Renault myself.

The car at the right is French, there were various facelifts on this model which was in production for all the fifties and the early sixties, and it was for a time the best selling car in France, although from a make that is now forgotten - never noticed before how huge those headlights were though, but here we only got the later versions of this car so this early one is less familiar.

lostwrench1

Both the 1950 Styleline and Fleetline models had a lower priced "Special" which I think this 1950 Chevy is because of the lack of side trim.
Because of the shape of the rear of the roof, I'll say this is a 1950 Styleline Special.

magnette

well, I wasn't able to give an accurate guess for that, although I would have known it was a Chevrolet.

andys120

grahampeters

G'day

Well it is a Colorado with fancy trip but the windows look like they are supposed to be special. It is not serious enough to be a bullet proof package or for anti mine work.

Lateral jump in thought, having mentioned mine work; utilities like this with 5 star safety ratings, especially stability control, are now preferred on Australian mining sites over Landcruiser 70 series which, whilst robust, cannot be brought up to 5 star rating.

Cheers

Graham

stever

Is that based on insurance requirements/savings or some occupational reg from the government?

grahampeters

G'day

Oddly, the driver for improved safety in mining is not regulatory or insurance related, but internalized market pressures. The demand for mine safety, coming from a desire not to kill people, is driving a huge revolution in mining practices, especially in Australia.

Inherently, mining is dangerous and the performance of mining companies is largely measured by their minimization of injuries and, more critically, fatalities. Australia derives a huge proportion of its economic growth (which cushioned it from the GFC) from mining and hence many shareholders read their annual reports very carefully. Reportage of fatalities and injuries is a major feature of all reports, often before profit. The reality is that killing people is horrendously expensive to mining companies so it is really bad for business. When a fatality does occur, there must be a shut-down to investigate the cause, sometimes for days. The economic impact on some mines runs to millions of dollars each day of closure.

That means that a lot of mines are looking for ways to remove people from mine sites and other risk areas. A lot of the big Australian miners are now using remote controlled vehicles, (especially haul trucks and rail trains) which are controlled, drone like, from air conditioned offices thousands of kilometres away. However you still need maintenance staff and such like on the mine to resolve problems when they arise.

Where actual staff are required on site to drive vehicles, a lot of miners are turning to women, because they exhibit less risk taking behavior. Also a lot of mining companies are looking to local aboriginal labour because they are more likely to be connected to community and less likely to indulge in risky behaviour (drugs and drink) outside working hours.

There are all sorts of restrictions, all designed to reduce risk. There was much fuss recently that a driver of a haul truck involved in an accident was found to have mobile phone in the cab - specifically outlawed because of possible distraction.

The equipment used is ferociously expensive and safety is a prime requirement. That extends to passenger vehicles which are now required to meet absolute best practise; hence the five star safety rating requirement.

None of this changes my fear when visiting mines; they are scary places with really big equipment, which does have accidents (and hence insurance claims - hence my involvement).

Cheers

Graham

stever

Thanks Graham; btw, haven't heard much about hiring bonuses for miners in your part of the world lately. Enjoy your summer - happy to see that the fires have moved off the front pages.

magnette

I think this one has now run it's course - the large Renault to the left of the picture is a Fregate, (it has French plates, with 75 being the code for Paris) and the car to the right of the Jag is an early Simca Aronde - they updated the grille several times and altered the rear end late in the 50's to give a squarer tail and bigger windows but this is the first version..
Fintail suggested a Peugeot 403 for the car behind the Jag and I think that's probably right - I had thought it was another Renault Fregate, but the windows look different.

robr2

There are all sorts of restrictions, all designed to reduce risk. There was much fuss recently that a driver of a haul truck involved in an accident was found to have mobile phone in the cab - specifically outlawed because of possible distraction.

Well that only makes sense. Here in Boston, the rapid transit system - known as the "T" - banned mobile phones and other electronic devices for all employees involved in the operation of vehicles in 2009. They cannot carry them on their person or in their bags while on duty.

qbrozen

How about a Chevy Vehicross. ;b
and you thought Isuzu was dead in the US!

andys120

uplanderguy

'64 Mercury Marauder...although I can't tell if it's a Montclair or Park Lane.

I've never seen one with that Ford engine emblem low on the front fender. I don't know if that's 'factory correct' or not. I doubt the wire wheelcovers are.

Still, a neat car.

andys120

Yup, that's a '64 Mercury Montclair Marauder 390. I'm not sure about the engine badge but IIRC mercs wore those back then (390/406/427 CID).

andys120

berri

I always liked the mid 60's Mercury Marauder's. Not so sure about that color. I kind of liked them in white or cream. The 64 was probably my least favorite style of them. But if I was seeing it more frequently I might change my mind. For many years I was not real fond of the 64 Pontiac. It's the front end on both of them that I'm not nuts about. However, over time as I've been to old car shows I've come around to liking the 64 Pontiac better, but still prefer the other mid 60 models better.

andys120

Nobody wants to take a stab at Jay Leno's new ride (#38463)?

The make should be pretty obvious from the grille and the approximate year shouldn't be hard. If you know anything about these cars you should know that there was no such thing as standard bodywork, the bodies were all made by bespoke carrozzerias, but only 21 were made with the body shown so this is one of the rarer items in Leno's huge collection.

Although the body is unusual the car underneath was the most common for this particular maker at that time (hint-mid 1950s).

Mr_Shiftright

grahampeters

G'day

I like working at home on Friday as I often get to these ones early.

The absence of a radiator points to rear engined, fan cooled motor. Deep dished wheel caps and the pattern of the holes in pressed steel wheels suggests VW basis, as does structure around front screen.

There were a reasonable number of German Coachbuilders which survived the second world war and then turned to using available underpinnings for their bodies. Several of them converted VW's which offered an affordable basis for a pleasant body. This looks a little larger than most so might be on a stretched chassis.

I don't recognize the particular car, which looks fancier than most of these. Panel fit looks extremely good and reflections are very even. The very deep draw at the front of the bonnet is very hard to do without ferociously expensive press tools so I suspect that it might be fabricated, maybe in aluminium. There is no sign of the dimpling reflections you would expect from beaten panels so possibly formed over frames. However I am not sure if aluminium was readily available in Germany in the 1950's.

The design has American styling cues but the rear flank also reminds me of the 1960's Citroen DS convertible. It appears to taper heavily from the body width.

The mudguard extension above the front wheel reminds me of something but it is not coming to mind.

There was a coachbuilder in East Germany using VW chassis's for their coachbuilt bodies. These pre-dated the Kharman Ghia and were starved of chassis supply when VW decided to do them themselves. I wonder if this is one of them?

Cheers

Graham

andys120

Graham is on the right track, those wheels are straight off a VW or Porsche. My first thought was that it was one of the Swiss-built Beutler-Porsches but those typically had some sort of faux grille>



This one is a real poser because of the oddly positioned door handle and the lack of grille work on the engine lid. I'm going to say the body is most likely German based on the SL-like flare above the front wheels. Drauz? Reutter? Graber?

andys120

Aha, I did some poking around on Coachbuild.com and found the Rometsch Beeskow Sport Cabriolet(c. 1956)>

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Mr_Shiftright

Correct! Good detective work.

This is a Rometsch Beeskow Sport Cabriolet, built 1956-57 with about 170 cars made. Obviously, it is on VW underpinnings. Interestingly, some of them were equipped with an Okrasa engine, which was a specialty-built VW racing engine, producing up to 70 HP from the original 40 HP or so.

It's a rare sight if you ever stumble upon one at a show.

andys120

Speaking of rare sights, #38463 is a 1956 Maserati A6G 2000/Allemano recently acquired by Jay Leno. The A6G was Maser's most popular road car in the 50s but only 21 were made with the Allemano body, most had Touring or Vignale coachwork.

Mr_Shiftright

That should be worth a cool 1/2 mil.