Mystery car pix

Mr_Shiftright

I know! I know! (waving hand in air) Pick me!

andys120

Might as well go for it Shifty, no one else seems to know.

Mr_Shiftright

Thank you. My hand was getting tired.

I think (but not sure) that it is a 1954 Sunbeam Rapier.

andys120

Close, it's the Rapier's younger cousin, a 1958 Singer Gazelle, which is also related to the Hillman Minx which was a somewhat popular US import in the late 50s/early 60s.

Wikipedia advises that the Singer was considered sportier than the Hillman as it used a pre-Rootes OHC Singer engine. I gather that the Sunbeam was considered sportier and more luxurious than either.
Apparently Raymond Loewy's design house had a hand in the styling, hence the resemblance to Studebakers.

andys120

I was madly in love w these as a kid.>

stickguy

well, I know it is a Cadillac convertible. 52?

lostwrench1

I'll go older. 1948.

qbrozen

That's pretty sweet, but somebody has to clean their whitewalls!

Also, isn't that missing some trim? Or was that optional? Every '48-'49 pic I see has a piece behind the front wheel that kind of reflects that used in front of the rear wheel.

fintail

Caddy looks like a barn find. Definitely 48-49.

lostwrench1

The '49 had that piece behind the front wheel making this a '48.

stever

@andys120, looks like you got the Singer Gazelle pic from Hemmings. The ad copy looks styled by James Fletcher-Watson but probably was just done in-house or by an agency (maybe @magnette has some famous artist ad copy notes).

qbrozen

lostwrench1 said:

The '49 had that piece behind the front wheel making this a '48.

Unless people are just adding them to all their '48s, it was on both years per the interwebs pics I can find.

lostwrench1

Ahaa, yes, you are correct.
I based my answer of 1948 on the 1948 Series 61 which didn't have that piece behind the front wheel.
The 1948 Series 62 did have that piece.
There was no 1948 Series 61 convertible. The 1948 Series 62 didn't have the tail lights shown in the photo.
Ok, two chips on 1949 Cadillac Series 62 with missing chrome piece behind the front wheel.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh well. I'm constantly getting the Singer Gazelle and Rapier mixed up on my morning commute!

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

Ahaa, yes, you are correct.

There was no 1948 Series 61 convertible. The 1948 Series 62 didn't have the tail lights shown in the photo.
Ok, two chips on 1949 Cadillac Series 62 with missing chrome piece behind the front wheel.

You win that bet Wrench, it is a '49 S62.

andys120

Corvette C7?>

grahampeters

G'day

It is always a bit hard to tell the various badge engineered Rootes Group models apart, but I think this is a Singer Gazelle from about 1959

Cheers

Graham

andys120

Any takers for the yella car that looks just like a Corvette C7 but isn't

stickguy

I knew ew it was the newest Ferrari. But I never remember the naming conventions on these.

612 California?

andys120

stickguy said:

I knew ew it was the newest Ferrari. But I never remember the naming conventions on these.

612 California?

Nope it's called the F12tdf (they use lower case for some reason. The late 1950s 250TDF was so named for a Ferrari victory in the Tour de France auto race). The copycat Corvette styling is a sad commentary on Ferraris inability to produce a beautiful car since the 1990s F355.

I guess the F12tdf is the successor to the current F12 Berlinetta, perhaps the best looking F-car of the 21st century >

andys120

Michaell

Based on the obvious clues, I'll go with a 1953 Buick.

But, no idea what model or trim level.

stickguy

4 portholes is a roadmaster. Unless they also used them on some other fancy model.

Mr_Shiftright

Yep, it's a Roadmonster. Looks pretty nice!

andys120

It's a 1953 Buick Roadmaster Riviera The Riviera name was reserved for pillarless
hardtops IIRC. The Roadmaster Riv. was the top of the Buick line until they came out with the Skylark (no Portholes!)

Mr_Shiftright

53 Skylark. Sharp eyes will spot the very rare trunk-mounted AC option.

texases

Sure those aren't for cooling the brakes, like on this?

Mr_Shiftright

Roof brakes? I never knew....

tjc78

Mr_Shiftright said:

53 Skylark. Sharp eyes will spot the very rare trunk-mounted AC option.

What's that worth? Sharp car IMO

lostwrench1

.

Michaell said:

Based on the obvious clues, I'll go with a 1953 Buick.

But, no idea what model or trim level.

That antenna rotated by a knob inside the car. When I was a boy riding in my father's Buick I used to turn the antenna knob to turn the antenna to a horizontal or whatever position to receive the best radio signal.

The station wagon version of that '53 car is the one to have. There were fewer than 700 built.

stever

Sure doesn't remind me of my father's '53 Buick Special.

Got a pic @lostwrench1?

Mr_Shiftright

Well the photo I posted was a rather special car with one of a kind options for the Motorama show, so I wouldn't call it a typical Skylark. It sold back in 2011 for $126,000. But in 2016, for a Skylark convertible, I'd imagine $150K on up for a professionally restored one.

lostwrench1

stever said:

Sure doesn't remind me of my father's '53 Buick Special.

Got a pic @lostwrench1?

Unfortunately, no.

andys120

fintail

Toyota Cressida, I will guess the first year of that style, 1985. Eventually it will be impossible to find one not ruined by driftdorks.

andys120

You are correct Fintail. I knew a couple of people who took those well over 100k miles and swore by 'em. Not my kind of car but the styling has held up well.

fintail

I like them, especially that generation, and with the fancy leather interior.

slorenzen

fintail said:

I like them, especially that generation, and with the fancy leather interior.

Yes, but was it FINE, CORINTHIAN LEATHER?

andys120

This is not the dashboard of the Jetson's car but it could be>

stickguy

GM in the late 50s/early 60s. Masters of understatement.

Is that an Oldsmobile?

Oddest thing may be the fact that it is a stickshift.

lostwrench1

1960 Plymouth Fury, but, it has a round steering wheel. Hmmm. Perhaps some had round steering wheels?

bhill2

fintail said:

Toyota Cressida, I will guess the first year of that style, 1985. Eventually it will be impossible to find one not ruined by driftdorks.

My wife and I got a special deal on an '88 (same body style). Medium blue with dark blue velour upholstery, Loaded. In 120K miles nothing (and I mean nothing) went wrong with it. We finally gave it to my wife's son and his wife to carry their kids around. Lost track of it then (probably for the best, they didn't do any noticeable maintainence on their cars). I had great respect for that car but never loved it. It had the reliability of a tree stump, but also about as much personality.

andys120

stickguy said:

GM in the late 50s/early 60s. Masters of understatement.

Is that an Oldsmobile?

Oddest thing may be the fact that it is a stickshift.

It's not an Olds or any GM product. but you are in the right era, it's a 1960 model. Yes a stickshift in a land yacht of that era was very rare. The few that I can recall had'em on the floor, not the tree.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

1960 Plymouth Fury, but, it has a round steering wheel. Hmmm. Perhaps some had round steering wheels?

Yup, that's it. Can you dig those crazy horn buttons?

berri

I think the square-ish Mopar steering wheels might have started for 61 models? That funky center on the steering wheel made me wonder if it might have been a Dodge.

fintail

When I was a kid, my dad had a friend who had a Cressida of that era. It had a leather interior, and it kind of shocked me at first - it was like a Cadillac interior in a Toyota. I always thought it looked decent too, angular and flush.

I think I have read those engines can eat head gaskets, but maybe a maintenance issue.

bhill2 said:

My wife and I got a special deal on an '88 (same body style). Medium blue with dark blue velour upholstery, Loaded. In 120K miles nothing (and I mean nothing) went wrong with it. We finally gave it to my wife's son and his wife to carry their kids around. Lost track of it then (probably for the best, they didn't do any noticeable maintainence on their cars). I had great respect for that car but never loved it. It had the reliability of a tree stump, but also about as much personality.

lostwrench1

lostwrench1 said:

1960 Plymouth Fury, but, it has a round steering wheel. Hmmm. Perhaps some had round steering wheels?

Ahaa, found it.
The non-round "Aero Wheel" steering wheel on the 1960 Plymouth Fury was an option.

andys120

Michaell

andys120 said:

Porsche 924 - late 70's or early 80's.

I did an oral report on that car as an 8th grade project in 1978. I remember the coefficient of drag being .36, which was darn good at the time.

texases

A 924S, right? With the 944 drive train, 924 body? Those wheels are the give-away.