Mystery car pix

andys120

Michaell

Late 60's Oldsmobile Toronado

andys120

Yup, it's a 1969 Olds Toronado.

Mr_Shiftright

One of my favorite cars, although I like the earlier style the best. You want to utterly humiliated a modern $75,000 SUV in the snow? Put a pair of snow chains and tires on this baby.

andys120

berri

Opel GT

Mr_Shiftright

Sometimes called "the poor man's Corvette" or the "Mini Corvette", it was basically an Opel Kadett underneath and sold through Buick dealers. I think it was pretty popular in the U.S. for a time.

berri

I'm not sure, but I think maybe something was weird with the GT suspension, like leaf springs up front?

Nice looking car for the bucks at the time. They were somewhat popular in Chicago, as was the successor Mantra or something like that. But Chicago was a big GM and Buick market back in those days.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

Sometimes called "the poor man's Corvette" or the "Mini Corvette", it was basically an Opel Kadett underneath and sold through Buick dealers. I think it was pretty popular in the U.S. for a time.

Well it was pretty deliberately styled to look like a 'Vette and yes it did sell well in the early70s.

berri said:

I'm not sure, but I think maybe something was weird with the GT suspension, like leaf springs up front?

Nice looking car for the bucks at the time. They were somewhat popular in Chicago, as was the successor Mantra or something like that.

The Mantra wasn't a successor to the Opel GT, it was sold alongside of it for those interested in a four place car.

berri

That's right, it was a coupe. Do you know about the Opel GT suspension layout?

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

Sometimes called "the poor man's Corvette" or the "Mini Corvette", it was basically an Opel Kadett underneath and sold through Buick dealers. I think it was pretty popular in the U.S. for a time.

Well it was pretty deliberately styled to look like a 'Vette and yes it did sell well in the early70s.

berri said:

I'm not sure, but I think maybe something was weird with the GT suspension, like leaf springs up front?

Nice looking car for the bucks at the time. They were somewhat popular in Chicago, as was the successor Mantra or something like that.

The Mantra wasn't a successor to the Opel GT, it was sold alongside of it for those interested in a four place car.

Mr_Shiftright

Manta, not Mantra--you're thinking of the Hindustani?

Front suspension was by upper and lower control arms with a transverse leaf spring, while the rear used variable-rate coil springs and a torque tube axle, located by twin radius arms and a Panhard rod. A rear anti-roll bar was optional, as were a heavy-duty suspension package and limited-slip differential.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright

Ah, mon ami?

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

Ah, mon ami?

Aha, c'est une clue.

grahampeters

G'day

Citroen Ami 6. A low light in French car design and phenomenally ugly. Derives from the 2CV, but hugely less appealing.

Cheers

Graham

stever

Hi Graham, happy summer!

andys120

Actually, I like the Ami6, it's ugly but in a French way like the Renault 4.

Mr_Shiftright

It's for people who own bulldogs.

andys120

bhill2

andys120 said:

For what it's worth, the Skyliner (retractable hardtop) is even worse.

berri

60 Chevy wagon next to the "eyeful" of 58 Ford Skyliner

andys120

berri said:

60 Chevy wagon next to the "eyeful" of 58 Ford Skyliner

The nomenclature for Ford convertibles of that era creates endless confusion. Ragtops like the one in the pic are "Sunliners" (the one shown is officially a '58 Fairlane Sunliner). The "Skyliners" were the retractable hardtops. I get 'em mixed up too.

The wagon is Id'ed on IMCDB as a 1960 Chevy Nomad . I was
unaware that there were Nomad wagons after 1956 but a little research turned up Nomads in the '58-'61 model years. As near as I can tell all Nomads after '56 were 4-doors which may be why they are less famous.

I have no idea how they can tell it's a Nomad in that photo but then all the pics of post-56
Nomads looklike the garden variety Chebbie wagons of that year--except for the word >

<img src="http://www.cars-on-line.com/slideshow/images73162/60chev73162-06-lightbox.jpg" alt=""


Looking at the brochure for 1960 Chevy wagons leads me to believe the Nomads were the top-of the-line SWs.

andys120

Due to technical difficulties I could not include the brochure for the 1960 Station wagons in the prior post. You can see how the Nomad has way more side trim than the other wagons.

berri

You are right about the Ford convertible nomenclature. I'm gonna say I jumped the gun because of that rear end protrusion I believe 58 still had a 2 door Chevy wagon in lower trim (Yeoman, or some such). It kind of looked like a 4 dr without the door cutouts IIRC. But come 59, I think they were just 4 doors (and lots and lots of pieces of glass, just like the upcoming Valiant wagon in 60).

lostwrench1

'55 Ford on right.

andys120

Due to technical difficulties I could not include the brochure for the 1960 Station wagons in the prior post. You can see how the Nomad has way more side trim than the other wagons.

andys120

kyfdx

Is that the last Saab 9-5? Just before they shut down?

berri

Speaking of 2 door station wagons, I recall Mercury actually had a 2 door hardtop wagon for a couple of years, somewhere around 59/60 I think. They were a rather odd looking beast. Since wagons and hardtops were both somewhat prone to rattles back in those days, got to think even with a beefed up frame, the hardtop wagons got a bit noisy kind of fast.

fintail

I think that was the Mercury Voyager, might have also existed with the exotic name "Commuter".

andys120

kyfdx said:

Is that the last Saab 9-5? Just before they shut down?

Yup, that's the last 9-5. I'm not sure but I recall reading that a Chinese company had bought SAAB.

andys120

kyfdx

Maritime Building in Chicago?

andys120

The oldest car is at the top, an MG-TC, IIRC they stop making those in '52 or '53. There's another car nearly that old, do you see it.

tmart

I'll take the lone Ford, 59 Custom 300.

fintail

Maybe a 53 Olds 88 to the right on the level below the MG?

Newest cars, I see a few 1963 cars, I will pick off the Riviera.

kyfdx

What about the Chevy on the left? Next to and below a Cadillac. That looked "newer" to me.

stever

Bottom right looks like a '59 Chevy and a Valiant, both of which were in my family at some point. But the taillights on the Valiant look wrong.

fintail

I have a hard time with 63 vs 64 Caddys from the rear. Riviera could also be a 64 for all I know.

andys120

stever said:

Bottom right looks like a '59 Chevy and a Valiant, both of which were in my family at some point. But the taillights on the Valiant look wrong.

Uh...I think you're off on that bottom row. The rightmost car looks too big for a Valiant, I think it's a '61 Imperial.

To its left is a '59 Buick, not a Chevy. Just to finish the row is a '59 Cadillac with it's distinctive fins.

'61 Chrysler Imperial:


59 Buick Electra 225:

andys120

As I'm looking at this photo I see there's something odd about this garage structure. I don't think I've ever been in a public garage where you backed your car into the space. W should be looking at the fronts of cars not their butts.

stever

Yeah, noticed that right away, wonder how many people tried to back completely off the structure. Seeing the Buick makes me wonder if my folks grabbed the used '59 Chevy because they missed out on the fins (there were at least three Buicks in the family as I was growing up).

berri

Marina City is the name of the circular building in downtown Chicago on the Chicago River. I'll take the rest of the next to top floor shown; 60 Buick 4dr sedan and the back of either a 57 or 58 Mercury.

stever

Guess it's in at least one commercial. (youtube)

berri

Hey Andys -those back ends - it was the jet age baby

bhill2

kyfdx said:

What about the Chevy on the left? Next to and below a Cadillac. That looked "newer" to me.

You are right, kyfdx. It's a '64.

imidazol97

Isn't the Imperial a 1960 on level 1.
I'll take the 1963 Chevrolet Impala covertible
and the 1959 Ford Tudor with the hash stripes along the
side the rear panel on level 3.

andys120

Isn't the Imperial a 1958?

Based on the location of the tailights, at the tops of the fenders I'd say you are correct, good eye!

andys120

berri said:

Marina City is the name of the circular building in downtown Chicago on the Chicago River. I'll take the rest of the next to top floor shown; 60 Buick 4dr sedan and the back of either a 57 or 58 Mercury.

Hmm, downtown location. Must be pretty crazy in the AM with everyone backing into their spaces before work.

I don't think anyone has mentioned the first gen Chevy Corvair coupe ('60-'64) on the third level from top.