Mystery car pix

stickguy

Nice door fit. Back end says triumph to me. Rest says toon car.

berri

I don't think Chevy sold many cylinder cars. By the mid 60's it was V8 mania. People even bought V8's in Nova's and Dusters. Maybe that was a reaction to pony cars. When I got out of college I wouldn't even consider anything but a V8. I drive a 4 banger now - pretty funny!

iluvmysephia1

What 4-banger do you drive, berri?

berri

Camry and a CRV

Mr_Shiftright

Oh that looks like a little Berkeley. Interesting little cars, powered by motorcycle engines of various types. With the Royal Enfield motor, they could top 100 mph----if you dared.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

Oh that looks like a little Berkeley. Interesting little cars, powered by motorcycle engines of various types. With the Royal Enfield motor, they could top 100 mph----if you dared.

You got it, it's a Berkeley Sports ca. 1963 and it's so small they say a Sprite would dwarf it.

andys120

berri

That is the last era of the big Ford Country Squire. As to date, that is hard to guess, maybe mid 90's?

fintail

1988-91

andys120

fintail said:

1988-91

Y/up, you're looking at the cumbersomely named 1989 Ford LTD Country Squire.

Mr_Shiftright

A venerable company that produced cars and bicycles for about 80 years.

berri

I think the Mercury Colony Park looked sharper, if a bit over the top.

uplanderguy

Didn't they actually call it the "LTD Crown Victoria LX Country Squire" or something like that?

uplanderguy

I had the 'LX' in the wrong place...it should be right before "wagon", LOL. Page three:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1989-Ford-LTD-CROWN-VICTORIA-Brochure-Catalog-LX-COUNTRY-SQUIRE-Wagon-NOS-/201774937177

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

A venerable company that produced cars and bicycles for about 80 years.

Riley RMA ca. 1952-3. A lot of motorcar for a 1500 cc four to haul around

fintail

1938 style still sold in 1953, welcome to England

(and in smaller numbers, France and Germany)

andys120

Fun fact: according to Wikipedia, BMW owns the Riley name (as applied to automobiles)

fintail

Might as well, as it owns Rolls-Royce, good revenge for 1945

tjc78

andys120 said:

I would have guessed 88-90. 91 had clear turn signal lenses. 

Mr_Shiftright

Poor Riley was sold to the horrifying Ogre called "British Leyland". When you entered that cave, you never came out alive.

fintail

re: clear corners, you learn something every day.

re: Riley, many British makes had a hard time surviving the 1965-80 era.

tjc78

Only someone who knows about the Panther platform would know (or even care).  It just like the box Town Cars the 89s are the only ones with Amber turn signal lenses all other years are clear with an orange bulb. 

fintail

I suppose that stuff is like me being able to discern the year of an otherwise identical MB via a random piece of trim or radio faceplate etc.

I remember a childhood friend's dad bought a late run 89 Town Car, and his family had it for many years.

lostwrench1

fintail said:

Might as well, as it owns Rolls-Royce, good revenge for 1945

"Good revenge".
Explain.

fintail

Britain won a war and got away with a lot, several decades later Germany won the industrial battle and in some ways took over the British auto industry (most UK Fords and Vauxhalls even have German roots).

lostwrench1 said:

"Good revenge".
Explain.

Mr_Shiftright

Britain was offered the VW factory for free, and said "Nah".

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

Britain was offered the VW factory for free, and said "Nah".

Kind of a huge mistake, in retrospect.

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Britain was offered the VW factory for free, and said "Nah".

Kind of a huge mistake, in retrospect.

Ya think? Well to be fair, Henry Ford turned it down as well, saying (paraphrase) "You can't sell small cars in America".

Well, for 1947 he was probably right. But 1957, not so much right. And 1967, very wrong.

Britain was broke in the early 1950s--they still had RATIONING for goodness sake!

Ah, the "what ifs"......what if they had killed Triumph instead of MG in the 1970s. What if they had built a modern 4-cylinder motorcycle before the Honda 750? What if they had embraced Demmings' quality control principles?

Michaell

Being a student of history .... and a student of business .... and a lover of automobiles, it's fascinating to read some of the stories about the industry.

What went right (Honda defying the Japanese government to establish a market for their cars in the US), what went wrong (too many things to list, but GM of the last 40 years is a good example), emerging markets, dying markets. the personalities, the deals, etc.

I could go on and on ....

texases

Help needed (and it might even be post-war):
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/44875/general/x/old-car-can-anyone-identify#latest

andys120

Summer Traffic>

stickguy

1972ish Volvo 145 right in front. And a same vintage Corvette convertible off to his left. far left the back of a 68 or so Nova 4 door.

kyfdx

You have better eyes than me. I thought the Corvette was an Alfa.

tjc78

Saw one of these this morning.... badge engineering at its finest. 

berri

69 Olds Cutlass in front of that Volvo box. I mean wagon?

stickguy

73 Malibu wagon about 3 up on the right, with the low bumper and rounded tailgate. I always think of the S-3 Laguna with that vintage chevelle.

and I think a 68 LTD country squire ahead of the corvette.

what is 3 up from the Volvo? Really round back looks pacerish, but picture is too early for that. Maybe a Caprice wagon with the clamshell tailgate?

fintail

Yep, that's a clamshell wagon, caught my eye too.

Parked on the street at left, with whitewalls, a Coupe Deville, I assume 71-73 or so.

andys120

kyfdx said:

You have better eyes than me. I thought the Corvette was an Alfa.

It is an Alfa Spider, perhaps late 60s or early70s. It has square t/ls unlike the round ones that graced every Corvette from 1965 until the C7 was introduced.

tmart

tjc78 said:

Saw one of these this morning.... badge engineering at its finest. 

Since no takers, a 1998 Olds Bravada.

andys120

Watch your step>

magnette

That Berkeley you had the other day - it was made by a caravan company who had benched into kit cars in the late 50s with the advent of fibre-glass plastic..

Most Berkeleys were three wheelers because oft tax benefits here but they made a couple of quite potent four wheelers using Excelsior motorbike engines...

andys120

magnette said:

That Berkeley you had the other day - it was made by a caravan company who had benched into kit cars in the late 50s with the advent of fibre-glass plastic..

Most Berkeleys were three wheelers because oft tax benefits here but they made a couple of quite potent four wheelers using Excelsior motorbike engines...

"caravan company"? What's that in English?

Mr_Shiftright

Caravan = Camper (the type you pull)

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, since no one has jumped in, that Alpha Romero ( ) is a Giulia Spider, circa early to mid 60s. Tip-off is the raised hood and a 1600 engine.

tjc78

tmart said:

Saw one of these this morning.... badge engineering at its finest. 

Since no takers, a 1998 Olds Bravada.

Yep! Hadn't seen one in a long time.  

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

Oh, since no one has jumped in, that Alpha Romero ( ) is a Giulia Spider, circa early to mid 60s. Tip-off is the raised hood and a 1600 engine.

Oh darn, I was hoping someone wouldn't notice the "step" in the forward hood and mistake it for a "Giulietta Spider". You are correct though, the tell for an early Giulia Spider is that air slot in the forward hood. It's kinda hard to tell a 1600 cc motor from a 1300 by looking at a car w a closed hood.

Wikipedia says that version of the Giulia Spider was produced from 1962-65 when it was replace by the Spider Duetto (AKA Boattail-think The Graduate)

The car in my post is MY '65.

Mr_Shiftright

I can see through the hood on Alfas.

andys120

Michaell

andys120 said:

Dino 246?

Mr_Shiftright

Help Shifty Out With This:

This isn't a contest. I really want to know what this is, if anyone has a clue