Mystery car pix

magnette

Sorry - another night has passed since my previous post. Yes, the older black car is a Morris Oxford Series II - or possibly a Cowley 1200 although those didn't have overriders on the bumpers unless they were offered as an extra. The Series II Oxford was in production 1954-56 and was then replaced with the series III which had a squared off boot.

I thought the car in front of the early Victor you mentioned might be the other contender for earliest car, and it could be - any suggestions.

I have looked carefully and there do not seem to be any Morris Minors that have a split windscreen so that rules them out as the split screen was not discontinued until 56.

Yes - the Fiat 124 is too early to be a Lada. The car ahead the of Maxi above the 124 is, I think, a Simca 1500.

Also I looked up the Riley Kestrel and that had a different duo-tone paint finish from the MG - so my earlier alternative suggestion was wrong.

The date on the picture is 1971 and clearly it is summer, so a few of the cars there are pretty new - MK111 Cortinas, the facelifted Austin Maxi on the upper deck next to the Minor convertible, even a Hillman Avenger above the Anglia with the suitcases.

One vehicle you certainly would not have had over there is very faint as it is grey, but it is next-but-one left from the Land Rover at the back - there is a Ford Corsair between them....

andys120

Karen_S

Karen_S

Karen_S

Trying to figure out the issue with posting photos. My attempts worked, but perhaps they will disappear? Will be back to check later. Would be helpful if you provide the exact steps you do when posting a photo.

fintail

Pics work for me now anyway. I used the simple img src tags.

Car in front of the Victor - Standard 10 or Triumph equivalent? Mystery car near the Land Rover at top is too tough, I only see a small van.

I am surprised at the lack of German cars in the pic - just one VW, and how many of these were sold at least for brief periods in NA. Cars like the landcrab, earlier Cortinas, Victor, Anglia, Farina, etc were actually sold over here, although none for very long.

magnette

We didn't tend to have many foreign cars other than Renault and VW outside the major towns - Fiat I suppose as well. Simca, though, had a wide network of dealers and sold well in the sixties - there is even a Simca 1000 just beyond the Renault 16 and Cortina III.

The other old car is a Standard 10 (or possibly a late 8) but we didn't get it as a Triumph - that was just export markets.
In the distance the far wall there is a Standard Companion estate car as well - this side of the Imp, above the Anglia with suitcases.
For your market the real rarity is actually that funny thing which is a Reliant Regal van - a three wheeler and it would have been in production at the time this picture was taken so could have been new.. its basically above the Transit with the white stripe.

fintail

Yep, we never had Reliant here, after the 1968 safety regs, I think a 3 wheeler would be somewhat difficult.

lostwrench1

1955 Dodge Custom Royal.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

1955 Dodge Custom Royal.

Yup!

andys120

stickguy

AC Ace? Gorgeous car. Love that color. Wow.

Triumph stag hiding next to it. Also tasty color combo

Mr_Shiftright

Never figured out why BL used their own V-8 for the Stag (awful motor) when the Buick V8 was available to them through Rover, etc. ????

magnette

It was internal politics -the chairman of BL was ex Triumph and also gave us the TR7 while starving the MG side of the business of the investment to bring that into the modern era.

I think the Stag engine was created by splicing together two Dolomite engines and they basically didn't develop it - a common failure with BL.

It didn't overheat in the Dolomite Sprint - a bored out 4cylinder motor which evolved from the original but the V8 was terrible. Nowadays the engine can be set up so it doesn't go wrong but the Rover unit would easily fit and lived on for ever in loads of good cars - Buick had a great engine there and it was so tough.

On my journey to work I sometimes pass a garage which is now selling a few older cars - or at least they've got them and appear to be doing something as they have been there a while - and today one was a Stag in original ochre yellow paint but looking really tatty so no doubt needing work. They also had a circa 1959 Hillman Minx which was there last year minus it's engine (standing high on the springs) but looks heavier at the front now so presumably that is back in.

andys120

stickguy said:

AC Ace? Gorgeous car. Love that color. Wow.

Triumph stag hiding next to it. Also tasty color combo

Yup, it's the last version of the Ace, a 1963 AC Ace Ruddspeed 2.6, the first AC to be "powered by Ford" in this case a 170hp tri-carb version of the six from the Ford Zephyr.

The Ruddspeed was visually identical to the first Shelby/AC Cobra 260 except for badges.

andys120

stickguy

Snazzy looking Buick riviera. Craig probably owned one. I will WAG 1967

andys120

stickguy said:

Snazzy looking Buick riviera. Craig probably owned one. I will WAG 1967

Good guess, that is indeed a '67 Riviera (wearing non-stock wheels.) The '66-'67 Rivs are my favorites.

andys120

tmart

58 Ford and 59 Ford Country Sedan parked on right.

bhill2

I'm grabbing the white Jag Mk I in right lane. Not many of those sold in the US; most of the sedans they sold in that time period were Mk IIs.

fintail

I see a ~61 Continental in oncoming traffic a little ways back. I also think I see a parked light color 60 Ford under the "Auto Service" sign towards the top. Newest car I see is a 62.

berri

Looks like a 59 Chevy in front of the 60 Chevy and a 59 Mercury behind it.

andys120

tmart said:

58 Ford and 59 Ford Country Sedan parked on right.

If you're talking about the dark-colored car next to the Ford wagon, it's a 1960 Chevrolet. There's a 1958 Buick parked to their left and a '58 Olds passing by behind them. To the left of that in the left approaching lane is a '59 Mercury similar to the Monterey I learned to drive on.

fintail said:

I see a ~61 Continental in oncoming traffic a little ways back. I also think I see a parked light color 60 Ford under the "Auto Service" sign towards the top. Newest car I see is a 62.

I don't see your Continental at all or any car that's definitely a '62

fintail

It's a 62 Dodge, appears to be a taxi. Far left lane, behind the ~50 Chrysler (?). The Continental is directly above that, behind a pickup, white in color.

andys120 said:

I don't see your Continental at all or any car that's definitely a '62

tmart

andys120 said:

tmart said:

58 Ford and 59 Ford Country Sedan parked on right.

If you're talking about the dark-colored car next to the Ford wagon, it's a 1960 Chevrolet. There's a 1958 Buick parked to their left and a '58 Olds passing by behind them. To the left of that in the left approaching lane is a '59 Mercury similar to the Monterey I learned to drive on.

fintail said:

I see a ~61 Continental in oncoming traffic a little ways back. I also think I see a parked light color 60 Ford under the "Auto Service" sign towards the top. Newest car I see is a 62.

I don't see your Continental at all or any car that's definitely a '62

No, the 58 is in the parking lot, first spot.

andys120

fintail said:

It's a 62 Dodge, appears to be a taxi. Far left lane, behind the ~50 Chrysler (?). The Continental is directly above that, behind a pickup, white in color.

andys120 said:

I don't see your Continental at all or any car that's definitely a '62

Okay thanks Fin, I seem 'em. I mistakenly thought the Dodge taxi was a '61 but I did some surfing and found plenty of '62s w that odd headlight scheme. I think you're right about the old MoPar in front of the taxi. That generation didn't have many styling cues to distinguish the brands but I think it's a '49-'52 Chrysler. It's the oldest car in the pic I can ID.

The Plymouth in front of the taxi? A '59? Any guesses on the MY of the Caddy parked near the Auto Service sign....'60?

andys120

What MY are they?

texases

'53 Packard Patrician on the left?

andys120

texases said:

'53 Packard Patrician on the left?

Sure is!

bhill2

andys120 said:

fintail said:

It's a 62 Dodge, appears to be a taxi. Far left lane, behind the ~50 Chrysler (?). The Continental is directly above that, behind a pickup, white in color.

andys120 said:

I don't see your Continental at all or any car that's definitely a '62

Okay thanks Fin, I seem 'em. I mistakenly thought the Dodge taxi was a '61 but I did some surfing and found plenty of '62s w that odd headlight scheme. I think you're right about the old MoPar in front of the taxi. That generation didn't have many styling cues to distinguish the brands but I think it's a '49-'52 Chrysler. It's the oldest car in the pic I can ID.

The Plymouth in front of the taxi? A '59? Any guesses on the MY of the Caddy parked near the Auto Service sign....'60?

I make the Plymouth a '58 and the Caddy a '60.

andys120

bhill2

IIRC that is a Ghia. It may have been a collaboration with Chrysler (note the backlight treatment, which is similar to the first Barracuda.

andys120

bhill2 said:

IIRC that is a Ghia. It may have been a collaboration with Chrysler (note the backlight treatment, which is similar to the first Barracuda.

Not just a Ghia, a 1962 Dual-Ghia L 6.4, the second iteration of the Dual-Ghia, the first being a convertible (1956-58) based on Exner's Chrysler Firearrow concept cars.




A fellow named Eugene Casaroll arranged to have them assembled by Ghia in Italy from Dodge chassis and shipped back to the US to be sold by Casaroll's Dual Motors. They were the most expensive new American cars costing even more ($7500!) than an Eldorado Biarritz.
The later L6.4 was twice as expensive and powered by a MoPar 383 V8. The Dual-Ghia were favorites of Hollywood celebs and two Presidents (Nixon and Reagan) owned one.

In the 50's everyone wanted to own a car like the concept cars of Earl and Exner. A few lucky Dual-Ghia owners did.

magnette

I had a Ghia L6.4 - Corgi Toys...

bhill2

andys120 said:

IIRC that is a Ghia. It may have been a collaboration with Chrysler (note the backlight treatment, which is similar to the first Barracuda.

Not just a Ghia, a 1962 Dual-Ghia L 6.4, the second iteration of the Dual-Ghia, the first being a convertible (1956-58) based on Exner's Chrysler Firearrow concept cars.




A fellow named Eugene Casaroll arranged to have them assembled by Ghia in Italy from Dodge chassis and shipped back to the US to be sold by Casaroll's Dual Motors. They were the most expensive new American cars costing even more ($7500!) than an Eldorado Biarritz.
The later L6.4 was twice as expensive and powered by a MoPar 383 V8. The Dual-Ghia were favorites of Hollywood celebs and two Presidents (Nixon and Reagan) owned one.

In the 50's everyone wanted to own a car like the concept cars of Earl and Exner. A few lucky Dual-Ghia owners did.

Darn. I had a failure of confidence. That front end looked like an update of the Dual Ghia's but I wasn't sure, and it wasn't a convertible, and ... well, I chickened out. 

kyfdx

@bhill2 Don't be afraid to make mistakes.. We aren't keeping score.

andys120

Darn. I had a failure of confidence. That front end looked like an update of the Dual Ghia's but I wasn't sure, and it wasn't a convertible, and ... well, I chickened out.

If it makes you feel any better, the convertibles far outsold the later hardtop. Perhaps it was because by the time the L6.4 came out there were plenty of Euro/American hybrid GTs coming out: Facel Vega, Bristiol, Iso Rivolta, Gordon Keeble and Monteverdi to name a few

andys120

magnette

Is this a Chrysler Cordoba?

kyfdx

It sure is.. with Corinthian leather!

andys120

Yup, it's a 1975 Chrysler Cordoba and Mr Corrrinthian himself Ricardo Montalban.

lostwrench1

kyfdx said:

It sure is.. with Corinthian leather!

"Fine Corinthian Leather" from New Jersey.

qbrozen

For some unknown reason, I kind of like the looks of that.

qbrozen

Hmmm...allpar says T tops did not come till '77. So is the pic of a '77 or is allpar wrong?

andys120

qbrozen said:

Hmmm...allpar says T tops did not come till '77. So is the pic of a '77 or is allpar wrong?

Most likely Allpar is correct and the site I took it from mislabeled the pic.

andys120

qbrozen

Avanti!

That classic car dealer in South Jersey had one in his showroom in damned near mint condition that he was trying to talk me into. If it wasn't blinding yellow, I may have considered it. It was also a much later model than I believe that one is. I think his was an Avanti II.

berri

I remember copper colored appliances back in that Avanti's day too.

The Cordova was a very successful car, but for whatever reasons it's sales success didn't transfer to the Dodge versions.

texases

berri said:

I remember copper colored appliances back in that Avanti's day too.

The Cordova was a very successful car, but for whatever reasons it's sales success didn't transfer to the Dodge versions.

One reason I read was the Cordoba was only $160 more than the Charger, and folks chose the Chrysler name for such a little added expense.