Mystery car pix

magnette

The building is Crewkerne railway station in Wiltshire built in 1860 for the then London & South Western Railway and I think it is still open now.

magnette

The only legible registration plate is the V reg on the nearest car and that gives us twelve months from August 1979.

andys120

stickguy

cunningham coupe. I forget the exact model name, but I saw one recently when I toured a private collection. Stunning restoration, and a fabulous car.

andys120

stickguy said:

cunningham coupe. I forget the exact model name, but I saw one recently when I toured a private collection. Stunning restoration, and a fabulous car.

Yes that was Briggs Cunningham's personal 1953 Cunningham C-3, power was by Chrysler Hemi and styling by Vignale, hence the resemblance to Ferraris and Maseratis of the era. About 2 dozen were built.

texases

That truck is a Willys Jeep FJ Fleetvan, that was the delivery truck for the US Mail in the early '60s. Once the were replaced most were crushed. Fantomworks just restored one. 

andys120

lostwrench1

'61 Corvette.

magnette

Back in Crewkerne the cars on each side of the Honda areMk 2 Ford Escorts as is the blue car facings on the extreme right - although that one has matt black bumpers so it is an Escort Popular which was a more basic version launched in 1976.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

'61 Corvette.

That's right. I think the best way to tell a '61 from a '62 is the side coves. They are almost always contrasting color on '61s but body-colored on the '62s and there's a moulding surround on the '61s but not on the '62s.

fintail

1962s should also not have wide whites.

Back at Crewkerne, I have to imagine the easiest car to live with by far would be the Accord.

andys120

lostwrench1

I'll grab the 1955 Plymouth. (Belvedere?)

fintail

I'll pick off the 57 Ford Del Rio/Ranch Wagon.

Newest cars I see are 1959.

andys120

fintail said:

I'll pick off the 57 Ford Del Rio/Ranch Wagon.

Newest cars I see are 1959.

Yeah, there's a fairly tight range of ages in this apparently random shot. Most of the cars are
1957-59 and I think the oldest may be the Ford parked on the left which could be anywhere from '52-'54. Even the VW is relatively new; IIRC the bigger/squarer rear window came in '59.

tmart

I'll take the 57 Ford Ranch Wagon and Mainline, and the 58 Ford. It may be a Fairline 500.

fintail

Close. Rectangle window Beetle replaced the oval for MY 1958.

andys120 said:

Yeah, there's a fairly tight range of ages in this apparently random shot. Most of the cars are
1957-59 and I think the oldest may be the Ford parked on the left which could be anywhere from '52-'54. Even the VW is relatively new; IIRC the bigger/squarer rear window came in '59.

berri

I think there is a 59 Pontiac parked on the street. I can't make out that light colored car parked in front of the truck and adjacent to the 58 Ford?

andys120

berri said:

I think there is a 59 Pontiac parked on the street. I can't make out that light colored car parked in front of the truck and adjacent to the 58 Ford?

Parked in front of the truck, to it's right are a white '58 Chevy (Biscayne?), the '58 Ford, a 1959 Chevy, a mid 50s Buick or Olds and another mid 50s GM product.

Now do you notice that there's something odd about that '59 Poncho at the curb?

magnette

Is that a small Hudson behind the telegraph poles on the left facing the restaurant?

andys120

magnette said:

Is that a small Hudson behind the telegraph poles on the left facing the restaurant?

Now that you mention it that could be a '54/'55 Hudson Jet. I first thought it was a '53-'54
Ford but it does appear to be smaller than the MoPar it's next to.

lostwrench1

As to the '59 Pontiac's oddness, the left front wheel and tire seem to be much too thin for that wheel well.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

As to the '59 Pontiac's oddness, the left front wheel and tire seem to be much too thin for that wheel well.

You're on the right track (pun intended). The photo was taken in Toronto and Canadian market Pontiacs were built on Chevrolet chassis (with Chevy motors) so they had a narrower spacing between wheels. The States got Wide Track Pontiacs while Canada got Skinny Track Ponchos, I've never understood why.

berri

Andys - Thanks I was hung up on that reverse slant c-pillar combined with what seemed to be a round taillight so I was stuck on a 62 Rambler. But I also knew that it was said there was nothing newer than a 59. I totally forgot about that reverse slant C-pillar on the one year 58 Chevy design.

tmart

The front left tire/wheel looks funky.

andys120

tmart said:

The front left tire/wheel looks funky.

Three reasons for that I think.

1.The wheel is inset so far from the body on account of the "Skinny Track" design.

2.Wheel is turned toward the camera.

3.Wheels and tires were really small and skinny back then. In metric terms that big honkin'
Poncho probaly wore the equivalent of about 145-80-13 (IIRC).

magnette

That was what I was trying to remember this morning - I thought of a small Hudson but forgot it was the Jet.... We never had those here and indeed I can't recall ever having seen one anywhere. ( We did get the full size Hudsons and before the war UK was a good market for the Hudson - including the Terraplane).

andys120

Hudson Jets are pretty rare, I've only ever seen one or two. I thought that there was a Nash version after AMC's takeover of Hudson but apparently American Motors shut down production of the Jet, probably figuring it was too close to the Nash Rambler.

Up-market versions of the Jet were called the Super Jet and the Jet Liner. There were no wagons and only one convertible was ever made.

1954 Hudson Jet Liner

lostwrench1

It's a good time to remember the Hudson Jet Italia.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

It's a good time to remember the Hudson Jet Italia.

Yes I forgot to mention that the 1955 Hudson Italia was built on the smaller chassis of the Jet. Carrozerria Touring built them but did not style them. , an American named Frank Spring did the design work.



The Italia was one of many Italian-American collaboratives of the 1950s and probably the ugliest design ever turned out by Touring. Sadly it was also the last gasp of Hudson Motors.

qbrozen

andys120 said:

It's a good time to remember the Hudson Jet Italia.

Yes I forgot to mention that the 1955 Hudson Italia was built on the smaller chassis of the Jet. Carrozerria Touring built them but did not style them. , an American named Frank Spring did the design work. The Italia was one of many Italian-American collaboratives of the 1950s and probably the ugliest design ever turned out by Touring. Sadly it was also the last gasp of Hudson Motors.

Kinda cool in that "strange and different" or kitschy way. 

magnette

I have seen a Hudson Italia - I think at Essen

magnette

The rear window of that Jet looks like the one on the contemporary Hillman Minx Californian.

- although that was a two door car of course.

magnette

This is an old street scene


I don't know where this is but it is presumably very early 50's

andys120

We Yanks aren't well versed on Brit cars before the mid-50s but I'll try a couple of 'em.
The white car on the left end of the row might be an Armstrong-Siddley Sapphire. the newer looking car next to it has a Rootes Group vibe--Hillman or Sunbeam most likely. On the other end of the row the black car might be a Morris Minor or perhaps a Vauxhall (Cavalier?). There's a similar car on the street. In mid first row fourth car from the left, a Ford Popular?

Did I get any of 'em?

fintail

The white car at the end of the first row sure looks like a Jag Mark V to me (but the C pillar seems off, could be the angle or resolution), and beside it, a Ford Zephyr. Second row, last car on the right, dark color, looks like a Sunbeam-Talbot 90.

Car parked in front of the buildings, in the middle, wheels turned, looks like a Rover 60/75/90. In the background on the street, I see a Morris Minor Traveler.

Also a few Vauxhalls there, but I am too tired to study them and determine the model, along with a couple Ford Pops in the mix. Looks like this was the time when postwar cars finally started to take over.

berri

When I was growing up there was an engineer up the hill who only drove Hudson's. When his son graduated from engineering school he bought a used Hudson Jet. Actually kind of similar to the picture you showed. I've seen two tops since then at old car shows, but more than a few of the big Hudson's. Impressive cars for their time really.

berri

Don't know much about old European cars, but always kind of liked some of their trucks back then. Didn't really know much about them though, so it must have been from Dinky Toys souvenirs on school field trips.

magnette

Sorry folks - I posted my picture and then went off to work and have only now got back to a point where I can respond

Andy, you were nearly there with the Morris but it isn't the Minor, instead it was an Morris MO Oxford. There are actually at least three Oxfords in this shot.

Fin is right with the Jag MKV although it did look like the Armstrong Siddeley - more like the A-S Whitley than the Sapphire I think.

Also the adjacent car is a Ford Zodiac. You had the other, smaller Ford - the models were either Popular or Anglia but this is the EO6A version and was available just before WW2 and for about two years afterwards.

After that they went to the more familiar Anglia with the vertical double grille - there is one two rows back on the right and another facing the other way on the side street. In 1953 that shell became a Popular again and either of those could be a Pop - depends how late this shot is.

Fin, I think you are right with the Sunbeam Talbot and the Rover - at this early stage most likely a 75. Also the Morris Minor Traveller - which was a model only introduced at the end of 1953 or early 54 so possibly the newest car here.

Completing the front row, next to the Zodiac is a Standard - it could be a Flying 14 or a close relative- again a car made both pre and post war. And between the Ford and the Oxford it is a prewar Morris Eight - not even a late thirties one - I would guess about 1935/6.

Only other spottable cars are a Vauxhall(Above the Zodiac) which is either a Wyvern or Velox and a light coloured Austin - probably a Ten and another 1938-47 model - above the Morris Eight - not sure what the old car is ahead of it.

The van behind the Rover 75 is an Austin of the type Dinky made- based on the old Devon, and there is a Bedford CA van ( introduced 1952 )(Dinky toys again) beyond the Morris Traveller.

magnette

Here is another one with at least three cars from across the pond - but it is in London...


I think this is near the US Embassy - it was not in Grosvenor Square then - and the other cars include two where we can read the number plate. Both cars are from a series used for cars sold untaxed to foreign residents ready for export (DGP & DGJ were both used by London Council for this purpose) - popular with diplomats and US Servicemen based in UK.

andys120

No picture Mag, try again.

magnette

magnette

Andy - can you see that now?

kyfdx

magnette said:

Andy - can you see that now?

I can see that one

tjc78

What was it?

fintail

I see a 50 Mercury parked at far left, behind a Morris Minor. At far right, Morris Minor convertible, behind that a Ford Pop, behind that a Ford Consul (?), behind that a prewar car maybe a Riley, behind that a maybe 49 Dodge, another kind of swoopy prewar car behind that (Riley again, early Jag?), Yank behind that.

On the road at right looks like a Ford van, at left a prewar or early postwar car that seems familiar but I can't name it, I want to say Rover but I am skeptical.

fintail

Chrysler 300 or Charger/Magnum?

tjc78 said:

What was it?

andys120

tjc78 said:

What was it?

Well just going by statistical odds I'd guess a Mustang or Camaro.

texases

Was a Cars and Coffee nearby?

magnette

Fin, I agree with all those - I think the car behind the Dodge is a Jag of the immediate post war type (retrospectively called the Mk IV) but the approaching car isn't a Rover but instead a Humber.
I think the Riley is a 1938/9 Twelve but its a guess as they made a wide range of similar cars at that time.