Mystery car pix

stickguy

not pretty. Ahead of it's time?

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

stickguy said:

in the big picture, is that a white Triumph TR-2 at the light?

Good spotting. I also thought it was either a TR2 or a TR3 "small mouth". ('55-57) The TR2 grill was quite recessed, more so than the TR3 Small mouth. We may never know, as both had their grilles between the signal lights and not extending below the headlights.

It's hard to tell because early TR-3s had "small mouth grilles, this is a '57>



TR-2 grilles were more recessed with no mesh that was flush with the rest of the front, like this one



If I enlarge the Laguna Beach photo enough I can make out a mesh that is more or less flush w the nose as in the early ('55-'57) TR-3s. TR-2 Production began in 1952 and ended in 1955.

andys120

Anyone spot the newest car in the Laguna Beach pic?

tmart

I'd guess the 60 Ford wagon.

stickguy

what year is the brown chevy wagon behind the Triumph? Isn't that at least a 60? Or is it a 59?

I assumed the Ford too based on the date of the picture, but that wagon looks pretty ratty for being that new, especially in a nice weather area like that.

tmart

Or the 58-60 Tbird in the bottom right. It could be a 60, but really can't tell without seeing more of the side. Since in doubt, I'll say it's a 60!

andys120

tmart said:

I'd guess the 60 Ford wagon.

Yep there's two 1960 station wagons, the brown Chevy and the white Ford. I'm guessing the Ford is beat up because it's in commercial use which was not uncommon in the age of big wagons.

tmart said:

Or the 58-60 Tbird in the bottom right. It could be a 60, but really can't tell without seeing more of the side. Since in doubt, I'll say it's a 60!

The T-Bird is not the 58-60 version which was known as the Square-Bird and looked like this>



For 1961, the Bird was completely restyled with a less square style. You can see that the fins have been shrunk and the top has more rounded shape which seems closer to the '61 Bird in the photo belowand makes that the newest car in the picture>



I think of this style as the "Banana-Bird".

fintail

I remember my dad's 60 had good rockers, but the front floors were shot. I think Fords of that era a rep for all that.

berri said:

A 60 Ford alright, I see the rocker panel rust Maybe a blue over white 56 Mercury on the wagon's right side?

berri

The Chevy wagon is a 60 Stick

andys120

berri said:

The Chevy wagon is a 60 Stick

You can tell it's a stick? How?

andys120

stickguy

Well Shelby GT350 is easy. 1968?

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

Don't shoot the messenger, please!

I kind of like it in a way. 

tmart

andys120 said:

That is one beautiful car! Highland Green is just perfect for the Stang.

berri

No, just a nickname for Stickguy

andys120

stickguy said:

Well Shelby GT350 is easy. 1968?

Yeah, that's a 1968 Shelby GT-350. '67s were similar but didn't have the chrome grille surrounds and of course the side marker lights.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Don't shoot the messenger, please!

I kind of like it in a way. 

I especially like that someone else owns it.

andys120

Michaell

andys120 said:

Gen 1 VW Scirroco (sp?)

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

andys120 said:

Gen 1 VW Scirroco (sp?)

Scirocco---only one "R" It means either a hot North African wind blowing into the Mediterranean, or it can also mean a visit to your local VW specialist every few months. I like those cars, tho.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

Michaell said:

andys120 said:

Gen 1 VW Scirroco (sp?)

Scirocco---only one "R" It means either a hot North African wind blowing into the Mediterranean, or it can also mean a visit to your local VW specialist every few months. I like those cars, tho.

I knew about the wind thing.

I worked with a guy who owned a gen 2.

kyfdx

I loved those cars... not wild about the Miami Vice bumper treatment on that one, though.

texases

I had a '79 before I got my '83 GTI.  A REAL improvement over my '72 Duster with the 198 slant six!

kyfdx

texases said:

I had a '79 before I got my '83 GTI.  A REAL improvement over my '72 Duster with the 198 slant six!

I wanted one in '77, when I was in the market for a new car. $5250 MSRP and that's what they wanted for it.

Couldn't swing that on $2.30/hr.
Settled for a '77 Cobra II with a V-8. Paid around $4400.
In retrospect, I should have knocked over a liquor store for the extra $850.

andys120

Yup, it's a 1980 (Gen 1) VW Scirocco. That's a white/white special edition similar to one I considered buying. The white OEM wheels were swapped for aftermarket gold/silver ones and the cloth sunroof is not OEM either.

andys120

tmart

Hudson Hornet? Very nice color!

andys120

tmart said:

Hudson Hornet? Very nice color!

Yep a '51 Hudson Hornet with the new 4-speed Hydra-matic.

lostwrench1

It's a '52.
Who can see why?

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

It's a '52.
Who can see why?

Goldenrod Garage's ad describes it as a 1951 Hudson. They sell lots of old cars and I'm inclined to believe them. Link

Make your case Lostwrench.

berri

When did Hudson go to the one piece windshield; 53 or 54?

andys120

IIRC big Hudsons went to 1-piece windshields in '54, a year after everyone else. This is odd considering that they were one of the first to come out w curved glass (with the introduction of the Step-downs in 1948).

The compact Hudson Jet was intro'ed w one-piece glass in '53>

tmart

They sure resemble the 52-54 Fords to me!

lostwrench1

Ok, I submit into evidence the small "spaceship" at the front end of the side chrome strip.
On the '51 it is located behind the front wheels' vertical axes.
On the '52 it is located in front of the front wheels' vertical axes.

berri

When I was a kid, an engineer up the street had a Hudson Jet. It does resemble that era Ford a bit, but dimensionally it was different I think, so on the street it didn't seem to look as close to me at least. I always thought the 52-54 Ford was a pretty good looker for its time compared to Chevy and Plymouth. But I'm sure that will open a lot of arguments.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

Ok, I submit into evidence the small "spaceship" at the front end of the side chrome strip.
On the '51 it is located behind the front wheels' vertical axes.
On the '52 it is located in front of the front wheels' vertical axes.

From the pix I've been able to find on the net, it appears that you are right!

1951 Hornet>


1952 Hornet>

berri

I remember back in those days that most Hudson's I'd see around the western suburbs and in Chicago tended to be dark colors like black, dark blue or kind of maroon. Maybe an occasional crème like tone though. That two tone sort of robins egg blue and white kind of gives the car a different, maybe a bit smaller but more sporty look. Personally, I like it!

andys120

berri said:

I remember back in those days that most Hudson's I'd see around the western suburbs and in Chicago tended to be dark colors like black, dark blue or kind of maroon. Maybe an occasional crème like tone though. That two tone sort of robins egg blue and white kind of gives the car a different, maybe a bit smaller but more sporty look. Personally, I like it!

When you see restored 1950s cars now it seems they are almost all two-tone pastel colors but I'm old enough to remember that back in the day a lot were basic blacks, tans, cream and other conservative shades. In the NYC area every other Cadillac was black monotone and you almost never saw red, yellow or pink.

I love the looks of the Hudson Stepdowns in any color.

omarman

I also found a couple pics which help resolve the 51/52 mystery:

The fabulous 51 Hudson on top is an easy one to spot, but anybody remember the young guy who made the '52 Hudson famous long time ago?

Michaell

omarman said:

I also found a couple pics which help resolve the 51/52 mystery:

The fabulous 51 Hudson on top is an easy one to spot, but anybody remember the young guy who made the '52 Hudson famous long time ago?

Looks like David Cassidy of Partridge Family fame

omarman

Michaell said:

omarman said:

I also found a couple pics which help resolve the 51/52 mystery:

The fabulous 51 Hudson on top is an easy one to spot, but anybody remember the young guy who made the '52 Hudson famous long time ago?

Looks like David Cassidy of Partridge Family fame

Yep. "C'Mon Get Happy"

andys120

texases

1950-ish Willys Jeepster?

Mr_Shiftright

They were built 1948 to 1950. A marketing flop, more or less, but an interesting car today.

stickguy

Beat the Murano cross cab to market by a good 60 years!

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Beat the Murano cross cab to market by a good 60 years!

And, still.. more attractive

stickguy

That being an extremely low bar

andys120

Yup, the Jeepster is a'49.

Michaell

My wife's stepfather had one of those, in the same color; you think it could be the same car?

Mr_Shiftright

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

Beat the Murano cross cab to market by a good 60 years!

And, still.. more attractive

That's not a high bar.