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Mystery car pix

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  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Yep, it's a late 40s IFA F8 a copy of the prewar DKW F8 made in the former AutoUnion/DKW plant at Zwickau in the Soviet Zone of Eastern Germany.

    Underneath that graceful hood is a two-stroker putting out all of 20 HP (half the output of my '65 VW which took about half an hour to go 0-60). It was also sold as the Zwickau P70 during the 1950s..

    Industieverband Fahrzeubau (IFA) was the combine that produced cars under the brand names, IFA, Sachsenring, Wartburg, EMW, and Trabant and others.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Reliant Robin?

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    It is British, but it's not a Reliant
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    Jaguar XK 140 ?
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    That IFA may have only had 20 hp but that's a Veyron compared with the Allard Clipper I put on yesterday...
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Jaguar XK 140 ?

    Nope, sorry.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    It is British, but it's not a Reliant

    Weren't those trikes originally intended to provide transport for crippled WWII Veterans? We Americans are mostly ignorant of the heavy price paid by Britain and other countries in the World Wars.

    The lighting in that photo makes it appear there's a tailfin only on the right. In any case the only other trikes I can think of were those made by AC and Bond. I'm sure there were others. :confuse:

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    MGA ?
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    There were cars which were primarily for disabled people, although the Ministry of Health made these available for everyone who needed them, not solely for war-wounded, although I suppose a fairly high proportion of those affaected would have been as a result of the hostilities generally.
    The main supplier post-war for disabled cars was AC, but there were others.

    This is not one of those, however. There was also a large market for three-wheeler cars generally ( ie Reliant or Bond) because you could drive these on a motorcycle licence, and there were also tax advantages - plus they were cheaper to buy and run. The demand for these cars did not really die off until small cars became available like the Mini, and also as a result of generally rising prosperity in the 60's.

    This car is not a Reliant or a Bond, and it is really a sort of rival to the continental bubble-cars like the Heinkel next to it.

    Also to take note of your other point, if more people in all countries took note of the many wounded veterans from the many wars perhaps we would have less of both.
  • lincman90lincman90 Member Posts: 1
    1958-1960 MGA 1600
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Saw a nifty looking MG shooting brake yesterday. I should have snapped a photo!

    It was absolutely mint. Surely the owner invested more in the restoration than the car would ever be worth.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 265,427
    Every restored MG has more invested than it is worth...

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  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    :D
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    1958-1960 MGA 1600

    Yes it happens to be a FHC but there's no way of knowing that from the photo. ;)

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    so let's have the exact model & year>
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • gussguss Member Posts: 1,167
    1970 AMC AMX ?
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Right in the money, Guss!

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,105
    Lotus Cortina Mk. I, about 1965? Talk about an 'all business' interior!
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Nope, not a Cortina, earlier than '65.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    I could've put that thing at '68 Pontiac standard-sized, but nothing further. Although yeah, the Bonneville tended to have fender skirts standard. The Bonneville and Executive were also longer than the Catalina, but when you're dealing with cars that long, an extra 3" of wheelbase and 7-8" of length isn't always that noticeable. Plus, on these cars, they stuck all the extra length in the back.

    The Executive actually replaced the Star Chief. It was basically the bigger, heavier Bonneville body with the weaker Catalina engine. It also had a cheaper interior than the Bonneville, but I dunno if it used the Catalina interior or not. Anyway, it was sort of the opposite of old cars like the Rocket 88 and Century and, more recently, Wildcat, where they'd put the stronger engine from the upscale model into the lighter body from the cheaper model.

    I think the Executive's last year was 1970, and it didn't really have a direct replacement. For '71, Pontiac's lineup went from Catalina/Executive/Bonneville to Catalina/Bonneville/Grand Ville.

    I forget when the 2+2's last year was. I want to say 1967 or 1968. These had a hot 428, offered with either a 4-bbl carb or Tri-power.
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    Sorry for the delay in coming back to you - late night at the office...

    The little three-wheeler is a Frisky Family Three - made 1960/64, made by a branch of the Meadows proprietary engine group. The Frisky was originally sold as a four wheeler but the tax advantages of three wheels prevailed in the UK, so the Family Three was launched.
    Michelotti styled the Frisky ( the prototype even had gull-wing doors ), and this model had a range of small motorcycle engines offered - from 197cc to 328cc...
    Here's the front view of a worthy alternative to the standard bubble-car..
    image
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    That's a Lotus Elite 1958-63.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Yes, the awesome Elite, Lotus' first road car, light years ahead of it's time.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,330
    cheese grator, so that makes it a testarossa? 90 something.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    More like late 80s methinks, the 90s models were 512 TRs IIRC.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,408
    With mirrors as seen on every dopey little lowrider pickup in the early 90s
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • dougb10dougb10 Member Posts: 185
    1958 DeSoto Sportdome....my memory ain't the best.....my Dad had a DeSoto Firedome

    Doug
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Actually, that's a 1956 DeSoto Sportsman.
  • dougb10dougb10 Member Posts: 185
    Michael.....you are most likely correct....Carnac's memory is fading as he approaches 70.

    Doug
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    Sportsman was actually just a suffix that DeSoto applied to their hardtop models. So technically, that car would be either a Firedome Sportsman or a Fireflite Sportsman. That was a common practice back then, actually. Dodge used the Lancer name this way for a couple years. I think Imperial used "Southampton". Chrysler played around with the names Newport, Nassau, and St. Regis.

    GM did a similar thing with names like Catalina, Riviera, Holiday, and Bel Air, although some of those would ultimately become series names in their own right.

    Hey Doug, what year DeSoto did your dad have? I have a '57 Firedome.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Actually, that's a 1956 DeSoto Sportsman.

    Lemko nails it!

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    1966 Plymouth Fury I.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Lemko is correct, incidentally that is a restored car.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,229
    Well, I'd say these two are Holdens, but not sure what model.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    They look sort of like badge-engineer jobs of a '68 vintage Chevy Nova. Holdens wouldn't have had that much in common with an American GM car though, would they?
  • hudsonthedoghudsonthedog Member Posts: 552
    Foreground: Ford Falcon XY GTs.
    Car on the road: Suzuki Swift

    I'm having trouble placing the pickup (possibly a Holden Rodeo) and the van (Japanese-based...probably a Mitsubishi or Nissan).
  • bumpybumpy Member Posts: 4,425
    Under the sheet metal, not really; but the styling was heavily borrowed from what the Americans were doing at the time. They're both 4-doors so they're not Monaros, but I don't remember if the Kingswood name was only applied to the upscale models by 1970.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    It's weird how they often mimicked the styling of US cars yet were different lengths and wheelbases.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    Foreground: Ford Falcon XY GTs.

    Hudson's the closest, those do look like Holdens (or Novas) but they are both
    1971 Ford Falcon GTHOs, Aussie Muscle cars of the era.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • dougb10dougb10 Member Posts: 185
    Hi Andre,

    It is slowly coming back to me now...at age 69, I can remember who my "girlfriend" was in grade 3, but not what I was supposed to buy at the grocery store this morning.

    In the mid-50's, my Dad had lots of cars.We lived near Toronto, Canada and he would buy a new car EVERY YEAR...drive it out to Vancouver BC and sell that car to a friend of his. Obviously, there did not seem to have too much depreciation back then. Anyway, here are the cars I can recall enjoying..

    1955 DeSoto FireDome (gray/blue)
    1956 DeSoto FireFlite (green and white)
    1957 DeSoto FireFlite (metallic brown)
    1958 DeSoto FireDome (black)
    !959 Chrysler (green)...can't recall the model
    1960 Olds Super '88 (brown)
    1961 Olds '98 (black)

    In the summer of 1957, I was 18 and drove with my Dad from Toronto to Vancouver in the '57 FireFlite. My God, that car was FAST. Stopping in Chicago, Dad had to fly down to Houston on business. He came back from a breakfast meeting, gave me the keys to the car and said, I will meet you in Omaha Nebraska in three days.
    What a ride! There was at least one state that had no daytime speed limit..only 60 at night.
    I had never seen this before and asked a state trooper about the sign. He said as long as you are not driving dangerously there was no speed limit during the day.
    He said "what are you driving?" I pointed to the DeSoto in the parking lot...he said "Have fun!" I did. It had a red "thermometer" type speedometer on the car....during a particularly good open stretch, I "buried" that sucker....somewhere over 120....the fastest to this day I have ever driven a car...probably pretty stupid because those old bias ply tires were not the greatest.
    That car was a brute to handle as it had no power steering or power brakes.
    My Dad passed away in 2003 at the age of 90....he always loved cars...guess I do too!

    Doug
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,105
    probably pretty stupid because those old bias ply tires were not the greatest.


    I've wondered about that - no speed ratings, but there were a good number of cars like your FireFlite that could easily top 100 - those tire, like the cars, must have been OK at speed if not at cornering!
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    your FireFlite that could easily top 100 - those tire, like the cars, must have been OK at speed if not at cornering!

    God help you if hadda stop quickly from 100+.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • dougb10dougb10 Member Posts: 185
    Yeah, I guess i wasn't the only one to do dumb things as a teenager. But I was lucky too....never hurt anybody, wrecked a car or went to jail.

    At age 20 I married a great lady....49 years later, 5 kids and 6 grandchildren we are still going strong.

    I have had my drivers licence for 53 years....two speeding tickets and not one demerit point.

    As I spent a lot of time in sales and marketing, I cranked up lots of miles each year too. I just love to drive.

    As a matter of fact, we are down in Hilton Head SC right now..escaping the winter blasts of Ontario. But the drive down through snow and ice storms last week through the mountains was certainly no picnic. But I felt pretty confident in the Subaru Outback...although we saw lots of other idiots doing donuts and flying off into the ditch.

    Doug
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,669
    .. although we saw lots of other idiots doing donuts and flying off into the ditch.

    Oh they have no clue how to drive in snow down there. I've seen 3 inches of snow paralyze Washington DC. Be glad you're in Hilton Head, I know a guy in Ottawa who tells me they've broken the all-time record for Snowfall.

    Same thing's going on back home in New Hamster, but we're "wintering" in AZ. There's so many midwesterners and Canadians around here you wonder who's minding the store up there.

    I was in sales and marketing too, used to crank out 40 or 50K miles every year at
    one time but I wasn't as lucky as you. I still get the ocassional ticket.

    I wrecked a car or two but nobody ever got hurt.:blush:

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

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