Mystery car pix

magnette · July 2013

Fiat Dino

andys120 · July 2013

Yup that's a 1967 Fiat Dino Spider unfortunately with a lot of issues. Frankly I don't have any idea what a good one is worth but it's one of my favorite designs of the era. I hope it goes to a good home.

berri · July 2013

The wealthier Chicago suburbs did have more imports back then. Primarily MB, but more than a few Jaguar's as well. Chicago was a big GM market back in those days. Starting in the late 50's you'd sometimes see an Opel or Vauxhall, usually wagons initially. The Opel product line expanded and went on into the early 70's I believe, but Vauxhall didn't last near as long. For whatever reason, Pontiac didn't seem to have as many established dealerships compared to Buick in the area, so that may have been the reason. Of course, another factor playing in here was that Chicago was a "large" car market like most of the Midwest which probably inhibited import sales a bit.

berri · July 2013

It was the Golden Age of Euro imports, I remember it fondly.

I agree. It was an interesting era for imports. Lots of different and neat looking stuff back then. Many sold out of little hole in the wall dealers in my area at least, including some that sold a whole gamut of different brands. Sometimes an import brand dealer might even just by part of a gas station. In the late 50's/early 60's Willy's/Jeep dealerships also were like that and really Rambler was just finally getting modern dealerships to compete with D3. Japan dealers kind of started out like those Euro dealers too a decade later.

Mr_Shiftright · July 2013

50K to 80K for a nice Fiat Dino spider, 20K-30K for a nice coupe.

andysd · July 2013

I got only a quick glimpse of a small photo, and can't seem to get back to it. But one of the mystery cars is a Citroen DS19 or later, or an ID19. I lived in Holland from 1956 to 1967, and had a few interesting cars, one of which was the ID19, the less luxurious version of the DS. I loved the car. Although acceleration wasn't great, you could achieve very high point to point average speeds. I remember driving fast and silently in the dark from The Hague to the Nurburgring to see a race, an open mug of coffee sitting at my elbow on the wide door sill.

Prior to the time when the Dutch autoweg was directly connected to the German autobahn, and there were several miles of two lane road near the border, my wife and I drove door to door from The Hague to Kitzbuhel, Austria, to ski, at just over 100 km/hour average speed in our ID.

I also had a 1957 Porsche Speedster during that period, and for another winter vacation, we drove the same route in the Speedster at the same average speed.

I also bought a new 1962 Volvo 544 that we drove, with two little kids, in 1967 from The Hague to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, via Austria, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait. In 1979 I shipped that Volvo back to the States, and my daughter drove the car until around 1990 when it became hard to find parts for it.

andys120 · July 2013

tmart · July 2013

A 59 Ford Country Squire in Raven black.

andys120 · July 2013

A 59 Ford Country Squire in Raven black.

Yup, you can't get much more 50s than that.

berri · July 2013

The parents of one of the guy's I went to school with had that same wagon. Even had some of those travel stickers and window decals. Kind of an unusual color combo for the time I thought.

lemko · July 2013

Aren't those wheelcovers from a Dodge?

andys120 · July 2013

You're asking the wrong guy. I thought they looked odd, like something you'd see an a car with more flamboyant styling, the '59 Ford being one of that year's most conservative designs (not a bad thing IMO).

Now that you mention it those hubcaps would look at home on a '60 or '61 Dodge. :confuse:

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andys120 · July 2013

tmart · July 2013

Lincoln Towncar, my favorite body style.

texases · July 2013

Yeah, the '98 restyle ranks as one of my least favorite, all cars:

grahampeters · July 2013

G'day

Funny to see this as Lincolns are very rare here in Australia but I just pulled up behind an earl 80's Town Car at our nearest traffic lights. A bit big for Australia.

Cheers

Graham

andys120 · July 2013

Yup, that's a 90s style Lincoln Town Car, one like it gets "torched" in the TV ad for the new MK-S.

tjc78 · July 2013

Most likely that is a 90 Town Car, considering it had "turbine" wheels. Little known fact the 90 still had the good 'ol 5.0, the 4.6 didn't make it until 91.

The 90-97 was a very popular car. The 98-02 is generally unloved, smaller trunk and no hood ornament. My Grandfather had a "rare" 98 LTC Touring sedan. It basically had the Handling and Performance package from the Crown Vic and a steep rear axle. Fastest Panther I'd ever driven, and handled decent for what it was.

lemko · July 2013

I liked the 1995-1997 design with the slimmer headlamps, but the 1998 restyle is muy hideoso!

andys120 · July 2013

I'm no fan of any of the Panther cars which didn't offer all that much room in spite of their humongous footprint.

That said I'd prefer the '98 Town Car restyle over the earlier ones. I don't know why you guys prefer the older car but there's a reason it got "torched in that Lincoln ad.

Speaking of Lincoln ads, I can't image why they don't show a '61 Continental in their heritage ad. IMO that's the best looking Lincoln since the MK. II (which is in the ad).

fintail · July 2013

I too prefer the facelift 95-97 TC over the 98+ whale-like model.

Lincoln really has nothing in the current product line that comes close to the style of a 61 Continental (to be fair, few do), maybe they don't want to rub that in. Comparing current models to a Zephyr is enough of a stretch.

Mr_Shiftright · July 2013

How can a car be too big for Australia? You have a lot of room in the middle there. :P

tjc78 · July 2013

I liked the 1995-1997 design with the slimmer headlamps

Yes, they also had a better dashboard and more features showed up in 95.

I never thought the 98-02 was ugly, just much different.

IMO the 88-89 is the best looking TC ever.

tjc78 · July 2013

but there's a reason it got "torched in that Lincoln ad.

Honestly the 90-97 style is more recognizable as a Town Car than the 98-02 which is most likely why they used it. I bet a huge percentage of the population (even non car people) would be able to identify a 90-97 LTC.

I'm no fan of any of the Panther cars .

Blasphemy!!!

grahampeters · July 2013

G'day

You are correct about the space in the middle of Australia. We have just come back from a long trip to Alice Springs, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Oodnadatta Track. Lots of space, lots of dirt and very empty compared to the cities where most Australians live. If I can remember how to post photos, I will post details of some interesting vehicles.

Cheers

Graham

andys120 · July 2013

BIGGER, more cars

bubba_tx · July 2013

I'm trying to identify the make/model & year of this car to date it and try to identify the people. The Year of the car will help me rule In/Out certain people. The rounded front hood is unusual.">

Thanks for any help you can provide.

andys120 · July 2013

Franklin cars made in Syracuse NY used air-cooled engines and did not always need the stand-up radiator seen on most cars of the time.

The car in your picture resembles this 1918 Franklin Model 9B>

The shape of the fenders and top supports are the same. It's impossible to guess the exact year, they didn't have regular styling changes back then but it's likely late teens or early 20s.

bhill2 · July 2013

One interesting thing is that this is the used car (presumably trade-in) lot of a Pontiac dealer and there is not one Pontiac visible. The front line goes '59 Ford, '62 Chevy, '63 Ford, '61 Chevy, '62 Ford, '61-'63 Tbird, W Beetle, and one at the end that I cannot identify (maybe that's the Pontiac).

fintail · July 2013

Doh, you beat me to it. :P

It's definitely a Franklin, late teens. By 1921, the grille/front end had changed. Notice the car in the pic even has the same rear windows on the top.

imidazol97 · July 2013

Are the spokes on the wheel smaller on the 18 in the museum than on the car in the historical picture?

Is that likely due to restoration?

andys120 · July 2013

Are the spokes on the wheel smaller on the 18 in the museum than on the car in the historical picture?

Is that likely due to restoration?

The spokes on the car in the original photo do look a little thicker but I think that's because of the lighter color. It could be that the black spokes just look thinner, or it could be that the wheels came from a different supplier. Here's a Franklin 9B with much thicker spokes than either>

Here's one with metal wire spokers>

imidazol97 · July 2013

Also in my mind was that the difference in spoke technology might have indicated a different year or year span for the original vehicle.

andys120 · July 2013

Also in my mind was that the difference in spoke technology might have indicated a different year or year span for the original vehicle.

Could be, but it would take a real expert to know. As recently as the 1950s and 60s some makers of limited production cars would make little changes to wheels bumpers or trim within a production year.

Any Franklin experts out there?

texases · July 2013

Re: the wood spokes - not only could it be different suppliers, we could be looking at a replacement wheel on one or the other made to different specs. Hard driving on rough roads could require replacing wheels, I bet.

It is almost amazing how similar the tops are, I guess by the late teens they were standardized and installed by the factory. Earlier, many cars were delivered without a top or windshield, to be fitted with ones from one of the many suppliers.

explorerx4 · July 2013

The car in the old picture has 12 spoke wheels and car in the museum picture has 10 spoke wheels. I think that was the 'save 20 pounds per wheel' upgrade.

Mr_Shiftright · July 2013

Spoke and stamped wheels rendered artillery wheels obsolete by the late 1920s. Artillery wheels made of wood are incredibly dangerous.

lostwrench1 · July 2013

Hmm, I count 12 + 12.

explorerx4 · July 2013

You are right, I counted wrong.

andys120 · July 2013

Good job on those but you didn't mention the first gen
('60-'63) Falcon behind the '59 Ford or the VW Beetle behind that.

The last car on the right could be a '59 Pontiac...or not.

bhill2 · July 2013

Good job on those but you didn't mention the first gen
('60-'63) Falcon behind the '59 Ford or the VW Beetle behind that.

Yeah, I just took the first row. But since we're here anyway, the Falcon is a wagon.

andys120 · July 2013

fintail · July 2013

Lada Niva/Cossack, this one apparently UK spec (unless image is reversed).

These were sold in Canada for awhile, too. Still in production, I am pretty sure.

andys120 · July 2013

Yup, it's a UK market Spec 1987 Lada Niva. I wasn't sure if they were still making them, surprisingly they are. The Niva is a Brezhnev Era vehicle based on ancient Fiat 124 mechanicals.

magnette · July 2013

Talking of Lada on Friday as I came home from work I was a few cars behind a Fiat 124 / Lada - couldn't tell which as no badges visible - it was partly in primer - and the registration, which was age related was either the first year of Lada sales or the end of Fiat 124's. Anyway, its ages since I saw one and it was running pretty well.

We still see a Lada Niva from time to time - they have a following with enthusiasts - and there was a Samara in North London somewhere that I kept seeing until last winter - probably gone now but he might just have a different route to work or something.

andys120 · July 2013

Talking of Lada on Friday as I came home from work I was a few cars behind a Fiat 124 / Lada

You're referring to the Soviet built version known variously as the VAZ 2101 or the Lada 1200. The 124-based sedans and wagons comprise perhaps the most widely produced model of all-time (If you add the totals of Fiat, Lada/VAZ, Premier Autos [India] and Seat) not to mention versions produced in Turkey, Korea, Egypt and Bulgaria.

andys120 · July 2013

magnette · July 2013

Autobianchi A112 - not sure which version. It's registered in Paris. The white car approaching is a Fiat 128.

berri · July 2013

France, Italy; where's the tow truck - just kidding!

stickguy · July 2013

Mystery car pix

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