Mystery car pix

fintail · January 2018

That two door Savoy is exactly what I was thinking. Two tone must have been an option.

Funny thing about those 52-54 Fords, it is generally accepted that the GAZ M-21 Volga was reverse-engineered from one of those Fords, and has some uncanny similarities.

My grandpa had one of those Fords back in the day, he was a Ford guy before he moved on to Chrysler. Here it at Easter in roughly 1955, those tires need some cleaning, springtime in the PNW:

Mr_Shiftright · January 2018

Well the snow will melt in a few days and then we'll know.

If you look at the slant on the rear windshield, you'd have to give the edge to the Plymouth guess.

andys120 · January 2018

Not so fast! A low line '53 Ford has no chrome piece on the C-post, only a thin strip at the very base (as does your '55 Savoy) which is not visible on the car beyond the '59 in the original pic.

imidazol97 · January 2018

'54 Ford doesn't show a dark green in its low line, Mainliner,
color chart.

Plymouth has the dark green and the light green colors on this chart.

fintail · January 2018

I am still going with Mopar, too. The proportion of the rear quarter window on the Ford is quite different, shorter at top with more rounded corners.

andys120 · January 2018

I don't think you can make an argument for either Ford or Plymouth based on the angle of the rear glass cuz it's covered w snow! I also don't see a difference in the rear quarter windows.

Imadzol's information on colors is interesting but in each case it's focused on a single model yr ('54 Ford vs. '55 Plymouth). The Ford could be any MY from '52 to '54 and the Plymouth might be a '55 or '56. Makers shifted color choices from yr to yr to "freshen up" older designs.

This "Philadelphia Lawyer" sez the question is moot, we just don't have a good enough picture to call it either way.

imidazol97 · January 2018

andys120 said:
Not so fast! A low line '53 Ford has no chrome piece on the C-post, only a thin strip at the very base (as does your '55 Savoy) which is not visible on the car beyond the '59 in the original pic.

The drip rail on the 53 Ford ends prominently about the middle of the rear glass height. On the
Plymouth the drip rail flows down. The shape of the side window of the 53 Ford coupe is
different than the shape in the Georgetown picture. The Plymouth's rear window matches the shape.

berri · January 2018

Look at the backend of that 59 Ford and tell me how you can claim the 59 Chevy was overdone

For a few bucks more, the 55 Dodge was so much better looking to my eyes.

andys120 · January 2018

Imadazol said>
The drip rail on the 53 Ford ends prominently about the middle of the rear glass height. On the
Plymouth the drip rail flows down.

Okay that is a good case for it being a Plymouth so I guess we'll call it one and move along.

thebean · January 2018

andys120 said:

I'm curious about this one. Looks like a Torino and a Charger had a baby. Maybe an Aussie Ford from the early 70's?

stickguy · January 2018

steering wheel is on the wrong side. I was thinking it is a German Ford. But the body does say Aussie.

andys120 · January 2018

thebean said:

andys120 said:

I'm curious about this one. Looks like a Torino and a Charger had a baby. Maybe an Aussie Ford from the early 70's?

stickguy said:
steering wheel is on the wrong side. I was thinking it is a German Ford. But the body does say Aussie.

Take a bow Stickguy, that is indeed a German Ford, a 1972 Taunus XL 1300 Coupe.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2018

Resembles the early Mercury Capri. You can see the DNA.

texases · January 2018

I take it that 1300 refers to engine size? Lots of style, not a lot of go!

andys120 · January 2018

texases said:
I take it that 1300 refers to engine size? Lots of style, not a lot of go!

That could also apply to the Gen I Capris with the 4 cyl. (1.4L IIRC)

andys120 · January 2018

magnette · January 2018

Nice car. I would guess an early Ferrari - perhaps a 212 or even a 166. Its difficult with coachwork as they are all bespoke cars really but perhaps Touring ?

Of course it could be a Maserati or something else with the same style f coachwork too I suppose.

andys120 · January 2018

magnette said:
Nice car. I would guess an early Ferrari - perhaps a 212 or even a 166. Its difficult with coachwork as they are all bespoke cars really but perhaps Touring ?

Of course it could be a Maserati or something else with the same style f coachwork too I suppose.

You've nailed the coachbuilder, yes the body is by Touring Superleggera. I very cleverly posted a picture from the only angle that would disguise the make; from any other angle
the manufacturer would have been obvious. Anyone know the model name or year?

Mr_Shiftright · January 2018

That's an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500. Hard to say exact year, but late 40s, early 50s. You can still see a lot of pre-WW II Alfa styling, like big wheels and split windshield. This was the last Alfa built with a separate frame.

andys120 · January 2018

That's right Shifty, it's a 1949 Alfa 6C2500 with Turing coachwork.

Mr_Shiftright · January 2018

I couldn't tell you value without a chassis number. They made many variants of this car. These were big touring cars for the very wealthy, not really sports cars as we know Alfa today.

andys120 · January 2018

This was taken in LaJolla, a classic SoCal beach town. Note that there's only a single import visible, so that's some clue as to when this was taken. The newest car is readily visible, the oldest might be less than a decade old. Have at 'em!

tmart · January 2018

57 Ford wagon on left appears to maybe be the oldest. There's also a 55/56 Ford wagon on the right.

andys120 · January 2018

tmart said:
57 Ford wagon on left appears to maybe be the oldest. There's also a 55/56 Ford wagon on the right.

You have it backwards buddy, it seems to me that the '57 Ford is the newest car visible. it's parked next to a '56 Chevy which is a yr older, on the other side of it there's a green step down Hudson (1948-54).

Anybody want to name the oldest car? The sole import?

kyfdx · January 2018

Not like La Jolla now... nothing buy expensive imports..

fintail · January 2018

Hillman Minx parked diagonally at left, beside a Hudson coupe that is one of the older cars.

There's a black car parked across the street from it, between what looks like a Mopar wagon and what looks like a 55 Buick 2 door HT, that appears to be a senior GM car from 46-47, a Buick or maybe a Caddy.

andys120 · January 2018

fintail said:
Hillman Minx parked diagonally at left, beside a Hudson coupe that is one of the older cars.

There's a black car parked across the street from it, between what looks like a Mopar wagon and what looks like a 55 Buick 2 door HT, that appears to be a senior GM car from 46-47, a Buick or maybe a Caddy.

Yep, the Minx parked next to the Hudson is the only visible import. Those Hillmans were surprisingly popular in the mid-late 50s.

Had this ca.'57 pic been taken two/three yrs later we'd have seen lots of VW's and perhaps an MG or Jag. The import wave was just about to hit.

I think the black '46-48 GM slope back is a Caddy but it sure could be a Buick except I couldn't find any pix of a Buick w the 3-piece backlight. It's probably the oldest car visible
except possibly the blue (Buick?) convert driving toward the camera.

tmart · January 2018

andys120 said:

tmart said:
57 Ford wagon on left appears to maybe be the oldest. There's also a 55/56 Ford wagon on the right.
You have it backwards buddy, it seems to me that the '57 Ford is the newest car visible. it's parked next to a '56 Chevy which is a yr older, on the other side of it there's a green step down Hudson (1948-54).

Anybody want to name the oldest car? The sole import?

Thanks for the correction! Guess I started the bourbon too early....but it's always five o'clock somewhere!

stickguy · January 2018

is the red wagon on the road heading away from the camera an IH?

imidazol97 · January 2018

stickguy said:
is the red wagon on the road heading away from the camera an IH?

Looks like a '55 Chevrolet wagon to me. The picture is not really clear on my computers. Are others seeing the same lack of definition?

fintail · January 2018

Yeah it's kind of a low res pic, probably taken from an old postcard.

andys120 · January 2018

stickguy said:
is the red wagon on the road heading away from the camera an IH?

My pic isn't very clear either but I think it's too small for an I-H Travelall. l think it's a Chevy wagon too, '55 or '56 MY.

kyfdx · January 2018

imidazol97 said:

stickguy said:
is the red wagon on the road heading away from the camera an IH?
Looks like a '55 Chevrolet wagon to me. The picture is not really clear on my computers. Are others seeing the same lack of definition?

Yeah, when I click on the picture, it definitely gets fuzzy.

andys120 · January 2018

Yup, it's about as low-res as they come but there's enough interesting cars that I decided to post it. Whenever I see 1950s cars I'm struck by the vividness and variety of their colors. On the same stretch of road today you would see a lot of grays, silver, white, black maybe a red or ruby to liven things up.

On the old pic check out the white over salmon '55/'56 Lincoln next to the white/red Chevy wagon on the road. On the left, near the American flag you'll see a white over purple car that I can barely make out and next to a red Pontiac convertible. There's lots of light blue/aqua colors in these cars that were very popular back then.

I suppose the prevalence of white roofs is a Sunbelt thing.

imidazol97 · January 2018

andys120 said:
Yup, it's about as low-res as they come but there's enough interesting cars that I decided to post it.

Thanks. I appreciate that it was posted. I love seeing the US cars from my good old days... After Fintail said it's likely a postcard, that explained it for me as to how the image doesn't copy well. I was concerned because I mostly use an old HP laptop from 2007 or so for my daily driver here on Edmunds. And its screen is way outdated in quality to the other 3 laptops in the household.

fintail · January 2018

Now that I look into it, I think you are right, I don't see that window type in a Buick either. The blue convertible does resemble a 48-49 Buick, too, like the "Rain Man" car.

This must have been an interesting time to be in California, with the car culture and rapidly evolving market. In another 5 years, you might have even encountered a Japanese car here and there.

andys120 said:

I think the black '46-48 GM slope back is a Caddy but it sure could be a Buick except I couldn't find any pix of a Buick w the 3-piece backlight. It's probably the oldest car visible
except possibly the blue (Buick?) convert driving toward the camera.

andys120 · January 2018

Here's a fairly tame shade for a 1950s car, it resembles some of the trendy blues that are becoming popular now>

lostwrench1 · January 2018

1954 Olds 88.
Andys, we made it out of the single digit temperatures today, how are you doing up there?

andys120 · January 2018

lostwrench1 said:
1954 Olds 88.
Andys, we made it out of the single digit temperatures today, how are you doing up there?

We're doing fine since we're "wintering" in AZ.

kyfdx · January 2018

andys120 said:

lostwrench1 said:
1954 Olds 88.
Andys, we made it out of the single digit temperatures today, how are you doing up there?
We're doing fine since we're "wintering" in AZ.

I feel for you..

Balmy high of 19 F, today... but, breaking the freezing mark, tomorrow, and '50s in our future..

Michaell · January 2018

I know our turn will come...

...but, was pushing 60 today in Denver

omarman · January 2018

Michaell said:
I know our turn will come...

...but, was pushing 60 today in Denver

At first glance I thought that post implied pushing 60 ----> inches of snow.
Erie got buried under 5 feet of snow last month.

andys120 · January 2018

lostwrench1 said:
1954 Olds 88.
Andys, we made it out of the single digit temperatures today, how are you doing up there?

Yup, '54 Olds 88 it is. If it was a Super 88 the numerals would be behind the moulding

Michaell · January 2018

omarman said:

Michaell said:
I know our turn will come...

...but, was pushing 60 today in Denver
At first glance I thought that post implied pushing 60 ----> inches of snow.
Erie got buried under 5 feet of snow last month.

Sorry, 60 degrees.

Only rain predicted for 1 day out of the next 10.

Had to water the trees today, it's been so dry.

stickguy · January 2018

I am so over winter I am about ready to just pack the car and head south.

Michaell · January 2018

stickguy said:
I am so over winter I am about ready to just pack the car and head south.

My wife was looking at real estate in Sedona last week when the high temps didn't get out of the teens....

stickguy · January 2018

I was looking down in NC near where my daughter is in school. Depressing the amount of house for much less money with low taxes, in a really nice area. And never this cold. Sadly, the wife is more interested in heading north into snow country.

I think we will just compromise on Delaware. Technically, it is south of here!

andys120 · January 2018

magnette · January 2018

We've been in single figures for much of the time since before Christmas here in London - but we are Centigrade not Fahrenheit... Did get a bit of snow about a week before Christmas but not enough to stick really in the suburbs although it was enough to disrupt the airports at the busiest time of the year...

We only see snow that settles every few years really - it is generally much warmer most winters these days.

tmart · January 2018

andys120 said:

63 Mercury Marauder. Good looking car, IMO.

Mystery car pix

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles

Your Privacy