Mystery car pix

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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,159
    edited March 2021
    fintail said:

    Big white sedan in AK maybe a 57-58 Mercury? Odd seeing one not two tone. I wonder if any car has a lower survival rate than 60 Ford wagons. Also has me thinking how much of the area in that pic survived the 1964 quake.

    I think that area was particularly hard-hit, the soil was pretty unstable. It includes the northern edge of downtown. It's the brown area on the northern part of this map.

  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,470
    Is that a Hudson next to the white-over-green '56 Chevy 2-door?

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    I remember I had some books on the quake when I was younger, it was very interesting to me. In that northern area, part of a subdivision effectively slid into the water, a tragic disaster.

    Lots of good period images with cars, as it was in a populated area. I think I have posted a few before. Also odd scenes like this:

    image
    texases said:



    I think that area was particularly hard-hit, the soil was pretty unstable. It includes the northern edge of downtown. It's the brown area on the northern part of this map.

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    Seattle, 1986 (should zoom well). Little did anyone know the traffic would only get worse from here - this was the beginning of the California invasion:

    image
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 266,235
    fintail said:

    Seattle, 1986 (should zoom well). Little did anyone know the traffic would only get worse from here - this was the beginning of the California invasion:

    image

    Red Ranger with a bed cap in the foreground, with a Maverick in front of it.

    NUMMI Nova or Corolla in the next lane over.

    White 70's Corolla to the left of that.

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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,815
    Blue OmniRizon to the right of the Maverick.

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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,159
    If only I could get a car with the visibility/windows of that Corolla.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    Corolla was apparently brand new at the time, has the paper temp tag in the window, and a CHMSL, for 86.

    Looks like a 78-80 Regal in front of the Corolla.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,728
    fintail said:

    Big white sedan in AK maybe a 57-58 Mercury? Odd seeing one not two tone. I wonder if any car has a lower survival rate than 60 Ford wagons. Also has me thinking how much of the area in that pic survived the The1964 quake.

    The white car nearer the camera in the middle of the photo says Imperial to me. But the side trim doesn't seem to match.
    I don't think it works for a 59 Mercury either, though.

    The distant white car looks like a Plymouth, 1957? with the big flag tailfins?


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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    edited March 2021
    This thing:



    Side trim and window shape makes me think 57-58 Mercury, but I've never seen a single tone car.
    imidazol97 said:


    The white car nearer the camera in the middle of the photo says Imperial to me. But the side trim doesn't seem to match.
    I don't think it works for a 59 Mercury either, though.

    The distant white car looks like a Plymouth, 1957? with the big flag tailfins?


  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,728
    Does this look better? It looks like a vertical rear window?


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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,159
    Yep, with snow on the trunk, so I agree, Mercury.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,792
    ab348 said:

    We need to get @xwesx in here to give us info on what parts of town we are looking at here.

    Summoned, am I?!

    Pic is the Port of Anchorage in the background, with the Anchorage Railroad Depot in the mid-scene. The photo was likely taken from the bluff that runs along third avenue in the downtown area.
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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,792
    texases said:

    And in the background is the port of Anchorage (now called the Port of Alaska), handles most of the shipping going into the state. But very few cruise ships, they dock at the more scenic ports, and don't want to deal with the high currents and huge tides of the Cook Inlet.

    Yeah, Anchorage is not a good port for the cruise ships. They will pull into Seward or Whittier and bus or train passengers to Anchorage as opposed to docking directly.

    Honestly, I don't think Anchorage is a good port for ANY ships, but Alaska is rugged country, and it made a lot more sense to brave Cook Inlet in the early 1900s than trying to transport goods over land at available ports further south in those days.

    The terrain between Anchorage and Fairbanks is far more hospitable to trains than that found both south of Anchorage and via the "Richardson Trail" between Fairbanks and Valdez (the "original" port on Alaska's gulf coast). Funny enough, in 1915, when Anchorage was established, Fairbanks was a thriving boom town and most other development on the mainland was there to support it in one way or another.
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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,792
    fintail said:

    Big white sedan in AK maybe a 57-58 Mercury? Odd seeing one not two tone. I wonder if any car has a lower survival rate than 60 Ford wagons. Also has me thinking how much of the area in that pic survived the 1964 quake.

    That area of town (below the bluff) was surprisingly stable during/after the quake. On the bluff (4th avenue has famous pics), and around the other end of the bluff near the airport, though... not good places to be. :(
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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,792
    fintail said:

    I remember I had some books on the quake when I was younger, it was very interesting to me. In that northern area, part of a subdivision effectively slid into the water, a tragic disaster.

    Lots of good period images with cars, as it was in a populated area. I think I have posted a few before. Also odd scenes like this:

    See that big red area to the northeast of the airport in the map? That's the area you're talking about, and I think the area where that photo was taken. Lots of folks died there, with many houses simply swallowed up when large areas of the bluff collapsed. It is a green area with trails called "Earthquake Park" (not sure if that's official or unofficial) these days.
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    It just might have that yeah, that pic has more contrast. I'm sticking with 57-58 Mercury.
    imidazol97 said:

    Does this look better? It looks like a vertical rear window?

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    Yep that sounds like it. I remember reading about that, a new/nicer neighborhood on a bluff largely wiped out when the bluff collapsed.

    A scene with car content, must be on the edge of that neighborhood, watch out:

    image
    xwesx said:



    See that big red area to the northeast of the airport in the map? That's the area you're talking about, and I think the area where that photo was taken. Lots of folks died there, with many houses simply swallowed up when large areas of the bluff collapsed. It is a green area with trails called "Earthquake Park" (not sure if that's official or unofficial) these days.

  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,237
    That picture puts things into perspective doesn't it? A while back I saw a YouTube video of the moments before a ship moored in the port got washed away - together with a group of people including kids on the shoreline
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,237
    edited March 2021
    Looking at that white car it looks almost two-tone - perhaps yellow and white and allowing for the over-exposure of snowy scenes generally it could just be a washed out view of it.

    And thanks for the further Plymouth pictures too
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,470
    Last Anchorage pic from 1960, this is 5th Avenue pre-earthquake. Expands well.


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  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,728
    texases said:

    Yep, with snow on the trunk, so I agree, Mercury.

    I kept trying to see a 1959 Mercury side panel with the higher trunk image due to the snow.
    But after increasing the contrast, I can see the narrow groove that was the 57-58 side panel.
    Most 57-58 Mercurys had a contrasting color in the groove. This car must be gold and white.
    Not much contrast and it washed out in the snow scene.

    @fintail was right. He must have a better computer screen than I do. :)

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  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,815
    Man, I hate snow!

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  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,675
    ab348 said:

    Last Anchorage pic from 1960, this is 5th Avenue pre-earthquake. Expands well.


    A 1960 Ford on left! Cars on right are hard to tell because partially blocked. Unit man is standing next to suggests a '59 Pontiac to me. :o

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  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,237
    edited March 2021

    The approaching 55 Chevrolet 210(?) wagon appears to be two door I think and if so that would be a Handyman.
    Beyond that there is a red with black flash 56 Rambler wagon

    Behind the Rambler - I am tempted to suggest the white car is a British Ford Consul Mk II which would be 55 onwards
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,470
    The Anchorage pics were part of a series of about 200 pics taken in 1960 that were found decades later at a thrift shop. Most of them are of the native people the photographer found there during his/her travels. The story:

    https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mystery-alaska-photos/index.html

    Subsequent to that piece appearing, many of them were identified:

    https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/rediscovered-alaska-photos/index.html

    The full set of pics is here: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMzwz-_JpJknfnP42QlFSNlMDATgf5yRsRlbcp9ymaULuRc1ZfoXOhhV90uZ8JYwQ?key=UXRCTjZMTVZ0c0RYX2VZT21vSzdOS3RrOFBKNVNR

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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 266,235
    stickguy said:

    Man, I hate snow!

    We may see as much as two feet of it over the weekend.

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    60 Ford is a Galaxie 4 door post - wide whites seem like a crazy choice for AK weather. 55 Chevy wagon looks like a Nomad in a pretty color combo. Car nearest the camera at right maybe a 50-51 Dodge.

    One block over, 4 years later (should zoom OK):

    image
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,237
    edited March 2021
    I wondered about the Nomad but thought it was more likely to be a utilitarian version..

    I'm not sure about the Mini as an appropriate choice after an earthquake but I suppose it would be ok in snow anyway - providing it wasn't too deep - they were light and were great on icy roads - although Alaska must be pretty extreme most winters.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    55 Chevy seems to have the B-pillar of a Nomad. Unusual car even then, but also just a used car then I am sure.

    1964 AK is the last place I'd have thought to see a Mini, but maybe not - people who moved north were maybe more open to new things and practical vehicles - light and FWD would have been useful, and I don't think they really salted heavily there, rather plowing and sand.
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,237
    edited March 2021
    The Mini(admittedly as a Cooper) won every year in the Monte Carlo Rally so it would have been fun on passable roads...
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,159
    As mentioned earlier, there has always been a big government and military population in Anchorage, so the Mini might have been brought in by one of those folks.
  • sdasda Member Posts: 7,675
    I knew the Anchorage earthquake of 1964 was devastating but didn't realize it was 9.2 on the r/scale. That will rock your world!

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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,792
    stickguy said:

    Man, I hate snow!




    We don't get much of that around here. ;)
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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,470
    Just a mere dusting... :D

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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,159
    edited March 2021
    sda said:

    I knew the Anchorage earthquake of 1964 was devastating but didn't realize it was 9.2 on the r/scale. That will rock your world!

    Yep, largest ever in the US. 13 of the next 14 largest were also in Alaska, but out in the boonies:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_the_United_States#:~:text=List%20of%20earthquakes%20in%20the%20United%20States%20,1788%20Alaska%20earthquake%20%2024%20more%20rows%20
  • magnettemagnette Member Posts: 4,237
    it snowed in London a couple of weeks ago but with the lockdown and nowhere to go it literally didn't affect us really - only had about 1 cm on the garden overnight and similar on the roof of parked cars, but it turned to rain by the afternoon so it was washed away apart from a couple of frosty mornings - no lower than minus 2C here even out in the fringes of suburbia
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,470
    10C here today and supposed to be even better tomorrow but the forecast is that it is supposed to be -13C Tuesday morning, so a likely 25C swing in just a few days. Welcome to Nova Scotia in March.

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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 266,235
    Got an email from our community today about the upcoming storm, and it contained information I’ve not seen in the 27 years I’ve lived in Colorado.

    There is a cold front coming down from Canada, and a warm front moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. Where they meet will determine how much snow we will see.

    This email suggested that if these fronts meet between street A and street B in the metro area (these being major north-south thoroughfares), then the east side of town will see 18-24 inches of snow. If they meet to the east of those streets, then we can expect 24-36 inches of snow. The snow is supposed to start falling tomorrow night and last until Sunday.

    The last time we had a storm of this size was 2003, so a lot of newer residents are in for a wild ride.

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  • Lostwrench3Lostwrench3 Member Posts: 834
    Michaell said:

    Got an email from our community today about the upcoming storm, and it contained information I’ve not seen in the 27 years I’ve lived in Colorado.

    There is a cold front coming down from Canada, and a warm front moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. Where they meet will determine how much snow we will see.

    This email suggested that if these fronts meet between street A and street B in the metro area (these being major north-south thoroughfares), then the east side of town will see 18-24 inches of snow. If they meet to the east of those streets, then we can expect 24-36 inches of snow. The snow is supposed to start falling tomorrow night and last until Sunday.

    The last time we had a storm of this size was 2003, so a lot of newer residents are in for a wild ride.

    My #1 decades long interest is not in cars but in weather.
    As of this writing, it looks like you are in for one heck of a ride.
  • sdasda Member Posts: 7,675
    edited March 2021
    We have had a very wet winter. No snow or ice. Not overly cold. Typically we will get snow of two inches or so once or twice in the winter and sometimes the dreaded ice storm. They only last a day or so, no real biggie. We will probably get walloped in April as the flowers and trees bloom.

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  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 266,235
    @Lostwrench3 - growing up in SoCal, we only had two seasons - wet and dry. Snow was what people put up their noses. And, the weather all came in from the ocean.

    Moving to Colorado was a revelation! Four seasons! And, the weather came in from all points of the compass. I’ve seen 30 degree changes in temperature in as many minutes.

    You see those lines on the map, that represent the warm and cold fronts? The visibility here is so great you can almost see those lines coming toward you.

    Supposed to start as rain tomorrow, then flip over to snow Friday night. The Governor is calling out the National Guard from noon Friday to noon Monday to help with rescue operations. And, he is recommending that everyone stay home from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.

    We have a class and four birthday parties at our cooking studio this weekend. Guess we will see if they happen, or not.

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  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,470
    edited March 2021
    Here's one from Miami, 1961, via Dave Gelinas on Flickr. Blows up very well.


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  • Lostwrench3Lostwrench3 Member Posts: 834
    '61 Cadillac.
    '54 Olds.
    '56 Plymouth Wagon.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,647
    Background left I see the rear of a 58 Mercury with a 61 Chevy 4 door post to its left.
  • tmarttmart Member Posts: 2,414
    60 Ford behind the hedge and concrete post, rectangle.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,675
    '60 Ford is right of a '60 Caddyack. Next to at a Mercury, I think a 1957.

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  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,159
    The Sea View is still there, the others gone. Many were damaged by hurricane Donna in Sept. 1960.
    https://www.google.com/maps/@25.8921288,-80.1240556,3a,60y,148.71h,93.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBYEhaoItoqPFkc7VMxELzg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,792
    texases said:

    The Sea View is still there, the others gone. Many were damaged by hurricane Donna in Sept. 1960.
    https://www.google.com/maps/@25.8921288,-80.1240556,3a,60y,148.71h,93.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBYEhaoItoqPFkc7VMxELzg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

    In an area like that, it amazes me that any hotel could last for so long. A storm is one thing, but development is the relentless tide...
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  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,675

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