What is it? (identifying obscure cars)

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE2Boys Rambler American ! Late 50s or early 60s

1962!

[2017ish]

Interesting thread--thanks! (I won't play because google image search violates the spirit of the game!)

[scrinch]

Fired's #1: Citroen LN (Wasted an hour in Wikipedia before I found it!)

[Theseus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE2Boys Rambler American ! Late 50s or early 60s

That was our family car when I was a wee lad back in the 60's. In kind of a parchment white, as I remember.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nunthewiser Is the Citroen a Xantia? BX? Can't tell from the profile.

Oh so close! The BX was released a few years before car #2, the Xantia a few years after. But car #2 was a more upscale model.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrinch Fired's #1: Citroen LN (Wasted an hour in Wikipedia before I found it!)

Ding ding ding! We have a winner! My mom's LN was red with black and white checkered interior. Pretty ugly thing. It had a 2-cylinder engine, like its venerable predecessor, the 2CV.

[Nunthewiser]

^^ 60-63 American,but not a 61 I don't believe. I cut my teeth doing rust repair on my aunt Martha's 61, and I think it had a different grille.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theseus That was our family car when I was a wee lad back in the 60's. In kind of a parchment white, as I remember.

Mom's first car! She didn't drive till she was 40 yo.

[Nunthewiser]

Speaking of first cars, this was mine. It had a 4 speed automatic way back in '69 that shared 8 quarts of oil with the engine. I learned the hard way to always make sure the filter was on securely on this car when I didn't and had to clean up a huge mess on parents driveway. This car was fitted with large square headrests that you needed to flip down in order to tilt up the seat (yes, the entire seat) so as to let someone into or out of the back seat. Such a joy were those pesky US safety regs in those days.

[2017ish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nunthewiser Speaking of first cars, this was mine. It had a 4 speed automatic way back in '69 that shared 8 quarts of oil with the engine. I learned the hard way to always make sure the filter was on securely on this car when I didn't and had to clean up a huge mess on parents driveway. This car was fitted with large square headrests that you needed to flip down in order to tilt up the seat (yes, the entire seat) so as to let someone into or out of the back seat. Such a joy were those pesky US safety regs in those days.

Wow--I'd never even heard of that manufacturer. Was a big car guy back in the day, but US models only....

[Ian S]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nunthewiser Speaking of first cars, this was mine. It had a 4 speed automatic way back in '69 that shared 8 quarts of oil with the engine. I learned the hard way to always make sure the filter was on securely on this car when I didn't and had to clean up a huge mess on parents driveway. This car was fitted with large square headrests that you needed to flip down in order to tilt up the seat (yes, the entire seat) so as to let someone into or out of the back seat. Such a joy were those pesky US safety regs in those days.

Austin America in the US. Related to the original Mini with engine transmission sharing oil sump.

[Ian S]

IIRC, the Austin America also had the Hydrolastic suspension similar to the Austin/Morris Mini. It utilized a rubber spring and hydraulic connection between front and rear:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolastic . British Motors Corp. pioneered transverse engine FWD for small low end cars. The Mini had tiny 145sr10" tires while the America had larger 12" wheels. I had a 1969 Mini in college and loved it. My mother had an Austin America. Sadly they required a lot of maintenance and rusted out badly.

[twestern]

Morris Minor 1100. My father bought one of those when we first came to the US in 1967. Judging by the bumpers in the photo, this is about the same vintage - about 1965-1968?

[Nunthewiser]

Right, Austin America...the Minor was a totally different RWD car (you were probably thinking correctly , but it was the Morris Mini that was the sister car to the America).

I only had mine for 3 months and realized that I would soon break the transmission...and bought an MGB instead. Much more fun. Yes, the hydrolastic was busted on mine , the CVs were already bad at 24K miles. Would have been a money pit but I flipped it and made about $300 IIRC. And the new owner cursed me a few months later.

[MBAustin]

Great thread! My dad would have loved it - he could identify nearly every car he saw to the make/model/year from the 1950s until 2006 when he died.

We also had a Rambler, I think it was a 1960 as I think they got it the same year my little sister was born. I seem to recall it had a pushbutton transmission, but that sounds weird just typing it.

I did help install the seatbelts in it - after Consumer Reports urged people to install them he ordered them in the mail and had his uncle's garage install them. But they couldn't figure out how to do the rear seats so they put me in the back to hold them in place then raised the lift to finish the job. I think I was 5.

[Nunthewiser]

Quote:

he could identify nearly every car he saw to the make/model/year from the 1950s until 2006 when he died.

I could do this as a kid. Anything from about 1955 to 1970 I can get spot on. After that I got pretty good at imports for the next decade, but couldn't care less about American cars.

IRRC the Ambassodors had the pushbutton automatics, and Chryslers

[Rick_Head]

OK, I own one like the sedan, but it's a project. It should relatively easy.

A high school friend owned one like the roadster. It's the only one I've ever seen but it was factory produced, not a kit.

[Nunthewiser]

Daimler sp250 and hillman imp

[Rick_Head]

Imp is correct.

[Nunthewiser]

Not the Daimler, eh? Maybe a bit longer in the snout, but almost as ugly. I'm stumped- must be real obscure.