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1963 Volvo 544 with B-18 Engine

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This car is in exceptional shape. I assume it has been restored but you never really know when you photograph it on the street. The year is a real guess. In fact, Volvo introduced the 544 with the B-18 engine in 1961 and ran with it until 1966. 1963 is in the middle of that timespan.

Oddly enough I found two 544s within the same month. They were both immaculate. The one I chose to display had all of the body tags in place ( 544, B-18, Sport) so it made sense to show this one.

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To me, this car has a resemblance to the 1946 Ford, at least from the back. This video builds on this premise.

You Tube Video

1946 Ford

There were several sites that I found interesting related to this particular Volvo. One listed it as one of the unsafest interiors while another championed the reliability of the B-18 engine. Also, this one site heralds the quasi cult following of these early Volvos.Have a look at this site for general information on the Volvo 544.

Click Here for more information.

1973 Saab 96 V4 From New Orleans

Click on the picture to Z O O M in. So, I was on my way to Safeway with my dog and I saw this gem pulling into the parking lot. I knew a little bit about this era and asked the driver about the car. “Is this the three cylinder version?”, I asked. “I don’t know, it’s my wife’s car”, he replied and opened the hood. We looked and saw it was a V4. He explained that his wife purchased the car new in Louisiana and had driven it here many years ago. The car is in really good shape, considering.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahs_tKEjacM&w=420&h=315]

The following was extracted from Wikipedia.
Click Here for more information.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Saab 93, Saab 95, Saab 96, and certain DKW automobiles were powered by inline-three-cylinder, two-stroke engines. Also, the Wartburg automobiles manufactured in Eastern Germany, and FSO Syrena manufactured in Poland, used this kind of engine. Between 1962 and 1964 Kjell Knutsson and Ingvar Andersson under Rolf Mellde tested three different engines, Lloyd Arabella 897 cc and 45 hp, a Morris Mini 848 cc, 33 hp engine and a Lancia Appia engine of 1089 cc and 48 hp. However Rolf Melldes view that Saab needed to switch to a four-stroke engine was stopped higher up by CEO Tryggve Holm. Mellde then went behind the back of Holm and made contact with Marc Wallenberg, son of Marcus Wallenberg, Saab’s major stockholder. The coup succeeded and testing could begin.

The testing was done in secrecy. Rolf Mellde took a leave of absence and said he was going to run his father’s paint shop. In reality he went to Desenzano in northern Italy with a 96V4 prototype for testing. With five months to go before production only seven persons knew about the new engine. To maintain secrecy they rented a house west of Kristinehamn. To keep purchases of V4 specific parts secret they started the companyMaskinverktyg AB. The ordinary purchase department at Saab was oblivious to what was going on, something that caused an incident when Rune Ahlberg cancelled the orders for cables for the two-stroke engine and the purchase department called the supplier and sharply told them to keep their deliveries.

The last week of July, just before the summer holidays, the information about the new engine was given to some more people and they were informed that full scale production would start in four weeks. To keep secrecy, 40 of the ordinary staff was told to report to work to fix a problem with the disc brakes. The secret was kept until a journalist some days before the official introduction noticed a lorry loaded with 96s that had V4 stickers on the front bumpers.[1] The first V4 engines produced 55 hp (48 kW) and 65 hp (48 kW) from 1967-1980. The car managed 0–100 km/h in 16 seconds. The two-stroke option continued into 1968. In the US, the two-stroke engine was called the ‘Shrike’ at that time. Its displacement was reduced slightly, to 819 cc to avoid emission regulations which exempted engines under 50 in³, while the V4s used in US cars had a 1700 cc low compression engine.

1965 Renault R8 1100

Click on the picture to Z O O M in. I have lived in California for over 16 years and I don’t think I have seen one of these Renaults since I left New Jersey. This one is in pretty bad shape, at least in some areas but it is intact.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGMJpklxD60?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360]

Click Here for more information from a car sales site

Click Here for more information from Wikipedia

1958 Triumph TR3A

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I’ve said this before but this time it’s absolutely true, “I actually drove one of these”. That’s not really such a big deal except it was for me.

I have a dear friend and we both lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. After college, I came back home and worked for a few years. That’s when Richard bought a TR3 and started the renovation process in his father’s garage. After the tear-down and before the reassembly, he wanted the engine and engine compartment steam cleaned. That’s when I got to drive it, sort of. We attached the car to his father’s car via a trailer hitch we rented and off we went. I was in the passenger compartment sitting on an old milk box and steering with a pair of Vise-grips clamped around the splines where the steering wheel usually was attached. It was in the heat of the summer and I remember driving in Paterson New Jersey in the 90+ degree heat as kids on the streets cheered as we drove by. We must have looked pretty odd to them but at least all they did was cheer.

I spotted this TR3A parked in a semi industrial area of San Francisco. This was a 3A and thus a “new and improved model” and it was in really great shape. I was kind of shocked to see it all buttonedup but with no signs of vandalism.

Watch the video below for some interesting facts about the car.

One other thing I remember, TR3s have a hole in the grille for a manual crank. Wow, that says a lot for the reliability of the Lucas Electric starting system.

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Here is a video I found that describes a Triumph TR3A.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJb2Ugm4hUg?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360]

1965 (or so) Vanden Plas Princess

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This is really a rare care and I’m sure you will not see one everyday (unless you or your neighbor own one). The car is really a variant of the MG 1100/1300 built from 1962 thru 1973 in Surrey England. About 3 million of these cars and its related cars were produced during this period. This particular car featured here I think was built by the Vanden Plas Coach Builders of Kingsbury London, England. Other variations were also built by Austin, also of England as well as a popular model called the Authi Morris in Spain.

Vanden Plas Princess 1300

In 1962 the Morris 1100 was announced, Fred Connolly the founder of the company that supplied leather to the motor industry commissioned Vanden Plas to make a special version. A prototype was exhibited at the 1963 London Show and aroused a lot of interest so it was put into full scale production by BMC management with deliveries starting in the winter. In 1968 the model received the 1300 cc engine and continued been made until May 1974.

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This car looks in fine shape. I have not seen one like this in many years. In fact, I’m posting these pictures less than 24 hours after they were taken. I have a card I leave on the windshield of the cars I photograph and I left one for the owner. On the card I have a link to this website and my email address. I hope to hear from the owner who can fill us in on the real facts about this specific car.

Click Here for more information from Wikipeadia

1960 Morris Minor 1000 Pickup

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Walking the dog is an activity I partake in a great deal of lately. Our dog is a young SPCA mixed breed and she has an active lifestyle, assuming I cooperate. But living in San Francisco I don’t have a problem walking a few miles most days and seeing the local sites. In September about a miles from the house I saw this Morris Minor pickup truck parked on the street. I don’t know about the color but every other appearance detail has been well restored. For example, notice the “M” on the original hubcaps.

As I was walking around the car snapping picture after picture, the owner came over and we talked about the truck. From memory it is a 1960 model that now has a Datsun running gear and motor. Apparently, that combination allows the truck to quite easily traverse the numerous and steep hills in town. Also, I think he said he has shown the truck at several car shows but he does drive it around town too.

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Click Here for more information from Wikipeadia

1960 Morgan – In Fine Shape

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It was a beautiful day in San Francisco. My wife, our dog and I were on a little urban hike about an hour before sundown. We were hiking a trail in the Persideo just south of the Golden Gate Bridge. The trail and nearby roads were packed with tourists on that bright Sunday afternoon. All of a sudden I saw this very red Morgan go down the road. Although I had my camera, I could not get a picture off and so I watched it go around the bend and, seemingly, out of sight.

But, to my surprise, the Morgan had pulled in and parked at the head of a long line of cars parked on the side of the road. I was thrilled and got out my camera. The only issue was the very busy road AND the fact that the Morgan was parked directly in front of a rather old and beat up Dodge camper that was nearly as old as the Morgan. For that reason, the only front-on shots I got all looked very poor as the camper loomed over the back of the Morgan. Please note, I have retouched most of it out of the picture and replaced it with blue sky.

Now back to the real subject, the 1960 Left-Hand drive Morgan. In the 60s, this car was exported from the United Kingdom to the U.S. In fact, about 80% of Morgans production went to the U.S. This car had a wooden frame, doors and fenders. It was light weight and had a Triumph 4 cylinder motor.

I also got comments from this cars owner. Here is what he added as background on the car.

Beautiful car! I own it! Thanks for posting. This is the Drophead Coupe, last year of that style production. The doors are without the Morgan ” elbow scoop” but rather straight in line. Suicide doors that open from the front, please note. The windshield is also flat – other Morgans have a curved frame – so it’s quite distinct. Called the “snob Mog” as this is the car you take to the opera… I feel like a celebrity when I drive it, as I’m always getting waves, high-fives, and folks asking about the car. It’s an honor to be posted.

Here is a video from another Morgan collector that I found interesting.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZHWwg6dQg?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360]

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The following text from Wikipedia explains the license plate on this particular car.

General characteristics

In spite of their traditional design, Morgans have always had sporting or “sports car” performance, due to their extremely low weight.

Among their enthusiasts, Morgans are affectionately known as “Moggies”.

Click Here for more information from Wikipeadia

~1979 Mini Clubman Estate

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This is a very small car. After looking at the “modern” Minis, its amazing to see one of the original cars, especially an Estate Wagon, it seems tiny. This Mini belongs to a San Francisco resident who purchased the car in the Guernsey Islands just off of the northwest coast of France. Somehow, the UK seems to own the island, but I digress. I spoke to the owner briefly but did not ask her the year of the car. I’m estimating it to be a 1979, based on what I can see from the Web.

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That’s my niece standing next to the car. She loved the car too. The picture on the right shows the rounded cornered rectangular grill. This was a major change for the Clubman variety of Mini. The interior is also supposed to be different but I did not photograph that part of the car (darn it).

To me, one of the things that places this car near 1980 is the Mini Cooper logo at the back. Maybe someone reading this can better determine the actual year of the car.

I found this bit of trivia on the net as well:

The station wagon, without wooden frames, called Traveler hours. For the deluxe version of the British Leyland decided to focus on a substantial restyling inside and outside. It was thus launched, again in 1969, the Mini Clubman. Compared to the classic version Clubman differed only in the frontal (elongated and squared) and indoors (with redesigned dashboard and seats).

Click Here for a site that has more information on this model

How About A 1968 Jaguar 420G?

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I just got out of the train in Millbrae just south of the San Francisco Airport and I caught this old Jag at the light. I did have my camera but by the time I got rerady to shoot it was almost too late. Then came the fun of finding out what model and year the car was.

I found information on Wikipedia that tagged this as a 420G. Apparently, the earlier model of this car was called the Mark X. The distinguishing features that make this a 420G are the chrome separator in the front grill and the addition of a chrome side modeling running the length of the car.

Apparently, this car was not very popular and was discontinued in 1970.

Wikipedia Information On The Car, Click Here

This was a luxury car that was also available with a glass panel between the front and back seat.

The Jag Lovers Website, Click Here

55 – Old Enough To Retire (1956 VW)

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I was on the way to the bank last week and saw this car at my local gas station. It was obviously recently restored and I go to talk to the owner. The owner seemed a bit distracted but it became apparent a bit later as to why.When I was a kid in high school VW was the cute little car that did not change its appearance year over year just for the sake of change. The big advertising pitch really concentrated on this as well as the price. I think the car sold for $1895 in 1961 and the major advertising was in print and on TV. I found this TV add on-line and it states that it is from the 1949 auto show. I think this was produced in the mid 1960s because I doubt the TV audience was big enough in 1949 to warrant this big a budget on this advertisement.View This Classic VideoThe next picture is of the rear window. This is one way to tell the approximate age of the VW Bug. From 1945-1953 the Bugs had a split oval rear window. This car has an oval rear window which was introduced in 1954. Sometime in the early 1960s, VW changed the rear window and enlarged it quite a bit.Click on pictures to Z O O M in.The next two shots are of the interior and of the car hitched up to a tow truck. The first shows how “Bare Bones” the interior of the car really was. The second shot with the tow truck would explain why the owner was not really in a mood to talk. Its kind of a bummer to talk about your recently restored car while it’s being towed away to the repair shop.Click on pictures to Z O O Min.