CARS-YDSE.com – Page 11 – Cars You Don't See Everyday

1950 Cadillac 62 Sedan

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Cadillac was THE car after the war. In fact the only competitor was the Lincoln Continental. In 1950, Cadillac redesigned its 1949 by changing the front grill and simplifying other body details. It also powered the car with a, for the time, powerful V8 engine. The following came from a web posting I read:

Briggs Cunningham, entered a near-stock 1950 Cadillac in that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. Driven by Sam and Miles Collier, it finished 10th overall — a performance unmatched by any other production luxury car — tearing down the Mulsanne Straight at around 120 mph and averaging 81.5 mph for the entire event. Cunningham himself drove a streamlined Cadillac-powered special that the French called Le Monstre. He went even faster than the Colliers, but lost top gear and finished right behind them. Perhaps most impressive, a British-built Allard J2, powered by the same Cadillac V-8, finished third.

Follow this link for full details. More Information, click here
This car was in very good shape for a street car.

Early VW Beatle

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Madison avenue avenue had a great time with this car. There was a TV commercial in the late 50’s that played simulated “pitches” from the 1949 Auto Show. It highlighted the De Soto, Studebaker, Packard and Hudson and their promises to keep up with what the people want and with fashion. Then the announcer moves to the VW booth and the actor pitches how VW changes for improvements, not for style. In closing a voice over says, “Of all the promises made at the 1949 Auto Show, we at Volkswagen kept ours”.

Follow this link to see the video. VIDEO, click here

This 1956 or so (oval real windows were made from 1953-1956) looks a bit battered but it was still running when I snapped this shot. How would you look if you lived on the street for over 50 years?

Citroen 2CV Delivery Truck

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This Citroen delivery truck was a staple in the Union Square area of San Francisco. It delivered for a now out of business restaurant called Anjou. I wish I knew where the truck went and the restaurant too. Let’s call it a 1965. At least it was built after 1960 from the front grill.

1963 (or so) Morgan Plus 4

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I remember this car. My best friend Richard and I borrowed one of these from a friend of his back in 1965 or so. We had it for less than a week. While driving along on our first day, the oil light came on; funny we are low on oil. Well we filled it up with oil and soon, the oil light came on again. Oh, something was wrong.

We looked carefully and saw the leak somewhere near the front of the car. We filled the car with more oil and headed for this “foreign car” dealer. With their help, we determined it was coming from the front timing chain cover and the dealer was willing to lend us some tools and we disassembled the car in their back lot. We found the gash in the cover and walked to a shop nearby and had the gash welded shut. We then purchased the timing chain tension spring from the dealer and reassembled the car. It worked like a charm and I’m not sure we ever mentioned anything to Richard’s friend.

This was over 40 years ago but I think about that event every time I see one of these cars.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2009

VW Thing, 1974

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I think this is a 1974 Volkswagen Thing. It was also called the VW Safari in some countries. It’s a bare minimum car. It does not appear to have seat-belts, padded dashboard or any other safety features like air bags. It was basic transportation. I believe these were only sold for two years in the U.S. 1973 and 1974.

1961 Ford Falcon Ranchero

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This is a quite unusual car. Apparently, Ford introduced it when the Ford Falcon was released. According to this web page, it was a great success.

When Ford released its compact Ford Falcon line of cars in 1960, it immediately supplied an open-bed pickup body and called it the Ford Falcon Ranchero. At the same time, it began dropping this body style and name from its lineup of full-size cars.

Follow this link for full details. More Information, click here
© Fred Winograd copyright 2009

1955 Citroen traction avant 4 door sedan

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Quite some time ago I was walking south of Market Street in San Francisco when I spotted this car. I did some research and to the best of my knowledge this is a 1955 Citroen traction avant 4 door sedan. I think that means front wheel drive in French. The car is a classic and may be featured in a wedding or other event. It surely is a stately looking automobile.

59 Nash, Still Looks Good

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One day a few years ago, I went to our local supermarket on 18th Street. When I came out, this 59 Nash was sitting right there. I don’t know why, but I love the way these cars looked. My aunt had a convertible from about 1959 that looked a lot like this car. Talking to my cousin, he recalled it having a top that slid along the top of the car so it was just the middle part of the roof and the rear window frame that was canvas. Nice car.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2009

Morris Minor Convertible, 1957

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I almost purchased one of these (non-convertible) in 1960. I saw it advertised in the newspaper and I wanted to buy it, just to work on it. This car was an early British import that had very little market success when gas was about 30 cents a gallon. This car belongs to someone in our neighborhood. I see it parked quite often.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2009

’73 Chevey Malibu

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This is an updated 1973 Chevrolet Malibu muscle car with a 350 cubic inch V8. At least that’s what the emblems say. The rims and tires are certainly not stock, but the rest of the car looks very clean and quite standard.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2009

P.S. These pictures were taken with my brand new Canon S90 pocket camera. Great for taking pictures like these.