Simon1951 Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Hello, I'm a volunteer at a local museum and am trying to date a photograph in our archives. The car in the attached image appears in the background of the photo. Sorry the image is so small. Could anyone on this forum identify the car? I'm curious about the make and model, but the model year is what we need the most. Much appreciation for any help you might provide. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 I'm thinking 1935 Chrysler Airstream (not Airflow) sedan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Short hood - maybe a Plymouth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Could be... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 That side hood grille looks more like the Chrysler. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 That is why I first said 1935 Chrysler. So blurry to see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLynskey Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Whatever the make and model, 1935 is a good guess on the year. Don 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 Here I am going contrarian again... I'm not ruling out it being a '35 Ford, with Lyon discs over the spokes. The concave backslope of the rear fender, the angle of the spare tire, the very horizontal tail light stands, and the lower height of the door handles don't quite look like Mopars. If I really strain, could it be that I see that Ford's four thin stainless strips are there on the hood side trim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 You may be on to something there. I think what will decide it is the shape of the rearmost side window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 A lot of the rear windows are very similar. Here is the '35 Ford... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 The Plymouth window is just a bit longer than the Ford one. Now to decide which of the two the mystery car is. It also a pity that the lower edge of the front fender is obscured - another point of difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Here I am going contrarian again... I'm not ruling out it being a '35 Ford, with Lyon discs over the spokes. The concave backslope of the rear fender, the angle of the spare tire, the very horizontal tail light stands, and the lower height of the door handles don't quite look like Mopar's. If I really strain, could it be that I see that Ford's four thin stainless strips are there on the hood side trim? Another clue is the height of the lower hinge on the rear door. The Ford's looks lower than the maroon Plymouth's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon1951 Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 Hi, I'm the OP on this thread. I wanted to thank everybody who replied regarding the mystery car. Looks like the consensus is about 1935 for the year, the make yet to be confirmed due largely to the marginal quality of the image (sorry about that, but it's the best we could do). I hope everyone had fun with the mystery. I know I have. Again, many thanks for your replies! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Having another look at this I am leaning towards Ford. The Ford has more curve on the top edge of the rear window. A pity we can't clearly see the body rear three quarter mouldings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon1951 Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 Yes, I'm so sorry, the original photo was taken sometime betewwn 1930 and 1940. Can't go back to look at another angle. Makes a completely accurate identification a tad more difficult, if not impossible. But I appreciate everyone's efforts! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 I still think Mopar. On the ford the front fender has more swoop where it blends into the running board. The subject car sees to end more suddenly. The back of the wheel openings, front and back also seem to come to a more square point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 How about the wheels? I don't believe any '35 Mopar had solid disc wheels as pictured on the mystery car. Too bad the bumpers don't show clearly, that would be a dead give-away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I don't think you can tell what sort of wheels it has. It is too blurry. Why can't we sharpen it like the detective movies can on TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I cannot see the wheels clearly enough, either. At least not well enough to tell what kind they are or if they have holes around the perimeters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 But wait, there's more, (aren't you getting tired of hearing that in the tv ads?...) The bottom of front bumper of the Mopars is a bit above the bottom of the fender. The '35 Ford front bumper has about a half of its width below the fender's bottom. This is consistent in all of the pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 The blue '35 V8 posted by Keiser31 shows a short flashing on the side of the bonnet = hood and it is from a similar angle to the OP, which shows a longer flashing. I think it is more like the Chrysler Airstream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 9 hours ago, Spinneyhill said: The blue '35 V8 posted by Keiser31 shows a short flashing on the side of the bonnet = hood and it is from a similar angle to the OP, which shows a longer flashing. I think it is more like the Chrysler Airstream. Spinny, if by "flashing" you are referring to the hood's side ventilator, look at the picture of the coupe, it's not coming across as being as short in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Yes, but it is the wrong angle. From the rear quarter the side ventilator is at a greater angle away from the eye, as the front end narrows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now