nzcarnerd

This one is supposed to be a 1920 American. Compared to our mystery car it is very similar. It just has taller skinnier wheels. I suspect it might be earlier than 1920. Searching more I see this pic turned up on a page on HAMB and I commented on it. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/photos-taken-before-ww2-history-in-black-and-white.483757/page-297

The American is a good suggestion. Certainly closer than anything else, so far. The difference in lights is from the mystery car having pre-1920 style lights. Disc wheels didn't become popular until after 1920.

Just keeping this one at the top of the stack.

Interesting to compare the car above with this one, which is the model previous - Type 57.

Yes, and the clamp at the top of the bag. I have one of those somewhere.

More Lexington stuff. Looking at the fenders loaded into the touring car body I would go with circa 1917 for the mystery car, even though the louvres are wrong.

I think you are on to it. This picture show more detail of the valance. What is odd is the style of hood louvres and the construction of the fender edges. The mystery car's fender edges look to be an earlier style. I notice also, that the mystery car has less hub bolts than the car here.

Probably - now just have to remember where and when!

Maybe a late teens Paige?? There is something odd about the construction of the front fender/running-board though.

The local electricity supply company has a Walker electric truck on display at its headquarters. It is 1919, not 1907 as the photo caption says. https://www.star.kiwi/2017/05/christchurchs-1920s-electric-car-record/

With that deep attachment bracket this looks like it might go on a car with no running boards. Like Kissel or Paige maybe??

Regarding your reference to 'ventilation cuts,' the word you were looking for is 'louvres' or in American it is 'louvers.' The difference in the coarse and fine louvres is the difference between 1918 and 1919. They were both type 57 but the 1919 cars received some visual changes. The hood louvres is the most obvious but less obvious is a change to the shape of the doors. According to The Standard Catalog, the earlier 1918 cars with the coarse louvres should have the more rounded edged doors and the later 1919 cars have the squarer edges. The two cars above are the other way around. I will have to do some research and see which is correct. I notice also that the 'military' car above has the valance access panel on both side - easily seen in the many pictures of this car on the net. Looking again at the original photo, I think the car is left hand drive and the woman is at the wheel. Stating again that the mystery car is a 1919 type 57 seven-passenger touring.

Which is why it is a type 57. The blue car is a type 59 five-passenger.

Notice the car in this picture - which comes from imcdb - has one of those spring type self starters.

I reckon it is a Cadillac, a circa 1918-19 Type 57. And it is right hand drive because the Cadillacs have that access panel on the left side valance and the drivers side of the mystery car is clear with no access panel. The blue car in Dave Mellor's photo is the later Type 59 five-passenger phaeton- it has a different style of door fit and it has a cowl vent which the Type 57 didn't. The mystery car is a Seven Passenger Touring. The Type 59 Seven Passenger Touring supposedly has exterior door handles. It is interesting looking at pictures of Cadillacs of this era. Especially in the Crestline book 80 Years of Cadillac LaSalle, where I think there are some wrongly-dated pictures because the hood louvres very from coarse to fine. I think the Type 55 has the coarse louvres and the Type 57 the fine ones - but maybe both types were available?

Is that possibly a small light mounted over the license plate? Not something I have seen before.

Whoops I realised I hit the edit button instead of the quote button there.

Thanks for that. Solves a mystery. Should have looked at it more closely. Thanks.

Definitely Buick. The three-strip bumper says 1929 - probably big series.

Could be Stearns as you say. The radiator cap looks about right. I was thinking that was some sort of holddown clip on it but maybe actually something to do with the license plate?

BTW Steve, do you have this one in your collection?

Also found on HAMB. Note the octagonal hubcaps.

Note the bigger FB has semi-elliptic front springs; the 490 has quarter elliptics.

Due to it having front doors and inside gear change I reckon the date is 1912. Just don't know the make. Note the tyres - Pennsylvania Vacuum Cup.

Plymouth Fury, 1977 or 1978.