nzcarnerd

My grandparents owned a 1956 Australian DeSoto Diplomat Custom (SP23) (a 1953 Plymouth body with a 230 side valve six and teeth) which had a robe rail in it. The Aussies kept that body in production until at least 1962 (up to the AP3). It would be interesting to hear from someone from Oz who knows of one and whether they kept the robe rail.

1930 Chevrolet.

Re the white walls - I wonder if at that time they were bonding a black rubber tread onto a white rubber casing. Certainly all tyres were white until the mid-teens. I think all-black tyres appeared very soon after this date.

Sounds logical as the Oakland, Oldsmobile and the Scripps-Booth were all essentially the same car, all powered by the 177 cid ohv Northway six.

One memory of my visit to Harrahs collection in Reno in 1978 (coincidentally I think it was only a week or so after William Harrah's death) was a large black 1941 (?) Packard with side mounted spares and air conditioning which I thought was an appropriate symbol of the last of the old and the first of the new. The 'air-conditioned' badge was actually on the side-mount cover. I presume someone still has the car.

According to The Standard Catalog only about half a dozen pilot models had been built when Harry Innes died suddenly after a short illness at the age of 46. I guess what we see here in the show tent is most of what was built. The Specification Book for US Cars 1920-29 says that fewer than ten cars were built. The engine was by Supreme (of Warren Ohio) - a 3 3/8 x 5 (180 cid) four. I had not heard of Supreme Motors Corp until now, I wonder if they sold engines to anyone else.

Also seen in the 'what is it' thread. A 1903 Autocar.

I agree with 1903 Autocar. The picture distortion makes it look like they made an early attempt at a four wheel steering version!

The bumper on the car in Germany is a fairly common aftermarket bumper of the period and was used as standard (or maybe just an option?) by some makes - Auburn was one I think.

Looks big enough to be the Model W on the 129" wb - it used a 325 c i Continental engine.

Aspect ratio has only had a bearing since WW2 when those ratios began to change. Pre-WW2 - as I said in my earlier post - the sizes were expressed differently and it mattered that the ratio was around 100%. Even with modern tyres different makers' tyres vary in dimension for a quoted size. To have all tyres on a vehicle the same they need to be from the same maker.

The Studebaker at the back is actually about 1914-15 and these Daniels cars look to be about 1918.

I have just looked in my copy of The Standard Catalog and a very similar picture - from the other side but obviously taken at the same shoot with the same models - is in there captioned as a 1917 Haynes Light Twelve touring. I am fairly sure this model used the same Weideley V12 engine as Pathfinder and some others did. An aquaintance of mine was in the UK a few years ago and visited the Haynes Motor Museum (no relation - just a coincidental name) and they had recently acquired a Haynes Light Twelve Cloverleaf Roadster from a museum in the US.

I don't know yet what this is but I reckon it dates from around 1916-17. The only really differing feature is the portholes in the rear quarters of the top. There has been comment lately about the double white wall tyres on some of the cars of this era. This was about the time that they started to produce black tyres by adding carbon into the mix. I wonder if these white walls are actually 'not much black' tyres. In other words maybe they only added the black to the tread area of the mould so that most of the tyre still came out white - as most tyres were at that time.

I think you will find that the aspect ratio of most old tyres was 100%. A Ford T tyre size is 30x3 which is a 3" wide tyre on a 24" rim. In 1929 the smaller Buicks used 30x5.50 tyres and the big ones used 32x6.50 tyres - they are actually both 19" rims. Somewhere around 1930 they went to using the rim size - usually expressed with the rim size first - 6.50x16 - but there was a time when both systems were in use which has caused confusion ever since. Oddly enough I see that modern bicycle tyres use that old system - at least for the kids sizes. A 24x2 tyre is for a 20" rim.

Unless it is an optical illusion, that looks like a flywheel underneath which would suggest an undefloor engine. I think that would eliminate Thomas. The 14 spoke rear wheels are a clue as not many cars used them.

I have no idea what the car is but it certainly was photgraphed much later than 1890 - more like 1903. Any idea if this is the US or Europe?

My 1929 Canadian-built Plymouth - essentially a continuation of the Chrysler 52- still has that setup in it. It works great, even on long climbs.

According to The Standard Catalog this is a 1919 Velie Model 39 Sport Car.

Check out - Mae Murray - IMDb - I guess the car is a Model A Duesenberg.

As both Studebaker and Apperson were in Indiana, I wonder if the same maker supplied their tops. Stude called them Duplex. Was that the maker's name or just a descriptive word for them?

It would be interesting to know if the shiny finish on the lights is chrome or stainless steel. I have not researched the history of chrome plating but most cars did not get it until about 1929.

Yes, looks to be a Paige. It looks big enough to be their bigger model 6-55 on the 127" wb. This one is on Disteel wheels.

Keiser, that pic of your's is certainly convincing. That is an unusual body style I have not seen before.

I agree it sounds like a good idea - it would be great to see it on the road in as-found condition - but it depends how bad it is mechanically. If those tyres have been on the wheels for long enough the rims may be rusted - I found that out the hard way many years ago with my 1928 wire-wheeled Studebaker.