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Identifying Car


Guest rjbudz

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It looks very similar to 1927 or 1928 LaSalle except that the golf bag door handle is not there. Suggests it might be Fisher-bodied? I don't think it is Buick though because it is obviously has quite a long wheelbase and the biggest Buick roadster in 1929 was the series 121 on a 121" wb.

Edited by nzcarnerd (see edit history)
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It appears in may be a La Salle Roadster but the wheel base on the photo appears longer than the 1927 or 1928. I can't find a photo of passenger side showing the golf bag door. The four door models have the back of the rear door over the fender, so I'm guessing two door?

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Certainly looks like a '27 La Salle to me. The trim is right. A picture to compare with:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]166909[/ATTACH]

Mmmm....the post holding the roof is located in a different place....lower.

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Rust, it's darn close. The golf bag door is significantly larger and the door much shorter on your photo. I get the feeling that 'her' car is longer overall.

I don't know if this helps but she was only a little over 5 foot tall. With heels I'm guessing 5'3 to 5'5.

The right hand drive is an interesting idea. I don't think the images is mirrored because buttons opening of her blouse is as a women's blouse would normally be.But I seem to remember the photo was taken in front of her house in Iowa.

Edited by rjbudz (see edit history)
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A couple more clues. She was born in 1903. From a Google search, the clothes indicate late 1920s. The family had money so both he car and clothes were probably current.

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Gentlemen, what is that on the right edge of the photo, about a third of the way down the photo? Is there a chance that it's a steering wheel? If that were true, then this would certainly be a case of the negative being reversed before making the print rather than a photo of a right hand drive car. It's 1929ish, after all. The flaw in this proposition is who, if anyone, made a car with a left side golf club door?

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I was not implying that the photo was flopped. I was just throwing in the idea that the car might be right-hand-drive.

I'm almost certain it is not a LaSalle.

1. The gradual upward turn of the belt molding on the car in Mr. Budz old photo is in contrast to the abrupt upward turn of the LaSalle belt molding.

2. The area between the belt moldings on the old photo has a definite convex curvature to it, while the space between the LaSalle's molding is flat, if not slightly convex.

3. There is no handle on the golf bag door, which a LaSalle should have.

4. It appears that the amount of space between the golf bag door and the car door is much greater in the car in the old photo than the amount of space a LaSalle would have.

1928-1929 Studebaker President has the more gradual belt-molding upward swing (with convex space in between), the top mounting post above the belt molding, does not have a golf-bag door handle, and the space between the golf bag door and the car door is much greater than on the LaSalle.

post-33613-143139291246_thumb.jpg

post-33613-143139291252_thumb.jpg

Edited by West Peterson (see edit history)
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I feel pretty confident about the idea that it is a 1928-1929 Studebaker President...

West, if you click on and expand the photo of "Grandma" you can see a bit of either the door handle or it's escutcheon below her hand. It's pointed (downward), and definitely different from the handle on the Studebaker.

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West, if you click on and expand the photo of "Grandma" you can see a bit of either the door handle or it's escutcheon below her hand. It's pointed (downward), and definitely different from the handle on the Studebaker.

I think what you're seeing is her large cuff hanging down, or at least part of it.

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Looking at Mr. Peterson's photos, the golf door just isn't right. It's placement is different. Also his has a lock on the rear. I think what were seeing as a possible door handle is her sleeve, based on the size of her other one. The original photo scan is 1724 x 2922. I can try to upload it if anyone thinks it will help.

I'm not sure the idea of a mirrored image pans out. I looked at photos of blouses from the 1930s. They button the same way (right side over left, buttons on the left side) which is consistent with grandmas and women's blouses of today. I've looked at a photo of her when she was about 96 and though her teeth have changed it appears (but I'm not absolutely certain) her teeth are the same. (I won't post it, don't want to break 58Mustang's heart). The primary indicator of mirroring (steering wheel being on the right side) can be explained thus: the photo itself appears to be shot with a high focal length. Cameras of the era commonly used them compared to the standard 35mm we're used to seeing today. This "flattens" the distances to make them appear more on the same plane. Did I explain that clearly?

The car body appears to be consistent with many of the GM styles at the time (La Salle included). You guys seem to be honing in on the model. I'm still thinking roadster, it fit's her style.

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No question it's a roadster which is the generic term for a convertible coupe without roll-up windows -- roadsters had side curtains. The question is what make. In those days everyone from Ford to Duesenberg built a roadster and it was generally the sportiest body style in the lineup.

Don

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RJ, your thoughts on the nature of the photo make sense to me. I never was contending that it was a "flopped" photo, only that it should be considered. In the larger scheme of things, it seemed to me to be at least as likely as a right hand drive car (American, or otherwise) in Iowa in 1929. I don't think that it's likely, but I suppose it's possible that what appears to be a steering wheel in the photo could just be some other item resting upright in the car.

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Yes DL, I agree and understand that, roadsters abound. Wudsly, I'm pretty sure it is the steering wheel but I doubt the right hand drive, but not an issue as there are many explanations.

When this dust clears, I still don't know what car this is,:(

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Guest Foggy norm

What strikes me is the extremely square end of the running board...with trim, connecting to the fender. It also appears that the car may be tilted, is that the other side of the folded roof I'm seeing, so more of the steering wheel would show.

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I was not implying that the photo was flopped. I was just throwing in the idea that the car might be right-hand-drive.

I'm almost certain it is not a LaSalle.

1. The gradual upward turn of the belt molding on the car in Mr. Budz old photo is in contrast to the abrupt upward turn of the LaSalle belt molding.

2. The area between the belt moldings on the old photo has a definite convex curvature to it, while the space between the LaSalle's molding is flat, if not slightly convex.

3. There is no handle on the golf bag door, which a LaSalle should have.

4. It appears that the amount of space between the golf bag door and the car door is much greater in the car in the old photo than the amount of space a LaSalle would have.

1928-1929 Studebaker President has the more gradual belt-molding upward swing (with convex space in between), the top mounting post above the belt molding, does not have a golf-bag door handle, and the space between the golf bag door and the car door is much greater than on the LaSalle.

Besides the apparent lock on the golf club door, the running board apron has a light-green inset which doesn't match the original photo.

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Using what appears to be a factory photo of a President, thanks to Richard Quinn, I sized the the two cars exactly the same, height-wise. As you can see, she is the correct size for the Studebaker, and the beltline molding seems to follow exact with the factory photo. Granted, the photos were taken at slightly different angles, which is why I sized the car vertically.

post-33613-14313929336_thumb.jpg

post-33613-143139293367_thumb.jpg

post-33613-14313929337_thumb.jpg

Edited by West Peterson (see edit history)
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RJ – I too, want to thank you for sharing this photo of your Grandmother. It’s a great photo and Gram was a happy, photogenic subject. Her smile, her focus away from the camera and her charisma all shine thru and certainly make you overlook the car (whatever it is) in the background. Thanks again! :D<O:p</O:p

Chuck<O:p</O:p

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