Junk yard cars to ID from vacation YEARS ago

[lump]

I just found an old box filled with photos of cars, from my family's years in the Southern Ohio Chapter of the AACA. from the 1950's to the late 70's. I'll add some photos here and there, and ask for help from the old-car detectives on this fabulous forum. 

 

Starting out, I have some photos of a junk yard my parents stopped at during a vacation in about 1970. There was an old 1920's sedan sitting there, which my mom photographed. I was a teenager, just at the age where I was learning to drive, and dreaming of having my own car. EVERY older car that I saw looked like an "easy project," which I hoped my dad would help me to get running so I could drive it to school. I climbed inside this rusted hulk, and crouched down like I was in the (missing) driver's seat. 

 

I'll bet this will be an easy one, but I just don't recognize it myself. So, Old-Car-ID-Detectives...what kind of old car was I sitting, back in those days when I still had hair? 

 

 

[lump]

I think that's a white 63 Buick on the driver's side of the old sedan, and in the 2nd photo, there is a 64 Plymouth and a 1960 Pontiac in the background. I'm sure the sedan is a common, easily identified car, but I have to admit that I don't recognize it. 

[lump]

There was another photo taken of cars in that yard that day, from farther away. But the photo was printed on that textured-finish stock which was popular back then, so details are obscured. Any ideas on the late 30's/early 40's sedan? 

[lump]

Sorry about the lousy photos. They were taken LONG ago, and they're all I have...except the memory. Our vacation was a fishing trip that year, and we traveled from Southern Ohio to our final destination in northern Minnesota. I SUSPECT that these cars were in Wisconsin, because that is where we ran out of interstate highways, and had to drive on back roads. Does anyone recognize or remember this yard? 

 

[Grandpa]

The first car pictured looks like a 1931 Cadillac club sedan.

Grandpa

[keiser31]

43 minutes ago, lump said:

There was another photo taken of cars in that yard that day, from farther away. But the photo was printed on that textured-finish stock which was popular back then, so details are obscured. Any ideas on the late 30's/early 40's sedan? 

1939 Lincoln Zephyr....

[F&J]

1 hour ago, Grandpa said:

The first car pictured looks like a 1931 Cadillac club sedan.

Grandpa

wow....look at the stack of front leaf springs !    Does that help the ID?

[Grandpa]

After a closer look at the first car pictured, I don't think that the car is a 1931 Cadillac (my post #5, above).

Grandpa

[lump]

Yeah, the belt line appeared to have two ribs, instead of one (which SEEMED to be what I saw in pix of Caddy's which I found online). It looks a bit like a Chrysler. I think I can see a fan blade from an engine. It's a shame I don't have more photos with more details. 

 

[Grandpa]

Another guess for the first car pictured:  A 1930 Studebaker.  The details seem to fit the unknown car.

Grandpa

[lump]

That Studebaker sure looks right to me, Grandpa. Does anyone recognize the dash in the second photo to confirm it as a Studebaker, maybe? 

[lump]

Keiser31, looks like you got it exactly! 

 

It's funny how cars like these were not that special then. Indeed, the Zephyr would have been just over 30 years old at the time. Wow. 

[Grandpa]

The steering wheel and the dashboard instruments shown in the second picture seem to match a 1930 Studebaker President.

Grandpa

[Dave Mellor NJ]

10 hours ago, lump said:

There was another photo taken of cars in that yard that day, from farther away. But the photo was printed on that textured-finish stock which was popular back then, so details are obscured. Any ideas on the late 30's/early 40's sedan? 

I say it's a 38. The main difference( from this angle) is that the running boards are exposed on the 38. They're covered by the doors on the 39

 

[lump]

Wow. You guys are GOOD! I love it. 

[keiser31]

I can't tell if the car in question has exposed running boards or not.

[Grandpa]

My guess is that the Zephyr is a 1939.  From enlarging the original photo, the trunk lid handle seems to be fairly large and is pointing down, like the 1939.  The 1938 has a much smaller trunk lid handle that points up.

Grandpa

[oldford]

The car above that has been labeled a 31 Stude.... Is that a vacuum tank on the firewall? If so, Studebaker added a fuel pump in 1928. If it is a vacuum tank, it's not a 31.

 

Frank

[lump]

Looking at the original photos, I DO see a vacuum tank on that early sedan in the first photo. 

 

For the Zephyr, even looking at the original print under a magnifying glass, I cannot make out enough of the trunk handle area to be sure. So I looked at the original SCAN of the photo, and blew it up multiple times. In that enlarged image, there appears to be a license plated mounted down low on the deck lid...which might suggest '38. However, the rough texture of the photo paper which this image was printed on renders details almost impossible to see clearly. 

 

This detective work has become fascinating now. I think I'll dig out the musty-dusty old boxes of film negatives, from the years when my mom shot photos of our family, and see if I can find the negs of that vacation trip. If so, I'll get new prints made, and post again. 

 

Besides, my dad and I caught a lot of fish on that trip, and I would like to blow up some images of he and I proudly showing off our catches. I lost him to a car accident only a few years after this trip. 

[Grandpa]

Reply to post #18:  This post states that the Studebaker was identified as a 1931 model and that Studebakers used a mechanical fuel pump starting in 1928 - -

 

In my posts #10 and #13 (above), I guessed that the car was a 1930.  The 1928 Studebaker sedans are much different that the 1929 and 1930 models.  Thus, the presence of a vacuum tank means that the car is a 1929 model year.  Studebaker mounted the mechanical fuel pump on the left side of the engine.  Below are two images from the 1929 Studebaker brochure that show the same car and an engine without a fuel pump on the left side.  There is another possibility:  The car is an early 1929 model and the mechanical fuel pump was added during 1929 production.

 

Grandpa

[dictator27]

The mechanical fuel pump was mounted on the left on six cylinder Studebakers.  On eight cylinder cars it is on the right side.  All Studebakers from 1928 had mechanical fuel pumps.  The canister on the firewall in the first picture is an oil filter.

 

Terry

[lump]

Wow, an amazing amount of terrific information, from some really sharp people. I am truly enjoying this forum. Thanks, everyone. 

 

Now, to find those old negatives....

 

And then, I have HUNDREDS of photos from the antique car club events my family attended from the late 1950's through the early 80's. I should dig them out also, and see if you folks can help me ID the cars that I don't already know. I hope I won't bore you all to tears. 

[Grandpa]

Questions for Dictator27:

(1) Is there a way to tell if the Studebaker, in the original post, is a 1929 or 1930?

(2) The Studebaker, in the original post, has a four bladed fan.  Does that fan design indicate the year of the car or the engine size?

From a web search, some 1929 / 1930 Studebakers have six bladed fans

Thanks,

Grandpa

[keiser31]

1 hour ago, lump said:

Wow, an amazing amount of terrific information, from some really sharp people. I am truly enjoying this forum. Thanks, everyone. 

 

Now, to find those old negatives....

 

And then, I have HUNDREDS of photos from the antique car club events my family attended from the late 1950's through the early 80's. I should dig them out also, and see if you folks can help me ID the cars that I don't already know. I hope I won't bore you all to tears. 

I never get bored identifying old cars.

[nzcarnerd]

15 hours ago, Grandpa said:

Questions for Dictator27:

(1) Is there a way to tell if the Studebaker, in the original post, is a 1929 or 1930?

(2) The Studebaker, in the original post, has a four bladed fan.  Does that fan design indicate the year of the car or the engine size?

From a web search, some 1929 / 1930 Studebakers have six bladed fans

Thanks,

Grandpa

It is very difficult to date Studebakers of that era by year. You can really only date by model and series as they introduced different models at different times of the year.  From 1932 on they are much easier to date.

[dictator27]

23 hours ago, Grandpa said:

Questions for Dictator27:

(1) Is there a way to tell if the Studebaker, in the original post, is a 1929 or 1930?

(2) The Studebaker, in the original post, has a four bladed fan.  Does that fan design indicate the year of the car or the engine size?

From a web search, some 1929 / 1930 Studebakers have six bladed fans

Thanks,

Grandpa

What nzcarnerd said.  Beginning in the mid 20's, Studebaker made changes when it was felt changes were needed.  They also would use last years body on early production next year cars.  For example, early 1928 cars used late 1927 bodies.  Part way through the year, the bodies were upgraded with new styling.  Early 1929 cars used those bodies, which were then upgraded during the year.  Early 1929 cars have a cadet style windshield visor (1928 body), late 1929 cars have no visor.  The late 1929 body style carried through 1930.  Regarding the lead photo here, the best that can be said is that it could possibly be a late 29, but it is just as likely a 1930.  

The number of fan blades has no bearing on model or year.

 

Terry