what car is this

[altomic]

hi, this car is located in Queensland Australia.

 

it's killing me not knowing what make and model it is.

 

the rounded boot sort of reminds me of a Chevrolet Mercury 1933 or 1933 Chevrolet Eagle Town Sedan.

 

 

I would really appreciate someone identifying this.

 

just on a side note - Australia had quite strict import standards up until the 1970s or so. this was a form of protectionism for local automobile manufaturing.

 

many cars came to australia in pieces or partially constructed, and were then completed in Australia. e.g. VW beetles had additional chrome trim added once they hit Melbourne docks.

 

actually Holden (Australian company that later merged with GM to become GM Holden) did produce cars in Australia for the world market from 1917 to ~1949 - including Chevrolet, pontiac , vauxhallBuick, oldsmobile  - link here https://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/production_holden_bodies

Edited February 15, 2018 by altomic (see edit history)

[Curti]

I would date it 1935 -37 not made in the USA.

[nzcarnerd]

The trunk style says it is (was!) a 1935 Studebaker.

[Bloo]

Just for fun, have a look at the Australian 1936 Pontiac on page 12 of this pdf.

 

http://www.earlytimeschapter.org/1936_restoration_guidebook_updated_2017.pdf

 

What on earth is that opening below the bootlid?  Did they just separate the spare tire compartment completely?

 

[keiser31]

Yes, the trunk and spare tire compartment were separate.

[altomic]

Wow!! Thank you so much. That is it. The source of this vehicle has been bugging me for a week. I've wasted more than a dozen hours searching the internet for that information.

 

Very much appreciated. Thank you again.

[nzcarnerd]

Note that the 1936 Pontiac has a V windscreen.

[altomic]

Thanks for the clarification,  I now think that it is more likely to be an Oldsmobile. probably a 1936 6 or  8 . same Australian/Holden body as the Pontiac. but look at the boot and the latch/locks. On the  car photos it is a single bottom centred latch/lock/handle. on the Pontiac by Keiser31 suggested it appears to be 2 latch/locks. here is a link to an Oldsmobile 6 which was sold at Shannons ,which has the single boot latch/lock https://www.shannons.com.au/.../2012.../K84NUDL513T8XE8/ or it could have been a 1936 Oldsmobile L36 8 cylinder Se

 

 

and as nzcarnerd states - V windscreen

[Bloo]

18 hours ago, nzcarnerd said:

 

Note that the 1936 Pontiac has a V windscreen.

 

The windscreen bothered me too. It would for sure have a vee windscreen if it were an American Pontiac with a Fisher body. I just looked at the Australian Pontiac in the PDF again, and there is a divider. The Olds has a divider too, but it doesn't look like much "vee". Maybe it is a vee windshield on the mystery car. It looks flat, but the angle is such that it would be hard to tell. I am not arguing for Pontiac over Olds, just pointing it out.

 

The boot latches on that Australian Pontiac bother me. I have always wondered if they are original. Are latches of that sort used on Australian cars of the period?

 

If it were a FIsher body, the ribs in the side of the body might give it away. I understand they are all just different enough that you can't interchange doors. Did the Australian coachbuilder (Holden?) make such a distinction? If not, it is going to be hard to nail down.

 

The Australian 36 Olds and 36 Pontiac linked above both have front suicide doors. Fisher bodies had that in 35, but not 36.

[nzcarnerd]

5 hours ago, Bloo said:

 

The windscreen bothered me too. It would for sure have a vee windscreen if it were an American Pontiac with a Fisher body. I just looked at the Australian Pontiac in the PDF again, and there is a divider. The Olds has a divider too, but it doesn't look like much "vee". Maybe it is a vee windshield on the mystery car. It looks flat, but the angle is such that it would be hard to tell. I am not arguing for Pontiac over Olds, just pointing it out.

 

The boot latches on that Australian Pontiac bother me. I have always wondered if they are original. Are latches of that sort used on Australian cars of the period?

 

If it were a FIsher body, the ribs in the side of the body might give it away. I understand they are all just different enough that you can't interchange doors. Did the Australian coachbuilder (Holden?) make such a distinction? If not, it is going to be hard to nail down.

 

The Australian 36 Olds and 36 Pontiac linked above both have front suicide doors. Fisher bodies had that in 35, but not 36.

 It is a Studebaker or at least was.

 

[Ozstatman]

Another Aussie body builder, among others, of the time was TJ Richards. I know that few years later,  38-> 40,  TJR  built Studebaker bodies and that essentially the same bodies were used  on the '38.,'39 & '40 Packards they also built. Is there any evidence of a body builders plate or plates on the left side cowl which could help in identification?

[Spinneyhill]

On 16/02/2018 at 4:58 AM, nzcarnerd said:

The trunk style says it is (was!) a 1935 Studebaker.

No. The '35 Stude boot was added on with welting around it. It was not made integral. Unless it is an Australian made body.  The firewall is not right either.

[Bloo]

12 minutes ago, Spinneyhill said:

The firewall is not right either.

 

A 1936 Pontiac (USA) firewall looks like this: