brian0918 Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 Can anyone identify this car? Also, is there a way to find out who owned the car (or other information) by the license plate? If I had to guess, I'd say the photo was taken in Michigan or that the car was registered there, but it looks like it says PENNA under the license plate number, which I've been told is an old abbreviation for Pennsylvania. I could be wrong though.image here (270KB)high-res version (4MB)cleaned-up version (380KB)Update: I found this page, which has a lot of info on Penna license plates, and judging from the lack of a keystone under the bottom right of the first 3, and the license plate numbers (issued serially in PA?) the license plate is probably from 1920. Anyone else agree/disagree?Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 It's undoubtedly a 1920 PA plate. My best guess on the car based on the badge/fenders/cowl/headlights/radiator is a 1919 or 1920 Dodge, but that's just a guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 I think Dodge had a higher crown to the fenders, I'm guessing the car is a 1920 Oldsmobile, based on the cowl lights and radiator shell shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted January 10, 2005 Author Share Posted January 10, 2005 Does anyone know when or how often license plates were reissued in PA in the 1920s? I'm trying to pin down the year the photo was taken. As for the place, I know that this family lived in Michigan, so I'm not sure how Pennsylvania works into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think Dodge had a higher crown to the fenders, I'm guessing the car is a 1920 Oldsmobile, based on the cowl lights and radiator shell shape. </div></div>I thought so too, but not with a round radiator badge. Also if you look hard (it's very dark in that part of the photo) there is a something of a decent crown to those fenders. Finally those cowl lights look off-kilter to me, and there looks to be something like a spotlight hung on the left side of the car. I think they may be aftermarket items.Might it be a Jordan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Maybe a Star? Or a Durant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Maybe a Star? Or a Durant? </div></div>Durants began manufacture in 1921, Stars weren't made until 1922. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Maybe a Star? Or a Durant? </div></div>Durants began manufacture in 1921, Stars weren't made until 1922. </div></div>OK, definitely not a Star or a Durant, then... We'll identify it by process of elimination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 It's not a Dodge Bros., the top of radiator shell is too round. So that leaves about 450 to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqh Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 It is not a 20 Oldsmobile. The radiator badge would be a shield shape and not round as shown in the picture.aqh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gvd Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 Looks like a Gray Dort to me. Not the later ones, they had a squared off rad shell. 1918ish. They were the seconds best selling car in Canada then. Regards, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I thought we had a winner here, but in looking online I noticed that all Gray Dorts regardless of year and radiatior style had a gracefully curved bottom to the windshield (see 1915 model below). This car's windscreen is straight at the base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted January 14, 2005 Author Share Posted January 14, 2005 Thanks for all the attempts. Please keep trying! How many places in Pennsylvania/Michigan would there have been to buy a car such as this ~1920? Would somebody still have purchase records dating back to then?Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Wolf Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 It's not and Elgin Motor Car.only 449 to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted January 15, 2005 Author Share Posted January 15, 2005 I uploaded a cleaned-up version of the original photo that someone sent me: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornTooLate Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 if someone could clean up the section of the photo with the radiator cap that might help since in general cars of that era had to at least some degree distinctive radiator caps, at the very least it might narrow it down some Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 It has been suggested by a couple people on newsgroups that the car was a Hupmobile of some type (possibly some form of the Model R)... Anyone agree/disagree?Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 Nevermind, the radiator emblem looks different:http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_221.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 Radiator neck too short for Hupp ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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