Maybe subconsciously inspired by seeing references to Marie Kondo, I’ve been on a clean and purge kick recently, and decided to go through moldering boxes of old family photos. Tossed a few, kept a few, and found some that might be of interest here. I’ll start with this one – dated 1937 in a handwritten note on the back. Unfortunately no location, and no hint of how it ended up in either my Mom’s, or her sister’s collection. I’m assuming it’s somewhere in the Western US, and my mother’s family didn’t come to the US until 1937, to the Washington DC area, and she didn’t move west until the 1940’s, so maybe it came from a friend. I believe this is a Ford V8, can anyone pinpoint the year?
This picture I know more about, though unfortunately not many details. The man on the right in the short-sleeved shirt is my maternal grandfather. I posted a picture here at CC before, of a Citroen he owned in China, but this picture is from the US. As I understand it, he and a friend, perhaps the other man pictured, drove across the US in this Ford, including a visit to the Ford headquarters in Dearborn. If this isn’t a Ford, well … don’t ruin the family legend for me! Based on the newer car behind his roadster, can anyone guess the year? As I mentioned, that side of my family emigrated here in 1937, and I am sure that the cross-country trip occured before then. Unfortunately I have no picture of my grandfather’s last car, a Dodge Dart Swinger which he let me drive as an unlicensed 15 year old.
The woman in this photo is my aunt, my Mom’s older sister. The license plate is from Virginia, 1954. I recognize both cars in the background as Plymouths or Dodges, but have no idea what my aunt and her companion are sitting on. If this picture in fact dates from 1954, my parents’ own car at the time (on the opposite coast) was a nearly new Hillman Minx. After 1960, we switched to Volvo’s, perhaps inspiring my aunt to later buy a 122S, with an automatic, that I remember riding in once. She had a lot of trouble with the Volvo, and blamed my Mom for selling her on it. She replaced it with a blue Datsun 510, also an automatic, that I drove a few times when I was 18.
If the man leaning against this Ford convertible is the same as the man in the earlier photo, he might be my aunt’s husband. Their marriage didn’t last long and I never met him. There were a few pictures of this Ford in the box of my aunt’s pictures, but this was the best one. With the help of a magnifier, I was able to make out that the plates on the Ford are also Virginia, but 1952. Is that a Chrysler in the background?
Moving now from family, to family friends’ cars, and now in my hometown in California. This Hudson Hornet Special belonged to a family we knew who lived a few blocks away. The woman worked with my Dad, and her husband was an engineer. I have vague memories of the Hudson, which at the time just looked an old car to me, but was told that Mr S. admired it’s technology and design. Any idea about the year?
As much as Mr. S. liked his Hudson, he replaced it with a Cadillac. 1964, I think? After he passed away in the early 1970’s, his widow offered me some of his tools, including a small metal lathe, a benchtop drill press, and a few hand tools. I passed the lathe on to a friend, but still have the drill press and a few hand tools. I also had a chance to drive the Cadillac, filled with junk on a run to the dump. I remember effortless power, steering with absolutely no effort or feel, and a cavernous back seat and trunk that swallowed boxes of discards. I moved away from home shortly afterwards, and on trips back would see the Cadillac aging curbside, until one day it was gone.
The bear is on a ’37 Ford. Aunt and friend are on a ’37 or ’38 Packard 120.
Engineers loved Hudsons, but it was a little unusual for a Hudsonian to switch to a Caddy. Usually they stuck with AMC.
The car your aunt is sitting on has a grille that screams Packard.
The Hudson Hornet is a ’54, in ’55 they switched to the Nash platform.
Here’s a ’53 Hornet, which you’ll instantly recognize if you’re familiar with NASCAR history or remember “Doc Hudson” from the movie “Cars.”
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=938&ei=RhtLXLu2B4Hk_Aafxpe4CA&q=1953+hudson+hornet&oq=1953+Hudson&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.1520.4820..7599…0.0..0.86.703.11……1….1..gws-wiz-img…..0..35i39.97SgVAbcnqs#imgrc=vXbqL9hT1oBYiM:
I think that the Hudson is a 1954, based on the one piece windshield and grill. The Caddy is a ’64. Interesting pics. Could the bear be at Yellowstone? Bear interactions such as this with humans became such a problem that the bears were relocated to far reaches of the park and measures were taken to secure trash and dump sites. Only saw one grizzly on my last trip to Yellowstone, grazing on a distant ridge.
I got bad news for you: that roadster doesn’t look like a Ford to me. I say that based on the spare tire wheel on the running board; Ford never used that style of wheel. And there are other details, like that side storage compartment, which the Ford didn’t have. This looks like something bigger and more expensive than a Ford.
Yeah, I wondered about the side compartment and the spare wheel also, but the shape of the body and rumble seat sure looked like a ‘32 Ford to me. But that definitely IS my grandfather. How about the car behind them … any ideas?
The car behind looks GM to me, this 35 Pontiac seems close. Those windows that were rounded inside of the square doors are what convince me.
You beat me to it. There was a style of Ford convertible that used the landau bars, but they never had a golf bag door and never used anything other than wire wheels.
I took a couple of stabs at trying to ID that hubcap on the sidemount, but struck out. It has a Mopar look to me, but I don’t think that’s it.
It looks like a 1932 Oldsmobile to me.
Wow looks like you are right. Well done!
Based on the car in the background, can anyone guess a “no earlier than” date for the photo? My Mom’s family moved to the US in 1937 with no money and had no cars till well after the war ended. In China, my understanding was that they had larger family cars so I had assumed this roadster isn’t their’s. However looking at the photo more closely, perhaps the man sitting on the car is Chinese so maybe the picture was taken there. AFAIK the most popular US cars there were Ford, Buick and Dodge. Could it be a Dodge roadster, and thus later than the cross-country trip which I know had a Ford linkage?
The background car, if I am right about being a GM car, first got that body in 1936. Those wheels tell me B-O-P because the Chevy hubcaps are smaller.
The gent in the back does look Chinese, and the very formal suit he’s wearing suggests this was shot in China.
I agree that the first shot is a 37 Ford.
And the third is a big old Packard from the mid 30s, which was ancient when the picture was taken. I would love to know the story on that one, it looks very well used. I cannot imagine that your aunt was happy about sitting on that grungy old Packard in a good skirt.
In the next one the Ford is a 49 and you are right about the Chrysler behind it – I peg that one as a 50.
The Cadillac is either 63 or 64, it is hard to tell from this view. The 6 window sedan was much less common than the 4 window version, though. Great old pictures!
Interesting pictures, thanks for sharing. The car your maternal grandfather is leaning on is a 1931-’32 GM convertible coupe by Fisher identified by the landau bars, folded-down windshield, golf bag door and two-tone paint. The stamped steel wheels and hubcap style suggest ’32 Oldsmobile. In the background is a 1935-’35 GM two door coach of unknown brand.
Onto your Aunt’s 1954 posing on the fender, the car was a 1936 Packard 120 touring sedan. Telltales are the front hinged front doors but still the low windshield shared with the introductory 1935 model. The 1935 120 all have rear-hinged front doors. By the dull paint and threadbare roof insert, dented fender and sealed-beam headlight replacements, this eighteen year old warhorse had seen a family through the Depression and war years gallantly. With your permission, I would like to share this image on Packard enthusiasts websites where we post period photos of Packards in daily life.
The Hudson Hornet Special is a 1954 Series 6D model, last of the Detroit-built Hudsons during the time of the May 1, 1954 merger with Nash to form American Motors. The Hornet Special was a somewhat de-contended, price-leader Hornet to generate sales. As we all know, the 1955 Hudsons would be ‘Hashes”.
You’re welcome to share the photo on a Packard site.
Thanks, I’ll do that, everyone will enjoy seeing it.
Thanks for the help identifying things. I’m pretty sure now that the picture of my Grandpa was taken in China … I thought I had some evidence of his US trip to Ford so I’ll search some more. As for the car my aunt is sitting on, the hood/grill shape certainly said Packard to me, but it seemed small so thanks for the confirmation. I wonder if they just picked the car to pose on because it was old and distinctive, and it didn’t in fact belong to them or a friend. I did find one more, very distinctive family car photo, dated 1930, that I’ll post up soon. It should stump even the CC experts!
I’m sure your Grandpa had interesting stories to tell from hic China time. I understand he was European from what you say.
Thanks for posting those pictures, I hope you get as much data as possible.
My aunt and mom were there through teen and child age respectively. So I heard interesting stories from various perspectives. I posted a few car-related items from their 1937 school yearbook here.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-ads-and-brochures/yearbook-outtake-ads-of-few-words-shanghai-1937/
Good stuff, thanks for sharing.