(This was sent in by CC reader Norm Thompson, and originally published in 2011. But it’s a great picture, and shows a surprising number of import brands at one student house in Eugene in 1968, so I deleted the few comments that were there to give you a fresh shot at identifying them all, again.)
EUGENE: ALWAYS A STORIED DESTINATION FOR FASCINATING AUTOMOBILES
The attached photo (Sorry for the quality. Originally snapped with a Minox camera and now reproduced with a digital one. I have no scanner) shows the front yard of my former residence in Eugene (1359 Patterson).
The challenge for you CC regulars is to identify the year, make and model of each of these five beauties. Note that one of them belonged to another tenant (and I don’t remember the model year) so the year on that one won’t count.
(the exact year on some of these might be a bit tough; but it’s quite the little collection Norm had then. And just for fun, I drove by that same house to see if there might be something interesting sitting there now. You never know:]
No such luck.
Wow! What a cool collection of sixties iron. And I was around at the time to see something like this at a frat house or dormitory. A Morris Minor, a Peugeot(?) a Porsche Notchback, a VW Transporter and a TR2, all from 1963 I’m guessing. There’s a sixth vehicle in there that is barely visible. Thanks.
I’m quite sure it’s a Lancia Appia, not a Peugeot
The second car from the left appears to be a series 3 Lancia Appia berlina (1959-1963). That had to have been a rare vehicle even then on this side of the Atlantic. They came with an unusual engine in the form of a V4 layout and I believe 1100cc. Charming!
I agree with the second from left being a Lancia Appia – third series with the revised front.
The Porsche is a 356 of course. I can’t see it having a notchback – looks like the usual shape to me. It does seem to have quite deep dish wheels – perhaps suggesting one of the later ones (the last in 1964?).
The VW looks to be a transporter with the flat load area.
The Triumph is a TR3A – with the wide grill.
The Minor? – just any old Morrie really.
+1, but is it a Minor 1000? It also appears to have hoods over the headlamps
Yes, it’s a Minor 1000 – no split screen, and small turn signals – so in the 1956-62 period.
It has pillar mounted trafficators those are park lamps on the front they did not flash and only held a small single filament globe
That’s probably the case in NZ – but our 1958 Tourer (built for the Canadian market) had the trafficators disabled and flashing dual-filament indicators at both ends. I’m not sure trafficators (semaphore indicators) were ever legal in North America.
Morris Minor, unknown, Porsche 356 coupe, VW transporter and the venerable TR-3.
That tree hasn’t changed much in 47 years.
Nice symmetry on the house’s age. It would have been built around 1925 give or take 3 years. So it was about 43 years old in 1968. It looked fully original then, no obvious remodeling. It was 86 years old in 2011. Twice the age and still looks fully original, just like the tree.
Those cars were about 10 years old in 1968. Did any of them reach 20? I doubt it. Maybe the Porsche, because it was already recognized as collectible.
“…Did they survive to 20?” In their first 10 years they had already descended from being the pride and joy of their original owners, to being traded in for something else, sold on the secondary market and finally consigned into the hands of a university student. Ain’t that the final stage in the useful life of a car?
Isn’t there a 6th car between the Porsche and the Transporter, the front of it hidden by the tree?
If not for the Explorer, I would think it was somewhere in Europe and somehow the owner had a big house!
CHEAT SHEET UPDATE
The Minor is a ’61 model. I bought it new for my mother. She never liked it. So I drove it from New York to Eugene and sold it locally shortly after the above photo was taken.
The Lancia is a ’60 Appia, Series III as correctly identified above. I bought it in Eugene.
The Porsche is a ’62 356B normal, regular fastback. I also bought that in Eugene.
The VW is a ’59 model transporter or pickup, also purchased in Eugene.
The Triumph is indeed a TR3A. I don’t know the year. It was not mine.
POSTMORTEM: 20 year lifespan not to be.
I left Eugene a year later in 1969 and moved back to New York (I was not a student. I worked as a forester locally). Before leaving, I sold the Porsche and the Lancia to two personal friends. The Porsche, unfortunately, was totaled months later. Then, someone threw a rock through the Lancia’s windshield and I don’t believe the new owner was able to get it replaced.
Also before leaving I built a small gable roofed “house” on the back of the VW (was this the orignal “tiny house”?), put all my belongings in it and drove it cross country to New York. It barely made it back and was junked soon thereafter.
Perhaps the Triumph still survives. Let’s hope so.