829 Southdrive

829 Southdrive

A New Jersey state of mind



Monday, April 2, 2012

Cars of 829 South Drive




























Can anyone identify the cars of 829 South Drive?
George A.?

23 comments:

  1. I'll give it a shot; starting at the top we have a '57 Plymouth Fury (hemi v8); next, the pre-war contvertible is a '37 or '38 Lincoln-Zephyr (flathead v12--hot stuff!); the limousine from the early '30s might be a Packard but the grill doesn't seem quite right, so perhaps a Cadillac?; then more pix of the v12 Zephyr; next pair shows (on the left) an MG TD (1950-54, can't say which year)and a '56 Buick Roadmaster (Bagdog, the top of the line "Roadmaster" model had 4 port holes rather than three as seen on the cheaper "Special"--most impressive!); next we have more pix of the Roadmaster plus one more of the MG (parked in front of the white house);last we see a VW Karmann Ghia--a specially produced up-scale model based on the beetle floorpan and running gear but sporting a body pinned by the Italian designer Carrozzeria Ghia but constructed by the long time German coachwork builder Karmann, which by this time (mid-1960s)was no longer independent but totally owned by VW. So, those are my guesses--how close to winning the cupie doll did I come?

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  2. PS: In the photo showing the Fury one can make out the nose of a '53 Chevy Bel Air in the background.

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  3. Can we have a quiz about knitting next?

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  4. What I noticed about the prewar limousine is that it's parked about three miles from the house I grew up in. (Yes, I'm ending a sentence with a preposition and yes, I'm using grew up in its loosest sense).

    The unfortunately named college for young ladies was eventually forced to change its name, due to the meaning of a colloquialism that was apparently lost on its founders.

    That was one of my earliest lessons in the power of language to effect social change.

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    1. O Docker - my uncle was president of that college (with the current name... he never told me it had a previous name).

      Baydog, love the Karman Ghia! always been my favorite VW model. my father-in-law and I almost bought one to restore a few years ago.

      And did George A really call you "Bagdog"?

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    2. Oh dear, Oh dear! Blasted left hand typing strikes again! (I broke my right arm last month)

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  5. BTW, I have no idea about the significance of that pre-war limo photo, other than the fact that someone in my family snapped it. And isn't it sad that they felt they needed to change the name
    of the school?

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  6. Oh, goodness, sorry to go completely off topic, but did you see the diving weiner dog?

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  7. Oh, goodness, sorry to go completely off topic, but did you see the super knitter rainbow chain?

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  9. My college changed its name too. When it was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou (the Queen of Henry VI) it was known as Queen's College. Then, when it was refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville (the Queen of Edward IV) it became Queens' College. That was one of the earliest lessons in English history on the power of apostrophe placement to effect social change.

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  10. So what's the tie in between Margaret of Anjou and the early 30s limousine, which might actually be a late 20s Chrysler?

    "Anjou" sounds like the description over-priced eating establishments use to bill their open face beef samich.

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    1. The limo might be a Cadillac.

      Cadillac is a town in France.

      Limousin is a region in France.

      Anjou is a region in France.

      Mitt Romney's wife owns two Cadillacs.

      Mitt Romney speaks French.

      QED.

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  11. Re the limo: last time I parallel parked like that I had to take a breathalyzer test

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  12. I think the limo's a 1930 V-16 Cadillac, just like Al Capone's, so the owner probably parked wherever the hell she wanted to.

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    1. It may well be the rare v16 model. If so, that probably explains why Baydog's family member bothered to hesitate long enough to make the exposure seen above.

      Too bad the photographer didn't write a short explanation on the back. Was the limousine dropping off a student? Or was it owned by the school and used for field trips and excursions? The newer car in the background dates the photo to the late 1940s. Also unknown is which campus (Glenside or Jenkintown) serves as the background. Finally, one wonders if the car survives in a collection or if it's unlucky enough to be up side down rotting in a junkyard?

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    2. On the other hand, the owner of gangsta limo might have been one of lucky lotharios (admitted to the aforementioned college during its male "insertion" period from 1872-1907), coming back for an alumni weekend "excursion" to help complete the education of the lovely young Beavers.

      I'm guessing he was class of '05, say, and his hasty parking reveals a lusty sense of urgency.

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  15. I think Kansas is going to beat Kentucky tonight and win the NCAA Tournament, Oh and Tillerman thanks for pointing out towns in France named after cars, is there a town in France called Honda, please let me know but fascinating stuff all the same.

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  16. And of course Detroit is a French word.

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  17. As is "automobile". And Chevrolet was founded by a Frenchman.

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    1. Co-Founded Patrick. His Partner was William C. Durant(not a Frenchman), who was at the time a ousted founder of General Motors. Kind of ironic....

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