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The only pre-war Packard of the Philippines? (Upd. Model A Ford !)
"It wasn't long when I last visited the Philippines and much to my surprise, I think I saw the only pre war car left in the country. The car was once owned by General Emilio Aguinaldo who I believe is the country's first president. Of course my trip started off with the typical visit to famous beaches like Boracay and Palawan. Yes it was amazing as expected, but being a car enthusiast, what caught... |
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A Buick Custom Mystery in Scotland. (Upd. Langenthal or Drautz)
Uffe Mortensen sends this great shot of a Buick on tour; unfortunately without any additional information except that it is a Buick and probably not standard. One thing is sure, the photo is not in Denmark. We think it is Scotland or maybe the lake District. The fact that the car is parked on the left side of the road and is travelling with the Danish standard on the right wing only supports... |
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A non-Horch Mystery (upd. chassis + engine still around!)
Toby Ross recently found this elegant roadster body, one that seesm to be born for mediteraenean boulevards and concourses. However it is an empty hull without chassis or any mechanical parts. Our first impression was Lancia Astura, but Toby thought that it could be Horch. Not so, the body is not wide enough at the B posts to sit on a Horch chassis. Still he stayed with the presumption tha... |
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Whatisit? Quiz # 313
At first we walked right by the rear end of this black saloon, thinking: “Oh, just another one of those French gangster cars.” But a few yards further on, we realized things were not what we thought they were and went back to take some photographs. So here’s the rear end and you’ll have to admit, you do have to look twice. The front treatment will give the game away, so we are not going... |
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Vintage Automobiles at a special winter price.
Now you can save 30% on your most beloved automobiles. Like this fab winter resort Lincoln illustrated by Rene Vincent. This offer only holds for PreWarCar visitors and fans and will be valuable during this December month alone. The two inch thick, 3 kilo 'bible' on vintage automobile advertising by Norman Clark is now available for Euro 85 instead of Euro 125. You save Euro 40 whic... |
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The Humber Rally Mystery (Upd. Hillclimb!)
Humber-enthusiast Bruno Costers found this postcard of a 1907 10/12 Coventry Humber. A nice touch is that the card was send from Geneva in Switzerland to Marseille in France, but written in English, although the text has nothing to do with the picture of the Humber. Quite intriguing is the text on the front of the card which tells us this Humber has won the “Coupes de la Faucille, Coupe Megevet ... |
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Short bonnet, no horsepower?
No doubt you’ve seen the press release by Bonhams featuring the 1912 Lanchester (see column on the left). The 38hp Detachable Top Open Drive Limousine will be one of the top items in their auction, tomorrow December 1st. Before the first World War not everybody liked the Lancaster styling as many thought that a short bonnet meant no horsepower, although the Lanchester brothers always claimed ... |
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The Telephone ( Upd. telephone number: 1 )
No cars, but this picture is too nice not to show here. It’s the interior of a bicycle shop in The Netherlands around 1910-1915. Check all the lovely posters on the walls. The shop was called “The Telephone”. Why is not certain, but it’s assumed that the locals went there not only to have their bicycles repaired, but also to use the only telephone in the village. Probably the name stuck. T... |
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A customs Humber Snipe Mystery? (upd. 1936/37 Hillman Hawk)
A Simon Johnstons sends this photo: "A friend of mine found this photograph amongst family photos. It was taken in 1937. We're trying to identify the make and think that it might possibly be a Humber Snipe. But the four door drophead coachwork is unusual so can anyone confirm exactly what it is?"Editor: no idea if this is Humber or not, but the horizontal detailing of the radiator will p... |
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The First Automobile Races in America (Upd. Cranston, Rhode Island)
By Leigh Dorrington: The first automobile race in the U.S. took place on roads between Chicago and Evanston, Illinois in November 1895 and was won by Charles Duryea’s gasoline-powered motorized wagon.However the first race held on a track in the U.S. took pl... |
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Mystery Delage team photo. (Upd. Brooklands 1927)
Carrick Watson uploaded this fine Delage GP team photo: It's from the H.C.Niven collection that was on the wall of the Repair Shop on Nithsdale Road in Glasgow. Easy to see they are Delage, but where is the photo taken? And where. Edmond Bourlier and Robert Benoist are two of them, but who is the third man? Possibly the buildings look like barracks at an airfield. And finally what are you... |
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Royal Zedel with a pizza past.
Roberto Vellani writes: "We are a small museum in North Italy (San Martino in Rio) and we have to restore this Zedel 10Hp. Probably the car was built in 1908 or 1909, but registered in Rome in 1910.
The body was made by Carrozzeria Alessio - Turin, but in that time it still had a branch in Rome mana... |
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Passing on the hobby!
In recent years we have heard so many times about the fear that the old car hobby will die with the current custodians. That today's youth has no interest in all this. We have our opinion in this, but let's rest that for today. John C. Meyer III, editor of the Horseless Carriage Gazette (the American club-glossy about brass cars) has found his own way to hand over the love... |
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Mystery chassis in Canada. (upd. 1928 Model 56 Willys Knight?)
Les Richardson found this chassis in a farmers junk pile in Canada. "The frame is really solid and might make an interesting project car but I'd like to find out what it is! The number on the chassis is found on the rear, right side. There is a "56" printed sideways on the left side of the then "A2266" on the remainder. The wooden spoke wheels were the first thing that caught my eye. In th... |
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Funny frontaxle and Velox Engine Mystery
Jonathan Poll sends this collection of parts which obtained a few years ago and so far has not been able to identify. "The body is home made, that's why there aren't pics of the whole car. Does anyone know what the front axle could have been of? Its obviously the front of a chassis. It has a Velox engine, we where told the engine was built between 1898 and 1904. It has very unusual sus... |
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A loaded Studebaker Dictator
Frank Mitchel is a long time owner (36 years!) of this Studebaker Dictator 6A. Since the car is in fine fetlle he has specialised his hobby in dfinding the right accesoires...."I purchased the car with 31,472 original miles and have carefully maintained it since completing the major work in 1980. I enjoy adding accessories to the car and this past year have added original Phil... |
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What is it? Quiz 312
It is a 6 cylinder race car. It has a four speed gearbox. It has servo assisted breaks. It had some succes in GP racing in North Africa. It has a double name. The make is known for producing front wheel drive cars as well. They lived until not too long after WWII. In order to win this quiz tell us in less than 100 words what you know about this car. The more accurate and the more comple... |
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Minnie & Model A: our 2012 calendar cover. (you can order now)
Crisis or not, 2012 looks like a promising year. Thank you so much for sending all those beautiful photos of your beloved ones (both ladies & cars) for the 2012 "Proper Cars, True Ladies" calendar. Visitor mark Walker did send this brilliant photo showing his daughter Minnie with 1930 Model A Roadster, shot by boyfriend Ben Whitley. The striking composition, lighting, styling and great c... |
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An invention that isn't dead in the water!
As soon as the automobile was launched, other inventors tried to create a vehicle that that could both drive on the road and float on the water. Most designs were unsuccessful (in other words: they went to the bottom of the river!). One that did work was ‘La Comète’. After training as a mechanic, Ulysse Texier de la Caillerie founded his own taxi company and opened a garage. He then took o... |
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The Trackless Train
Remember our recent article and photo about the Isotta Fraschini? In the back of the photo was a big limousine, that was used for advertising. It was quickly identified as a Graham-Paige, but Uffe Mortensen from Denmark came up with a whole lot more information about these strange automobiles. There have been several of them, all designed by Harry McGee from the USA. A standard Graham-Paige cha... |
