dw1603

Harry certainly helped me extend my obscure American car knowledge base.

Do you have any information regarding your first choice for 420? There seem to be similarities to the IFA F9, the wheels, front bumper, windshield and rear fender shape in particular. Also the way the hood and rear deck fall away quite steeply remind me of the IFA ( and the Auto Union / DKW).

OK Michael, put us out of our misery, what was Autoquiz 420/1 ?

@Meriva, As soon as I saw your post I thought it gave away too much information. Didn’t say anything as I didn’t want to draw attention to it. Can’t be to judgemental though, I have blown a couple of Autoquizes in the past.

Likewise

I was so sure it was an Isotta-Fraschini that I almost gave it as my answer.Fortunately I double checked, but then the wheels convinced me that it was a Lancia, so I wasted time on that search. In the end, I resorted to Coachbuilt.com too. An absolute goldmine.

Not as easy as I thought.

Hi Michael It is still telling me that your message box cannot accept messages. Dave

Oh boy, that is beautiful

I worked at a Ford dealership in the 80’s, mostly cars, but we did see some trucks. The Transco wasn’t that common, but we did get one in from time to time. I recall that there was a conflict between the cab suspension and the sprung driver’s seat, over some road surfaces, it could leave the driver feeling quite seasick. Beautiful model, well done.

I think I must have searched every variation of gullwing without success, I was totally sick of the sight of the 300SL and the East German Melkus. Finally found it after Michael’s clue pointed me at NSU, seems so obvious now, why didn’t I think of that sooner?

Me too!

These things came from Lancashire, so they might not appreciate the Yorkshire reference (strong local rivalry, even fought a war over it once) definitely with you on the Yorkshire pudding though.

All three, but there is room for a big block and a beam axle if you want to go really fast.

Ford did all their design work in house in Detroit at this time, so it is actually a contemporary of the Mercury that it resembles. The British Ford Zephyr and Consul that came along a couple of years later look like small scale 49 Fords.

I have owned both in my mis-spent youth, so they are pretty familiar to me. Show me something American from the mid 70’s onwards and if it isn’t mainstream I wouldn’t have a clue.

Looks a bit too rounded to be a Volvo, maybe a Simca 1301?

I’ve got it, it’s Tow Mater!

Well I’m glad I looked at this today, not tomorrow (Christmas Day) it would have spoiled my lunch.

Completely new one on me, even when you know what it is, it’s not that easy to find. Good choice. The car is actually quite good looking once you strip off all that ugly black detailing, it looks a bit more Italian. My biggest mistake (apart from thinking it was ugly) was to assume it was a fibreglass body, wasted a lot of time on those two search terms.

I am getting nowhere with this one, I’ll just have to wait for the reveal I guess.

I wondered if it was yours Michael, lovely car and a bit prettier than a Köln cabriolet?

Yeah me too, but then I looked more closely at the wheels and radiator and decided it was a Ford. The UK is awash with Transit vans, quite sad to think they are all made in Turkey.

Ah-ha, found it! Thanks Michael, couldn’t have done it without your help.