Another mystery car

[piper]

dandarez said:

Have to say, adding to others on here, I love your rendering!
Didn't notice before the rear over-rider(s), obviously the same as front (got to be Triumph).

Something just jumped out at me, your little ridge on rear 'boot' (ringed).
Everyone previously seems to have said this is probably a fuel filler.
Could it not be a boot handle, Wilmot Breeden type? Plenty varieties around at that time.
As such I'm now seeing the rear panel with rubber held 'flat' Perspex screen as a full length opening bootlid?

Might just be me, but I can see a feint line running rearwards downwards, boot shutline?
And a tiny bit flatter than the slightly curved rear in your rendering?

All ruddy guesswork, of course.
Keep up the good work. Still think it's GRP and a one-off Brit.

Is the ringed area just the top of the offside rear wing?

[dandarez]

I can see what you mean, looking at the 'photo' showing the top of the wing the other side, but the 'drawing' is sideview on. You wouldn't see the other wing tip and if you could, would it point almost skywards?

I'm still thinking that rear is a opening lid full length with a Perspex screen, and that's a handle. Fuel filler on other side out of view.


PLEASE someone find this bl**dy car!

[piper]

The back of the mystery car in my opinion would drop away between the rear wings like the back of the Peerless GT above, also I think the boot would be very similar.. Also the sharp flange wheel arch lines on the Peerless are very similar to the mystery car as are the wheels on this particular example. The high quality fiberglass bodies were built for Peerless by James Whitson and Co Ltd of Yiewsley, Middlesex. As I have said before I just have a hunch they were responsible for the body work of the mystery car.

[Yertis]

I think the body might have been cobbled together from bits and pieces. The ‘tailfins’, in particular, look grafted on. There’s a very distict kink upwards in the rear wing ahead of the fin, roughly in line with the rear of the rear wheel arch. (This isn’t shown in _Sorted_’s rendering actually)

[_Sorted_]

It is always difficult with pictures, but please see below where car has been placed within picture after using camera matching. Spent a long time matching up top of rear fins as wanted to be certain as I could that the car came in sharply after centre of rear wheels. This can be seen by light line/shadow at rear of wing in original picture.
Original pic

CG car within picture. Shows rear fin tops in orange and is a rubbish set of polys as early on in process.

Plan view showing fairly radical in sweep of rear wings. The wings go in and not up. By going inwards the eye is deceived into thinking they are going higher. This would not have been possible to sort if other side fin not shown.

Couple of renders from side at different heights to show how camera matching is really needed as pictures are deceptive.





Hope the above makes sense and helps!

NB: Have redone front corners with softer lines and following light cut out more evenly.

Edited by _Sorted_ on Wednesday 8th August 10:11

[_Sorted_]

Few more renders.

Edited by _Sorted_ on Wednesday 8th August 10:13

[_Sorted_]

Been trying to suss out colour, but keep changing mind so throwing out two questions to forum:

1) White difficult. Will go with most popular option from the forum.

2) Sampled a number of areas from car and have come up with below. Really need a poll to decide (don't know how to do) and will go with that. Is there a car painting trick that can sort using another method?



Do any of these colours match a standard offering in period?

Edited by _Sorted_ on Wednesday 8th August 10:32

[Yertis]

_Sorted_ said:

Clever stuff

OK – understood

[CharlieAlphaMike]

_Sorted_ said:

Few more renders.

Edited by _Sorted_ on Wednesday 8th August 10:13

Amazing work Sorted. If someone can now build this car from your drawings, we can give it a name and (sort of) solve the mystery

[uk66fastback]

No.10 is closest to my old eyes ...

Fantastic work though _Sorted_

How would the driver be able to see much out of that rear window (except the sky) if we was sitting so low - the bonnet height is low, the column can only come at such and such an angle etc. Unless he is sitting way above the steering wheel. I have never though the 'driver' you can see (black jacket, white collar etc) was the driver btw ...

[uk66fastback]

CharlieAlphaMike said:

... we can give it a name and (sort of) solve the mystery

I vote for the _ESDORT_ (see what I did there?)

[Yertis]

_Sorted_ said:

Now we know how big the thing is, because wheel trims etc, could you put a person in for scale?

I'm sure the doors would need to be bigger than that, as said up thread even to their extending as far as the bonnet like a Spitfire.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

uk66fastback said:

CharlieAlphaMike said:

... we can give it a name and (sort of) solve the mystery

I vote for the _ESDORT_ (see what I did there?)

Or maybe the 'Dorset'?

[restoman]

I think I've made a breakthrough on this!!!!

It is quite obvious to me that '_Sorted_' owns the original car and has done all along.

Either that or the guy is a genius!

I'll let you decide.

[thegreenhell]

restoman said:

I think I've made a breakthrough on this!!!!

It is quite obvious to me that '_Sorted_' owns the original car and has done all along.

Either that or the guy is a genius!

I'll let you decide.

No, he's a time-traveller.

He's going to build this car that he's designing in this thread, take it back to 1962, and be in just the right place and time to appear in that photograph...

[Jos Notstoppen]

It might have been mentioned already as although I have followed the thread I may have missed some bits.

What is the reflection in the front bus side windows and on the front mudguard?

I have tried to zoom in but alas my laptop did not make it any clearer. I only really noticed it in the b/w picture above.

[Doofus]

Jos Notstoppen said:

It might have been mentioned already as although I have followed the thread I may have missed some bits.

What is the reflection in the front bus side windows and on the front mudguard?

I have tried to zoom in but alas my laptop did not make it any clearer. I only really noticed it in the b/w picture above.

YOU'VE NAILED IT!!!

It's somebody holding up a sign with the name of the car on it!



But seriously, there's been a huge amount of very impressive (and, dare I say, somewhat obsessive) work on this thread, but the date of the photo, what was on sale at Hamley's, the maker of the coat worn by the woman in the foreground and the door hinges (those bloody door hinges!) really won't make any difference.

Either somebody recognises the car or (thanks to _sorted_'s sterling efforts) the renderings, or they don't.

This isn't Crimewatch. Telling people the time and place, the weather and what was on at the cinema round the corner ain't going to jog anyone's memory.


All meant in good humour, but I'm gonna leave the thread now anyway.

[Dr G]

Surely it needs to be AMC? I know there's one already, but I feel "Another Mystery Car" has named itself

Or the 'AMC Sorted Gullwing coupe' in honour of its modeller?

[Yertis]

Doofus said:

Telling people the time and place... ain't going to jog anyone's memory.

No but it does help narrow down searches, ie the car must have been built and registered before the date of the photo. I'd suggest that its probably having been homebuilt means it's relatively unlikely to have strayed far from 'home'. I'd not want to travel far in it anyway.

[alfaspecial]

I think the consensus is that the photo was taken around 1962. This was towards the end of the end of the 'specials' car building era (presumably as people had more money in the 60's they were tempted to buy and modify Minis & the like).

I had a look at this site, http://www.fordspecials.co.uk/ which details mainly Ford Sidevalve 'specials'. There was a feedback section so I thought nothing ventured, nothing gained and asked if 'they' had any knowledge of the car - on the grounds that enthusiasts of the cars of the era might just have passing knowledge........

Almost immediately I received this reply: (thank you Ian!) So one avenue (Ford 'specials') is possibly(?) ruled out........


Hi David


Thanks for your feedback.
I’ve seen this picture before and don’t recognise it as a manufactured fibreglass Ford Special body.

The wheel trims could be Ballamy?









The website shows all manner of Ford 'specials' one of which is this one:
http://www.fordspecials.co.uk/convair.html

Now the car looks nothing like 'our' mystery car but interestingly does have the option of being supplied with gull wing doors. Supposition: after the Mercedes-Benz 300SL 'Gullwing' I imagine many 'specials' tried the copy the wow-factor of gull wing doors.


Quote "Convair ladder chassis for Ford E93A components
Also offered was their Mk1 shell for £68 for the bare shell, or £88 if bought with mounting tubes and brackets, fitted doors, bonnet and boot. Or with wheel arches and bulkheads for £108. Le Mans type headlamp covers could also be fitted for an extra £12. The `V` screen shown above £12.10s and a hardtop with gullwing doors for £35."

Jeremy Peirson's 1958 Convair, purchased without headlamp mountings moulded into the body and sporting the gullwing hardtop

End quote

Edited by alfaspecial on Thursday 9th August 15:28