sudsmaster
Well-known member
I was rummaging through some old photos on my hard drive... this one was probably taken in 2003 - at a secluded automobile restoration shop/museum in the Santa Cruz mountains...
Old Filter Queen
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sudsmaster
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Something rare and beautiful
This might be a Bugatti...
This might be a Bugatti...
sudsmaster
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Or maybe this one...
58limited
Well-known member
I have a similar Filter Queen. I don't think the first car is a Bugatti - the portion of the radiator that I see is the wrong shape.
Second one is I think - I can see" "GATTI" on the red plate on the side of the engine.
Second one is I think - I can see" "GATTI" on the red plate on the side of the engine.
The top car is definitely not a Bugatti - it has an inline six cylinder engine and looks like it has a detachable cylinder head. Ettore Bugatti didn't like sixes nor did he like detachable heads, so his engines were of the inline four or eight cylinder layout with the block and head combined in one casting atop a separate crankcase. This eliminated the possibility of a blown head gasket, and helped keep the cylinders from going oval under stress. On the debit side, a valve job or regular de-coke (something required frequently on old cars) meant removing the block to get the valves out.
I suspect the top car is English and supercharged because I can see the top of an SU carburettor below the generator on the front of the engine. That's an unusual location for a carb unless there is a supercharger involved.
I suspect the top car is English and supercharged because I can see the top of an SU carburettor below the generator on the front of the engine. That's an unusual location for a carb unless there is a supercharger involved.
sudsmaster
Well-known member
Yes, the second car is the Bugatti. Very good!
Not sure what the first one is. I think it's got an anchor type logo on the hood, but my photo of that isn't sharp enough.
Not sure what the first one is. I think it's got an anchor type logo on the hood, but my photo of that isn't sharp enough.
My mom had a similar 'Queen but hers was painted, not chrome.
sudsmaster
Well-known member
Now I'm vexed by not knowing what the first car's make is. I looked through my book on classic cars but didn't find it.
Maybe one of you can recognize the make...
Maybe one of you can recognize the make...
That first car . . .
Is a real toughie. The hood ornament looks like a stork, which was famously used by Hispano-Suiza. However, Hissos were big cars and the scale of this car isn't huge, plus the engine isn't crossflow and I believe most of the Hisso inline sixes were.
I am pretty sure that the radiator cowling was provided by the coachbuilder, making identity more difficult as in that case there is no manufacturer's standard shell as a tip off. My gut level feeling is that this car may very well be a "special", or a car built up using bits and pieces from many old cars. Most cars of this sort are pretty crude, but every once in awhile someone does a very nice job to professional standards. Quite a few specials were made in Britain in the '50s, when money was tight and most new cars boring, and this car is right-hand drive. Another possbility is that the car started out as an upmarket but boring sedan which survived many years in good shape but wasn't worth the cost of restoration, so instead someone rebodied it as a more sporting car, and disgarded the original radiator as being too tall. Quite a few nice sedans have lost their identities in this manner through the years.
I noticed that the Bugatti is also right hand drive and painted green too - I wonder if it was supplied as a chassis to a British coachbuilder?
Sudsman: I love your queen, makes me think of what it must have looked like at a Republican women's club meeting on the evening of the presidential election.
Is a real toughie. The hood ornament looks like a stork, which was famously used by Hispano-Suiza. However, Hissos were big cars and the scale of this car isn't huge, plus the engine isn't crossflow and I believe most of the Hisso inline sixes were.
I am pretty sure that the radiator cowling was provided by the coachbuilder, making identity more difficult as in that case there is no manufacturer's standard shell as a tip off. My gut level feeling is that this car may very well be a "special", or a car built up using bits and pieces from many old cars. Most cars of this sort are pretty crude, but every once in awhile someone does a very nice job to professional standards. Quite a few specials were made in Britain in the '50s, when money was tight and most new cars boring, and this car is right-hand drive. Another possbility is that the car started out as an upmarket but boring sedan which survived many years in good shape but wasn't worth the cost of restoration, so instead someone rebodied it as a more sporting car, and disgarded the original radiator as being too tall. Quite a few nice sedans have lost their identities in this manner through the years.
I noticed that the Bugatti is also right hand drive and painted green too - I wonder if it was supplied as a chassis to a British coachbuilder?
Sudsman: I love your queen, makes me think of what it must have looked like at a Republican women's club meeting on the evening of the presidential election.
sudsmaster
Well-known member
Hydra,
I may need to go to the elders of my car club, which arranged the visit to the resto shop a few years ago, and ask for their opinion on what that black car is.
The front end bears some resemblance to an old Maybach. I agree that the hood ornament, while distinctive, may be misleading. And I can't remember or find where the anchor logo was used on any make of automobile.
Here's a shot of the rear of the mystery car:
I may need to go to the elders of my car club, which arranged the visit to the resto shop a few years ago, and ask for their opinion on what that black car is.
The front end bears some resemblance to an old Maybach. I agree that the hood ornament, while distinctive, may be misleading. And I can't remember or find where the anchor logo was used on any make of automobile.
Here's a shot of the rear of the mystery car:
sudsmaster
Well-known member
And here is something in "pank"...
sudsmaster
Well-known member
The Bug
The Bugatti looks like a Type 46, or maybe Type 50, and the pink car is probably a large Renault from the thirties judging from the cowl mounted radiator behind the engine.
Now back to that black beauty. I've seen photos of that car before, but still can't place it. Another oddity about it is the use of chrome plated wire wheels: most wire wheels are painted aside from some early sixties GT cars like the E-type Jaguar. This again makes me think the car isn't a totally authentic prewar creation, but regardless it's quite pretty.
Now back to that black beauty. I've seen photos of that car before, but still can't place it. Another oddity about it is the use of chrome plated wire wheels: most wire wheels are painted aside from some early sixties GT cars like the E-type Jaguar. This again makes me think the car isn't a totally authentic prewar creation, but regardless it's quite pretty.
sudsmaster
Well-known member
Yes, it seems probable the black car is a custom job - although many luxury cars of that era had custom bodies made for them, so in a sense they were all customs.
Whatever it is, it's above my pay grade.
I do recall the pink car was on the second floor of the shop. The building was made of wood with some steel supports below. The second floor was quite springy which alarmed me, what with the heavy machine tools and classic cars kept up there, but the owners assured me it had all been engineered properly. In any case, you can see the reflection of the underside of the second floor in the first few photos, and the wooden 2nd story floor in the photo of the pink car.
Whatever it is, it's above my pay grade.
I do recall the pink car was on the second floor of the shop. The building was made of wood with some steel supports below. The second floor was quite springy which alarmed me, what with the heavy machine tools and classic cars kept up there, but the owners assured me it had all been engineered properly. In any case, you can see the reflection of the underside of the second floor in the first few photos, and the wooden 2nd story floor in the photo of the pink car.
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