Vintage photos....Awesome!

[kasbah]

Love the Studebakers

[VDub2625]

Was this the background for European cars to have those different, generic-looking headlamp units on their US versions instead of the original Euro versions? Or was it just that the parts needed to be DOT stamped and they couldn't be bothered to make model-specific DOT versions, but just picked some generic headlamps?

For later models, they standardized a beam pattern that was different from the ECE standards, and also (until 1984) required sealed-beam unit headlamps as well. So they had to squeeze the generic sealed beam design in. As to when and how these standards became adopted, I don't know.

[vwlarry]

Was this the background for European cars to have those different, generic-looking headlamp units on their US versions instead of the original Euro versions? Or was it just that the parts needed to be DOT stamped and they couldn't be bothered to make model-specific DOT versions, but just picked some generic headlamps?

One has to take this story one step at a time. Firstly, when the General Electric sealed-beam headlamp was developed, tested and then adopted virtually industry-wide in 1940, it was then a major advance in automotive lighting, both in light-power and in durability/reliability, since it was hermetically sealed, and remained stable throughout its lifetime, unlike the theretofore bulb/reflector lighting, which was rapidly becoming inadequate with the steadily increasing speeds that drivers traveled at.

The DOT did not happen until decades later, and by then the sealed beams in the American marketplace had become de facto standardized by virtue of their universal fitment ability, low cost, reliability, etc. Ease of replacement, low cost to the consumer, and low cost of manufacture must never be ignored. However, as the years passed, technology passed the sealed beam by, and by the 1980s viable alternatives that provided better lighting power with equivalent reliability (although not necessarily the same low cost of replacement/maintenance) entered the scene, and the industry lobbied for changed standards, which they got. The sealed beam died quietly not long afterward.

[barry2952]

American cars could only have two headlights up until 1957, when low and high beams were allowed. That sure changed the "face" of cars, and sometimes not in a good way.

[BumpSteer]

[kowabonga]

[Jesarray]

Harold found a way to do some stretching to counter the confining nature of a car interior during the long drives.

[mikes96GTI]

^^^^^^ That guy has to be dead in that shot.......

Go "LIKE" this FB page. It has all sorts of good stuff...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vinta...80823595287791






^^^^^^ For those of you that are Socal locals, looks like Galpin has always done cool stuff at their dealer.

[barry2952]

[audifans]

[vwlarry]

I'm assuming the guy wearing a flower pot on his head wasn't driving.

[barry2952]

I'm assuming the guy wearing a flower pot on his head wasn't driving.

I'd hate to be doing a wide sweeper and get my pinky caught in that steering wheel support.

It looks like some kind of chain drive for the tandem steering, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how it works.

[Rory Calhoun]

Gotta love the cheerleaders!





http://www.capecentralhigh.com/centr...aps-pep-rally/

[barry2952]

One of these was the Homecoming Queen's car at my school in 1969.

The all-new 1966 Lincoln Continental was very popular, and model year production surpassed the 50,000 mark for the first time since the unibodied, center-opening rear door body styling had been introduced back in 1961. To celebrate this achievement, the fifty thousandth car built was assembled with brushed stainless steel body panels for the Lincoln Division. The metal was supplied by Allegheny-Ludlum Steel Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was the same company behind the stainless steel 1936 Fords and the 1960 Ford Thunderbird Hardtops.

Allegheny-Ludlum ordered two additional stainless steel cars to use for promotions, and they were built at the same time as the fifty thousandth car for Lincoln. All three were Convertibles, and featured a brushed finish on the stainless steel panels. The convertible tops were black on two of the cars, and a dark blue top was fitted to the other. One had a black leather interior, another a dark blue leather interior with individually adjustable front seats and console (this was the one with the dark blue top), and the third a red leather interior. The car with the black top and black leather interior was the 50,000th car, has the 50,000th VIN, and remained with Lincoln-Mercury for years. The other two of course were delivered to Allegheny-Ludlum.

The inside areas of the doors, under the hood, and inside the trunk are painted to match the interior trim color of the cars, as stainless steel was not used in these areas.

The cars were built late in the 1966 production run at a cost of $30,000 each. The two cars built for Allegheny-Ludlum were fitted with 1967 hood ornament, grille, and taillight trim, as well as '67 dash pad, tilt steering wheel column, steering wheel, and padded hub to update their appearance. Despite using 1967 grilles, for some reason, the Continental Star that appeared on the front fenders of the 1966 models only was fitted to all three stainless cars. Documentation shows that the front fenders did not initially have the mounting holes for the ornaments, so they had to be drilled later to attach the chrome decorations. It is not clear why this was done, as not attaching those emblems would have essentially given the cars a '67 exterior appearance.

The car retained by Lincoln (the actual fifty thousandth car) was damaged in the 1970s when a building partially collapsed on the car. It was repaired, purchased by Allegheny-Ludlum, and is now on display in a museum. The car with the red interior was was in an accident and suffered front end damage at some point. It too was repaired.

All three stainless steel Lincoln Continental Convertibles still exist today, and are shown from time to time at car shows around the country.

[2VWatatime]

I'd hate to be doing a wide sweeper and get my pinky caught in that steering wheel support.

It looks like some kind of chain drive for the tandem steering, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how it works.

IIRC it was a cable drive w/both wheels moving simultaneously. Hey, found it:

[Rory Calhoun]

IIRC it was a cable drive w/both wheels moving simultaneously. Hey, found it:

Nice find!

And quickly done.

a few more of the '66 pics

[Massive Attack]

Looks like New York



Chicago

[Mtl-Marc]

[Terandyne]

[Barefoot_]

[Hand Cannon]

[330iZHP]

is it vwlarry or barry that has a two door lincoln?

I visited the LeMay Museum this weekend and took some pics of two, thought of yours, and wanted to share

[PerL]

US spec 300SL Roadster. URL suggests that the pic is from feb 20 1958

[Powderkeg]

[mitcompressor]

[Harvey Hopkins]

[Roberto Dimento]

[audifans]

[TaaT]

[Bigtree]

This.
The best shot yet!!! WOW.

[Rory Calhoun]

Dorothea Lange

[IC AI]

I just learned about the "Vert-A-Pac rail cars" from http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2012...unny-pics.html (last picture).

Seems like an efficient use of space!

[Lupo TDI]

Northern Ireland?

[mikes96GTI]

Mr Bean has a very nice FN FAL, which I would love to add to my collection.....

[VierSpeed]

Mr Bean has a very nice FN FAL, which I would love to add to my collection.....

Good friend of mine has two, and he's only able to keep them because he had them before all the Canadian legislative mumbo-jumbo. Can't shoot them anywhere, but damn if they aren't nice to fondle!