From last week’s post on David Greenlees and his cohorts over at The Old Motor, you might get the impression they focus mostly on mid-century automotive photography, which is certainly not the case. Still, we can’t help but notice some of the more intriguing items from that period they’ve so far posted, including this one-off wonder.
As David wrote:
From studying these photos I get the feeling that there is a British convertible hiding under all of this.
The sheet metal and trim on the front end has the look of being narrowed and possibly of US origin. It appears that someone spent a lot of time on the front of this little car getting it looking good. The rear end seems to be a different matter, it has the appearance of being rushed and not as well worked out as the front. The top, if this is a convertible appears to be crudely done and the rear window treatment does not appear to be moveable.
All in all a big mystery and our only clues are the UN on the trunk and the back of the photo has writing that lists Earl Patrick and a date of Nov. 21, 1950.
That date jibes with the 1950 Illinois license plate on the car. Chicago? Likely. But what exactly is this thing? What appears to be a Dodge nameplate on the hood lip may just be a red herring; 1949-1950 Dodges spelled out the brand name in standalone letters on the hood, not in embossed trim. The front fenders appear to be 1949-1950 GM, and the bumper and grille both appear to be mashups of various contemporary parts. Behind the firewall, however, we’re at a loss. The diminutive size makes me think Crosley, Keller or Playboy, but David may indeed be correct in thinking that a European car lies underneath all the bodywork. Any ideas?
UPDATE: David sent along one more photo of the front of the car. It looks like the lip trim was split and narrowed, and thus throws my Dodge theory out the window. As for the sign in the background, I don’t see that there is a Port Street or a Fort Street in Chicago, so there goes that theory as well. Seems like the more you look at this thing, the less you know about it.
UPDATE UPDATE: Hugo90 posted a picture of a 1950 Frazer to back Kit’s suggestion in the comments for the origin of the front end of this car. Kit maintains that a 1933-1934 1935-1936 Ford resides underneath the updated sheetmetal.