[clackers]

Good morning all, I suffer from insomnia, it's a terrible thing.

But, on the plus side, only three more sleeps until Christmas!

One thing I worry about is our privacy in an increasingly compromised world, which other people seem to accept.

My wife asked me one day, “Why are you speaking so softly?”

I confessed, “I was afraid Mark Zuckerberg was listening.”

I laughed.

She laughed.

Alexa laughed.

Siri laughed.

A few weeks ago, I was reading a post in the Pentaxians Facebook group about taking pictures of cars. The OP was concerned about the entire vehicle shots, which I'll talk about next week, but she was right about also getting detail shots like close-ups of the headlights, side skirt, mirrors, badges - getting in tight on any feature that makes the car unique.

I used the Pentax DFA 50 Macro f2.8 with the K-1 and flash to get the interior shot below.

To finish with, there's the story of several family friends who meet regularly at each other's homes for dinner and then to play cards.

When it was Jenny and Frank's turn to host, Jenny decided on a mushroom and chicken pie.

Frank picked some mushrooms from the paddock at the back of the house. Jenny was worried they might be poisonous, but Frank reminded her that their dog Red ate them and was okay.

The meal was a great success, and everyone settled down to a game of 500. But a few minutes later, the front bell door rang, Jenny opened the door and the neighbour rushed in crying out, 'Red is dead!'

Jenny became hysterical. What was going to happen to her guests and Frank and herself? Calming down, she called the doctor and told him what had happened.

An ambulance arrived, and the officers and doctor took each person into the bathroom, gave them an enema, and pumped out their stomach.

'Everyone should be fine now,' the doctor said before leaving.

They were all feeling weak and slouched on living room chairs when the neighbour whispered: "You know, that driver who ran over Red didn't even stop."



Find the rest of the series here: Clackers' Beginners Tips (Collected) - PentaxForums.com

[swanlefitte]

The details matter. I would say this is what makes each car unique. We have a car in the woods from around the 1950's. Details are all that distinguishes it. It looks close to a 55 Ford Fairlane but we don't know what.

Anyone know? old-car | swanlefitte | Flickr

[ramseybuckeye]

The details matter. I would say this is what makes each car unique. We have a car in the woods from around the 1950's. Details are all that distinguishes it. It looks close to a 55 Ford Fairlane but we don't know what.

Anyone know? old-car | swanlefitte | Flickr

Or a 54? The bumper is the detail that ...is left!

[MarkJerling]

The details matter. I would say this is what makes each car unique. We have a car in the woods from around the 1950's. Details are all that distinguishes it. It looks close to a 55 Ford Fairlane but we don't know what.

Anyone know? old-car | swanlefitte | Flickr

The bumper does, indeed, look like either '54 or '55 but the firewall and the remains of the suspension is '55 or '56. And probably a Fairlane, not a Customline, because of the heater box cutout in the firewall. So, best guess from me is indeed a '55 or '56 Fairlane. Can't be a '54 because wrong firewall.

So, I'm 99% certain it's a '55 or '56 Ford, and most probably the Fairlane model, not the Customline. That firewall can only be '55 to '56.
Would need to see remains of front grille to be sure whether it's '55 or '56.

---

Last edited by MarkJerling; 09-20-2022 at 08:11 PM. Reason: Added info, correction.

[yucatanPentax]

First, many thanks to Clackers for another great post. I'm feeling a touch of sorrow over ol' Red tho.

A 1951 Ford Custom 4-door sedan was my first car. Dad bought it for $50 in rough shape. It ran. "The radio works!" he said excitedly. I was ... crushed over the fact that various doors, hood, roof, body were different colors -- parts from other Fords, replacing crash damage.

That's why I think swanlefitte's is an earlier car, early 1950s. I'm looking at the end of the bumper, where the metal is essentially flat. By roughly the mid-1950s, the bumpers were convex all the way from end to end.

Here's a 1951 Ford Custom. Notice the flatter end of the bumper. It also has a chrome bolt head going through it:

Here's a 1955 Ford. Notice the end of the bumper is more convex (from top to bottom of the bumper, toward the viewer, concave when seen from inside the bumper):

Anyway, good luck identifying it. I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later!
Any other exterior parts to be found? Rear bumper?

[robgski]

Great ariticle! There is a car group here on PF . I did not make it to any car shows this summer, but there will be a big event nearby in OCotber, before the classics go back in the garage for winter.

It seems like the pre-WWII Ford bumpers were flat but no curved ends around the fenders, after WWII they went to a curve. The 1949-1951 Fords shared the same body and bumper style.

[Sir Nameless]

Great article, as always.

I don't know much about cars from that era (or, most eras for that matter) but I will say that semi-circular yellow dashboard looks really cool.

[clackers]

Dad bought it for $50 in rough shape. It ran.

It's hard to get a decent moving toy car for $50 these days!

[yucatanPentax]

It's hard to get a decent moving toy car for $50 these days!

It was very rough and needed about everything. Of course, it was a l o n g time ago. I worked summers. Put on seat covers myself. Ended up replacing the water pumps. Had it painted. Got a ticket from the highway patrol ... but it was written to my dad for letting me drive when I wasn't going to school. woo-hoooo!

[MarkJerling]

Or a 54? The bumper is the detail that ...is left!

Not '54. Those bonnet / hood hinge setups are only '55 and '56. And, heater box mounts higher in a '54.

[clackers]

It was very rough and needed about everything. Of course, it was a l o n g time ago. I worked summers. Put on seat covers myself. Ended up replacing the water pumps. Had it painted. Got a ticket from the highway patrol ... but it was written to my dad for letting me drive when I wasn't going to school. woo-hoooo!

Of course, in Australia the driving age is 18, not 16. I'm freaked at the idea of 16 year old me and my irresponsible friends tearing around in Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The drinking age is also 18, however, so there are compensations!

[yucatanPentax]

Of course, in Australia the driving age is 18, not 16. I'm freaked at the idea of 16 year old me and my irresponsible friends tearing around in Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The drinking age is also 18, however, so there are compensations!

Oh, this will terrify you:
I was 14! 14 yo's were allowed to drive to work on farms in those days. The legally allowable reasons to drive at 14 were: drive with a parent in the car with you, or drive alone: for farm work, between work and home in a town, and to school. It was a rural state. Of course, we had very good Driver's Ed in those days. Typically, you went to Driver's Ed in the summer, taught at a high school.

At 16, all the restrictions were off. You could drive as you wished, when you wished. I was 14 and wanted to see a movie. 3 friends jumped in the car with me and off we went to the nearest movies -- 20 miles away. The highway patrol saw the old car with mis-matched paint and decided to do a safety check. Well, I'd already added turn signals and everything was working.

Then he asked if my dad knew I was driving. "Of course," I said, which was true.
He wrote my dad a ticket for allowing an underage to drive.

[35mmfilmfan]

I do not drive. I had three lessons when I was 17 - I hit two other cars, and the man walking in front with the red flag. I decided not to continue.

[ramseybuckeye]

When I was a kid growing up in a small town in farm country is was nothing to see 11 and 12 year olds driving tractors into town pulling 2 or 3 wagons of corn or soybeans. As soon as they could reach the pedals they were on the tractors. I was probably about 7 the first time my Dad let me drive a car - but that was in a field, not on a road, that didn't come til 16.

[MarkJerling]

I learnt to drive a bit like that. The first thing I was allowed to drive was the forklift! After that I progressed to the 12 ton truck and from there to my dad's car. All this before I was the legal 18 year old age.
When I was about 16 my dad would send me to town with the truck on general errands.

Then, once I joined the army I learnt to drive all sorts of big trucks, armored and not, so after that cars and motorcycles were easy!

I taught both my kids to drive from about 9 years of age. We used to go on 4wd offroad excursions with a club and there was often an opportunity for the kids to have a play in a paddock somewhere in 4-low. The good thing with 4-low is you have enough time to intervene if they're heading for an obstacle that should best be avoided! I'm convinced my son deliberately aimed for every ditch and divot. He'd bounce the truck over some crest or through a hole and laugh like mad. Cost me a few shock absorbers! LOL

Somewhere I have a photo of the Landrover in full flight - all four wheels well off the ground. 4wd vehicles fly well. It's the landings that sometimes aren't pretty!