# Help ID this car **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 25, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417 "2019-01-25T20:20:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/1 "2019-01-25T20:20:54Z")
[![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/744d4b38-0e49-4f93-b6ca-ac9747322190.png) ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/744d4b38-0e49-4f93-b6ca-ac9747322190.png) Found this image on the internet with no info. Does anyone know the make/model? ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/2 "2019-01-25T20:36:03Z")
Looks a bit like an Auburn Boattail Speedster but some of the details look a little wrong. the rib along the center of the trunk lid doesn’t look right to me. It could be a kit car made to look like an Auburn. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/3 "2019-01-25T21:05:13Z")
My brain is saying Cord. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/4 "2019-01-25T21:09:08Z")
Defiantly a boat tail of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/5 "2019-01-25T21:35:56Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Looks a bit like an Auburn Boattail Speedster but some of the details look a little wrong. the rib along the center of the trunk lid doesn’t look right to me. It could be a kit car made to look like an Auburn. Lots of the details don’t look right to me; I’m thinking this is a kit car. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/6 "2019-01-26T02:21:29Z")
A kit car made of steel? I’ve never heard of such an animal. A lot of high-end American cars had custom coachwork, and even “standard” models could differ from car to car. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/7 "2019-01-26T03:00:32Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Lots of the details don’t look right to me; I’m thinking this is a kit car. I’m with you. A kit or some sort of home made deal. The large, flat expanse between the ‘tail’ and the wheels makes me think the whole thing is jammed onto an pre-existing chassis. The rear wheels are finished in a totally half assed fashion. The cockpit is tiny with sparse detail and small gauges completely unlike anything you’d see in bespoke coachwork. The track is dispropotionately wide w/r/t the rest of the body. It’s just damned goofy. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/8 "2019-01-26T04:52:34Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > I’m with you. A kit or some sort of home made deal. The large, flat expanse between the ‘tail’ and the wheels makes me think the whole thing is jammed onto an pre-existing chassis. The rear wheels are finished in a totally half assed fashion. The cockpit is tiny with sparse detail and small gauges completely unlike anything you’d see in bespoke coachwork. The track is dispropotionately wide w/r/t the rest of the body. It’s just damned goofy. Agreeing and expanding. Made in a high school metal shop. The panel beating is sloppy. Cycle fenders on the rear? The windshield frame is painted, not plated. Dashboard has exposed screwheads :eek: and too few instruments. Cockpit is too narrow–no way you’d fit Clark Gable and Carole Lombard in it. Part of me says we should let it return to its constituent elements while another part wants to see some lame cable show waste tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of manhours restoring it to the shitbox it started out as. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/9 "2019-01-26T05:00:06Z")
Maybe it’s [a belly tanker](http://www.roadkill.com/whats-a-belly-tanker/)? There have been some two-seaters. ETA: a Google reverse image search seems to think it’s an overturned canoe. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/10 "2019-01-26T05:28:48Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > ETA: a Google reverse image search seems to think it’s an overturned canoe. Go ahead and mark this one as solved, boys! AI’s finally got us all licked. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/11 "2019-01-26T05:40:53Z")
That’s way too big to be a belly tank and looks nothing like an overturned canoe. And a steel canoe? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/12 "2019-01-26T05:42:52Z")
It seems that racers of that style were popular in the '30s. So yeah, it’s probably homemade – and a sparse cockpit is all that’s necessary for that kind of racing. I was searching on Whippet Speedsters and came across [this page](https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/mus/2016/01/What-Wonderous-New-Machines/3749320.html). ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/13 "2019-01-26T05:53:55Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Maybe it’s [a belly tanker](http://www.roadkill.com/whats-a-belly-tanker/)? There have been some two-seaters. Not sure if it’s one of those but they sure are cool! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/14 "2019-01-26T05:55:22Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > And a steel canoe? Why not? My dad had a steel rowboat. The thing had rusted out by the time I was born but it was still there in the backyard, by Mom’s compost pile. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/15 "2019-01-26T05:55:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It seems that racers of that style were popular in the '30s. So yeah, it’s probably homemade – and a sparse cockpit is all that’s necessary for that kind of racing. I was searching on Whippet Speedsters and came across [this page](https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/mus/2016/01/What-Wonderous-New-Machines/3749320.html). Interesting. Thanks for sharing the link. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/16 "2019-01-26T06:55:00Z")
Lakesters didn’t become popular until 315 gal P-38 droptanks came on the surplus market. They were about 36" wide and basically round. That car in the OP has slab sides and a rounded, but not semicircular, top. The bodywork covering the rear axle is swoopy like a real boat-tail and doesn’t match that cycle fender. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/17 "2019-01-26T08:30:04Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > They were about 36" wide and basically round. [Not necessarily.](https://journal.classiccars.com/2018/02/22/scratch-built-1961-hoyt-special-racer/) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/18 "2019-01-26T09:34:06Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Agreeing and expanding. Made in a high school metal shop. The panel beating is sloppy. Cycle fenders on the rear? The windshield frame is painted, not plated. Dashboard has exposed screwheads :eek: and too few instruments. Cockpit is too narrow–no way you’d fit Clark Gable and Carole Lombard in it. > > Part of me says we should let it return to its constituent elements while another part wants to see some lame cable show waste tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of manhours restoring it to the shitbox it started out as. Whatever it is, some kids a really long time ago spent hours building it. It might not be made by a real coachbuilder or to a high standard of quality but the guys who built it actually built it. They weren’t on mobile devices reading tweets and looking at Instagram, they were actually working on building something with their hands and this effort, even if it was crude and shoddy, makes it impossible for me to just dismiss it as a piece of junk. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/19 "2019-01-26T14:16:01Z")
I apologize to the guys that built it. I can be tackily dismissive. Had I known them in '38 I’d’ve thought it was the bees knees (no sarcasm intended). ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417/20 "2019-01-26T16:10:59Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I apologize to the guys that built it. I can be tackily dismissive. Had I known them in '38 I’d’ve thought it was the bees knees (no sarcasm intended). Shoddy or not, it passed the DMV regs and was registered. And this no indication of when it was built but (googling) seems that that lic plate is from the mid ‘60s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-car/828417.md?page=2)