Thread by @iowahawkblog

Happy Daytona 500 day from #DavesCarIDService! NASCAR was born over drinks at the Ebony Bar of Daytona's chic Streamline Hotel in 1947, and the hotel still is in operation. This photo shows it right before its 1941 opening. Cars, L-R:

1940 Nash fastback
1939 Ford
1940 Nash

stock car racing existed long before NASCAR. The impetus for its formation was disgruntled drivers cheated out of prize money by fly-by-night race promoters. At the Ebony Bar, Bill France Sr proposed an racing organization that insured drivers got paid, and NASCAR was born.

The first sanctioned NASCAR race in Daytona was 1949, the course basically 2 drag strips connected by hairpin turns: one on the beach, one on the A1A. It was dominated by 1937-40 Ford V8 coupes which were the hot moonshiner setup of the day. Kinda wish they had kept the course.

Personally I'm not a big fan/follower of NASCAR (my taste runs more land speed & drag racing), but like a lot of things, back in the day it was pretty epic.

Anyway onto the car IDs, and my regular reminder to tag your requests with #DavesCarIDService.

A good NASCAR-y place to kick off today is this still from the moonshine runner action classic Thunder Road (1958), with Robert Mitchum behind the wheel of a 1957 Ford Fairlane. The mechanic is his son, James Mitchum.

https://twitter.com/swizze_gfrank/status/1475309880454037507

The dapper gents are standing back to admire the 1916-20 Franklin roadster, with its distinctive "coal scuttle" hood. A paved countryside road would have been a rarity at the time.

https://twitter.com/JuanVucetich17/status/1494820823567380485

Dames couldn't resist Uncle Bill's swanky & fast 1950 Olds Rocket 88 sedan. Incidentally, when the Olds overhead valve "Rocket" motor debuted in 1949, it almost immediately replaced the Ford flathead V8 as the dominant engine in NASCAR.

https://twitter.com/pvmoller/status/1494487288943980546

*The Olds Rocket 88 was also the inspiration for what some consider the first rock & roll song, "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (actually Ike Turner and his Rhythm Kings performing under pseudonym).

I am awarding a Dave's Car ID Service Legion of Merit to @BengyCompson and @Harry_Bergeron for positively IDing this mystery heist car from yesterday as a 1958-62 Rover P4; I had ventured a 1955-ish Singer Hunter, but appreciate the correction.

https://twitter.com/SimonGuy64/status/1494441391606448137

"I shall return." A Rocket 88 wasn't enough when Austin rolled out the red carpet for McArthur, so they dialed it up 10 notches to a tip-top-of-the-line 1951 Oldsmobile Rocket 98 convertible. Car behind it is a 1951 Packard 250.

https://twitter.com/ajwimsatt/status/1494998050393276417

A grateful hat tip to @vulcanhammer for forwarding this banger. Best get this demon child into the 1960 Buick LeSabre or Electra 225 and get him to church before it's too late.

https://twitter.com/eddierobbins/status/1495029369785442305

Grandmama Mia! Longtime readers know how fond I am of old Italian-American family car photos like these. This spicy Italiana dish is perched atop a 1946 Buick Super or Roadmaster sedan.

https://twitter.com/DanielMOrnelas/status/1495087052316192772

Yessir, the car here is a base model 1951-52 DeSoto Custom sedan, and the script emblem says "Custom." And kudos to the mystery lady for saving the Dalmatian from the clutches of Cruella de Vil.

https://twitter.com/DaveSealy/status/1495084309128040451

Another staid Mopar sedan here, this time a 1967 Dodge Coronet.

https://twitter.com/toddva99/status/1494891222665682945

This real-life Granny Clampett is standing in behind a 1937 Chevy sedan, but the real mystery is what are those photos she's holding? I suspect a blackmail situation.

https://twitter.com/fobrg/status/1494460797040402434

**hmmm... is this her clandestine Romeo, and atop a stack of compromising photos of their trysts? The mystery deepens.

Partying, or rehearsing their death-defying Flying Canadians circus act? This family of Canuck daredevils is atop a 1928-30 GMC truck.

https://twitter.com/spacekdet3d/status/1493657455976402950

Seems Maw has her bags packed to run away for the bright lights of the big city, in what I believe is a 1912ish REO touring car.

https://twitter.com/joelnorthwall/status/1493311261190279169

Back in the day, that rubber cushioned spare tire made for a dandy child safety seat. Car is a toughie, but I suspect a well-worn 1917ish Packard, wearing 1920 Indiana plates.

https://twitter.com/ward_beecher/status/1493244688740016128

*I'm basically going off the suspension and rear convertible top stays, but not 100% sure. As always, happy to be corrected.

And the 1920 Indiana plate is a neat bit of vintage typography.

Always delighted to assist our ol' pal @TracesofTexas. I can unequivocally date the Port Aransas parking anarchy to 1940, thanks to the black-on-white TX plates, and no cars in the photo newer than 1940.

https://twitter.com/TracesofTexas/status/1493989801090899970

*of course I will throw in a couple of free car IDs:

Front cars are 1938 Olds L38 and 1940 Olds 60; behind the 1938 Olds is 1939 Plymouth and 1940 Chevy.

Looks like Grandpa's looking back to see what Dutchman he ran over with his 1939-40 Ford (or Mercury) sedan.

https://twitter.com/zcjaais/status/1493607103755436044

Damn, I bet this 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda sporting a Pro Stock tunnel ram hood and Cragar S/S wheels was the terror of local midnight street racing (ht @kennygintx)

https://twitter.com/Super70sSports/status/1492946073807114246

Shhhh! No yodeling, you might trigger an avalanche to bury (L-R) 1952-53 Ford wagon, 1947-48 Buick, and 1951-53 Cadillac convertible.

https://twitter.com/wa7iut/status/1493058869735555074

Onto the street & wilderness discovery lightning round. This is conveniently pre-ID'd as a 1949 Caddy convertible, but padded steering wheel & billet wheels suggest some modernized upgrade underneath.

https://twitter.com/andrewtlloyd/status/1494882080374673412

How absolutely badass is this? 1928-29 Ford Model A Fordor, towing a vintage travel trailer, hundreds of miles from home. Keep that old iron rolling.

https://twitter.com/MatthewJFranck/status/1495444448158887942

And by the way, this is how a working class Model A looked back in their day: no shiny whitewalls, no bright colors, a coat of dust from service. A Model A with a modern T-5 5 speed transmission is capable of sustained 70 mph highway speed with the original engine.

Yessir, those radiator-mounted waterbags were emergency reserve for when your car boiled over in the desert heat. Vehicle is a 1917-24 Ford Model T, and "COM" on license plate would indicate truck.

https://twitter.com/HazeDoran/status/1495257826393948165

Definitely postwar, the ID cheat code is that all prewar cars had bulbous front fenders prewar, and "slab sides" like this only appeared after 1948. This one is a 1952 Ford, but has custom grille center from a .. early 50s Packard, maybe?

https://twitter.com/epyatkevich/status/1495059758902038531

It's a modified car (probably Ford Model A) trying to mimic a mid-1920s Bugatti Type 37. The tipoff is the Ford Model A wire wheels, and the fact that people don't generally park their Bugatti Type 37s out on the street.

https://twitter.com/aThirdOfDuane/status/1495057207787884546

Tough call, but I think the chassis is from a 1947-53 Chevy or GMC 1.5 ton truck.

https://twitter.com/PolybiusChamp/status/1494793109095567360

1959 or 60 Corvette; hard for me to tell which year without closer inspection.

https://twitter.com/brrrrrrrrrrrt/status/1494458480505368577

The old clock on the wall says time for me to mosey on. I'll be on hiatus from #DavesCarIDService next weekend due to travel, but keep those great photos coming. I'll be back on the beat in 2 weeks, good lord willin' and the creeks don't rise.

Until then, Happy Motoring!