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Help choosing a Car for the San Franciscan's Garage


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Hi All,

I'm having trouble choosing a car for the San Franciscan's Garage.. I've been trolling around on ebay and other sites all morning.. wasting time searching. So I'm hoping you can help me choose. :D

As you may or may not know the back story on the San Franciscan is that a young couple live there.. they inherited it from her spinster Aunty. So with that in mind, I've been looking at the kind of cars I think a spinster Aunty might have stashed away under a dust cover in the Garage.

I feel a pull to this Morris Minor as my Dad's Secretary in the 1970's had this exact car (even the same colour) and I have vivid memories of her driving into the yard of my Dad's office when I was very young. She was a spinster who lived with her mother, as you did if you were a spinster back then. Her name was Deirdre and she was tall and slim with Mrs Doubtfire hair and glasses. She wore tweed below the knee pleated skirts with matching jackets, thick hose and utilitarian lace up shoes. She was an old school Secretary. She took dictation using shorthand and typed so fast it was like rapid fire on that old manual typewriter. I loved her, she was no-nonsense and stern but also kind and very nice to me. When I saw this car I immediately thought of her... maybe she will be my inspiration for my imaginary San Franciscan Spinster Aunt. :D 

Image result for 1:12 sunstar morris minor 1000 grey australia

 

My next choice is this BMW Isetta.. because.. well.. it's just so cool! I feel like the San Franciscan needs a cool retro car and this little Euro number fits the bill entirely. Plus it's petite, meaning it's good for parking in busy San Francisco. :D My only concern is that it will be overwhelmed in the garage which has quite a high ceiling height.

Image result for Premium ClassiXXs 1:12 BMW Isetta

It also comes in this great retro pale green

Image result for Premium ClassiXXs 1:12 BMW Isetta

My husband is voting for this Porsche (of course he is :rolleyes: ), however I fear my back story would have to change to my young couple working in the tech industry.. or perhaps the savvy spinster Aunt was an early investor in Apple.:giggle: Fortunately, I think this car might be too long for the garage.

Image result for 1:12 porsche

I haven't been able to find the dimensions of this model but this vintage model (which I quite like) is 14 inches long and the garage is only 13.5.

Image result for 1:12 porsche

 

Of course I could always get a Combi which I think is very San Francisco.. but again, slightly too long.. maybe I could park it in the driveway. :D

Related image

or a maybe a Beetle... 

Image result for 1:12 volkswagen beetle

Or a Mini.. a retro Morris one not the new BMW version. These come in endless colour combinations so there's a lot of scope there to fit into my overall scheme. Though I do like this green one.

Image result for 1:12 mini cooper

Or should the spinster Aunt have had a secret wild side and kept a corvette or mustang under covers in the garage all these years.

Image result for 1:12 vintage corvette

Image result for 1:12 mustang

 

So what do you think? Which car should I go for. :)

 

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To me, choosing a car is very personal.  :D  I love the first one you show -- the Morris Minor -- mainly because of the story you tell.  Since you are going to put the car in the garage (even partially), you'll want a 1:12 scale car.  You can get by with 1:14 scale, but even 1:16 scale gets out of whack inside.   Outside you can force the perspective of 1:16 scale.  Sadly, even though they are easiest to find and reasonably priced, 1:18 scale models are just too small.

I have a 1:12 Beetle for the Brownstone and a 1:12 Datsun for the barn since they will be inside the buildings.  Smaller scales just looked off to me otherwise.

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I like both the Morrises, with a slight preference for the retro one.  You do see those teeny cars in San Francisco for the exact reason you state (we know a couple who had one--they were both tall men, and it always seemed like a clown car), but I don't think the spinster aunt would have had one.  I also like the second-to-the-last one.  It makes me think of the Nash Rambler my father's mother drove for over 30 years.  It was the only car I ever knew her to have.  I don't think they make a Rambler in 1:12 scale, though.

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Thanks Brae, yes, I will need a 1:12 because the ceiling in the basement is quite high.. anything smaller will look completely out of scale. 

I am leaning towards the Morris Minor for nostalgic reasons. I've really not thought about Deirdre in years but this car brought her straight back. Now that I think about it, she was my first working woman role model. A trailblazer here in Australia really. I really wish I'd known her as an adult. I only new her as the nice lady that worked for my Father but I'm sure she had a whole other life outside of work and lots of stories to tell. :D 

I do still like the Mini too though... It just feels very San Francisco to me. Obviously I have a thing for the rounded lines of a Morris Car. :D

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20 minutes ago, Debsrand56 said:

I like both the Morrises, with a slight preference for the retro one.  You do see those teeny cars in San Francisco for the exact reason you state (we know a couple who had one--they were both tall men, and it always seemed like a clown car), but I don't think the spinster aunt would have had one.  I also like the second-to-the-last one.  It makes me think of the Nash Rambler my father's mother drove for over 30 years.  It was the only car I ever knew her to have.  I don't think they make a Rambler in 1:12 scale, though.

I've never heard of a Rambler.. were they like a Corvette? Good to know you've seen Isetta's (or something similar) in San Francisco, I was wondering if they were ever even imported to the US. :) They just seem so eminently a city car with flair... Perfect for San Francisco... and also a bit clown car-ish :giggle: ...but maybe not for my back story. :(  I want one so badly. :D  

 

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I love your idea of the Morris and it seems to resonate with you. My personal preference is for a Morris Cooper S as I have fond memories of roaring around San Francisco in one a few years ago. I wasn't driving - have you seen those small streets and weird intersections?? Not for this little fat duck.

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29 minutes ago, shannonc60 said:

My personal preference is for a Morris Cooper S as I have fond memories of roaring around San Francisco in one a few years ago. I wasn't driving - have you seen those small streets and weird intersections?? Not for this little fat duck.

This is what I mean! The Mini, just seems like a San Francisco kind of car, right? :D  Maybe next time you'll be brave enough. 

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Our visits to San Francisco have been by plane, and once there the public transportation is just too good (except from late Saturday night through Sunday) to drive.  However if one lived there a car would be vital for getting out of the city.  I have a special fondness for the Morris Minor with its bird-shooting turn signals,  which I think would appeal to Spinster Auntie's weird sense of humor.

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8 hours ago, havanaholly said:

 I have a special fondness for the Morris Minor with its bird-shooting turn signals,  which I think would appeal to Spinster Auntie's weird sense of humor.

Holly, I have to ask.. What are bird-shooting turn signals?? :rofl:

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6 hours ago, Dalesq said:

You had me at the Morris Minor....I always wanted one of those when I was younger, and they were retro then, hahaha! :) 

LOL.. they were retro for me too.. I remember seeing this car as a youngster and thinking is was sooo cool. :D 

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3 hours ago, mesp2k said:

I like the Morris Minor & your Deirdre story. 

And, using Deirdre as your inspiration.

tumblr_o449ehkKat1um518lo1_500.jpg

Oooh... I like that colour! 

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Over here "shooting the bird" or "giving the bird" refers to a rather impolite gesture made by extending the middle finger.  The way the turn signals looked when they popped out reminded me of a fist with a finger extended.

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Oh...The Morris Minor For sure!!! 

I love the story behind it as well... Not many have true stories of the things we find for our houses....So..... My Vote.... Morris Minor !!!

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I vote for the first one.  I love that you have such vivid memories of your dad's secretary and her car.  It also really does look like an old car that you would find buried in the garage of an old house.

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On 6/16/2017, 8:51:40, havanaholly said:

Over here "shooting the bird" or "giving the bird" refers to a rather impolite gesture made by extending the middle finger.  The way the turn signals looked when they popped out reminded me of a fist with a finger extended.

:rofl::rofl: That's hilarious Holly!

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On 6/15/2017, 12:41:34, mesp2k said:

I like the Morris Minor & your Deirdre story. 

And, using Deirdre as your inspiration.

tumblr_o449ehkKat1um518lo1_500.jpg

I was leaning toward the Morris Minor until I saw this photo. Now I'm sure it's the one. You don't mention its scale ... but even if slightly off, you can always park it outside. And if the ceiling is high, what about adding some hanging storage platforms for out-of-season items, bicycles, luggage, plastic storage bins, etc. 

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Well Kathie.. you are full of great ideas today! I like the roof storage idea but I think the height isn't going to be an issue if I go with the Morris Minor. It's a full 1:12 scale Sunstar Model... very detailed. I love it.. and it seems to be the most popular choice by far. 

My only issue with it is that it's 13 inches long and the internal length of my garage is only 13.5.. doesn't leave any space at all for the washer & dryer I was going to put in the back... not that that's a deal breaker. :D Who want's to do laundry anyway.

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9 minutes ago, Samusa said:

My only issue with it is that it's 13 inches long and the internal length of my garage is only 13.5.. doesn't leave any space at all for the washer & dryer I was going to put in the back... not that that's a deal breaker. :D Who want's to do laundry anyway.

You can park the car partly in and out of the garage, leaving room for the washer & dryer.  Nobody will notice that there's not enough room for the car to pull all the way in.

:hmm: These are up-and-coming young professionals, eh? Let them send the laundry out!

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