I've been looking through old photos that belonged to my grandmother and I really liked this one. (Click to enlarge).
This picture was unlabeled, but there is another picture of (I think) the same woman and it's labelled as Margaret Cascadden in Katoomba in 1927. I think she was a friend of my grandmother. I believe the car is an Austin 12 a 1927 Buick coach.
Update: I flipped the image so it is no longer reversed.
Update 2: The Buick club of NSW tells me:
The Buick is clearly very new when the photo was taken, perhaps not even yet registered as there are no labels or front number plate and the tyre treads are very pronounced. The car is a Holden bodied (Australian built) 1927 Buick Standard Six coach (that is a 2 door, 5 seat, sedan type car with bucket seats in front). This was a popular body style at that time costing £445 as opposed to £510 for the 4 door sedan.
In 1927 the average weekly wake was £5, and now it's $1200, so £445 is the equivalent of $110,000 today.
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Left hand drive? Strange British import?
Doesn't look like an Austin badge at the top the rad.
And didn't they have "Austin" written on a slant on the rad grille?
I scanned the picture from a negative, so it may well be mirror reversed.
Yeah you can see the trees are all back to front.
It is a beauty.
[These folks](http://www.svvs.org/help14.shtml) can likely help identify the make and model.
It looks like a Lalique 'Victoire' mascot (probably a knock-off) on the radiator.
The Austin 12 was a 4-door, and this beauty only has 2. It has a very British look about it, though.
Its interesting how even in the olden days car tyres had fanciful tread patterns.
I would suggest it's a [Ford Model A Tudor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1931_Ford_Model_A_Deluxe_Tudor.jpg).
Nailed it Adder.
I'm not entirely convinced. All the Model As seem to have wire wheels - this baby has the older artillery style. The mystery car also has an upswept line aft of the bonnet, whereas the Model A runs straight through from the radiator to the bottom of the windscreen. The wings seem differently shaped too. Mind you, a lot of bodies were made in Australian coachbuilders' works in those days, such as Holden before they were taken over by GM, so it could be a local variant.
I guarantee it isn't a Model A. Carefully examine the grille shape. There is a rectangular logo on the upper grille. Ford's logo is famously oval.
I reckon it's a Whippet, as the Willys Overland was known in the 20s. They sold a lot of them in Australia. My grandfather had a tourer model in the 30s, in the Hunter Valley. [Whippet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Whippet_4-D%C3%B6rrars_Sedan.jpg). [Willys Overland](http://awesomecarauctions.com/uploaded_images/1929%20willys%20overland%…). [1927 WILLYS-OVERLAND WHIPPET](http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/your_garage/cars/6327.shtml)
I reckon that the Whippet is the best match so far, but the radiator is different. And [this page says](http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/wokr/gallery/96coa4.htm):
>Holden made just 196 Coaches, and only 24 of these were recorded as being for 1928.
>Note doors are mounted on 3 hinges whereas US bodied Coach has 4 hinges.
The one in my picture has 4 hinges, so maybe I did get it the right way around!
It's a Buick and the image is mirrored.
Yes, it's a 1928 Buick. See http://braddockheritage.org/content/vault/Ch3-82-OldCar-ElginatWheel_ed… Four hinges, squareline radiator, the little round thingy in the sill under the door (a jacking point, perhaps?, the wheels, even the little doohickey in front of the driver on the bonnet - an electric horn maybe? The only difference I can detect is that the Cascadden chariot has a brass door scraper - probably about the only optional extra available at the time.
I agree. Here's a picture of [a 1926 Buick](http://www.buickclub.org.au/thumbnails/8efd1b623ea744e36cd15cb92a0fc039…), which just has a different hood ornament.
Nice Photo Tim. It is nice to see how things were in the 'olden daze'. Not all was well back then of course.
Have you seen this site :-
http://www.shorpy.com/
It is 'USA centric' but interesting all the same. The early Kodachrome's are a treat.
I reckon the one in the photo is left hand drive, though. Note the position of the horn, if that's what it is.
No it's right-hand drive. Look at the radiator badge and compare with [this](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr38/1543505932/).
Definitely nailed now, I'd agree! :-)
The number of air vents on the bonnet side, bonnet ornament, rad badge, etc. all tied up.
Just "knew" it wasn't an Austin.
Quite right. Somehow it's a better photo the right way around.
The ornamental radiator cap is a beauty close up - probably worth a bob or two just by itself. You could probably pick one up at an auction - I'll bet a lot were souvenired when the cars were pushed into creek beds at the end of their lives. Bonnet ornaments became merely ornamental when radiators got to being concealed in the 1930s.