Honda-SOHC

Other Stuff => Misc / Open => Topic started by: SteveD CB500K0 on August 30, 2026, 11:09:20 AM

Title: ID this 1950s vehicle?
Post by: SteveD CB500K0 on August 30, 2026, 11:09:20 AM

This is my uncle Joe. He was born in 1930 and looks about 20 years old here so maybe 1950/51?

The Arabic number plate and military registration puts it somewhere in the Middle East?

It’s not a Morris that’s for sure.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20260830/9dc0c8e8545b92f933031d5abc4b7c47.jpg)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Title: Re: ID this 1950s vehicle?
Post by: Oddjob on August 30, 2026, 11:38:13 AM

Looks like it may be a Standard Vanguard. I owned one for a few years, my dad gave it me. Does it have a crank handle slot in the front bumper?

Title: Re: ID this 1950s vehicle?
Post by: SteveD CB500K0 on August 30, 2026, 11:48:05 AM

Could be right Ken.

The grille matches a 1951 Vanguard, as does the bumper and the little indicator/parking lights beneath the headlamps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Title: Re: ID this 1950s vehicle?
Post by: Otis on August 30, 2026, 11:53:31 AM

Whatever it is, it's a great picture Steve and thanks for sharing.

Title: Re: ID this 1950s vehicle?
Post by: Oddjob on August 30, 2026, 11:59:43 AM

Looks the same. 3 speed column change, bench seat which seats 4 at the front and those little indicator stalks that stuck out of the door column. Mine was gloss black and coach painted, you could hit the front wing with a hammer and not even chip the paint. Weighed over 2 tons though.

Title: Re: ID this 1950s vehicle?
Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on August 30, 2026, 02:26:58 PM

As has been said looks like a Standard Vanguard, the one on the Wiki page has had indicators added.
The badge on the rear side of the bonnet looks identical.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Vanguard

Title: Re: ID this 1950s vehicle?
Post by: Bryanj on August 30, 2026, 09:29:21 PM

And not very quick as i remember

Title: Re: ID this 1950s vehicle?
Post by: Oddjob on August 30, 2026, 11:08:31 PM

Mine got nicked. It was in a council lock up garage with a huge area of open ground in front of it. I was fixing my dad’s mini and needed somewhere under cover to do so. So I hand cranked the Vanguard out of the garage to get the mini in. Had to go to dinner so locked up and went home for an hour. Came back and someone had turned up, spotted the Vanguard sitting there and used a HIAB to lift it onto the back of a lorry and drove away with it. You could see where he’d dropped the rams to stop the lorry from tipping over. Reg was GJA 533 iirc. I even had a factory workshop manual for it. Massive thing, hard covered ring binder, about 3-4 inches thick. You could have knocked an elephant out with it.