What Is It?

Last week's images - three, not just one - made up a picture essay in round taillight lenses. We showed you close-ups of three lights that were, as it turned out, all from the 1960s. For the What Is It? Gang, as it turned out, identifying them was no trouble at all.

We numbered the photos and asked you for the make and year of each. You gave us insightful answers.

No. 1 was a huge round lens with a round backup light in its center and a chrome ring around it. Also visible in the photo was a canted tailfin and some black-and-silver design stretching between the lights and showing a grid of shiny circles connected by thin lines. All of that spelled 1961 Ford Galaxie, the top of the line for Ford's standard bearer in 1961.

Other Galaxies during the early 1960s had a similar look. Ford had used round taillights since 1952, of course, with the exception of 1958. Then, in 1960, the design went to half-moon lenses repeated in the bumper below by half-moon indentations. Some models offered actual lenses in the bumper that, taken in conjunction with the taillight above them, actually reassembled a big round light.

After 1961, huge round lenses and gridlike designs connecting the two taillights continued until Ford's round taillights on its big cars disappeared for 1965.

Sort of.

That year's Galaxies, LTDs and XLs had vertical, rectanglelike lenses, flat on the top but with the sides bulging out. The basic Custom and Custom 500 sedans, though, had the light we showed last week at No.3, in which the round lens fit inside the rectangle but didn't fully cover it, making a red-and-white design.

That takes care of the No. 1 and No. 3 Fords. The photo represented as No. 2 resembles the light from a 1963 Galaxie, what with its four chrome spokes radiating outward. It's the odd man out, however: a 1960 Buick Invicta convertible.

The 1960 Buicks, you will remember, were much like the 1959s, only less flamboyant. General Motors pulled back on the tailfin craze in 1960 after going full bore for 1959, so 1960's styling was softer, more subdued. Less spaceship, more land yacht. Think of Cadillac's sky-high tailfins for 1959 and you'll see that down was the only place to go.

This week's photo of a Buick is a lesser-model four-door hardtop, not the Invicta convertible we showed last week, because we wanted to show you how incredibly large the automobiles were in those days. Trying parking this Buick into today's import-size parking spaces at shopping centers and you would give thanks for simpler times.

Chosen randomly from the correct entries was the name of faithful What Is It? respondentPaul Perdue, of Evans, who wrote:

"This week's mystery taillights are a 1961 Ford, a 1960 Buick and a 1965 Ford, in that order. Thanks for not asking for the model."

You're welcome, sir, but we bet you could have nailed down the models just the way many of our other readers did this week. For being randomly selected, we have a small prize to save thank you for playing. (It's nowhere near the recent Powerball jackpot. Sorry.)

Here are the other readers identifying the vehicles three:

AIKEN:Ann Willbrand wrote: "Well, that was fun! 1. 1961 Ford Galaxie Starliner; 2. 1960 Buick Invicta. Here's a picture with the small round light to the left that threw me off until I saw this" - and she sent in the exact photo we showed last week - "and 3. 1965 Ford Galaxie."

AUGUSTA:Tony Brunson wrote: "This week's quiz is a good one. The top photo is of a 1961 Ford Galaxie. The middle is a 1960 Buick - guessing a LaSabre but the small trim or reflector to the left of the light I am not sure about. And the lower picture is a 1965 Ford Custom 500. Friends or family have had all the above."

Lowell Fritsche said: "Now this is a new wrinkle. You are really testing us, aren't you? Well, here goes nothing. This will either make or break me: 1. 1957 Ford; 2. 1960 Buick; 3. 1965 Ford. These are my are my guesses, and I am unanimous in them."

Gerald Byrdlisted them as an early Ford, "not sure, 1959, I guess; 1959 Buick, I'm absolutely positive about that; and a base model 1965 Galaxie. I had a couple of family friends, and one had a Galaxie 500XL two-door hardtop, and his brother had a base Galaxie, plain Jane, with the little round light in the middle. So that was your police cars, taxis, base model Galaxies."

Gary Engen said: "This was a tough one. I could ID only one of the three taillights. The top one (No. 1) is from a 1961 Ford Galaxie. The others looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn't figure out which make/model. The middle photo was similar to a Ford Falcon I once owned but not an exact match. Good contest. I'm eager to see the answers."

Walker Mobley Jr.said: "For the puzzle this week, my guess is as follows: No. 1 is that of a 1961 Ford Fairlane or Galaxie with a custom taillight lens. Picture No. 2 is that of a 1959 Buick, also with a custom taillight lens. Picture No. 3, bottom photo is that of a 1965 Ford Galaxie with what looks like a stock lens.

"As I said, my best guesses. Keep these coming."

CANTON, GA.:David Anderson wrote: "Photo 1 is a 1961 Ford Starliner. The taillight is designed to look like a rocket exhaust powering the Starliner through the heavens.

"Photo 2 is a 1960 Buick (it's difficult to name a specific model from just the taillight). The 1959 taillight is similar, but the chrome trim and the center dot were not added until 1960.

"Photo 3 is a 1965 Ford Custom. I guess you can say that this was the transition year for Ford, moving from the round taillights that had dominated most of the Ford lineup for years. Ford went to the oblong taillights in 1965; however, the lowest-level Ford custom was still fitted with these round lights housed in the oblong bezels.

"In 1966, Ford went to a more square taillight across the board in the full-size lineup."

"I love this type of guessing game from an era when, even at night, you could almost always guess the car ahead just from the glow of the taillights. Give us more of these!

EVANS:Jerry Paulsaid: "The following are my guesses for this week: No. 1, 1960 Ford Galaxie; No. 2, 1960 Buick LeSabre hardtop ; No. 3, 1965 Ford Custom."

Wayne Wilke wrote: "The three What Are They? cars are: a 1961 Ford Galaxie, a 1960 Buick and a 1965 Ford."

James Finger wrote: "This week's cars are: No. 1, 1961 Ford Galaxie; No. 2, 1960 Buick LaSabre (note what appears to be a small red light should be clear, for it was a backup light); and No. 3, 1965 Ford Custom."

HEPHZIBAH: Eddie Cleaves said:"1960 Buick: They had the LeSabre, Skylark, Invicta, Electra and Riviera models, and all had same taillights. So it's a 1960 Buick, whichever model. The

others are a 1961 Galaxie and a 1965 Galaxie."

Leo Bennettlisted the cars as 1961, 1963 and 1965 Ford Galaxies.

KEYSVILLE, GA.:Glenn Widner identified the 1961 Ford and 1965 Fords: "The middle car looks like a lot of Ford taillights, including a 1954 Ford. But I'm guessing a 1964 Ford Falcon."

LOUISVILLE, GA.:Bob Holbert said: "Once again you got me. I know the top one is from a 1961 Ford Galaxie 500. The middle one could be from a 1963 Ford but isn't quite right. The bottom one remains a myster, although I have seen it before. I am sure I will kick myself on Friday."

MARTINEZ:Jim Muraski said: "This week's trio of taillights belong to the following vehicles: 1. 1961 Ford Galaxie; 2. 1960 Buick Invicta; and 1965 Ford Custom."

Lloyd B. Schnuck Jr.said: "First looks like a 1961 Ford (Galaxie); next, a 1960 Buick and, third, a 1965 Ford. All great 1960s cars."

Joe Bertsaid: " This week's 'triple Galaxie of taillights' had me coming up with many different answers. The top taillight could possibly be a 1964 Galax1e, 1963 Fairlane 500, 1957 Ford, 1963 Thunderbird. The middle light is a '63 Galaxie or 1960 Ford. The bottom taillight assembly is a 1965 Ford Galaxie.

"Nice challenge. Was this a tribute to theStar Wars movie craze." (Editor's note: No, sir. We just wanted to stretch your auto horizons this time. We have to admit, though, that the Galaxie long has been a favorite model name, much like other space names such as Mercury, Comet and Meteor - all of those in the same Ford Motor Co. family! We'd like to hear some of our readers' favorites, too, so feel free to write anytime.)

Eddy Marshsaid: "Nice change from your normal weekly What Is It? The first taillight is a 1961 Ford Galaxie 500. It could be a two-door, four-door or Starliner. Each used the same taillight.

"The second is a 1960 Buick LeSabre or Invicta. The Electra 225 had a wide chrome strip under the trunk that you would see in the picture if it was a 225.

"The third is a 1965 Ford Custom or Custom 500. The Custom used the round taillight in the rectangular bezel, where the Galaxie was completely rectangular."

Jeff Keevilwrote: "I had a good idea about the first and last pictures right away but I spent way too much time trying to figure out the middle one. Here's what I think: The first car is a 1961 Ford Galaxie, the second is a 1960 Buick, and the third is a 1965 Ford Custom."

MILLEN, GA.:David Thompson guessed the 1961 Ford Sunliner, 1960 Buick Invicta and 1965 Ford Custom.

NORTH AUGUSTA:Ed Wilcoxsaid 1961 Ford Galaxie, 1960 Buick Invicta and 1965 Ford Custom.

Paul Brewer wrote: "An interesting collection of taillights this week. From top to bottom, they are the 1960 Ford, 1960 Buick and 1965 Ford.

"All of these models had some interesting high-performance options. We were really getting into the heart of big-block, multiple-carb time-frame. NASCAR victories sold cars, so Ford worked with some of the top teams. Buick was a boulevard cruiser, but one could order a potent V-8 to get away from the stop light in a hurry!

"Thanks for the weekly challenges!"

Don Simpsonsaid: 1961 Ford Galaxie, 1960 Buick Electra and 1965 Ford Fairlane 500.

PERRY, FLA.:Larry Andersonwrote: "The three autos this week are as follows:

"1. 1961 Ford Galaxie. Top of the line for that year. The chrome across the back makes me think it's a Galaxie 500.

"2. 1960 Buick Invicta. Could be an Electra, but I just like the way the word Invicta sounds, so I'll go with it.

"3. 1965 Ford Custom. Custom was the basic full-size Ford that year, stripped down, not much chrome; even a round tail light in a hexagonal opening. (The Galaxies had a full hexagon light lens on them, but not the Customs.)

SANDERSVILLE, GA.David Wiggins had inadvertently given us the idea for the round taillights a week earlier when he phoned in his response to an earlier quiz. Still, he didn't know what cars we were going to highlight but he got all three anyway. He said:

"The Buick was a challenge. The Ford Starliner had star-shape instead of round designs running across the back between the taillights. The Starliner emblem also was on the roof post. Also, the door handle was part of the chrome strip that ran down the side of the car."

SPARTA, GA.:Jimmy Wallaceknew the 1961 Galaxie and the 1965 Custom but thought the Buick's light might be from a 1963 Ford. As we mentioned earlier, the 1963 Ford's light had spokes similar to the Buick's."

WARRENTON, GA.:Don Wigginssaid: "You picked up pretty good ones, but the middle one nearly broke my mind for a little while. No. 1 was a 1961 Galaxie, and the middle one I could have sworn was a Thunderbird, but the other nightFast Times at Ridgemont High was on television and that's what a character was driving, a Buick. I had a 1965 Ford LTD, so No. 3 looks like a 1965 Custom Ford. It does get your mind going."

WARRENVILLE:James Covarhad no problem identifying the 1961 Galaxie, 1960 Buick (LeSabre or Invicta) and 1965 Ford Custom.

- Edited by Glynn Moore,

staff writer