Registration No: VG 1646
Chassis No: 1017517
MOT: Exempt

• Desirable right-hand drive example
• Supplied new to Florence Nightingale Hardyman of Hill House, Bramerton, Norfolk
• In current ownership for twenty years
• An older restoration that still presents very well

A sub-brand of the Hudson Motor Company of Detroit, Essex’s products were aimed at the average family and, in common with those of other American manufacturers, were initially four-door open cars with canvas tops. However, while Henry Ford is credited with inventing the affordable car, Essex had much to do with making Sedans available to the masses. By 1924, the company was moving away from four-cylinder powerplants to, firstly, a 2.1-litre six-cylinder unit (the Six) and then a 2.5-litre one (the Super Six). This was used to power a range of models comprising a Speedster, Coupe, Coach and four-door, five-seat Sedan. The specification was typical of the day, with the engine mated to a three-speed manual gearbox and suspension by semi-elliptic leaf springs all round. Braking was initially on just two wheels, with the option of a four-wheel system following in 1927, which became standard fit the following year. The car rode on artillery wheels. By 1932 the brand had metamorphosed from Essex to Essex-Terraplane and, finally, just Terraplane.

Chassis ‘1017517’ was manufactured in 1929, and was delivered new to the United Kingdom in desirable right-hand drive guise. Supplied new to Florence Nightingale Hardyman of Hill House, Bramerton, Norfolk, who is understood to have been from a prominent British family, the Essex is understood to have remained in the first family ownership until 1960. Purchased by Air Force Officer, Master Lewis Gray, based at RAF Sculthorpe, Fakenham through the Florence Nightingale Estate auction in January 1960, the Essex was shortly after sold to Edward Bridges, an officer in the U.S Air Force based in England. Thereafter, he repatriated the Super Six to America (specifically Mississippi) in 1963/4. Stored in a barn due to engine failure, ‘1017517’ was rehomed to the restorers in 1973.

Following the comprehensive restoration, the Essex was used and enjoyed between the two restorers, before being acquired by the vendor and re-imported into the United Kingdom in 2003. Used as a wedding car during current ownership, the vendor has informed us that ‘VG 1646’ has been very reliable during this time. Offered with a history file that contains a framed buff logbook, original sales literature, previous MOT certificates, an Instruction Book, technical information, images of the car in Mississippi, and a current V5C document.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452