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New Zealand garage scene


Dave Mellor NJ

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This was posted on The Old Motor | Old car photos today. If anybody can ID the two cars on the left, please post it there as I am leaving for Hershey in the morning

Cross-NZ.jpg

A very clear glass plate negative taken by George Fredrick Jenkinson, showing us what appears to be both a garage and the E.S. Cross Motor Painting shop, located in Hamilton Borough, New Zealand. The car on the left is an unknown, as is the small car in the mid-dle with its hood off. This car appears to be a substantially sized cycle car with possibly a v-twin engine. The on the far right are a Model T Ford with what appears to be a New Zealand made body-work and the car on the far appears to be an Essex which was made by Hudson.

Hopefully our readers will be able to identify the two unknowns. Photo courtesy of Derek Finlay of New Zealand.

Cross-NZ-III-150x150.jpg Cross-NZ-II-150x150.jpg Cross-NZ-I-150x150.jpg

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Guest stephen48

The licence plates on the Essex and Ford are regional plates and therefore pre- 1925 when national plates where introduced.Thanks for posting.

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I also looked at this on The Old Motor. The only thing not quite right about the car on the left is the extra line around the body a few inches from the top. Maybe it is a Canadian one? I know we had Buicks from both Canada and the US in that era. It is unlikely to be locally bodied. I have only seen six cylinder roadsters of that era with local bodies.

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Guest Al Brass

I answered this yesterday directly on the Old Cars site.

The small cycle car is indeed a Humberette around 1914. The tourer on the left is what I reckon is a 1916 4 cylinder Buick (I think '17 models had a crown in the fenders?). The colonial bodied T Roadster carries and A registration so was registered in Auckland and the Essex 4 is around a '24 model. I will have to check where the "WP" registration belonged to.

Regards

Al

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Humberette:

My books shows this model with the same gear change location. Probably the 11HP model. Made until WW1 costing 120 quid. A water cooled version was dearer.

1913 from GB, air cooled 2 cyl in V formation. B and S 84 x 90mm, 998cc, side valves, HT maggy, 3 speeds, shaft and bevel drive, front transverse spring and rear 3/4 elliptics.

This car looks like the air cooled version. So it is probably drivable as is. Though it appears to have been left in the long grass with the Mrs posing for the pic??

HTH

Manuel in Oz

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Guest Al Brass

I have looked in my information for the WP registration on the Essex. It is listed as Waipa (Te Awamutu). This won't mean much to anyone by NZ'ers so I apologize for that.

There is/was a very similar Humberette in Invercargill, owned by Jack Toomey.

Regards

Al

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I would say that the left car is a 1916 or and early 1917 D-35 4cyl Buick. I believe that those years had the flat/non crowned fenders. I have seen 1917 cars have both flat and crowned fenders and the 1918 cars have all had crowned fenders that I have seen. My observations, but there might others that have seen something different.

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