Earl car find in Australia.

[Rapier]

I have only recently discovered an "Earl" These were made in 1921-3. Are there any Earl's still existing in the USA ? This one is one of three "at rest". The other two are at the same property but have been reduced to a chassis and have been exposed to all sorts of weather.

 

 

[DrData]

Uh oh, I suspect Bernie is on a “new project” trajectory.

[wayne sheldon]

In recent years I have seen photos of two existing Earl automobiles. One was for sale by an antique automobile dealer about two to four years ago. It was an older restoration of an enclosed car, looked like it was fairly good looking several years earlier, however the paint was failing  and some of it was falling off in chunks. The interior had been done quite nicely, but not quite correctly done. 

Google found the old listing, with lots of photos. However it has been marked as "sold".

 

https://www.classicautomall.com/vehicles/1668/1923-earl-sedan

 

I had seen a photo of another surviving Earl automobile a few years ago. However, I do not recall much about that one.

[John_S_in_Penna]

I saw an internet ad for an Earl for sale about 

10-12 years ago.  As I recall, it was in good shape,

but I don't know anything more about the car.

I believe the site was www.cars-for-sale.com.

[nzcarnerd]

The Earl car was essentially a continuation of the last Briscoe cars. There is a 1920 Briscoe not too far from me about which I wrote an article for Beaded Wheels magazine in 2008. The owner has since passed away and I believe the car is in the Oxford Museum, not too far from Rangiora where the owner lived.

 

I am still on the magazine committee, having been there since 2002. A few others have been there longer though we do have some new blood as well.

 

BW-292-Jun-2008_low.pdf (vcc.org.nz)

 

More info here - 

 

Better Built Earl Cars (secondchancegarage.com)

 

An interesting ad in the form of a little story which appeared several times during August/September 1922 in several South Island NZ newspapers - Papers Past | Newspapers | Nelson Evening Mail | 9 September 1922 | Page 5 Advertisements Column 6 (natlib.govt.nz)

 

The local Briscoe agent was Dexter and Croziers, better known for Cadillacs, and later for Austins, and post WW2 for various BMC stuff. In this first photo from circa 1920 I guess the two later cars are Briscoes. The photo is quite small and I have not yet found a larger version. I am not sure of the occasion in the second photo. There may or may not be a Briscoe or Earl among the cars.

 

Dexter and Croziers became David Crozier Ltd, and still later became NZMC, and remained on that site at least into the 1980s though the old building was replaced before I remember.

 

 

[nzcarnerd]

Earl roadster: 1923 - Digital Collections - Free Library

 

[nzcarnerd]

My serial number book says the year changes occurred at - 

 

1921 - 70,000-70,433

1922 - 70,434-74,363

1823 - 74,364-80,401

1924 - 80,402 to end

 

- which contradicts another source which said only about 2,000 were built.

 

 

[oldcarfudd]

1 hour ago, nzcarnerd said:

In this first photo from circa 1920 I guess the two later cars are Briscoes.

The middle car in the first photo is a 1915 Briscoe.  The cyclops headlight is unique to that model year.  I don't know about the other cars,

[hidden_hunter]

Can't have been that common here, the paper in South Australia even lists who bought them

 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63439503?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FM%2Ftitle%2F75%2F1923%2F08%2F18%2Fpage%2F5317423%2Farticle%2F63439503#

 

Supposedly 26 MPG

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63859788?searchTerm=earl cars

 

Someone's review of the Earl

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/64307179?searchTerm=earl cars

 

From quickly flicking through the articles, it very much looks like they were only ever popular in South Australia pretty much no mention of them in Victoria or NSW

[nzcarnerd]

11 hours ago, oldcarfudd said:

The middle car in the first photo is a 1915 Briscoe.  The cyclops headlight is unique to that model year.  I don't know about the other cars,

I took it as read - ie obvious - that the centre one was an early Briscoe. If you look at the link to the 2008 article I wrote you will see they look a lot like late series Briscoe.

 

 

[nzcarnerd]

1 hour ago, hidden_hunter said:

Can't have been that common here, the paper in South Australia even lists who bought them

 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63439503?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FM%2Ftitle%2F75%2F1923%2F08%2F18%2Fpage%2F5317423%2Farticle%2F63439503#

 

Supposedly 26 MPG

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63859788?searchTerm=earl cars

 

Someone's review of the Earl

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/64307179?searchTerm=earl cars

 

From quickly flicking through the articles, it very much looks like they were only ever popular in South Australia pretty much no mention of them in Victoria or NSW

Maybe because the agent was operating only in that state?

[nzcarnerd]

A family friend restored this 1916 Briscoe in the late 1950s. I rode in it quite a few times as a child and I credit it with igniting my interest in early cars.

 

The first photo I took in 1979. After the owner passed away it was sold to another part of the country and has since been re-restored.

 

 

[hidden_hunter]

28 minutes ago, nzcarnerd said:

Maybe because the agent was operating only in that state?

I would guess so, fairly rare to only have an agent in one small state by the 20's though 

[Gunsmoke]

Enjoyed reading this thread on a car I had not heard of before. Also good to know there a few survivors of a smallish run.