Could this be Essex from beginnig of 1930´s?

[Juha Paavo Kaita]

Hi!

A man sent me this photo in order to get right identification of the make and model of the car. I am guessing the auto to be a Essex from 1929-1931. Am I on right track? Hope to hear your comments.

Best wishes from Turku, Finland

Juha Kaitanen

[Layden B]

Definately 1929-31 Essex and guessing at the tire size a 1930.

[Juha Paavo Kaita]

Hi!

Thank you for good and quick reply. I think this Essex would then be 4 d standard sedan. The man is writing a book about their family and he would like to identify the cars thei family members have owned during the years.

Juha Kaitanen

[oldford]

I think the car is a 1929 Essex. The double row of louvers were last used in 29, and the 30 Essex had a distinct arch to the tops of the louvers. The tires do look a little big, but they may have just been oversized for the car.

Frank

[drwatson]

29 Essex? Isn't it a fact that each row of louvers on the 1929 Essex should be the same height? That's not so in the attached photo. (from Finland I presume). Sorry, I haven't been able to come up with an alternate make/model.

[oldford]

By Jove! I think you've got something there, Dr. Watson!!!

Frank

[Guest De Soto Frank]

Also, it appears the the front doors are hinged on the cowl pillar...

Didn't Hudson Products have "suicide doors" (rear-hinged) all the way around through 1935 or '36 ?

As for the double tier of hood louvres, didn't Gardner have those too ?

[Juha Paavo Kaita]

Hi!

Here is another photo of a car which I thought could be 1930 Essex. Does this picture make it any easier to identify the car?

Best wishes from Turku Finland

(It is snowing just now - I guess white Christmas is on its way)

Juha

[TG57Roadmaster]

Hyvaa Joulua Juha,

You don't ask the easy questions, do you? After much digging through my resources,

I can say, fairly surely, that the car in question is a 1929 Nash Special Six Sedan.

Introduced on June 21, 1928, the Special and Advanced Sixes featured new styling,

which included a unique belt molding. If you look at this photo closely, you'll see

the same treatment as the car in your friend's picture. Especially around the C-pillar

or back window on the side of the car in your second photo.

The next post I send shows the 1929 Nash Special Six belt molding and double row of

hood louvers. What confuses me is that the hood louvers (vents) are two different heights.

The hubcaps, though blurred, seem to be Nash also.

I'm always willing to help a fellow Suomilainen (though I'm just just half Finn) in their

quest for details about old cars.

Merry Christmas,

Tom Gibson

Anderson, SC USA

[TG57Roadmaster]

Juha,

Here's the second image showing the Nash belt molding and hood louvers.

The photos prove that this was a very large auto for your friend's family;

the Nash Special Sixes were available on 116" and 122" wheelbases. This is

likely a Model 444 7-Passenger Sedan on the 122" chassis.

Tom Gibson

[drwatson]

I think Mr. Gibson nailed it, It's a 1929 Nash. The rows of louvers of uneven height still bothered me, but then I found this picture (attached) showing what appear to be the correct louvers. It's listed as a 1929 Nash Model 435. Merry Christmas one and all.

[Juha Paavo Kaita]

Hi!

Thank you very much all you friendly car and automotive history enthusiasts that have helped me to solve this mystery photo. Especially I am happy to hear from Tom - my half fellow citisen of Finland. I hope you don´t mind me placing some other mystery photos in the near future - indentification of different makes or models of cars is quite recent hobby here near artic circle.

I am restoring a Reo G Model Heavy Duty Speed Wagon 2 tn truck from 1926. Besides that I am interested in early automotive history of Finland - especially low production US cars in Finland. I also have interest on Packard trucks which I have been able to drive on my frind´s place in Pennsylvania.

Anyway - thank you so much once more and I wish you Happy New Year 2007.

Juha Kaitanen

Turku, Finland

[TG57Roadmaster]

Greetings Juha,

In 1970 on a family trip to Europe, we spent 10 days visitng relatives in Finland, from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. In Kajaani, my cousin Esa Antonen was very proud, and the envy of his neighbors, with his Big American Car, a 1963 Rambler Classic. To us, it was just a little 7-year-old Rambler, but it was in good condition, with new paint and a nice original interior.

There was an outhouse, and being late summer, I was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. At the time, I had a pair of Polaroid sun glasses, of which I was quite proud. Upon entering the outhouse, I put my shades in my shirt pocket and took care of business. When I bent down to pull up my shorts, the glasses went right down the hole; I could see them in the dim light. I ran into the house and asked my mom, who spoke Finnish fluently, to get my cousins to retrieve them for me. The 20 or so relatives burst into laughter; I was devastated, almost in tears, but learned a valuable lesson. And to this day, I'm quite sure that my shades are still there.

The photo is Esa's family and Rambler; I was thrilled to find it following my mom's sudden passing a week after last Mother's Day. This doesn't exactly pertain to your quest for info of Classic cars in Finland, but I hope you and your friends get a good laugh, too. You won't even need a translator!

Tom Gibson