1925 Essex Board Track Racer project
While it's a name few car enthusiasts have heard of now, the Essex brand was one of the most popular cars of the 1920s. First produced in 1919 (although some sources say 1918 and 1922) to compete in the same low-price bracket as the Model T Ford and 490 Chevrolet, the early Essex cars featured a strong and reliable four-cylinder engine, and were also the first in their price bracket to offer a fully-enclosed body style.
The switch to a six cylinder engine from 1924 provided more power, but oil starvation problems meant the engine wasn't as reliable as the four it replaced. Despite this, the Essex continued to be popular and sales were strong, even outselling the Model T on occasion. And like the Model T, the popularity of the Essex soon saw it applied to various forms of motorsport, including dirt rack and board track circuit events. As a manufacturer, Essex fielded factory-backed racers in events like the Pikes Peak International hillclimb in Colorado. Hudson had already enjoyed success at the event in 1916, but 1923 marked the first major success for Essex when an Essex Special win that year's event with a time of 18 minutes 47 3/5 seconds to cover the for the 14,000 foot hillclimb course.
The durability of the Essex meant it was popular here in Australia, too, with the most famous 'local' Essex being the specially prepared 1922 four cylinder car Norman "Wizard" Smith used to set new records on Sydney-Melbourne, Adelaide-Melbourne and Brisbane-Sydney runs, along with a number of other city-to-city records. Smith also campaigned the Essex in a number of more traditional racing events and even took it across the Tasman to set city-to-city records in New Zealand.
The onset of the Great Depression severely affected Hudson-Essex sales, as it did many other American manufacturers. From a production high of over 76,000 units at the start of the 1930s, sales plummeted for the next few years, before the "Terraplane" became the new entry-level model, with the Essex name phased out at the end of 1933.
With an appreciation for the feats achieved by Essex in its glory days, Garrie Hisco decided to build a tribute to the famous Essex racing specials of the Roaring 20s, and the end result is pretty impressive! Having not seen an Essex board track-style of racer before, either original or recreation, even in his trips to vintage race meets and museums in the US and England, Garrie thought it'd be an interesting project. So in 2008, he decided to make the idea of an Essex Raceabout a reality.
Built around a 1925 2.6-litre six cylinder model, Garrie's first challenge was to cure the oil feed problems that affected the early six cylinder engines. Without addressing this, the rest of the project wouldn't really be worth undertaking. Achieving this through a more powerful pump to feed the bottom end, along with a few other modifications, Garrie says his Essex can now rev to high rpms without the threat of bottom end failure due to oil starvation and overheating.
The six is fed by a pair of period-accurate Detroit Lubricator Stewart brass carburettors, with coil ignition and other original parts true to the car's era. The most striking touch is arguably the 6-into-2 side-exit exhaust system for the vertical flathead six that snakes its way along the offside of the vehicle. A touch of theatre is added when the slash-cut exhaust spits flames at acceleration, just like the vintage boardtrackers!
In keeping with the Essex machines of the period, Garrie's car features parallel leaf spring suspension front and rear, and rolls on a set of 21-inch Buffalo centrelock wheels shod in Firestone racing rubber. Brakes are rudimentary at best, with external, contracting band-style brakes on the rear wheels only. There are no front brakes fitted. While the mechanicals were relatively easy to get right, despite the dearth of original Essex parts available, the body presented a new challenge for Garrie.
With the idea of replicating the lightweight, leather and fabric-covered bodies of period racers, that were themselves inspired by the technology used to manufacture early biplanes, Garrie's first task was to set out the framework for the fabric sections. Having never built a motor car body before, Garrie says it was quite a challenge to get right! With the help of David Hirst Upholstery in Goolwa, SA, Garrie got the job done. Looking at the finished result, the photos don't really do it justice, with the grey fabric covering fitting so snugly that it looks like a timber or metal cladding.
Behind the fold-flat racing windscreen, the interior features a pair of leather-trimmed bucket seats, period instruments and another classic touch in the form of a 'roped' steering wheel. Both the dash and the firewall were given the engine-turned finish, which works particularly well on this type of car.
Subtle indicators front and rear make the Essex safe for road use, with the finishing touches being the stars & stripes bonnet acknowledging the Essex's board track racing successes in the US. The half-split tonneau keeps things comfortable when Garrie's driving solo, while bespoke removable cycle guards on blacksmithed supports make for cleaner wet weather driving on the road. Recently-applied hand-painted racing roundels at the rear add to the 'period racer' look and feel. All up, the project took Garrie two years from start to finish.
Unsurprisingly, Garrie says his Essex gets a lot of attention when he takes it out, and that's before he fires it up and the six cylinder gives out its distinctive low rumble. While he's yet to put it to the test on a racetrack, Garrie said the speed increase delivered by the ultralight body provides more than enough thrills! Holding the beast on the road is a handful, but a lot of fun.
