NMM seeks support for Hartnett Pacific restoration
The National Motor Museum at Birdwood, SA, has acquired a rare Australian-made Hartnett ‘Pacific’ convertible and are seeking public help to fund its restoration.
Forgotten Australian
Little known today, the Harnett was the creation of Laurence Hartnett and was his second attempt at an all-Australian car after the Holden.
After he resigned from GM-H in 1947, Hartnett began planning for the car that would bear his name - smaller and lighter than the Holden, more affordable and, most importantly, wholly Australian-owned.
In sourcing a vehicle to meet this vision, Hartnett, somewhat ironically, settled on a design created by Frenchman Jean Grégoire.
With a chassis made up of cast aluminium sections that included the firewall and windscreen frame, Grégoire’s design also featured fully-independent suspension and a 600cc air-cooled flat twin engine driving the front wheels.
A Slow End
With funding secured from the Chifley Labor Government in 1949, ‘Hartnett Motor Company’ next sought out a manufacturer to build the cars - at the ambitious rate of 5,000 units per year - and settled on the Commonwealth Engineering Co. (Comeng), then a government-owned company.
A change of government in 1949 brought a change of relationship with Hartnett, with the new Liberal Government accused of withholding finance and stonewalling on import permits for mechanical parts.
Despite this, a pair of Hartnetts had been completed using hand-made panels by early 1951, with the ‘Pacific’ convertible followed by a ‘Tasman’ sedan. Around 125 more Hartnetts were built to running chassis spec in the next 18 months. These would ultimately be completed using hand-beaten panels, too.
By mid-1952, the Hartnett project seemed on the brink of collapse. Pricing had more than doubled since the car’s announcement and the orders weren’t coming in, but more significantly, the cars weren’t being built, either.
Hartnett’s feuds with Comeng, that had been almost constant since 1950, reached the courts in 1952. Hartnett had accused Comeng of failing to meet the production contract, Comeng countering with claims that discrepancies in the chassis’ aluminium castings made it impossible to produce stamped panels that would accurately fit.
The matter saw claims and counterclaims for damages (reaching into the hundreds of thousands of pounds) thrown back and forth for four years before Hartnett ultimately won, but the victory was hollow, with the Hartnett Motor Company dissolved in 1956.
Rare Survivors
Of the 100 to 130 Hartnetts believed to have been built, most were the open-top Pacific, with the Tasman sedan produced in far-fewer numbers. Rumours of an un-named station wagon version have also circulated.
Dimensionally, the Hartnett was around the same size as a Mini, with seating for four.
The flat twin engine produced 19hp at 4,000rpm and, mated to a three-speed manual transmission with overdrive, could reach a claimed 70mph (112km/h) maximum. Drum brakes, 15-inch wheels and snap-in side curtains for the convertible were other features.
The Hartnett Pacific acquired by the NMM is one of three believed to exist in complete (or close to complete) condition worldwide
Save the Pacific
To bring this rare and important piece of Australian motoring back to life, the National Motor Museum have launched a crowdfunding initiative.
Set donation options of $25.00, $50.00, $100.00, $500.00 and $1,000.00 can be made, or you can donate an alternative amount. All donations over $2.00 are tax deductible and 100 per cent of donations will go toward the restoration and display of the car at the NMM.
To donate, go to https://motor.history.sa.gov.au/
