Rare Hartnett woodie lives on Down Under
In the August 2020 issue, we reported on a two-seater Hartnett tourer that is about to be restored by the National Motor Museum of Australia at Birdwood Mill. Professional restorer Rod Fulton has since been in touch, having rebuilt a similar model in 2015.
He has made quite a study of the marque, which can trace its origins back to a 1943 design by JeanAlbert Grégoire that was taken up (unsuccessfully) in the UK by Kendall. In ’48 Laurence Hartnett left General Motors in Australia to manufacture his own car based on the Grégoire/kendall design. Around 125 examples of the car were produced between 1952 and ’56 before the company folded.
During that time the firm made one four-seater saloon, around 80 two-seater tourers and some 20 two-seater sports tourers. About 20 woodie estate cars were also made, one of which Fulton is now restoring. “The car was found in a poor state on a farmer’s property,” says Fulton. “In the 1970s, a car collector spotted it and contacted the farmer, who said if he collected it prior to the scrap merchant, he could buy it for the same price. He did so, but then did nothing with it and stored it in a backyard chook pen in Dandenong, near Melbourne.” Via another collector Fulton was then able to buy it.
Three years later the rebuild is nearly complete, with much of the coachwork having been undertaken in a room over his workshop. The car then had to be craned out!