An Enfield awakens: forgotten Edwardian returns to the road

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

In July last year, PreWarCar.com received a very interesting message from Chris Dean in Australia. One of Chris's friends had been hankering after an Austin-Healey 100/4 since his youth, and having eventually found himself with a bit of disposable cash in his pocket, he resolved to buy one at last. After making enquiries for some time, his search finally yielded fruit during the Antipodean summer of 2022-23, when a man told him: "I know of one that has been stored in a shed for many years... with a Goggomobil and an Enfield."

That led to Chris being taken on a 750-mile drive to find out whether the lead was any good, and on finding the three cars as described, what else was there for Chris and his friend to do but buy all three of them? The Goggomobil was soon sold on to another enthusiast, and so, surprisingly, was the 100/4, which was a complete and highly original car requiring just a very slight amount of sympathetic restoration. As Chris explains, "Having achieved his dream of owning a 100/4, my friend realised that he realised that he is not in his twenties anymore and so he sold it to give another enthusiast the opportunity to realise their dream."

That just left the Enfield, which really wasn't in bad shape once the layers of dust had been brushed off. All the same, by the time it was revealed to Chris, it hadn't turned a wheel for 16 years, with its last New South Wales registration having expired in 2007. Thereafter, it languished out of sight with its two unlikely stablemates.

While Chris contemplated whether and how he should sell the Enfield, it remained a source of fascination and he thought that, so long as he owned it, there was no point in simply leaving it lying around—he'd appreciate it far more if he could get it running. That was the last we knew of it until February, when we were delighted to hear from Chris once again with the news that it had been returned to its former glory and was pottering about very happily.

Says Chris, "We had difficulty in finding someone who was not only interested in repairing it, but who also had the ability and, most importantly, the time. We finally found a veteran and vintage specialist who was keen to assist. It emerged that a broken gear on the magneto shaft had jammed, so it could have been worse. A new gear has been machined and fitted and the car is now running and driving as it should.

"All the brasswork has been polished and the car is really looking beautiful. The acetylene generator has also been polished and refitted to the car to power the gas lights. Unfortunately, the granules used to go into the generator and mix with water to make the acetylene are no longer available for 'domestic' use in Australia. If they were, the gas lights would be operational."

The accompanying photographs were taken as soon as the Enfield arrived back at Chris's, and he apologises for the surfeit of enthusiasm which led him to take them immediately, forgetting first of all to refit the monocle windscreen.

We have up to now said very little about the car itself, omitting even to mention its model and year of manufacture. This is because they were not known to the man who sold it to Chris, and hence remain unknown to Chris himself, though it is believed to date from 1908 or 1909. Enfields are not a car about which a great amount has been written, but we find in Georgano that the Enfield Autocar Co. Ltd. was begun in Redditch, Worcestershire, in 1906, following the separation of the car-making division of Royal Enfield, the firm best-known for guns, bicycles and motorcycles, hence Enfield's slogan, "Made Like a Gun." The earliest models were shaft-drive four-cylinders of 4.1 and 5.9 litres, but the company struggled financially and in 1908 production moved to Birmingham following its purchase by Alldays, which retained Enfield as an upmarket companion marque. The last Enfields were produced in 1915, post-war products being sold as Enfield-Alldays.

Readers who can contribute more useful knowledge about the marque and its models are very much encouraged to. As for this specific car, the only information that has come to light is that prior to Chris's ownership, it was last sold to a gentleman in western New South Wales in 1997, who later died. Did he discover it and restore it himself, or does it have a long history in Australia and in preservation which has been obscured by the mists of time? This is another question to which Chris hopes to find the answer.

"We have conducted a worldwide search spanning many months," Chris adds, "but nobody can shed any light onto the history of this Enfield, nor has another one surfaced."

Surely, somewhere out there, there is an Enfield expert? If so, they need to answer the call of duty. It's wonderful that this beautiful little Edwardian is back on the road again, but it will, of course, be so much better once we know exactly what we're looking at. Please help Chris if you can.

Words: Zack Stiling; photographs: Chris Dean
 

Make a comment, ask a question, give your opinion, share additional information or start a discussion by filling in the fields below.