Lot details
Registration No: SV 9278
Chassis No: 139007
Mot Expiry: May 2007

Not content with his role as chief designer for the ultra-exclusive Lozier Motor Car Company, F. C. Chandler jumped ship in 1913. Accompanied by several of the renowned luxury marque's senior executives, he founded the Emise Motor Car Company of Cleveland, Ohio (though, it was swiftly renamed in his honour). Debuting in 1914, the Chandler Model 14 was based around a conventional leaf-sprung ladder-frame chassis. Assembled in-house, its L-head straight-six engine was rated at 27hp. Available with a choice of three bodystyles, the Model 14 helped establish Chandler as one of America's leading medium-priced car manufacturers. Marketed under such confident banners as 'Don't bet that you can beat a Chandler up a hill', the new concern's products gained an enviable reputation for speed and reliability. One that was enhanced by various publicity grabbing exploits encompassing: a non-stop 2,000 mile run from Mexico to Canada (1915), winning the Pikes Peak Hillclimb (1925) and covering 1,000 miles in 689 minutes (1926). Despite a sales high of 20,628 units in 1926, Chandler sank $500,000 into the red the following year and was absorbed by the Hupp Motor Company in December 1928.
Finished in blue over black with grey upholstery, this particular right-hand drive example is described by the vendor as being in "excellent" condition with regard to its 4 litre straight-six engine, four-speed manual gearbox, electrical equipment, chassis, bodywork, paintwork and wheels / tyres. Reputedly the subject of a major restoration prior to spending some twenty-five years on display in a Japanese museum, this very rare two-door five-seater 'Coach' sedan was imported to England in 2002. Issued with a dating certificate by the chairman of the UK chapter of Automotive Historians, the Chandler was subsequently road registered as 'SV 9278'. Reportedly treated to a substantial amount of work over the last few years including an "engine rebuild" and a "complete new interior in grey leather / West of England cloth" the Model 32 rides on steel-rimmed wooden artillery wheels. Sporting a sculpted front dumb-iron valance, windscreen visor and drum headlights, this handsome motor car is offered for sale with MOT certificate valid until May 2007 and historic class (free) road tax until June 2007.