1918 Chalmers Six-30 Open Tourer

Hugh Chalmers joined the Thomas-Detroit Motor Company in 1907. A youthful and energetic Vice President of the National Cash Register Company, he bought out the President, E.R. Thomas, and brought to market a four-cylinder car designed by Howard Coffin, later a founder of Hudson. Two of the new cars, called Chalmers-Detroit, managed a one-two win of the Jericho Sweepstakes on Long Island in 1908, and in 1909 a three-car team called the 'Chalmers Bluebirds' achieved great racing success.

After Coffin left Chalmers ('Detroit' had been dropped from the name) for Hudson in 1909, Chalmers continued to build several sizes of four-cylinder cars and added a six in 1912. The consummate salesman, Hugh Chalmers continued the competition efforts, his cars earning a trophy on the 1909 Glidden Tour and winning the event outright in 1910. Despite a flurry of speed-record activity in 1917, which saw a fleet of a half-dozen six-cylinder speedsters make new marks for ten miles, Chalmers suffered in the aftermath of World War I. The company was absorbed by Maxwell in 1922 and survived just one year before Walter Percy Chrysler rescued them in 1924, becoming president of the Maxwell-Chalmers organization in 1924. The new Chrysler vehicles soon followed and the last Maxwell was built in 1924.

The 1918 Chalmers line up consisted of the Model Six-30 which had a 117" wheelbase and a six-cylinder, 30bhp engine. Body styles included a five-passenger touring car, a duplex, a cabriolet, and a roadster. Additionally, there were seven-passenger body styles which included the limousine tourer and the touring sedan.

This 1918, 3.8-litre, left-hand drive Chalmers Six-30 was originally purchased by the Heffney family from Rangeley in Maine USA in late 1918 for the substantial (at the time) price of $1,565 which was around three times the cost of a Ford Model T. We would guess, however, that they must have liked it, as it stayed with the family for 50 years before moving to Colorado and eventually to the UK in 1989.

The owner prior to our vendor purchased it in 2013 and decided to retrim the car and replace the folding roof, however after fully stripping the interior, that's about as far as it got. Our vendor purchased the Chalmers in September 2018, poignantly almost exactly 100 years since it joined the Heffney family. He has finished the outstanding work, and the interior is now smartly retrimmed in black leathercloth, and a new hood and tonneau cover were made to order. It's fitted with a 12v battery for starting but runs on six volts. There is some history with the car including invoices and photographs relating to engine work in 1996 and a restoration in 2001, and there is also an original instruction manual. It has enjoyed regular use over the last few years including a number of Gordon Bennett Rallies.

The Six-30 is a powerful touring car with seating for five and is eminently suitable for VSCC Trials or VCC Touring. A rare name admittedly but Chalmers' DNA lives on throughout the American auto industry at Thomas, Hudson, Maxwell, and even Chrysler. This car is a rare survivor from those exciting and turbulent days when America fell in love with the motor car.