The Venn diagram of airplane people and car people has significant overlap; fans of one are quite often drawn to the other. One notable individual at the center of this diagram is Roger Hadfield, a retired Air Canada pilot who spent years collecting antique and vintage cars. The whole Hadfield family later inherited his twin passions, including son Chris, an RCAF test pilot and astronaut.
The cars, represented here by @oneslyone, are a selection from the Hadfield collection and highlight Canada’s own early automotive industry with Canadian-built Fords and McLaughlins, among others, as well as a post-war Bentley from the original pillar of the Commonwealth. Auctions will start Thursday, October 29th. A preview of what’s to come continues below:
1915 Ford Model T Runabout
Ford of Canada was founded in 1904, a year after its American parent. Soon after, the company began producing Ford products under license, which it held for the entire Commonwealth excepting Great Britain and Ireland. This is the earliest car in the collection; it’s a 1915 T with a brass radiator and headlights—and an engine from circa 1917.
1917 Ford Model T Touring
Model T production kicked off in Canada in 1908, concurrent with US production. For the first few years, Canadian-built Ts utilized engines produced in the States. It wasn’t until 1913 that engines were produced locally. Serial numbers were prefixed with a “C” to denote their origin, and production continued on through the end of July 1931. This car carries an engine built between August 1917 and July 1918, and its dashboard wears a “Made in Canada” tag.
1918 McLaughlin-Buick E35 Touring
Samuel McLaughlin may not be a household name in the States, but he was a pretty big deal in Canada, especially when it comes to automobiles. McLaughlin’s father started a carriage business in 1867, and Sam started building cars in 1907 using engines sourced from Buick. McLaughlin became a director at GM in 1910, and in 1918—the year that this car was built—he merged McLaughlin with his recently acquired business (Chevrolet Canada) to form General Motors of Canada, and became president of the new concern. Though he retired in 1945, he remained chairman of the board of GM Canada until his death at age 100 in 1972.
1920 Studebaker Model EJ Light Six Touring
For 1920, Studebaker dumped their four-cylinder range and replaced it with the “Light Six.” The all-new model featured a more modern design than the 1919 cars and brought about an aluminum cylinder head and a single-disc clutch. Though most left the factory in black, this one has been refinished in maroon. Approximately 7,800 EJs were produced in a run that went through 1921.
1923 McLaughlin-Buick Autotrac Conversion
Autotrac is just what it sounds like: half automobile, half tractor. These were kits that became popular around WWII, when cheap used cars were more plentiful than brand-new tractors. You got a pair of rear tractor wheels, and sometimes, a frame with a drawbar. With “a little elbow grease” (here provided by Mr. Hadfield’s son Phil), you’d end up with a tractor—you know, after shortening the frame, removing the rear bodywork, and beefing up some parts.
1924 McLaughlin-Buick Master Four Model 24-35 Touring
The newest McLaughlin in this lineup, the Master Four, was the smaller of the two lines offered by the company in 1924 (the Master Six was the other). Four body styles were available off the rack, including the 24-35 Special five-passenger touring car. Mechanical brakes at all four wheels were “the greatest improvement in brakes in motor car history” per the 1924 McLaughlin-Buick brochure, which also notes that this car has “an extra-heavy crankshaft with three unusually large bearings.”
1926 Ford Model TT Stake Truck
In 1927, the story goes, the Hadfield family (namely, Roger’s parents) relocated from northern Michigan back to Canada, where they settled in Galt, Ontario. They made the move with a Model TT truck, much like this one restored by Roger between 2012-2013 as a tribute to the first ’20s-era steed that bore the clan north—it even has the family’s name painted on the doors. But this truck isn’t all show, as it has Rocky Mountain brakes and a shiftable overdrive to help speed or slow that old worm-drive axle.
1927 Ford Model T Touring
This T Touring has a Canadian-production engine from June 1926, making it fairly late in the run. It’s been with the Hadfields for over 20 years and was used as intended: for touring. Mr. Hadfield was an avid T guy and is said to have taken this car on various T club tours. It wears an older refurbishment in maroon and black and wind wings—something rarely seen on a Model T.
1956 Bentley S1 Saloon
The lone post-war offering in this collection is a pistachio-colored Bentley saloon from the Old Country. The Hadfields apparently had a few of these and transplanted the red interior from a different S1 into this car, which they also painted on-site in their workshop. We’d wager this car rides better than the others here, not to mention offering superior weather protection.
The full list of cars from the Roger Hadfield collection is below. Links to live auctions will be added as they become available.
- 1915 Ford Model T Runabout
- 1917 Ford Model T Touring
- 1918 McLaughlin-Buick E35 Touring
- 1927 Ford Model T Touring
- 1926 Ford Model TT Stake Truck
- 1924 McLaughlin-Buick Master Four Model 24-35 Touring
- 1923 McLaughlin-Buick Autotrac Conversion
- 1920 Studebaker Model EJ Light Six Touring
- 1956 Bentley S1 Saloon