Its 5 years since Doug Rose-Bray asked me to go to his sister's home in Mt. Victoria, pick up his 1910 Brush, which had been stored in her garage for decades, bring it back to Sydney and get it going. Having pulled the Brush out of the garage I found 23 fertiliser bags full of veteran car bits, a chassis leaning against the back wall and, under the pile of bags, a body full of crankcases, cylinders and crankshafts!!!!!!!!

What the... ! is this I asked, to be told that this was his late brother Allan's, collection of Empire bits and pieces. Doug went on to tell me that he had planned to restore it one day but time had got away. Doug won't mind me saying that he is a "gunner" of the first order - with 5 other vehicles, including one veteran, awaiting restoration, so he was a classic case for me to try to help achieve his objective.

Would he sell it - NO WAY - so after much discussion we arrived at an agreement whereby he would contribute the Empire bits, I would do the restoration, the cost of all major outside work would be shared equally and we would be joint owners of the project. To protect each of us we agreed to a BUY/SELL para, which for example, I think means that if Doug or I wish to sell we must first offer to sell to each other. If that party does not wish to buy at that price, then he must offer to sell his 50% to the other party for that price - and vice versa - see your legal eagle!!

So I loaded up the trailer with all the Empire bits and back home to Mudgee to see what I had got into!! I invited Keith Edwards and John Brooks to spend a week at Mudgee and put them to work sorting and de-rusting all the bits and pieces which we spread out over 3 tables and the billiard table! Later I had help from Don Liddle and Jim Weir. One of our former members, Col Bryson restored a 1911 Empire and I made contact with the present owner Doug Grant who made the car available for my inspection and many photos. Horseless Carriage Foundation and Harrahs provided copies of early publications on the Empire and I learnt a little of its history from an article appropriately entitled "The rise and fall of the Empire"

"In 1909 four of the biggest names in Indianapolis, Arthur Newby - President of the National Car Co., Carl Fisher President of Prest-O-Lite, James Allison of Allison Aircraft and Engineer Robert Hassler later aided by Harry C Stutz, teamed together to build a sprightly, altogether admirable 20h.p. four cylinder $800 car that would be nicknamed "The Little Aristocrat".

Unfortunately three of them, together with Frank H Wheeler of Wheeler - Schebler also decided to build an oval racetrack in town. After a disastrous start and the subsequent bricking of the track, the Empire had its brief moment of glory being the first car driven on the brick oval". "The Empire was a saucy looking car - and looked as cute as a bug - unfortunately Stutz left Empire to build the famous Stutz cars which soundly beat the Empire at the oval". "By 1918 the Empire was in the midst of an identity crisis and the company decided to give up, its problems had been that it was a good little car produced by a group of men who had lots of ideas, not many of which had to do with the Empire - and it could not compete against a dynamic man whose sole obsession was the Model T, so fell the Empire!"

The late Allan Rose-Bray had put together an excellent collection and we found many duplicated parts including 4 crankshafts such riches I thought until I found each had monumental cracks. A four cylinder 2.5 litres and only 2 main bearings twas then I remembered the legend of the Bryson restoration when on its first run it broke the crankshaft !! I then had a new shaft rough forged - BUT could not find anyone to machine it.

Finally I found Stan Sainty of Wentworthville who has made a new shaft out of a billet and is also machining the block and making new conrods etc. Dave Mawer of Last Chance Engineering at Orangeville 4657 1340, has done a fantastic job restoring the rear axle, diff and the attached Stutz gearbox. Basil Kerr of Antique Tyre Supplies at Canterbury 9789 4174 sourced the 34 x 4.5 Lester tyres I tried using the old Barnett Glass tyres and had 2 magnificent explosions as the walls blew out.

Many hours of work assembling, etc etc, with small machining jobs freely and skilfully done by my friend John Pickup at Upper Lue, and the chassis was on its wheels and tyres. Now for the body I said. Sanding and spray painting is not one of my strengths I did a fair? amount of old paint stripping and some? sanding and, to save cost decided to brush paint. Fortunately Don little advised me on warming the paint and buying good brushes (of course I am a BRUSH expert!) the resultant job is not bad? I have made the templates for the seats and have to do some work on the brass petrol tank I got from Graham Weekes. The radiator had to be recored and the brass jacket panel beaten, this was done very adequately in Mudgee but the business has since closed. Max Chapman did up the magneto and the drive shaft.

Ken Quarmby advertised a collection of 1913 Empire parts and I made a quick trip to Bargo and acquired the lot leaving Ken some valuable space in his garage. As my work has nearly finished on the 1911, I have welded up the chassis cracks, cleaned the springs and laid out all the bits to see whats missing! The gear box on the 1913 is back in the right place attached to the motor BUT the four cylinders are in two blocks a backward step from the 1911 which was four in one block. The major advantage of the 1913 is it has 3 main bearings. I am buying lotto tickets as there is a lot of rust damage in the gear box etc etc it must have been left out in the rain!!