E. D. Abbott Ltd on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Abbott of Farnham, E D Abbott Limited was a British coachbuilding business based in Farnham, Surrey, trading under that name from 1929. A major part of their output was under sub-contract to motor vehicle manufacturers. The business closed in 1972.
Edward Dixon Abbott (b. 1898)Graces Guide – Edward Dixon-Abbott
/ref> had been employed in the design department of
/ref> Abbott became their London Sales Manager and when Page and Hunt's business failed in 1929 he took over their Farnham works, forming a new company using his own name. Many of the early orders were for commercial vehicles, which kept the business afloat during the worst of the depression, but some car body making continued. From 1931 Abbott took a stand each year at the London Motor Show. Cars fitted with bodies included the Austin 7, Daimlers and Talbots.
Bentley R-type 4820274477.jpg, Bentley coupé 1953
Bentley R-type 4820895616.jpg, Bentley instrument panel
Healey Abbott Off the Dragon Trail 7880867818.jpg, Healey Abbott
Image:Ford_Zodiac_206E_Estate_1960_tail.jpg, Zodiac MkII by Abbott
Image:Ford_Zodiac_206E_Estate_1960_side.jpg, Zodiac MkII conversion
Image:Ford_Zephyr_213E_Abbott_Estate_side.jpg,
----
1951 Jaguar XK120 four-seater open tourer by E D Abbott
1952 Bentley R-Type coupé by E D Abbott
1970 Ford Capri Convertible by E D Abbott
Origin
Edward Dixon Abbott (b. 1898)Graces Guide – Edward Dixon-Abbott/ref> had been employed in the design department of
Wolseley Motors
Wolseley Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in early 1901 by the Vickers Armaments in conjunction with Herbert Austin. It initially made a full range, topped by large luxury cars, and dominated the market in the E ...
before he joined the coachbuilders Page and Hunt who had started operations in 1920.Graces Guide – Page and Hunt/ref> Abbott became their London Sales Manager and when Page and Hunt's business failed in 1929 he took over their Farnham works, forming a new company using his own name. Many of the early orders were for commercial vehicles, which kept the business afloat during the worst of the depression, but some car body making continued. From 1931 Abbott took a stand each year at the London Motor Show. Cars fitted with bodies included the Austin 7, Daimlers and Talbots.
Sailplanes
Abbott built a glider called the Farnham Sailplane and in 1931 the company established a subsidiary Abbott-Baynes Sailplanes Ltd to build more sailplanes. The parent company continued to sell and advertise the sailplanes.Lagonda
In 1934 Abbott won a major contract fromLagonda
Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
to provide all the bodies for the new small Rapier and work from Frazer-Nash for coachwork on imported BMW chassis.
During the second world war the company manufactured experimental radar aerials for the Royal Aircraft Establishment.
Postwar
After World War 2 the company restarted its coachbuilding activities, building production runs of coupés forSunbeam-Talbot
Sunbeam-Talbot Limited was a British motor manufacturing business. It built upmarket sports-saloon versions under the parenthood of Rootes Group cars from 1938 to 1954. Its predecessor Clément-Talbot Limited had made ''Talbot'' automobiles from ...
and Healey, as well as some special bodies for Jowett, Bentley and Lanchester.
Large orders came from Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
for estate car versions of their Consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
and Zephyr models, which kept the firm in business during the late 1950s and early 1960s, after which Ford estate production (aside from the Corsair) was done by Ford themselves as the level of demand had shown mass production was viable.
The days of the special coachbuilding industry were numbered and orders declined through the 1960s; the company finally closed in 1972.
Farnham Estates for Ford
Ford Zephyr
The Ford Zephyr is an executive car manufactured by Ford of Britain from 1950 until 1972. The Zephyr and its luxury variants, the Ford Zodiac and Ford Executive, were the largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 until their re ...
6 conversion
Image:Ford_Zodiac_213E_Abbott_Estate_tail.jpg, Ford Zodiac MkIII by Abbott
External links
1951 Jaguar XK120 four-seater open tourer by E D Abbott
1952 Bentley R-Type coupé by E D Abbott
1970 Ford Capri Convertible by E D Abbott
References
*Walker, Nick. ''A-Z of British Coachbuilders'', Bay View Books, 1997. {{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Coachbuilders of the United Kingdom Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Defunct companies based in Surrey Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1929 British companies established in 1929 1929 establishments in England 1972 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1972