1918 Australian Six motor car (chassis number B767)

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Type: Motor cars
Date: 2007 - 2010
Place: Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia; Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Plainfield, New Jersey, United States of America
Materials: Metal - non specific, Paint - non specific, Rubber, Wood
Collection: George Gilltrap collection
Accession number: 2013.0069.0001

Description

A maroon Australian Six motor car with a folding roof. It has a badge on the front that reads 'Australian Six'. It has black leather seats and a wooden steering wheel. It has a wooden box inset with leather on the running board and two large headlights at the front. There is a blue registration sticker on the top of the windshield. There are two attached, 290mm x 390mm and 370 X 420mm, rectangular wooden compartments under the front seat including different materials. Some of the materials included are, car accessories and packaging, a wrapped up tool kit, a plastic sheet, a biscuit box, rugs, coolant, a rope, etc. Technical vehicle specifications include: a Rutenber, 6-cylinder, 3.8 litre, 3769cc engine; a 79.4mm bore, 127mm stroke cylinder block; a 3-speed Grant and Lees, Cleveland, Ohio transmission; and an internal and external double-acting band brake.

About the collection

This collection comprises a 1918 Australian Six motor car (chassis number B767) with maroon paintwork and black leather upholstery. The chassis was designed by Louis Chevrolet and manufactured by American Motors Corporation of Plainfield, New Jersey, USA, in 1918. It was acquired as a prototype by Australian automobile entrepreneur Frederick Gordon and was used as a demonstrator model before passing through a series of private collectors. It was acquired by the Gilltrap family of Coolangatta, Qld., in 1963, and was fully restored by George S. Gilltrap between 2007 and 2010. The car is in an excellent state of conservation. The 'George Gilltrap collection' has relevance to broad areas of Australian motoring history. As well as permitting analyses of post First World War automotive technology, this vehicle lends insight into entrepreneurship and industrial connections between Australian and American car manufacturers of the era. Although ultimately a commercial failure, the Australian Six marque is representative of one of the more significant attempts to establish a domestic automotive manufactory in Australia. The car's ownership by the Gilltrap family compellingly illustrates the changing practice of collecting and restoring historic cars into the twenty-first century.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 5:09:57 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2026-08-25. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.