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After the end of World War II several people restored
cars in East Germany just to use them for their daily business. It was the
time of Socialism and the Cold War between East and West. With the
increase in the standard of living in the fifties and sixties more and
more people could buy modern cars. During this time an increasing number
of classic car fans started to collect cars just to preserve the
historical vehicles. This was also the time during which my grandfather
started his collection. At the end he had five cars (three were fully
restored) and about 30 classic motorcycles. My grandparents lived in an
old farmhouse. Since they stopped farming they had enough space for this
collection. |
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Very important for the restoration was to know a lot of people working in state owned companies who could restore or rebuild parts during their work hours in exchange for a case of beer, some money or anything else they needed. My grandfather was fortunate to have a lot of contacts. He was a carpenter and owner of a small carpentry business. Since in East Germany nearly everything was rare he was a much needed person. In return other people helped him during the restoration of car parts in order to get a new wooden door or a new staircase. The Essex for example had no rear springs but my grandfather knew someone that worked in a factory manufacturing springs for the East German standard car ‘Trabant’. He had an old book containing the drawings of the springs of several classic cars including the Essex and was able to rebuild the springs. |
![]() My Grandpa Helmut Theil (insert) and during the restoration of the Essex Super 6. |
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The Essex Super 6 in summer 2010. |
Another nice story my grandfather likes to tell is |
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There were also situations where the restoration of parts
was impossible in East Germany. This was the case with the radiator of the
Essex. My grandpa had a good friend in West Germany and he smuggled the
radiator to West Germany. My grandpa had to provide some other classic car
parts that his friend could sell in order to pay for the restoration.
Smuggling was actually the most dangerous way because the Secret Service
had always an eye on the classic car collectors. If they found any
suspicious facts the collector could lose the full collection. The
government considered the cars to be the cultural heritage of the country
which may not be sold without permission. This was told to my grandparents
in an official letter. [1] Hudson Essex Motors Company m.b.H, Berlin-Spandau/ Berliner Chaussee. Company name follows from German owner’s manual. |
Speedo |
Plates |
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Footnote: Unfortunately, we received word from Hagen that his Grandfather Helmut passed away on the 20th Oct 2010 before he could see the article published.