A new six a new eight

1926

An interesting item on the above car is the hood; in 1926 the louvers were the length of the panel. In 1927 the style was a double row of hood louvers, grouped in four clusters; the above car has only three clusters. This is the only hood of this type I have seen.

Changes for the year were minor; the six cylinder wheel base was increased by one inch to 118. The eight-in-line would remain at 125. 1926 saw a slight increase in power for the six cylinder, while the eight cylinder went from 75 to 84 hp. Gardner now could rightfully claim to be one of the faster cars on the market. Early ads listed eight new speed records as proof of what a stock Gardner could do. The improved eight at 299 cid, was a powerful engine that would remain until the end of production with the 1931 models. The six cylinder would be discontinued about the middle of August, by early September the advertisements listed only the eight. However cars built in August were titled as a 1927 model.

Innovative features included an elaborate dash and placement of the parking brake handle under the dash; not unlike cars of the 1950's. For ease of access roadsters came with an adjustable steering wheel. Gardner also claimed that the convertible top on the Landaulet Roadster could be raised or lowered in seven seconds.

This was the year Gardner would start a policy of two different production runs for one model year. July 15, 1925 would be the start of model year 1926, with a release date of Aug 1^st. In January Gardner would release their "advanced 1926 models" what the auto industry would call the 2^nd production or 2^nd series. This practice is part of the reason for so much confusion over year and model. For example the six cylinder had a CID of 207 for the 1^st series and a CID of 224 for the second series. The change from a CID 276 to 299 for the eight cylinder was during the 2^nd series, in other words the 2^nd series started with the 276 and would change in early May to 299.