This year marks the 100th birthday of our “Bean 12” located in Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada. How did a “Bean 12” get to Canada you might ask. About 15 years ago my wife and I had a visit to Australia. At that time, we did not know anything about the Bean Car Company or that it even existed. We were touring the Birdwood Auto Museum in South Australia when we noticed a radiator with the name “Bean” across it. Our name is Bean and so our curiosity was peaked. We spoke with the Curator and were informed that the Bean was a brand of motor vehicles made in England by A Harper Sons and Bean Ltd. The company began making cars in 1919 and ended car production in 1929. Commercial vehicle production continued until 1931. We also heard the story of the “Sundowner Bean 14” driven by Francis Birtles from England, across Europe, Africa and Australia. Of course, we had to go to see it in the National Museum of Australia and were introduced to the booklets “The Sundowner Bean Car” by John Clark and “The Bean” by Jonathon Wood. On return to Canada, we joined the Bean Car Club and enjoy hearing about the activities of the other members and seeing the photos of the “Old Beans”. We also did some family research and found no connection to Sir George Bean. Our family were Blacksmiths from Scotland. Our son Keith McLeod Bean shares our love of old cars and owns “Bean Chevrolet, Buick, G.M.C”. a General Motors Dealership. It was our desire to buy him a radiator with the Bean name across it to hang as a decoration in his office.

We spoke to him about one we saw in an advertisement on-line. He said he would investigate it as we are not attuned to doing purchases over the internet. That afternoon Keith informed us that he had bought the radiator. A month later when the radiator had not arrived and we were worried about it; Keith had to confess that he had bought a radiator but also the “Bean 12” to go with it. Keith purchased the car on December 12, 2022. He was concerned about shipping the car during the winter and the vendors kindly organized storage. The” Bean12” arrived at the Port of Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the spring of 2023 in great condition and was transported to Carleton Place, Ontario that same day. The Bean12, licensed in England as TR988 was restored many years ago by a member of the Chilton Vehicle Preservation Group. The 12 was Bean’s smaller model and used a 1.8 litre four-cylinder side valve engine, matched to a three-speed manual gearbox with a cone type clutch. We are not certain but believe we may have the only "Bean 12" in North America. It has had a few trips around the town on new tires. The canvas roof has fed a few too many mice and was replaced by a local craftsman. Other than a few creaks and groans it was able to celebrate 100 years in style. It is on display in the Showroom of the Bean Truck Centre.

Brian, Carol and Keith Bean