Buy Austin, and be proud of it!

[minicamper]

I was watching some vintage footage from Pathe studios in England and the ad from the 50's said, Buy Austin! and be proud of it!

So i did..

I had the opportunity to buy a mint and i mean MINT A30 recently, so put the Humber up for sale. I set the auction on evilbay to end earlier than the Austin. The Humber sold easily.

The owner of the Austin was great and really wanted me to have it (not enough to take an offer though) and I got pipped at the post.... Again...

So I went and bought this instead. A bit bigger, a bit more go, and more suitable to my VVing addiction.

yes i know its not a Holden, Ford, Chev Chrysler etc. But i reckon it'll look good with a nice 50's Bondy behind..

Not exactly what i thing the Skankyvan should go behind, but others are ont he lookout for me...




Cheers
Chris

[neilncheryl]

Hi Chris
Very tidy looking Austin A40 Devon you have scored there.
I restored one in 1980 (GS II model) and it was a lot of fun to drive, but not quick.
Had a top speed of 73mph and didn't worry it if you sat there all the way.
The GS II had floor change gears and brakes were hydraulic front & mechanical rear and you always seemed to be adjusting the rears.
The GS III (same shape - 1951 I think) went to 4 wheel hydraulic brakes and 4 speed column change gears.
We ended up selling ours in 1987 when it got too small for the family.
Enjoy the ride
Neil

[lulu]

Very Very cute!! Congrats Chris & Well Done

[minicamper]

Thanks guys,

Neil this is a GS2 floorshift. I have to do a few little jobs, but all in all, a great get in and drive car..
Loaded with all the options too! Rear armrest, locking handbrake, heater, grill "bib", carpet. I was lucky that the owner got his hands on a NOS replacement head and muffler and tailpipe.

All i have to do now is find a towbar

Cheers Lulu, it is cute and even though i only got a short drive, fun too!

Cheers
Chris

[Deleted]

Hi Chris.
Aaah a "Flying A"

Looks like a tidy little Austin...
Rumour has it that Austin also had a secret ploy to get thier A40s up over 70MPH.
They painted them British "Racing" Green.... anything with "racing" in the paint title was 5 MPH quicker than the other colours.
I read somewhere that the floorshift model GS11 was even quicker... the weight saving made by removing all the linkages and asscociated bracketry off the column helped propel the car down the road quicker.

My old man had a blueish grey A40 Countyman wagon back in the mid 60s. I have some old photos of it somewhere .. will dig em out and take a few digital shots of it and post em here.

Your car would look good with a small bondy on behind it.. or perhaps a TD of some sort ....... or......or...or .. even a minicamper ;D

Reddo

[Flattop]

That is a fine example, looks like you will have many enjoyable trips in that mighty fine British car. A comfortable car to ride in in the rear if I remember, if not a little 'hairy' when pushed on the night race from Frankston Teachers' College to Pt Leo!
Like others I have fond memories, my first registered car back in ,71, $40 (2 weeks' wages). Filled in until I had the EK 2104 and I gave it to my brother.
Oxy the front springs, the rears were reverse camber and low to start with. Chiseled and ground the combustion chambers, home made twin SUs and straight through side exhaust! Those were the days *smile*
It felt and sounded fast, even if the standard Mini 850s could clean me up haha.

I'm sure your going to be the envy of many.

[minicamper]

Reddo, its SO true, it can do 70mph and is the only old car i have that can (well the mini can, but i value my eardrums)

And the owner was quick to point out that its not actually BRG, its lighter. (i stood corrected)

She's a stocky and will be staying that way, so flattop, as interesting as your exploits sound, they won't be getting replicated..

;D Pick up day tomorrow!! ;D ;D

Cheers
Chris

[neilncheryl]

Mine was the same green - Sherwood Green I think they called it

[minicamper]

Sherwood sounds familiar...

Having picked him up yesterday, i managed to get all the history and he is named Sinclair, as per the wishes of the original owner. He even came with a teddy for the back seat of the same name.

didn't have the heart to turn the last owners down on taking the bear as part of the deal, so, bear and car continue as Sinclair... ;D

[skyline59]

G'dday Chris'
mate great looking car, hope you have success finding a towbar for it & then anice caravan to complete the unit,
Regards Brett

[rodp]

My first car was an A40. A 1950 model,same colour . I think yours is a 1951 model with that extra bar in the centre of the grille. I'd be careful towing with it,as I recall they broke rear axles really easily with all that grunt from the 1200cc engine.

[minicamper]

Hi Rod,

Nah, it is a 1950, just has had a few extras added over the years..

[melburgorbust]

That is Lovely! will definitely have to keep my eye out for you next time I'm down your way in my Volvo 122S (amazon)

[rfw]

Absolutely love these Austins. ( and yours too) Missed out years ago grabbing a convertable. Well i was only 13 / 14 and still in school. Five or six years ago i went to buy some acreage Qld way. On this thirty acre block were at least 70 diff cars/trucks ( which were part of the sale) in varying degrees of sunburn & rust. At least 6 Austins,Morris`s, Zephyrs, Commer trucks, Jailbars, Cussos and more. I had a business back here so couldn`t afford the time to do anything with them. So i ended up buying another treed block. Three weeks later back in Sydney the dealership i was operating out of was shut down by its o/s owners. I rang the estate agent in Qld. He said the particular block was sold two days ago. Bugger!! I`m still kicking myself.

[Roehm3108]

Love the car!! Bought one off a mate for $50 when I was about 18. Driving it home was the hariest thing I ever did - wandered all over the road!! Traded it in the next day for a good old VW Beetle which never missed a beat for years.

Reckon the ideal van for you would be a Sherwood Green Propert - would look SOOOO Koool

Ray

[Don Ricardo]

Here's one for Minicamper - a nice English rig with an Austin Mini towcar:



It's from a British book called 'Making the Most of Tents and Caravans' by Frederick Tingey.

Just goes to show you've got all you need for towing purposes with your Mini, MC - you can get rid of that HZ One-tonner of yours.

Towing 430kgs with a vehicle weighing less than 700 kgs and somewhere around 40 bhp (unless it had the big motor!)... If there are a few UK caravanners out there with combos like that, it probably explains why the lads on Top Gear hate caravans with a passion! ;D ;D ;D

Wonder what the maximum towing weight for a Mini was? OK, just Googled it - 450kgs for a braked caravan, so the van in the pic was pretty close to the limit. Obviously, the owners didn't take clothes, food or water when they went away...

Don Ricardo

[minicamper]

Thanks for that Don. It is not an uncommon sight.

This is why people, including myself went this route if you were a Mini fan.. (well actually, i copied the prototype caravan, separate chassis..)



The roof either tilts up at the back for standing room, or, can be a VEB. Vertically extending body, kind of a giant pop top...

[atouchofglass]

Lot of junk in the trunk of that MINI

Have seen the results of a chop and shunt of a mini once....

The boot was behind the front seat and it was a convertable...
The bloke that made it used it as a bush basher for the headlands around canefields..

awesome turning circle ;D ;D ;D

Atog