Random # 262: Austin A40 Saloon

-
I'm beginning to wonder if I've unfairly judged the Austin marque, thinking of it as the stodgy, distinctly uncool cousin to many of the other mainstream British car manufacturers of its era like Triumph, British Ford, and even Morris with its sporty off-shoot, MG (Morris Garage).  But is this fair?  





Possibly not ... .  Who did legendary English car designer Donald Healey team up with to produce his exquisite Austin Healey 100 - 3000 range?  (The name rather gives this away!).  Plus there's the Austin Healey Sprite, which happened to also be marketed by MG as their Midget in an early example of 'badge engineering.'  Even MG's evergreen MGB is powered by an 1800 cc Austin B series motor, albeit with a five bearing crankshaft and a few other refinements. 

A 'Big' Healey
A Mk I, or 'Frogeye,' Sprite

A couple of Sprites

The MG version - a Midget


An Austin A30
They're not unknown in the historic racing scene, either; there's the rather cool A30 shown above, as well as the bluish-grey version regularly and competitively campaigned in Targa Tasmania for many, many years (below).  And let's not forget that Australia's favourite motor-sports legend, the remarkable Peter Brock, also got his start in a hotted-up A30!
One of Targa's most consistent competitors:  another A30

Image result for peter brock austin










So, it is with fresh eyes and a different perspective that I bring you today's car, what I believe to be an Austin A40.  Maybe it's not as stodgy as I first thought? 





U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au)

All iPhone images

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EJ or EH Holden? (Up-dated December, 2022)

-
Image
EJ or the later EH? Several years ago, I posed the question:  Can somebody please explain the difference between an EJ and an EH Holden ute or van?  The response at the time wasn't overwhelming, so I did a bit of Googling and ferreting through my photos and came up with my own rough guide to EJ and EH identification.  Sedans and wagons are easy to tell apart ;  the EH's vertical rectangular tail lights are a dead give-away.  However, the workhorse versions of both models share the rear-end treatment of the earlier EJ, making it harder to identify one from the other.    No super obvious hints here. Or here ...  . It turns out that the main clues are in the placement of the front   H O L D E N   lettering and GMH lion emblems, the style of the radiator grille and the width of the vents in front of the windscreen, with all EJs - sedans, wagons, utes and vans - having one combination and the EH line-up having th...
Read more

An Electric Fiat X1/9

-
Image
For several years, there have been whispers that an electric X had been constructed in Tasmania's south.  However, no one seemed to know much about the car and how it had been built. That's not to say that it was some kind of skunkworks project; it seems to have simply been an under-the-radar affair, quietly put together by a bloke in his shed.  It was actually so U-T-R that I'd seen it at least twice without me realising that it'd been electrified. The car's since been sold but this is what I could glean from its current owner:  - It's a 1980 model and, as such, was delivered to Australia as a "Series 1.5," meaning that it originally had the Series 1's 1300 cc / four-speed in a Series 2 body with impact-absorbing bumpers and the higher engine compartment lid, as well as the latter's interior; - The motor is a 120 volt DC unit from US company Advanced Motors and Drives, rated at 10 HP / 7.355 kW ( http://evalbum.com/advdc , accessed 03 JUN 24);...
Read more

Random # 301: Nanna-Spec KE36 Corolla

-
Image
  Once upon a time - six or seven years ago, actually - there was a lovely pale yellow GC Galant station wagon getting around Hobart.  It was totally nanna-spec; its paint was umarked, the chrome work and hubcaps were immaculate, and its very original interior was pristine. Then someone stuck feathers in its dashboard.  Next, the windows were adorned with Tibetan prayer flags.  And a hubcap went missing.  And the the rear bumper was pushed in, mangling the bodywork behind it.  And a mudguard got dented.  And rust set in.   I fear for this sweet, innocent KE36 Corolla.  Somebody please save it before it's too late.  Nanna needs you to do it. Hello, reader! I've noticed that this seems to be a particularly popular post.  Something to do with Google's algorithms, I guess ... .  But it's not my best piece!  Sure, it's ok, but there are so, so many more interesting classic, sports and performance cars on this site - as wel...
Read more