Filed Under: News
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No we are not stuck in an Austin groove, whilst researching the 16 I came across a little piece which said Austin now belongs to an Asian Company, someone has sold our heritage to the highest bidder, despite all the trauma’s the company went through, which in the main stemmed from lack of funding, poor management decisions and dire staff relations, Austin cars had a quality and charisma unmatched by the mass produced boxes seen on our roads today.
The skill needed to drive the Austin Seven and cars of a similar like would no doubt render a great many of today’s drivers as incompetent, double declutching, no power steering and no sat nav, ah well perhaps I am showing my age, it may well be today’s drivers are better.
To be honest if it wasn’t for enthusiasts like yourself, names like Austin, Riley, Wolseley, Morris and MG would have disappeared long ago, even so many names and models gone by the way, just look at any classic encyclopaedia. When I pick up an old copy of autocar or motor you come across a model which stirs something in the brain, I remember those, haven’t seen one for years.
I decided to find a car apart from a Ford or a VW that made motoring history and then disappeared into oblivion, the little Austin Seven, I think did more for the average person to enjoy the freedom of travel in relative comfort and at a price they could afford.
1922, Austin launched the Seven, advertised it as “the motor for millions”, at 225 pounds it was compatible with buying a motorcycle and sidecar.
Sales were not up to Fords model T but there again Britain and Europe are quite different markets to the US, however in the first five years 100,000 units had been sold, the price was dropped to 145 pounds, encouraging more people to give up the motorcycle combination, one article at the time stated the price drop will kill off sidecars and cyclecars for good, it did of course dent two wheel sales.
Technically the Baby Austin was simple to maintain, the engine was a 747cc 4 cylinder side valve, I hasten to add originally it was a 696cc unit but was enlarged before production, the chassis was basic with two main beams running the length of the car, according to another review the chassis was A shaped with the engine mounted at the narrow front end.
Suspension wasn’t exactly user friendly, it was a very hard ride, at the rear there is quarter elliptic springs cantilevered from the rear of the chassis, at the other end there is a beam axle centrally mounted half elliptic spring, it took shock absorbers a little while, but they did eventually.
Braking, the brakes have been described as unimpressive, the fronts worked on the hand brake and the rears by the footbrake, it may well have been the other way round as there are differing opinions as to which way round it was, but thank goodness by 1930 they were fully coupled.
Steering was direct, no power steering, you had worm and wheel mechanism which is very direct and high geared.
The engine started with a two bearing crankshaft and in 1936 was enlarged to three bearings, however the end of the seven was on the cards, however the engine went on and on, it powered boats, fire pumps and it even went flying, there appeared no end to the versatility of this little engine, Colin Chapman used it for his early Lotus cars, it also went into the early Reliant three wheelers. Many specials appeared with the seven engine.
The gearbox had three speeds and a reverse, in 1932 it was made into 4 speeds with syncro on 3rd and 4th gears.
Such was the popularity of the little car, it was built by Rosengarts in France, the Germans built it at Eisenbach, named it the Dixi, which went on to become the home of BMW, remember the Wartburg and the EMW all came out of Eisenbach.
A separate company was set up in the US, and though it is slightly touchy the reports suggest that Sevens were built in Japan without a licence, hmm no comment.
The seven was available in so many versions Saloons, open tourers, vans, milk floats, there was the racing Ulster versions of the Seven they were extremely successful, but did you know they were the first 750cc motor to achieve 100mph, in Britain.
Austin seven specials are still used in trails and hill climbs which is not bad for an old lady, a very old lady.
There are believed to be 6000 still in existence, out of some 290,000 that were made, naturally every now and again one pops out of the woodwork not having seen the light of day for decades, and when they do they aren’t cheap to buy, a cherished one will set you back even more.
Well that is not the end of our Seven, there is an Austin seven Swallow, it was a rebodied seven by no lesser personage than Wm Lyons, that should start the grey matter working, the Swallow appeared in 1927 an open sports tourer and the following year came the saloon, and eventually Wm produced his own complete model under the SS brand, which come 1945 was the start of the all conquering Jaguar, had it not been for the success of the Swallow Wm Lyons probably would not have moved his factory from Blackpool to Coventry.
From a club aspect the Seven has truly world wide following, clubs in Australia, America, of course Europe and naturally the UK.
I think it is safe to say we will never see the likes of the Austin Seven again, simplicity, fun and cheap.
Before closing, if you are really interested in the Seven you would probably have more success obtaining parts than for some of our modern cars, there are so many firms offering parts, even complete bodies, and if you are going to one of the auto jumbles with the club, no doubt the lads would smuggle most of the bits on the coach to build a truly Irish Seven.
Ted Lay ted@gmail.com
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