This Spruce Green Austin A35 two-door Deluxe was built on 19th November 1957, and sold new by Aberdeen Motors Ltd on 17th March, 1958. The current owner is Ray Lewis, and he has traced much of its history from new. The first owner was Alexander Johnston, and he sold it to his nephew Peter in the mid-1970s. It then passed to Peter's daughter Janet and her husband Donald in 1987. At this stage the car required some restoration, but nothing too extensive – the front panel needed some new metal and a touch of paint, plus both sills were replaced.
This work was done over a couple of years, and the car was MoT'd and back on the road in July 1990. Janet and Donald then used it for local rallies, but didn't add much to the minimal mileage – it was recorded at 10,388 for the MoT in July 1990, and it still only had 10,743 on the clock when it was MoT'd in September 2002! By this time it had been sold out of the family in March 2002, and then passed through a few more hands before Ray bought it in January 2016, by which time the mileage had only crept up to 16,000.
It has yet to click over 20,000 miles, and that shows in just how fresh and original everything looks. The faces and needles on the gauges look like new, and very little has been changed or added. The Rexine interior trim is original and in perfect condition, the dash has not had any holes made for extra dials or switches, it still uses the original key and the engine and gearbox are the ones it came with from Longbridge. Carpet has been fitted instead of the rubber mats and the original headlining has been painted at some point, but the only other changes are sensible and discreet tweaks such as a 1¼in SU carburettor, windscreen washers that were fitted early in the car's life, a taller-geared differential from a Morris 1000 and radial ply tyres instead of crossplies, all changes that were made before Ray's ownership.
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Classics Monthly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Classics Monthly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
REINVENTING THE PAST
This may well be the newest car you ever see featured in Classics magazine, but we hope you'll agree that Morgan's 21st Century return to three-wheeled motoring is pretty close to being an instant classic.
AN MG RARITY
The MkIII and MkIV Magnettes have forever lived in the shadow of their illustrious forebear, the Z-Type Magnette. Sales were never strong and scrappage rates were high, but fans are now seeking out and cherishing the few that remain.
Out on the road again
I was in a great rush as usual when I checked out the Allard P1 late one evening, only to find that the lights wouldn’t come on main beam.
A CHEEKY CHAPPY
The Austin A30 and later A35 are tiny by today's standards, but back in the 1950s they were everyday transport for many a family. With all the charm of a puppy they had a tendency to worm their way into owners' affections, and Ray Lewis' lovely 1957 example is no exception to this rule.
Light Fantastic
We revisit Audi’s cleverly engineered lightweight loss-leader. Just don’t mention the A-Class.
Prized Companion
Originally the second prize in a national driving competition for lady drivers, this Escort XL is now a cherished family heirloom.
Exhausting Gentry
At the beginning of August I was in Denmark attending the 2017 Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix and as usual this was a brilliant event.
Major Minor Screen Problems
The last few weeks have been taken up with fettling the Minor’s wipers, as the motor was running too hot, despite smoothing the bends in the outer and replacing the grease with EP90 oil.
10 Things You Need To Know About... Bmc 1100/1300 (1972-1974)
For a car that was Britain’s best seller for most of its 12-year production run, the BMC 1100 and 1300 are remarkably scarce with survivors being just a tiny fraction of the two million plus cars that were produced between 1962 and 1974. Built in both Cowley and Longbridge, demand for the 1100 was so great that even after Longbridge started building the Austin version in late 1963, the Cowley plant had double shifts working to build enough cars.
Project MGF
Last month saw us going right through the MGF’s cooling system and since then I’m happy to report that the garage floor seems to have remained bone dry.
