Meet the UK’s Model T.
The Austin Seven was produced in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1939, and a version was also manufactured and sold here as the American Austin, and later as the American Bantam. (You may recall American Bantam as being the company that came up with the original Jeep design.)
Several manufacturers (such as BMW and Datsun) used the Seven as the basis of their own first cars, under license and otherwise.
Though this was basic transportation, it has a nice overall look to it, with what I think are good proportions. The tires fill out the wheel wells nicely, and the two-tone blue over black lends an understated flair.
The engine is an undersquare 747 cc side-valver making 10.5 horsepower, which sounds useless until you realize the entire car weighs in at just under 800 pounds, low enough to make a Miata want to visit Weight Watchers. I’m still trying to figure out the distributor drive system…
Maybe it’s just the well-dressed owner, but I wouldn’t mind arriving onto the scene in a Seven. Cars don’t have to be large to be interesting, and this Seven proves it!
(Thanks once again to CCer Bryce for the interesting photos!)
Charming!
My wife, who is rather petite is fascinated by small cars like original Minis and Sevens so one of my wish projects is to turn an Austin Seven into a scale model hot rod. While my original thought was to use a Rover V8, the current back of envelope sketch involves that other great British tuner engine the BMC A-Series in 1380cc form with twin SUs and a Sprite drivetrain topped by a Chummy tourer body and steel wheels.The end result would look a lot like a classic 50s rod hit by a shrink ray.
Check out the Austin 7 racer over at the cohort
The distributor drive- there’s a right-angle gearset to run the generator, seen in the picture, but not identified. Generator has right-angle gearset to the distributor; of course, no chance of any slop.
Picture doesn’t look correct; maybe it’s reversed. American Austin had mirror-image of English (RHD) engine & this looks like that. Maybe not, but at any rate, the fan is backwards, or the picture of the fan is backwards.
I think that’s a late-30s model called the “Ruby Saloon”.
Picture doesn’t appear to be reversed, as the distributor cap and ignition coil are visible on the RH side in the other photos too. I just did a rego check on it, and it is indeed a Ruby, a 1936 model. It is NZ-new, but appears to have been off the road until the 1980s, hence the 1984 rego plate.
On a different note, for once on a CC post, I can look at the photos and say “I’ve been there, I’ve walked on that footpath!”. They’re taken on the waterfront of the New Zealand’s art deco capital, Napier. They have an Art Deco festival weekend each year, always a great meeting time for fab classic cars!
Weekend before last check the cohort I took yall along
Thats thr RH engine shot thats what it looks like the dissy is driven at the back of the generator 1936 from memory or carjam the plate to be certain
Here’s a picture of an Austin 7 engine-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_7_ACT_Historic_Car_195_engine-right.JPG
Note that the fan blows to the rear when turned clockwise (as viewed from the front). The fan on the car shown here blows to the rear when turned counterclockwise (as viewed from the front).
Also, the generator is more visible.
The proportions are quite nice on this 7, and on the flapper too.
Cute little flathead. Tiny compared even to a Model A engine. Of course, this one uses a real distributor!
These are tiny. Consider that these weight less than the typical Lotus 7 clone. I’d love to have one.
When I see one of these little piddling engines I always think of my tractor. 15hp from a flathead four. Just big enough to do everything I ask. I think I could talk myself into this car.
I just noticed the old wind-up 78 phonograph on the rear luggage rack. Playing flapper music, no doubt.
The first automotive sound system. Actually that’s no joke, a windup Victrola might have worked OK in a car with someone to work it and hold it steady. I have an one like that and the needle is heavy. You’d be surprised how loud they are. Surely people tried it.