Hoarders are a familiar subject at Curbside Classic, and today we’ve got a British take on the theme thanks to a Cohort find from Nathan Williams. His photos show a yard filled with prewar and early postwar classics, including a late Austin Seven, a burgundy Rover, and a pair of Humbers.
I’ve always admired British cars for their distinctive looks and charm, but outside of the usual car-show staples—MGBs, Austin-Healeys, and Triumphs—they’ve been few and far between where I live. That makes this collection a nice chance to spend a couple of minutes with some of Britain’s lesser-seen classics.
The most substantial find of the group is this Humber; a name that occupied a prestigious place in the UK automotive market, serving as the premium, upper-middle-class brand for the Rootes Group. Both the Pullman limousine and Super Snipe MKIII large saloons shared this front, with a face that was the “Humber look” of those years. Looking closely, badges show this is a Super Snipe MKIII, built from 1950-52. Regardless of body style, a 4.1L six provided power on these large Humbers.
Here, the classy face of a P2 Series Rover 4-door Saloon, another upper-middle class offering, which, along with the unidentifiable partly-dismantled Humber at the back, gives an affluent feel to the group.
The P2 Series was built from 1936 to 1947, and showed up in 10/12/14/16 models. Styling barely changed in those years, and the looks are rather similar between the multiple lines, but they do cater to different segments. I believe this is a postwar 16, but it’s a guess. If it’s a 16, it would have the largest engine of the P2s, a 2147cc inline six.
Rounding out the group is this black Austin Seven, identifiable by its rounded 1934–1939 radiator shell. It may be the humble one of the lot, but arguably also the most influential. Built under license in Germany, France, Japan, among others, the Seven became the foundation of several national automotive industries. Curbside Classic covered the model in depth some time ago, and to paraphrase that article, the Seven was never especially fast, particularly refined, or technically groundbreaking. Yet few cars did more to put Britain—and much of the world—on four wheels, making affordable motoring a reality for countless families.
So, besides this group being a nice collection of late prewar, early postwar models, the mix of affluent and affordable makes for a nice egalitarian one.
Related CC reading:
1929 Austin Seven – Helping Put The World On Wheels
Car Show Classic: 1929 Austin Seven Coupé – Behold The Mighty 747 (cc)
1959 Humber Super Snipe I Series – The Last Big Car From Rootes; The Last Real Humber
Rallies And Races: Humbers, Gatsos, And No Speed Cameras
Seems an appropriate spot to commemorate a passing of a long-time Repair shop in Portsmouth, NH, two years ago. Brit Bits was a simple yellow concrete garage on Route 1-A that was usually up to its ears in rusty Triumph Spitfires. But the odd Daimler, Ford Zodiac, or Humber Super Snipe warranted a closer look. The site is now occupied by luxury town homes.
That is lovely collection! Nice to see someone collecting and saving the saloons.
Not sure if I love the “Humber look” myself. Distinctive but perhaps not good looking. I suppose it served the purpose letting those driving Anglias or Minors that the driver was important.
That Rover is a real looker in a great colour. The Austin awfully nice as well but I do prefer the earlier ones myself.
Thanks to the UK government website (https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk), we can look them up by registration. All three are currently taxed and can be driven:
– the Austin 7 is a 1937 model
– the Rover is from 1947 (listed as 2147cc)
– the Humber is from 1952
In the 1930s in Toronto my dad had an Austin. I assume it was a 7, but I don’t have any evidence. I did inherit an adjustable wrench (or spanner?) that my dad said came from the Austin toolkit.
Humber Super Snipe is one of the great car names and I’ve sometimes wished I owned one just so I could mention it at cocktail parties. The name has always sounded sexier than the car looked. I could picture Emma Peel telling the valet to fetch hers.
Nice .
I love me some “L.B.C.’s” =8-) .
-Nate