My First Car: Austin A30
PHer Bruce Thompson (gdaybruce) first car was part Austin A30 and part baking tray...
The body gave a clue to the power beneath
Soon I was navigating on road rallies in a Hillman Imp (beg its pardon, a Singer Chamois) but, basically, I was crap at the job, throwing up regularly and missing checkpoints. I wasn’t cut out to be a navigator, I needed to be driving. Badly. The solution came in the shape of a 1955 Austin A30, for sale with MOT and tax at a local garage for £20. I hummed and ha-ed at the thought of such a major investment but eventually I sold the bike for £15 and the Austin was mine.
Ah, the heady sensation of an 803cc A series engine with 30bhp under my right foot. And cable operated back brakes. And 5.20 cross ply remould tyres. I can still remember parking her proudly in the hall of residence car park and standing back to admire her. I wasn’t put off when I lifted the wads of old carpet in the driver’s footwell and found, well, nothing at all really, except a good view of the road beneath.
Displaying the lateral thinking required for old car ownership, I ‘borrowed’ the crumb tray from the Baby Belling cooker in the kitchen on my floor and after a bit of hammering to reshape it, pop riveted and fibre glassed it into service as my new floor. Perfect. (I must return it some day.)
I never actually rallied the A30 but it did carry me and a friend from Bristol to the Lake District where we assayed Honister Pass. At the steepest part it became clear that I would need 1st gear so I executed the perfect double declutch (no synchromesh on 1st) but the jerk when I let the clutch in with full throttle was enough to displace the fan belt. We arrived at the top in a huge cloud of steam but from there it was downhill all the way.
On another occasion it occurred to me that I seemed to slow down for corners more than other folk. I therefore resolved not to slow down for the next bend. Fortunately I was on a country lane at the time and the hedge provided a very soft landing. I climbed out of the passenger door in time to see the inside wheels still turning slowly in the air.
Eventually, the next MOT was due and by now the front lever arm shocks were totally shot – a situation that was apparent whenever I attempted a ‘sporty’ approach to a favourite corner with a rough road surface. The little Austin simply refused to turn in. Moreover, an axle seal had gone, soaking one drum brake in oil. Still, nothing ventured so I put it in for its test.
The tester disappeared up the road to conduct the brake test (no rolling road in those days) and I watched as a cloud of smoke came from just one back wheel and the car slewed across the road. He returned and commented thoughtfully, ‘she’s pulling a bit under brakes’, which was the understatement of the year.
So my Austin had to go and without MOT or tax I sold her for £22.50, a profit of £2.50. I thought ‘there’s nothing to this car owning lark’ as I sank £200 in a Morris Minor van. How very wrong that turned out to be…
The one abiding memory of shoe string motoring in the late 60s was those bl**dy trafficator arms. They never worked and eventually they would end up stuck out permanently only to be broken by the first unsuspecting person who got out of the car. The next step was to sellotape them up and after that they would never come out so you had to be adept at driving with one hand and banging the door pillar with the other, which was always a good lesson in car control on left turns!
The best part of the journey was the hill by Exeter racecourse. Usually loaded down with gear, I would chug up in 3rd gear at about 25-30mph being passed by lorries, caravans, milk floats, glaciers and the like before reaching the top and knocking the old girl out of gear and coasting all the way down the other side. The speedo ran out at 80mph, as I repassed everything that had passed me on the way up. Then, at the bottom had to wait until I got back down to 50odd before slipping it back into top for the final run down into Plymouth.
Happy days!
When I finally sold the car to a friend he promptly crashed it and all that was left was the Isopon? filler in the driver's foot well. I often wondered what happened to that reg RCE 203 now probably worth a fortune !
How about telling us of your experinces with the Morris Van.
reminds me of my first car a 1947 Lanchester LD10, 1 year older than me.00-50 in 38 seconds and that was when it was new
It taught me great anticipation as the brakes were so bad as to be almost useless.
Only had it 18 months but at least I had wheels, and had great fun.
It came to an untimely death when it decided to self ignite in my works car park with over 500 rounds of ammo on the back seat
I wonder if the Reg survived JNB 8, wish I still had the reg
Tony H
Been done, was in either Retro or Practical Performance Car a few years, a couple of lads from Worcester had a green one! Its the same as sprite running gear so Frontline are your friends
My brother's first car was a black 1959 A35, he had tuned 948's and tuned 1098's in it and everything from Sprite ventilated steel wheels, Midget Rostyles and Cosmic alloy wheels on it. He had that for a good few years and followed it with a 1954 Austin A30. So before I could drive I had done many miles , including a trip to 1.0 leptons (quite an achievement in a car with drum brakes all round
), in these great little cars! As we were in Malaya, it was an export model.
I remember us three kids could fit on the back seat (which is miniscule), and dad thrilling us one day by taking it up to 50mph.
Lots of other good memories and adventures, like my mother having her one and only driving lesson, which lasted about 10 seconds before she drove into a ditch.
The car survived ok, but no more driving for my mum.
Been done, was in either Retro or Practical Performance Car a few years, a couple of lads from Worcester had a green one! Its the same as sprite running gear so Frontline are your friends
My brother's first car was a black 1959 A35, he had tuned 948's and tuned 1098's in it and everything from Sprite ventilated steel wheels, Midget Rostyles and Cosmic alloy wheels on it. He had that for a good few years and followed it with a 1954 Austin A30. So before I could drive I had done many miles , including a trip to 1.0 leptons (quite an achievement in a car with drum brakes all round
), in these great little cars! And trying to make it pass an MOT. I wonder why pop riveted repairs with fibreglass aren't good enough these days? It might well be stronger than the original panel! Perhaps it doesn't behave predictably in a crash.
I remember pulling old botched repairs out of Minis and Cortinas. It was fun to see what raw materials had been pressed into service. An archaeologist could piece together the location and occupation of the bodger in some cases. Printer. Builder.
As a slight aside, but related-ish, my first job as a 14 year old was in our local car parts store Lloyds Garage in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire. This would have been in the early-80s so the stock trade of a Saturday was blokes coming in for service kits (filters, points, oil etc) for Cortinas, Ambassadors, Sierras, Metros, Cavaliers, Maxis, Renault 12s, Peugeot 504s etc. Wonder how many service kits they sell nowadays for A4s and 320ds?
There's cetainly a lot to be said and a lot of satisfaction to be got from keeping and old car - especially one that's not particularly spectacular - running, and I sorely miss it!!
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