Austin Sixteen
Guy gets his Austin home to Yorkshire and work begins
Progress on my Austin 16 project has stepped up a gear now that it has moved closer to my home in West Yorkshire. It arrived with Ian Kellett’s skilled team at The Carding Shed in Hepworth and immediately activity intensified. Ian had been amazing and really taken to heart the time limit that we were facing. By the end of January the Sixteen had to be full restored, serviced, roadworthy and ready to face the first hurdle of the adventure – a test run down to Longbridge and thence on a tortuous 571 mile shakedown trial across the West Country. Assistant editor James Walshe will be joining myself and Steve Berry on the run and you can read about the results in a future issue of Practical Classics… if, of course, we all make it in one piece.
This jaunt would be taking place 70 years, to the day, after the original tour. We would aim to visit the same places, eat at the same pubs and even stay in the same hotels as the first Austin Goodwill Tour in 1947. This UK road run would be followed by the ultimate faithful recreation of the Austin’s 1947 European Run.
Logistics have been taking up as much of my time as the mechanical preparation then, but I am still getting into the workshop as much as possible and working with the team. The car is progressing swiftly day by day and the changes have been hugely impressive.
Body work wonders
The Austin’s wings have needed plenty of love and attention. At some point in the distant past – and with this car we know that means before 1964 – the wings had been repaired by letting in strips of metal and literally bolting or riveting them in place. Then building up the outside with filler to make it ‘smooth’, at least to look at. To deal with this, the body work team at IK removed the errant metal and welded in new; oh, and they’ve done the job properly making a smooth butt weld and preserving as much of
the original metal possible. When I was looking for a Sixteen to make this historic anniversary expedition, I had rejected a number of Sixteens on the grounds that they were OVER restored – this one is not going to be like that at all, not if I can help it.
Original is best
To keep as much of its immediately post-war construction is essential. It is vitally important to both me and the spirit of the overall project itself. We have stripped out the entire interior in order
to thoroughly clean and then to feed the leather hide of the seats, no retrim here – original patination only please. In a similar vein we have refurbished and restored the original carpets, making patches where we can and having them whip-corded again where the edges have frayed too much. This is another advantage of bringing the car to the West Riding – it’s still a textile centre and thus people who are well able to complete the job quickly, skilfully and correctly are much simpler to find.
The big problem I have had of late, which will be common to anyone striving to bring a neglected classic back to life, is getting the message across to the DVLA. This Austin was laid up in the early Sixties. It is about to be put back on the road for the first time since then. Unfortunately the owners at the time did not send off their log book to Swansea and so DVLA ‘Have no record of this vehicle’. OK I thought – so I sent over pictures, the original log book and even a copy of the original sales invoice. Nope, not good enough!
A helping hand
It is at this point that the wonderful chaps at the Austin Counties Car Club step in. They, like many other clubs, have an officer dedicated to helping out with issues encountered with the DVLA. I had a fruitful 10-minute phone conversation with Nigel and was soon able to send off a new photograph; a copy of the log book; two filled in forms; a cheque to the club for an immensely reasonable £10 and an independent statement that the car matches the details on the Log Book – provided by an MSA registered friend of mine. I await developments with great interest.
As I write the date set for our shakedown jaunt is getting ever closer. I’m confident we’ll make it, but it may well be a close one. More news soon.
‘No retrim here – lovely original patination on my Austin please’