AUSTIN A30
OFF TO A GREAT START
“Itold my dad that I wanted one of those. He said to me that I didn’t have the money for it then, but I could buy one later when I could afford it,” says Michael. I can’t deny it; it’s reassuring to find a teenager interested in restoring classic cars, but you could say that it’s in his blood. Michael’s father, Rhys, is a keen restorer and racer of British motorcycles, particularly Rudges. Michael also took up racing Rudges, which
can be quite challenging with their vintage girder forks and skinny tyres. He is now a keen participant at various vintage meetings such as the annual Southland Burt Munro Challenge on his own 1938 Rudge Ulster 500cc machine.
A couple of years ago, Michael began working after school at Invercargill engineering company Mcleay Precision Engineering (MPE), mostly cleaning
up the workshop. Mcleay sponsors the Burt Munro, so is an extension of the Wilsons’ classic bike family, and it was a handy place for Michael to pick up practical knowledge that he could apply to his own bike. It was some time later, when his dad was in MPE getting some pistons machined for his bikes, that the idea of applying for an apprenticeship there occurred to Michael.
“Doing it after school, I really liked it. I enjoy racing old bikes, so I had to figure out some way of machining the parts for them. An apprenticeship seemed to be the ideal solution.”
After finishing high school in 2018, Michael completed a pre-trade course at the Southern Institute of Technology in Invercargill, then, a few weeks into 2019, he applied for an engineering-machining apprenticeship at MPE and was accepted.
Two cars into one
Michael’s search for suitable Austin A30 to restore began early last year. He soon came across both an A30 and a later A35 model quietly fading away in Cromwell. It would prove to be a good lesson for Michael in how to go about a restoration carefully and economically on a limited budget.
“I went up with Dad to look at these two cars, which were available for $800 for both. We thought that was a bit much. Eventually I got them for $600.”
They assessed the cars properly at home and decided that the A30 was the one to restore. They began stripping it out ready for panel work. Then a little blue A30 surfaced for sale online at Papakura near Auckland.
“I was almost on the way to the panel beater and then this one came up,” Michael explains. “I told Dad, ‘I really want that’.”
With live registration plates, the car was too good to pass up. “[With] live plates, it would be a lot easier to get on the road. I sold the A35 for $800 and got my money back. I’ve still got the other A30 at home, so it will be a good source of spares and panels,” Michael tells us.
Michael’s father also wanted to get some bike parts out of Auckland, so the two of them headed north to pick up Michael’s barn find, a 1954 Austin A30 two-door sedan. “Little was known of the car’s history, but it had been in the barn for a while,” Michael explains.
Back home, he set to work on a now
familiar task: cleaning out an A30 to send to the panel beater.
“Being 17 and still at school, I couldn’t afford much, so I used to go around to this panel beater’s place after school and help out sanding it down and cleaning to keep the cost down. He did me a very good deal on the panelling,” says Michael.
Birthday present
Michael turned 18 on 9 August 2018, and that became the target date for finishing his car. He and his father spent six months getting it tidied and painted in time for the deadline.
“I drove it to school, and it boiled all the way at 45mph. I think I went through a large Sprite bottle of water getting there,” he laughs.
With no other major problems to tackle, Michael decided to replace the tired 803cc engine. In December, a reconditioned 950cc engine from Automotive Engine Reconditioners (AER) in Invercargill was fitted, along with electronic ignition. Michael also set up the A30 to tow a trailer.
“With the trailer, a new motor, and all the other bits, it probably owes me about $6K,” Michael comments.
It looks like a good investment, with A30 prices holding firm. Some good ones at auction in New Zealand are going for around the $10K mark.
Over Christmas 2018, Michael and two friends loaded up the A30 and trailer and headed for a holiday in Cromwell, taking the chance to give the new motor a good run.
“It went really well. I was very pleased,” he says. Tendency to fall over
Take a look at the Historic racing class at events such as Goodwood, and you will see how tricky these little cars can be on the limit. Most are running nearly 67kw 1275cc engines, so the slides are lurid and the angles of cornering attack are challenging and entertaining, to say the least. They look like old-fashioned prams, and it’s a wonder they stay right side up on their tiny wheelbase and track. Of course, some don’t.
“They are quite well-built little cars for their day, and heavy. I haven’t done anything to the suspension, and they have drum brakes all round and a four-speed gearbox with no synchromesh on first. Driving them is a bit like being on an iceskating rink. I have also heard they have a tendency to fall over,” Michael laughs.
“Driving them is a bit like being on an ice-skating rink. I have also heard they have a tendency to fall over,” Michael laughs
He doesn’t plan to change much on his ‘mouse’ — just some more tidying and possibly widened rims and tyres: “I intend to keep it standard, and the interior is in need of some work. I will be getting it resprayed at some stage too.” A nice nostalgia feature is the B-pillar-mounted trafficators, which Michael is proud to show off in full working order.
I ask Michael why he wanted an A30 when modern, reliable Japanese runabouts are so cheap and plentiful.
“I like old bikes, and I just liked the look of them [A30s] from the first time I saw that purple one on Trade Me,” he replies.
Chance meeting
Michael rode his Rudge racing motorcycle in this year’s Burt Munro Challenge street race in Invercargill. He and the family were preparing their bikes in the pits for the day’s racing, with the A30 and trailer parked alongside, when a spectator approached.
“This fellow came up to us and said he knew the A30. He said he was one of the fellows who originally dragged it out of the barn it was stored in at Papakura. They took the head off the motor because it was all seized up, poured some stuff in to free it, and then drove it around the paddock until it ran out of petrol,” he recalls.
On the day we interview Michael, he is using the A30 as his daily-driver, his muchmore-modern utility vehicle having just failed its warrant of fitness.