JAGUAR: THE BEGINNING OF A LEGEND
Jaguar’s origins were with sidecars from the early 1920s, a time when England was still recovering from the effects of WWI, and motorcycles and their associated sidecars were practical and economical transport. The Swallow Sidecar company produced a wide range of sidecars over the years from the ‘Model 1’ based on William Walmsley’s early Zeppelin design with aluminium panels and painted mouldings, to more sophisticated designs that continued for many years after William Lyons sold the business in 1944.
Auckland Jaguar enthusiast John Endean purchased a Swallow Velvet Chassis in 2011 in what he describes as “scrap metal condition”. He handed the chassis to Max Jamieson who rebuilt the wheel, stripped and powder coated the chassis, replaced all the bushes, and reassembled it. John recalls, “The body was something of a dilemma due to the unavailability of any patterns, so I went to a retired cabinetmaker and he constructed a new body.” Working from old photographic records, a Swallow ‘Model 4’ Super-Sports sidecar was recreated.
John then acquired a 1927 500cc Royal Enfield motorcycle to complement the sidecar, and that is the combination today that is often displayed at classic car show events.
As well as his Swallow sidecar, John also owns this 1932 Austin Swallow Sports Saloon. This car is certainly a rarity in New Zealand and is part of John’s well-known Jaguar collection. With its compact size, distinctive two-tone and ‘pen-nib’ bonnet mouldings and paintwork, and ‘V’ shaped windscreen with big overhang peak, the car is distinctive in any Jaguar display drawing people’s attention to the beginnings of the marque.
The Austin-Swallow with its small size and bright colours has sometimes affectionately been called a ‘Noddy’ car because of its toy-like appearance. More importantly, its attractive style, competitive price, and improvements over several years clearly set William Lyons and William Walmsley on their motoring destiny.
William Lyons had owned a second-hand Austin Seven since the time of his marriage in 1924. It was such mass produced cars from Austin, Ford and Morris, during the postWWI years, which enabled much of the British public to enjoy the benefits of car ownership.
Our featured Austin-Swallow GX9702 was the subject of a full restoration by the previous owner in England and was put back on the road about 2007. John purchased it from the owner’s widow, imported it into New Zealand and had it certified for road use here. This car represents a very important transformational stage in the Jaguar story. That is when the Swallow Sidecar Company moved into the manufacture of Swallow bodies, hence the change to the Swallow Sidecar & Coachbuilding Company. The Austin was the most popular version of the Swallow motorcars, and this car is one of about 15 surviving 1932 models.