Austin A35 racer

An Austin A35 may not be your idea of a fearsome racer, but this little beast can bite. It’s a race winner too, so respect is due

Watching the St Mary’s Trophy at the 2016 Goodwood Revival in celebration of the Austin A35’s 60th anniversary, I was mesmerised by the cheeky black-andwhite car that 17-year-old James Dorlin drove to victory on the Sunday. With lowered suspension and sitting on goldspoked aluminium Minilites shod with Dunlop racing rubber, the little Austin had serious attitude. Although the A35 was originally so-named to reflect the 35 horsepower produced by its 948cc A-series four cylinder engine, this one has been built to Historic Racing Drivers Club (HRDC) Race Academy regulations, so it delivers nearly three times that. The bog-standard A35 was never a quick car in its day. When

Motor tested one in 1956, the year when it replaced the earlier 803cc A30, its top speed was listed as 71.9mph, with acceleration from 0-60mph in 30.1sec. In the late Fifties, however, A30s and A35s prepared by Speedwell Performance Conversions Ltd competed regularly on the track, driven by the likes of as John Sprinzel and Graham Hill. Today, I’m at Curborough sprint course.

The interior of James Dorlin’s A35 is a mixture of historic and modern; the Academy racing seat is resplendent in red hide to match the rest of the Austin’s cabin trim. It’s very well-made and with the full TRS harness pulled down tight, it’s very comfortable and supportive. In contrast to the original 60-year-old indicator switch atop the dash, the immaculate white roll cage that surrounds me is totally 21st century. At first glance, the instrument pod placed just in front of the leather-rimmed, drilled aluminium steering wheel looks as if it could have been an original fitment. In fact it was fabricated in steel by Keith Jenkins of KJ Engineering (who also prepared the car’s shell) to house the tachometer – he felt that glassfibre wouldn’t seem appropriate. ‘I wanted it to look as if it grew there and genuinely belonged there,’ he explains.

I listen to last-minute instructions from James. ‘Take it gently ’till you get the hang of it; if you push too hard, it’ll fall over.’ Sounds exciting. So I put my right hand out of the window, adjust the racing mirror on top of its drilled aluminium podium, twist the master switch, flick on the fuel pump and press the button. Following the dull metallic cranking of the starter engaging on the ring gear, the exhaust ‘parp-pop-parp-pops’, then it fires and the sound quickly changes from a deep bluebottle buzz to a muffled growl. I dip the clutch – not heavy like some racers – then guide the long, spindly gear lever silently into first, and we’re off.

Once I get moving, the old-style worm-and-peg steering box actually feels quite nimble and responsive. On the approach to Curborough’s tight 180-degree corner I brake hard, heel and toe, moving the skinny lever back and across into second gear at the same instant. The brakes feel progressive and surprisingly effective, but as I turn into the corner and start to feed in the power, the Austin rolls heavily, with the inside rear wheel lifting and spinning wildly because of the open differential. I back off, regain grip and short-shift into third as I exit the corner, (sort of) back in control.

The A35 might have less than 90bhp at the flywheel and just 70bhp at the rear wheels, but this motorised rollerskate certainly demands respect. With so little available horsepower, it is imperative to put the power down in the right place to keep both of those rear wheels on the ground and avoid oversteer. I can’t turn in early and then kick the tail out or turn in late and then go shooting out – there simply isn’t the grunt. Heading into the next left-hander, James’s words of advice are ringing in my ears, ‘The most important thing to remember is that the A35 is very easy to unsettle on braking.’

I’m as gentle as I can be on the brakes, but the A35’s narrow track and high centre of gravity make it very twitchy – it’s moving around a lot on its historic Dunlops. But although initially feeling very unstable and heavy as the weight transfers and the car rolls, once into the corner it becomes progressive and neutral. I take care across the rumble strips as the car jiggles about, then feed in the throttle cautiously on the exit to avoid spinning up the inside rear again.

The weight transfers to the rear, the steering lightens, and my heart exits my mouth and returns to my chest.

Confidence growing, I begin to get quicker; the next time I exit the final corner before the straight, I floor it in third. I watch the revs climb and enjoy the growl of the exhaust note. At 6500rpm I pull the gearlever back into top – I know James pushed it to 6800 in the race, but I need to hand this car back with the engine in one piece.

As I begin to feel more at home in the A35, I realise that, within its limitations, its handling is fine. With some other cars you can take a liberty and brake late, but it isn’t the way to go with the A35 – unless you consciously want to upset the car. It is very easy to unsettle it when weight transfers to the front under braking.

The way to drive the A35 quickly is to be ultra-smooth while at the same time maximising momentum through the corner and out of the exit. It’s a balancing act; carry as much speed as you dare into the corners but not a smidgen more, and scrub off as little momentum as you can get away with. You need to find the shortest distance through a corner while at the same time not turning in too early or too late – too late will just unsettle the car, too early will just result in scrubbing off speed.

It seems the A35 responds best somewhere in between; trying to keep the car as balanced as possible on a slow, progressive turn-in is key. Without a limited-slip differential, it’s all about keeping that inside rear wheel in contact with the ground and getting traction out of the corner. This little tin-top is a real blast – because it’s so tiny you feel like you’re moving far quicker than you really are, but for a car with such modest power the Austin is surprisingly responsive.

You can slide the A35 and it will feel quite happy, but you can’t power through and drift as you would if there were more grunt. The little car is surprisingly tolerant of crossing rumble strips at high speed, however; being so light, the slower you hit them the more the Austin gets jiggled about and is likely to be upset.

This is a car that you have to be patient with, exercising thoughtful control and balance of throttle and steering while remembering to feed in the power gently. So it can both instill good technique in budding racers and offer more experienced hands a back-to-basics challenge – hence the entry list for the pro heat of the A30/a35-only St Mary’s race at the 2015 Goodwood Revival that included touring car heroes, Le Mans winners and Formula One stars. For me, driving the little Austin A35 is a whole new learning curve.

It has to be said, though, this one is driving much better than when, in April 2015, James Dorlin’s father Peter bought it for £1600 after finding it for sale online. He collected it on a trailer and was able to get the engine running once he got the car home, but it was very tired. The body was in poor condition, so it was sent to Keith Jenkins at KJ Engineering to work his magic.

After baking and then blasting the bodyshell, KJ realised that the car was in far worse condition than they had first thought. ‘There were more holes than metal,’ says Keith. ‘It required inner and outer sills, inner wheelarches, much of the floor required replacing and the boot floor had to be remade. The inner wings were not rusted through, but they were so paper-thin we had to remake all four of them.’

The car retains its original steel bonnet, bootlid and rear wings, but the front wings were a tad worse for wear and really didn’t look quite right, so have been replaced with approved glassfibre items. ‘Keith Jenkins has the most astonishing fabrication abilities and has totally recreated the boot floor – it was simply a work of art,’ says Peter. Once the bodywork was finished and painted, James and Peter Dorlin worked together with Keith at his workshop, fitting the mechanical components such as the suspension, brakes, engine and gearbox.

The 1275cc A-series Morris Marina engine was built by Classic and Modern Engine Services. It is checked on a rolling road prior to every event, to ensure it is running at optimum performance, and so far has been completely problem-free. The gearbox is a totally standard fourspeed MG Midget ’box with synchromesh on the top three ratios. According to Academy regulations, the differential ratios can be altered but the unit must remain open and completely standard.

The braking system is also taken from the Midget, so there are discs up front fitted with a simple bolt-on adaptor and MG Midget drums at the rear. The suspension can only be assembled with the parts that are supplied in the Academy kit, which includes the rear and front springs and pans, lever-arm dampers and top swivels set up to create the same negative camber for all competitors. The whole idea is to keep costs at the same level for everyone.

In March 2016, almost 12 months after it was bought, the A35 was ready for testing. Most of the front-running cars at Goodwood were probably weighing in at 670kg – the minimum weight allowed. The Dorlins’ A35, however, weighs 701kg because of the extra steel Keith built into the car during its rebuild.

Although the Dorlin A35 was built in preparation for the Goodwood Revival, it was assembled to meet HRDC Race Academy regulations for Austin A30 and A35 races. Currently, the HRDC one-make academy series for these cars (founded by Julius Thurgood) provides an opportunity to buy a classic Austin A35 and get racing for a relatively low cost. A35s can still be found for less than £2000, while the full Academy kit – including engine, gearbox, suspension, brakes, wheels, carburettor, distributor, alternator, roll cage, etc – will set you back around £15,000 + VAT. So for less than £20,000 this is probably the cheapest way to get into the classic racing scene.

After my experience at the wheel, I feel that the Dorlins’ Austin A35 is a highly enjoyable little car and a great example of how to get into historic motor sport for a relatively small financial outlay – and that’s a rare phenomenon.

Thanks to Keith Jenkins at KJ Engineering (07817 416 293) and Peter Dorlin (dorlinservices.co.uk)