1. An Austin Six saloon.
The Austin 16, or 16/6, was introduced in 1927 and was a mid-size, six cylinder vehicle, offered with a number of body styles. Unfortunately the photo below doesn't show the type of coachwork fitted to this vintage Austin. Visible however is the early style of AA radiator badge, and a Calormeter (temperature gauge) fitted to the top of the radiator. The location of this sepia photograph is unknown. The engine in the Austin 16/6 was a sidevalve unit of 2249cc. Unusually perhaps, the engine's timing chain was located at the rear of the block, a design feature shared with the larger '20'. Buyers could choose from the four door Berkeley, the Iver limousine, a 2 or 4 seat tourer, the Burnham fabric-bodied saloon, and the Six Westminster. Production of the Austin Six would continue until 1936.
|
|
2. A pre-war 1928/9 Austin 16/6 'Fabric' Saloon.
The following three photographs show a different Austin 16/6, registration JL 3505, a Lincolnshire number that ran from April 1932 to October 1945. The first picture shows a happy chap sat on the roof of the Austin Six fabric-bodied saloon, with two ladies for company. The "L" plates suggest that he'd either just started learning to drive, or else had just passed his test. The photo is dated July 1937, and the location given as Palm Bay, which is in the Margate area of Kent. Compulsory driving tests were introduced two years prior to this photograph, in June 1935.
|
|
Unusually, this Austin has been fitted with the radiator mascot from a pre-war Rover.
|
| (Please click the thumbnail to view full-size image.) |
|
|
|
The second photograph of JL 3505 again has people perched on the roof, this time three young ladies at the seaside. The location is given as Westbrook Promenade, again in Margate, also taken in 1937.
|
|
|
|
The final photo in this trio shows just the gent and his female companion sat on the Austin's roof, still parked on the prom at Westbrook.
|
|
|
3. An Austin Six and two hounds.
This next view of an Austin Six, in the company of two fine hounds, was taken from an original negative. Unfortunately the Dalmatian's posterior is blocking the view of the car's numberplate, so the exact identity of this early 1930s Austin will remain forever a mystery.
|
|
|
4. A well-laden c1930 Austin Six saloon.
The registration number on this car appears to be OF 217 (Birmingham issue, 1929-1930) which ties in reasonably well, as the car is a circa 1930 Austin Six, possibly a 12/6 with fabric-covered six-light saloon coachwork. I've only found one other photo online of a similar car with the exterior angled visor at the top of the screen, that too has fabric-covered bodywork (albeit only four-light).
|
|
Sadly no information accompanies the photo. Some of the party are wearing jackets, while others do not, suggesting a warm-ish albeit cloudy day, while the open ventilation flap on the scuttle also points to it being warm rather than chilly.
|
|
|
5. A proud owner with his 1927 Austin.
OX 3371 was first registered in the Birmingham area, late 1927, and is another example of vintage Austin Six saloon, with six-light coachwork. A smartly-dressed gent leans nonchalantly against the dependable Austin, note the raised smoker's hatch in the car's roof.
|
|
|
|
Return to Old Vehicle Photos Page 7.
|
|
A vintage Austin Six also features in a contemporary advertisement for Connolly Rubber Bumper conversions, details of which can be found here.
|
