Terrifying and amazing! Driving a vintage 1925 Austin Seven. In Winter...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ธ.ค. 2022
- Brrr! This was a chilly one, but also exhilarating! This fantastically patinated Austin Seven 'Pramhood' Chummy proved a real battle to drive, but was hugely rewarding. 40mph never felt so fast! That is the joy of vintage cars.
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You drove it well, several other people I have let drive it have really struggled with it... After a few thousand miles it becomes a bit less scary, although I do still find single track roads alarming at times.
Cheers. When everything comes together, it's a little bundle of joy.
HubNut's right: you're a loony!
@@rogerking7258 it's prefect transportation, simple, easy to maintain, easy to drive (when you have mastered it) & tiny, so can be parked anywhere.
Yes, single track roads are scary enough in any old car with non-servo drum brakes as you never really know if it's going to pull left or right or skid on the nearside mud, when a car comes hurtling round the bend from the other way. With this, I doubt you'd be all that confident of stopping at all! All adds to the fun of actually driving rather than being driven by a modern car.
@@Nino500 you do have the advantage that it's tiny, so you can normally whizz passed oncoming traffic.
Love it! When I was a kid growing up in Surrey, a neighbour and his friend drove an Austin Seven, black two door hard-top all the way to Russia. At that time nobody knew what went on in Russia, but he claimed that the people treated him like Royalty. It made the Newspapers and left everybody in awe of this rather brave feat.
interesting. Please let us know in what year this was happening?
The camera position during the test drive was perfect! Helped share the sense of horror behind the wheel.
😂
Good point
Brown corduroy trousers are a smart choice of wardrobe when trying out a car that scares you shitless 😂
😂😂
What a treat! This little car is a heart-stealer; she almost talks, what with the gear whine, exhaust thrum, valve clicking, fan roar, and a whole vocabulary of automotive chatter. More of these storied survivors, Ian - please!
I have a picture of my Grandfather behind the wheel of his (very simmilar to this example), in Dublin in the 1920's. Apparently the Police would pull him over as he was often a little too merry to drive it, they would help him get it home. There were no drink driving laws then, nor driving tests.
It's changed far less than you might think in the rural areas!
Even with Garda station closures, drink driving is a rare thing in rural Ireland. I went to New Zealand a few years ago. Saw drink drivers on a regular basis there from all walks of life.
Like it was in the US up 'til 1980.
A cute little car. Many in the UK will know the live action 1990s British childrens tv series called 'Brum' which was about the adventures of a characterful sentient half-scale replica Austin 7 Chummy convertible called 'Brum'. Each story was about the car escaping from the car museum without the owner knowing, having adventures in 'Big Town' (Birmingham) and then returning to the museum. 'Brum' is also short for Birmingham, UK.
Brum can be viewed at the Bourton-On-The Water motor museum where he used to escape from to have his adventures in Birmingham. They did bring back the Brum series in the early 2000's but it then disappeared again come the end around 2009-2010
@@bentullett6068 And Toyah Wilcox another brummie was the narrator
One of my favourites when I was wee! 😊 The atmosphere of the setting, with the shop and the sentient objects reminded me of Bagpuss, another of my favourites. Even though of course the adventures themselves are quite different :)
Built by a FANTASTIC man called Rex Garrod, who died in 2019. Brum was operated remotely by 2 people, being part RC car and part robot. Rex went on to be part of the Robot Wars team 'Cassius', and was good friends with Tim Hunkin. They copresented the series 'The Secret Life of Machines.' Mr Hunkin has a youtube channel that's well worth exploring, where he often talks about Rex with great tenderness, affection and admiration. Truly legends of our time.
Always wondered what Brum was based on.
It's amazing to think that when this car was new, many in rural areas still travelled into town on a horse-drawn carriage. Hardly any other cars on the road so it was much less dangerous, I guess?
Indeed. And other drivers would be entirely aware of your braking limitations as their cars would be the same.
This is peak Ian. The way he can relate the driving experience is like no-one else, plus he has his encyclopedic knowledge and infectious love of wipers. Pure indulgence for the viewer.
5000 miles a year in that shows dedication and not a little madness.
Sums up Colin pretty well.
My late father was born in 1913 and in his youth, late 1920s early 1930s, he worked at Lucas's garage in Mansfield Notts. He sent for his licence at 16 in 1929 by telling them on the form that he was 17, no driving test until 1935 so once he got the licence in the post he was driving. One of his jobs was to take the train and tram to the Longbridge factory to pick up new Austin 7s for customers and drive them back to Mansfield at running-in speed of around 30mph maximum, so quite a few hours' journey on those old roads. (No car transporters in those days). Apparently when the customer came to pick up their new car they were taught how it worked and how to drive it, just for an hour or so before driving away. A few years ago a friend of mine was restoring a 1931 one which was a similar shade of red to that one you were driving, and he wanted to know the exact colour and whether it was a standard one. My Dad immediately said that it was indeed a standard colour called Indian Red, and he remembered it well, so my friend restored his accordingly. He sadly died in 2001, but his stories of how the motor trade was in the 20s and 30s were fascinating.
In the 1920's the blanket speed limit out of town was 20mph as set from 1904. This limit didn't change until 1935 when the in town limit became 30mph and out of town there was no set limit. So, the Austin 7 was simply a car of its time and when in first class order all round it goes very well. Its not terrifying, one simply accepts its design features and adapts to them.
In this day a day age when a Ford Fiesta is a terrifying monster truck and many times harder driving a car like this is indeed terrifying. No less charming though.
A (large) part of me wishes that cars were still made like this today. Love the sound inside!
I've driven an early 7 and it was exactly like you said: scary but amazing! It really is a skill to make one move along smoothly and thus incredibly rewarding. Scary to think people modified and raced there, and still do.
The Wiki article on the Austin 7 is really an excellent read and has some great pictures of all the different models, including the foreign licensed versions and the racing cars.
Perfectly splendid! I remember the newspaper man who delivered his daily round to all the outlying farms on the Gloucester side of Ross-on-Wye in the 1960s. I seem to recall he ran it on petrol and TVO (tractor vapourising oil: paraffin). It must have been a chilly experience trotting around in the thing, it was what you might call, basic. He got stuck once outside our place in the terrible winter of 1966. My brother and I fetched our old shire horse out - she was bored with no farm work to do any longer - we hitched up to Mr Rigby's Austin and she pulled it straight out. He gave us sixpence for it, it was wonderful! Therefafter old Flower found herself in work for the rest of the winter dragging out snow bound cars, she loved it! It was astonishing what she managed to drag out of the drifts, but then she was nearly 17 hands and built like a bulldozer. She earned us quite a few bob over that winter, it put the sparkle back in her eye and meant that my bro and I could go to the Roxy Cinema more than we had ever done.
Thank you for sharing your very cool story!
I recall that winter was 1962. Did he start it on TVO and then proceed with petrol?
I enjoyed that. Fair dos to Colin for effectively daily drive it. The chassis on these early Sevens ended under the front seats, so the rear seat and body was effectively dangling over the rear wheels. The 747cc produces just 10bhp, but the car is exceptionally lightweight.
Give me a shout if you fancy test-driving my 1932 Morris Minor.
Cheers. Please email ian@hubnut.org and we'll make that happen. Would love to compare.
That’s pretty solid of you, @Crash Box.
Astonishing how original this is - mind blowing. Makes me thankful of all the modern amenities we have now - like brakes, steering and synchro!
Well I can't speak for synchros because every car I get seems to have 1st and 2nd gear synchros already pre-broken.
..speed ;-)
Not to mention starting within seconds at the turn of a key, tires that rarely go flat, and automatic transmission for most cars in the US. Not even counting the last 30 years of refinements! People from the 1920s would be dumbstruck at the thought of fatigued commuters falling asleep at the wheel doing 70 mph cruise control on the highway!
those modern Junk won't last as long as this because of the 1000 ECMs and Planned obsolescence
Thoroughly enjoyable - your enthusiasm is infectious, as is your abject terror...
I would be terrified for sure driving this thing, especially rural tight roads.
Always loved the idea of a battered old 7 as a daily driver. Sounds like great fun but for now will stick to my 2CV
Back in the 50s a local man had one of those. His indicators were wooden arms, complete with hands, that swiveled up to indicate his intention to turn.
Your test videos recently have been true HubNut and fantastic. This is the first time I've been in an Austin 7 on the road (through video) and they're actually a great little car, better than expected. I'm really impressed how it handled the steep banks at the Severn Valley Railway which makes me think they could handle the hills around County Durham where I live, albeit at 10 mph!!
Yes, I think you'd find an Austin 7 or a Morris 8 will climb anything, given time!
@@AdventuresinaMorris Ah... yes
I desire some old GPO vans, or one at least, but way beyond my budget right now. Simply to mess with customers, turn up to install a cat7 data feed... in a van labelled GPO Telephones...
I would like a shot in that, reminds me of some old Bristol / Leyland double deckers I have driven.
It's their way or no way!
Add a bit of steering free play to camber steering you get that totally unpredictable feeling.
Also these oldies have nothing like the braking effort we take for granted, so you need to drive knowing it someone stops in front of you and you are close, you probably won't.
Never try and descend a hill faster than it could climb it, was the rule I was taught.
Nothing makes me smile like an Austin 7, really enjoyed this. I find the trick with my, admittedly much more refined Box Saloon, is to just relax the grip on the wheel and let it wander. Also the back axel does steer as the body rolls due to the quarter-elliptic rear spring moving the axel further rearwards as they compress, the effect is sort of like a skateboard truck.
When you say it feels like the rear is steering, it really is. A quirk of the rear springs at standard height means you get a snap-oversteer as the car leans. Racing / lowered cars are the opposite as the springs are flat. This induces a stabilising rear understeer which is much less lethal! You coped with the clutch and gearbox very well.
This video, like the car, is an absolute gem. Your joy at that successful gear change was lovely.
The series/parallel switch for half power for the lights is pretty hilarious. Simple and effective though of course! But so crude! I love it.
Ian, I thoroughly enjoyed your video. Apparently Herbert Austin copied the layout of a floor mounted stick shift and pedal arrangement etc from Cadillac and then did the world the great service of popularising it so that it became the standard we still use today.
As always, thank for good, clean and edifying content.
I heard that, though I've seen a 1903 De Dietrich with the same pedal layout.
@@HubNut Interesting.... perhaps Cadillac copied them? More mysteries to solve!
The basic motoring formula. :D
When someone who tools about in an Invacar says it’s terrifying you listen😂. Brilliant video mate, had me smiling all the way through👍
My late father learned to drive in a seven, and there was me thinking I had it hard learning to drive in a MK3 Cortina! I have to admit that driving the seven looks both terrifying, and a bunch of fun at the same time. She is just so tiny compared to a modern car. And those doors! Car doors these days are 10 times thicker. Amazing to see this one in such original condition, have seen plenty restored to within an inch of their life, so nice to see a true survivor like this.
I have seen a photo of myself as a toddler in the back of a circa 1928 Austin 7 Chummy with the roof up. It was my father's third car, after a pair of 1930 ish Austin heavy 12 fours.
Proper analogue motoring! Bracing..
Fantastic vid, Ian - right up there with TWC in a thunderstorm.
This has to be one of Ian's best reviews ever. You can feel the horror in his voice, which makes for an exhilarating experience. It feels like watching the Ari Vatanen's co-pilot "oh dear God" moment at the 1983 Manx International Rally.
They were very good choices for camera location. We could see the view ahead and see the controls, and also see what a grin you had on your face 😋
My dad had a Ruby. His first car. 18 hours from London to Manchester before the motorways were built.
-You know you are living when you are scared of dying! 😂
My dad's first car was also a Ruby; a 1935 car bought by his parents for him when he was 16. Unfortunately he turned 16 only weeks before WW2 broke out so it was laid up in their greenhouse until 1945.
this is one of your most entertaining videos ever 👍
It's Brum's older brother. Love with older stuff, our brains are capable of figuring out the exact position of levers and taps to get things running.
Ahhhhhhh.....the joyous sounds of the wheezy side-valve with the straight cut gears providing a beautiful descant......and of course the driver uttering all sorts of concerns and exclamations (in any number of vocal registers - often simultaneously) as he pilots the wee beasty at 40mph!
Many thanks for taking the challenge on, Ian. I've always wondered how the early Sevens were compared to the Model T of the era.....and the answer is SO MUCH easier to drive. I've seen the T driven and demonstrated and it makes the Seven look positively modern! If the foot brake worked both front and rear brakes at the same time, I don't think you would have been half as terrified. I'd like to give a Seven a go, but I don't think I'd ever take on a T. Funny how we get used to things like direct steering and hydraulic braking and really miss them when they aren't there, eh?
All the best
I've driven a T and while the controls are a little more baffling, they feel much better to drive in many ways. 45mph is no bother at all in one of those.
It shows how far motorcars have come through the ages.
Interesting history of Austin, to which I knew very little!
Not even through the ages. In the ten years that followed this one's production, cars went from this to what they would be until the early fifties. Brakes that would stop the car, synchro transmissions, handling that was significantly more confidence-inspiring... Not to mention all the creature comforts. Heaters, for one. It's surprising how modern a car from 1945 feels in comparison.
@@nigefoxx Very true. Over time improvements are made, making vehicles better than past models.
Even something from the late 50s would seem like an alien spacecraft! Think of the very first Mini in comparison to this lovely little 7.
@@skylined5534 Absolutely! My everyday car is from 1951; it has self latching doors, centrifugal/vacuum ignition timing, automatic choke, thermostatic pump-driven engine cooling, fully pressure fed oiling, four-speed automatic gearbox, screen defrost and thermostatic cabin heat, self-latching doors, wind-up windows, an 8 tube radio, anti-glare rear view mirror, passenger vanity and it comfortably seats six plus luggage. Still got vacuum wipers, though. Gosh darn Ransom E Olds.
Class looking motor! Looks a lot like Brum from the children's tv series.
It's Brum's basis! Mum and I saw Brum at a children's TV exhibition in Derby a few years ago!
Love it! Imagine if cars were like this now? No one would dare speed. Everyone would be driving along looking terrified at 30mph 😅. Incredible how original it still is at nearly 100years old. Using this as your main car is mental!
It is not my main car, I have a 2CV for that, but when the weather is nice I would rather use the Austin. It also gets used for navigation rallies and even the odd track day, evidence of which can be seen by searching "the Streatham chummy" on here.
That long downhill stretch had my palms sweating! The best TH-cam ride along I've ever been on!
Another legacy of the Austin Seven is that John Haynes - of Haynes manual fame - wrote his very first book about how to build Austin Seven-based 750 specials. I got the reprint that Practical Classics magazine included after his passing in 2019, I wish I knew where it was because it's fascinating.
That's a proper car, raw, visceral and totally involving. I'd love one.
This was my grandfather's first car; on one occasion he had a wire wheel collapse and he said that in rural Yorkshire he had to reverse it up steep hills !
Fair play Ian that was a tricky set of junctions where it stalled, but you got it all going calmly and set off without any drama.
That has brightened up a gloomy Sunday morning 😊
A very brave man indeed!
I remember reading in Graham Hill’s autobiography about him being a passenger on the London-Brighton Vintage Car Rally - he found it terrifying!
I didn’t really understand it at the time, but having just watched you driving that much later car I can now see why…
Some of the Brighton cars are "an experience"......but I wouldn't call them terrifying......
I once worked for a custodian of a number of them and every year they had to be checked and run a number of miles before Brighton to find any problems and my only mild terror was driving an 1890 something Wolesley when a woman in Metro pulled out in front of me and just stopped.....fortunately, the grass verge to the left on which I passed her was open and relative smooth....😄😄
.....my favourite was a 1904 Thornycroft which could barrel along at a fair old lick and steered beautifully........although you needed good long range eyesight to plan your stopping .......
@@ianhudson2193
'although you needed good long range eyesight to plan your stopping'
That's probably why an F1 racing driver used to instant responses, found it terrfiying. :)
@@lawrieflowers8314 indeed!😄😄
There are some fabulous classic car restorations around, but there's something very special about an original, untouched car.
Nothing as pure and as joyful as a nearly 100 year old Austin!
Interesting, I remember driving my uncle's Ruby many years ago. My uncle drove it all around New Zealand. I remember he blew a gasket in the middle of nowhere , no problem just change it on the side of the road. They always made it home.
Personally i find the affordable cars more interesting than all the limited production expensive cars stuff you see in museums.
Brilliant. Well done Colin for loaning it out. The rear feels like it's coming round because it is, as the body rolls one spring flattens and the other lengthens and so you have slightly rear steer.
When I and my two brother (at the time - 4 of us later on) during the 40's after the war, were in my Dad's Austin 7 Ruby Saloon travelling from Sidcup in Kent to Bodmin in Cornwall. When any of us kids wanted to go to the toilet Dad would only stop the car when all of us wanted to go! When I got out my legs were dead and I fell over and we all laughed. We were so cramped up in the back. That little car never once let us down which was a credit to my Dad who got it as a bomb damaged vehicle and spent a year renovating it. Memories which this video brings back so vividly. Many, many thanks for sharing this, a wonderful story.
Great little car from an era when you had to be a driver (and sometimes a mechanic) rather than just directing the car where you wanted to go. Loved the video.
Love it. Thanks for putting your life on the line to bring us this history lesson.
Nice class 50 in the background.
There is an Austin like this at the Launceston steam railway, up in the loft at their small museum also in this condition. Excellent vid Btw Ian.
Family legend time: allegedly my grandad (died long before I was born) once drive a 7 up Snowdon. He had to do most of it backwards as it was the lowest gear. Also nice to see the engine shed @ Bridgnorth - my father-in-law is working to restore one of their locos in there!
That was the best video I saw this week. What a joy. Couldn't stop laughing at your expressions while you were driving it.
The car that brought motoring to the masses. Great fun! I was at Bicester yesterday watching the VSCC putting these wonderful little machines through their paces.
Thanks for this Ian, this is probably my favourite one of your videos I've seen so far. I actually laughed out loud when you got to the twisty bits. Very entertaining and educational too
I was once driven in one from Wrexham to Kidderminster in continuous pouring rain. My main task, as passenger, was to stick my hand out of the window and manually to work the windscreen wipers because the wiper motors steadfastly refused to operate at above 10 MPH. Ah, the joys of classic car ownership.
Back in the early 1970's my father, who was a body and fender man, restored in our garage out back of our home, a 1952 Jaguar XK 120 drop head coupe. The Jaguar owner was a US Navy career man and while stationed in England he purchased a 1934 Austin 7 2 door Salon that he brought back to the States. The Austin sat in garage up on blocks from 1939 to 1955 and it had about 24000 miles on it. He gave the Austin to my father as partial payment for restoring the Jaguar. My brother and I learned to drive in it, we drove it around our yard when we were 14 and 15 years old. We used to drive it to high school often and never went straight home after school as we would travel all around the local neighbor hoods turning heads where ever we went. It was a blast! The Austin to this day is in that same garage under a cover with only about 27000 miles on it...great memories.
Superb Ian, real hands on motoring….. and quite hilarious 😊
What a fantastic little car,so full of character,had a big smile on my face watching this video,the sound of the engine was great with the whining etc,really really enjoyed this thank you.
Brum's evil granddad. 😆Fantastic. I want one.
I'd love a pre-war car, every dull journey becoming an adventure sounds like great fun!
Brilliant fun. Austin Sevens are so involving and as you said, every journey is an adventure (they're surprisingly good off-road too, as long as the gradient isn't too steep (though I managed Porlock Hill in mine). Highley village to Bridgnorth is a route I never drove in my 1937 Ruby or 1937 Opal two seater, but many times in my Series Land Rover which replaced them. The Austins and Landy share quite a few characteristics: please yourself steering, fingers crossed brakes, bouncy castle ride and the unfailingly ability to put a smile on your face on every journey. Be careful, you'll end up wanting one!
Thoroughly absolutely brilliant video Ian 👍it's fantastic car waw you were brave there but it's a testament to properly built cars brilliant
I'm reading an account of my Mum's life...she died a few years ago. This was here 1st car - she had to shout for my Dad to get out and push when they were going up hills, in Wales, on their honeymoon. Thanks for the video.
"...and now I see the appeal of this car. Every journey becomes a massive adventure..."
LOL! Line of the century! Classic. 😂🤣
Great video. Thanks for showing us your friend's car. A true look back at what motoring once was.
My friend has a Chummy, I've only been in it once and it was, as you quite rightly say, absolutely terrifying. Its body twisted and flexed like no business and the vibrations where pretty impressive too. Great fun and some happy memories were made.
12:28 very few cars manage to make you make that sound in about 30 mph. love the rarity!
love the klaxon. my dream car will have that too!
I'd like to say ''a stroll down memory lane'' but it was twenty three years before my time. Great video.😎
Such a little basic car full of character.
That toyota driver behind on those 2 junctions where engine cut out was so patient. Properly enjoying seeing a car you never really see on the road.
These little cars built before health and safety. Looks scary and fun at same time 😃
Aye. I'm glad for his patience!
Well done, Ian - brave lad! I was half expecting to hear a commentary from Toyah Wilcox. 😁(She was on 'BRUM', a British TV programme for kids about a little animated car's adventures. It looked remarkably like this one. The model itself was built by Rex Garrod, who was best known for making fighting machines for Robot Wars!).
It's ironic that driving back in the 1920s was probably (sort of) safer than driving today. When making decent progress demanded your full attention and a fair bit of skill, a driver's mind was on driving and his eyes were on the road.
Nowadays cars are so quiet, comfortable, capable and easy to drive that the only people who really, REALLY concentrate on the job in hand are racing drivers.
It's scary to put an old car on modern roads, but what's even more scary is that people themselves haven't changed. We've got the same brains and reflexes they had in the '20s; we just employ them differently.
So now, with more options everywhere, attention spans are shorter and minds are free to wander. There's at least 10x more traffic; cars have distracting touchscreen displays and entertainment systems; drivers are too relaxed because their vehicle is doing all the hard work, and they're too busy playing with toys, cup-holders and mobile phones to pay enough attention to the road.
No wonder the rich employed chauffeurs. And no wonder driving gloves were such a popular Christmas present back then. Driving was so coarse, common, ghastly, beastly and laborious, what? 🤭
Ian the look on your face whilst driving this wonderful little car is great. Somewhere between absolute pleasure and terror. I envy the pleasure part.
What an adorable happy little car!
I helped restore a 27 Chummy in the late 90's, that was brought to the States in the late 50's/ early 60's. It was fun to restore & drive. I heard it made its way back to GB, when it was gifted to the Owners Sister, who lived there. She was originally Green/Black, But the Owner had us paint Her Red / Black, with the Radiator Buffed & Polished.
*AWESOME*
Thats from a time you really had to understand the automobile to drive and control it. Driving was quite a experience, huh? LOL.
A long gone era of a no longer existing world. Beautiful video. Thank you.
My parents' first car was an -Austin 7 and they would drive from Surrey, where I was born, to visit the in-laws in Manchester. I now have even more respect for doing that journey.
My Mum’s father had an Austin 7 and she tells me the story of driving Aberdeen (where they lived) to London for a camping holiday in the early 1950s. So that was 3 people with camping gear in a car that size. I think the journey took so long they only had a couple of days in London during a two week holiday!
Hi from down under...my mum & dad owned an Austin 7 and drove it from Adelaide to Melbourne (450 miles) & back in the early 1950s to attend a wedding..They slept under leaves & pine needles & only ate bread + cheese. When they arrived people laughed at how red & windburned their faces were! quite a journey in those days!
Great video, loved the short glimpse of the railway doings, a the foot of that steep hill. 👍
In motoring terms, it’s from an era where cars and motorcycles seem way closer than they are today. Very visceral drive!
This is why I love HubNut 👍🥰
The early Reliants took a lot of inspiration from the Austin 7 - obviously a *lot* of changes happened over the years but I still can't look at the simpleness of my 97 mk2 Robin without remembering it A7 roots!
Lovely car. Colin brought it to show me this summer.
Dunno if you heard, "The definition of a gentleman, is being able change gears in an austin 7 without getting your face slapped" My Grandfather had a similar size austin in the late 50s early 60s, until he got a humber. You did ok.
Well done Ian well driven i have been told by my older uncles who are no longer with us how tough they could be to drive!
My granny worked at Joseph Lucas who made many components and also was a neighbour of Stanley Edge as well! Don’t blame Colin I bet they are such fun a great survivor!
Within seconds of the video you can ‘smell’ the car…perfect!❤
Every time I see one I instantly think of Brum
My father had one of these in Sydney Australia. He was born in 1929 and it was his first car. I don’t know exactly when he bought it. I still have a framed photograph of him sitting in it, obviously proud as punch!
That was brilliant and hilarious! Fabulous little car what a brilliant piece of British engineering too. Very nicely driven with that crash box, perfect down in to 1st! Felt like I was in the car albeit a bit warmer. Genius
My first cat was a 1930 Chevrolet. Awesome problem-free car. Much better than the austin but love the simplicity of these grand daddy of cars. Thanks for showing.
Brakes advisory, steering by post, beautiful sound. What a cracking little car. Brilliant!
This is alarmingly familiar stuff! I actually learned on a very similar Austin 7 biscuit box saloon, 1926 model. My grandfather lent me his 1950 Austin Devon estate to take my test, as he (and we) thought the little Austin might frighten the examiner!
Fantastic! Dad had a couple of sevens. The video also explains where his clock came from!
I do 6000 miles a year or thereabouts in a 60 year old Landy that is my daily transport. Hats off to your man doing five in a 1925 motor. A green footprint the size of Wales boy!
A guy in my village has four of these little cars, often see them driving around, even this time of year!
Amazing how small & basic they are, I am impressed that the owner uses it as a daily driver 🚙
Great review, Ian. I'm getting strong James Herriot vibes with this one having read the books and then watched the TV series as a youngster. At least you're not driving through the dales on a cold wet night to help a cow deliver her calf! Or doing 'driverless car' imaitations.
I've driven a 1926 Dodge Brothers about 70 miles in one day once. It was great fun, and I do agree the older cars are much scarier but somehow more fun to drive!
Brilliant, interesting video.
Back in 1975 in Farnham Central carpark, an older man parked a saloon version of this little Austin with the headlamps up by the windscreen, I spoke to him and said "what a lovely cute Austin " "how long have you owned it"? He replied in a grumpy tone of voice " fifty years" " its my first car and it will be my last" so I assumed he had owned it since 1925. So I said to him that it was lovely to see and walked away.
He was most probably fed up with people asking him about it all the time.
But for me a great memory to have of an Austin 7 box saloon with its grumpy owner lol 😂 also 20yrs ago on a weekend classic car event Devon way. At the petrol station a farming woman going by her attire pulled onto the forecourt in an open top Austin 7 she had live chickens in a wooden cage on the back seat.
The car was her workhorse all muddy etc. I never spoke not after the grumpy owner previously lol 😂
We have have an Austin Seven Utility/Pickup in a million pieces in my dad’s garage. It’s been a “one of these days” project my whole life