• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

Austin A40 Sport Convertible? Help!

cdschenk

Freshman Member
Offline
Hi guys, total newbie here both to this forum and to British cars in general. I was recently invited to a "barn find" here in the US that was full of Triumphs, Austin Healeys, MG's, a couple of E-types and a host of other cars and parts, all in fairly sad shape, unfortunately. One car that really intrigues me, however, is an aluminum-bodied convertible that I believe to be an early 50's Austin A40 Sport Convertible - I started with the horn emblem and worked backwards on Google to arrive at this conclusion, but a few things don't add up. The main oddball thing is the cowl - most of the pictures I see of these cars have a short cowl section with the hood attached via an external set of hinges; The A-pillar, cowl and fender all align fairly well. On this car, the cowl is much wider with the door crease, fender and cowl all pushed forward from the A-pillar. Also, the dash looks nothing like any pictures I've seen from A40's. There is no engine in the car, but the current owner was told by the previous owner that this car was a prototype that was stretched to allow installation of a 6-cylinder engine as opposed to the normal 4-banger. I've included a few pics for your perusal? Any ideas? Your help is greatly appreciated!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20191115_141715.jpg
    IMG_20191115_141715.jpg
    52.9 KB · Views: 197
  • IMG_20191115_141837.jpg
    IMG_20191115_141837.jpg
    53.3 KB · Views: 223
  • IMG_20191115_142006.jpg
    IMG_20191115_142006.jpg
    68.1 KB · Views: 219
  • IMG_20191115_142135.jpg
    IMG_20191115_142135.jpg
    72.8 KB · Views: 214
  • IMG_20191115_141544.jpg
    IMG_20191115_141544.jpg
    71.9 KB · Views: 220
  • IMG_20191115_142211.jpg
    IMG_20191115_142211.jpg
    71.7 KB · Views: 215
  • IMG_20191115_141904.jpg
    IMG_20191115_141904.jpg
    55.8 KB · Views: 202

JPSmit

Moderator
Staff member
Silver
Country flag
Offline
Wow, what an interesting find! I think you are right about the cowl and the dash. If you look at this one for sale, the differences are obvious

https://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=84112

The original would have had a 1200cc 46 hp engine - so, I wonder if the change came to deal with USA roads? It looks like the work has been done to a high standard - but I imagine more likely a home made one off. Certainly the 50's were an era of massive customization/ hot rodding of cars.

There have been a few for sale around me (Toronto) over the last years and, as with many cars of the era, it seems like the cost of restoration is greater than the value of the finished car making it a true labour of love.

Are you considering it? It would be an awesome project.
 
OP
C

cdschenk

Freshman Member
Offline
Thank you for the feedback. The "one-off" modification seems to be the general consensus. I was going over 52 cars in a storage building and really wish I'd paid a bit more attention to this car - but I didn't even know what it was at the time!
 

waltesefalcon

Yoda
Silver
Country flag
Offline
It certainly looks like a lengthened A40 Sports Coupe, so good sleuthing on your part. Whether or not this was a factory stretch or done by a custom builder will be interesting to find out. Either way it is a cool car, I wonder what 6 cyl. it was fitted with.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
C Brakes on Austin A40 Sport Other British Cars 6
P Austin A40 Devon windshield. British Motor Corp 2
A Austin A40 trafficator steering wheel Other British Cars 5
G 1951 Austin A40 British Motor Corp 15
TRopic6 For Sale Austin A30 A35 A40 factory manuals Other British Classifieds 0
78Z Project Austin A40 Somerset ‘Special’ Other British Cars 10
B Dashboard color Austin A40 Devon 1948 Restoration & Tools 2
H Wanted Austin A30, A35, A40 or similar British car in good condition, ready to drive. Other British Classifieds 3
V For Sale 1952 Austin A40 Sports Other British Classifieds 0
J 1951 Austin Devon A40 ID plate Restoration & Tools 3
S austin a40 somerset chassis swap/upgrade Restoration & Tools 2
B How many of you have or had an Austin A40 Somerset Other British Cars 16
B Austin A40 Somerset build Other British Cars 31
Grannieannie 1954 Austin A40 Somerset Other British Cars 17
S Austin A40 Somerset convertible Chicago CL Other British Cars 0
aeronca65t Austin A40-mine many years ago Other British Cars 1
78Z Interesting Austin A40 Stuff Other British Cars 5
aeronca65t Austin A40 Other British Cars 5
78Z Austin A40 Convertible Other British Cars 12
gsalt57tr3 Sprite wheel parts compatability for A40 Austin Austin Healey 5
T looking for any info on a 1950 austin A40?? Other British Cars 5
Sherlock Austin A40 Pickup Other British Cars 2
dougie Austin Healey 4000 Austin Healey 3
L For Sale Austin Healey Parts!!! Austin Healey Classifieds 0
dougie Celebration of Austin Healey Double Event September 2024 Austin Healey 2
E For Sale Austin Healey 100 and 3000 parts Austin Healey Classifieds 1
Editor_Reid Summer Edition of "Austin-Healey Quarterly" Austin Healey 4
M For Sale Austin Healey 100-4 Lemans Kit OEM Austin Healey Classifieds 5
V Opinions on 1953 Austin-Healey Austin Healey 26
BoyRacer Austin A90 mystery engine British Motor Corp 2
Martinld123 Steering Wheel Alignment [Lost centering on steering box 1956 Austin Healey, BN2] Austin Healey 14
K Carburetor options for a 66 Austin 1100 ? British Motor Corp 3
ROARRR For Sale 1930-40's AUSTIN 10 SALOON! straight, good glass, no through rust, very complete Austin Healey Classifieds 0
Editor_Reid "Austin-Healey Quarterly" e-zine Spridgets 2
Editor_Reid "Austin-Healey Quarterly" e-zine Austin Healey 8
N For Sale Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite Spridgets Classified 0
dougie 1960 Austin Healey 3000 Works Lightweight vs. 1962 Ferrari GTO Austin Healey 6
S Wanted Used Austin-Healy 100/100-6/3000 Restoration Guide By Gary Anderson And Roger Moment Austin Healey Classifieds 14
T Wanted PANTHER J72 or AUSTIN POLICE CAR switches Other British Classifieds 1
D Wanted Austin healey Tire - used Austin Healey Classifieds 4
T "B" designations for Austin Healey 3000s? Austin Healey 1
P Austin Champ Spotted 2
M Wanted Looking for genuine Austin-Healey bonnet badge Austin Healey Classifieds 1
HealeyPassion Hockert's Austin-Healey on eBay auction Austin Healey 8
C Wanted Austin Healey BN2 100-4 Austin Healey Classifieds 2
tr6nitjulius For Sale 1967 Austin Healey Sprite Mark 111 Spridgets Classified 0
GeorgeC Rich Chrysler's "Introduction to Austin-Healey Restoration" Austin Healey 3
B Austin-Healey late 3000 BJ8 Electrical Diagram Austin Healey 1
B Austin-Healey early 3000 BJ8 Electrical Diagram Austin Healey 0
B Austin-Healey 100-6/3000 Electrical Drawing Austin Healey 2

Similar threads

Top