Austin A40 drophead tourer
Firstly, thanks to Rainer, who agreed to the first A40 tourer photo shown here being published on the site. The car is an early example of the A40 (note the 5" headlamps and lack of separate sidelamps), and was registered in the NSW area of Australia.
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Rainer runs the A90 website www.a90atlantic.com, and is restoring an Atlantic to superb condition. He currently lives in Germany but is in the process of moving to England. George, a regular A90-owning contributor, put me in touch with Rainer. This page is part of my Austin A40 section on oldclassiccar.
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Tourer versions of the 2dr Austin Dorset/Devon were not made in huge numbers, and very few have survived. The photo above was taken in Australia back in the 1950s, the car belonging to a workmate of Rainer's father. I wonder what happened to AKJ 115?It must have been a smart little tourer, with its wheel trims, optional wing mirror, and three portholes fitted to the front bonnet sides. Does anyone know where this particular A40 is now?
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A later example of the A40 tourer.
John emailed me from Australia in 2009, with a photo of the A40 tourer he once owned. He adds: "From about 1952 until 1954 I owned an Austin A 40 tourer. That is a soft-top convertible. I drove it once from Melbourne to Sydney - 580 miles in exactly 12 hours after stopping for petrol and lunch! I have found the tourer body was only produced in Australian assembly. And yes, it would have been the 1200 cc engine. The next model A40 had a name of some sort but proved to be less of a car than the successful A 40 it replaced. Austin did not sell well again. My first car was an Austin 8 saloon, fully imported just after the war. All leather upholstery. The sunroof and wind-out windscreen both leaked and the car filled with dust on our country roads".
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Thanks for the info and picture John! this A40 has the later 7" Lucas headlamps fitted.
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Return to the Austin A40 section of the site.
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