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However she hated the way it lurched around corners at an alarming rate (at least when compared to the tweaked Mini I've mentioned) so she was none-too-reluctant in passing it over to my custodianship, at about the time I took my test. I'm sure the only reason I passed my driving test first time was that the examiner didn't want to renew his acquaintance with this venerable old (seatbelt-free) Austin. So when I'd passed, I put the old girl into immediate use, my red Triumph Spitfire being a long way from hitting the road. 820FTT provided some characterful, if slow, 'A' level student transport, and many's the time a note was pinned to the common room noticeboard, requesting the old grey Austin be removed from the teachers' staff car park - needless to say, these notices were largely ignored, 'cos I'd have had to park it out on the road, with all manner of decaying rotboxes for company, which would never do. Suffice to say, this A40 holds the record for being the longest I've ever owned one particular car. I still have her to this day, currently semi-dismantled in the garage, awaiting some TLC on the bodywork front. I must have put 30-40000 miles on her when I was using the Austin as everyday transport, taking me all over the place, including numerous visits to Wales, and autojumbles such as Newark over in Nottinghamshire. She's taken part in many classic car shows, including some over in Llandudno (N Wales) and more local events such as Tatton Park and Astle Park. Changes have been minimal over the 12 or so years I've had her .. the crossplies were replaced with radials, and for a long time she ran with a peppy 12G295 cylinder head, courtesy of a long-since departed MG 1100 that dad had way back when summers were long and skirts were short :-) Occasionally she has been semi-retired from frontline duty, when another vehicle has come on stream, such as the Spitfire, or the XJ12L, but never has she been far from the open road. To aid her resurrection to glory, I've spent all the time I've owned her hunting down spares that might come in useful one day. After 10 years of looking I finally found a genuine BMC grille support channel, that had alluded me til then. Also over the years I've acquired a new front section, sills, chromework, grille and miscellaneous mechanical parts. However if anyone has some spare front steel wings available, please let me know!!! I know they're rare, but somewhere someone will have some! March '02 update: Slow progress is being made to the metalwork up front, I removed the front valance area last year, and have spent some time this last week cleaning up the area below the radiator, and fettling up the new BMC repair panels I have had in stock for a while now, including a super-rare grille support channel, a panel it took me the best part of 10 years to locate at an autojumble in 2000! New: Are you interested in A40s? read my new Austin A40 Buyers Guide here! |
| (PS This page is just one of hundreds of pages on www.oldclassicccar.co.uk, stuffed full with articles, photographs (including a free image archive!), visitors stories, memorabilia, postcards, advice and more, all dedicated to classic cars and their enthusiastic owners everywhere!!) |
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