Austin Ten-Four Tourer.
Bob kindly sent in this photograph, showing an early 1930s chrome-rad Austin 10/4 tourer. He says:
"I just wondered if you could help with any information on this car. I paid 5.00 for it in about 1960 when I was about 13.
Unfortunately my father finally scrapped it when it broke down (idiot). I think it was an Austin 10 about 1936. Hope you can through some light on this car as I have never seen one like it since."
There were many versions made of the Austin Ten throughout its life, I believe these early 10hp tourers, with the chrome radiator surround, were introduced in 1932 and sold alongside the standard 4 door 10/4 saloon. The car shown above is a tourer, which feature 4 doors, a fully folding roof, and sidescreens. At the same time Austin also produced the 10/4 Cabriolet, which is the model I have and is shown alongside for comparison. The cabriolet has 2 doors, and a 3 position hood that extends over the fixed door surrounds. Why Austin felt it necessary to produce both models I'm not quite sure.
In addition to these 2 convertible versions of the 10hp chrome rad car, there was also a 10/4 2 seater, the stylish 10/4 Ripley Sports (again a 4 door). After a couple of years the 10/4 model was revamped, and the chrome rad was replaced by a painted grille giving the car a more modern appearance, in line with other Austins of the day. The cabriolet then became known as the 10/4 Colwyn, and the 4 door was now the Conway Cabriolet.
Surviving examples of any 10/4 are few and far between, below is a photo I took of a 10/4 Tourer at a show, and also a van version seen in 2007. A post-war shot of a 10/4 van, converted into a camper, can be seen here.
Return to the old transport photos - Page 5.
|
