Austin A70 Hereford Pickup
George, who has sent in stories about his A90 rebuild, kindly sent in these photos, featuring his family huddled around a (now rare) A70 steel back pick-up truck, owned by his father in 1957. This A70 Hereford was allegedly a bit of thirsty old brute, and was not kept for long.
"My Dad said his A70 Hereford PU only did about 22 mpg and only had it for 2 years (thats me at 4 in the
pic!). I bet my A90 is a drinker too!" Below is another picture, featuring the family Austin Hereford and a Mk1 Ford Consul, acting as a combined windbreak at the seaside..
The Austin Hereford came along to replace the A70 Hampshire in 1950, just as the A40 Somerset replaced the A40 Devon saloon in the
early 1950s. Similar in style to the Somerset, the Hereford was on a larger scale altogether and was available as a 4 door
saloon, with a small number being sold as a pickup or woodie estate car. The ultra-rare convertible also featured in sales catalogues
of the day but sold in very small numbers, and, as with the Somerset soft top, survivors are mega rare (few A70s survive full stop). Continuing
the trend set by the Hampshire, the Hereford stuck with a separate chassis, although by now had fully hydraulic brakes. Production of the saloon
continued into 1954. Power came from a 2.2 litre 4 cylinder engine.
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