The curse of old car ownership spread to my
long suffering girlfriend, Lidia (or Lid for short). The years of agony spent riding
around in rattly unheated old jalopies must have warped her continental mind in some
irrecoverable way because, out of the blue, one evening in (err...) 1996, she announced
she too would like to join jalopy-dom. I did all I could to talk her out of it (not), but
to no avail.
This is how she ended up owning a supposedly restored 1955 A30 2 dr, all cute
and cuddly in dark black, a victim of a number plate swapper, forced to run around on LSK
plates. Still, with a 948cc engine from an A35, its nippy enough when in service.
Currently its out of service, having its handbrake and a few other small bits fettled. So,
for now, this too sits in my comfy (carpeted!) garage receiving the attention of the
spanner wielding weirdo (myself).
LSK was Lids daily use classic for quite a while, and was seen zipping around South Manchester every day. For the most part
it was a reliable little classic, although in wet weather it would occasionally conk out. The A30 engine bay is not the biggest in the
world. When it rained hard, the water would flow back through the radiator vanes, get picked up by the spinning fan, and blast moisture
back over the distributor. For this reason it occasionally conked out but a quick drying out of the electrics, usually saw the little
Austin back on the grey stuff.
Finding spares for these little Austins is for the most part a doddle (apart from certain parts of the braking system). During Lids ownership
of the A30, I had the dubious good fortune to be given a very down at heel A35 for spares - this was a real wreck and sadly too far gone for
realistic rescue, however it did provide a wealth of spare parts to keep mine (and other A30/35s) going. Someone had tastefully painted it a tasteful
shade of pink, after having re-decorated and painted their bathroom. I don't think this makeover did much to ward off the evil rust, but it did make
the A35 distinctive if nothing else.
The A30 came along in the early 1950s and had the 803cc A series engine as standard. The A35 came along later in the 1950s, and was very similar to the
A30 but had a larger 948cc engine, different roof guttering, and a larger rear window. There were other detail differences too, the all-chrome grille of the
A30 (which changed during production after the first AS3 variants) was replaced on the A35 with a painted grille, surrounded by a chrome piece. The
wing mounted sidelights also sit on different shaped mounts, and the mount for the Flying A bonnet badge varied too. The A35 also had a remote
shift gearlever, nice and short (same as on the later A40) and easier to use that the flying wand of the A30.
March '02 update: Well the handbrake mounting has been repaired, my first attempt at welding anything (MIG) and I'm
quietly pleased with how it came out. It now sports a shiny replacement chrome grille, new valve cover gaskets, full exhaust
system, and a conversion to SU carburettor, courtesy of my A40 spares hoard! One day I'll get to finishing the brake adjustment
and maybe even retry for an MOT!!
August '02 update: Well, the thing that I said I'd never do I've done - yes I've sold it, sob sob, although hopefully it's new owner
(in the USA of all places!) will have the time I don't have to return the old girl to the roads once again!
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