Vehicle Description
1967 Austin FX4D Taxi Cab
The FX4 London taxi was the successor to the Austin FX3, (produced
between 1948 and 1958). In its day the FX4 was the most widely used
taxi in London. Like the FX3, the FX4 was designed by Austin in
collaboration with Mann & Overton, the London taxi dealership that
commissioned it, (and paid for half of its cost), and Carbodies,
the coach builder that built the body and assembled the cab ready
for sale. FX4 front steering featured Ackermann steering geometry
which allowed the car to make U-turns in just 7.6 m (25 ft), a
requirement for the narrow roads of London.
Let's put our hand in the air and summon a "hack" to take us uptown
London circa. 1967 in this Austin FXD Cab. This consignment spent
its early days as a shuttle for an Inn in the Chesapeake Bay area,
when one day a guest, (our consignor), stepped in and bought it. It
was in mechanical disrepair and the consignor got it running, where
it served for weddings and special events for the family. The
consignor's wife also got an extra gift with the car in the form of
an English Trivet, now a butter dish is not going home with the new
potential owner! WOW Cars and Trivets, who'd a thought?
Exterior
With this taxi design the car remained virtually unchanged visually
over many years, and still today is in the minds of the world when
they think of London Taxi. Long hood, protruding fenders with a
single round headlight on each side, a rectangular vertical grille
and bumper below with "bunny ears". Plenty of mirrors to make sure
when you are doing a U-ie you don't bump oncoming or following
traffic! The Taxi light on the roof and some side hollow running
lights off of the tops of the B pillars. In back a spacious trunk
and another bumper worth the "ears". The driver's tail light has
fallen victim to a bashing and is now non-existent. A common pillar
has the back hinged front doors and front hinged back doors. On all
4 corners are generic cream colored steel wheels with shiny moon
caps in their centers. I say! And it's all bathed in black, as
opposed to the standard yellow in the good old USA.
Interior
Black metal sills and taupe vinyl make up the simple utilitarian
door panels. Shiny actuators and a window crank are present on the
front doors. Since it's a right hand drive car, only the driver's
side bucket is in, and room for storage is where the passenger seat
would normally be. A cabbie sliding window separates the driver
from the paying passengers, who can stretch out in back in a wide
tuck and roll taupe colored vinyl full bench. 2 wide jump seats are
seen folded up on the mid separating board, and there is plenty of
leg room even with these seats in the down position. Wiggle your
toes in some thick pile clean but not tight floor carpeting in tan.
Armrests and a pull bar helps the clientele get comfy and have easy
access and egress from the rear seating. A mohair headliner is in
good condition above and lest I forget a full metal jacket black
dash is up front with round chrome bezel Smiths Gauges, and knobs
and pulls.
Drivetrain
Under the hood in an unrestored engine bay is a small inline 2.2
liter diesel 4 popper. It has fuel injection and a 4 speed manual
trans on back. A 5.125 ratio rear axle is on to take you down even
the most winding of London's roads.
Undercarriage
Underneath fairly clean with some chip off of undercarriage paint
but really no rust of concern. The inner fenders are a bit rough,
and plenty of road splatter is on the floor pans. Independent coil
springs are up front and leaf sprung rear suspension is seen. Drum
braking is on all 4 corners.
Drive-Ability
This car hasn't been run in north of 5 years so I was unable to do
a test drive. We did not attempt to crank the car due to battery
issues.
A harken back in time when you really do not have to go that far to
see many examples old and new, (as who can tell), the body styling
remained the same for years. Get it running and start
"hacking".
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
