Vehicle Description
1937 Austin Ten Cambridge Saloon
The Austin Ten is a series of compact cars that was introduced in
1932. The Ten was also known as the Ten-Four, due to its 10 taxable
horsepower, and four cylinder engine. These cars were offered in a
range of body styles, including saloon, convertible, and tourer.
These body styles were given names later in production, such as the
Ripley, which was a sports tourer. Power for the Ten came from a
1125cc inline four engine which sent drive to the rear wheels via a
4 speed manual transmission. Production of the Austin Ten lasted
until 1947.
For consignment, a micro car before the term was even known or
used. Showing as an unrestored original fresh out of long term
storage, this is essentially a 3/4 scale Model A if you will, with
room for 4 and some luggage in the boot, but in need of full
restoration. This could be a greatopportunity to turn some wrenches
and make a fun driver or even to take the class win at nearly every
show you attend. Big things indeed do come in small packages and
this example is proof.
NO TITLE-SOLD ON A BILL OF SALE ONLY
Exterior
When you think of Austin you think of England, right hand drive,
and her majesty the Queen, and this car fits that image perfectly.
Overall the body remains solid with a few areas of surface rust and
fade to the black finish. This black covers the entire body and
curvy running fenders and short rubber lined running boards. Up
front is the chrome bar front bumper with some tarnish and dings
along with fender mounted chrome encased headlamps just outboard of
the grille corral. A standard winged Austin emblem adorns the black
painted grille corral and sets off the horizontal barred grille
nicely. The driver's doors, right side folks...this isJolly Old
England, is dressed well with matching chrome handles that share a
central pillar and up top a black retractable roof insert is seen,
which could be construed as an early factory sunroof. Its miniature
wheelbase and 16-inch drilled and chrome dog dish cap style wheels
add to the charm of this miniature motorcar.
Interior
Our right-hand drive version has the original chocolate brown
leather buckets up front that show with broad tuck and roll inserts
and smooth bolsters. Some tearing and age wear is noted on both
buckets. These buckets give the interior a touch of class and
character that matches nicely with the aged, worn, and most likely
original brown vinyl door panels and tarnished cranks and handles.
A simple brown steel dash houses the twin circular gauge pods with
a mix of white and black faces in front of the driver; the
headlight and ignition switch are here as well. An original large
steering wheel in black bakelite fronts the dash and is complete
with a black utilitarian horn button. A long shift lever protrudes
from the top of the transmission and reaches back to the driver's
left hand. Withall carpeting removed the flooring shows in surface
rusted steel and above is the understructure of the roof, sans a
headliner. A quick shout out to the trunk with its double stacked
storage tiers and some spare parts to help along with your
restoration.
Drivetrain
The original and unrestored 1125cc 4-popper is under the short
bonnet and is attached to a 4-speed manual transmission. This tiny
but capable mill is fed by a 1-barrel carburetor and shows nicely.
This all spins a 5.13 geared rear axle.
Undercarriage
While unable to span our lift and clearly too low to the ground for
our photographer to shoot, I can give you the simple facts from
Austin. Leaf spring suspension provides the ride front and rear and
Girling hybrid hydro-mechanical drum brakes offer up the stopping
power and single exhaust is on for the exhale.
Drive-Ability
While the engine does turn over by hand, we made no attempt to
start this mini-Brit. We note new spark plugs and wires, as well as
a new fuel line, so with that said, some tinkering is in order
before ignition.
An interesting piece of UK automotive history right here in
America, and with an unknown amount of examples still existing, a
very rare. Why don't you turn the wrenches so I can hop in for a
tool and leave you with "Chip Chip Cheerio...and all that Rot!"
NO TITLE-SOLD ON A BILL OF SALE ONLY
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.
