Austin 7

For information on the Mini based Austin Seven, see Mini. For information on the 1909–11 Austin of a similar name, see Austin 7 hp.
Austin 7

Austin Seven 1922
Overview
Manufacturer Austin Motor Company
Production 1922–39
290,000
Body and chassis
Class Subcompact car
Body style Various, including vans
Powertrain
Engine 747 cc straight-4
Dimensions
Wheelbase 75 inches (1.905 m)
Chronology
Predecessor None
Successor Austin 8, Austin Big 7

The Austin 7 was an economy car produced from 1922 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad. It wiped out most other British small cars and cyclecars of the early 1920s;[1] its effect on the British market was similar to that of the Model T Ford in the US. It was also licensed and copied by companies all over the world.[2] The very first BMW car, the BMW Dixi, was a licensed Austin 7, as were the original American Austins. In France they were made and sold as Rosengarts. In Japan Nissan also used the 7 design as the basis for their first cars, although not under licence.[2]

Many Austin 7s were rebuilt as "specials" after the Second World War,[3][4][5] including the first race car built by Bruce McLaren, and the first Lotus, the Mk1.

Such was the power of the Austin 7 name that the company re-used it for early versions of the A30 in 1951[6] and Mini in 1959.

History

Austin 7 Saloon 1931

Until the First World War Austin built mainly large cars, but in 1909 they sold a single-cylinder small car built by Swift of Coventry called the Austin 7 hp.[7] After this they returned to bigger cars.

In 1920 Sir Herbert Austin commenced working on the concept of a smaller car, mainly to meet the needs of young families aspiring to own an affordable motor car. This idea was spurred on by the introduction of the Horsepower Tax in 1921. His design concept marked a departure from his company's conservative motoring past and Austin received considerable opposition from his board of directors and creditors. Because the company was in receivership Austin decided to carry out the project himself on his own account and in 1921 hired an 18 year old draughtsman, Stanley Edge, from the Austin factory at Longbridge, Birmingham to aid in the drawing of detailed plans. This work was carried out in the billiard room of Austin's Lickey Grange home.

Edge convinced Austin to use a small four-cylinder engine. The original side valve engine design featured a capacity of 696cc ( 55mm x 77mm ) giving a RAC rating of 7.2 hp, the cast cylinder block featured a detachable head and was mounted on an aluminium crankcase. The crankshaft used one roller and two ball bearings and the big-ends were splash lubricated. Edge also carried out the design of other mechanical components such as the three speed gearbox and clutch assembly. Austin was largely responsible for styling the Seven's design, which was reportedly influenced by the design of the Peugeot Quadrilette. The "A" frame chassis design was believed to have been influenced by the design of an American truck used in the Longbridge factory in the early 1920s.

The design was completed in 1922 and three prototypes were constructed in a special area of the Longbridge factory, and announced to the public in July 1922. Austin had put a large amount of his own money into the design and patented many of its innovations in his own name. In return for his investment he was paid a royalty of two guineas (£2, 2s), (£2.10) on every car sold.[2]

Nearly 2,500 cars were made in the first year of production (1923), not as many as hoped, but within a few years the "big car in miniature" had wiped out the cyclecar industry and transformed the fortunes of the Austin Motor Co. By 1939 when production finally ended, 290,000 cars and vans had been made.

Chassis

The Austin 7 was considerably smaller than the Ford Model T. The wheelbase was only 6 ft 3 inches (1.905 m), and the track only 40 inches (1.016 m). Equally it was lighter – less than half the Ford's weight at 794 pounds (360 kg). The engine required for adequate performance was therefore equally reduced and the 747 cc sidevalve was quite capable with a modest 10 hp output.

The chassis took the form of an "A" with the engine mounted between the channel sections at the narrow front end. The rear suspension was by quarter elliptic springs cantilevered from the rear of the chassis while at the front the beam axle had a centrally mounted half elliptic transverse spring. Early cars did not have any shock absorbers. Brakes were on all wheels but at first the front brakes were operated by the handbrake and the rear by the footbrake, becoming fully coupled in 1930.

In late 1931 the chassis was lengthened by 6" with a corresponding increase in the rear track. Steering is by worm and wheel mechanism.

Engine and transmission

1937 advertsiement

The original 1922 four-cylinder Austin Seven engine had a bore of 2.125" (54mm) and stroke of 3" (76mm), giving a capacity of 696 cc and RAC rating of 7.2 hp. From March 1923 the bore was increased to 2.2" (56mm) giving 747 cc and 10.5 hp. The side-valve engine was composed of an aluminium crankcase, cast iron cylinder block and cast iron cylinder head. Cooling was by thermosiphon, without a water pump, and the dynamo was driven from the timing gears.

The big end bearings were lubricated by jets from an oil gallery in the crankcase, the oil striking the crankshaft webs which were drilled accordingly. Originally the journal diameter was 1.125"; this was later increased to 1.3125". The three bearing engine (from 1936) used a white metal centre bearing.

The splash-lubricated crankshaft (pressure fed on some sports models) at first ran in two bearings (two ball bearings at the front, roller at the back) changing to three in 1936. An electric starter was fitted from November 1923. The early cars used magneto ignition, but this was changed to coil in 1928.

The 3-speed and reverse gearbox was integral with the engine, and had a variety of ratios depending on application. A four-speed gearbox was introduced in 1932 and in 1933 synchromesh was added to third and top ratios extending to second gear in 1934.

The back axle was of spiral bevel type with ratios between 4.4:1 and 5.6:1. A short torque tube ran forward from the differential housing to a bearing and bracket on the rear axle cross member.

Reliant used a derivative of the Austin Seven engine for their early three-wheelers, before developing an aluminium alloy engine (used as the replacement for the Austin Seven engine by the 750 Motor Club in their Formula 750 motor sport).

Gordon England

Gordon England Brooklands replica
Gordon England Sunshine saloon number 263

Herbert Austin's son-in-law, Arthur Waite, soon began to achieve remarkable sporting successes beginning at Brooklands in March 1923 and the next month at Monza. Another driver, E C Gordon England, persuaded Sir Herbert to provide him with a racing 7. Waite and Lou Kings (chief tester) then experienced a run of failure brought about by inadequate engine lubrication for racing conditions. Meanwhile Gordon England flushed with success from establishing six new class records at Brooklands, had built a special lightweight 2-seater body weighing just 20 lb (9.1 kg) and entered it in the 1100 cc class for the Junior Car Club 200 mile race at Brooklands in October 1923. There Gordon England finished in second place and during the race won another five class records.[8]

So two new sports models were offered in January 1924, the Sports and the Brooklands Super-sports. The Brooklands Super-sports was a replica of Gordon England's record-breaker. Each car was sold with a Brooklands certificate proving a speed of 80 miles 0 chains (128.75 km) per hour. By 1925 Gordon England held nineteen 750 cc class records.[8]

Austin Seven saloon first by Gordon England

The first Austin 7 saloon was made by racing driver E C Gordon England's coachbuilding company. Gordon England had been an aircraft designer with the Bristol Aeroplane Company. His little fabric saloon body based on aircraft principles was said to be the smallest closed car in the world. Its body weighed 28 lb (13 kg) less than the tourer and at £210, almost double the £112 chassis price, it showed there would be a ready sale for an Austin-made steel panelled saloon which was introduced in September 1926 at £165.[8]

Until fabric bodies fell from fashion in the early 1930s the Gordon England Fabric "de luxe" Saloon remained in Austin's catalogue at a £20 (14%) premium over Austin's standard steel saloon. It was accompanied by their 2-seater Gordon England Cup Model.[9]

Austin Seven Swallow

1931 Austin Seven Swallow saloon
1931 Austin 7 Swallow, rear quarter

In 1927, William Lyons, co-founder of the Swallow Sidecar Company, saw the commercial potential of producing a re-bodied Austin 7. Buying a chassis from dealer Parkers of Bolton Lyons commissioned Swallow's talented employee, coachbuilder Cyril Holland, to produce a distinctive open tourer: the Austin Seven Swallow. Holland (1895- ) who joined Swallow in late 1926 had served his apprenticeship with Lanchester and would become chief body engineer.[10][11] The height of saloon car fashion of the day was to have the back of the body fully rounded, this was called "dome" shaped.

With its bright two-tone colour scheme and a style befitting more expensive cars of the time, together with its low cost (£175), the Swallow proved popular and was followed in 1928 by a saloon version: the Austin Seven Swallow Saloon.

Approximately 3,500 bodies of various styles were produced up until 1932, when Lyons started making complete cars under the SS brand.

Such was the demand for the Austin Seven Swallows that Lyons was forced to move in 1928 from Blackpool to new premises in Coventry. It was, in part, the success of the Swallows that laid the foundations of what was to become, by 1945, Jaguar Cars.[12][13]

Licensed production

Versions of the Austin 7 were made under licence by American Austin from 1930, Dixi (later bought by BMW) in Germany from 1927 and Rosengart in France from 1928. Austin 7s were also manufactured by Nissan (Datsun) but reports differ as to whether these were built under licence or were unlicensed copies. In addition, rolling chassis were exported to Australia to have locally made bodies attached.

Australian-bodied Austin Sevens

In an attempt to establish an Australian motor industry after World War I, the Australian Government imposed a tax on imported cars. However, an imported chassis attracted minimal tax, and as a result Australian coach-builders imported rolling chassis to which they fitted custom-built bodies.

The largest and best known of these companies was Holden's Motor Body Builders. Holden was already manufacturing bodies for other marques, and in the mid-1920s commenced importing Austin Seven rolling chassis and building Australian-bodied Austin Seven tourer and roadster models.

1929 Australian-bodied Austin 7 Meteor (Coach-builder A. Robinson & Co.)

The first Australian coachbuilt Austin Seven sports model was built by New South Wales Motors in 1924, and was known as the Ace. The Wasp was built by the Melbourne Motor Body Company of 149 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne in 1927 and William Green of Parramatta Road, Petersham Sydney in 1929. The Comet was another Australian-bodied sports model, built by Bill Conoulty of Sydney between 1933 and 1934. The Meteor sports model was produced by several coach-builders from 1928–1931, with James Flood of St Kilda Road Melbourne, Jack Lonzar of Adelaide and A Robinson & Co of 181 Castlereagh Street Sydney, producing limited numbers with variations on the design.

Layout

In 2007, during an episode of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson and James May studied a number of early car designs (including the Ford Model T and the De Dion-Bouton Model Q) and concluded that the Austin Seven was the first mass-market car to be fitted with a "conventional" control layout, as found on modern cars (although the earliest car they found to use this layout was a Cadillac Type 53 in 1916).

Body styles

[2]

Tourers

Austin 7 Chummy Tourer 1929
1934 Austin 7 PD Tourer (pre-Opal)
Type Name Description From To
XL prototypes 1922
AB Aluminium-bodied four-seater 1922 1924
AC 1924 1926
AD Four seater 1926 1929
AE Four seater. Two inches wider than AD 1929 1929
Two seater 1929 1930
AF Steel-bodied four-seater 1930 1932
AH Pressed-steel body. Four seater 1932
AAK Open road Tourer Cowled radiator 1934
AH Pressed-steel body. Four seater 1932
PD Two seater 1934
APD Opal Two seater 1934 1936
AAL Open Road Tourer Covered spare wheel 1935
AH Pressed-steel body. Four seater 1932
APE New Opal Two seater 1936

Saloons

Austin 7 Box Saloon 1933
Austin 7 "New Ruby" saloon
Type Name Description From To
R Aluminium or fabric saloon 1926 1927
RK Aluminium or fabric saloon 1927
RL Steel saloon 1930
RG Fabric saloon 1930
RN Long-wheelbase steel saloon
RP 1932
ARQ Ruby Saloon 1934
ARR "New" Ruby Saloon 1936

Cabriolet

Austin 7 Pearl Cabriolet 1935
Type Name Description From To
AC Pearl Cabriolet version of ARQ Ruby. 1934
ACA "New" Pearl Cabriolet version of ARR New Ruby. 1936

Sports

Austin 7 Ulster 2-Seater Sports 1930
Austin 7 Nippy 2-Seater Sports 1934
Type Name Description From To
50 mph Aluminium bodied. Long tail 1926
E Super Sports Aluminium bodied. No doors 1927 1928
EA Sports Ulster Aluminium bodied. No doors
EB 65 65 Aluminium body, steel wings. Rounded tail. 1933 1934
AEB Nippy All steel 1934 1937
EK 75 Speedy Aluminium body. Pointed tail.
AEK Speedy Redesignation of EK 75 1935

Coupés

Type Name Description From To
Type B Upper body fabric. 1928 1931

Vans

Type Name Description From To
AB, AC and AD Converted tourer 1923 1927
AE 1929 1930
RK Converted RK saloon
RM Converted RL saloon
RN Converted RN saloon
RP Converted RP saloon 1933
AVH
AVJ and AVK Converted Ruby 1939

References

  1. ↑ Baldwin, N. (1994). A-Z of Cars of the 1920s. Bay View Books. ISBN 1-870979-53-2.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mills, Rinsey (1996). Original Austin Seven. Bay View Books. ISBN 1-870979-68-0.
  3. ↑ "Classic Motor Monthly: The Super Accessories". Classicmotor.co.uk. 27 December 1998. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "The Austin Seven Special". Pasttimesproject.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Austin 7 Special". Tanygraig.force9.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Robson, Graham (2006). A-Z British Cars 1945–1980. Herridge & Sons. ISBN 0-9541063-9-3.
  7. ↑ Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. HMSO. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 R J Wyatt, The Austin 1905—1952, David & Charles, Newton Abbott, 1981. ISBN 0 7153 7948 8
  9. ↑ Display advertising—Austin. The Times, Tuesday, Mar 20, 1928; pg. xliv; Issue 44846.
  10. ↑ Swallow. Automobile Quarterly p1939 volume 18, issue 4 1980
  11. ↑ Brian Long Daimler V8 SP250 Veloce, p90, 2008, ISBN 9781904788775
  12. ↑ Sedgwick, M. (1989). A–Z of Cars of the 1930s. Bay View Books. ISBN 1-870979-38-9.
  13. ↑ "Jaguar History: Swallow Sidecar Company". Retrieved 18 July 2007.
Austin Motor Company road car timeline
Type 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s
6789 0123456789 0123456789 0123456789
Small family car 7 hp Seven
Eight
10 hp Ten
Family car
12-14 Twelve Light Twelve
Heavy Twelve
Twelve-six Fourteen
Full-size car 15 hp Sixteen or Eighteen Eighteen
20 hp Twenty Twenty-Eight
15-20 18-24
30 hp
25-30 40 hp
50 hp
60 hp
Coupé / Roadster
Taxi Austin Twelve
Top Hat		 Austin Twelve
Low Loader

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Austin 7.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gordon England coachwork.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swallow Sidecar.

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