The Famous Sports Car Company of Austin

Austin

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Extract from November's MGCC publication - Safety Fast

The Famous Sports Car Company of Austin!

In 1951, before BMC was formed, Austin was lining up his latest saloon car range. His first attempt at integral construction, (a monocoque), was in the tiny Austin A30. This used an even smaller version of the cloned 1200cc engine of 803cc, called the `A' series. By 1956 the tiny car, once dubbed the New Austin Seven, had grown into the Austin A35, now with a 948cc engine and bigger rear window. The car's gearbox could be traced back to the pre-WW2 Austin Big Seven, and used half hydraulic (front) and half mechanical (rear) drum brakes, with worm and peg steering. The Austin-Healey had been a great success, causing M.G. a few problems getting funds out of BMC for future development. Perhaps more as a snub to M.G., Austin permitted HEALEY to design a little sportscar around the Austin A35 package. This upholstered nimble roller-skate was shown to the public in 1958 as the Frog-Eye Sprite.

With a full-flow oil filter, the `Z' type engine, along with the gearbox and rear axle were fitted to the new M.G. sports car that replaced the Morris engined TF. The MGA (above) was using Austin components under its skin in 1955. Its 1489cc engine seen in the Austín A50 and A55 Cambridge and Morris saloons. M.G. was now relying on AUSTIN as it had done on MORRIS pre-war. Austin were not just affiliated to M.G sports cars. Their 2,200cc four cylinder engine, the Austin 16HP unit from 1945, was to be used in the Austin-Healey 100 from 1952 to 1956. A great deal of this Austin-Healey was running on Austin saloon car mechanics, from the bigger saloons. Infact parts were so interchangeable that the later Austin-Healey 100-6 and 3000 models disc brakes, Kingpins and front suspension could be easily transplanted onto both the Austin Cambridge A55 and A60, Austin Westminster A99 and A110, and the FX series of Austin Taxis.

M.G. took a look at it, improved it, and then produced it in its entirety, but with an M.G. grille and boot badge, calling it the M.G.Midget, in 1961. This little fun car used the A35 running gear and suspension, but stole the Morris Minor steering rack and hydraulic brakes. Under the bonnet was the 948cc engine, now used in all small BMC cars. Because of the similarity of the two M.G. and Austin-Healey cloned sportscars, they became known collectively as Spridgets!

The humble range of BMC saloon cars shared a lot with the M.G. sports cars. The Austin A60 pick-up above has the 1622cc engine of the MGA 1600 Mk2, albeit rather less powerful. Gearboxes and rear axle were shared with all the Farina range.

The Austin range was not just used for the smaller M.G.s. In 1954 the Austin A90 Westminster was on sale, with a six cylinder series engine, (actually designed at the Morris part of BMC), that found its way into the Austin-Healey Six and 3000, as well as many years later after two redesigns from 2 639cc, (A99), to 2 912cc, (A110) then with seven main bearings, into the MGC in 1967, as shown.

Following on from the MGA in 1962, and to align with the smart little Midget, M.G. put the MGA running gear into their first monocoque sportscar, the MGB. The underbonnet view has stark similarities to the Farina Magnette below. The MGB has the 1798cc `B' series engine, the Farina the 1622cc MGA version. The MGB shares a lot with its Austin A60 BMC stablemate, (The Farina Magnette is a twin carb Austin A60).

The A30, A35, Sprite, Midget, etc, `A' series engine found its way into front wheel drive saloon cars, and in 1962 the Austin 1100 was also a well handling, nippy little car that was produced in M.G. twin carb form, both later growing to 1275cc. Now a fairly rare car, the M.G. version is above. Pity the Mini was not an M.G. model, only a `Cooper'.

The successor of the Issigonis designed front wheel drive 1100/1300s, the Austin Metro from 1982. This modern hatch-back was also sold as an M.G. Metro, with the M.G. Metro Turbo being one of the fastest production M.G. saloon cars ever.

Yes, "The Austin Sports Car", perhaps not a title that comes to mind immediately, but there is a great deal of `The Austin' in many of the sports cars produced from 1950, in the Jensen, Healey, M.G., and many smaller specialist makes. Look carefully at the bits you see in an autojumble, at an M.G. meeting. Lots of those bits are Austin based.

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Austin

The Famous Sports Car Company of Austin!

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