Smedley the Chummy: A 1930 Austin 7 Re-Re-Restoration #1

This is Smedley. He is a 1930 Austin 7, acquired in Adelaide, South Australia in the mid 1990's, and Shipped to San Diego California.

The Austin 7 was produced in the UK from 1922 until 1939.These were the British answer to the Ford Model T, A cheap car for the masses. The design was so popular that it quickly outstyripped sales of all other British vehicles at the time and quickly became licensed and built in many other companies. For example, the first BMW ever produced, was an Austin 7.

The Design was conceived of and built by Sir Herbert Austin and Stanley Edge in 1921. The name came about because Edge convinced Austin to go with a small 4 cylinder powerplant, that was 696 CC, and 7.2 Horsepower. 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.

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 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 aluminum 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.

In the aftermath of World War I the Australian Government imposed a tariff on imported vehicles, with tax concessions applying to rolling chassis, as a stimulus to develop a sovereign motor vehicle industry. The chassis concession acted as a financial incentive for local coach-builders to import factory built rolling chassis, and fit uniquely Australian designed and built bodies, leading to the establishment of an Australian motor vehicle bodybuilding industry in the early 1920s. The largest and best known of these Australian coach-builders was Holden's Motor Body Builders. Holden built Australian-bodied Austin Seven tourer and roadster models from the mid 1920s.  Smedley is a product of this, with the larger 10 Horsepower motor, and an aluminum open top Touring car design.

Smedley will fit 4 very friendly adults, and can attain speeds of around 30 MPH. #0MPH is kind of exhilarating in Smedely, as there are no concessions to saftey in a 1930 Austin 7, plus the brakes are cable operated like on a bike.

Smedley is about to get a major makeover, so stay tuned!

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