C'mon Folks,
Don't beat up on the old Austin - I would assume that they were talking
about the latte-1940s Austin A40 Devon and Dorset Saloons and the few A70
Herefords (also using the Healey 100, four - as did the Austin Gypsy 4X4 -
sort of an Austin Land Rover) and the Atlantic. Being that it was said
about "Austin" it would have had to been before the merger with Nuffield
(Morris, MG, Riley and Wolseley - hence MOWOG on many mechanical parts) to
form BMC. Otherwise the order would have come from BMC, not Austin.
The A40 was a decent little car that housed the first 1200cc version of the
B series engines. MGB 1800s bolt right in!!! The problems started with the
fact that these cars were not suited for American driving conditions,
though they worked OK in a small city like San Francisco in the early
1950s. Low gearing is fine on hills but will blow a motor on the highway.
Cheers,
Rick Feibusch
Venice Beach, CA
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