As a young man my father worked in the Austin plant here in Wellington in the mid fifties for a time, he told me he used to install the headlining... He met a chap who also worked there and they became lifelong friends and even today, well into their eighties, they still meet once a week for a quiet pint or two at a local pub.

An amazingly charming old classic, I don't really mind the cow hips on that car, sort of suits it oddly enough. Very well used and loved, what with it's slightly tatty interior and the squeaks and creeks, it's utterly adorable, and still going strong, well as best it can for an old girl.

The best place for a Tom Jones CD is somewhere that doesn't have a CD Player!

@legambaz

4 жыл бұрын

Hahahah........I'm afraid I have to agree. What a good call.

@ralphhowes

4 жыл бұрын

In the past I would have agreed. I saw Tom perform at Glastonbury many years ago, he was bloody great.

@iseeolly9959

4 жыл бұрын

I have a wide musical taste but have to agree with you.....he can only do loud and brash......awful singer.

@martinf4103

4 жыл бұрын

Barry Allen some of his earl music was great world class singer

@pcno2832

4 жыл бұрын

@@iseeolly9959 I wouldn't call him awful, but not every song was written for a voice like his, and it is an acquired taste.

This car conveys ''original'' and ''authentic'' 1950's BMC all the way. Easy to assemble, easy to repair and easy to maintain. Gives a whole new perspective on the meaning of ''durable''

"I liked it a lot, despite it being mostly hopeless" @14:53

@thepofmeister

4 жыл бұрын

Seiskid ...Why, Why, Why, Seiskid?!

@delukxy

4 жыл бұрын

Move them up one spline. Less clack and a bit more sweep on the passenger side. Mechanism probably needs new bushes. Still on C41 cross plies? 35 years old and tackling wet roundabouts. Nasty! I expected the word pantograph to be uttered as the train wen by . Overhead electrics.

@ferrumignis

4 жыл бұрын

@@delukxy Agreed they really need adjusting, that constant clacking would drive me bonkers. Well, more bonkers.

The only thing missing from this video is the wonderful smell of a nice old car on a rainy day.

@stevenc5227

4 жыл бұрын

The smell of oil and petrol leaking you mean.

I like it when a bonnet is opened, and the space is largely empty.

@nakoma5

4 жыл бұрын

I know right? I don't like it when I open a modern bonnet only to find a second plastic "bonnet" covering the engine.

@borderlands6606

4 жыл бұрын

The joy of old cars. Sit on the wing, dangle your legs in the engine bay and work on them.

Hubnut: We have a British car here in NZ! Weather: Turns British

All of a sudden I can smell this cars interior! My Grandfathers last car in the 1970's was an A95. It had a radio!

I just love the good old British cars from the fifties and sixties

@petercrosland5502

9 ай бұрын

You wouldn't if you had to drive the things BUT keep it under 60mph and go round corners carefully you might survive.

That amazing chrome toothed bonnet scoop actually feeds the cabin fresh air vent and fan... quite contemporary

What a lovely old car.. I love how it isn't perfectly restored. Clearly being used daily and well looked after. Full credit to the owner 👍

@HubNut

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, being used daily because I bought his Ford Fairmont!

My first ever car was an A50: a 1955 model bought in 1969, suitably in Cambridge when I finished at university. It never failed to start first time and never let me down on the road. I suppose anyone's first car is special, but this was a good'un. Ian, you're right that BMC/BL failed to develop these models, but actually Fifties Austins were ahead of the competition and probably the best mass-produced cars you could buy. Certainly up to about 1955 Fords, Vauxhalls, Hillmans and the old MO Morris Oxford had sluggish side-valve engines, no independent front suspension, and mainly 3-speed gearboxes. And Fords in particular were pigs to start in the morning. Driving behind that grand old Austin mascot made you feel good to be British.

@andrewthompsonuk1

4 жыл бұрын

You are right about the Ford's. I remember the mum with a late 40s Ford Popular would opt out of kingarton run if it was wet outside because her car would not start. On the fine days starting took many attempts.

@nickjervis8123

4 жыл бұрын

Oxford MO independent torsion bar suspension. Cannot think of any post war car that did not have independent suspension

@indiekiddrugpatrol3117

4 жыл бұрын

It lasted long for a 50s car in Britain. I'm sure the B(L)MC hate crowd would be surprised.

@cerealtiller

2 жыл бұрын

And there were no Motorways in the UK at that time....'A' Road cruising speed was 45-50 MPH for the Majority of Vehicles Lorries would zip along at a dizzying 25-30 MPH !

When I was a kid in the mid 60s in rural east Devon, an elderly couple down the road had a fawn/creamy Austin A50. It wasn't used much, but it was clearly much loved, and the old boy washed and polished it quite a bit. Even then, I thought it looked very old fashioned by comparison with most of the more modern looking cars on the roads then, but it was probably only 6 or 7 years old. A reminder how much British car design radically changed between 1955 and 1965.

Great video. I learned to drive in an Austin A50 in 1963. It was a lovely car. It's a shame the horn didn't work on the one in the video as that was one of the best parts of the car, a pair of Lucas Windtones, if I remember right.

Nice to see it on the road and not in a scrap yard!

These cars were also imported to the US, because my father drove one of these in 1963-64 for about one year. He eventually traded it in for a more practical family-friendly Pontiac Chieftain ( we had four children in our family). What I remember the most was that flashing directional arm. As a five year old I was fascinated by it

Cars with engines quieter than the radiator fans, lovely fan drone accompaniment with the revs building.

I bought a 1955 A50 in 1962, and coming from a 1950 Morris Minor MM side-valve, the A50 was 'cutting edge' luxury. Far from being a nice little car - as you called it, in its time, it was considered a big family saloon. Full leather seats - the front two being square and when siamese'd, seated three ... the column gear change, and 'umbrella' handbrake, also helped. Getting reverse gear wasn't as difficult as you seemed to make out. You simply pulled the knob on the lever before moving the lever ... a Bowden cable running inside the lever - released by the pulling the knob, prevented accidentally selecting reverse instead of 2nd gear. Interestingly, the column change system on the Austin - and on other cars such as the Ford Consul, eventually wore and became imprecise, floppy. The problem was easily solved by replacing the 'cotter pins' that fixed the levers to the selector shafts on the side of the gearbox. The lever to gearbox shaft arrangement was exactly the same as the pedal arm to crankshaft on a pedal bicycle, using the same 'cotter pins'. I noted also that your NZ model had an SU carburettor, which doubtless gave you less bhp than the UK built models which used a Zenith downdraught with an 'accelerator pump'. I found the A50 to be one of the nicest cars I have ever driven, then and since. I think we have forgotten that the cars of the 1950's were specifically designed to give a smooth ride whatever the road surface - quite often cobbled, and potholes are nothing new. A great sadness for me, was that I couldn't afford the A50's more streamlined replacement, the A55. I don't mean the Farina model, the A55 I refer to was almost identical to the A50, just a bit longer in the tail, usually two-tone paint, nicer headlights, and more chrome up front.

This was the first car I owned, I bought a very cheap "well used" one as a teenager about 40 years ago, and from what I remember it wasn't that uncommon to find myself on 2 wheels when I flung it around the corners. Obviously I gained much more respect for classic cars as I grew up (and they grew in value).

An old friend that lives near Melbourne has recently restored a Westminster that had been languishing in a local farmers field for many years. 'Charming' is definitely a suitable adjective, unlike sporty, dynamic, quiet and economic.

Hi Hubnut. Much to comment on here! Some British cars in AUS and NZ were fully imported, but the greater number were manufactured complete in Australia or assembled in NZ from CKD kits. And then AUS made cars went to NZ and NZ assembled cars went to Australia. A case in point is that most of Australia's Rover P6Bs were assembled in Nelson NZ. These CKD kits actually had the roofs cut off the unibody to save shipping space, and welded back on in NZ. On the B series engine, British engineers in the mid 50's reckoned 1500 was as big as they could get it. But BMC Australia engineers determined that siamesing the bores would work and got it up to 1600 (or so the story goes). Given that 'clue', the British engineers later got it up to 1800. The 1600 appeared in the Australian Morris Major Elite. Imagine a Wolseley 1500 with a Morris grille and tailfins and you'll be close. Perhaps you'll see one. On the dumpiness of 1950's British cars, I had meant to comment earlier that the Singer Hunter was probably the dumpiest of the lot, to the point where they couldn't even sell them in and UK. And I too was surprised to see the horn button not turning with the wheel on the Austin. It made sense when the trafficator switch was in the centre of the wheel, but the point was entirely lost once the stalk switch came into use. Cheers.

@davidtaylor351

3 жыл бұрын

Jaguar xjs were also built in that Nelson factory and shipped to Australia. Towards the end of local production. NZ 'assembled' cars were nudging around 45-50% local manufacturing content. And with the import licensing system. The higher the local manufactured content was. - That then enabled an assembler to use their import licence allocations on importing more of the parts not manufactured locally. And therefore, they could build and sell more vehicles overall. Ps, just a thought. It might be that the radiator Hub Nut mentioned is an imported replacement one. As this car was built in 1955. If they were fitted with NZ made radiators. I doubt there would be large numbers of those radiators still in stock. - 30 to 40 years after this car was built. Which would be the most likely time a replacement radiator might have been needed.

21:40 "The horn button is fixed, but it should have a proper parping horn" I didn't know about the fixed button, but it had a good parping horn. A local business / property magnate did a very risky overtake in his Dino 246GT, and my father hit the horn button. It jammed, so it stayed on for a full 1/4 mile as we followed him, and while we waited behind him to turn at the end of the road, and then across the bridge. Bob Jones got a real ear-full that day, and I bet that didn't happen often.

Having grown up with Austin's I appreciate the simplicity of everything. Everything has an on and off. Everything always worked, even if it didn't turn off. Like every small car, you grew to like the mannerisms. You adjusted your drive to suit your Austin or Morris and they just keep going.

listening to those wipers would do my head in lol

@MrGazzw

4 жыл бұрын

The wiper noise would great a bit along with the squeaky cluch pedal, and given its such an old car probably others we couldn't hear haha.

@chrispenn715

4 жыл бұрын

The wiper noise reminds me of a car I used to own. Trouble is, I' dont remember which one..........

@MattBrownbill

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah and every 7th wipe was longer!!!

@xyz2121

4 жыл бұрын

Very annoying!

@millomweb

4 жыл бұрын

@AC/DC ABOMB ANDREWS I suspect 1 spline would be too much although worth a try as it's an easy option.

Another great video! - Can't see an A50 Cambridge without remembering my Primary School's Secretary - a tall, friendly and efficient woman in glasses who drove a black A50 to school in the early '60s

My dad the A55 remember going on holiday in it and the shock absorbers went and the steering would shake like hell at a certain speed me and mum were terrified when it would start to shake noisily .This car vlog brought it all back😲😲👍👍

Nice weather (normally), sunshine, gorgeous scenery, clean streets and full of well-preserved yet patinated old cars. What's not to love about New Zealand?

It's a beautiful car in my opinion. I like the unpretentious lights particularly at the rear and the roundness. The Farina was a right enormous clodhopper in comparison. Must have weighed far more. Ladybird books of the fifties and sixties usually had a car like this in them, going to the seaside.

As much as I appreciate some period charm that wiper "clack" would driving me nuts and have me moving the arms up a spline within a couple of miles...

@cardude5323

4 жыл бұрын

Think you need to start selling shorts with knees alert printed on them XD

@wordsmith52

4 жыл бұрын

Maybe the "Clack" occurs because the wiper arms need adjusting ...would also allow the left side (near side) of the screen to be cleared a bit better too.

@briandufty1609

4 жыл бұрын

I wear stubby shorts.. and currently driviiie an open top all weather .. bike. I Would rather get slapped silly by that wipper than some dipshi house girl in a hurry n the 4x4... Roll on old girls..girls?. You guys know... ..lol.

@briandufty1609

4 жыл бұрын

Just subbed.. I make inept. Ract..!!?. Bad shity . If you dont like. Fuck off and watch sesy street , and keep chew. On yrs Mcdees, .Hub nut. A young country filling up with do gooding know it alls..The base of Nz will . Give the shirt of her back.unles u Australia. Lol. Ignore public disturbance..Especially if there is women involved.. injured our country. With love. Come back soon..xx

@wordsmith52

4 жыл бұрын

@@briandufty1609 I'm sure those wipers could be adjusted to eliminate the noise and ensure a greater portion of the left screen gets cleared.

It's amazing that cars over six decades old work at all. When I was a kid, those cars were everywhere and people used to hustle them along using every ounce of their meagre performance - they could be made to go a lot faster with a bit of tuning too. But my overriding memory was that they had a very good ride. I noticed all the banging and crashing over bumps in the film; such a shame. With new bushes and shocks and so-on you'd be amazed how smooth they were. I thought them ugly at the time but compared to modern cars they are really quite appealing.

Peg to hold the choke out - yep that’s NZ for you! Thanks again Hubnut for the vid, informative and enjoyable as always😀

@skylined5534

3 жыл бұрын

In the UK winter required a 'twin peg' set up for my Mini Clubman 😁

I thank the God of motoring blogs that you make such great videos

My parents first car was an A55, a wedding present from my mum's dad who was the Austin dealer in Christchurch. Grey with blue leather interior. We actually passed it on to my step brother for customising in about 1987, so had it a good long time. Amazing fact, considering the long stroke and rather weedy engine... We used to take it on grass track hill climbs. Let the air out of the back tyres and four kids bouncing up and down on the back seats for grip. It did actually make it to the top 😅

Bonus double indicator action to finish on. Fun times!

@johnmoruzzi7236

4 жыл бұрын

Ian missed a trick by not adding the blinking indicator stalk as well at the end. I'm sure that feature must have been the inspiration for the flashing eyes on the wall portraits in Thunderbirds when one of the family was "phoning home".

Hey Mr H, my first vehicle was a 1957 A55 van which my parents bought for me way back in 1962, so this is extremely nostalgic for me. I'm now 74 and I clearly remember going on a camping trip with my folks and ascending Porlock hill, 1 in 4, with a tooth missing on first gear, but we made it. Golden, irreplaceable days. Thanks for sharing ---yes it's that old Yorkshire "Gezzer" in Ireland again.

Never heard about the disastrous factory tour inspiring the Farina models before. What a great story.

Well, shockingly vigorous and slop- free wipers impress even before engine motivation and electrical output from the mighty Lucas dynamo. NVH heavy soundtrack on the move unsurprisingly identical to my late uncle's A60 van version in about 1970 when I rattled around in the back accompanied by fumes from petrol spilling out of his Atco mower fleet. The Austin later broke his leg when it capsized in a narrow Devon lane reversing incident. More boxes ticked with this review, thanks Ian.

Hello all great vid. In the late eighties I brought a 1957 Austin A105 twin carbs, on column 3 stage BW Automatic trans.factory radio, heater, padded dash and super rare factory Sun roof!!! The previous elderly owner said his dad was a farmer, was able to transfer funds to UK to buy the car brand new. He paid another 185 pounds (massive amount at the time) to have the Sun roof fitted. Correspondence from factory to his dad noted this to be a highly unusual request. However the Austin limousine of the same year was offered with Sunroof so the transfer was made. Everything on this vehicle was in great working order, always flew through WOF's. The A105 was a step down from the very hoipolloi A105 Vanden Plas. 1980 the Austin costed me $600, even at the time, I thought that was a good price. However at 23 years old, my Austin A105 was some what over shadowed by my other car, an immaculate 1961 Lincoln Continental HT 4 sedan, known as a Kennedy car. He was assassinated in a 1961 Lincoln that had been updated to 1963 specs. The same vehicle would never again have an open top.

Ah now that is classic Hub Nut, from the whack of the wipers to the classic sound of the indicators, and man that gear change is awesome 👍 Tam.

The column shift gears did it for me. Memories in abundance and no half shaft issues. I'm still looking forward to an A40 Somerset real road test but, for now this fills the gap sublimely.

Brilliant, you were driving around my old stomping ground when I was a teenager! I went to high school in Henderson.

The very first car that owned. 1956 Austin A50. Brought it off my grandmother in about 1976 for $300.00 Drove it all over the place, including up Ruapehu. Had no heater. Great first car. Same colour as this one. With a good tail wind, it got up to about 70mph.

I was going to visit New Zealand, but seeing how fast beards grow I can't afford the razors.

@Pfirtzer

4 жыл бұрын

You just get in some hormon treatment, but he filmed this one bfore he went to the barber. I don't know standing upside down in New Zealand, hair grows faster who knows.

@TheStwat

4 жыл бұрын

@@Pfirtzer Lol.

@Kysushanz

4 жыл бұрын

@@Pfirtzer The earth is FLAT.

I like the way the logo on the steering wheel doesn't turn with the wheel but stays straight!

@skylined5534

3 жыл бұрын

Good catch! That's a lovely detail!

Lovely car with that flying A wing on the center of the bonnet. Windshield wiper allert will keep driver reminded to concentrate on road more in rainy day.

managing to nearly get into a power slide coming out of a roundabout is quite impressive. That column gearshift does seem to have some merits (and the same principle as modern paddle shifts.) I've never seen one being used before; quite educational.

Lovely car. And have a look at the front marker lights - what a nice detail! But at the rear all the design ethusiasm was gone... "Rear lights? Oh come on, just put them anywhere!"

@SharkoonBln

4 жыл бұрын

Those front markers catched my eye too.

My father (was for several decades Vet in/for Marlborough, so his cars got heavily used/thrashed) had a floor change manual one of these from new for a few years. Then around 1962 got a new Austin Cambridge A55 Turquoise Green (a much bigger and more comfortable car), then later in 1960s a new Austin 1800 (the best one yet). BMC/British Leyland Cars were assembled at the British Leyland Factory in Nelson (now Honda Factory).

Great thanks. Enjoyed very much. Informative with a 'natural touch' and friendly. Much appreciated.John (Australia)

They were everywhere when I was a kid. Bloody gorgeous I wish I'd had one ...

An old friend i had inherited a 1958 A55 Cambridge when he was 17, and drove it to school in 1971 in Canada. (Left Hand Drive) It was so unusual he got a couple of girlfriends because of the car.It was two tone blue, and one of the girls drew a cartoon face on the Boot. with the handle in place of the nose. She called it he Boogle. It had a problem with reverse, (Had to pull out the knob on the end of the stalk, and shift down. It Broke. ) Ray always was a rugged Individualist. This car reminds me of his. Cheers from Canada.

Wow, a single 1 1/4" SU on a 1500cc engine! They hold things up enough on a 998cc A series! Nice to see cars like this still getting around!

@nzsaltflatsracer8054

4 жыл бұрын

No, the 1500 big-block has the 1-1/2" SU.

@DanafoxyVixen

4 жыл бұрын

@@nzsaltflatsracer8054 "No, the 1500 big-block has the 1-1/2" SU." Your right, it should have that, but this looks alittle smaller

@andrewhofler

4 жыл бұрын

@@nzsaltflatsracer8054 Ahh! That would make a bit more sense! The vertical bolt pattern on the carb made me think it was a HS2, but being the age it is, it's probably a H4. Thanks!

@andrewhofler

4 жыл бұрын

@@glennpowell3444 Yeah, still afflicted unfortunately! Down to 5 Minis (soon to be 4!) , a Leyland P76, 2 1980s Corollas, Mazda MX5, Holden Ute and some daily drivers!

My grandfather had a brown one just like this, it had shock absorbers so worn out, it was like sitting on a pogo stick. He also wore coke bottle glasses, I have never been so terrifed in my life. Before that he a big Hudson in which he used dual the Trolly Trams with, then spend his Sundays beating the dents out the thing

A motley collection of tools - story of my life ! (but never the right one when you most need it).

Oh loved this just my cup of tea, I'm in the minority I know but i always loved the styling of these, in fact the rear lift model (@1957) is not as stylish I think. Not sure I'd be brave enough to own one though. Terrific stuff Mr H, much thanks :)

@mr-wx3lv

4 жыл бұрын

Yes I thought there was facelifted version of this before the pininfarinas. Hubnut misled us there...I'm sorry he'll have to go stand in a corner... 😊

@mr-wx3lv

4 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/hIOtzbaAfci9Y7A.html

@profrumpo

4 жыл бұрын

@@mr-wx3lv Yes that's the chap, more practical of course with the boot opening much lower to get stuff in, but losing the round rump and those cool circular tail lamps too.

@mr-wx3lv

4 жыл бұрын

@@profrumpo But isn't that pretty usual for most manufacturers, in my opinion that in order to gain some sort of improvement or practically to a certain car, they seem to make it less cool. I find car development fascinating actually.

@theshowman8478

4 жыл бұрын

I was drinking a cup of tea (in a HubNut mug) and eating a bakewell tart while watching this video. Very appropriate I thought.

Love this old car reviews the trouble is am at an age When I can remember seeing them on the road when They were brand new

I had an A50 over fifty years ago. i loved it the gear change was OK I put another engine in from the scrappy and with an MG head with 10 thousand skimmmed off. It went like the clappers and far more economical than standard. I have fond memories it and my old Morris 1000 and Mk2 Jag.

Nice wee car from the days when drivers weren't in a mad rush to get anywhere. It's quite surprising how much of these old classic British cars have "thinned out" on our NZ roads in the last 30yrs. A bit sad actually. Thankfully there are fans if these kind of cars that hold onto them.

Learnt to drive on one in 1967....wonderful old lady

We had a A95 with the 3 litre C series engine at the garage I worked in 1968 at Palgrave Suffolk. We used it a a breakdown 'tow-truck'. It would shift and tow well but would yaw like a yacht on bendy roads. I think it was made in 1959.

I ran a 55 A50 for a few years. I would have another in a heartbeat.

Really enjoyed that one, look forward to many more from NZ & Oz

I think it's great we can see or even purchase a car of this era nowadays. Very entertaining. Thank you.

hi Ian , more great commentary /review (interesting facts) love the way you pan from you to the car!

Lovely sound coming from that engine

Really enjoying these New Zealand trip vids..best thing on my subscriptions at the moment.well done

Lovely. I love the fade in and out indicator lights as opposed to the on off affairs of later and modern cars.

Perfect nostalgia, Ian !

love the wiper sound when finishing the down sweep

Such a beautiful looking car!

My Dad had a black A40 Cambridge in the '60s which took us to Wales and back without a murmur. Very slowly, of course. Brought back memories - thanks for uploading.

Thanks for sharing. I'm quite into classic cars but know very little about vehicles produced outside the US. I will say the engine looks very much like the engines used in the MG B and Midget that were imported to the united states from the late 1950s to 1980. Hello from Madison WI USA.

@HubNut

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, same engine as the MGB - the B Series albeit a little smaller in capacity. Midget used the similar-looking but smaller A-Series engine.

Good road test. Amazing how we have progressed and then hit a wall.

Blimey, takes me back. My Dad had an A55 mk1 and it made all the same noises, clonking wipers, whining transmission and the speedo needle went all over the place. Never needed to use 1st gear. No seat belts in our car. The p switch was for the panel lights. Thank you hubnut for showing us this car.

What a cute little car that Austin Cambridge is. I’ve got a Dinky toy of it in light blue. It also reminds of TWC ,

It looks like the same driving experience as the A60, though the 1622 had a taller top gear. Lovely old motors.

Charming little cars. Love looking at the the way we were or memory lane articles in classic car weekly or practical classics magazine as they are always on street scenes from the periods 1950's-1970's

Wow your hair grows quick! This is gonna be an expensive trip, but Michaela and her like could make a fortune! Haha

Lovely honest old car and that gear whine is exquisite!

A Lovely little car and I like it👍 Re the passenger train. It's the first one you have seen because it's the only one we have Lol.

Has it always been negative earth? Enjoying all of your videos - thank you for posting!

@HubNut

4 жыл бұрын

Not sure. Most cars were positive earth at the time.

@colindibley

4 жыл бұрын

@@HubNut my first car was passed down from my dad - 1968 wolseley 16/60 - it was positive earth & i remember that was uncommon (by the time of the mid 80s) - perhaps a feature of earlier BMC?

I remember my grandfather having one of those when I was very young. I didn't remember what car it was but did remember the steering wheel. I was amazed by the steering wheel center & how it worked. I only identified the car years later looking through old photos. Another Hubnut video that triggers so many memories. Superb.

What a wonderful old bus. it certainly is loved but not overly so. Very nice indeed. Many thanks HubNut.

7:46 Duke of Edinburgh puts his foot in it for the 20th time!

@skylined5534

3 жыл бұрын

Haha! Mad old buffer and his dirty great size 9s 😂

Austin and Morris were all CKD in Australia as well. Built in Zetland, a suburb which no longer exists in Sydney.

Excellent review the sound of that gearbox reminds me of the wolseley 1500s I had back in the day and they weren’t slow

Thank you for sharing. This takes me back. I changed the brake shoes on my friends identical model. In 1972. We went to our first paid band gig in this the whole band. Guitars, amps drums the lot. It had a roof rack. It was the fish and anchor in Evesham. Very noisy gearbox. Many happy hours in this car.

I agree. An absolutely charming piece of technology. A completely restored, working example would be a dream. "Dick" Burzi had been with Austin since the 1930s, and had been responsible for giving 1930s Austins a very handsome family appearance. It is true that the Landcrabs seemed to be a step too far, (for the British car-buying public) and the Farina vehicles a step not far enough by the late sixties. And the Maxi seemed to be a bridge to nowhere. But I think you must be like me. However inadequate British cars may have been, I love them all. By contrast, I rarely give a fig for anything foreign.

New Zealand looks exactly like Orpington. 😊

@xyz2121

4 жыл бұрын

Orpington has palm trees?

@daggersdukc

4 жыл бұрын

@@xyz2121 I'll have you know that Orpington has a plague of palm trees.

@NOWThatsRichy

4 жыл бұрын

Someone with a major roundabout fetish designed that road layout! 😄

Lovely little car. I can't help but notice how many Suzuki Swifts there are in New Zealand, it seems to be full of them.

@vtecpreludevtec

4 жыл бұрын

It is

@kkiwi54

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, they're loved out here.

@schlookie

4 жыл бұрын

Yup, the Suzuki Swift has surpassed the Toyota Yaris as the most popular small car over here!

That A50 looks such hard work to drive. It took me right back to my 1967 A40 Farina, which at least had a floor mounted gear stick and I fitted a stereo after changing it to negative earth.

Our primary school teacher Mr Wilkshire still had one in the early seventies in blue, its nice to see one in such fantastic outstanding condition, there certainly seems to be plenty of room in them as the sides of the car seem virtually vertical.

Very welcome Vintage car review - thanks Ian !

Lovely interior seat and door card colour.

Excellent video of a lovely old car. Old chap behind my nan's home in Plymouth had a black one in the early '70s. Was always preparing a tank of water 'just in case' for summer driving! Boy, that car sounds very agricultural, but I'm sure I'd love a drive in one, especially on a quiet NZ road! Last one I saw was a little over 2 years ago, in Galle (Sri Lanka)….cruising happily and looking very sharp!

Spot on point about BMC depending on commonwealth sales of outdated cars. Looked quite a handful to drive with the column change too,

I’d love to own an A30 one day. I’ve always loved those little guys.

Really so cute that Austin. Looks indeed very cozy. It's always nice to see that there are still people to keep them in good shape. Love it!! Hey, I thought you would take some free time for yourself? I didn't expect a new video today. Anyway, enjoy..

My Grandad had a dark brown (almost looked black!) very shiny 1969 Morris Oxford. I seem to remember the engine sounding like that in the Cambridge, which I love. Very brave for driving that in today's traffic. Especially judging busy roundabouts.