1937 Austin Ten Cambridge Saloon

The Austin Ten is a series of compact cars that was introduced in 1932.  The Ten was also known as the Ten-Four, due to its 10 taxable horsepower, and four cylinder engine.  These cars were offered in a range of body styles, including saloon, convertible, and tourer.  These body styles were given names later in production, such as the Ripley, which was a sports tourer.  Power for the Ten came from a 1125cc inline four engine which sent drive to the rear wheels via a 4 speed manual transmission.  Production of the Austin Ten lasted until 1947.

For consignment, a micro car before the term was even known or used.  Showing as an unrestored original fresh out of long term storage, this is essentially a 3/4 scale Model A if you will, with room for 4 and some luggage in the boot, but in need of full restoration.  This could be a great opportunity to turn some wrenches and make a fun driver or even to take the class win at nearly every show you attend.  Big things indeed do come in small packages and this example is proof.

NO TITLE-SOLD ON A BILL OF SALE ONLY

Exterior
When you think of Austin you think of England, right hand drive, and her majesty the Queen, and this car fits that image perfectly.  Overall the body remains solid with a few areas of surface rust and fade to the black finish.  This black covers the entire body and curvy running fenders and short rubber lined running boards.  Up front is the chrome bar front bumper with some tarnish and dings along with fender mounted chrome encased headlamps just outboard of the grille corral.  A standard winged Austin emblem adorns the black painted grille corral and sets off the horizontal barred grille nicely.  The driver's doors, right side folks...this is Jolly Old England, is dressed well with matching chrome handles that share a central pillar and up top a black retractable roof insert is seen, which could be construed as an early factory sunroof.  Its miniature wheelbase and 16-inch drilled and chrome dog dish cap style wheels add to the charm of this miniature motorcar.

Interior
Our right-hand drive version has the original chocolate brown leather buckets up front that show with broad tuck and roll inserts and smooth bolsters.  Some tearing and age wear is noted on both buckets.  These buckets give the interior a touch of class and character that matches nicely with the aged, worn, and most likely original brown vinyl door panels and tarnished cranks and handles.  A simple brown steel dash houses the twin circular gauge pods with a mix of white and black faces in front of the driver; the headlight and ignition switch are here as well.  An original large steering wheel in black bakelite fronts the dash and is complete with a black utilitarian horn button.  A long shift lever protrudes from the top of the transmission and reaches back to the driver's left hand.  With all carpeting removed the flooring shows in surface rusted steel and above is the understructure of the roof, sans a headliner.  A quick shout out to the trunk with its double stacked storage tiers and some spare parts to help along with your restoration.

Drivetrain
The original and unrestored 1125cc 4-popper is under the short bonnet and is attached to a 4-speed manual transmission. This tiny but capable mill is fed by a 1-barrel carburetor and shows nicely.  This all spins a 5.13 geared rear axle.

Undercarriage
While unable to span our lift and clearly too low to the ground for our photographer to shoot, I can give you the simple facts from Austin.  Leaf spring suspension provides the ride front and rear and   Girling hybrid hydro-mechanical drum brakes offer up the stopping power and single exhaust is on for the exhale.

Drive-Ability
While the engine does turn over by hand, we made no attempt to start this mini-Brit.  We note new spark plugs and wires, as well as a new fuel line, so with that said, some tinkering is in order before ignition.

An interesting piece of UK automotive history right here in America, and with an unknown amount of examples still existing, a very rare.  Why don't you turn the wrenches so I can hop in for a tool and leave you with “Chip Chip Cheerio...and all that Rot!”

NO TITLE-SOLD ON A BILL OF SALE ONLY

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.  This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.