Barry reports that to his great regret he has yet to actually see an American Austin or a Bantam in the U.K., although there are apparently two or three over there. "We do have Rosengarts, Dixi (BMW) etc. " he reports. I replied that we really out to take up a collection and get one over there to make a little tour of the Austin Clubs...what about it ? Any volunteers?
Here is Barry's note about these great looking cars.....
The red one is an original 1930 supercharged Ulster which produces
about
45 bhp, it does 0-60 in about 11 seconds and with it's racing
3 speed
gearbox does 50 mph in first and over 70 in second! The cream
one is a
replica Ulster, but built on a long, (6ft9in), chassis, it took
me
about 3 years and produces 30 bhp or so. The green one is a 1936,
4
seat "Open Road" tourer, with a whole 13 bhp on a good
day! They all
have 2 bearing engines, which are the best for longevity, if not
smoothness. The two sports ones have modern steel cranks and rev
to
over 6000 rpm. They are both virtually bullet-proof. Anyway, Austin
cranks only break at low speeds, in the vibration period at about
30
mph; co-incidently the U.K. town speed limit!! I don't know the
details
of the 3 bearing American engine, but the U.K. one was much weaker
than
the 2 bearing it replaced, as the crank webs were reduced to get
in the
middle bearing. To quote a well used phrase: "They wore out
before
they reached the factory gates", meaning the middle bearing.
The
(weaker) crank, whipping as much as the 2 bearing, then broke
very
quickly. Actually, nowadays, a good line-bored crankcase will
last a
long time, but dropping the sump at 5000 miles and inserting a
new pair
of centre-mains is recommended.