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+--- Thread: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle (/showthread.php?tid=8050)
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - Ian Williams - 21-09-2022
I have seen this picture before and I am not entirely convinced that this is any more than an artists impression, is there evidence that the car ever existed? The publishing date of the picture may give a clue as to when it was supposedly built, and if it was during the 30's the wheels could easily be 19" open centre form a later car than the chassis would seem to be. Promotional vehicles it would appear were often not built on brand new chassis.
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - Jeff Taylor - 21-09-2022
According to the Dunlop Archives at the National Archives, a division / subsidiary of Dunlop called Flexible Saddles Ltd first appeared around 1927.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/ea550246-a341-4f78-9f52-cba3aa5bd69b
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - kenkimber - 22-09-2022
Thankyou for your contributions to this thread which have brought up a number of issues !
My thoughts at the moment may be summarised as follows :
Bearing in mind that Dunlop were based at Erdington, Birmingham the presence of the Birmingham number plate OF 2878 of 1929 and the fact that Dunlop began making saddles in 1927 all fits together plausibly. It seems unlikely that an artist would utilise a genuine registration number unless the car was really existed.
However, unless Mike can locate his image of the car without its tool bag or someone else comes up with a different image then perhaps the existence of just a single one may raise doubts about whether the car was actually built !
To support Ian’s suggestion :
The attached image of an Arrow Coupe body looks like an Artists impression and I wonder if Compton ever actually built one like this, if they did it seems surprising that there seem to be no photographs of what I think is a very attractive car.
For the time being I shall put the idea to one side !
My understanding is that Dunlop saddles were constructed as a fairly hard rubber moulding on a textile backing and were rather heavier than traditional leather ones so were not popular with ‘sporting’ cyclists but because they could be wiped dry and did not absorb water like leather they found favour for use on for example, carrier cycles that tended to live outside shops in all weathers.
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - Peter Naulls - 22-09-2022
I'm sure I have seen a front three-quarter view of the saddle car but can't find it anywhere. I have a stash of 1930s magazines so it may be in one of those but it would take a while to search through.
Here is the remains of an Arrow coupe, though not the same design as the advert.
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - Mike Costigan - 22-09-2022
I don't believe the 'saddle' car is an artist's impression - there's too much detail that would have been airbrushed over.
As for the Arrow coupe, there was certainly at least one built on the Seven chassis, and another on a Morris Minor chassis:
https://www.austinsevenfriends.co.uk/forum/ezgallery.php?action=view&id=286
https://www.austinsevenfriends.co.uk/forum/ezgallery.php?action=view&id=287
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - Ian Williams - 22-09-2022
You might be right Mike, I just felt that is has the look of an image of a real car that has had the saddle part added. I am certain that if it is actually a genuine photograph of a complete car the image has been heavily retouched. It would be fascinating to know if it was actually constructed, and if so when, and what it was built from. I would expect that if it had indeed been commissioned by Dunlop for advertising there would be a number of other images in existence, they would have surely wanted to capitalise on the investment?? I will await further developments with interest.
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - Lance Sheldrick - 22-09-2022
I am certain that the wheels are the closed centre type. The spoking patern at the hub is different from later wheels, also I have seen closed centre wheels appear like this in other early photographs where the wheel has been dirty and quickly rubbed over before the photo was taken, leaving the road dirt around the spoke ends and giving the impression of the open centre.
I am also fairly sure that I've seen another photo of this car somewhere in the Grey mags or Wyatt's Pictorial perhaps. I will have a look.
This type of adveritising body must have been popular in the '20's, wasn't there a bath and water heater "Ewarts Geysers" and a radio battery van?
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - kenkimber - 22-09-2022
The coupe shown with accident damage has a long scuttle rather like the attached image of a two toned one which is like the one shown from the rear.
I have a copy of a letter from H.A.Saunders dated 14.5.34 to a Mr. Barter in Sevenoaks offering a demonstration of an Austin Arrow Foursome £160, a Coupe £184 on standard chassis or a two seater
£187.10.0 on a 65 Sports Chassis, one of each was apparently in stock.
So these would have been on a long chassis rather than the earlier rather dumpy coupes.
Unfortunately it is not clear enough for to reproduce here.
Maybe the more elegant coupe was built but possibly only the demonstrator?
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - Ian Williams - 22-09-2022
You have a very good point Lance, the spoke pattern is as used one closed centre wheels. The picture appears to me that it has been heavily retouched so possibly this is why the wheels look to be open.
RE: Austin seven bodied to look like a bicycle saddle - Lance Sheldrick - 22-09-2022
I found the photo, but it is the same one as pictured in this thread. It is in the Grey mag 1976B along with "Ewarts Geysers".
A good example of the closed/open centre wheel phenomenon is on page 22 of Wyatt's "Austin Seven a Pictorial Tribute".