Chassis number decoding

[153624]

Hi all.
A while ago I posted a thread hoping to find the origins of my Australian bodied chummy. After some cleaning and degreasing I located the factory chassis number (49153) I was hoping someone could shed some light on these numbers. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Luke

[Mike Costigan]

49153 would have been assembled in Longbridge around November 1927, so I would guess an Australian completion date of around March 1928.

[153624]

49153 would have been assembled in Longbridge around November 1927, so I would guess an Australian completion date of around March 1928.

Thank you Mike. I assume this means that it was originally magneto fired and the engine number was within a few hundred of the chassis number?

[Jeff Taylor]

The nearest chassis to yours on the A7CA Chassis Register is an AD Tourer Chassis No. 49128, Car No. A5-4269, Engine No. 41120 (presumably not the original engine?), Original registration date here in UK was 31/01/1928.

Three cars on the Chassis Register which could possibly have their original engines are:
A5-5062, Chassis No. 50438, Engine No. 50883 - difference of 445
A5-5083, Chassis No. 50460, Engine No. 50940 - difference of 480
A5-5441, Chassis No. 51079, engine No. 51309 - difference of 230

[Adrian Payne]

Was it usual for the engine number to be stamped next to the chassis number on the frame. My 27 chassis appears to have an E number.
Many thanks.
Adrian.

[JohnD]

What ever happened to the chap who claimed to have the production records?!

[Bill Sheehan]

What ever happened to the chap who claimed to have the production records?!

Mike C - Not necessarily that long into March '27.  When Austin Distributors Pty.Ltd.  ordered say a dozen chasses, which usually took only 6 weeks to arrive, at the same time they ordered the same number of bodies to be made by the outside manufacturers.  These latter were finished by the time the chasses arrived, so assembly was fairly instant.   Cheers,  Bill in Oz

[Tony Press]

Was it usual for the engine number to be stamped next to the chassis number on the frame. My 27 chassis appears to have an E number.
Many thanks.
Adrian.

The early chassis with the number at the front only had the chassis number if anything at all. But as you know some Australian chassis weren't stamped at all so who knows what the man who stamped the numbers did  - he could have decided to add the engine number.

The Cornwall site shows-

Chassis No.
At first, this was stamped on the nearside rail, forward of the front engine mounting, then sometime in the late '20s the works moved the numbering along the rail to just forward of the rear engine mounting, adding the Engine Number.

Cheers, Tony.