Friends' Gallery Picture of the Month - December

[Special Bits]

I should imagine it is a Gordon England body, as there are so many similarities to other models. Maybe the van is a good shout, more likely to be a one off then.

[Malcolm Parker]

So we are agreed the hood is in the process of fitting, then! The 'longitudinal spars' are just tapes to tension the frame, and it's not unusual for them to be less than carefully aligned! The Austin badge reads correctly - you can just make out the leg of the A next to the shell - but it is certainly in an unusual position. I don't think it's an Arrow; the first Arrows were built on cars with the larger 1929-style radiator, and I have never seen a photo of an Arrow Foursome with that high line of door-top, and although the Arrow did have a very long bonnet, there was still some scuttle between it and the windscreen and leading edge of the door.

Keep the guesses coming!

The front wings do look like Arrow.  If you blow the page up and look at the front right hand wing, there appears to be daylight between the wing valance and the bonnet side?  Arrows had this unusual feature.  The door tops also look a bit Arrowish.   Rest of it doesn't.
I recall seeing a photo (possibly on here?) of a period crash and the car was an Austin 7 Arrow.  I think this could be the same car, having been rebuilt using parts salvaged from the wreck. Unfortunately whoever rebuilt it did not have a photo of it before the accident!

[Timothy P]

What a super idea Mike.
What a fascinating photograph, it would be brilliant if someone can unearth the story behind it.

[Ian Williams]

Malcolm I agree that the wings do have a hint of arrow about them but I am not so sure about the rest of it, I also agree with Mike that Arrow built cars with taller radiators than this, however as you say it could have been rebuilt with a number of changes. The door tops look a bit Australian to me, I guess it could just be an Antipodean body, there were dozens of small coach builders in Aussie due to the import restrictions on complete cars.????

[Mike Costigan]

I would discount both saloon and van theories! Neither would be likely to have such a long bonnet, and it looks like the steering column rake is rather sporting; the width of the hood/roof above the windscreen again suggests a soft top, and I believe I can see a hood support on the back corner of the body.

I hadn't thought of an Australian connection; for no good reason I had just assumed it was a British location ... memo to self: never assume anything!!!!

[Pearls not a Singer]

It looks like there is a bracket at the rear to support the hood frame when folded so probably not a saloon or van