Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 3,329 Threads: 372
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cut and pasting my FB post....
here is the best evidence we will get courtesy of Mr Wyatt. Sir Herbert Austin 13.8.34, introducing his "new jewels" at Longbridge for the 1935 season; he was sorry to see the last of the old familiar radiator shell... but the hundred pound model saw that continue with the flat front. 735 of those sold over 12 months. August 1935... the "two seater" was brought into line with the other models in the range i.e. cowls - and the price rose to £102.10s
(So the whole point is that the Opal is cast as the cunning plot to keep a foot in the heritage for those who will baulk at the new designs... and then of course it needs to change in name to match its new design 12 months down the line once the flat front £100 car is culled once and for all.)
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The £100.00.Opal two seater was the chrome rad version.
Sold well into 1936.
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Location: Darkest Bedfordshire
I see, that makes perfect sense to me. Indeed the description of the Open Road tourer points out that it gets the new rad, confirming the Opal pic is not just a slip.
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Location: Sherwood Forest
Car type: 1938 Talbot Ten Airline
I agree with Ruairidh - the £100 Opal is the 1934 chrome rad car, the £102/10s 2-seater is the cowl rad car introduced in 1935. If the £100 chrome rad car was still being sold in 1936, then they were unsold stock from eighteen months before.
Joined: Mar 2015 Posts: 5,466 Threads: 231
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Location: Scotchland
I worked on a 1938 Chrome Rad two seater a few years back - said to be a miltary vehicle.
Ruby running gear, semi girling brakes and cross shaft, 17" wheels, Ruby instrument/steering wheel, front mounted tank with sender on the top driver's side and three baering engine. Box type chassis with special lowered chassis bracket to accept the silent block torque tube mounting. Quite an unusal car.
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Location: Herefordshire
Going off at a bit of a tangent, "Opal" has always seemed like an odd choice of model name, given the possibility of confusion with the German firm "Opel" - indeed, this is still a common mistake!
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Martin,
I've been thumbing through some 1937 Practical Motorist magazines this week and was struck by how much press coverage new Opel (with an e) models were getting - as much if not more than Austin. Is it possible the Opal (with an a) simply caused too much confusion and Austin took the opportunity to drop the name when the cowled front came in? Either that or they wanted to make a clear distinction between it and the now very dated-looking Opal.
Peter.
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Location: Darkest Bedfordshire
Having worked in the motor industry all my life I am perhaps a tad more cynical - did Austin perhaps choose the name 'Opal' to exploit the potential confusion with 'Opel'? And perhaps Pearl, Ruby helped to smooth the transition into the new body style by evoking a link with a trusted past.
