20-08-2017, 03:01 PM
1938 Austin 7 Geoff Hall
This 1938 Austin 7 started its working life being registered to Wilbur Walker, at the Police Station in Dimboola Victoria. I’m not sure if it was the pursuit vehicle, or just his mode of transport to get to and from work, but I like the idea of it being used in high speed (35-40mph) chases through the country roads of Victoria.
In 1951, it made its way to Melbourne where it spent some time in Bentleigh, Caulfield, Black rock and Thornbury, before my father took it on as his first car in Ivanhoe Victoria.
He drove around in it with his mates who also had Austin 7’s in similar states of disrepair, but they all had great fun. Especially with the windscreen folded down for less wind resistance.
One day the car almost fell over but my Dad’s sailing friend new which way to lean, and with the suicide door popping open, and pirouetting the car, they managed to stay the right way up.
On another adventure, the front wheels got stuck in the tram lines and the car steered itself into a nearby depot.
During this time, Dad also bought a spare Austin 7, but after a couple of years, he upgraded to a Ford Cortina and the Austins started resting at my grandparent’s house.
As the car was taking up too much space, it was dismantled for easier storage, with a view to restore it. One day my father found out that his ‘spare’ Austin 7 had been taken to the tip, so he hurried over to pick up the good one before my grandfather disposed of it.
Dad shifted the car in a double horse float to his friend Otto’s farm. The car sat in a hay shed for a few years before moving again.
The car then followed dad to his new family home in Canterbury, where under the house, the floor pan, steering wheel and other parts became a playground for his young sons and daughter.
That’s when we started talking about restoring the Austin 7. When I was 5 I brought one of the wheels to school for show and tell...and later, Dad said “Maybe when you’re 14 we can start restoring it”.
That didn’t happen, but all of the parts went to a new family home in Belgrave, when I was 19, so the dream of restoring the car was still alive, though the reality seemed a long way off.
I picked the car up from Dad in 2005. A friend helped me unload the bits and pieces and could not believe I was going to turn them into a car.
I joined the Melbourne Austin 7 club and the Canberra Antique and Classic Motor club where I met up with some Austin 7 owners.
I didn’t do much for the first few years, - Children came along, and house renovations but I kept at it and 8 years later got it registered.
I did a lot of it myself welding, rust repairs, new woodwork, and some painting. Most of the mechanical parts were sourced from a half restored Austin 7 that I bought along the way.
Eight years later, and a lot of late nights in the garage, the car was registered just as it reached a couple of milestones, it had just turned 75, and in December 2013, it was 50 years since my father took ownership of it.
Not long after it was on the road, a brother of the original owner came across the car's story on the internet via my club website, and by pure chance, another brother was in Canberra so dad and I took the car to show him and take him for a ride.
IMAG0668.jpg (Size: 51.05 KB / Downloads: 298)
[attachment=255]
This 1938 Austin 7 started its working life being registered to Wilbur Walker, at the Police Station in Dimboola Victoria. I’m not sure if it was the pursuit vehicle, or just his mode of transport to get to and from work, but I like the idea of it being used in high speed (35-40mph) chases through the country roads of Victoria.
In 1951, it made its way to Melbourne where it spent some time in Bentleigh, Caulfield, Black rock and Thornbury, before my father took it on as his first car in Ivanhoe Victoria.
He drove around in it with his mates who also had Austin 7’s in similar states of disrepair, but they all had great fun. Especially with the windscreen folded down for less wind resistance.
One day the car almost fell over but my Dad’s sailing friend new which way to lean, and with the suicide door popping open, and pirouetting the car, they managed to stay the right way up.
On another adventure, the front wheels got stuck in the tram lines and the car steered itself into a nearby depot.
During this time, Dad also bought a spare Austin 7, but after a couple of years, he upgraded to a Ford Cortina and the Austins started resting at my grandparent’s house.
As the car was taking up too much space, it was dismantled for easier storage, with a view to restore it. One day my father found out that his ‘spare’ Austin 7 had been taken to the tip, so he hurried over to pick up the good one before my grandfather disposed of it.
Dad shifted the car in a double horse float to his friend Otto’s farm. The car sat in a hay shed for a few years before moving again.
The car then followed dad to his new family home in Canterbury, where under the house, the floor pan, steering wheel and other parts became a playground for his young sons and daughter.
That’s when we started talking about restoring the Austin 7. When I was 5 I brought one of the wheels to school for show and tell...and later, Dad said “Maybe when you’re 14 we can start restoring it”.
That didn’t happen, but all of the parts went to a new family home in Belgrave, when I was 19, so the dream of restoring the car was still alive, though the reality seemed a long way off.
I picked the car up from Dad in 2005. A friend helped me unload the bits and pieces and could not believe I was going to turn them into a car.
I joined the Melbourne Austin 7 club and the Canberra Antique and Classic Motor club where I met up with some Austin 7 owners.
I didn’t do much for the first few years, - Children came along, and house renovations but I kept at it and 8 years later got it registered.
I did a lot of it myself welding, rust repairs, new woodwork, and some painting. Most of the mechanical parts were sourced from a half restored Austin 7 that I bought along the way.
Eight years later, and a lot of late nights in the garage, the car was registered just as it reached a couple of milestones, it had just turned 75, and in December 2013, it was 50 years since my father took ownership of it.
Not long after it was on the road, a brother of the original owner came across the car's story on the internet via my club website, and by pure chance, another brother was in Canberra so dad and I took the car to show him and take him for a ride.
IMAG0668.jpg (Size: 51.05 KB / Downloads: 298)
[attachment=255]
![[Image: 150px-Szyny_G%C5%82ogowska_RB2.JPG]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Szyny_G%C5%82ogowska_RB2.JPG/150px-Szyny_G%C5%82ogowska_RB2.JPG)
