Photo of Early Car with Herbert Austin's Daughters

[Colin Morgan]

As you may have seen, this photo is in the latest Grey Magazine 2022B with a question as to why it says April 1922 on the back.

The picture also appears in the Source Book on p48 where it says it is Chassis No A-95 - so one of the first 100.  

Perhaps the car was registered in the Summer of 1922, then photographed later, with the date on the back being the date of manufacture of the car itself?  

But could that have been as early as April 1922?  Easter Sunday in 1922 was April 16th - so late - and wasn't this when the first prototypes were started? 

  Grey Mag Photo.jpg (Size: 78.82 KB / Downloads: 518)

This has made we wonder how far things had progressed by this time 100 years ago - mid-May 1922?  The first prototypes being started up and tested?

[Hugh Barnes]

From memory, the Prototypes were required to be completed by Whitsun, 1922 (Herbert's edict) Whit Sunday 1922 was April 4th

[Alan]

June 4th surely.

[Mike Costigan]

Birmingham first issued the OL series in July 1923, so it is most unlikely the car illustrated is A1-95, which would have been over six months old by then.

The first prototype OK 2950 was complete and photographed with Sir Herbert at the wheel over the Easter weekend of 1922. At this time the car had no electrics (apart from the magneto) with oil side and tail lamps, and no battery, dynamo or starter.

OK 3537 was completed and shown to the Longbridge workforce at the Works Gala day on Whit Monday, June 5th 1922.

By July all three prototypes had been completed, the 'official' launch being at Claridges on July 21st (which we shall be celebrating on the Thursday of the week at Moreton) at which time OK 3537 was on display in the Oxford Street showrooms. OK 3261 had already been road-tested by The Motor on or before 11th July, and OK 2950 was used at Shelsley Walsh on 29th July.

[Hugh Barnes]

June 4th surely.

Sorry Alan, yes you are quite correct, June 4th. I misread the date I Googled (though dont ask me how...)

[Colin Morgan]

So, what we know is that this car was registered July 1923 or soon after? Also, that it was photographed when there weren't leaves on the trees - so Autumn 1923 or later?

Can we tell from its appearance whether the car this was one of the first 100 cars or not, or did the next batches look the same?

I seem to remember Stanley Edge saying that the drawings were all finished and delivered for Easter 1922 (Sunday was 16th April) - so is it considered that the first prototype was being built prior to all the drawings being completed?

[Alan]

Well I don’t know what happened in 1922, but lately the practice in the motor industry is to issue prototype drawings before release of production ones. Depends which Stanley was speaking of, but I’d be mighty surprised if they waited for all the drawings to be complete before building prototypes.

[Colin Morgan]

Yes, they could bash on before all the i's were dotted and t's crossed.

I wonder if the Birmingham OL register has survived? If so, the car in the picture could be, as said previously, OL 163, 165 or 169 - or perhaps OL 1631 to 9, OL 1651 to 9 or OL 1691-9 ?

[Mike Costigan]

Trying to align the position of the numbers with the radiator, my guess is that it's a 4-digit number.

[Erich]

A couple of corrections. On Whit Monday, June 5th, the three prototypes were displayed at the annual Austin carnival, held at the Works flying ground. However, only one of the prototypes was the actual basis for the production Austin Seven and was actually running on that day. Of the other two, one had a completely enclosed propellor shaft and was satisfactory, though not adopted and not finished on that day. The other was a disaster as it had a completely open drive shaft.

Erich in Mukilteo