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    christchurch sightseeing tours & wedding hire etc.

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     little cars with BIG hearts

     at your service

     

    happytours@hotmail.co.nz

    ph. 027-460-3765

    it was based on the popular little a30, called the "new austin seven",

    that was produced from 1951 - 1956 & was a great competitor to the morris minor.

    the a30 had an 803cc a-series motor & was the first austin to have a monocoque body.

    this fully stressed chassis-less body was designed

    by t.k. garrett, an ex aeronautical engineer.

    the monocoque body made it lighter & stiffer than most vehicles of it's time.

    by the end of it's production 223,264 a30s had been built - in 2 & 4-door saloon, van or "countryman" estate van models.

     

    the a35 was launched at earls court motor show on the 2nd october 1956

    & was largely an evolved version of the A30 with quite a few changes made.

    mechanically the a-series engine was enlarged to 948cc & 34bhp,

    shell bearings replaced the white metal bearings,

    a full flow oil filter replaced the bypass filter,

    a more precise gear lever was installed

    & the back axle ratio was raised to cope with the added power.

    cosmetically the rear window was made larger & wrap-around,

    modern flashing indicators on front & rear replaced the b-pillar wing type flashers,

    the front grille changed from being fully chromed to painted with a chrome surround,

    the speedo was recalibrated from 70 to 80mph,

    the seats newly designed & the roof guttering was changed

    to run down past the windscreen on each side rather than across the top of it.

     

     

    although the a35 was produced in a variety of guises

    - 2 & 4 door saloons, pickups, vans & countryman estate vans

    - the cars themselves were discontinued in the spring of 1959

    (the countrymans ended in '62 & the vans in '68).

    the vans had 948cc motors until 1962 when they were given a 1098cc motor

    & an 848cc version was available alongside it from 1964 onwards.

     

    overall 354,607 a35s were built under varying designations :-

    a2s5 - 2 door saloon, as5 - 4 door saloon - it appears there were 209,333 saloons made with less than 70,000 being the 4 door version

    av5 - pre 1962 5cwt van

    ak5 - pickup (only 475 during '56 & '57)

    av6 - mk 2 vans (1962)

    av8 - post '62 mk3 1098cc 6cwt vans + 848cc vans

    ap5 - '56 - '62 countryman vans

    ap6 - final countryman vans from march - september 1962

    ... a little A35 history ...

    German pickup advert

    German pickup advert

    5cwt van

    5cwt van

    1/12

    austin a35

    please note - all images on this page are not my own & have been gathered from

    the internet to illustrate a small part of the austin history both in the uk & abroad.

     

     

    “the most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”

    e.e. cummings