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 ...

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