Mini Austin Seven

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Early Minis – and this one is from the first six months of production – are becoming as rare as rocking horse shoes these days, so it is nice to see an original unrestored car.

As the Heritage Certificate confirms, this 1959 Austin Seven was built during the last days of December 1959 at Longbridge and was despatched on December 30th. There is a story that during the holiday periods, with the regular staff away, the foremen in the factory would assemble cars to keep the line running. Those cars -'Foremen’s cars' - were considered to be better constructed than the run-of-the-mill cars (and especially the 'Friday afternoon'and 'Monday morning' jobs!).

The car’s first owner was Miss Brewer, who had French’s Garage in Seaford, East Sussex, service the car in its first two years. The service notes are on file and show that the car received a new engine in that time, probably due to the overheating problem that plagued many of the early Minis.

The car retains much of its original Speedwell Blue paintwork and red and grey interior, and while it has had some touching up to the paintwork and less-than-expert repairs to the chassis in the past, it appears sound and largely original and retains its original Worcestershire-issued registration number.

On the occasion of our visit the car drove well and surprised your cataloguer, being livelier than he expected. The car’s last MOT was carried out in July 2016 (no advisories) and it has only covered 160 miles since then, an online check showing that it has had virtually no advisories in the last 12 years.

This is an unassuming early Mini in appealingly original condition. Yes, it could be restored, but think of what you would lose along the way. We like it as it is.