Austin Seven Military Tourer

At first sight it might seem rather bizarre to envisage an Austin 7 in military service unless it was in an episode of Dad's Army. However looks can be deceiving and these little machines may look cute but they are also surprisingly tough and many a modern day trials driver will attest to their excellent cross-country ability. A combination of light weight and high manoeuvrability means that they can often tackle rough ground that would leave a larger, more powerful vehicle floundering on its axles.

Dating from 1934, this vehicle is believed to be one of around 225 such cars made for military use in 1934-35. According to information compiled by previous owners in the history file, it was used as a scout car by a Cavalry unit for the first seven years of its life before being sold off for civilian use in 1941. It certainly bears traces of military green paintwork in various areas, such as under the seats, in the boot and on the bulkhead. It also has a hole in the boot lid which is said to be where a machine gun would have originally been mounted. A silver-topped cavalry cane was found in the boot which is included with the car.

The first registered keeper was a Miss Phillips of Bristol who acquired it in 1941 and painted it Kingfisher Blue. In 1971 it passed to a Mr Spiers of Melksham who kept it until his death in 1985 when it was sold at auction to a Mr Moss who kept it inside his antique shop in Walcot Street, Bath, for the next five years. In 1990 it was bought by a policeman, Ted Evans, who had to remove the window of the antique shop to get it out! He kept it until 1997 and carried out a fair degree of refurbishment during his ownership including repainting it in a pale green.

It then had two further keepers before being acquired by the current vendor in 2006. He retrimmed the car and fitted a new hood (to a somewhat indifferent standard, it must be said) and repainted it yet again in the blue/black colours it wears to this day. The car is said to run and drive well although the last MOT expired in October 2008 and it has not been on the road since. The indicated mileage of 26,769 is believed by the vendor to be genuine, but there is insufficient documentary evidence to verify this.

It comes with a fair amount of history and documentation including several photographs showing it at different times of it’s life, many old MOTs back to 1986 (at 25,036 miles) and tax discs back to 1971. It also has an old green log book from 1954, two old V5s and a modern V5C. Altogether a most rare and interesting vehicle that will prove a real talking point at any vintage event.