Congratulations Mark on restoring and maintaining this little old classic. The paint work looks great, nicely polished and is obviously cherished. Nice presentation Steph, your enthusiasm is evident and it’s great to see youngsters enjoying the experience of driving a 50’s Classic. These little cars are associated with many childhood memories of family life and happy holiday excursions. I owned one for several years and anyone who drove them at night will remember the comforting small glowing lights that were visible from top of the wings. The side lights were visible when driving, particularly along dark unlit roads and reassuring to see them illuminated in the darkness.
My old man told me about the A35 when I were a lad. Theres a old guy who STILL has one in mint condition near me. Kind of amazing to see when on the road umongst the modern cars of today. Great review. Proper classic.
Enjoyed the video. My grandfather had an A30 van in green, he was a chauffeur by profession and kept his A30 gleaming, kept it until the chassis rot through. My father bought a grey (same colour as in the video) A35 van brand new the day I was born in June 1960. He drove it around the hospital car park to show my mother, with my grandfather in the back waving his handkerchief through the top air vent. He kept the car for many years and I have fond memories of it. He put glass in the back panels and a mattress for myself and later my sister to sit on.
Super review of Matthew's lovely A35. Thank you Steph. My uncle had a black Austin of the same model and I loved it. (That wonderful A series engine as well.)
Great to see you out in the A35 Steph. My mother had a black one when I was young. It had the same red interior. It had a very distinctive nice smell, from the upholstery I think. My mother really liked it. She replaced it with a Ford Anglia, but always missed the Austin.
Great video ..... I learned to drive in an A35 back in the 70s & it was over 20 years old even then . Im now looking for another one . Love the wing mounted side lights. The saloon went out of production in 1959 but the van continued until about 67. Great little cars.
Well, well. Just discovered your channel. What a delight. Great to see young people keeping the movement going. Thoroughly enjoyed your review. The A35 looked like a lovely drive. My abiding memory of these cars is seeing a black four-door as a kid, with four elderly nuns inside! Subbed for sure. 👍
Great little video, beautiful little car! My family couldn't afford the 'car' version in the early 1960s, my Dad had the Wallace and Grommet A35 van version, 2 of them - and put a seat in the back! :) FIVE of us used to squeeze into it from Nottingham on our annual hols to Teignmouth in Devon! Roof-rack on top, 50 all the way, never ever broke down as far as I remember! Great times indeed!
Far different than my memories of going on what you call holiday and we call vacation. In a 1967 Dodge Polara 9 passenger wagon with rear facing rear seat. 383 4bll. Torqueflite auto. trans.
Hi Steph every classic car needs a name so nice to see this one has one. I have a MGA roadster shes called Rebecca after my late mum and yes no synchro in 1st so I know all about the if your still rolling drop into 2nd trick lol. Wouldn't it be great to own a massive shed and fill it with these classic British gems.I live in Adelaide South Australia and I am a member of the MG club of South Australia we are really lucky one of the founder members is an old school mechanic and lives and breaths MGs so I have his number on fast dial when the unthinkable happens lol. I love your show please keep safe and keep up the good work.👍🧡
Here in Canada, where we have a season called winter, I learned a few tricks with the SU carburetor. The clothes peg on the "choke" Held the enrichment jet open slightly until the engine was fully warm as there was no actual choke valve in the intake. Also the best oil for the dashpot in winter was diesel fuel. I got one for my wife bu unfortunately with two children and a dog we needed more space so it became student's first car.
The clothes peg trick was the result of people not realising you could twist the choke handle slightly to the right to 'lock' it in place at whichever level you wanted. People regularly broke the mechanism by manhandling it and twisting it round too far repeatedly -- as a result, the cable would return in on its own.
On paper it is rather similar to the Morris, but supposedly the Minor should have a superior steering setup (i.e. rack and pinion). Since you don't comment on it, I take it that the Austin actually steers quite well (and I see some in classical racing, so that should bear it out). As always, a super video that is a joy to watch. I would love to drive an A35. Just looking out at those chrome indicator lamps and the big "A" on the bonnet must be enough to keep a permanent smile on your face while driving :)
My dad had a couple of the vans, both had rear seats and back windows and were excellent cars. one did about 475k with no problems at all because he kept it well maintained. Great upload which brought back tons of memories.
It shared all its pieces with the Austin Healey Sprite Mk1, the Frog-eye. This was very useful for people like my keeping a Sprite alive with no money!
The A35 is simple to hot-up because they're mechanically almost identical to Spridgets (Austin Healey Sprite & MG Midget). The A35 is the weapon of choice in historic racing, as with the St. Marys Trophy at Goodwood. There's an active club with local branches. The A-Series engine has huge potential for improvement. Companies such as Frontline Spridget can sell you goodies such as a racing suspension, and a conversion to accept the Ford 5-speed transmission. Bull Motif sells a heated front windscreen which works brilliantly, plus other upgrades such as modern headlamps which look identical to the originals. The two-door A35 only weighed a little over 14 cwt (about 650kg) so small improvements in horsepower go a long way. Be aware that adding these goodies always works out as phenomenally expensive.
I remember when my sisters first boyfriend had one of these cars in Norwich and my father had a Ford Cortina. We went out for a drive with my sister and her boyfriend were in the Austin and my the rest of the family were in the Cortina. We were five up in the Cortina and my sister was following. I think we got up to 80 MPH and the Austin was very slowly following but only by about 10MPH difference. He said 70 MPH on he Austin A35 ! I do remember a few years latter when I was living in a bed sit and my landlady had an Austin A40. She kept saying "Tommy your going to ruin this car" He kept crunching the gears. This was an A40 though. Double de-clutching ! I love the A35 and if they didn't have the spares problem I would have probably bought one today.
5 років тому+1
Spares for the A35 are not too bad. Spares for the Minor and the MGB are better. Mechanically, these Austins are almost identical to the Sprite / Midget.
Well done! I passed my driving test in 1956 (I think!) and I bought a 2nd hand A30 as my first car. I tarted it up a bit and bought the Chrome moulding to 'upgrade' the appearance to that of the A35. I toured Wales from South to North. Those were the days. I also ventured into rallying and track racing at Brands Hatch and if course club driving tests.
My primary school teacher had an A30 - was the first car I was ever driven in (1968) when she gave my mum and me a lift home. We never had a car until 1971 😢 Thanks for the memories
I have a very similar experience. My first car journey that I can remember was being driven home at the age of 5 by my primary school teacher in her pale blue A35. I sat in the back foot well and was crying my eyes out - no idea why! I’d actually forgotten that until I read your comment!
Paul Johnson - I think something must have happened to me as well, can’t remember what though. Must have been a standard thing back then, a ride home with teacher - couldn’t see it happening now.
The most often encountered conversion kit was made by a company called "Wizard of Rods" and they also converted Beetles to customer spec. They might still be going, I don't know.
Just discovered this review, most definitely a prudent choice to click on view! Evoked many memories as a green one of these (LFX 519) doubled up as my father's show car and our family daily driver in the 80s!
Absolutely brilliant, great to hear a woman talking about these British classics ( never misses a trick) my dad had the Austin van model, remember pretending to drive in it, I’m of the age when every car on the road was British and awesome, I could tell you the make of a car just by the exhaust note... im only 53 from Motherwell and loves my 1975 Triumph T140v xxx
Great video Steph I remember watching this when you posted it and had to watch again today as finally got round to digging mine out today and getting it lived up soon to be running same colour too 👍
Lovely little motor. My neighbour had one of these in the late 60,s. I remember as a 12 year old helping him change the exhaust in a lockup garage. He also fitted an AeroFan to the water pump they had blades that changed pitch as the engine changed speed, supposed to help with fuel consumption. Once fitted the A35 started to over heat, we spent hours trying to sort out the problem. Only to find that the fan we fitted was for a transverse engine car, it was blowing instead of sucking......
Lovely A35 love the indicater switch when I was lad my dad had standard 8 they had the same switch keep the classic cars reveiw comming from a 63yr old rev
I love that you are doing videos which make old cars more accessible to a wider audience (from a 60 year old bloke who likes playing with old cars!) Keep up the good work! Good to see people like Mathew carrying on the classic car hobby too!
You could have a motor industry like the US where the cars are bloated SUVs and sloppy, ugly crossovers and not a manual transmission to be had. Every American car is a sloppy pig with zero road feel.
@@DanaTheInsane That's not true. Us Americans can build a car that handles if we want to. Ex: Chevrolet Corvair, Studebaker Avanti, etc. Besides that, what's wrong with a big, sloppy car with no road feel? If you've ever driven in the U.S. with its huge geography, you would want a big car that isolates yourself from the road.
Beautiful little tyke of a car. They were also common in Australia. A lot of young people bought old Austins and Morris Minors as their first car. For Aussies, however, they were a bit under-powered when compared to the most popular cars on our roads which were straight 6 Fords, Holdens and Chrysler Valiants. They also shouted post-war austerity with the lack of simple accessories. Lack of indicators (semaphores aside), lack of proper winding windows...etc...etc... which weren't issues with the locally assembled 6 cylinder cars. I suppose that being that our cars were American influenced we were a little more spoiled in that regard...however one bugbear was shared...the lack of synchro on first. I got around it by double clutching if the car was moving or, as you have in the Austin, hoping I could start in second. One thing that I always admired in the little BMC cars was the fact that they were built with tough and heavy grade steel. You didn't have to worry about idiots dinging your doors in car parks because the metal took a pounding before it indented. They were as tough as nails! The one Austin I did own which I loved (it was stolen from me and totalled two years after I bought it) was the locally-produced 6 cylinder Austin Kimberley. Front drive, handled superbly, heaps of room...even more room than the bigger Holdens of the time and plenty of go. The Austin 1800 and the later E/W six cylinder models were great cars.
Hi, I really enjoy your enthusiasm for these old cars most of which I grew up with. To be honest a lot of British cars of the 60's and 70's were put together with a knife and fork. That said they had character which is why they are still loved today. You obviously love these old cars and do a lot of research. Keep up the good work. Thoroughly enjoy your videos.
Hi Stef. All of my early cars lacked synchromesh on first gear. I taught myself to double declutch, which enabled me to select first while the car was still moving (albeit not too rapidly!) Great video, as always. Thanks!
Another great video about the A35 - I have fancied getting one in the past and your video and recommendation have only made my want increase. Now to try and persuade my Missus to allow me.
Steph is showing some leg and we are all grateful. So enjoy listening to his take us all on a tour of these iconic cars. Living in the USA these are all cars I haven’t seen before. Hats off to Steph for the unique autos and her sparkling presentation. And Steph if you’re single and want to live in America I’m available. 😝
I bought my 1957 A35 in April to replace my rust bucket mini, got to say I love it! Its pretty good to drive and is rather comfy for a small car. These cars have a lot of character and paid £2000 for it. As you say the boot is big for the size of the car. I'm not a fan of the sliding windows either and mine keep sliding up. Recently upgraded to a HS2 carb with a 4.22 diff from a moggy and has made a huge improvement. Easily do 60mph on the main roads and keeps up with modern traffic fine. Great review!
Lovely video. My first ever 'car' was an Austin A35 Van. It had a bench seat in the back and I remember driving it from near Bradford in west Yorks down the old A1 to Victoria Station London to pick up 2 friends who rode in the back bench seat all the way home. It took around 7 hours in those days. Utterly reliable and fun to drive.
My dad bought my brother and I one of these to learn how to strip and rebuild an engine. Invaluable in the mid 80’s as he had an Alpine and I had a Marina
That's a lovely little car, love all the little features like the bonnet catch and the sidelights on the wings, good knowledge by the way you can certainly back up what you talk about in your excellent vids 🏁🏁🏁🏁👍
My Dad in the late 60's and early 70's had an Austin A55 van, and the chap next door had a grey A 35, funny thing is he was over six foot tall, great old cars much more fun than the "All look the same!" as today!
Excellent review. My first wife owned a dark green model and drove it regularly from the UK to her teaching job based in Bad Kreuznach West Germany. The German drivers were amazed to see this diminutive vehicle driven by a female Brit on their hallowed autobahns. She eventually sold her treasured Austin to a German dealer, who unbeknown to her, wanted it as a display above his garage premises. He cut the poor car in half and fixed one half above the entrance!! I can remember seeing it still in place, when I visited Kreuznach in the early 1980s. It actually looked very effective, but a sad ignominious end for such a splendid little motorcar.
That A35 is certainly a cracking car! Don’t think you mentioned it, but one of the other differences from the A30 is that the A35 has the painted front grille and the A30’s is chrome.
Great video, many thanks for the memories. For it’s time the A30 and A35 were quite advanced in having the dip switch on the steering column when most cars had a foot switch, BMC seemed to take quite a few years before the column position became standard! Driving my A30 back from Scotland, stopped for a break and the SU Carburettor, same as A35, developed an airlock and car wouldn’t start, impatient so melted an ice lolly on it and that dealt with the problem but forever left a stain on the outside of the carburettor. This does generate some great memories so thanks again.
I grew up in a family that always had at least one A30 or A35 being used as the 'round town' vehicle at any given time. This was right through the 70s and 80s too, so they were not new cars even then! We would also use it to go away in when the main vehicle wasn't running properly and long trips in it with Mum, Dad, my sister and I - along with two dogs, the cat, a pile of camping equipment and other luggage either in the boot, set in around us or on the roof rack. Always loved the little cars and the quirk of the speedo needle was one of my favourites, long with the different whines from the gearbox (and I could tell from the sound it made as to which gear we were in), the growl of the downdraft Zenith carburettor as it accelerated and the whine of the diff as it reached 50mph! My first car was an A30, my third was an A35 and I have watched every UA-cam video I can find on them driving around the countryside. If you looked at my profile, you would note that I am also in New Zealand and there was a great love for these little cars back then.....and although there aren't as many around as there was, they are still loved and cherished now by members of the Flying A Club in Auckland and other clubs around the country. Many thanks Steph for the walk down memory lane. One day I will definitely own another one.
Good little British car. My late uncle in the East of the Netherlands ran a BMC dealership and sold lots of these. He had a good reputation and a steady costumer base. That is until the dreaded BL plughole of despair kicked in.
Mine was the A30 but it had the turning indicators fitted as well as the old trafficators. It was the 4 door which was great. Most of the quirks were very good. But I had two complaints. The worm and peg steering was very heavy at parking and the 3 cylinder brakes were HEAVY. Repeat HEAVY. But if they brought out the same car with improved brakes and steering and a modern fuel injected engine I would buy a new one today. Keep the windows, keep the start pull and the centre trafficators. Keep the long lever gear lever too. I was happy with all of that.
I could add that it needed much more regular maintenance than any modern car but the maintenance was easy to do. Parts were simple to install and many could be made by a competent engineer. Just before my wedding I pulled the engine apart and fitted new piston rings in ( from my recollection) two to three hours. Try that on a modern car.
@@idriveaclassic These things take time... better in the garage than at the wreckers though. You're bang on about the quality of modern parts too, especially stuff like chrome and rubber doesn't seem to last.
Great little car. I had a black A35 in 1960 and a white one in 1962. The first car was write off after rolling 3 times down a rock strewn slope down to a loch in Skye (another drive at fault). Myself and friend got out unscathed. Completely reliable.
Tha handbrale was put on the right as the transmission tunnel is too narrow to accomodate the handbrake linkage. The A35 is a early monocoque design and the transmission tunnel was made narrow and deep for floor pan strength. I recall an A35 in the 60's, a friend drove me and other children to school in it, she was in teh driver seat, a friend in the passenger seat with a child on her lap, There were four children on the back seat and I liked to stand on teh tranmission tunnel and look out of the windscreen. I clearly recall the central indicator control, I loved watching it flash.
@@idriveaclassic : Ah this certainly brings back memories for me. I remember these from the 60's in the West Midlands. My dad had a number of BMC cars and trucks or lorries as you folks call them. Nice to see a young woman so interested in cars especially classic ones. Have a gr8 day and all the best for 2020.
I had one of these back in the 70s. I fitted a set of extra rear lights/brake light units so I had four rear lights and four brake lights, as well as two reversing lights. I also fitted a hazard warning unit. AND I carried a teddy as well. I was working in Snowdonia at the time and it was amazing up and down the mountain roads and fitted very well on the narrow roads and bends.
Checked that channel out...seems little more than walkarounds that talk about exterior/interior condition (as one would expect from a car seller). Fair enough, but...unsatisfying.
Love the A35, passed my test way back in '76 in my Mums light blue, two-door A35 when I was 19. It had a metal sun visa in light blue matching the car's colour, with grey interior. Reg: TCD 631 as I recall
Thanks for the drive down memory lane. I owned one back in the 1960's. I remember it as nimble and roomy enough for our family. (Two babies) In the 70s I emigrated to Canada. They don't like small cars in North America!
Great old cars! When I was very young (in the early 1960's) my dad had a used Austin A40. In 1965 he bought his first new car, a Morris 1100. My first two cars when I was old enough to drive were Morris Mini Minor 850's. Good old cars and simple to maintain.
Great video! In my twenties, I had a pristine one-old-lady-owner black 1959 4-door 948cc A35. It was the mid-70's and this was my 'Fred Flintstone car' according to one cruel girlfriend. It had a Gold Seal engine - the local garagiste told me the lady had kuffered the first engine driving with the choke out. The A35 front brakes were hydraulic, a step up from the A30's, and had an underbody slave cylinder to operate a swingle-tree/rod system at the rear. Thus, the handbrake of a million clicks, between the seat and door, was a real stopper! Over time I had to: - fix a blown head gasket, also polishing the valve seats - replace the slipping clutch - install new rear leaf springs (they'd broken) - adjust the worm and peg steering box - service the brakes all round - fix a leaking carb - fix the mechanical fuel pump (do NOT overtighten the cap screw, it may strip the ali pump body's thread) - fix a leaking radiator - swap out the water pipes (they fell apart like biscuit in those days) - swap the fascia indicator switch with an A40 Farina column control (a super-simple upgrade) - fit an ammeter - service the ignition electricals - upgrade the light bulbs with brighter ones You had to be a spanner freak to own an old car back then unless you liked paying mechanics. The starting handle was a winter boon as a dynamo is less efficient than an alternator. The 'Flying A' on the bonnet once had a fight with a vicious big car wash revolving brush - ugly! Then I hit a deep, water filled pothole at speed one night and the car turned over. My passenger and I ending up sitting on the roof lining as the car skidded along upside down, sparks flying. A35's were skinny-tyred and didn't have quite the stability of a modern car, but it was nippy alright. She died before she rusted but I wish I still had 5743AH today.
@@idriveaclassic Experience taught me that owning an old car is like having a high-maintenance girlfriend. You love her to bits, lavish attention on her, happily accept that keeping her running sweetly will involve putting up with quite a lot of aggro, and learn not to fret too much about the running costs...
They were lovely cars, back in the day I converted mine with Triumph Herald front axle with discs, a brake servo plus a 1275 with twin carbs. Super cool! Keith
Just discovered your channel and love it! As an ex-pat Brit now living in Canada I have a special affinity for all things British...especially classic cars! Just subscribed and look forward to following up on all your previous videos! Cheers!
When I was a small child in Texas in the sixties, I had a Corgi or Matchbox car of one of these. Never knew until I got in college that it was actually a real car! So very, very different than your average Texas car--then as now. It's such a beauty!
My first car after passing my test in 1966 was a 1959 A35. Great little car and surprisingly nippy with sound handling. Not surprising as it formed the basis for the Austin Healey Sprite.
Don't ever change your enthusiasm Steff. You're as much a gem as these wonderful cars are! Roger.
Steph you are such a sweetie, and very knowledgeable to boot.
One of my fave channels.
Keep em coming girl 👍
Aww thanks ever so much! I try!
Big Rigger I agree. She’s terrific and so interesting as well.
Hi rick nobody has offered one yet
I have a 1967 Vauxhall Victor 101 you would be welcome to review.
Please pop me an email :D
I bought an a35 as my first car a few years ago and have used it as my daily since passing my test. So much more fun than driving a modern car
Aww I’m so jel xxx
Dead right! Modern cars have all the visual appeal of a fridge.
Congratulations Mark on restoring and maintaining this little old classic. The paint work looks great, nicely polished and is obviously cherished. Nice presentation Steph, your enthusiasm is evident and it’s great to see youngsters enjoying the experience of driving a 50’s Classic. These little cars are associated with many childhood memories of family life and happy holiday excursions. I owned one for several years and anyone who drove them at night will remember the comforting small glowing lights that were visible from top of the wings. The side lights were visible when driving, particularly along dark unlit roads and reassuring to see them illuminated in the darkness.
Great car. Video. Presenter. No bullshit just honest down to earth reviews. Eat your heart out Clarkson.
It’s nice to see young people keeping cars from my younger years alive it would be nice to see a wolsley 1500 featured
I’d love to do one! It’s down to who offers what really 🥰
Lovely old car, remember my Mum had one back in the day
I love the sound of these old cars, full of character, thanks for spending the time to show us.
You’re very welcome 🥰🥰🥰
Beautiful car, beautiful lady!!! Awesome!
Cheers Nikola x
Beautyiful car,lady . Agree
My old man told me about the A35 when I were a lad. Theres a old guy who STILL has one in mint condition near me. Kind of amazing to see when on the road umongst the modern cars of today. Great review. Proper classic.
Thanks Eddie!!!
All cars of that era had that wonderful oily smell inside.
Enjoyed the video. My grandfather had an A30 van in green, he was a chauffeur by profession and kept his A30 gleaming, kept it until the chassis rot through. My father bought a grey (same colour as in the video) A35 van brand new the day I was born in June 1960. He drove it around the hospital car park to show my mother, with my grandfather in the back waving his handkerchief through the top air vent. He kept the car for many years and I have fond memories of it. He put glass in the back panels and a mattress for myself and later my sister to sit on.
Aww that’s so lovely!!! Thanks for sharing your story I love hearing people’s memories with the cars 🥰
Super review of Matthew's lovely A35. Thank you Steph. My uncle had a black Austin of the same model and I loved it. (That wonderful A series engine as well.)
Thanks so much mike 🥰🥰🥰
Great to see you out in the A35 Steph. My mother had a black one when I was young. It had the same red interior. It had a very distinctive nice smell, from the upholstery I think. My mother really liked it.
She replaced it with a Ford Anglia, but always missed the Austin.
Great video ..... I learned to drive in an A35 back in the 70s & it was over 20 years old even then . Im now looking for another one . Love the wing mounted side lights. The saloon went out of production in 1959 but the van continued until about 67. Great little cars.
Amazing cars aren’t they 🥰🥰🥰
Well, well. Just discovered your channel. What a delight. Great to see young people keeping the movement going. Thoroughly enjoyed your review.
The A35 looked like a lovely drive. My abiding memory of these cars is seeing a black four-door as a kid, with four elderly nuns inside!
Subbed for sure. 👍
Ahh thanks so much xxx
Your reviews are that good you encourage me to think back to how vast and varied our motor industry used to be !
Aww thanks
Good one Steph. Lovely little car. A friend has one. I just find it hard to get in and out of. But I’m not young anymore
Aw Kenny 😭
Great little video, beautiful little car! My family couldn't afford the 'car' version in the early 1960s, my Dad had the Wallace and Grommet A35 van version, 2 of them - and put a seat in the back! :) FIVE of us used to squeeze into it from Nottingham on our annual hols to Teignmouth in Devon! Roof-rack on top, 50 all the way, never ever broke down as far as I remember! Great times indeed!
Aww what a lovely memory 🥰🥰🥰
Far different than my memories of going on what you call holiday and we call vacation. In a 1967 Dodge Polara 9 passenger wagon with rear facing rear seat. 383 4bll. Torqueflite auto. trans.
Hi Steph every classic car needs a name so nice to see this one has one. I have a MGA roadster shes called Rebecca after my late mum and yes no synchro in 1st so I know all about the if your still rolling drop into 2nd trick lol. Wouldn't it be great to own a massive shed and fill it with these classic British gems.I live in Adelaide South Australia and I am a member of the MG club of South Australia we are really lucky one of the founder members is an old school mechanic and lives and breaths MGs so I have his number on fast dial when the unthinkable happens lol. I love your show please keep safe and keep up the good work.👍🧡
Here in Canada, where we have a season called winter, I learned a few tricks with the SU carburetor. The clothes peg on the "choke" Held the enrichment jet open slightly until the engine was fully warm as there was no actual choke valve in the intake. Also the best oil for the dashpot in winter was diesel fuel. I got one for my wife bu unfortunately with two children and a dog we needed more space so it became student's first car.
The clothes peg trick was the result of people not realising you could twist the choke handle slightly to the right to 'lock' it in place at whichever level you wanted. People regularly broke the mechanism by manhandling it and twisting it round too far repeatedly -- as a result, the cable would return in on its own.
On paper it is rather similar to the Morris, but supposedly the Minor should have a superior steering setup (i.e. rack and pinion). Since you don't comment on it, I take it that the Austin actually steers quite well (and I see some in classical racing, so that should bear it out). As always, a super video that is a joy to watch.
I would love to drive an A35. Just looking out at those chrome indicator lamps and the big "A" on the bonnet must be enough to keep a permanent smile on your face while driving :)
Sorry I probably should’ve said. It drove like a dream and I was in love from the point I hopped in.
My dad had a couple of the vans, both had rear seats and back windows and were excellent cars. one did about 475k with no problems at all because he kept it well maintained. Great upload which brought back tons of memories.
It shared all its pieces with the Austin Healey Sprite Mk1, the Frog-eye. This was very useful for people like my keeping a Sprite alive with no money!
I can imagine!
After owning the Austin A30 I went into a period of buying all the Sprites from MK1 to the the last MK 4 with 1275cc engine. IIRC.
Love the A35. Such a cute car.
Oh I agree 🥰🥰🥰
estercars..THE TEAPOT !?!,..HA Ha ha a a ))))
The A35 is simple to hot-up because they're mechanically almost identical to Spridgets (Austin Healey Sprite & MG Midget). The A35 is the weapon of choice in historic racing, as with the St. Marys Trophy at Goodwood. There's an active club with local branches. The A-Series engine has huge potential for improvement. Companies such as Frontline Spridget can sell you goodies such as a racing suspension, and a conversion to accept the Ford 5-speed transmission. Bull Motif sells a heated front windscreen which works brilliantly, plus other upgrades such as modern headlamps which look identical to the originals. The two-door A35 only weighed a little over 14 cwt (about 650kg) so small improvements in horsepower go a long way. Be aware that adding these goodies always works out as phenomenally expensive.
Bull motif get enough money off me as it is. Let’s not make it worse 😂😂😂
Hi Steph I love your videos they’re brilliant. You really seem to be enjoying your work. Keep them coming.
Peg on the choke! My sister in law had one on her Mini. A must have for when it stops staying out.
I remember when my sisters first boyfriend had one of these cars in Norwich and my father had a Ford Cortina.
We went out for a drive with my sister and her boyfriend were in the Austin and my the rest of the family were in the Cortina.
We were five up in the Cortina and my sister was following. I think we got up to 80 MPH and the Austin was very slowly following but only by about 10MPH difference. He said 70 MPH on he Austin A35 !
I do remember a few years latter when I was living in a bed sit and my landlady had an Austin A40. She kept saying "Tommy your going to ruin this car" He kept crunching the gears. This was an A40 though. Double de-clutching !
I love the A35 and if they didn't have the spares problem I would have probably bought one today.
Spares for the A35 are not too bad. Spares for the Minor and the MGB are better. Mechanically, these Austins are almost identical to the Sprite / Midget.
Great review again and what a cracking little car
Cheers Martin! She was a beauty x
Well done!
I passed my driving test in 1956 (I think!) and I bought a 2nd hand A30 as my first car. I tarted it up a bit and bought the Chrome moulding to 'upgrade' the appearance to that of the A35.
I toured Wales from South to North. Those were the days.
I also ventured into rallying and track racing at Brands Hatch and if course club driving tests.
Aww thanks for sharing your story x
My primary school teacher had an A30 - was the first car I was ever driven in (1968) when she gave my mum and me a lift home.
We never had a car until 1971 😢
Thanks for the memories
My pleasure!
I have a very similar experience. My first car journey that I can remember was being driven home at the age of 5 by my primary school teacher in her pale blue A35. I sat in the back foot well and was crying my eyes out - no idea why! I’d actually forgotten that until I read your comment!
Paul Johnson - I think something must have happened to me as well, can’t remember what though.
Must have been a standard thing back then, a ride home with teacher - couldn’t see it happening now.
A VW Beetle pickup at 15:40 - never seen one of those before!!
It looks like one of the fibreglass kits from the 80s There were three in Edinburgh. Red Yellow and Blue. The kit also made a van version.
The most often encountered conversion kit was made by a company called "Wizard of Rods" and they also converted Beetles to customer spec. They might still be going, I don't know.
No way, a Pick up, I have never seen one of them either....Interesting...
Just discovered this review, most definitely a prudent choice to click on view! Evoked many memories as a green one of these (LFX 519) doubled up as my father's show car and our family daily driver in the 80s!
Ahh thanks so much x
Absolutely brilliant, great to hear a woman talking about these British classics ( never misses a trick) my dad had the Austin van model, remember pretending to drive in it, I’m of the age when every car on the road was British and awesome, I could tell you the make of a car just by the exhaust note... im only 53 from Motherwell and loves my 1975 Triumph T140v xxx
Great video Steph I remember watching this when you posted it and had to watch again today as finally got round to digging mine out today and getting it lived up soon to be running same colour too 👍
Lovely little motor. My neighbour had one of these in the late 60,s. I remember as a 12 year old helping him change the exhaust in a lockup garage. He also fitted an AeroFan to the water pump they had blades that changed pitch as the engine changed speed, supposed to help with fuel consumption. Once fitted the A35 started to over heat, we spent hours trying to sort out the problem. Only to find that the fan we fitted was for a transverse engine car, it was blowing instead of sucking......
Lovely A35 love the indicater switch when I was lad my dad had standard 8 they had the same switch keep the classic cars reveiw comming from a 63yr old rev
Cheers Malcolm! The indicator switch was bonkers but I loved it
I'd like a Standard 8, probably the most pared down British car of the era. The boot has no lid IIRC and you access it from inside the car.
Borderlands they even marketed that as an advantage in the advertisements.. "you can access your luggage in the rain whilst keeping dry"
The indicator switch gained the nickname "The alien eyeball"!
Another good one Steph, love A35s 😀
Cheers Tony!
Thank you, Steph, for another great video. Keep them coming :)
Thanks so much!!!
I love that you are doing videos which make old cars more accessible to a wider audience (from a 60 year old bloke who likes playing with old cars!) Keep up the good work! Good to see people like Mathew carrying on the classic car hobby too!
Oh thanks so much for the lovely comment x
Great video, if everybody had been as enthusiastic as you back in the day we'd still have a motor industry today!
Agreed :(
It's a pity coz English cars wud be better
You could have a motor industry like the US where the cars are bloated SUVs and sloppy, ugly crossovers and not a manual transmission to be had. Every American car is a sloppy pig with zero road feel.
@@DanaTheInsane That's not true. Us Americans can build a car that handles if we want to. Ex: Chevrolet Corvair, Studebaker Avanti, etc. Besides that, what's wrong with a big, sloppy car with no road feel? If you've ever driven in the U.S. with its huge geography, you would want a big car that isolates yourself from the road.
Excellent review, My uncle had one of these as his first car. Nice to see you in Baildon too!
What a beautiful little car!
Thanks glen! X
My first car back in 1981
1956 model in black,
Reg WJH 653. I had lots of fun in that car and hope to think that it's still in existence somewhere.
Just checked and it’s still on the road somewhere
@Astro Chaos thanks very much for that it would be great if there was a site where people could share photos of old cars in previous lives.
Beautiful little tyke of a car. They were also common in Australia. A lot of young people bought old Austins and Morris Minors as their first car. For Aussies, however, they were a bit under-powered when compared to the most popular cars on our roads which were straight 6 Fords, Holdens and Chrysler Valiants. They also shouted post-war austerity with the lack of simple accessories. Lack of indicators (semaphores aside), lack of proper winding windows...etc...etc... which weren't issues with the locally assembled 6 cylinder cars. I suppose that being that our cars were American influenced we were a little more spoiled in that regard...however one bugbear was shared...the lack of synchro on first. I got around it by double clutching if the car was moving or, as you have in the Austin, hoping I could start in second.
One thing that I always admired in the little BMC cars was the fact that they were built with tough and heavy grade steel. You didn't have to worry about idiots dinging your doors in car parks because the metal took a pounding before it indented. They were as tough as nails! The one Austin I did own which I loved (it was stolen from me and totalled two years after I bought it) was the locally-produced 6 cylinder Austin Kimberley. Front drive, handled superbly, heaps of room...even more room than the bigger Holdens of the time and plenty of go. The Austin 1800 and the later E/W six cylinder models were great cars.
I always wonder how Aussies got on with cars like these. Your roads are enormous!!!!
Hi, I really enjoy your enthusiasm for these old cars most of which I grew up with. To be honest a lot of British cars of the 60's and 70's were put together with a knife and fork. That said they had character which is why they are still loved today. You obviously love these old cars and do a lot of research. Keep up the good work. Thoroughly enjoy your videos.
Thanks Griff!
Lovely Austin and road to drive
Hi Stef. All of my early cars lacked synchromesh on first gear. I taught myself to double declutch, which enabled me to select first while the car was still moving (albeit not too rapidly!) Great video, as always. Thanks!
Another great video about the A35 - I have fancied getting one in the past and your video and recommendation have only made my want increase. Now to try and persuade my Missus to allow me.
great review, idrive bring something new to classic car movement, well done
Thanks!!!
Steph is showing some leg and we are all grateful. So enjoy listening to his take us all on a tour of these iconic cars. Living in the USA these are all cars I haven’t seen before. Hats off to Steph for the unique autos and her sparkling presentation.
And Steph if you’re single and want to live in America I’m available. 😝
I bought my 1957 A35 in April to replace my rust bucket mini, got to say I love it! Its pretty good to drive and is rather comfy for a small car. These cars have a lot of character and paid £2000 for it. As you say the boot is big for the size of the car. I'm not a fan of the sliding windows either and mine keep sliding up. Recently upgraded to a HS2 carb with a 4.22 diff from a moggy and has made a huge improvement. Easily do 60mph on the main roads and keeps up with modern traffic fine. Great review!
Ahhh thanks so much for the lovely comment x
Just bought one of these today,it needs restoring but it will be worth it. Love the vids,thanks.
Lovely video. My first ever 'car' was an Austin A35 Van. It had a bench seat in the back and I remember driving it from near Bradford in west Yorks down the old A1 to Victoria Station London to pick up 2 friends who rode in the back bench seat all the way home. It took around 7 hours in those days. Utterly reliable and fun to drive.
Thank you so much, love these old cars, Such a sweet lady.
Cheers
My dad bought my brother and I one of these to learn how to strip and rebuild an engine. Invaluable in the mid 80’s as he had an Alpine and I had a Marina
That's a lovely little car, love all the little features like the bonnet catch and the sidelights on the wings, good knowledge by the way you can certainly back up what you talk about in your excellent vids 🏁🏁🏁🏁👍
What a lovely comment cheers my love
The ultimate british classic, good to see these in motorsport! Great video by the way, and great information 🙂
Thanks so much!
Never saw a woman with so much knowledge about cars before
Beautiful video 👌😊😇
Aww thanks so much x
And with a very nice personality too!
My Dad in the late 60's and early 70's had an Austin A55 van, and the chap next door had a grey A 35, funny thing is he was over six foot tall, great old cars much more fun than the "All look the same!" as today!
Excellent review. My first wife owned a dark green model and drove it regularly from the UK to her teaching job based in Bad Kreuznach West Germany. The German drivers were amazed to see this diminutive vehicle driven by a female Brit on their hallowed autobahns. She eventually sold her treasured Austin to a German dealer, who unbeknown to her, wanted it as a display above his garage premises. He cut the poor car in half and fixed one half above the entrance!! I can remember seeing it still in place, when I visited Kreuznach in the early 1980s. It actually looked very effective, but a sad ignominious end for such a splendid little motorcar.
What a cute little car. Made when cars were made of metal not plastic
Tell me about it. All this plastic isn’t good for the world surely.
That A35 is certainly a cracking car! Don’t think you mentioned it, but one of the other differences from the A30 is that the A35 has the painted front grille and the A30’s is chrome.
Ahhh I think I skipped over it. Loads of info isn’t there 🥰
idriveaclassic As informative as ever! Another great vid!
On a fashion note... Love today's dress! X
aww Jess 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
My uncle had its big brother the A30 around 1958 in the same colour, lovely car.
Great video, many thanks for the memories. For it’s time the A30 and A35 were quite advanced in having the dip switch on the steering column when most cars had a foot switch, BMC seemed to take quite a few years before the column position became standard! Driving my A30 back from Scotland, stopped for a break and the SU Carburettor, same as A35, developed an airlock and car wouldn’t start, impatient so melted an ice lolly on it and that dealt with the problem but forever left a stain on the outside of the carburettor. This does generate some great memories so thanks again.
Hahahaha that’s brilliant about the ice lolly. How clever
I grew up in a family that always had at least one A30 or A35 being used as the 'round town' vehicle at any given time. This was right through the 70s and 80s too, so they were not new cars even then! We would also use it to go away in when the main vehicle wasn't running properly and long trips in it with Mum, Dad, my sister and I - along with two dogs, the cat, a pile of camping equipment and other luggage either in the boot, set in around us or on the roof rack. Always loved the little cars and the quirk of the speedo needle was one of my favourites, long with the different whines from the gearbox (and I could tell from the sound it made as to which gear we were in), the growl of the downdraft Zenith carburettor as it accelerated and the whine of the diff as it reached 50mph! My first car was an A30, my third was an A35 and I have watched every UA-cam video I can find on them driving around the countryside. If you looked at my profile, you would note that I am also in New Zealand and there was a great love for these little cars back then.....and although there aren't as many around as there was, they are still loved and cherished now by members of the Flying A Club in Auckland and other clubs around the country. Many thanks Steph for the walk down memory lane. One day I will definitely own another one.
What a lovely comment. Love reading stories like this and glad I can bring back some memories 🥰🥰😘
Good little British car.
My late uncle in the East of the Netherlands ran a BMC dealership and sold lots of these.
He had a good reputation and a steady costumer base. That is until the dreaded BL plughole of despair kicked in.
Mine was the A30 but it had the turning indicators fitted as well as the old trafficators. It was the 4 door which was great. Most of the quirks were very good. But I had two complaints. The worm and peg steering was very heavy at parking and the 3 cylinder brakes were HEAVY. Repeat HEAVY. But if they brought out the same car with improved brakes and steering and a modern fuel injected engine I would buy a new one today. Keep the windows, keep the start pull and the centre trafficators. Keep the long lever gear lever too. I was happy with all of that.
I could add that it needed much more regular maintenance than any modern car but the maintenance was easy to do. Parts were simple to install and many could be made by a competent engineer. Just before my wedding I pulled the engine apart and fitted new piston rings in ( from my recollection) two to three hours. Try that on a modern car.
The maintenance thing would definitely be an issue for many modern drivers of today I think :(
First time watch , love your enthusiasm .
Thank you 🥰🥰🥰
In 1991/2 I did 9k miles around France, Spain, Italy and Germany in an A35, it never missed a beat, another great video thanks
I'm watching you from the states and your so cute, like the car it's cute also clean and all fix up, you did well showing it off. Thanks for sharing.
Great car, great walkthrough-it is such a YOU car!
Love these little cars, I didn't know you had a '60 Minor as well. What an exclusive club!
Hahahaha yeah. She needs some serious welding which I hope gets sorted before 2020 x
@@idriveaclassic These things take time... better in the garage than at the wreckers though. You're bang on about the quality of modern parts too, especially stuff like chrome and rubber doesn't seem to last.
I grew up with an A30 and I will forever love them
Great little car. I had a black A35 in 1960 and a white one in 1962. The first car was write off after rolling 3 times down a rock strewn slope down to a loch in Skye (another drive at fault). Myself and friend got out unscathed. Completely reliable.
My dads first car. It opened up the world for us...holidays, picnics, fishing trips.
Just bought one, lovely little car
Tha handbrale was put on the right as the transmission tunnel is too narrow to accomodate the handbrake linkage. The A35 is a early monocoque design and the transmission tunnel was made narrow and deep for floor pan strength. I recall an A35 in the 60's, a friend drove me and other children to school in it, she was in teh driver seat, a friend in the passenger seat with a child on her lap, There were four children on the back seat and I liked to stand on teh tranmission tunnel and look out of the windscreen. I clearly recall the central indicator control, I loved watching it flash.
Ahh thanks for explaining 🥰🥰
The indicator control was great!
Brought back memories of me as a little lad doing the indicators for my Dad in his van 😀
Lovely review of a smashing little car.
Thanks love!
@@idriveaclassic : Ah this certainly brings back memories for me. I remember these from the 60's in the West Midlands. My dad had a number of BMC cars and trucks or lorries as you folks call them. Nice to see a young woman so interested in cars especially classic ones. Have a gr8 day and all the best for 2020.
Loved it, loved it, loved it! Another great review, thank you Steph.
Thanks Jim!!!
I had one of these back in the 70s. I fitted a set of extra rear lights/brake light units so I had four rear lights and four brake lights, as well as two reversing lights. I also fitted a hazard warning unit. AND I carried a teddy as well. I was working in Snowdonia at the time and it was amazing up and down the mountain roads and fitted very well on the narrow roads and bends.
I love this and will be subscribing. I watch something very similar from Bradley James Classics! So I can't wait to watch your vlogs. You've got me!
Ahhh thanks so much
Checked that channel out...seems little more than walkarounds that talk about exterior/interior condition (as one would expect from a car seller). Fair enough, but...unsatisfying.
Nice car I do remember them well
Unusual to have a hubcap on spare wheel
And I do like the indicator switch 👍
Indicator switch was bonkers 😂
It's so cute! And a lovely colour.
So true
Love the A35, passed my test way back in '76 in my Mums light blue, two-door A35 when I was 19. It had a metal sun visa in light blue matching the car's colour, with grey interior. Reg: TCD 631 as I recall
Beautiful cars aren’t they!
My mother had a black A35 and used to take me to school, my job was to do the indicators, great memories,
Great video! 👍I love the Austin A 30/A 35. Beautiful cars.
Totally agree! Thanks for the comment
Another lovely review! Thank you sweetheart, i will be more than happy to try a car like Austin A35
Thanks for the drive down memory lane. I owned one back in the 1960's. I remember it as nimble and roomy enough for our family. (Two babies) In the 70s I emigrated to Canada. They don't like small cars in North America!
Cheers Chris!
Great review just seen your channel you love your cars only drove minis with A engines as well so easy to work on keep up the good vids 👍
Thanks ever so much!!!
Great old cars! When I was very young (in the early 1960's) my dad had a used Austin A40. In 1965 he bought his first new car, a Morris 1100. My first two cars when I was old enough to drive were Morris Mini Minor 850's. Good old cars and simple to maintain.
Great video! In my twenties, I had a pristine one-old-lady-owner black 1959 4-door 948cc A35. It was the mid-70's and this was my 'Fred Flintstone car' according to one cruel girlfriend. It had a Gold Seal engine - the local garagiste told me the lady had kuffered the first engine driving with the choke out. The A35 front brakes were hydraulic, a step up from the A30's, and had an underbody slave cylinder to operate a swingle-tree/rod system at the rear. Thus, the handbrake of a million clicks, between the seat and door, was a real stopper! Over time I had to:
- fix a blown head gasket, also polishing the valve seats
- replace the slipping clutch
- install new rear leaf springs (they'd broken)
- adjust the worm and peg steering box
- service the brakes all round
- fix a leaking carb
- fix the mechanical fuel pump (do NOT overtighten the cap screw, it may strip the ali pump body's thread)
- fix a leaking radiator
- swap out the water pipes (they fell apart like biscuit in those days)
- swap the fascia indicator switch with an A40 Farina column control (a super-simple upgrade)
- fit an ammeter
- service the ignition electricals
- upgrade the light bulbs with brighter ones
You had to be a spanner freak to own an old car back then unless you liked paying mechanics. The starting handle was a winter boon as a dynamo is less efficient than an alternator. The 'Flying A' on the bonnet once had a fight with a vicious big car wash revolving brush - ugly! Then I hit a deep, water filled pothole at speed one night and the car turned over. My passenger and I ending up sitting on the roof lining as the car skidded along upside down, sparks flying. A35's were skinny-tyred and didn't have quite the stability of a modern car, but it was nippy alright. She died before she rusted but I wish I still had 5743AH today.
That shopping list of parts sounds like my morris Minors list of woes 😂😂
@@idriveaclassic Experience taught me that owning an old car is like having a high-maintenance girlfriend. You love her to bits, lavish attention on her, happily accept that keeping her running sweetly will involve putting up with quite a lot of aggro, and learn not to fret too much about the running costs...
In experience I’d rather have a classic car than a boyfriend 😂😂😂😂😂
They were lovely cars, back in the day I converted mine with Triumph Herald front axle with discs, a brake servo plus a 1275 with twin carbs. Super cool! Keith
Just amazing aren’t they!
I Had a mk1 cortina had to put a peg on the choke all those years ago my first car was a Cambridge hand break on the right great video
Just discovered your channel and love it! As an ex-pat Brit now living in Canada I have a special affinity for all things British...especially classic cars! Just subscribed and look forward to following up on all your previous videos! Cheers!
Aww thanks so much. Really nice of you to say 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
When I was a small child in Texas in the sixties, I had a Corgi or Matchbox car of one of these. Never knew until I got in college that it was actually a real car! So very, very different than your average Texas car--then as now. It's such a beauty!
Another fun and informative video Steph .
My first car after passing my test in 1966 was a 1959 A35. Great little car and surprisingly nippy with sound handling. Not surprising as it formed the basis for the Austin Healey Sprite.
Lovely car and a excellent review.
Thanks Andrew