Austin 7

Before World War I, Austin was mainly engaged in the production of large cars, but in 1909 a small single-cylinder Austin 7 hp from Swift from Coventry appeared in their lineup. ^[7] after this, the company again returned to large cars.

In 1920, Sir Herbert Austin began work on the concept of a small car, mainly meeting the aspirations of young families to have an affordable car. In 1921, the introduction of tax horsepower in the UK spurred this idea. The project of Sir Austin did not fit into the conservative policies of his own company, and the board of government stood in opposition to the baron. Since the company was under external management, Sir Austin decided to take the project on his own, at his own risk, and in 1921 he hired an 18-year-old draftsman, Stanley Edge, who had previously worked at the Austin factory in Longridge . Work on the creation of the car was carried out in the billiard room of Sir Austin's house .

Sir Austin initially wanted to use an air-cooled 2-cylinder engine, but Edge convinced the baron that he could design a 4-cylinder engine that would be better, quieter, and not increase the price of the car. ^{[8] The} initial version of the motor had side valves, a volume of 696 cm³ (54 × 76 mm, N.H. = 7.2 hp), a cast iron cylinder block with a removable head and an aluminum crankcase. While Edge was primarily concerned with the design of the car, in particular with the development of a 3-speed gearbox and clutch, Sir Austin was more responsible for the design of the car's appearance, most likely inspired by the Ford T and Peugeot Quadrilette . ^{[8] The} frame of the car, apparently, was designed under the impression of the frame of the American trucks used at the Austin plant in the early 1920s.

Work was completed in 1922, and three prototypes constructed at the Longbridge plant were presented to the public in July. Sir Austin invested a substantial amount in the project and patented many innovations in his name. In this regard, the baron had royalties in 2 guineas from each sold car. ^[2]

In the first (1923) year, about 2,500 cars were produced, not so many, but in a few years, the "big car in miniature" erased the entire industry of motorized carriages and raised Austin in the wake of success. Over the years ( 1922 - 1939 ), 290,000 cars were produced.

The Austin 7 was noticeably smaller than the Ford T. Accordingly, the car weighed half as much, 360 kg. The engine was sized accordingly.

The car had a frame spar, in the form of the letter "A". At the front, narrow end, in front of the cross member, the engine was located. The rear suspension was a quarter-elliptical spring, while a semi-elliptical transverse spring was installed in front. Early cars did not have shock absorbers. All wheels were equipped with brakes, however, on models until 1930, the front wheels were controlled by a hand brake (the rear ones were pedaled). The steering was carried out by means of a worm gear.

At the end of 1931, the chassis was lengthened by 6 inches (152.4 mm), and the wheelbase was lengthened accordingly.

The engine of the original Austin 7 of 1922 had an engine displacement of 696 cm³ and n.h. = 7.2 h.p. Since March 1923, cars began to be equipped with an engine with a cylinder diameter increased to 56 mm (volume 747 cm³, power 10 hp). The engines had a cast-iron cylinder block with a cast-iron head, a lateral arrangement of valves and an aluminum crankcase. The engine was cooled by a thermosyphon , without a pump.

The crankshaft was lubricated by spraying (a pump was installed on some sports cars), had a two-point mount: two ball bearings at the front, one cylindrical at the back. Since 1935, a babbit plain bearing in the center was added to them.

The crank pins were jet lubricated with oil coming from the crankcase through the channels drilled in the crankshaft. Initially, the diameter of the shaft neck was 28.575 mm. (1,125 inches), however it was later increased to 33.3375 mm. (1.3125 inch).

An electric starter on a car appeared in November 1923. On early models of the car, a magneto with a drive from a timing gear was installed, the ignition coil appeared only in 1928. The gearbox had three speeds forward and one back, gear ratios were different for cars for various purposes. In 1932, a 4-speed gearbox appeared; since 1933, the gearbox received the 3rd and 4th gear synchronizer , and since 1933, the 2nd and 3rd synchronizer.

The main gear of the hypoid type with gear ratios from 4.1 to 5.6. The force from the engine was transmitted to the wheels by means of a drive pipe ^[9]

By en: Reliant, this engine was used as the basis for creating the engine for the early models of their three-wheeled vehicles (in turn, members of the en: 750 Motor Club racing club used Reliant motors for their Formula 750 cars).

In 1923, Arthur Waite, Herbert Austin’s son-in-law, won 7 notable victories at Austin , in March at Brooklands and in June at Monza . Meanwhile, the rider, aviator, and engineer, Eric Gordon England , became interested in the car, and convinced Sir Austin to give him a racing version of the car. Waite and Lou Kings (Principal Tester) soon encountered a number of problems due to problems with the engine's lubrication system. Gordon England was also successful: having set 6 records on the Brooklands track, he personally designed a 2-seater body for his Austin 7 , weighing only 9.1 kg, and announced his participation in the 200-mile race in Brooklands in the class of 1100 cm³. The race was held in October 1923, Gordon England came second, setting another 5 records during the race. ^[ten]

Thus, by January 1924, there were two sports versions of Austin 7 , Sports and Brooklands Super-sports, the latter being a replica from Gordon England's car. Each of these Austins was sold with a certificate confirming a speed record of 128.75 km / h (80 mph) set by a car on the Brooklands. By 1925, Gordon England set 19 records in the 750 cm³ class. ^[ten]

The first Austin 7 sedan was produced by Gordon England's bodywork company . Gordon England was, first of all, an aircraft designer (he worked for en: Bristol Aeroplane Company ), and his body, made "on aircraft principles", was called the smallest in the world. The body weighed 13 kg., Less than the original, but cost £ 210, almost twice as much as the chassis (£ 112). It was also reported that in September 1926 an all-metal body such as a sedan for £ 165 would be ready for the car. ^[ten]

While factory bodies lagged behind fashion until the early 1930s, the deluxe body from Gordon England remained in Austin's catalog for a price of £ 20 (14%) more than the price of a conventional all-metal body. There was also a 2-seater "Cup Model" from Gordon England. ^[eleven]

In 1927, William Lyons , co-founder of en: Swallow Sidecar Company , saw the commercial potential for selling an Austin 7 in a bodywork of its own design. Having bought a chassis from a Parkers of Bolton dealer, he commissioned one of his employees, the talented bodybuilder Cyril Holland, to come up with an original tourer : Austin Seven Swallow. Holland worked at Swallow from the end of 1926, before being trained at Lanchester . ^{[12] [13]} The last peep of the then fashion was the most rounded rear part of the car, it was called the “dome” shape.

With two-tone coloring, a style typical of more expensive cars of that time, and an affordable price (£ 175), Swallow gained popularity and in 1928 released a model with a closed body: Austin Seven Swallow Saloon.

Due to difficulties in launching Austin Seven Swallows, Lyons had to move from Blackpool to Coventry in 1928. By 1932, about 3,500 bodies were produced. In the same year, Lyons decided to make cars on his own, under the SS brand, which lasted until 1940. In 1945, production was resumed, already under the Jaguar brand. ^[14]

Under the Austin license, Austin 7 cars have been manufactured by American Austin since 1930, Dixi (later bought by BMW) in Germany since 1927, Rosengart in France since 1928. Also, the car was manufactured by Nissan , but, according to some, without a license. ^{[2] [8]} In addition, self-propelled chassis were exported to Australia for retrofitting by local manufacturers.

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  USA
  American Bantam 1939 onwards

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  Japan
  Nissan (Datsun) 16 1937 onwards

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  Germany
  BMW 3/15 1930 onwards

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  1936 Austin Seven

After the First World War, in an attempt to stimulate its own automotive industry, the Australian government introduced a tax on car imports. However, imported chassis were taxed at a lower rate. As a result, local pickers were selling cars consisting of imported chassis with their own bodywork.

The largest, and most famous, was Holden's Motor Body Builders . In the mid-1920s, Holden began importing Austin 7 self-propelled chassis and manufacturing vehicles with their Tourer and Roadster bodies on their basis.

The first sports car was assembled by New South Wales Motors in 1924, and received the name "Ace" (Ace). A car called the Wasp was built by Melbourne Motor Body Company in Melbourne in 1927 and by William Greene in Sydney in 1929. Bill Connolty's Comet , assembled between 1933 and 1934, was another Sydney car. . The Meteor car was produced by different manufacturers from 1928-1931 , including James Flood (Melbourne), Jack Lonsar ( Adelaide ) and Robinson & Co. (Sydney).

In 2007, in an episode of the Top Gear program, presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May studied a number of cars of those years (including Ford T and De Dion-Bouton Model Q), and concluded that the Austin 7 was the first mass car. c "modern" pedal arrangement (clutch, brake, gas). Subsequently, the truth turned out that the first was the 1916 Cadillac Type 53 .

Tourer

Sedan

Convertible

Sports

Coupe

Trucks

• Austin Seven Special Register Sports car catalog based on Austin 7.
• Gordon England Register Auto catalog from Gordon England.
• Autocar re-tests an Austin 7 Ausin 7 test from Autocar magazine.
• Austin 7 racers. AustinMemories Archive
• History of the car Austin-7 History of the car Austin-7