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Austin A55 Van - extremely original For Sale (1957) edit C88351 | | | This time-warp vehicle is believed to be one of the first A55 vans made and is almost certainly the earliest still running in the UK in this genuinely un-restored and outstanding condition. It was used in early episodes of Yorkshire Televisions Heartbeat series.
Bodywork.
The vehicle is Austin Green with a contrasting Cream adverting side panel.
The vehicle has a lovely patina and is rust free. It has been treated with wax undercoat including cavities.
The cargo area can only be described as brand new, there are no signs of welding or replacement and it has to be seen to be appreciated.
Interior
The vehicle has the original and unusual individual front seats as most were delivered with a bench seat. It has a column change and umbrella handle hand brake and original steering wheel.
A nice period touch is the plug socket for the then mandatory overnight parking light.
Mechanicals
The vehicle has the BMC B-Series engine with a bore 73.025mm and stroke of 89mm. It has 4 gears with manual column change transmission. I was fitted with the factory option 1622cc engine.
Front independent coil springs with rear beam axle/semi-elliptic leaf springs.
Service History
It has been recently serviced and thoroughly checked and is in excellent mechanical order ready to use.
On the Road
The vehicle drives very well and the engine pulls very smoothly in all gears.
A Little History of the A55
In 1957 Austin introduced a new look to its saloon range, as part of the "facelift" the Austin A55 Cambridge was launched to replace the mechanically identical A50. As before the A55 used the 51bhp, 1489cc engine available with manual, manual overdrive or semi-automatic gearboxes, top speed was around 75mph.
The main changes between the A50 and A55 were confined to the body styling. The A55 now had a longer, larger boot and a softer rear wing line. A full length chrome trim moulding swept down each side of the car which lent itself to some daring, two tone paint colour schemes. The A55 Cambridge stayed in production until the arrival of the new Farina range of 1959.
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