The Austin 7 has always had a massively enthusiastic following. These fun cars take you back to a time when motoring was an adventure, and this example is absolutely no exception! With a rich racing history and a lusted after speedex conversion, this car is sure to make you feel like you’re right back in the good ‘ol days.
The Austin 7 was manufactured from the year 1922 with a small capacity 700cc engine, this was later increased to 747cc in 1923 and included an electronic starter motor. The larger 747cc engine produced a whopping (hold on to your hat) 24hp! The production continued all the way until 1939, by this time 290,000 cars were manufactured.
This particular Austin 7 was transformed by a company called Speedex Castings and Accessories, run by Jem Marsh, which specialised in manufacturing sports car bodies and performance upgrades in the late 50’s and early 60’s. The car spent a large part of its life involved in motorsport, including winning the Formula 750 Historic races at both Goodwood and Brands hatch in the 60’s and 70’s multiple times! So it isn’t just a pretty face, that’s for sure.
Just under 40 of the Speedex cars were manufactured, and only around 35 of them still exist today. A large majority of them were exported due to their large popularity for racing events, which left up to 5 cars in the UK. A rare sight to behold if you ever manage to catch a glimpse of one!
The current owner has had possession of the car for the last 3 and a half years, and within that time has rebuilt most of it, including the gearbox, rear differential, rear axle, driveshafts etc. The owner also managed to source a set of genuine Austin multi-spoke wheels for the car which he tells us cost around £5,000. These also include new tyres! The owner has detailed photographs of the car being stripped down while being rebuilt.
THE PAPERWORK
The paperwork provided with the car gives a good feel for the cars life, it includes a lot of documentation of the car being built as well as a lot of images of the car back in its hay-day, both being used as a race car, and a road car, and even in its original form before the Speedex conversion!
The owner has the correct DVLA paperwork. The car has not been used as a road legal car in some time, so there is no recent MOT history detailing any problems.
Inside, it really does remind you that you’re sitting in a race car. The bare minimum required is pretty much all you’re going to get! After all, this car truly is all about function over form. A cluster of gauges (MPH, RPM, Oil, water temp, and battery voltage) is all you get to look at while battering round the track. On the dashboard accompanying the gauges is the ignition and fuel switch, headlight switch and the horn.
The aluminium body wraps under you to create your seating position, and a long driveshaft tunnel is all that separates you and your passenger while you grip on to the cord-wrapped steering wheel. No such luxuries like air conditioning, radio or even a windshield, but who needs them when you have the beautiful burble of the side-exit exhaust on your left hand side?
There isn’t much out there that can quite rival the look of an open-wheel race car, especially one which glistens in the sun like this does with its full aluminium body shell. The shell itself, as you can see, does have its signs of wear, but that’s to be expected of a car with such a racing history. With its hand crafted body panels, plethora of rivets, and easily removable body, it certainly does have a lot of character to show off.
The 1.5” S.U. carburettor extrudes from aluminium bonnet letting out all the induction noise you could ever ask for, as well as looking fantastic while it does so.
What you’re getting here isn’t a showroom ready car, it’s something that has been used correctly for how it’s been built and maintained. A race car worthy of the name.
The Speedex has been beautifully mechanically maintained. In the last couple of years the owner has spent thousands rebuilding anything which needed attention, including the gearbox, the rear differential, rear axle and anything in between. Looking over the car, you can see how new everything looks, even down to the nuts and bolts holding it together, which is a testament to how well the car has been looked after.
All the electronics have been converted to 12v to accommodate a smaller battery with more of a kick.
To the owner's knowledge, there is nothing mechanically wrong with the car, however he does stress that the car has not been driven aggressively in a few years, so the potential for something to need attention is there. The reassurance of all the new and rebuilt parts is extremely valuable.
The car comes equipped with a Speedex high-compression cylinder head which allows for faster and smoother air flow, as well as a specially made Speedex water branch which allows water to come straight up out of the head rearwards towards a bulkhead mounted header tank. These water branches are becoming very valuable and difficult to source.
A Speedex steel exhaust manifold is also equipped which is easily recognisable from the number 1 cylinder crossed over to give the same overall length as the other three pipes! This is what allows the car to have its side mounted exhaust which runs down the passenger side of the vehicle.
The car was originally outfitted with two 1” carbs, however it has been found that running a single larger 1.5” S.U. is both better flow and also causes less problems over time than the twin carb set up does..
This is a car you can buy and take it to the track straight off the bat! It comes with all the parts required to turn it back into a road legal car, too, including the wheel guards and headlamps.
THE APPEAL
If you’re looking for something unique, something to take to the racetrack, something to give you an absolute thrill of a lifetime without breaking any land speed records, this is the gem for you. A very rare opportunity to own one of very few cars remaining, a true needle in a haystack.
This car will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up just by being in its presence.
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1928 Austin Speedex
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