1955 Austin A30 Speedster
i started this build with a roof chopped Austin, my dad modified this car many years ago, its sat the the garage unused for a lot years, it was built as a custom car, it was never intended to be a racer but the pictures of the car you see today is the image I've had in my head for many years
its going to get far too complicated to list who has done what but its probably ended up being 50/50 on the amount of work we have each done
i know i have over 500 hours in the paintwork/ body prep, all the' race car' bits have been done by me plus the amount of time that has gone by since its initial build the whole car needed work again brakes etc
everything on this car has either been done my me or my dad, the only things not done by ourselves is the roll cage tube bending, the bonnet louvre, the banded wheels and the custom badge
below is the list of whats been done but I've probably missed some things out, i will update with more pics soon
engine/suspension
all running gear a40 farina nothing a30 is left
wider a40 farina rear axle fitted, competition driveshafts fitted, currently has a 4.2 diff
a40 farina rear rubber bush spring mounts welded into body/chassis, a40 rear springs fitted
exhaust is a 3 into 1 branch manifold, 1.75 inch straight through with a cherry bomb backbox, exhaust has been custom made to fit as tight a possible to the floor to help with ground clearance, flexi added
custom made rear axle A frame
wheels are 13 x 3.5 inch frogeye steels banded 2 inch on the inside making them 5.5 inch
frogeye front anti roll bar with custom made mounts/brackets to fit the a30
academy front lowering springs and pan spacers
academy poly engine mounts
hydraulic brakes fitted, originally a hybrid rod system
a40 pedal box fitted
1098 engine with cam and mild head work, hif 38 carb on alloy mg inlet
bodywork
roof cut off, doors welded shut, front wings welded on
there is a 2.5 inch welded steel tube running from screen pillar all the way round the rear boot edge and back to the other A pillar, also extra strength added in the sills, shell is now far stronger / stiffer than a A30 with a roof and doors
front wings cut and tucked in at the bottom 1 inch to make the car look less flat fronted, if you where to measure the front of this car at the bottom of the wings it would be 2 inches narrower than standard
all seams and joints smoothed/ welded, every welded joint lead loaded
tunnel modified to take a40 gearbox and central handbrake
rear panel re made curved to match the boot, flat on a normal Austin
smoothed boot, hinges the opposite way now, external hinges removed, internal hinge added , cable operated release
flying A logo hand cut out in bodywork, used as front indicators
grill mouth flared out and boxed in, stainless grill mesh
front bumper plinth and bumper modified to fit nicer with no gap between body and bumper, smoothed so no bumper bolts visible
rear lamp bulge modified and made bigger to accept new lights
bonnet is steel, louvred, flying A badge removed and area smoothed
interior
Austin a40 farina dash cut and modified to fit, custom made dash top pad
new bb1 bucket seats, i would have liked period items but i cant justify the huge expense
1950's KL monitor accessory heater fitted, mainly fitted to gain a little extra coolant capacity to help with cooling, there is no room for an electric fan in the engine bay
period Motor Monitor 1960's rev counter and smiths oil gauge
period BCF fire extinguisher dated 1967, full
reverse lock out
6 point harness,can be used just as a lap belt, no belt for passenger just a grab handle to hold on to
Brooklands aero screen, custom made brackets, quick release to remove
little pre war rear-view mirror, custom made mounting
no key to start just ignition switch and pull start
custom made speedster badge
alloy foot plates
custom made roll over hoop 45mm cds, 5 point mounted
rear seating area blocked off with a nicely cut piece of ply covered in vinyl, removable door cut in so this dead space can be used for storage
exterior trim
custom made leather boot and bonnet straps
pre war Austin badge
smoked led rear lights, pre war style
custom made rear overriders and rear mesh skirt
modified mini number plate light
port holes/ventiports/fender ports, popular in in 1950's mainly fitted for aesthetics but there is holes behind to release engine bay heat
a40 farina headlight trim rings modified to fit
pre war Austin brass hub/wheel centers, modified to fit
spun aluminium headlight blank and carb intake, headlight bowls modified for swapping to headlights easily, takes minutes to swap back to headlights, wring is there ready
stainless bullet mirrors,fixed in correct position and painted black
roundels are spray painted on and the race numbers are hand painted on
i started this build with a roof chopped Austin, my dad modified this car many years ago, its sat the the garage unused for a lot years, it was built as a custom car, it was never intended to be a racer but the pictures of the car you see today is the image I've had in my head for many years
its going to get far too complicated to list who has done what but its probably ended up being 50/50 on the amount of work we have each done
i know i have over 500 hours in the paintwork/ body prep, all the' race car' bits have been done by me plus the amount of time that has gone by since its initial build the whole car needed work again brakes etc
everything on this car has either been done my me or my dad, the only things not done by ourselves is the roll cage tube bending, the bonnet louvre, the banded wheels and the custom badge
below is the list of whats been done but I've probably missed some things out, i will update with more pics soon
engine/suspension
all running gear a40 farina nothing a30 is left
wider a40 farina rear axle fitted, competition driveshafts fitted, currently has a 4.2 diff
a40 farina rear rubber bush spring mounts welded into body/chassis, a40 rear springs fitted
exhaust is a 3 into 1 branch manifold, 1.75 inch straight through with a cherry bomb backbox, exhaust has been custom made to fit as tight a possible to the floor to help with ground clearance, flexi added
custom made rear axle A frame
wheels are 13 x 3.5 inch frogeye steels banded 2 inch on the inside making them 5.5 inch
frogeye front anti roll bar with custom made mounts/brackets to fit the a30
academy front lowering springs and pan spacers
academy poly engine mounts
hydraulic brakes fitted, originally a hybrid rod system
a40 pedal box fitted
1098 engine with cam and mild head work, hif 38 carb on alloy mg inlet
bodywork
roof cut off, doors welded shut, front wings welded on
there is a 2.5 inch welded steel tube running from screen pillar all the way round the rear boot edge and back to the other A pillar, also extra strength added in the sills, shell is now far stronger / stiffer than a A30 with a roof and doors
front wings cut and tucked in at the bottom 1 inch to make the car look less flat fronted, if you where to measure the front of this car at the bottom of the wings it would be 2 inches narrower than standard
all seams and joints smoothed/ welded, every welded joint lead loaded
tunnel modified to take a40 gearbox and central handbrake
rear panel re made curved to match the boot, flat on a normal Austin
smoothed boot, hinges the opposite way now, external hinges removed, internal hinge added , cable operated release
flying A logo hand cut out in bodywork, used as front indicators
grill mouth flared out and boxed in, stainless grill mesh
front bumper plinth and bumper modified to fit nicer with no gap between body and bumper, smoothed so no bumper bolts visible
rear lamp bulge modified and made bigger to accept new lights
bonnet is steel, louvred, flying A badge removed and area smoothed
interior
Austin a40 farina dash cut and modified to fit, custom made dash top pad
new bb1 bucket seats, i would have liked period items but i cant justify the huge expense
1950's KL monitor accessory heater fitted, mainly fitted to gain a little extra coolant capacity to help with cooling, there is no room for an electric fan in the engine bay
period Motor Monitor 1960's rev counter and smiths oil gauge
period BCF fire extinguisher dated 1967, full
reverse lock out
6 point harness,can be used just as a lap belt, no belt for passenger just a grab handle to hold on to
Brooklands aero screen, custom made brackets, quick release to remove
little pre war rear-view mirror, custom made mounting
no key to start just ignition switch and pull start
custom made speedster badge
alloy foot plates
custom made roll over hoop 45mm cds, 5 point mounted
rear seating area blocked off with a nicely cut piece of ply covered in vinyl, removable door cut in so this dead space can be used for storage
exterior trim
custom made leather boot and bonnet straps
pre war Austin badge
smoked led rear lights, pre war style
custom made rear overriders and rear mesh skirt
modified mini number plate light
port holes/ventiports/fender ports, popular in in 1950's mainly fitted for aesthetics but there is holes behind to release engine bay heat
a40 farina headlight trim rings modified to fit
pre war Austin brass hub/wheel centers, modified to fit
spun aluminium headlight blank and carb intake, headlight bowls modified for swapping to headlights easily, takes minutes to swap back to headlights, wring is there ready
stainless bullet mirrors,fixed in correct position and painted black
roundels are spray painted on and the race numbers are hand painted on
