The 1958 Austin A55 Cambridge

[64A60]

I've had this just over 6 months now but have made few posts about it. Seeing as there is interest in BMC stuff on here I might as well create a thread and hope to update it as I work my way through the car.

The A55 was an updated version of the A50 Cambridge introduced in 1957 and produced until 1959, with a restyled front and rear, enlarged rear window, 13" wheels and a high compression 1500 B Series engine. Finished in Tweed Grey with Cherry Red trim, it was originally registered KEE 389 and had three owners in Grimsby. The third owner bought the car in 1964 and kept it until he gave up driving in 1984, and it would have been an unusual sight even then as most had been scrapped by the early 70's. It then went up to Driffield, East Yorkshire then in 1990 it was sold at an Antiques Auction in Banbury. It was bought by someone in Streatham, South London who retained the plate and it was re-registered as OYM 743A- these were the days before age related plates were issued by the DVLA. After that it spent 7 years off the road when it was recomissioned by the next owner in nearby Tooting and then pressed into service as a daily driver. In 1998 it was sold again and went up to Stotfold, Bedfordshire and the new owner had the dateless plate KSJ 128 allocated to the car. 

The paper trail then goes cold but by 2006 it changed hands yet again, going to Bedford then to Biggleswade in 2010. In this time it received a respray, rechromed bumpers and headlamp trims. The two photos above were taken at a show at Knebworth House that year. 

Anyway that's enough of beating around the bush, last year I was chatting to a friend who is a member of the local Austin Seven Club about 1950's cars and he mentioned a member had recently passed away and his family had this A55 to dispose of. He had reversed it into his garage in 2017, had a heart attack shortly afterwards so stopped driving and it remained there since. He bought it in 2011 as his wife had MS and they needed a more modern and practical car for shows then their 1936 Seven Opal. I did see it a few times at some local events and remembered how straight the car was. I made an offer to his family which they accepted and a friend of the late owner freed the seized brakes off (only rusty drums luckily) and trailered it down to me free of charge. 

A couple of photos from before the lockdown. The clutch was replaced in March, we suspect the very worn old plate was the original. It's very peppy to drive and is content to sit at 60 all day, the Column Change is easy to use too. I would like to source a better driver's seat in time and replace the mainly original wiring with a new loom from Autosparks. 

[Three Speed]

That’s lovely. I’ve always liked these. They look just right. My dad got one just after I was born to replace his Triumph Renown. My mum was learning to drive and her instructor had an A55 which she found much easier than the Renown so my dad did the decent thing. Dad’s A55 was old English white with red interior. VGP 272. He kept it for 3 years until he got a new Cortina in 1964. Very nice indeed.

[spartacus]

That looks great, I know nothing about them, apart from what you've written above, but just looking at it gives me the impression it's going to be a characterful car. I like the chrome detailing, particularly the side moulding.

[paulplom]

Would the radio have been a standard fit back then? or it it aftermarket? Lovely car btw.

[Spottedlaurel]

What a lovely, honest-looking old thing. I don't recall any of them in use in the '80s, but do remember the odd van and pickup languishing on farms.

[Vantman]

When i was 15 our local village shop owner had one of these and he paid me to wash it once a week,it was a lovely looking motor in blue and cream, registration number 947SMY, i used to sit in the drivers seat and marvel at it with it's column change and bench seat. It must have made an impression on me as my first car had column change and a bench seat! Austin 1952 A40.

[Eyersey1234]

What a lovely car. Good save @64A60

[Skizzer]

Wonderful!

I’m with SpottedLaurel on this, I mainly remember seeing these around in van and pickup form - which I think continued in production until versions of the Marina replaced them around 1972.

That looks like a lovely example, and very practical with a huge boot. 

[406V6]

I remember in the late 60s having a short ride in one of these. I sat in the back with the other kids and my overriding memory is that the back seat had completely collapsed so that we were almost sitting on the floor.

Odd that the dash is painted white while the outside of the car is grey. Repainted ?

 

[Rocket88]

Had one that someone had put a Pinto in..............quite spritely..........

[ETCHY]

Lovely old motor. Yep even when i was a kid in the 1970's you didn't see these.

I think the white dashboard is normal on these.

Concerning that drivers seat, maybe try some proper hide food on it, that might make all the difference.

[St.Jude]

Wow, that's a lovely looking thing. 

It's just crying out for a Rover K-Series*.  As for the drivers seat you can get something like a paste which "welds" the tears or gouges together. You'd be well to find a leather upholsterer to do this for you. I've seen it done on the Repair Shop by the lovely Suzie**. 

 

 

*this is a joke, keep it stock.

** it's odd that I've got a bit of a crush on a quite clearly older woman, but it is what it is.

[somewhatfoolish]

Could be worth getting an upholsterer to have a look at the driver's seat, it may be repairable? Be good to keep it original.

ETA; great minds! etc.

[Isaac Hunt]

Great car that did well to survive life as a daily driver in Tooting.  My daughter lived there for a while and I drove down several times.   That will be what wore the clutch plate out, fekkin hell you use a clutch a lot between Hanger Lane and Tooting.

[flat4alfa]

Love this car

We've got to meet up soon Dan

[eddyramrod]

23 hours ago, sgtberbatov said:

Wow, that's a lovely looking thing. 

It's just crying out for a Rover V8*. 

EFA, and still a joke, nothing on that needs changing.  It's lovely!

[St.Jude]

11 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

EFA, and still a joke, nothing on that needs changing.  It's lovely!

Isn't a Rover V8 bigger than the actual car anyway?

[Angrydicky]

Hopefully I can see this car in the flesh in the near future! What a beaut.

I’ve got an A55 Mk1 the same. Same year, but black instead of Tweed Grey. In hindsight I wish I’d bought a decent one and cut out all the welding. It’s not far off the road really, but lockdown prevents tinkerage at the moment

[SiC]

We need more threads of older cars on here like this. 

[lesapandre]

Here is some history on the model.

http://www.austinmemories.com/styled-33/styled-41/index.html

[64A60]

9 hours ago, paulplom said:

Would the radio have been a standard fit back then? or it it aftermarket? Lovely car btw.

Aftermarket, it was left to the owner to deicide on what make and model to fit. I have a receipt in the history file from 1998 for the refurbishment of a Radiomobile 20X Valve Radio like this one, however this is long gone and an unplugged 70's Transistor set is now in its place. 

[SiC]

8 minutes ago, The Mighty Quinn said:

The last time I saw one in daily use was around 1980. That was grey as well. 40 years ago, and they were ancient then.

It's quite remarkable how these vehicles manage to survive. 

[64A60]

Thanks everyone for the advice on the drivers seat, I'd like to avoid a retrim so will look into how it could be repaired. I'm also monitoring ebay and the Cambridge Facebook group on the off chance a good seat from a scrapper comes up! 

It does have some bodywork blemishes up close however I'm not too fussed, I'd rather have an old car with some patina and imperfections than a minter that could only be used sparingly. With the B Series it should be easy to maintain and ideal for Sunday jaunts or Weekends away, avoiding Motorways if possible. Hopefully the past few years it's spent being religated for shows will become a thing of the past... 

[eddyramrod]

23 minutes ago, The Mighty Quinn said:

There is an article in one of those 1970's AA Drive magazines about a young lad who bought an A55 as his first car in 1971 - I shall try to find it.

I remember that!  Pale blue IIRC.

[bigstraight6]

Brilliant, I remember reading that article as a youngster! 64A60’s car looks stunning....

[64A60]

On 5/2/2020 at 4:11 PM, The Mighty Quinn said:

I love cars of this era. The styling, the willing old OHV engines and the smell of the interior and the sense of history they have. These, Oxfords and Consuls, still not too dear to buy one.

 

The last time I saw one in daily use was around 1980. That was grey as well. 40 years ago, and they were ancient then.

A 50's saloon has been on my want list for a long time- These Austins aren't the most desirable of them but cars from this era don't come up for sale often and there's plenty of bodged up crap around I could have wasted time and money viewing. This one I saw back in 2012 drew me to the A55- not perfect but it was a daily driver and used for touring both at home and abroad. Also had the rare optional Borg Warner Overdrive fitted. 

[flat4alfa]

Wandering about, eating an ice cream.  That's what I do at Harpenden too ?

I spot a Mr Gibbon!

[64A60]

Had this out again over the weekend after sitting since March. Sadly I've noticed white smoke when pulling away, a drop in coolant and Pancake Mix in the Rocker Cover so looks like it's off with the Cylinder Head soon. ?

[2flags]

Well at least the head gasket is a relatively simple job on these.  No need to worry about the cam timing.  Lovely car.  Would love to have a drive in one, particularly with the column change. Well bought sir.  

[64A60]

Back on the road at last! Me and a mate decoked the Head and replaced the Gasket but I ended up having to farm the Oil change out to a garage due to the awful position of the Filter on these cars. Took it to an evening old car gathering at the pub last week where I met a couple of friends of the previous deceased owner who were happy to see it again.  Plan to take it to chez @flat4alfa soon as he was ferried around in an identical example as a young un.