Lot Ended
Description
From a deceased estate; rare model, one of around 700 made
and only four known to survive; current owner 24 years; in regular use
until recently; one for the Seven collector!
At first glance
this cute little Austin Seven RH Fabric Saloon may look like any other Seven,
but it is in fact an extremely rare survivor. As late as 2015 the Austin Seven
Clubs Association stated in their booklet ‘Identifying Austin Sevens from their
Factory Initials’ that, of the approximately 700 RH models built between May
1930 and early 1931, there were ‘no recorded survivors’. When the booklet was
revised by Graham Baldock in 2018 it stated that there were now ‘two recorded
survivors’.
Notes on file with this car suggest
that there may now even be four survivors, although one (chassis no. 132737) has
been rebodied as a Tourer so that doesn’t really count.
First registered in London in March 1931, this RH sadly comes with no
early history but an old buff logbook shows that from 1954 – 1978 it had four
owners, the first three in Swindon and the last in
Hungerford.
Our vendor acquired the car at an
Andrew Grant auction in Worcester in April 2001, the brief catalogue description
stating that it had been “reupholstered; engine possibly overhauled”, the
purchase invoice showing that it cost £4,940. While the buff logbook records the
engine number as M130320, it is now fitted with engine number M159270 although
the V5C still states the original number.
Invoices on file show that the suspension was overhauled by Cranmore
Classics of Wythall in 2009 with new rear springs plus various other items,
followed by a full waxoil treatment and road test, the car subsequently being
used as wedding transport when the owner's son got married. In May
2017 it was recommissioned for the road by A Davies of Bromsgrove which
included new crankshaft bearings and a new fabric drive coupling.
Two old MOTs show the mileage rising from 1,550
in May 2009 to 2,089 miles in May 2010, while 17 old tax discs imply that it was
in fairly regular use from 1988 – 2014, the odometer currently showing 2,402
miles.
On offer here from a deceased estate at
no reserve, we are told that it was last driven about two years ago. We did try
to start the car and although it turns over with good compression, it has
developed a fuel leak from the tap below the petrol tank which will
need to be investigated.
As you can see in the
photos, this rare and charming Austin looks to be in generally good
condition and would make an interesting addition to any collection. With so few
fabric-bodied Sevens surviving, it could be a very long time before you see
another RH for sale so bid vigorously now or kick yourself for your hesitancy
hereafter…
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com