Austin A30

Infobox Automobile


name =Austin A30
manufacturer =Austin/BMC
production =1951-1956
223,264 cite book |last=Sedgwick |first= Michael|coauthors=Gillies |title=A-Z of cars 1945-1970 |year=1993 |publisher=Bay View Books |location=UK |id=ISBN 1-870979-39-7]
predecessor =
successor =Austin A35
class =
body_style =4-door saloon
2-door saloon
2-door estate
van
engine =803 cc "A-Series" I4
transmission =4 speed manual
weight =
wheelbase =convert|79.5|in|mm|0|abbr=oncite book |last=Culshaw |first= |coauthors=Horrobin |title=Complete Catalogue of British Cars |year=1974 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |id=ISBN 0-333-16689-2]
length =convert|136.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on
width =convert|55|in|mm|0|abbr=on

The A30 was a compact car produced by Austin Motor Company in the 1950s. Introduced in 1951 as the "New" Austin Seven", it was Austin's answer to the Morris Minor. At launch the car cost £507, undercutting the Minor by £62.cite book |last=Robson |first=Graham |title=A-Z British Cars 1945-1980|year=2006 |publisher=Herridge & Sons |location=Devon, UK|id=ISBN 0-9541063-9-3 ]

The bodywork, designed by an aeronautical engineer, was fully stressed monocoque construction, the first Austin to be made in this way, which made it both lighter and stiffer than most contemporary vehicles. Its newly-designed A-Series straight-4 engine was state of the art for the time and returned an average fuel consumption of 42 mpg / under 7L/100 km. With spirited driving the A30 was able to attain a top speed of convert|70|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on. [Factory quoted] . In their road test The Motor magazine achieved a top speed of convert|67.2|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on and a 0-60 mph time of 42.3 seconds. Braking was effected by a hybrid system, with Lockheed fully hydraulic drum brakes at the front and a body mounted single cylinder operating rods to the wheels at the rear, which despite being heavily criticised as being archaic and old-fashioned, were reported as being quite acceptable. The rod system provided good handbrake efficiency and was applied by a lever in an unorthodox position to the right of the drivers seat (Right hand drive vehicles). Bumps were handled by independent coil springs at the front end and beam axle/semi-elliptic leaf springs at the back.

A car tested by The Motor magazine in 1952 had a top speed of convert|62|mph|km/h|abbr=on and could accelerate from 0-convert|50|mph|km/h|abbr=on in 29 seconds. A fuel consumption of convert|38.8|mpgimp|L/100 km mpgus was recorded. The test car cost £553 including taxes. The optional radio was an extra £43 and the heater £9cite journal | authorlink = Unsigned |title = The A30 Austin Seven Road Test| journal =The Motor| volume = | pages = | date = November 12 1952]

Inside there were individual seats at the front and a bench at the rear covered in PVC but evidence of economy was seen in only having a single windscreen wiper and sunvisor in front of the driver. A passenger side wiper and sunvisor, and a heater were available as extras.

Despite originally only being offered as a 4-door saloon, 2-door variants were introduced in 1953, and in 1954 a van and van-based "countryman" estate were made available. Despite having a smaller loading capacity than the equivalent BMC O-type Minor based vans (60 cu ft / 18.3 cm3 as opposed to 76 cu ft / 23 cm3) the Austin van offered the same payload. Being slightly lighter and stiffer, it was favoured by businessmen, and saw long service for many.

The saloon car was replaced by the A35 in 1956 after having sold nearly ¼ million units but the Countryman estate lasted until 1962 and vans until 1968.

The A30 had a smaller rear window than the A35 and trafficators instead of modern indicators which popped out from the B pillar when operated by a knob mounted on the centre of the dashboard.

The car was quite successful in 1950s saloon car racing and some still appear in historic events.

Australian production

The A30 was produced in Australia by the Austin Motor Company from 1952 to 1954 and by its successor British Motor Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd from 1954 to 1956 . [The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 24 & 62]

Engine

* 803 cc BMC A-Series engine Straight-4.
* 58 mm bore x 76 mm stroke
* pushrod operated overhead valves
* compression ratio 7.2:1
* single Zenith carburettor
* 28 hp (21 kW) at 4400 rpm
* 40 lbf·ft (54 Nm) at 2200 rpm

References

*British Family Cars of the Fifties. Michael Allen. Haynes Publishing Group. 1985. ISBN 0-85429-471-6

External links

* [http://www.austina30.co.uk/ The Austin A30 Site. A30 photographs, free screensaver, parts noticeboard+ ]
* [http://www.austinmemories.com Austin Memories]