Austin A30
Encyclopedia
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.
construction, the first Austin to be made in this way, which made it both lighter and stiffer than most contemporary vehicles. 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 sun visor in front of the driver. A passenger side wiper and sun visor, 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 / 1.70 m3 as opposed to 76 cu ft / 2.15 m3) 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.
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 70 mi/h (factory quoted). In their road test The Motor magazine achieved a top speed of 67.2 mi/h 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 62 mph (99.8 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–50 mph (80.5 km/h) in 29 seconds. A fuel consumption of 38.8 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £553 including taxes. The optional radio was an extra £43 and the heater £9. Performance data need to be seen in the context of fuel availability. Early in the Second World War "branded fuel" disappeared from sale in the UK, and the nationally available fuel available at the beginning of 1952 had an octane rating of just 70, which enforced relatively low compression ratios: this reduced the performance available from all cars, especially small ones. In 1952 branded fuels returned to the forecourts, available octane ratings began to increase, and compression ratios were progressively improved along with the performance figures of cars such as the Austin A30 and its A35 successor.
Compact car
A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
produced by Austin Motor Company
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
in the 1950s. Introduced in 1951 as the "New Austin Seven
Austin 7
The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...
", it was Austin's answer to the Morris Minor
Morris Minor
The Morris Minor was a British economy car that debuted at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.3 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1971...
. At launch the car cost £507, undercutting the Minor by £62.
Features
The bodywork, designed by an aeronautical engineer, was fully stressed monocoqueMonocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
construction, the first Austin to be made in this way, which made it both lighter and stiffer than most contemporary vehicles. Inside there were individual seats at the front and a bench at the rear covered in PVC
Polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...
but evidence of economy was seen in only having a single windscreen wiper and sun visor in front of the driver. A passenger side wiper and sun visor, 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
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
and van-based "countryman" estate
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
were made available. Despite having a smaller loading capacity than the equivalent BMC O-type Minor based vans (60 cu ft / 1.70 m3 as opposed to 76 cu ft / 2.15 m3) 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
Austin A35
The A35 was a small car sold by the British Motor Corporation under the Austin marque in the 1950s.-Design:Introduced in 1956, it replaced the highly successful Austin A30...
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
Austin A35
The A35 was a small car sold by the British Motor Corporation under the Austin marque in the 1950s.-Design:Introduced in 1956, it replaced the highly successful Austin A30...
and trafficators
Trafficators
Trafficators are semaphore signals which, when operated, protrude from the bodywork of a motor vehicle to indicate its intention to turn in the direction indicated by the pointing signal. Trafficators are often located at the door pillar.-History:...
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.
Performance
Its newly-designed A-SeriesBMC A-Series engine
Austin Motor Company's small straight-4 automobile engine, the A-Series, is one of the most common in the world. Launched in 1951 with the Austin A30, production lasted until 2000 in the Mini. It used a cast-iron block and cylinder head, and a steel crankshaft with 3 main bearings...
straight-4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
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 70 mi/h (factory quoted). In their road test The Motor magazine achieved a top speed of 67.2 mi/h 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
The Motor (magazine)
The Motor was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903....
magazine in 1952 had a top speed of 62 mph (99.8 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–50 mph (80.5 km/h) in 29 seconds. A fuel consumption of 38.8 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £553 including taxes. The optional radio was an extra £43 and the heater £9. Performance data need to be seen in the context of fuel availability. Early in the Second World War "branded fuel" disappeared from sale in the UK, and the nationally available fuel available at the beginning of 1952 had an octane rating of just 70, which enforced relatively low compression ratios: this reduced the performance available from all cars, especially small ones. In 1952 branded fuels returned to the forecourts, available octane ratings began to increase, and compression ratios were progressively improved along with the performance figures of cars such as the Austin A30 and its A35 successor.
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.Engine
- 803 cc BMC A-Series engine Straight-4.
- 58 mm bore x 76 mm stroke
- pushrod operated overhead valves
- compression ratioCompression ratioThe 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
7.2:1 - single Zenith carburettor
- 28 hp (21 kW) at 4400 rpm
- 40 lbf·ft (54 Nm) at 2200 rpm
External links
- The Austin A30 Site. A30 photographs, free screensaver, parts noticeboard+
- Austin Memories—History of Austin and Longbridge
- Photo of A30 in New Zealand, 1964