Registration - VSY 428

Chassis No. - ARR252597

M.O.T. - Exempt

Odometer - 14,072

Characterful and captivating in deep green over black bodywork, this example of Austin’s Seven is offered at No Reserve. Fitted with a Reliant 747cc over-head valve four-cylinder engine, this is matched to a four-speed manual gearbox, with plenty of work carried out on the powertrain over the past few years. The cabin matches the exterior colour scheme, with green leather seats, green door cards and trim, and black carpets and dashboard, with the two-door saloon’s patinated dashboard clearly original.

Owned by the seller for the past four years, ‘VSY 428’ has only had nine registered keepers over the last 89 years. The vendor is only selling due to space, and describes the Seven as starting and driving fine, ‘just requiring some TLC with the body’. As such, they describe the bodywork, paint, and interior as in ‘average’ condition, while the engine, transmission, and electrics are considered ‘good’. This would reflect the recent work undertaken, which includes a new carburettor, starter motor, distributor cap, spark plugs, oil filter, choke cable, accelerator cable, battery cables and terminals, fuel pipe, bonnet catch, and brake lights. Showing an indicated 14,000 miles, it essentially hasn’t moved in the past 15 years according to previous MOT reports.

• Offered at No Reserve
• Desirable and drivable Austin Seven
• Ideal project car without requiring an overhaul

Having started out life building larger models, company founder Sir Herbert Austin started work on designing a smaller car in 1920. The ideas was to build a smaller, more affordable family car, inspired by the Horsepower Tax of 1921, and two years later, having styled the car largely himself, and had it engineered by an 18-year old draughtsman called Stanley Edge – who persuaded Austin to use a compact four-cylinder petrol engine – the Seven was ready. Producing 7.2 hp, it was built on an A-frame chassis influenced by American trucks, and the styling took inspiration from Peugeot. Almost 2,500 units were produced in the first year of production, not as many as initially hoped for, but demand picked up quickly, and by the end of production in 1939, almost 300,000 cars and vans had rolled out of the factory.