1948 Austin 16 DeLuxe

At the end of WW II, it was apparent that Britain was good at designing and building battle tanks. One could therefore be forgiven for thinking that some now redundant tank designers may have found their way into the drawing office of the Austin Motor Company. The Austin 16 was produced from 1945 to 1949 and should not be confused with the pre-war model of the same name. The Sixteen designation actually referred to the likely road tax rather than the horsepower.

Using the chassis of the pre-war Austin 12, but with a totally new body and powerful four cylinder overhead valve engine of 2199cc, the sixteen was said to be capable of 75mph  from its 67bhp.  A four speed manual gearbox was fitted and a built -in hydraulic jacking system shared with the London Taxi of the period. During the bitterly cold winter of 1947, a team of three of these vehicles undertook a run to visit seven North European capitals in seven days.

This fine example has had just three previous owners and has been in the current custodianship for almost twenty years, during which time it has clearly been well maintained throughout. The motor car is in very good condition and has benefitted from near-constant attention. We are informed that the bodywork was repainted approximately 25 years ago and remains in good order. New carpets to the original specification were fitted 19 years ago, and a stainless exhaust was installed in 2014. A new battery was fitted in 2019 and in 2020, work was carried out on the engine with the fitting of a new timing chain. The original-type tyres were fitted 100 miles ago, at which point attention was also given to the braking system. The original carburettor has been rebuilt and the fuel pump was restored in the summer of this year. With this careful maintenance, the engine bay is immaculate, the motor car runs like a sewing machine and has proven to offer reliable transportation.

The bodywork and panel fit is now described as being very good. With regards to the interior, we are informed that the clock is not currently working but all other instrumentation is, and the upholstery in leather and Rexine is original and nice.

There is an extensive history included in the sale of the Austin, which includes the V5C registration certificate, DVLA and general correspondence, invoices, modern parts lists,  a 1948 Austin Sixteen parts list, maintenance information, old tax discs, MOT test certificates, a lubrication chart, photographs, photocopy road tests from ‘The Autocar’ and ‘The Motor’, and a copy of ‘The Autocar’ from 1946, together with a few pieces of social history from the era, including insurance documents and licensing and driving test applications from the 1950s.

Auction Date: 9 March 2023