1960 Austin 7 Hamblin Cadet

In the heady days of the late fifties, a Sherborne schoolboy spent too much of his academic career trying to glimpse what was afoot at The Hamblin Motor Works in the town.  Clearly he could see some exciting cars taking shape, along the lines of those watched at Goodwood in the hands of Tony Brooks, Roy Salvadori, Moss and others. Hard working young apprentices were honing their skills under the watchful eyes of their brilliant Foreman, Gerry Helson.

So some 60 years on and said schoolboy, being now DVCA’s Southern Area Rep, was thrilled to have uncovered a superb example of Hamblin engineering and one of the said apprentices being Brian Chant, now proprietor of DVCA. Much excitement has ensued and we are very proud indeed to be able to offer such a pretty example in the forthcoming auction.

Known as the Hamblin Cadet and marketed originally by Super Accessories, this delightful little two seater was one of the most desirable ‘Specials’ of the period to have been built using Austin Seven chassis and running gear. This particular example was constructed in 1960 and assembled, we believe, by a gentleman in Reading. From there, it is understood to have passed to a London chartered surveyor, Malcolm Marsden. Via a devious route, the sports car, now in a sorry state, found its way by coincidence back to Sherborne, for a body-off, bare chassis restoration carried out by Major Marques Ltd in 1990. Judging by the records in the history file, the restoration was comprehensive and further improvements and modifications were completed. In 2011, John Beat Racing Ltd of Kent rebuilt the engine and the braking system and modified the steering column, fitting a quick release steering wheel at the same time. The total cost for this phase of work was £5495.

The interesting history accompanying the Hamblin Cadet includes a V5C registration certificate, a newspaper article, numerous photographs of the restoration, historical Hamblin information and invoices.

Auction Date: 7 June 2018