I know, I know. It's not a full size car but it is an Austin and I think it deserves to be here.
(It's not a Marina. It's actually modeled after the Austin A40 but it wasn't listed so I chose the next best thing.)
It all started in the late 70's when my uncle found it in the garbage. After some convincing and bribing, he eventually sold it to my father. I was about 8 years old.
My younger brother and I and some of my friends beat the crap out of this thing on a regular basis and I almost got killed in it on more than one occasion. (It's amazing the speed you can get going down a hill in one of these!!!!)
After we abused it for a few years, this is what it looked like:
Skip ahead 30 years or so........................
I'm now 30 something and have children of my own and the beloved gocart has been sitting for decades.
My 4 year-old son noticed it one day (it was burried in the garage) and insisted we "fix the hot rod daddy".
That was the motivation I needed to fix her up.
I had it completely sandblasted.
And began welding, hammering, cutting, filling and fixing the years of abuse and punishment I had put it through.
The original wheels and tires were shot so new ones were sourced and white-walls were painted:
And a classic 50's hot-rod/rat-rod theme was decided upon.
And now it looks like this......
I built a new aluminum steering wheel because the old one was gone, new upholstery, new electrics (headlights and horn are functional) and new paint inside and out.
I did some research and found out it was an Austin J40 pedal car. The pedals were long gone so now we just push it around. From looking up the serial number and some other clues, we gave an educated guess at it being built around 1954.
These cars were built in England from 1950 to 1971 by disabled coal miners. They used the scrap metal that was left over from building actual full-size cars. They originally sold for 33 Pounds which was equal to about 2-3 weeks full salary for the average man.
They are now quite collectable and are even being reproduced in fiberglass.
One example has gotten to be known as the "Huggies" car because one was used in a Huggies comercial where it is seen being washed by a toddler.
Anyway, that's my latest creation. I hope you enjoy it.
If you get a chance, take a look at my other Austin. It's a 1976 mini undergoing severe restoration.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2544491
Thanks.
UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!!
The car you see above has just been featured in the readers rides section of Car Culture Deluxe. Woo hoo!
