The surprising survival of a Seven Special

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For the past hundred years or so, there’s never been a shortage of Austin Sevens in the UK. Unsurprisingly, many of these little cars ended up being modified into what are now known as 1950s Specials—named for the era when so many were transformed. Alongside sidevalve-engined Fords, the Austin Seven was the go-to donor vehicle. And for good reason: while their bodies often succumbed to rust and landed them in scrapyards across the country, their chassis and running gear usually remained serviceable. Most importantly, they were cheap as chips.

This particular 1950s Special is based on a 1920s Seven, but it wasn’t quite built in the spirit of those sporting machines created by men who would go on to make names for themselves—think Colin Chapman, Trevor Wilkinson, Eric Broadley, John Cooper, Jem Marsh, or Major Arthur Mallock, all of whom began with cars like these. Instead, this creation by Clive Talbot of Chiswick appears to have been made more for fun. It’s pictured here “at low tide on the Thames at Strand-on-the-Green,” in September 1959.

If you were around at the time and into Ford and Austin Seven Specials, you might well have seen it before. The car featured in full-page advertisements for Ferodo brake linings in all the major motoring magazines of the day.

So what became of it? We entered the registration number YX 6686 and were surprised to find it still very much in use—now as an Austin Seven Chummy! Yes, it appears the car was restored to its original body style. But that’s not the whole story. According to the Society of Automotive Historians, there’s more:

“Even more remarkable—the boat body not only survived, but was transferred to a 1937 Austin Seven ‘Ruby’ chassis. Looking much as it did in those heady ‘Ferodo’ days, it is now on display at Sweden’s Motala Motor Museum, some 80 miles southwest of Stockholm.”

Quite a journey over the decades—and quite a few transformations along the way!

Words: Jeroen Booij
Picture: June Lander / Ferodo / Flickr / Motala Motor Museum

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