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3 hours ago, wlaidlaw said:

Dunk, 

Was it not more of a centrifugally operated clutch allied to a freewheel than a true automatic gearbox? When the Times tested this car, they commented adversely on the absence of ashtrays. Odd as the company's owner was a known smoker as were most men at this time. 

Wilson

Yes Wilson; there are no actual 'gears' (apart from reverse) but Wiki describes the auto transmission as: "An early automatic gearbox was available between 1934 and 1936 but few sold. 

Perhaps buyers did not trust the new fangled transmission which, in other marques, would have experienced difficulty competing against established fluid flywheel/ preselector transmissions. General Motors paid the transmission's developer a substantial $sum for the US manufacturing rights – but GM did not commence production. 

Surprised that no TLF members have so far not suggested an ID.  

Over a twelve (ish) year production period, over 12K examples of the gradually upgraded model were ordered/bought with the conventional g/box. 

I'll post a non-Wiki link documenting the story / history of the special auto-transmission when the actual car model name is posted ;) 

BW, dunk 

Edited by dkCambridgeshire
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The body change in 1935 was not in my view an improvement. It went from a rather elegant and upright saloon, if a tad staid, to a melted looking dumpy and ordinary body, typical of many of the then new unitary body styles, first introduced by Budd and Pressed Steel Fisher in the USA. The dies used at that time, could not make sharp creases or tight curves in the steel sheet. 

Wilson

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Graham, Not an Austin 12 HP; not a 'straight 4 cylinders' model.

Another photo minus its model name – but the normally 'visible' model name is not the complete name 

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54 minutes ago, Graham (G4FUJ) said:

Ah, it's larger than the two I mentioned.  I'd have to resort to Google to get any further.  Someone must recognise the model?

What's so irregular about using Google or any other search engine? We live in a digital age and sensible use of a search engine to check / pinpoint the model name of a car is not dissimilar to, e.g., consulting a book(s). Other members use their books and one example of book use was in the ID for the recent Goggomobil – where the member posted a page  from his book. Few people have 100% infallible photographic memories for every car manufactured :) 

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At first I thought it was the very similar looking Morris Big Six (16HP), which was also offered with a semi automatic gearbox in 1935. This was a different system to the Hayes variable speed toroidal gearbox on the Austin, which still required the use of a manual clutch to move off. A version of the Hayes gearbox much later, was offered in the Lotus Elite in the early 1960's. The Morris system used a centrifugal clutch together with a freewheel and a manual 4 speed box (synchro on top three). Once moving, you just lifted off the throttle and changed gear with the regular gear lever. You could only go into first when stationary. 

A housemaster at my school in Edinburgh had an Austin 16 of around 1930 which was on its very last legs. Before I joined the combined cadet force (minimum age 14) I was in the scouts which this man ran. He was one of the few good masters at that school and taught biology, which sadly I did not do but he also ran the scout troop. He gave us the Austin 16 to take apart to see how it all worked. He had bought a huge 1927 Rolls Royce Phantom 1 cabriolet, that had belonged to Sir Harry Lauder, the well known Scottish singer and music hall artist. We all used to go off to scout camp (about 10 boys) in, sitting on the furled hood and standing on the running boards of the Rolls, with the tents in a trailer behind. He had been a regular army colonel in the commandos before retiring at the end of the war, as he said he had had more than enough killing people. At scout camp he used to tell us of his exciting stories from WW2 and before that in Iraq, Malaysia, Borneo and Palestine. 

Wilson

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