Austin’s pre-war and post-war middleweights — and the cars the Petone line started with in 1946.
The Ten launched on 19 April 1932 and became Austin’s best-seller of the decade, around 290,000 built by the time it finished in October 1947. It used a 1,125cc side-valve four, 21bhp at first and 32bhp by 1939, with a four-speed gearbox that gained synchromesh on the top two ratios in 1934. The bodies carried names rather than numbers — Lichfield and Ripley in 1934, Sherborne in 1936, Cambridge and Conway in 1937 — alongside the Colwyn cabriolet, tourers, vans, pick-ups and the Tilly utility. The Twelve of 1939 to 1947 is a much rarer car, 8,600 built, with a 1,535cc side-valve four. The Fourteen is the odd one out: 1936 to 1939 only, and the only six-cylinder of the three, a 1,711cc side-valve. It was never revived after the war. New Zealand’s connection is direct — the first post-war locally assembled Austin rolled off at Petone in August 1946 from semi-knocked-down kits, and the mix was mainly Austin 8s and 10s.
May 1939 is the dividing line on the Ten. Up to 1938 it has a separate chassis. From May 1939 the body shell incorporates the floor in a semi-unitary structure, the bonnet becomes rear-hinged rather than side-opening, the grille rounds off and the cylinder head goes aluminium. That car is the GS1 and it ran through to October 1947, so a GS1 is not necessarily post-war. The Twelve kept a conventional chassis with beam axles throughout and does not share that change at all. Brakes on every one of these cars are mechanical — cable and rod at first, then Girling wedge-and-roller rod brakes in 9in drums from around 1936 — and none of them had hydraulics from the factory. That did not arrive until the A40 Devon. Electrically the Ten moved from 6 volt to 12 volt in 1934, while the Austin 8 running alongside it stayed at 6 volt.
Austin 10, 12, 14 — specification & changes within the model
- Austin 10
- 1932–1947, around 290,000 built. 1,125cc side-valve four (63.5 × 89mm), 21bhp rising to 32bhp by 1939. Four-speed, synchromesh on the top two from 1934.
- Austin 12
- 1939–1947, 8,600 built. 1,535cc side-valve four, 40bhp. Four-door six-light saloon. Conventional chassis with beam axles front and rear.
- Austin 14
- 1936–1939 only. 1,711cc side-valve straight six, 38.7bhp, raised to about 46bhp after a December 1937 revision. Goodwood saloon and cabriolet. No post-war car.
- Austin 8
- 1939–1948 alongside them. 900cc side-valve four (89 × 56.8mm), 27bhp. Semi-unitary like the 1939 Ten. 6 volt, positive earth.
- The 1939 change
- From May 1939 the Ten gets a semi-unitary body with the floor built in, a rear-hinged alligator bonnet, a rounded grille and an aluminium head. Factory designation GS1, and it runs to October 1947.
- Brakes
- Mechanical throughout, on all of them. Cable and rod at first; Girling wedge-and-roller rod brakes in 9in drums from about 1936. Never hydraulic from the factory.
- Electrics
- Austin 10: 6 volt to 1934, 12 volt after. Austin 8: 6 volt, positive earth.
- Telling them apart
- The 8 has smaller headlamps and a single small rear window; the 10 has two curvier rear windows. The post-war 8, 10 and 12 share an elongated centre-mounted instrument cluster.
- Post-war
- The Ten’s van reappeared with a larger 1,237cc engine. The saloon ran to October 1947 and was replaced by the A40 Devon.
- Built here
- First post-war locally assembled Austin at Petone, August 1946, from semi-knocked-down kits — mainly Austin 8s and 10s, with locally made trim items about 5 per cent of content.
