The A55 badge covers two cars that share almost nothing — the pre-Farina Mk1 and the Pininfarina Mk2.
The A55 Mk1 arrived in January 1957, mechanically unchanged from the 1957 A50 but with a lengthened tail and a bigger boot, a larger wrap-around rear window, the A50’s “cow-hip” rear wing line deleted and a lowered rear sill. Same 1,489cc B-series at 51bhp, same Girling 9in drums with two leading shoes at the front, and a centre-floor gearchange became optional from April 1958. The half-ton commercials arrived the same year — van in February, pick-up in May. Then in 1959 the A55 Mk2 appeared, and it is a clean break rather than a facelift: an entirely new Pininfarina body with fins, 149,994 built.
Do not assume anything crosses between Mk1 and Mk2. They share the 1,489cc B-series and the Girling 9in drums and very little else — the Mk2 is a new shell with different glass, trim and panels, and it moved to SU carburation. The Countryman estate arrived with the Mk2 in the spring of 1960, not with the Mk1, so there is no Mk1 factory estate. The Mk2 has no synchromesh on first, with floor or column change. Australian production from 1959 used the 1,622cc engine rather than the 1,489, which matters if you are looking at an Australian-delivered car. The commercials outlived both saloons by years and took the 1,622 engine in September 1963.
Austin A55 Cambridge — specification & changes within the model
- A55 Mk1
- January 1957 – 1959. 1,489cc B-series, 51bhp @ 4250rpm, 81lb ft @ 2000rpm, 8.3:1, Zenith downdraught.
- A55 Mk2
- 1959–1961. New Pininfarina body. 1,489cc B-series with SU carburation, around 52–55bhp. 149,994 built.
- Brakes
- Girling, 9in drums all round, two leading shoes at the front, 121 square inches of friction area. Girling, not the Lockheed of the A30 and A35.
- Gearbox
- Four-speed. Column change, with a centre floor change optional on the Mk1 from April 1958. Mk2 has no synchromesh on first, floor or column.
- Mk1 vs A50
- Lengthened tail and bigger boot, larger wrap-around rear window, the A50’s cow-hip rear wing line deleted, lowered rear sill, more chrome around the headlamps, 13in wheels.
- Mk1 vs Mk2
- Completely different bodies. The Mk2 is a new Pininfarina shell — glass, trim and panels do not cross.
- Bodies
- Four-door saloon throughout. Countryman estate from spring 1960, Mk2 only. Half-ton van from February 1957 and pick-up from May 1957.
- Commercials
- Outlived the saloons by years. Wider grille from 1962; Morris-badged versions have straight grille bars instead of the crinkly Austin ones; 1,622cc engine from September 1963.
- Australia
- Assembled by BMC Australia, using the 1,622cc engine from 1959 — two years before Britain. A coupe utility was designed and assembled by Pressed Metal Corporation in Sydney.
