It is just about possible—though barely conceivable—that there are some readers of this journal who are not completely enamoured with the Austin Seven. Since such a point of view is unfathomable to your scribe, who is yet to discover any more enjoyable form of motoring than scooting up hill and down dale in a vintage specimen, I make no apologies for proceeding with a report from 61st National Austin Seven Rally, held at Beaulieu on 30th June, and recommending it as an excellent day out for all who enjoy the vintage car scene at its most informal and, indeed, most affordable.
Expertly organised by the Pre-War Austin Seven Club, this year's entry list ran to 188 cars, not including late entries, and, considering the event is necessarily confined to a single model of car, the variety of exhibits was tremendous, spanning early 'scoop scuttle' Chummys from 1923 to some of the last Rubys from 1939. Of course, Chummys, Box saloons and Rubys were there by the dozen, but with so many coachbuilders and special-builders having taken the Seven to heart over the course of its 102-year existence, there was no shortage of rare variations and intriguing one-offs. Undoubtedly, the coachbuilder most closely associated with the Seven is Swallow, and many will be of the opinion that its daintily elegant coachwork resulted in the best-looking members of the whole Seven family. In any case, Gary Edwards arranged for the Swallow Register to stage its annual rally in conjunction with the Austin Seven Rally, and a highlight of the occasion was a display of no fewer than 13 Seven Swallows, plus two examples of the ever-so-pretty Wolseley Hornet Swallow; one of them, resplendent in delightful duck-egg blue, evoked the glamorous seafrontconcours d'éléganceof the early 1930s, while the other, with its wonderfully scruffy old paint, looked like the sort of jaunty steed a 1950s student might have been running on a shoestring.
Other examples of special period coachwork included a couple of Arrow Sports models, a 1928 Gordon England Cup and a 1929 Mulliner Sports. A much more subtle specimen was the 1932 car with Tickford cabriolet coachwork, which could so easily have passed for one of Longbridge's own creations, resembling as it did a precursor to the Pearl cabriolet of 1934-38. Elsewhere, a 1930 Rosengart LR4 van provided a rare opportunity to inspect one of the licenced Seven copies produced in France.
Walking among the saloons, a particular highlight was Dave Wall's somewhat oily-rag 1930 model. Dave bought it from the Isle of Wight seven years ago, prior to which he doesn't know much of its history, but his enthusiastic driving in V.S.C.C. and classic trials has doubtless contributed to its well-used appearance. If it's history we're after, there was surely nothing to beat David Astle's remarkably well-preserved 1934 RP saloon. Originally, it served as the personal transport of an Austin agent, Mr. Wilks, of the Brecon Road Garage in Crickhowell, Wales. In 1945, he sold it a local gamekeeper named Alec Cole, whose nephew, Aubrey Games, was an employee at Wilks's garage. When Cole died in 1968, he left it to Games, who maintained the car for 20 years but did not drive it. Since 1987, it has been owned by a string of enthusiasts and, apart from a spot of repainting, remains exactly as it left the factory. David Astle, a keen Sevenist, bought it last year with just 26,551 miles from new. On the other hand, Simon Boyle from the Isle of Wight desires to know more about 1936 Ruby, which he has owned for just eight weeks and put back on the road, as it had been barn-stored for eight years previously. Apart from the fact that it retains its original Isle of Wight registration and may have been restored in the 1990s, it is completely lacking history. Simon would very much like to learn about its past, so if anyone has any knowledge of ADL 816, please e-mail editor@prewarcar.com and we will forward it.
Moving to the other extreme, the specials, one which stood out more than any other was the 1933 Cambridge Special of Tom Powell Jr., a unique and eye-catching car with a rich history. Tom Powell Sr., his grandfather, whose name will be familiar to certain transport enthusiasts as the founder of Unipower, which built forestry tractors, owned the car at least as early as 1951. Originally an RN or RP saloon, he set about turning it into a sportyspecial for his son Tim, who would later be responsible for developing the Unipower GT. Tim enjoyed it until he was about 20 years old, when he was in the fortunate position of being able to spend £499 on a new Lotus Seven. Tim's brother Andy—Tom Jr.'s father—took custody of it in 1960, when he was 15, rebuilt it and proceeded to run it for two or three years as his only transport. It was a faithful steed; both Tim and Andy took it on trips to the Continent. It served its purpose for a time, and then got relegated to the back of a shed. As a 14-year-old, the young Tom vowedto one day revive it. That day came 34 years later, in 2020. The car was, by then, quite tired and very much a project. Several bodywork modifications were undertaken with the involvement of Roach Engineering, including extending the tub to accommodate Tom's 6ft. 4in. frame, making fully-faired front wings for better protection from wet roads, and setting it all off with a rakish aluminium side spear. Several performance and handling upgrades were also incorporated. The sports shock absorber conversion is obvious, while the engine is enlivened by a Cambridge head, twin SUs and a bespoke exhaust manifold. Although now so extensively modified that it perhaps does not quite qualify as a true pre-war car, its history, originality and attention to detail place it very much in a league of its own, and it is surely worthy of appreciation as one of the most accomplished and up-to-date machines in the special-building tradition.
They are just some of the highlights from the show field, but the Beaulieu Rally is by no means a static event, with driving tests taking place throughout the day, in which participants ranged from an enthusiastic eight-year-old to Lord Montagu in his own Pearl cabriolet. Should anyone wish to visit the National Motor Museum for anything other than the autojumble, the Austin Seven Rally is the best motoring event on its calendar. It's already confirmed for June 29th, 2025, so if you don't already own a Seven, you'd best buy one in preparation.
Words and photographs: Zack Stiling
