Description

1929 Austin Seven Mulliner Saloon

Delightful coachbuilt Seven saloon; rare and in lovely order; known to the Mulliner Register; get ready for the 2022 Centenary

The Austin Seven may have been the cheapest new car on the market, but that didn't mean Austin scrimped on quality. A bit like the iconic Mini which was to follow 40 years on, the Seven appealed to all echelons of society and could cross class boundaries with ease.

The onset of mass-production had dictated that coachbuilders were starting to offer 'luxurious' coachwork on even the cheapest of cars, Austin providing rolling chassis' to numerous suppliers looking to differentiate themselves from the mainstream.

Mulliner had a superb reputation, and bodied the baby Austin with pretty fabric coarchwork which was both light and quiet - it even had exterior trimmings such as special scuttle vents and faux 'pram irons'.

This 1929 Mulliner lived in Taunton in 1950 according to its buff logbook, moving to Ludlow in 1954 from where it was spotted from the train near the station by an Austin enthusiast in 1960. He tipped off his friend who immediately set off with is dad to rescue the car which was by now living outside.

The car was duly located, but a sale had already been agreed with a local dealer, so he was tracked to a local hostelry and made a quick 100% profit - although at £2 - 10 shillings nobody was going to retire on the proceeds.

The car was immediately collected and towed on a rope 28 miles home where it was checked over and soon fired up, running well. The mechanical elements were in good shape showing little wear, but the screen pillars were virtually non existent and the fabric body had been crudely covered in thin aly sheet and painted grey.

Time passed and its owner took a job in Cardiff, the car being left with a friend for treatment which it never really got. It eventually was passed on in 1972 and was subsequently treated to a full restoration - sometime in the '90s we believe which was done to a very good standard.

It was offered through Robin Lawton in 2018 where it was spotted by the owner's late husband and felt too good to resist - especially so as he was a close friend of the person who rescued it from Ludlow some 50 years previously!

In really lovely order, it is now a few months since it was running, although we hope to have it fired up by the time of the sale. It is on offer with a selection of spares, a Pitmans book of the Austin Seven and Eight and an old style V5 to accompany the buff logbook and current V5C.

In lovely and original order, with its Mulliner fittings all present, this is a super opportunity to obtain a cosy saloon that is a bit different from the norm. The Mulliner Register knows of just 36 Mulliners all told, of which just nine are of this year and type.