1960 Austin Cambridge

MK II Sedan

4 - Cyl.

Manual

A-HS8L-89627

Gasoline

One owner 1960 Austin A55 Cambridge four door, left hand drive. The biggest little British car you will ever see. The history- This car was purchased new by a gentleman in Canada in 1960. In December of 1961, weary of the freezing cold winters and lack of opportunity, our Canadian gentleman loaded up his wife and five children and crossed the border into the United States. He drove the Austin south until he found a warm place with plenty of oppportunity to resume his trade, which was that of a wood joiner. The Austin came to rest in Athens, Georgia along with her owner and his precious human cargo. The owner built a beautiful house in the country along with a shop and some out buildings, produced three more children and settled into the busy life of raising a family and pursuing his career. Ten years flew by, almost imperceptibly, and suddenly the owner's second son was ready to join the United States Air Force. The family had long outgrown the Austin. She had developed several mechanical issues and, though she only had 47,000 miles on her, was no longer being used. The owner asked his son if, before he left, he would push the Austin to the back of the property and store it in a lean-to where they kept extra lumber. The son dutifully complied, putting the Austin up on wood blocks, removing the wheels and storing them in the trunk. Some time after the son had left, the owner decided he needed more storage for lumber and built another small barn directly in front of the lean-to, which land locked the Austin. Flash forward another forty years. It is now 2011. Our gentleman has been gone for a few years now and his wife carries on as the head of the family. Last Spring's storms blew down the extra small barn at the back of the property and the owner's widow summoned her second son to clear the debris. The son, as always, dutifully complied and removed every trace of the barn. The Austin, after all this time, could be freed! No one in the family knows much about cars so it is decided to dispose of the poor Austin. Speedwell got wind of the car and, not wishing to see it go to the crusher, bought the car from the owner's estate and presents it now on Ebay in the hopes that someone will recognize the importance of returning this car to her former self. This may be the only example of a left hand drive Austin A55 Cambridge in the United States. The only rust on this car is superficial (see pictures) and she would not be very hard to restore. The engine is a 1500cc B-series engine just like that in the 1500 MGAs. It is likely that it could be easily replaced with an 1800cc B-series engine like that in an MGB as they are one in the same engine save displacement and a few technicalities (But 100hp vs the original 55hp). The car is complete, everything is there including the original key and owner's manual. Imagine restoring this car, driving onto the British car show field and nobody has any idea what it is! This is not a small car. I parked a client's TR6 next to it for perspective in the pictures. She looks like a cross between a Triumph Herald and a 1956 Chevrolet. This car has bench front and rear seats and can accomodate six people very easily. This Austin is equipped with the optional heater. This is the first car I have ever seen with front AND rear wing windows. I stood a beer up in the trunk for perspective and we calculate that you could fit a good 12 cases of beer in there if you wanted to. The front suspension is similar to an MGB, a fairly simple layout. The whole car is fairly basic mechanically and would be a great candidate for the novice restorer due to it's lack of complexity. Also, most of the mechanical parts are right off of BMC's shelf for other more popular cars. All the glass is in good shape except for the windshield which has a crack. The windshield from a RHD example would work fine. Interesting club websites: www.co-oc.org and http://www.acwcc.org/index.html Production information about the A55: The A55 Cambridge Mark II, known as the first "Farina" model because of its Pininfarina design, was produced from 1959 through to 1961. It was a rebadged Morris Oxford and retained the 1.5 L B-Series engine, now with an SU carburettor, and producing 55 bhp (41 kW) at 4350 rpm. The interior had individual leather trimmed seats in front spaced closely together to allow a central passenger to be carried. The gear change was either on the column or floor mounted and the handbrake lever between the driver's seat and the door. Other improvements highlighted at the time included an enlarged luggage compartment with counterbalanced lid and increased elbow width on both front and rear seats. A heater could be fitted as an optional extra. The engineering of the car was conventional with coil sprung independent front suspension and a live axle at the rear with semi elliptic leaf springs. The braking used a Girling system with 9 in (229 mm) drums all round. Just under 150,000 were built in total. A MkII A55 was tested by The Motor magazine in 1959 had a top speed of 75.5 mph (121.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 24.5 seconds. A fuel consumption of 31.0 miles per imperial gallon (9.11 L/100 km; 25.8 mpg-US) was recorded. Back in those days Georgia did not issue titles for cars so this sale would be by Bill of Sale. I can provide official verification of this from the State to aid anyone living in a state requiring a title to register the car. Obviously, this car does not run and the brakes do not work, however, the car rolls fairly easily and we will be happy to assist in the loading process so bring a trailer. If you are an overseas buyer, please read the following: I have an agent in the UK who can make arrangements to ship anywhere in the world. His name is Terry Pittaway with Phoenix Cargo and his email is terry.pittaway@phoenix-cargo.com He will be glad to provide a shipping quote. I recommend shipping in a container rather than Roll-on, Roll-off service. With a container, the car is much better protected and you can ship anything you want with the car. With RORO you can only ship the car with no contents and the car is exposed to the sea air. You are welcome to use your own agent if you wish. You will find me very communicative and forthcoming with documentation and information. I can arrange for the car to be delivered by insured trailer to Port Charleston in South Carolina or Port Savannah in Georgia for an additional $500. over the purchase price. Thank you for looking at this unique car. We do hope someone recognizes this gem for what she is. Please feel free to email with any questions or to request any specific pictures. On Jul-18-11 at 04:55:21 PDT, seller added the following information: My shipping agent's website: WWW.PHOENIX-CARGO.COM