A Weymann bodied Austin Six uncovered. (Upd. a Gordon or Hoya or ??? 12/6 Light)

Hello, just chanced on this. Since it is badged Austin SIX then to me it is a 16hp 6 cylinder (3 piece engine) not a "light six". Assuming of course that the radiator and badge are originsl to the car! This was the larger engined, same chassis, car as the Heavy 12/4, the 16/6 running from 1928 to 1934 - all with a 4 speed box. A common saying of course is that all that is fabric is not Weymannman. It could be a factory body - as the Beaconsfield was for example, or it could be a Gordon body or many others. There are ways of identifying Weymann bodies and photographs of the exposed timberwork would be necessary. Also photos of the engine would aid correct identification of the car. If you are interested, I rebuilt the unique Weymann bodied Magnet coupe which was a 16/6. See search on Winterbourne Austin 16/6. If you think I can help further then please let me know. Gareth.

This car is both a 12/6 and a 14/6! In fact the RAC horsepower, which was based only on cylinder bore diameter, was 13.9. However the bore and stroke were 61.25 x 84.69, giving 1,496cc. The stroke was short for a British car of the time and in fact the Austin Light 12/4 was a geniune 12 (11.9hp) even though its capacity was greater- 1,535cc. In the 'market' 1.5 litre cars were usually 12's, so that was the 'class' of this car and Austin called it accordingly. The fabric body was a standard Austin type and called the Clifton, but it was not popular. In 1931 only 644 were made, whereas 8,542 steel bodied saloons were built. Only steel bodies were offered for 1932 and only 1,867 12/6's of all styles were made that year. The Four speed gearbox was introduced in the week of 5th December 1931. Magna type wheels were introduced in 1932, but not in time for introduction of the new 10/4 in April that year, ad so they cannot be correct for a three speed 12/6. In the 1950's tyres could be almost impossible to find and often complete wheels and tyres were 'swapped' with those on cars in scrap yards that had better ones. That may explain the slightly later wheels here- it happened to my own 1933 Talbot at that time.

How it would have looked when new, Nice story.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/motoring/article-1261950/Rare-Austin-stood-garage-50-years-discovered--starts-time.html
Stuart

A fabric covered body is not necessarily a Weymann. Weymann was a particular form of body construction, other forms of fabric-covered (really, leatherette) bodies were built in England. For example, Gordon England offered fabric bodies of their own construction method on Austin 7s, and maybe on Austin 12s, Hoyal made another system, and there were others.

A very interesting find, and when restored, a nice car to drive. I owned an original 1931 12/6 saloon in the late 1970's. Not fast but very smooth compared with the four cylinder model and utterly reliable. However, if it is a '31 it is fitted with the wrong wheels as they should be small solid center type with exposed wheel nuts!

Can't say I have ever heard of an Austin 14/6. The 12/6 of 1496cc was introduced in 1931 with a 3-speed gearbox. 4-speed was optional in 1932 and standard from 1933. From 1934 this was supplemented with a 1711cc with 65.5mm bore giving an RAC rating of 16hp This was known as the Austin 16/6
Reg Harris - Australia

This is an Austin 12/6, also known as the Light 12 to distinguish it from the popular 12/4 (known as the Heavy Twelve). If it has a three speed gearbox, then it dates from 1931; 4-speeds were introduced in 1932. It is not a 14/6, which was introduced in the mid-Thirties. The Weyman fabric body was typical of the late Twenties and early Thirties, although I have not come across one on the 12/6 chassis before - a very nice find!