The Austin 18/6 York Extreme Restoration

– Certain areas of the country are a ‘hotbed’ of classic car collections. The South Coast has dozens of clubs with thousands of members, my task is to seek out just some of them and bring a new story to classiccarmag.net each month. The first heard about this month’s favourite was from a work college, who asked would I be interested in seeing his father in laws Austin. My head was instantly filled with any Austin I could think of from the Seven to the Princess. “It’s an 18/6 York” he said, my head must have tilted to one side like a puppy waiting for a biscuit, “oh yes, go on” I said trying to make out I knew what he was talking about, “she is quite something” he said, and he was right. If my book shelf fails me on the research front there is always the web, neither produced very much, I knew what the car should look like but that was about it, so one sunny Sunday morning we met up and all went for a drive down to the seafront, owner and restorer Roger Christensen drove whilst telling the tale of his time with this marvellous car. In the mid-1930s the Austin Motor Companies Longbridge plant was building a vast range of automobiles and company boasted they could ramp up production to 80,000 units a year, and at the higher end came the 16, 18 and 26 models. The York came with 16 and 18hp six cylinder engines the 18 enlarged to 2511cc, it’s a big car with additional fold out (dickey) seats to accommodate seven in comfort, with quality leather, wood, pile carpets and armrests. Early models had wire 19 inch wheels this car being later 1937 has 16 inch steel rims and I was really impressed with the built in hydraulic jack system located in the engine bay, it can lift the whole car or you can opt for front or back. The Chalfont and Ivor models were the chauffeurs’ choice and had a partition wall fitted. Rogers York would have cost about £350.00 including the additional seats in 1935 and 4300 had been built when production stopped due to the start of WW2, after the war it was replaced by the Austin Sheerline. Moving forward to the early 1960s it seems the car failed its MOT, Roger suspects poor maintenance of the rod braking system may well have been the cause, she was pushed into a lockup in Chesterfield, neglected for over 20 years. With trailer in tow Roger found the car in a sad state as shown in the early photo, the headlights had been used as footballs and the huge bonnet as a sledge. Obviously not much scares him and what remained of the York headed south in 1985, laughter and scorn (in a nice way) greeted Roger upon his return home, some thought this car would not see the open roads again. When a restoration involves a complete strip that tends to mean everything, the only part of the car Roger said he did not have to dismantle/rebuild/recommision or replace was the lovely time clock on the dash, and it took three broken speedo displays to make one that worked, and still does. The engine was seized solid! Surprisingly once the pistons were prized from the barrels the bore was found to be fine, it was just the rest of the engine that was “knackered”. We discussed the list of jobs Roger undertook with the York back in 1985 far too many to list here, but the door frames being Ash had really suffered along with the interior. The sunroof rails were rotten and to get over the problem Roger had to weld up 148 pop-rivet holes, exactly 148 he counted them!! Roger was originally trained as a panel beater which would no doubt come in useful on this project. I have great admiration for people who take on these mammoth projects and this one must have been one of the biggest, but two (hard) years later in September 1987 with the help of family and friends despite working full time as a workshop foreman for a local coach company, the York was back on the road. Now 26 years later the York still looks in great condition, she has carried many a nervous bride in comfort to her big day. Given the family some great memories on days out to shows or just fun drives, the York has travelled a total of 16,500 miles so far since Roger completed the restoration. In 1989 a TV detective series called Campion based on the mystery novels from author of the same name and starring Peter Davidson (Tristan from All Creatures Great and Small) came calling, from a wreck in a lock up in Chesterfield to the TV stardom alongside a stunning Lagonda 16/80. It was great fun to spend time around the lovely York and my thanks go out to Andy and Roger for making it happen, and to all the Rogers I say please don’t stop what you are doing, people really appreciate your efforts. With the new season now upon us the chance to find some more classic gems beckons, I will be out at the shows and events down south. Also reports from some of my favourite shows including The Rubis Jersey International Motoring Festival 7, 8and 9June and the White Dove Collectors Transport Show in Hampshire 11August in aid of the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice. Photography and Article by Grant Ford.Tags: Coastal Classics