Lot Ended
Description
1958 Austin A35 Alexander Tuned
In Sebring
blue from new with Alexander tuning kit fitted in period; twin-carbs; discs up
front; loads of fun with proper Alexander history and
provenance
To the untrained eye, this A35 looks
much like the next, but dig a little deeper and it has secrets to
tell.
The vendor informs us that it was owned
for a period of some 30 years by Hewett Racing – well known for their exploits
racing Midgets and Sprites. We are not sure when, but at some point it has been
fitted with an Alexander Tuning Kit, a proper period addition that was a popular
mod in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.
Alexander
Engineering took on the Nuffield franchise in 1953. The mechanics in the
business were more used to getting the gaffer’s ERA to win races, so when they
breathed on and transformed his new Morris Minor while he was on holiday, a new
concept and business came into being. Larger valves, twin carbs and decent
manifolds were the order of the day and they soon looked around for other cars
to tune, the Standard 8 and 10 offering substantial power gains with simple
improvements to breathing – better still, Standard were even happy to continue
the factory warranty on converted units. Rootes soon followed suit and before
they knew it, Alexander Engineering were offering factory approved tuning kits
through main dealers on a wide range of new cars all over the
world.
The A-Series in the Austin A35 was also
given the treatment as fitted to this car here. A modified head, twin HS1 SU
carbs and a bespoke manifold gave big gains in power, torque and flexibility. In
this case, throw in a nicely balanced steel billet crank and Sprite front
suspension and disc brakes and the end result is rather a pocket
rocket.
The vendor of this one removed the head
a while back and measured the bore, which indicates a 1,098cc unit – no wonder
it goes rather well!
Fitted with modern seats
for comfort and security, the car is solid in the right places and was resprayed
a few years ago in its original shade of Sebring blue. More use and enjoy than
show queen, its interest lies in its period performance conversion which makes
it very entertaining to drive.
Contact
matthew.parkin@brightwells.com
* All charges are subject to VAT