1949 Austin A40 one of a kind former drag race car.
Videos of the Austin can be seen on my YouTube channel at youtube.com/alteredaustin
There is a slideshow that I just made called Austin for Sale Slideshow containing dozens of pictures of the car, as well as an Austin playlist featuring 12 videos of the Austin which show it's progress. Please go and watch the videos. All pictures in the auction are within 2 weeks old. They show the car as it looks now.
This is a One Of A Kind hot rod. I've taken the Austin to quite a few shows over the 6 plus years that I've owned it and I've never seen another Austin A40 of any kind, 2 door, 4 door, pickup, panel truck, at a show. I've also won several trophies. The truth is that once the Austin shows up at a cruise or show, it becomes the center of everyone's attention. When I take this car to cruise nights or shows, crowds form around it while $100,000 show cars are ignored. You will probably never see another Austin A40 at a cruise or show. You will definitely NEVER see anything like this for sale again.
We call the Austin "Backseat Driver" because the engine is inside the car, where the front seat should be, and the car is driven from the backseat area. I've seen ONE other car built with this type of engine setback and I know for a fact the car was "street rodded" and the engine was moved under the hood and the uniqueness, history and character of that car were lost forever, making that Austin just another street rod.
There were several Austins built with the engine setback in the car in the 60's and 70's (this car was originally built in 1974), and I believe that this Austin A40 is the last one remaining and is now a One Of A Kind Car.
Weighing only 1800 pounds, when this car was raced it was a 10 second flat car.
The chassis is original from about the B pillar back. From the B pillar forward, the chassis is 2x3 tubing, custom made for the car.
When I purchased the Austin, my plan was to make it "street legal". I did that by adding headlights, a windshield wiper, a horn, mufflers and legal tires. Of course, any other parts that need to be replaced or repaired were, such as brake calipers, brake pads, wiring, etc. I had to replace the original headers which were rusty and banged up on the bottom of the tubes. I also moved the steering from a center steer arrangement to the left side of the car and added Kirkey aluminum seats to replace the single fiberglass dune buggy seat that came with the car. A new, bigger radiator was installed. I also added blinkers when the wiring was redone. Other than those things, this car is "as raced".
The body was stripped down to bare metal, the very few dents and minimal rust were fixed with metal patches and the car was primed with House of Kolor primer. (As of now, it could use a minor cleanup and reprime before paint.) People seem to love the green primer though.
A complete American Autowire wiring kit was installed. All the electrical on the car works perfectly.
While driving the car is actually easy, because you drive from so far back, it was very difficult to see traffic lights once you were stopped, (similar to a chopped coupe), so a sun roof was installed in the car in 2009. Austins actually came with a smaller sun roof as an option.
I have grille and all the trim, door handles, and trunk handle for the car. I also have the Austin of England hood script. They were removed during the body restoration. I do not have the Flying A hood ornament.
Once again: There is NOTHING else out there like this car. It is 100% unique. It is very likely the ONLY car of it's kind in existance. If it's not a one of a kind in the world, it is in America.
So it's understood: This car is a stripped down, gutted, ex-drag race car. The body is basically a shell on the chassis. There are no inner door panels, there's no inner trunk panel, no headliner, no upholstery except for the seat padding. The wheelie bars that are on the car in some of the pictures are necessary if you're really going to get on it. The front end will lift off the ground. (The wheelie bars are off the car now and need an easy repair, but they go with the car.) There's no air conditioning. There's no heat. There's no radio (you wouldn't be able to hear it anyway).
This is a drag race car with all the equipment added to it to make it street legal.
There are currently no side windows in the car, I was planning to paint it and put in light blue plexiglass windows. I do have the original plexiglass (they might be Lexan) side windows, which were riveted in and which can be used for patterns. Adding windows will take much less than a full 4 x 8 sheet of plexiglass and with the original pieces as patterns, probably won't take more than a couple hours to complete.
If you're tall, you don't need to worry about fitting in the car. The previous owner was 6'4".
The car has an enormous appeal to everyone. I've even had old ladies stop in the middle of the street and give me a thumbs up (happened twice), while I was waiting for a red light. This car makes people's jaws drop. When you go to cruise nights and shows, you will have people around the car constantly. I've had a "few" cars in the past. I've never had one that gets the attention - from everyone - that this car gets.
As much as I love this car, it's time for me to move on to a new project and I'm anxious to sell. I'm looking for a fast sale. The price is negotiable, but I am not giving the car away.
Clear Florida Title. We just titled it in January 2012.
If necessary, once payment is received in FULL, I'll be happy to keep the car here - inside my shop and out of the weather - for up to 30 days. I also might be able to deliver the car within a 150 miles or so in Florida, for gas money only. Figure that my ramp truck gets about 7 miles per gallon. If you're farther away, I know of a couple of excellent private haulers who will deliver the car directly from my place to yours.
Detailed Austin Specs:
1949 Austin A40 Devon 4 door body
MG V-8 Disk Brake Front Suspension with new all new bushings, new brakes
Aluminum 5 slot wheels
Pro-Trac front tires (from Coker Tires)
Optima Red Top Battery
New American Autowire wiring
Trans Cooler with fan
Huge Cadillac Radiator with dual Camaro/Corvette electric fans
355 Chevy
4 bolt main block
steel crank
Oversize oil pan
10:1 compression
Summit Blueprinted HEI
Demon Mighty Demon 650 Double Pumper
Weiand Intake
Double Hump Heads
Roller Rockers
Huge cam/specs unknown
Turbo 400
Chrome S&S Headers (not as rusty as they pictures make them look)
Summit Glass Pack Mufflers (Yes, it's loud)
Air Ride air bags and new shocks (installed this year) leaf springs/ladder bars
Narrowed Olds/Pontiac Rear end with 4.56 gears and spool
Cadillac disk brakes with new calipers and pads
Air Ride air bags
Competition Engineering shocks (New - less than 40 miles on them)
15x12 Aluminum Slot wheels with Pro Trac Tires
Rollcage with padding
Kirkey Economy Aluminum Seats - cut down "bomber" style
A combination of Vintage and new gauges, Tach, Oil Pressure, Water temp
Aluminum floors
Aluminum engine cover
New Wilwood master cylinder
Wilwood brake pedal
New brake lines
The Austin has less than 350 miles on it since it was together enough to drive.1949 Austin A40 one of a kind former drag race car.
SOLD
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