VL 8960 - 1937 Austin 10 'Cambridge' Saloon

The Austin Motor Company was founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin, and a plant at Longbridge, Worcestershire (later in Birmingham) was established. The company was merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd.

The Austin 10 was in production (with upgrades) from 1932 to 1947, and was Austin's best selling car of the 1930s. The saloon model of the 10 was re-styled in 1937 as the 'Cambridge'. A contemporary advert, extolling the reliability can be seen here (Grace's Guide website). One of the Austin slogans of the 1930s was "You can depend on an Austin".

First registered 11 January 1937, this car had one owner, the LeTall family, until it came to the Society. VL 8960 was a 21st birthday present to Vincent LeTall from his grandfather, the car having covered 100,000 miles before Vincent received it. This mileage was achieved by the reps of LeTall's flour mill in Lincoln, which was in Princess Street off the High Street. The mill has since been turned into flats.

On our November 2003 Open Day Vincent's widow Elsie and daughter Wendy were taken for a trip in the 10. Mrs LeTall recounted how they used to go to Scarborough in it. They also used it for their honeymoon.

A few facts about VL 8960:

LINKS Austin & Longbridge Federation Austin Memories

this page last updated 21.1.12