Austin 18
JV 4936
The Austin 18 York was part of the Austin 16/18 range which was produced from the late 1920’s until 1936. The 18 came in a choice of two wheelbases and a choice of Westminster, Chalfont, York or Hertford saloon coachwork, names which pre-empted the post war Austin tradition of using British place names to name their models. The York Saloon was available in Royal Blue, Maroon, Westminster Green, Black or Ash Grey.
The LVVS car is the long wheelbase one used for limousine work, quite appropriate for its first owner, the town clerk of Grimsby Borough Council, the equivalent of today’s chief executive. This being the case, we can assume that JV 4936 carried its fair share of VIP’s on its luxurious leather seats.
1930’s Art Deco styling and headlamps which look as though they really mean business give the ‘York’ a real sense of presence on the road. In an age where style mattered, the running boards ensured that the ladies could get in and out of the car elegantly and the quarter lights on the front windows meant that the gentlemen’s trilby hats were not blown away when the windows were open!
The interior of the car was every bit as stylish as the exterior: open the wide doors and the smell of the sumptuous leather seating exudes elegance; door interiors are also trimmed in leather and the same polished woodwork from which the dashboard is fashioned. There are leather door pockets and, in the rear, fold away picnic tables for those days at the races or out in the country and the ample rear bench seat would grace any 1930’s sitting room! And with a sun roof and fully opening front windscreen, who needed air-con? Being the long wheel base limousine version, our own ‘York’ saloon also boasts two fold away (when you know how!) ‘dickey’ seats.
At the business end the ‘York’ has a 2511cc side valve straight six engine which produces 18hp giving a reported top speed of 65mph and 20 mpg (good job petrol was only 7½p a gallon!). This larger 2511 cc engine had been developed by Austin in 1933 as an alternative to the existing 2,249cc 16 hp unit. It had what they called a Monobloc Design which replaced the earlier “Vintage” design that featured a separate aluminium crankcase. The new 18 hp engine used a monobloc casting, where the cylinder block and crankcase were cast as a single iron unit for greater rigidity.
Unlike on many lower end cars produced at this time the comparative luxury of synchromesh is provided on 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears.
Despite its age the Austin 18 ‘York’ is still giving excellent service and is in demand for weddings and other celebratory occasions. It is a tribute not only to the workmanship of yesteryear but, more recently, to the dedicated team of volunteers who work hard to keep this, and the other vehicles in the fleet, in tip top condition and a living reminder of life on the road in Lincolnshire in a bygone age.