I have talked before in previous scribblings about the Austin seven opportunities that came my way as  20 year old corporate commercial traveller  servicing Victorias north east and gippsland but one such story sticks in my mind that I will share.

By 1971 my chummy restoration was progressing slowly from a financial point of view and being away every two weeks I was time poor. Major items were still needed to complete the car ie, rear and front axle,engine and gear box etc thus I was always on the lookout for Austin seven items when travelling.

Once a month my business cycle took me to the border towns of Albury/Wodonga where I stayed for three nights. By this time I had met a number of the Austin seven folks in the district and had attended the local vintage car club meetings also. A number of the local enthusiasts were aware of my pursuits and were willing to help when A/7 lead surfaced.

During the year the motel owner where I stayed monthly who was well connected in the Wodonga area due to his involvement with the chamber of commerce and the Rotary club had also been on my case and when I arrived on an occasion advised that he had located an Austin seven for me to see. At this point I thought hmmm Iv’e been here before, yeah right!, it’s probably an A40 or similar however, In this instance the vehicle was located nearby and all leads needed to be explored.

The following morning I was introduced to the elderly gentleman that owned the car and his son. His name was Andrew Cole and at 92 years young was in poor health. Mr Cole was keen to move the car on as he was still paying the motor registration and no longer using the vehicle. At this stage I hadn’t seen the car and he enlightened me that he had had a P.M.G [now Australia post] contract to deliver the mail from Wodonga to Corryong in the high country on a regular basis, a distance of approximately 300km’s round trip thus needing a small van.

Eventually I was taken out to the garage to inspect what he had been using since 1960 to deliver mail and to my surprise this one was indeed a ‘Seven’. It was a very tired Austin seven Latrobe [Standard sports] that he had converted into a masonite bodied van. A 1929/30 model with the rear boat tail body, guards and windscreen removed without doors to suit his delivery needs.

I paid his asking price of $150 which included an additional 19 spare wheels. I asked mr Cole why he had so many and he replied that it was cheaper to buy a wheel with a tyre from a wrecker than than just a new tyre.

The acquisition of the car came at a good time because whilst my chummy restoration was well under way I was frustrated that I didn’t have a seven to participate in events. The rear timber body was removed spiders and all. The engine smoked so badly and was clogged up with old oil that I decided to flush out it with 3 short terms of Kerosine which did the trick but of course it still smoked. A replacement masonite ute style body was fitted painted blue and a green canvas tray cover sewn up for the rear at a total cost of $3.50. Odd as it appeared it served it’s purpose as it allowed us to participate in club events as it was still fully registered, functional and presentable as long as it didn’t attract the the attention of mr Plod.

I had purchased the car on the 17/09/71 and by mid 1972 had participated in a number of activities including an annual pilgrimage to the steam and traction rally held in june each year in the Murray river town of Echuca.

Mr Cole was well known in  Wodonga by vintage enthusiasts possibly due to his age and persistence of the P.M.G run that he had for so long. Some months had passed and a local enthusiast contacted the aforementioned motelier after learning that the car had been sold as he had in his possession part of the car. Latrobe sports have an all aluminium body and the top piece of the 5 panel tail is the most difficult to replicate but I couldn’t believe my luck when advised that this item is what he retained. After a reasonable sum changed hands to the caller the deal was done.

At this point in time I doubt that I had any idea of what future this car had with me as I already had a 1929 wasp sports that I had acquired as a future project some two years earlier and the new Latrobe sports was merely a fun dry weather car. All of the while my career path had offered up other cars and parts in the bush.

During the return journey to home of this monthly cycle I had struck up a friendship with and elderly chap in one of the country towns who owned a 1936 seven as his day car and I would randomly drop in and chew the fat over a period of about 5 years. Sevens of this period didn’t appeal to me one bit and I never once asked him if it was for sale, apparently unlike every other caller. During 1972 he suffered a health issue and out of the blue he rang me and wanted me to purchase his car. As it was well maintained, mechanically sound, registered and could be used in all weathers I agreed to buy it with the intention to replace the Latrobe.

366 days after rescuing the Latrobe it was sold to Wayne Gould who commenced it’s restoration and then moved it on to Rex Dyer for further work. Richard and Sandra Hubbard completed the task and use the vehicle on a regular basis. Ironically, they live in Corryong where it spent a lot of it’s youth.

I continued to use the 1936 car for many years until my chummy was completed and that is another story.