During 1972 I saw my first bakers van at a rally and aspired to own one but the only way that was going to happen was to build it as hardly any survived downunder.
My Austin 7 chummy full restoration was nearing completion and after researching vans in the UK I decided to base the vehicle on a 1930 AE series Joseph Startin [they manufactured all of the Austin seven vans from 1922-1930] delivery van. Whilst this was my basis I had established that Australian built bodies looked very similar but were customised to suit the purchasers requirements.
Mechanical acumen is my weak point but I had learnt a lot from the aforementioned restoration so I set about acquiring the necessary parts required ie, chassis, engine etc,etc. This however happened twice but the rolling chassis’ were disposed of to finance another seven that I couldn’t resist over a period of 10 years.
The third and final attempt started in 1985 when a set of 1930 guards were advertised for sale and as I wanted the car to have original components as much as possible I was off to a new start.
Thousands of items were needed to build the car and parts were sourced from all over the world including swap meets and job lots purchased. I recall on one occasion having to purchase two tonnes of parts to simply acquire the rear axle and a whole car to obtain a seat which I have detailed in another article. The upside of these acquisitions is that another 5 Austin sevens have been provided to other restorers.
During the period of parts sourcing it was widely known that an elderly gentleman had a 1929 van stored in his driveway in a nearby suburb here in Melbourne. Over a period of years it finally disappeared. Some time later my neighbours daughter coincidently purchased the aforementioned house. The van had been moved into the back yard and she just wanted the ‘junk’ removed and this donor car resulted in the correct dashboard among other things for my project.
After a period of 20 years I was able to commence the build and with the help of professional body builders,spray painters,motor trimmers, timber craftsmen and signwriters it started to take shape. The motor was built from a pile of items as sourced by an engineer, the instruments restored and the headlights repaired by a musical instrument repairer.
Thirteen years later the Austin was completed by christmas 2018, a total of 33 years and third time lucky but an enjoyable journey.
