1937 Austin Twelve Six Doctors Coupe By Gordon
(Featured on 27th May 2013)
Make: Austin
Model: Twelve Six
Year: 1937
Registration: ABP 559
Sellers original description:
1937 Austin Twelve Six Doctors Coupe by Gordon.
Chassis number FS336.
Registration number: ABP559.
Rare & beautiful, This is thought to be the only one of its kind. The body is original to the car & is by Gordon & co of Birmingham, taking the form of a delightfully clean lined convertible Doctors Coupe; a particularly useable form of coachwork.
Imbued with a 1700cc six cylinder engine, the car has ample performance & a silky smooth engine delivering relaxed 40 to 50 MPH cruising with ease. The engine is really a delight to use, starting readily & idling at very low revs in comparative silence. The six cylinders make for a far more relaxing drive when compared to a similarly equipped 4 cylinder car.
This Austin underwent a massive restoration program addressing every single facet of the car & leaving it in the wonderful condition we find it in today. The exterior is a very deep red over black. To the interior is lovely burgundy leather complimented by burgundy carpets. A useful & useable pop up dickey seat makes this comfortable transport for four people. The front bench seat is commodious allowing for two adults & a child to sit three abreast.
The car drives beautifully. The suspension is taut & supple; The steering direct & with no play. The car races up all but the steeper hills in top gear. The gear box has synchromesh on third & fourth making for easy unruffled changes. A mellifluous Klaxon is fitted under the bonnet. Lowering the roof is as simple as undoing a pair of latches & flinging the canopy rearwards. Likewise, erecting it is an easy one person job & takes just a few seconds.
Period semaphores in good working order lit from within protrude upon command from their recesses. The spare is rear mounted behind which unfolds accordion style a useful luggage rack. Starting handle & a couple of the larger tools are present. The car comes with a period manual originally costing one of the kings shillings for those of us who remember the old currency.
The oil pressure is excellent at 30PSI under load. We would like to say the car runs cool, but lack of any kind of temperature gauge disallows the claim. That being said the car trundled up to the top of Ivinghoe Beacon & showed no signs of getting hot even with four people aboard on a hot day.
All in all a very useable car in superb condition which really has to be driven to appreciate how good it is. I am very surprised at how well the car compares to a Rolls Royce 20hp, being certainly no slower & in many ways having a similar feel to one.
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