Austin A70

The second project is a 1953 Austin A70 Hereford four door saloon.

Austin A70 Hereford, needs some TLC....

The car has been off road since at least 1986 and although externally beige and a bit scabby the interior is in excellent order. I think it has been used as a spares car as there is no engine or gearbox, trim parts, bumpers, differential. Not really a problem as we will be installing all sorts fo newer stuff…the engine bay is like an empty coal barge so plenty of room for the wide top end of the wonderful engine we have planned.

Qty 1 26,000 mile Northsatr 4.6 Litre 32 Valve DOHC V8 300 hp/300lb/ft

It has an excellent separate chassis and at the moment I’m wondering if it would be easier to build a new one, replicating the pickup points for the bodywork or adapting the existing to modern running gear.

Capacious engine bay - look no crossmember in the way of the sump!

At the moment, the plan is as follows…

Mark 5 Cortina IFS – complete front subframe with discs, rack and pinion steering, built in shock absorbers, although I’d prefer a power steering option – might look at a Sierra rack and compare sizes.

Mark 5 Cortina 'Front Clip' - discs, A arms, shocks, rack and pinion steering, ARB.

Back end is originally a live axle on leaf springs. I have a sierra estate 4×4 rear subframe (discs, LSD, 3.66:1) that I’d like to use, or maybe a Jag IRS – costs and widths are the issue here, I’m waiting on some data from a potential donor. The jag back ends are unbreakable in street use, something that the sierra unit may not be when faced with 300+ hp.

The engine will be a Northstar 32v V8 of 4.6 litres capacity, driving a 4L60E 4 speed with lockup automatic gearbox. Engine management will be Megasquirt II & EDIS with a 36-1 trigger wheel going on the front pulley. Stock sheet metal exhaust manifolds and no cats will complete the setup, with a second MS ecu taking data from the first to control the transmission.

Looking for some Cobra Slot mags in preference to ‘woolfies’, the interior is going to start with the front seats from a scorpio, rear seats the same once I have determined the interior width available and the colour will be BLUE eventually, or in the short term, rattle can satin black. I can’t live with beige…..