Austin

Classic Austin Tyres

Austin 7 Tyres

Because of our love for Austin 7 cars we have produced our own brand of Austin 7 tyres; the 3.50 x 19 Longstone. We don't believe there is a better tyre for the Austin 7.

Austin 7 Ruby Tyres

And now we proudly present the 4.00/4.25x17 Longstone, no Austin Seven Ruby is complete without them!!

Austin Tyres

• 5.50 R 16 Michelin X for a Austin A90 & A70 Hereford.
• 4.00/4.25 x 17 Longstone for a Austin 7 Ruby.
• Depending on year and rim size either a 765x105 Excelsior Tyre, 4.40/4.50 x 21 Lucas, 450/475/500x20 Dunlop B5, 4.75/5.00 x 20 Firestone or 475/500x19 Michelin D.R for a Austin 12/4.
• 165 HR 14 Michelin XAS for a Austin 1800 & 2200.
• 3.50 x 19 Longstone for a Austin Seven.
• 400/450x18 Longstone for a Austin Ten.
• 4.75/5.00 x 19 Lucas for a Austin 12 post 1933.
• 165 HR 13 Michelin XAS FF for a Austin A55 Cambridge.
• 155 HR 13 Michelin XAS FF for a Austin Maxi 1500/1750.
• 165 HR 13 Michelin XAS FF for a Austin Maxi 1750 HL.
• 7.25 R 13 Michelin X for a Austin Vanden Plas Princess.

Herbert Austin started the Austin Motor Company Limited, a British automobile company, in 1905. It was amalgamated with Morris Motors Limited under the new holding firm British Motor Corporation Limited in 1952 but retained its own name. Until 1987, the Austin brand was utilised.

1934 Austin 7

Herbert Austin sought products with a consistent demand while heading the original Wolseley firm, which had a highly cyclical sales pattern. In his spare time, he built three vehicles beginning in 1895. They were among the first automobiles produced in the United Kingdom. In 1899, the third automobile, a four-wheeler, was constructed. By 1901, his other directors saw little foreseeable profit in motor cars, so with their consent and the support of the Vickers brothers, Austin established a separate automobile manufacturing firm under the Wolseley brand.

In 1905, he had a disagreement with Thomas and Albert Vickers regarding engine design. Austin left his brainchild, Wolseley, which had become Britain's greatest motor car manufacturer under his leadership, and got the support of steel tycoon Frank Kayser for his own venture. Kayser gave capital to Midland Bank through mortgages and loans, debentures, and guarantees, allowing Austin to retain nearly 100% ownership of his own firm through personal resources.

Herbert Austin purchased a defunct printing plant that was less than 10 years old in November 1905. Longbridge, a little village outside of Birmingham, was the site. The Austin Motor Company Limited was formed the next month. Austin's and Wolseley's automobiles were both high-end vehicles. Customers on the disclosed list included Grand Dukes, Princesses, Bishops, high-ranking Spanish government officials, and a large list of Britain's nobility. When the capital was expanded to £650,000 in 1914, Austin became a publicly traded business. It was probably sixth in terms of automobile production at the time, after Wolseley, Sunbeam, Humber, and Rover.

Austin A30 four-door Saloon

During the First World War, the Austin Motor Company expanded dramatically, fulfilling government contracts for aeroplanes, ammunition, heavy weapons, as well as 1,600 three-ton trucks, most of which were shipped to Russia. The workforce grew from roughly 2,500 to 22,000 people.

In order to increase market share, smaller automobiles were launched, including the 1661 cc Twelve in 1922 and, later that year, the Seven, an affordable, uncomplicated compact car that was one of the first to be aimed at a mass market. The British tax policy was one of the factors that contributed to the market demand for automobiles like the Austin 7. The "Baby Austin" was constructed under licence by the nascent BMW of Germany (as the Dixi), the Japanese firm Datsun, the Bantam in the United States, and the Rosengart in France. In 1930, the Austin was the most manufactured automobile in England.

With the aid of the Seven, Austin withstood the worst of the depression and remained profitable into the 1930s, manufacturing a broader variety of vehicles that were continually upgraded with the introduction of all-steel bodywork, Girling brakes, and synchromesh gears. All of the engines, however, had the same side-valve layout. When Lord Austin died in 1941, his deputy, Ernest Payton, took over as chairman. Leonard Lord joined the company's board of directors in 1938 and became chairman after Ernest Payton died in 1946.

During WWII, Austin continued to manufacture automobiles, but also trucks and aeroplanes, including the Avro Lancaster bombers. The postwar automobile line was introduced in 1944, with manufacturing beginning in 1945. The early postwar lineup was mostly identical to that of the late 1930s, although it did offer the 16 hp, which was notable for being the company's first overhead valve engine.

The Austin Motor Company Limited combined ownership but not identity with long-term rival Morris Motors Limited in 1952, forming The British Motor Corporation Limited, led by Leonard Lord. William Morris was the inaugural chairman, but he resigned soon after. Lord, who had stormed out of Morris guaranteed that Austin was the main partner and that its newly designed OHV engines were used in the majority of the automobiles. Following the Morris policy, several models became badge-engineered copies of each other.

With fuel supplies under peril as a result of the 1956 Suez Crisis, Lord commissioned Alec Issigonis, who had worked at Morris from 1936 to 1952, to develop a compact automobile; the result was the revolutionary Mini, which debuted in 1959. The Austin version was originally called the Austin Seven, but Morris' Mini Minor moniker captured the public imagination, and the Morris version outsold its Austin counterpart, thus the Austin's name was altered to Mini to match. British Leyland eliminated the separate Austin and Morris branding of the Mini in 1970, and it was afterwards called "Mini" under BLMC's Austin Morris division.