On the morning of the 4th of November 1954 there was a green A2S4 2 door Austin A30 sedan parked out the front of Gould's Motors
in High Street Northcote. The car was to be purchased by a lady from nearby Preston. Later in the year on the 6th of December to be
correct she joined the Herald touring club. The number plates were handed in on the 28th of April 1987, registered for a little under
33 years. This is about all that can be discovered by reading the papers that come with the car when I bought it on the 19 / 3 / 2002. When
I first saw this car it was sitting on blocks of wood covered by blankets. The lady that was selling the car was a widow and
her husband had been going to or he was possibly in the process of restoring the car, but it had been on the blocks for a long time
and she wanted to get rid of it. It was not possible to get a good look at the car but I could see that there wasn't any rust holes
in the sills and the car was all the one colour. This was better than the other cars that I had seen so with the only other piece
of information being that before it was put on the blocks the engine did run, I decided to buy it. I was unsure of the condition of
the engine and braking system, it seemed that the easiest way of getting it home was to put the car on a trailer, which with the help
of my son and brother inlaw ( both know much more about cars than I) and a lot of muscle it arrived at it's new home. The first job
now was to find out the condition of the car. The tyres were all pumped up to the correct pressure and inspected for cracks and the
amount of tread. After a week the pressure was unchanged so I now have a good set of tyres. Next the car was jacked up and the wheels
and brake-drums removed. The shoes were ok but the adjusters were very tight, and some of the suspension rubbers had passed their
use by date and were replaced.
At this time it was time to look at the engine. First I obtained a battery and tried to start the car, it wouldn't turn over
on the starter and I have never been able to start an A30 on the crank. I found another starter in a box of spares that came with
the car so that was changed. After a lot of fiddling around giving the engine a service and new plugs and points the day came that
I was going to start it and see whether it would be able to be driven. Eventually It started and blew lots of smoke. Hoping that it
might clear it self I drove up to the corner of our street, but on our return there was even more smoke. What to do! The car sat in
the carport for about a year or more in disgrace. Then early in 2004 I made up my mind that the car would be repaired and put on the
road. I took it for another test drive, this time a little longer than the first run. the engine seemed to pull alright but there
was still all the smoke. After about half a mile I decided to turn round and return home. On the return journey I checked the rear
view mirror and there was no sign of smoke. Later talking to the mechanic they think that the smoke came from oil that had been in
the cylinder and had been burnt away on the second test run. Preparing the car for a roadworthy certificate the master cylinder needed
to be resleeved and some brake lines replaced. The car passed and put on club plates in March of 2004. Since then the power booster
for the brakes has been reconditioned, the front windscreen and rubbers replaced, new rubbers on the back window. My plan at
present is not to take the car off the road and do a complete restoration but to have a reliable 1954 car that is kept in good repair.