MK1 project

[Chairman Ed]

The club has been asked by the present owner to sell his project 1960 MK1 Saloon

Details as follows following some basic questions to the owner.

All necessary welding has apparently been completed to accommodate the proposed modifications

A disc brake conversion has been done.

The car will require paintwork

The car is located near Bedford

Price is £950

Please contact Ed DAVIS Chairman A40 Farina Club on 07880581541 if interested.

If phone switched off, please send text with your telephone number and I will revert in due course.


Can I assume that it is a rolling shell ? The shell is rolling so should be easy to load onto a trailer (although the steering box and cross rod are not fitted so the front wheels have a bit of a mind of their own!).

Are doors / boot lid/ bonnet in your stash of spares ? yes indeed, along with all their associated hinges/locks/glass/handles etc. (all are metal and in reasonable unrestored condition).

I have not heard of a Rover 214 ( my first Company car ) engine into an A40 before. This was a moment of genius (or insanity!) on my part based on seeing a similar engine installation in a Morris Traveller in a magazine. I just plunged in. The K series 1.4 litre engine was used in the Caterham 7 (or a clone of it at least) with a bespoke bell housing (hard to find) linking it to a Sierra 5 speed gearbox which I bought as ‘re-built’ about 8 years ago (these parts are sitting in the cabin of the car). It will need a modified prop-shaft (one of the bits I don’t have) to link the Sierra output shaft to either the current standard A40 axle which is in the car or better still the MG axle I have in the spares pile (better able to take the power). I trial fitted the K series/gearbox etc (hence the need to raise the metalwork of the shell over the top of the gearbox area) to ensure it all fits and it all fits neatly below the bonnet with enough room in front of the engine to fit the standard 214 radiator (also in the pile of bits). It would make it a nippy little Austin with circa 3 x the standard hp and no weight increase (aluminium engine and gearbox vs the standard hardware which is of course cast iron). The seats and interior trim panels (including a couple of spares) are in reasonably good condition but the carpets are gone and the headlining is only fit for use as a template for making a new one. All the glass is with the car along with all the chrome-work (although this is mostly original so is a little pitted). The original instruments/dashboard are with it along with the instruments from the 214, the engine ECU/electronics and the front half of the 214 wiring loom (I figured this could form the basis of the wring for the A40). There are also a couple of spare wheels/tyres (one standard and one ‘minilite’ to match the 4 on the car) along with all the lights (including some new parts), steering wheel, fuel tank, the list goes on……….

The car and all the parts have been stored in a carpeted integral garage so there should be little degradation from the 5 or 6 years its all been stood since I last got to play with it.

[Dave the rave]

That Sierra 5 speed, ( a type 9 ), is worth about half the cars asking price…..

[Chairman Ed]

Car has now found a new home