1938 Austin 10 Cambridge, Paddy Doherty

The Austin 10 was launched in 1932 and was in production for fifteen years. The car we have here passed through the hands of various members of a family and then spent some thirty years in a garage before being rescued by Paddy in November 2019.

“I saw the car for sale on the internet, and not only had it spent all those years locked away but it was also hidden under lots of the owner’s possessions,” says Paddy. “It was hard to see properly but a very good friend, Graham Fitzhugh, established that it was a good basis for restoration.”

After inflating the tyres and managing to remove the charming Austin from the garage it did indeed look sound, although there was still going to be plenty of work needed before the car returned to the road. And the first job was to remove the engine and undertake a full strip-down and re-build.

Unfortunately, the start of the restoration coincided with the first national lockdown because of Covid. Paddy explains: “Luckily Graham was still able to do a lot of the work, and along with the engine re-build he undertook some minor bodywork repairs along with spraying and polishing. The brakes and steering were overhauled, too.”

Paddy also spent time attending to some damaged areas of trim, and the efforts had certainly paid off as the restoration was pretty much complete by August 2020. Graham adds that there were still a few mechanical gremlins to iron out, but a host of new engine parts cured them.

After three decades the Austin was finally back on the road. Paddy and Graham have certainly enjoyed their drives as well as taking the car to shows.