Pre war Austin 8
Initially there were four base models of the Austin 8. The model was unnamed and known simply by its RAC horsepower rating, plus the prosaic code that would not have been familiar to many outside the industry and trade. AR = Austin 8 four door six light saloon. ARA = Austin 8 two door four light saloon. AP = Austin 8 tourer, available in two seater and four seater AV = Austin 8 vanMilitary Austin 8AP Tourer
Just before and during the war a special Austin 8 "tilly" was manufactured, the Austin 8AP Military Tourer. Exact manufacturing numbers are not known but according to several sources the number would have been between 9000 and 9500 vehicles, most of them for Royal Army Service. The Military 8AP Tourer is recognised by, vertical louvres in the side bonnet plates of the car instead of horizontal ones, woodwork on the lower part of the windscreen, oil filled air filter, key-less ignition switch, closed wheels instead of pressed spoke wheels, pressed steel grille instead of sectioned cast grille.Post war Austin 8
After the war the Austin 8 was manufactured in a slightly different way than the pre-war 8s. The main differences were: steering wheel, chrome plated head lights instead of spray painted ones, horizontal air filter instead of vertical air filter, over riders on the bumpers, full back bumper instead of quarter ones, trunk handle, moveable licence plate carrier on the trunk lid, cast steel gear box instead of aluminium one. Only two models were available after the war, the six light four door saloon and the van. The tourer and the four light two door saloon were no longer available. AS1 = Austin 8 four door six light saloon AV1 = Austin 8 vanGallery
Australian Austin 8
In an attempt to establish an Australian motor industry after World War I, the Australian Government imposed a tax on imported cars. However, an imported chassis attracted minimal tax, and as a result Australian coach-builders imported rolling chassis to which they fitted custom-built bodies. The Austin chassis were reputedly shipped with guards (fenders), bonnet and grill surround pressings. The largest and best of these companies known for the Austin 8 were: Ruskin, Larke Hoskins, General Motors-Holden's Ltd and TJ Richards & Sons. The Larke Hoskins Austin 8s were called Austin Wasp and were built both as tourer and saloon. There are even Austin 8 two door Doctor's Coupes know manufactured by Ruskin. The Richards-built Tourers can be recognised by a curved cease in the door panels. 8s were built by General Motors-Holden's Ltd at least in 1940/1941/1942 as Austin 8 saloon and Austin 8 saloon Melbourne model. A coach built Austin 8 tourer utility was discovered in Melbourne in the late eighties and was sold to South Australia for restoration. Post war Australian Austin 8s were therefore manufactured also as tourer, where in UK this model was not manufactured anymore. The Australian Tourers are slightly different from the original. The front window and seats were changed and some were fitted with a trunk lid, a feature which was not present on the pre war UK tourers.Other Austin 8 export models
Both post war and pre war Austin 8s export models were manufactured. The Austin 8s were available for the European market as LHD. All other details of the cars were un-changed. The pre war export models for the US market were delivered LHD as well. At least some of the US export models were provided with the closed pressed wheels instead of the pressed spoke wheels used for the cars for the home market. The pressed wheels were of the same model as fitted on the Austin 8AP tourer models and had the same wheel discs as the military ones, although the civilian US wheel discs were chrome plated.Austin 8 production records
The following list shows the total which was manufactured in each production year (August–July) : 1938-1939: 17447 1939-1940: 24230 1940-1941: 5064 1941-1942: 707 1942-1943: 34 1943-1944: 0 1944-1945: 0 1945-1946: 15169 1946-1947: 31619 1947-1948: 9315 The last pre war chassis number was chassis 47600.Austin Eight workshop and users manuals The last chassis was 103585, manufactured in 1948, which suggests that 103,585 Austin 8s were produced. How many were manufactured of each model is not known, since more detailed production records have been destroyed.Austin 8 Register
Since 1990, there is an Austin Eight Register, started by Ian Pinniger and continued in 2012 by Hermann Egges. Slightly over 100,000 Austin 8s have been manufactured between 1939 and 1948. The register contains information about 400-500 Austin 8s in existence, of which most are post-war six light saloons. The actual number of Austin 8s in existence can be founReferences
* "The Austin Eight". by Paul Skilleter. "The Automobile" February 1984. * "The Austin Eight". by Ian Pinniger 1994. * "The Austin Eight History & RegisterExternal links
{{Commons category, Austin 8