Photo: Classic Auto Mall
Born in good old Britain and gifted with an American Chevy V8 by a Canadian crew. This is the very short story of how this 1948 Austin A40 panel truck came to be.
Because North Americans have plenty of their own trucks, with or without panels, to tune and upgrade, a British-born blue wonder such as this is almost impossible to find. Yet, thanks to a Canadian crew by the name Rods by Hugh Brooks, such a thing became real.
The pickup is one of the many A40 variants produced by the famous Austin Motor Company from 1947 to 1967. The family included everything from 2-door sedans to even a coupe utility made for the Australian market.
It’s unclear how this one made it to North America, but it did, and somehow the Canadian garage got its hand on it to turn it into a serious rival for locally-born, more famous machines.
The Canadians wanted – and for the most part succeeded – to keep the original look of the A40, but give it an American heart to power it along, and an interior in line with present day demands and expectations.
We are being told all the steel body work is the original one, sprayed in full in Techno Blue and with only the front grille, hood ornament, and light bezels keeping their chromed appearance.
The two-person interior has been modernized as well and it comes wrapped in tan leather and suede on the soft surfaces, and the same blue as on the outside on the dashboard and steering column.
But the real miracle can be found under the hood, where a Chevy 350ci (5.7-liter) V8 heart has been transplanted, complete with a Carter AFB carburetor and an Edelbrock intake manifold.
This rare British truck find is for sale, and is offered at $49,000, with 3,600 miles on the odometer.
The pickup is one of the many A40 variants produced by the famous Austin Motor Company from 1947 to 1967. The family included everything from 2-door sedans to even a coupe utility made for the Australian market.
It’s unclear how this one made it to North America, but it did, and somehow the Canadian garage got its hand on it to turn it into a serious rival for locally-born, more famous machines.
The Canadians wanted – and for the most part succeeded – to keep the original look of the A40, but give it an American heart to power it along, and an interior in line with present day demands and expectations.
We are being told all the steel body work is the original one, sprayed in full in Techno Blue and with only the front grille, hood ornament, and light bezels keeping their chromed appearance.
The two-person interior has been modernized as well and it comes wrapped in tan leather and suede on the soft surfaces, and the same blue as on the outside on the dashboard and steering column.
But the real miracle can be found under the hood, where a Chevy 350ci (5.7-liter) V8 heart has been transplanted, complete with a Carter AFB carburetor and an Edelbrock intake manifold.
This rare British truck find is for sale, and is offered at $49,000, with 3,600 miles on the odometer.
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