1934 Austin Heavy 12/4 Berkeley Saloon
No Reserve

Registration No: BMD 162
Chassis No: 75888
MOT: Exempt

• A delighfully original example that has been subject to tasteful cosmetic improvement
• Recently subject to the fitment of a new clutch, starter motor and ring gear
• Highly equipped 'Berkeley' model

Introduced in 1934, the revamped Austin 12/4 range was distinguished by new, more flowing wings, a sculpted radiator cowl and vents (in place of louvres) on its bonnet sides. Underpinned by a sturdy ladder frame chassis equipped with semi-elliptic leaf-sprung suspension and four-wheel drum brakes, it was available in a variety of open and closed guises. Powered by a torquey 1535cc four-cylinder sidevalve engine mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, most 12/4s were reputedly capable of 65mph. The model became a byword for indestructibility, a virtue that commended itself to the London taxi trade that used the ‘Heavy’ 12/4 extensively throughout the 1930s and ’40s. After the Light 12/4’s arrival in 1933, the Heavy Twelve’s days were numbered, the last example leaving the factory in 1935. Enduringly popular, the model remains a favourite with Austin enthusiasts.

This 1934 Berkeley saloon is a particularly fine specimen which has benefitted from some very sympathetic treatment preserving much of its originality. The car’s survival in such good order can perhaps be attributed to Mr. Sydney Bullen Newton of Acton, its first owner from March 1934. He appears to have retained it until 1967, when it passed to P. E. Smallbone of the Smallbone & Son Service Station, Birmingham. It was sold to a long-term owner in 1971 and, after 1989, resided with a couple of lady owners before joining the vendor’s collection in October 2024.

Originally blue, the car has evidently been repainted in fairly recent years, but in a scheme which seems to replicate the original. The interior may have received some renovation but it retains many original fittings in very good condition, including the hessian covering on the firewall. Since purchasing it, the vendor has installed a new clutch, ring gear and starter motor, so it drives as beautifully as it presents.

The vendor likes very much to vary his collection, hence the Berkeley being offered for sale. For many reasons, 12hp Austins are a popular and useable pre-war car. Offered with recent invoices and its original buff logbook, this one ranks among the best of them.

For more information, please contact:
Lucas Gomersall
lucas.gomersall@handh.co.uk
07484 082430