How Reliable is Your Austin?

Simple conventional design combined with the use of good quality materials ensured the past and present reputation for reliability of Herbert Austin's cars.

If you use and service your Austin regularly, it will not be any less reliable abroad.

Provided you take account of four things:

1. Longer distances,
2. Hotter weather,
3. Higher altitudes,
4. Faster speeds.

Any one of these things can put extra work on the cooling and lubrication systems. In combination they can cause overheating and damage but only if you let them.

In practice this means:

• Don't drive the car hard,
• Do your Daily Checks.

It can be very tempting to go flat out on the open highway - until the smell of burning oil wafts up to you. Take it easy - make it a holiday for the car too.

  Do your Daily Checks

  Holiday for the car too

Fuel

When side valve Austin engines were designed the available fuel was 72 Octane unleaded petrol. So they will run on any grade likely to be found today. If you have a postwar overhead valve engine in your Austin carry your usual additive.

  If you have a postwar Austin

At present the standard petrol in the European Union is Euro 95 - unleaded / sans plomb.

But, it is still possible to put in the wrong fuel:

• Diesel / DERV- produces clouds of white smoke and the car will stop,
• 95-E10 - contains 10% ethanol - which in time corrodes metal fuel tanks and pipes.

If you mistakenly fill up with diesel you should not drive the car but drain the tank at the filling station. If you have started the engine you will also need to blowback the pipe to the tank, and clean out the carburettor and fuel pump.

Avoid regular or frequent use of 95-E10 or "bio" fuel, and do not store it in a metal can.

Opportunities to refuel are less frequent than in southern England so with the limited range of a pre-war Austin it is useful to carry reserve fuel in a can. Remember that this is not permitted on ferries or in the Channel Tunnel - nor are full fuel tanks. Empty the can into the tank well before the sea crossing and refill on the other side.

Refuelling at Schoonhoven

  Sign for Fuel on a Polish highway

Hills and Mountains

The steepest hills you are ever likely to meet will be this side of the Channel - Yorkshire or Devon. Abroad the hills may be longer, but given time and patience an Austin with its big radiator will climb any hill or mountain pass you are likely to meet, if the road is open to traffic.

It is polite to stop sometimes and let the cyclists overtake, and you can admire the view. The driver does not get much chance to look at the passing scenery. But be aware that the fuel in the carb and pump may evaporate in the heat or at altitude and make restarting a difficulty. Stop where there is room to turn and run downhill briefly to restart.

Swiss advice is that you should come down a mountain in the gear you would use to climb it. This may seem a bit extreme but is relevant to an old Austin as the brakes do fade.

Stop and admire the view in the Ardennes

Climate and Weather

Northern France and the Low Countries often share our weather. One of the attractions of going further south is the warmer climate. Be aware though that when it does rain the roads will be exceptionally slippery due to the build up of oil and rubber compounds.

  Snow at Chamonix

Mountain passes can become closed due to snow even in June and an Austin 10 cannot be fitted with snow chains because there is not enough clearance. Just turn around and come back down - choose another route.

Beware sunstroke particularly in an open Austin. Hood up and no sidescreens can be cool.

Long Distances

You will need to allow at least double the time to do a journey in an Austin than in a modern car. This does not prevent long distances - it merely makes them more memorable.

You can take the slow roads and - unlike in a modern car - not lose much time compared with the fast roads. The money you save on tolls can be spent on meals and accommodation.

There is nothing quite like a slow gourmet drive across France!

Tiredness

The distance / heat / altitude factors affect the driver and navigator as well as the machinery:

• Tiredness and getting into a "set" - i.e. following familiar behaviour - are the greatest dangers even to those with experience of driving abroad,
• You should know your personal driving distance, but this will change on a long journey and you may have to stop more frequently for a rest,
• Take account of the passengers' desires and needs - being confined in a slow, noisy, hot car for hours may not be everyone's idea of fun.

Take account of the passengers' desires and needs

Safety in Numbers

It can be both fun and reassuring to travel with other like minded people in a group.

If you are nervous about potential breakdowns or navigation difficulties you can travel in company with one or two other vehicles and rely on mutual support.

Austins on route from Cassel to Lokeren during the first ATDC Continental Tour - Monday 19th August 1974

A larger convoy can have its own hazards, such as being left behind at the lights, and is illegal in some countries. However slowly the car at the front is driven the one at the back always has difficulty keeping up. But remember, it is not a race.

On an organised tour you can follow an agreed route and be sure that in the event of anything untoward happening someone will be looking out for you.

At the end of each day you can swap tales of adventure.