Lot Ended
Description
Unusual configuration of an Austin 20; appears to have been registered in
County Tyrone, Ireland; used as a hearse with a glass body taken from a horse
drawn carriage; been in long term ownership
This
1928 Austin 20/6 is an unusual example with a particularly interesting Irish
history. Powered by the 3.5-litre side valve six-cylinder engine, no. 2538, it
retains its original Irish registration JI 4971, a County Tyrone/Omagh mark. The
20/6 was Austin's six-cylinder Twenty, entering volume production in
1928.
The car was built as a hearse some time
ago, with a 19th-century horse-drawn hearse body mounted onto the Austin
chassis. A period photograph in the file shows JI 4971 in this form, with the
registration clearly visible. The former hearse body is understood to have been
retained by a Northern Ireland museum, with enquiries currently
ongoing.
The car was advertised for sale by James
McGlone of Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone, in the May 1982 edition of Vintage Austin
Register magazine, with the original advertisement retained. The vendor's father
acquired the chassis and cab in 1988 and, being a time-served joiner,
constructed the present pick-up body himself.
Now
dry-stored in a workshop, the Austin is in fair general order but is not
currently running or driving and has been stored for some time.
A genuine barn-find Austin with unusually
well-documented Irish provenance and the added interest of its former hearse
configuration.
There is a huge amount of paperwork accompanying the car,
mainly club realted but also a quite a few period
photographs.
Contact - toby.service@brightwells.com