Austin Ten Drivers Club

Do we have a list available for the year of manufacture of our cars. Mine is a 1934 10/4 chrome rad vin 635171 engine no 1G35327, and I think it was possibly made in 1933. Thanks Mike.

Mike
Austin did not keep records of when cars were made (unlike RR who had fewer to record) but the Club does have a list of cars known to it, with dates of 1st registration when known. I think your car may be "new" to the club.
The numbers you quote do not stack up and are likely to be "typos" in the data provided to or from DVLA, not unusual. The post-war "continuation" logbooks from which data was taken to enter into the Swansea computer in the 1980s included data transcribed from earlier docs. Plenty of opportunity for input errors! Which was why the Club advised looking at the original No. stamped into the chassis. The VIN you quote is one numeral too long for a Ten chassis No of that period. It is likely prefix G has been misread as a 6. Thus #G35171 would be an early 1934 car (approx March for 1st reg). In contrast engine No has one too few numerals! Original engine Nos are usually (but not always) higher than the chassis Nos on Austin 10s. Engine # 1G35270 for example would be early '34 (approx March) and consistent with chassis G35171.
Your car should also carry a plate under the bonnet with the "Car No" (also known as the body No) which for an early '34 saloon is prefixed GRA, a designation introduced for 10 saloons when Austin changed their numbering system in the Autumn of 1933. If your car is a saloon the Car No would be about GRA 9200 (maybe GRA9202?). Sadly these plates are often missing (should aslo show the correct chassis No unless a reproduction plate has been fitted in the life of the car)
For details on the visual changes to Austin 10s over the years see "Dating Tens" on this website https://www.austintendriversclub.com/cars.php?p=73 (open in new window or use back arrow to return to Forum)
Thanks for posting
PeterW

Hi Mike,
I agree that the engine IG35327 is about April 1934 - (see the cast date below the distributor on the offside, shown as, say, 15.4.4.)
Is the chassis number G35171 and not 635171? That would confirm mid-April 1934 and that it has the original engine. Otherwise I am confused by the number.
Cheers
Phil

Many thanks for your detailed replies, have looked further on the chassis number and it could possibly be C35171 or 635171 so it all fits to the log book of first registration of March 1934. It does not have any original switching for the trafficators, but it does have the body captive nuts to mount them, so they probably have been mounted later. Many thanks once again Mike

RE: Trafficators. Chrome-rad (flat-rad) Austin Tens had semaphore trafficators mounted in boxes on the scuttle from Aug 1933 when the X-frame and 12v electrics were inroduced. The switch was an awkward thing mounted on the steering column below the steering wheel where you had to grope for it. They did not self-cancel.

Ha that explains it, it has a switch on the column for the flashers which I thought was a recent addition, so this is the original switch. Mike