1950's Ashley 750
Registration No. AAP 167
In early November 2020 I was contacted via my website contact page by
Ian Crosfield with the following message,
Hi, in 1961 I purchased an Ashley 750 with GT Hard Top, from a friend, Peter Bird, who had built it. It was built on an Austin 7 chassis, reg. no. AAP 167.
It had independent front suspension using twin transverse leaf springs
and adjustable telescopic shock absorbers, hydraulic brakes,
and most interesting of all, a Ford 1172cc E93A engine
fitted with a 100E gearbox together with a Murray manual overdrive operating on all gears, giving it 6 forward speeds and 2 reverse!
My ‘piece de resistance’ was to drive in reverse and change up!
It had independent front suspension using twin transverse leaf springs
and adjustable telescopic shock absorbers, hydraulic brakes,
and most interesting of all, a Ford 1172cc E93A engine
fitted with a 100E gearbox together with a Murray manual overdrive operating on all gears, giving it 6 forward speeds and 2 reverse!
My ‘piece de resistance’ was to drive in reverse and change up!
I checked my records for the Registration No. but I had no record of it, a check of the DVLA database also showed no record so it probably didn't make it onto the mid 1970's electronic changeover.
A check on the UK Vehicle Registration listing
indicates that the
Donor car was originally registered at the
East Sussex C.C. office between
Oct. 1936 & Jan. 1937
After a few emails back and forth to Ian, he has, whilst in "Covid Lockdown" started looking for any photo's he has of his Ashley and will try and write all the details that he can
remember about it.
In one of his emails he commented;
Hi Ivor,
Thanks for your email and sorry that I have not sent you photos and information on AAP 167 yet. At the moment I am still looking for the photos!
I know that I had some black and white ones that I took just before I sold the car, back in the early 1960s.
I will have to look in the roof space next, as, after many house moves, things get misplaced!
Thanks for your email and sorry that I have not sent you photos and information on AAP 167 yet. At the moment I am still looking for the photos!
I know that I had some black and white ones that I took just before I sold the car, back in the early 1960s.
I will have to look in the roof space next, as, after many house moves, things get misplaced!
Whilst waiting I have published his
Ashley 750
AAP 167 webpage
hoping that someone may read it and say
"Hey I owned that car too"
and contact me with more of it's history.
After checking back with Ian every couple
of months to see if he had found any photo's
it was in April 2021 that I got
an email from Ian saying:
Ivor, At last I have found the photos! All I have, I’m afraid. They were taken in 1963, just prior to my selling her, and I apologise for the quality, but, in those days, I did not have a very good camera! The badge on the bonnet is a "Kent Fire Brigade" helmet badge, as I was a Fireman at the time!
Here are some of the details that I can remember:-
It was built by: Peter Bird in 1959/60 in Bexhill-on-Sea.
Donor car: 1937 Austin 7 Ruby. Items used: Chassis, Steering gear, back axle and fuel tank.
Chassis: strengthened by “Boxing” with steel plate. Welded from front to rear of engine, then riveted to rear springs to stop distortion and to allow a small amount of flexibility.
Suspension: Front: Bowden independent twin transverse leaf with fabricated radius arms. Andre adjustable telescopic dampers.
Rear: Bowden flat 1/4 elliptic leaf with telescopic dampers.
Brakes: Bowden hydraulic with 2 leading shoe front and leading and trailing on rear. Mechanical hand brake. I think that they were 8” drums.
Engine: Reconditioned Ford E93A, fabricated 4 branch “Bunch of Bananas” exhaust manifold with tubular inlet manifold and
large single downdraught Zenith carburettor with accelerator
Pump (Off a 1948 Austin 16), S.U. electric fuel pump.
Gearbox: Ford 100E with modified Bell Housing to match up with E93A engine. Hydraulic clutch.
Overdrive: Murray, manually operated, operating on ALL gears, forward and reverse! Giving 6 forward speeds and 2 reverse. Great fun!
Back Axle: Austin 7 with short torque tube.
Prop Shaft: Very short, virtually Austin and Ford UJ's welded back to back!
Wheels: 14” with 3” or 3 1/2” front rims and 4” or 4 1/2” rears. Can’t quite remember. Continental tyres, quite rare in
those days!
Electrics: 6 volt, Battery by right foot! Headlights were Marchal with Asymmetrical dip beam. Very modern!
Performance was good for the era, acceleration was pretty fierce but top speed limited due to gearing, and smaller wheels than donor vehicle, but still about 85mph. Handing was “entertaining” yet very controllable thanks to very quick steering, 1 1/2 turns lock to lock.
I never “Raced” nor “Rallied” her, but did do a few laps of the “Peri” track of the old WW2 Bomber station at Moreton in Marsh.
(Now the Fire Service College). Pushed her hard enough to break
5 spokes in the front wheel!
Donor car: 1937 Austin 7 Ruby. Items used: Chassis, Steering gear, back axle and fuel tank.
Chassis: strengthened by “Boxing” with steel plate. Welded from front to rear of engine, then riveted to rear springs to stop distortion and to allow a small amount of flexibility.
Suspension: Front: Bowden independent twin transverse leaf with fabricated radius arms. Andre adjustable telescopic dampers.
Rear: Bowden flat 1/4 elliptic leaf with telescopic dampers.
Brakes: Bowden hydraulic with 2 leading shoe front and leading and trailing on rear. Mechanical hand brake. I think that they were 8” drums.
Engine: Reconditioned Ford E93A, fabricated 4 branch “Bunch of Bananas” exhaust manifold with tubular inlet manifold and
large single downdraught Zenith carburettor with accelerator
Pump (Off a 1948 Austin 16), S.U. electric fuel pump.
Gearbox: Ford 100E with modified Bell Housing to match up with E93A engine. Hydraulic clutch.
Overdrive: Murray, manually operated, operating on ALL gears, forward and reverse! Giving 6 forward speeds and 2 reverse. Great fun!
Back Axle: Austin 7 with short torque tube.
Prop Shaft: Very short, virtually Austin and Ford UJ's welded back to back!
Wheels: 14” with 3” or 3 1/2” front rims and 4” or 4 1/2” rears. Can’t quite remember. Continental tyres, quite rare in
those days!
Electrics: 6 volt, Battery by right foot! Headlights were Marchal with Asymmetrical dip beam. Very modern!
Performance was good for the era, acceleration was pretty fierce but top speed limited due to gearing, and smaller wheels than donor vehicle, but still about 85mph. Handing was “entertaining” yet very controllable thanks to very quick steering, 1 1/2 turns lock to lock.
I never “Raced” nor “Rallied” her, but did do a few laps of the “Peri” track of the old WW2 Bomber station at Moreton in Marsh.
(Now the Fire Service College). Pushed her hard enough to break
5 spokes in the front wheel!
Many thanks Ian for hunting out and sending the photo's and the full details of the car, only wish my memory was that good.
So if you owned or have any other information
about this
Ashley 750 car
Registration No.
AAP 167
(Originally registered by East Sussex C.C. between
Oct. 1936 & Jan. 1937
please email me on
[email protected]
or
use the contact page on this site to contact me
So if you owned or have any other information
about this
Ashley 750 car
Registration No.
AAP 167
(Originally registered by East Sussex C.C. between
Oct. 1936 & Jan. 1937
please email me on
[email protected]
or
use the contact page on this site to contact me