Ashley 750
Registration No. PO 8552
Whilst browsing on the Austin Seven Forum I came across a discussion about a possible Ashley find, it wasn't but one of the posts caught my eye anyway and interested me.
Jan 20, 2015
Re: Rochdale body
I passed my driving test in an Ashley in 1978. I loved that car, but the 750mc wouldn't allow it to race. Unlike Stuart's memories of the Ashley, mine was well built, and the driver sat very low in the cockpit. I did put the hardtop on, one winter's day - but after 2 miles of driving, I realised I liked open motoring best, and took it off again.
Thanks for bringing back some happy memories.
Regards,
Colin
There was an email contact box so I sent a message asking for more details, I had no reply for a few weeks and began to think I might not, but happily.
Hi Ivor,
Sorry for the delay in responding, but I had a few days break from the forum, and the Rochdale thread disappeared down the page.
My Ashley was PO8552. I only used it for a year (as I explained on the forum), but I did about 15,000 miles in it, so it was well used. I will try to find some pictures that I can send to you. One of its previous owners was George Bishop, who used to write Escapalia in Classic Car magazine, here in England. He may have been the one that fitted the body, as I'm pretty certain the log book said he owned it in the mid 50s.
When I used to drive it to college in Stevenage, one of my fellow students took a shine to the car. Ten years later, he bought an A7 engine Ashley, 48 NO. It was a common sight on 750MC rallies in the 90s. The owner and his friend are working on the car again. The plan was originally to swap the A7 engine for a reliant, but I think they've decided to stick with the 7.
I'll see if I can get any electronic pictures to send to you.
All the best,
Colin
Which he did
and it seems like Colin was well into his motorsports.
Hi Ivor,
I found a couple of photo's from Goodwood in 1978. I was timekeeping for Chris Gould's attempt at the 10,000 mile class H record.
The D-Type (real love of my life), belonged to Nick Mason, and I believe it spent some of its life in Australia, if I remember correctly.
Bill Mason, is giving me a ride in his son's D Type. That's me at speed (19 years old).
My love for the D Type will probably give you a clue as to why I loved my Ashley.
Best Wishes,
Colin
Sorry for the delay in responding, but I had a few days break from the forum, and the Rochdale thread disappeared down the page.
My Ashley was PO8552. I only used it for a year (as I explained on the forum), but I did about 15,000 miles in it, so it was well used. I will try to find some pictures that I can send to you. One of its previous owners was George Bishop, who used to write Escapalia in Classic Car magazine, here in England. He may have been the one that fitted the body, as I'm pretty certain the log book said he owned it in the mid 50s.
When I used to drive it to college in Stevenage, one of my fellow students took a shine to the car. Ten years later, he bought an A7 engine Ashley, 48 NO. It was a common sight on 750MC rallies in the 90s. The owner and his friend are working on the car again. The plan was originally to swap the A7 engine for a reliant, but I think they've decided to stick with the 7.
I'll see if I can get any electronic pictures to send to you.
All the best,
Colin
Which he did
and it seems like Colin was well into his motorsports.
Hi Ivor,
I found a couple of photo's from Goodwood in 1978. I was timekeeping for Chris Gould's attempt at the 10,000 mile class H record.
The D-Type (real love of my life), belonged to Nick Mason, and I believe it spent some of its life in Australia, if I remember correctly.
Bill Mason, is giving me a ride in his son's D Type. That's me at speed (19 years old).
My love for the D Type will probably give you a clue as to why I loved my Ashley.
Best Wishes,
Colin
I did a check on the DVLA registration database and although listed it had not been re-registered since 1979.
Current DVLA information 01/06/2015
The vehicle details for Austin/Ashley 750. PO 8552 are:
Date of Liability 01/08/1979
Date of First Registration 30/11/1933
Year of Manufacture 1933 (Original Austin 7 Model)
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 747cc
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type Petrol
Export Marker No
Vehicle Status Not taxed
Vehicle Colour RED
Vehicle Type Approval Not Available
Please be aware that if the vehicle has recently been relicensed or a SORN declared, these details may not yet be updated on the vehicle record.
Colin told me that the last time he had the car was in August 1979 and he then passed it on to his sister, who sold it pretty quickly afterwards.
Colin reckons that as it was never registered again means that someone missed out on a lot of fun.
So if you have any more information about this
Ashley 750 car
Registration No.
PO 8552
(original Austin 7 registered by West Sussex C.C. in November 1933)
please email me 0n
[email protected]
or use the contact page on this site to contact me