IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: 1950s Austin A35 

Don't ever change your enthusiasm Steff. You're as much a gem as these wonderful cars are! Roger.

Steph you are such a sweetie, and very knowledgeable to boot. One of my fave channels. Keep em coming girl 👍

All cars of that era had that wonderful oily smell inside.

It’s nice to see young people keeping cars from my younger years alive it would be nice to see a wolsley 1500 featured

Congratulations Mark on restoring and maintaining this little old classic. The paint work looks great, nicely polished and is obviously cherished. Nice presentation Steph, your enthusiasm is evident and it’s great to see youngsters enjoying the experience of driving a 50’s Classic. These little cars are associated with many childhood memories of family life and happy holiday excursions. I owned one for several years and anyone who drove them at night will remember the comforting small glowing lights that were visible from top of the wings. The side lights were visible when driving, particularly along dark unlit roads and reassuring to see them illuminated in the darkness.

I love the sound of these old cars, full of character, thanks for spending the time to show us.

I bought an a35 as my first car a few years ago and have used it as my daily since passing my test. So much more fun than driving a modern car

Great video Steph I remember watching this when you posted it and had to watch again today as finally got round to digging mine out today and getting it lived up soon to be running same colour too 👍

Hi Steph I love your videos they’re brilliant. You really seem to be enjoying your work. Keep them coming.

Thank you, Steph, for another great video. Keep them coming :)

Another great video about the A35 - I have fancied getting one in the past and your video and recommendation have only made my want increase. Now to try and persuade my Missus to allow me.

Beautiful car, beautiful lady!!! Awesome!

My old man told me about the A35 when I were a lad. Theres a old guy who STILL has one in mint condition near me. Kind of amazing to see when on the road umongst the modern cars of today. Great review. Proper classic.

Great to see you out in the A35 Steph. My mother had a black one when I was young. It had the same red interior. It had a very distinctive nice smell, from the upholstery I think. My mother really liked it. She replaced it with a Ford Anglia, but always missed the Austin.

Keep up the great work Just seen you on the new vid Great car journey Excellent work 👏👏👏😎

Super review of Matthew's lovely A35. Thank you Steph. My uncle had a black Austin of the same model and I loved it. (That wonderful A series engine as well.)

My dad had a couple of the vans, both had rear seats and back windows and were excellent cars. one did about 475k with no problems at all because he kept it well maintained. Great upload which brought back tons of memories.

Another fun and informative video Steph .

I remember when my sisters first boyfriend had one of these cars in Norwich and my father had a Ford Cortina. We went out for a drive with my sister and her boyfriend were in the Austin and my the rest of the family were in the Cortina. We were five up in the Cortina and my sister was following. I think we got up to 80 MPH and the Austin was very slowly following but only by about 10MPH difference. He said 70 MPH on he Austin A35 ! I do remember a few years latter when I was living in a bed sit and my landlady had an Austin A40. She kept saying "Tommy your going to ruin this car" He kept crunching the gears. This was an A40 though. Double de-clutching ! I love the A35 and if they didn't have the spares problem I would have probably bought one today.

Amazing car! Always liked the look of them. Great to hear more.

Just discovered this review, most definitely a prudent choice to click on view! Evoked many memories as a green one of these (LFX 519) doubled up as my father's show car and our family daily driver in the 80s!

Your reviews are that good you encourage me to think back to how vast and varied our motor industry used to be !

Another lovely review! Thank you sweetheart, i will be more than happy to try a car like Austin A35

Loved it, loved it, loved it! Another great review, thank you Steph.

Excellent review, My uncle had one of these as his first car. Nice to see you in Baildon too!

Lovely video. My first ever 'car' was an Austin A35 Van. It had a bench seat in the back and I remember driving it from near Bradford in west Yorks down the old A1 to Victoria Station London to pick up 2 friends who rode in the back bench seat all the way home. It took around 7 hours in those days. Utterly reliable and fun to drive.

I'm watching you from the states and your so cute, like the car it's cute also clean and all fix up, you did well showing it off. Thanks for sharing.

Great review again and what a cracking little car

Just bought one of these today,it needs restoring but it will be worth it. Love the vids,thanks.

Hi Stef. All of my early cars lacked synchromesh on first gear. I taught myself to double declutch, which enabled me to select first while the car was still moving (albeit not too rapidly!) Great video, as always. Thanks!

That's a lovely little car, love all the little features like the bonnet catch and the sidelights on the wings, good knowledge by the way you can certainly back up what you talk about in your excellent vids 🏁🏁🏁🏁👍

Absolutely brilliant, great to hear a woman talking about these British classics ( never misses a trick) my dad had the Austin van model, remember pretending to drive in it, I’m of the age when every car on the road was British and awesome, I could tell you the make of a car just by the exhaust note... im only 53 from Motherwell and loves my 1975 Triumph T140v xxx

The ultimate british classic, good to see these in motorsport! Great video by the way, and great information 🙂

Another Great Review. i enjoy them, Keep them coming :)

Well, well. Just discovered your channel. What a delight. Great to see young people keeping the movement going. Thoroughly enjoyed your review. The A35 looked like a lovely drive. My abiding memory of these cars is seeing a black four-door as a kid, with four elderly nuns inside! Subbed for sure. 👍

Great little video, beautiful little car! My family couldn't afford the 'car' version in the early 1960s, my Dad had the Wallace and Grommet A35 van version, 2 of them - and put a seat in the back! :) FIVE of us used to squeeze into it from Nottingham on our annual hols to Teignmouth in Devon! Roof-rack on top, 50 all the way, never ever broke down as far as I remember! Great times indeed!

I love that you are doing videos which make old cars more accessible to a wider audience (from a 60 year old bloke who likes playing with old cars!) Keep up the good work! Good to see people like Mathew carrying on the classic car hobby too!

My dads first car. It opened up the world for us...holidays, picnics, fishing trips.

Great video ..... I learned to drive in an A35 back in the 70s & it was over 20 years old even then . Im now looking for another one . Love the wing mounted side lights. The saloon went out of production in 1959 but the van continued until about 67. Great little cars.

On paper it is rather similar to the Morris, but supposedly the Minor should have a superior steering setup (i.e. rack and pinion). Since you don't comment on it, I take it that the Austin actually steers quite well (and I see some in classical racing, so that should bear it out). As always, a super video that is a joy to watch. I would love to drive an A35. Just looking out at those chrome indicator lamps and the big "A" on the bonnet must be enough to keep a permanent smile on your face while driving :)

Lovely little motor. My neighbour had one of these in the late 60,s. I remember as a 12 year old helping him change the exhaust in a lockup garage. He also fitted an AeroFan to the water pump they had blades that changed pitch as the engine changed speed, supposed to help with fuel consumption. Once fitted the A35 started to over heat, we spent hours trying to sort out the problem. Only to find that the fan we fitted was for a transverse engine car, it was blowing instead of sucking......

Great car. Video. Presenter. No bullshit just honest down to earth reviews. Eat your heart out Clarkson.

great review, idrive bring something new to classic car movement, well done

In 1991/2 I did 9k miles around France, Spain, Italy and Germany in an A35, it never missed a beat, another great video thanks

Peg on the choke! My sister in law had one on her Mini. A must have for when it stops staying out.

First time watch , love your enthusiasm .

Here in Canada, where we have a season called winter, I learned a few tricks with the SU carburetor. The clothes peg on the "choke" Held the enrichment jet open slightly until the engine was fully warm as there was no actual choke valve in the intake. Also the best oil for the dashpot in winter was diesel fuel. I got one for my wife bu unfortunately with two children and a dog we needed more space so it became student's first car.

Great car, great walkthrough-it is such a YOU car!

Great video! 👍I love the Austin A 30/A 35. Beautiful cars.

Hi Steph every classic car needs a name so nice to see this one has one. I have a MGA roadster shes called Rebecca after my late mum and yes no synchro in 1st so I know all about the if your still rolling drop into 2nd trick lol. Wouldn't it be great to own a massive shed and fill it with these classic British gems.I live in Adelaide South Australia and I am a member of the MG club of South Australia we are really lucky one of the founder members is an old school mechanic and lives and breaths MGs so I have his number on fast dial when the unthinkable happens lol. I love your show please keep safe and keep up the good work.👍🧡

Great video, many thanks for the memories. For it’s time the A30 and A35 were quite advanced in having the dip switch on the steering column when most cars had a foot switch, BMC seemed to take quite a few years before the column position became standard! Driving my A30 back from Scotland, stopped for a break and the SU Carburettor, same as A35, developed an airlock and car wouldn’t start, impatient so melted an ice lolly on it and that dealt with the problem but forever left a stain on the outside of the carburettor. This does generate some great memories so thanks again.

Another good one Steph, love A35s 😀

Hi, I really enjoy your enthusiasm for these old cars most of which I grew up with. To be honest a lot of British cars of the 60's and 70's were put together with a knife and fork. That said they had character which is why they are still loved today. You obviously love these old cars and do a lot of research. Keep up the good work. Thoroughly enjoy your videos.

Thank you so much, love these old cars, Such a sweet lady.

Steph is showing some leg and we are all grateful. So enjoy listening to his take us all on a tour of these iconic cars. Living in the USA these are all cars I haven’t seen before. Hats off to Steph for the unique autos and her sparkling presentation. And Steph if you’re single and want to live in America I’m available. 😝

What a breth off fresh air.lovely car steff great to. Very infirmative to love classics to.nise easy drive well done..

Excellent review. My first wife owned a dark green model and drove it regularly from the UK to her teaching job based in Bad Kreuznach West Germany. The German drivers were amazed to see this diminutive vehicle driven by a female Brit on their hallowed autobahns. She eventually sold her treasured Austin to a German dealer, who unbeknown to her, wanted it as a display above his garage premises. He cut the poor car in half and fixed one half above the entrance!! I can remember seeing it still in place, when I visited Kreuznach in the early 1980s. It actually looked very effective, but a sad ignominious end for such a splendid little motorcar.

My primary school teacher had an A30 - was the first car I was ever driven in (1968) when she gave my mum and me a lift home. We never had a car until 1971 😢 Thanks for the memories

Great review just seen your channel you love your cars only drove minis with A engines as well so easy to work on keep up the good vids 👍

Another great video...really enjoy

Brought back memories of me as a little lad doing the indicators for my Dad in his van 😀 Lovely review of a smashing little car.

Great video I really enjoyed watch this video

Hi step you are doing a great on the vintage cars that is a great Austin 35 thanks to you

It shared all its pieces with the Austin Healey Sprite Mk1, the Frog-eye. This was very useful for people like my keeping a Sprite alive with no money!

Brilliant video as always. You can tell you love that car.

Just discovered your channel and love it! As an ex-pat Brit now living in Canada I have a special affinity for all things British...especially classic cars! Just subscribed and look forward to following up on all your previous videos! Cheers!

I had one of these back in the 70s. I fitted a set of extra rear lights/brake light units so I had four rear lights and four brake lights, as well as two reversing lights. I also fitted a hazard warning unit. AND I carried a teddy as well. I was working in Snowdonia at the time and it was amazing up and down the mountain roads and fitted very well on the narrow roads and bends.

Love these videos

My uncle had its big brother the A30 around 1958 in the same colour, lovely car.

Very lovely! Thank-you!

I love this and will be subscribing. I watch something very similar from Bradley James Classics! So I can't wait to watch your vlogs. You've got me!

Great review. I love these cars and am seriously considering buying one as a weekend runabout. :)

Well done! I passed my driving test in 1956 (I think!) and I bought a 2nd hand A30 as my first car. I tarted it up a bit and bought the Chrome moulding to 'upgrade' the appearance to that of the A35. I toured Wales from South to North. Those were the days. I also ventured into rallying and track racing at Brands Hatch and if course club driving tests.

Good one Steph. Lovely little car. A friend has one. I just find it hard to get in and out of. But I’m not young anymore

My first car and I still miss it. Wonderful cars. Simple and economical, easy to repair and fun to drive.

I Had a mk1 cortina had to put a peg on the choke all those years ago my first car was a Cambridge hand break on the right great video

Great little car. I had a black A35 in 1960 and a white one in 1962. The first car was write off after rolling 3 times down a rock strewn slope down to a loch in Skye (another drive at fault). Myself and friend got out unscathed. Completely reliable.

What a cute little car. Made when cars were made of metal not plastic

Nice car I do remember them well Unusual to have a hubcap on spare wheel And I do like the indicator switch 👍

My dad bought my brother and I one of these to learn how to strip and rebuild an engine. Invaluable in the mid 80’s as he had an Alpine and I had a Marina

Enjoyed the video. My grandfather had an A30 van in green, he was a chauffeur by profession and kept his A30 gleaming, kept it until the chassis rot through. My father bought a grey (same colour as in the video) A35 van brand new the day I was born in June 1960. He drove it around the hospital car park to show my mother, with my grandfather in the back waving his handkerchief through the top air vent. He kept the car for many years and I have fond memories of it. He put glass in the back panels and a mattress for myself and later my sister to sit on.

Ahhh memories, back in the day my best mate had one of these, (early '60s) we had such a blast with five of us crammed inside. of his car, the exhaust had a blow, and when you accelerated then took your foot off the accelerator there was the loveliest rip from the exhaust... Such good times, the only downside is that having such memories the consequence is one is an old dude. ;-) Whilst reflecting on some of the cars we had back in the 60's my mate had an early Mini, where the starter was like the A35 on the dash, in early mini's the 'Push start button' was on the floor between both front seats.

I grew up in a family that always had at least one A30 or A35 being used as the 'round town' vehicle at any given time. This was right through the 70s and 80s too, so they were not new cars even then! We would also use it to go away in when the main vehicle wasn't running properly and long trips in it with Mum, Dad, my sister and I - along with two dogs, the cat, a pile of camping equipment and other luggage either in the boot, set in around us or on the roof rack. Always loved the little cars and the quirk of the speedo needle was one of my favourites, long with the different whines from the gearbox (and I could tell from the sound it made as to which gear we were in), the growl of the downdraft Zenith carburettor as it accelerated and the whine of the diff as it reached 50mph! My first car was an A30, my third was an A35 and I have watched every RU-vid video I can find on them driving around the countryside. If you looked at my profile, you would note that I am also in New Zealand and there was a great love for these little cars back then.....and although there aren't as many around as there was, they are still loved and cherished now by members of the Flying A Club in Auckland and other clubs around the country. Many thanks Steph for the walk down memory lane. One day I will definitely own another one.

Lovely car and a excellent review.

My mother had a black A35 and used to take me to school, my job was to do the indicators, great memories,

What a beautiful little car!

I bought my 1957 A35 in April to replace my rust bucket mini, got to say I love it! Its pretty good to drive and is rather comfy for a small car. These cars have a lot of character and paid £2000 for it. As you say the boot is big for the size of the car. I'm not a fan of the sliding windows either and mine keep sliding up. Recently upgraded to a HS2 carb with a 4.22 diff from a moggy and has made a huge improvement. Easily do 60mph on the main roads and keeps up with modern traffic fine. Great review!

Love your videos !

Hi there brings back so many memory's my dad had one we call it little moe in 52 now such a relibibale cars back then untill he rote it off indator bit noisy but never let us down

Just bought one, lovely little car

Love these little cars, I didn't know you had a '60 Minor as well. What an exclusive club!

My first car after passing my test in 1966 was a 1959 A35. Great little car and surprisingly nippy with sound handling. Not surprising as it formed the basis for the Austin Healey Sprite.

Good little British car. My late uncle in the East of the Netherlands ran a BMC dealership and sold lots of these. He had a good reputation and a steady costumer base. That is until the dreaded BL plughole of despair kicked in.

Love the clothes peg on the choke. We all did that back in the day.

Love the A35. Such a cute car.

Thank you Steph👍🏻

High quality video. Really sharp.

Hi Steph Any chance of doing one of your reviews of the Austin A40 Farina. I’d love to know what you think of them. Keep up the great work, very entertaining and informative.

Beautiful little tyke of a car. They were also common in Australia. A lot of young people bought old Austins and Morris Minors as their first car. For Aussies, however, they were a bit under-powered when compared to the most popular cars on our roads which were straight 6 Fords, Holdens and Chrysler Valiants. They also shouted post-war austerity with the lack of simple accessories. Lack of indicators (semaphores aside), lack of proper winding windows...etc...etc... which weren't issues with the locally assembled 6 cylinder cars. I suppose that being that our cars were American influenced we were a little more spoiled in that regard...however one bugbear was shared...the lack of synchro on first. I got around it by double clutching if the car was moving or, as you have in the Austin, hoping I could start in second. One thing that I always admired in the little BMC cars was the fact that they were built with tough and heavy grade steel. You didn't have to worry about idiots dinging your doors in car parks because the metal took a pounding before it indented. They were as tough as nails! The one Austin I did own which I loved (it was stolen from me and totalled two years after I bought it) was the locally-produced 6 cylinder Austin Kimberley. Front drive, handled superbly, heaps of room...even more room than the bigger Holdens of the time and plenty of go. The Austin 1800 and the later E/W six cylinder models were great cars.

Nice little car Steph! Down south where l live,this car would keep up the the modern stuff easily,as there is so much of it.Anyway,why rush l say. I drive an Audi A2,and,although modern,is apparently heading for classic stuff.160000 of these made,so more A35s built. Good to see these older cars on the road.Very refreshing! Great review❤😎👍👍!