Questions before buying an Austin A40 Devon

[danielb]

Hello,

This is my first post on this forum, so hello everybody.

I am thinking of buying a 1950 Austin A40 Devon. I have not yet seen the car, thanks to lockdown, but in pictures it looks to be in very good condition.

I am not inexperienced in classic-car ownership, but have never had anything this old before. I usually work on my own cars. I do not live in the UK, but have no problem buying parts online.

So I was wondering both what I should look for when looking at the car, and whether there are any pitfalls I should know about in owning the car. I would be especially interested in knowing about parts availability, and also things like availability of oils, fluids, etc.

I will of course be getting a workshop manual if I buy the car. I was wondering if there is a PDF version of it available on line somewhere.

If there is some kind of FAQ for new and prospective car buyers, I would be very interested in taking a look at it.

Thanks very much,

Daniel

 

[danielb]

Hi,

 

I’d like to ask one more question:

I have a set of inch spanners and sockets – I used them on a Triumph Herald that I used to own.

It is dawning on me that these might not be suitable for the Devon.

Will I need a whole new set of tools to work on it?

Thanks,

D.

[PJS]

Daniel,

You’ll need a set of Whitworth spanners and sockets – readily available online and from the sort of tool suppliers one sees at events such as large classic car shows. The club supplies a reasonable range of parts – most standard service items are available -some on an exchange basis. You can see the club’s spares catalogue  here:

Oils, fluids etc are readily available – I’d recommend Morris oils – they do a wide range of classic oils at reasonable prices – other manufacturers are, of course, available.

I don’t think anyone ever scanned an A40 Devon manual into pdf – I do recall a member scanning the A40 Somerset one some years ago. Devon ones are often to be found on eBay for reasonable prices – or even advertised on the ‘Sales & Wanted’ page here. It might also be worth checking with the club’s Spares Secretary – occasionally people give second hand copes to the club.

Hope this helps…

[number5]

Hi–What country do you live in?

[danielb]

Hi,

 

Thanks for replying.

I live in Israel, although I was actually born in England. I’m going to see the car on Thursday. I’ll let you know what happens.

As for oils, there is a range of “classic” oils by Castrol which are easily available here.  I believe there are specialist dealers that sell others.

Rgds,

Daniel

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