Most folks know at least a little about BSA motorcycles, but did you know they built small open touring cars from 1907 until 1939? The front wheel drive Scout was introduced in 1935 and was very successful. This four-seat roadster is listed on eBay in Elgin, Illinois with an opening bid of $6,500. It looks like someone has started the restoration and a lot of parts are included, but this is no project for the faint of heart.

There’s not much inside, well, inside. Unless there’s a pile of parts somewhere, you’ll be starting from scratch. The auction does describe it as having a brown leather interior, but they don’t say where. The shift lever goes through the hole in the panel and is a push-pull mechanism like a motorcycle.

Here’s the engine and yes, that is the three-speed transmission in front of the engine. The engine is a 32 HP water-cooled 1,203-cc flathead four-cylinder with one little SU carburetor. The axles each have a universal joint and a flexible cloth joint. In 1937 shock absorbers and front wheel brakes were added. Earlier models had a differential brake for the front wheels.

The Scout front wheel drive Scout was not the first front wheel drive car but BSA is credited with having the first production front wheel drive automobile. As early as 1895 Gräf & Stift built a vehicle with an engine powering the front wheels. There’s a long way to go to restore this little roadster, but they’re unique and so rare it will be worth the effort. The parts will be difficult or impossible to find. Hopefully, there is a collector somewhere with deep pockets who has to have this for his collection.