While this vehicle is listed for sale as an Austin Champ, this one is actually the military version which carried the British Army model designation of “FV1801A.” However, I’m not going to split hairs on this, so we’ll call it a Champ. Listed for sale here on Craigslist, this Champ comes with a clean title. Located in Saco, Maine, you can have this 1950 Austin Champ in your driveway for $7,750. A big thanks must go to Barn Finder AMXBrian for referring this little gem to us.
There are a couple of give-away indications that this particular Champ is an ex-military vehicle rather than the civilian version. The first couple include the bracket and shovel on the right side of the vehicle, and the bracket and jerry can attached to the back of the vehicle. By the way, the jerry can was designed for carrying fresh water, not fuel. Those two items are not conclusive in themselves. What is conclusive is that this vehicle features a fold-down windshield which was only available on the military version. This Champ does appear to be in quite nice condition. The body is straight and the only corrosion that is obvious is a small amount of surface corrosion on the floors which is a consequence of painted surfaces with no under-foot protection. It does appear that it has received a repaint at some stage as there is overspray on the pedals, although this may have only been for protection of the floors as mentioned.
Under the hood looks really clean, although there are some deviations from the original military specifications. Full military versions have their engines, fuel systems and electrical systems fully insulated and waterproofed, as with the standard inlet snorkel (which isn’t on this vehicle) they could be driven in water up to a depth of 6 feet. The mechanical specifications and features of these is also really interesting. The engine is a Rolls Royce engine with a displacement of 2,836cc. It sends drive through a 5-speed manual transmission with synchromesh on all gears. Drive is then fed to a rear-mounted transfer box/differential which incorporates reverse gear. This means that the Champ effectively has five forward gears and the same number of reverse gears. That’s not a bad feature if you need to back out of a nasty situation in a hurry. This transfer box also engages the 4-wheel drive system for the Champ.
Utilitarian is the best word to describe the cockpit. These are a military vehicle, and there are no frills or real creature comforts. The Champ does sport new, correct brown seat covers. I really like the instrument cluster on these. You can tell that these gauges aren’t designed for civilian use, and they look like they would look right in an aircraft.
The Austin Champ is not a common car in the USA, and very few made the trip from the UK. It’s rarity obviously has an impact on its value. This one is a right-hand drive version. There were a few that were built in left-hand drive, but these are now exceedingly rare so obviously they fetch a far higher price. This is still an unusual car, and if you are the sort of enthusiast who has been searching for something like an early Land Rover then maybe this just might be a great alternative.
How I wish I had the income to afford a place to stable all these great offerings. This little gem would be a wonderful addition to other light duty commercial or utility vehicles.
This would be a good one for a movie vehicle prop house to snatch up for preservation and movie use.
“Can be driven in 6 feet of water”. Unlike most British vehicles that stall if it rains in the next county.
An Austin Champ with an old Portuguese license plate in the US, Must be a uncommon sight. Portugal was rather Britisch tended carmarket in the fifties and sixties. RR 2.8 liter engines were nearly unbreakable.
That is a British military number plate 94 BE 08 denotes this was Champ number 9408 and should tally up with the chassis number. Approximately 11750 champs were produced for the military before they cancelled the order.
Hope this helps.
Yes, it’s powered by a Rolls-Royce industrial four-banger. Thirty some odd years ago I was on a Bentley club rally outside of Hood River,Oregon and we stopped outside a farmhouse. The farmer came out to see all the Bentleys and asked if we wanted to see his “Rolls-Royce Jeep” meaning his Austin Champ. I got quite excited as I swore I heard him say ” A Rolls-Royce, cheap!”
I’ve loved the Champ ever since I played with a Dinky-Toy version back in the 1950s.
Too bad it’s so far away.
Strange how a Champ as Britsch invader with an old Portuguese license plate appeared in North America. In the fities – sixties Portugal was a country where a great mayority of cars being sold from Albion. The survivors had an absence of rust in the Mediterranean.
The RR engines are nearly undestructible
All British Military License Plates are 2 numbers 2 letters 2 numbers.
It is not Portuguses and never was !!!
And the only reason The Brits replaced it with the Landrover was because of cost, the Champ (FV1801A) was although reliable go anywheremuch more expensive to buy and maintain.
This is a great vehicle and so cool !!!
I like seeing odd ball classic cars!
If I had the room I would grab this quick!