A passion for old cars is usually fairly straightforward. You see the car, want the car, and then, if the stars align, buy the car. Yet here we have an opportunity that might excite interest from several different angles. This collection of Austins includes models from 1947 through 1954 and is advertised right here on Barnfinds Classifieds. Located in sunny Fresno, California, the sale includes the whole lot of almost thirty cars, a large selection of parts, and nearly a year’s use of 10,000 square feet of warehouse space. The price is set at $95,000, but the sellers state that they are open to offers.
The seller states that they believe that this could be the largest collection of Austins in the United States, and they may be right. It’s rare to see such devotion to a particular marque, especially over such a short time-frame. The list of vehicles includes 21 examples of the A40 in various configurations, two of the A70, and a whopping five Austin Atlantics, two of which are convertibles. Included among the A40s is an extremely rare aluminum-bodied Sports convertible. One of 4,011 manufactured between 1951 and 1953, the body was made by Jensen Motors then shipped to Austin to be mated to a Dorset frame.
Usually this is where we talk about performance, but these are not performance cars– the engine on the A40 is a 1.2L inline-four making forty very determined ponies. Keep in mind that these engines were built to run economically on low-octane pool petrol, and they did this very well: contemporary media reports the A40 Dorset getting over 28 miles to the US gallon. Though it’s no Prius, that’s respectable for a classic car, and if you wanted a unique around-town car to run errands or go for a relaxing drive, you might do a lot worse.
As the seller notes, there are many ways that a prospective buyer might go about capitalizing on his purchase, whether restoring the cars in place (at least through December) or selling off the collection piecemeal. Several of the cars might be a bit of a challenge in this department; the market for ice-cream trucks is most likely not terribly large. But then again, there are five of the adorable Atlantics that might find new homes. Well… four: you’re going to keep one for yourself, after all.
Love the look of those Austin Atlantics. Not sure it would matter much if the first photo of one was a 1 owner or not by the time it has decayed to the state it’s in now.
Wonder who the “one owner” was on the drophead, Jack the Ripper? You know, it’s a shame we see these cars usually in their most dilapidated form, and never really see what fantastic cars the British put out. Austin was kind of the Ford or GM of Britain. They produced a wide variety of vehicles for the masses. From the cheapest Mini, to these Atlantics, that if you look them up, they had beautiful interiors and swoopy styling. It had the “Art Deco” look, us Yanks had 20 years earlier, probably why they looked dated to us, if we saw them at all. Look at the panel van,,,1940’s IH K model? I agree, for over here, it’s quite a collection.
And ‘One Owner’ is supposed to make a difference in value?
What a dream it would be for this Englishman to do a deal for the collection, move to CA for a year, work on 2/3 cars for yourself and then sell the rest cars over the coming year. Perfect!
I like the sedans that look like a 48 Chevy or one of the wagons, would make a cool around town car or rod it a bit with a V6.
I’ve been looking for an Austin A40 Devon for years, but haven’t been able to find one. Wondering if the seller would be interested in selling one of these. I had one as my first car back in 1954.
I wish I was an Austin guy. This is quite an opportunity for the right person.
This could be a lot of fun.
Every so often I see these massive collections of cars,,,looks like these were stored inside for many years as well…and,,,,,one owner,,,,nothing like a one owner car,,,,
All those and not a Princess to be seen. My first car was a 1941 Austin, model unknown but entry level. 1941 you say? Think about that.
David, if it was 1941, it’s a Military K series, K3 to K9. How’d I do?
As for a Princess, I’ve got a 1961 DM4 limo, left hand drive, fully loaded with all options including dual A/C. It was ordered by the British Gov for use by the Royal Family when in the USA. I’ve got all the paperwork and documentation, and it got me an opportunity to meet Prince Phillip and Prince Charles, both serious car guys!
As I live in the Washington DC area, I also arranged a meeting with Sir Tony Ackland, the former British Ambassador, who remembered the car in detail. He actually insisted in having his photo with the limo, and I sent him a copy.
OK folks, here’s the problem:
It’s $95,000 for 28 vehicles, or it’s nuttin’. That’s about $3,300 per vehicle. There are only a few vehicles in this collection that are worth that high an amount.
Even the most valuable car in this offering, the Jensen bodied drophead, has a maximum worth of about $30k in today’s market, and it’s gonna take at least that much to bring it to that value.
A40 2 or 4 door sedans, nicely restored but not prize-winning cars, bring about $5k to $8k today. Nice pickups and estates bring around $16k. It’s gonna take a lot more to bring them up to that point. Look at A40 selling prices here: https://www.classic.com/m/austin/a40/
Prior to 2020, there would be quite a lot of interest from the UK and Europe, but with transportation of a 40′ shipping container from California to England running around $10k to $12k, at 28 cars, 4 cars per container, with the various spare parts packed in around the cars, this would be 7 containers, or $70k to $84k. The seller isn’t going to have any foreign buyers due to shipping costs.
This is located in Fresno, CA. I checked warehouse rentals there. The cheapest available for 10,000 sq ft is $7/sf/yr, or $70,000 per year. So keeping these cars in the warehouse for the next year is going to cost the seller $70k in rental costs, or loss of rental income if he owns the building. He’s probably locked into a lease thru the end of the year, hence the generous offer to use the building until then, as it costs him no matter what.
The financial part of this deal simply does not make sense. I can’t imagine anyone spending $95,000 on 29 cars that all need huge amounts of money dumped into them. Just think of what you or I can do with $95,000, buying and selling nice vintage cars that need little work.
The best advice I can give this seller is to offer individual vehicles for sale at reasonable pricing, taking into the condition and restoration costs. Then at the end of the year’s time, before the warehouse lease is ended, hold an auction and sell off the remaining vehicles at no reserve. The seller might even come out ahead financially. It will take a bit more effort to sell them off piecemeal, but the work should pay off in the long run.