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From: Phil Beesley
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Top of Thread: Info on Austin A40 Farinas desired Brian Willoughby
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A40 Farinas are getting pretty rare in Britain too -- they rust
exceptionally well I'm afraid. They were built from '59 to the mid
60's as a more contemporarily styled successor to the A30 and A35
models. The A40 inherited most of its mechanicals directly from the
A35 -- 948cc A series engine, transmission, front suspension, rear
end, steering box, hydro-mechanical rear brakes -- and only the body
was really new.
As it grew up, the A40 gained the 1098cc engine, real brakes etc. The
body got even more practical with the Countryman model which had a
fold down tailgate so you could carry quite large loads. Some van
models were even produced, apparently to get round vehicle tax
regulations in somewhere like Malta.
It's clear from the spec that the A40 was pretty dated before it was
first built (remember that the mini appeared the same year) and it was
outlasted by the van version of the A35 that it was supposed to
replace. The Farina that was eventually built was a lot uglier than
the design models.
If you're interested in restoring an A40, you won't have serious
problems getting mechanical parts because everything cames from the
BMC standard parts pool. Body panels are virtually unobtainable
although some repair panels can be purchased. I've seen lots of trim
and chrome for A40s at autojumbles in the UK.
"Post war baby Austins" by Barney Sharratt is a great source of info
on A30, A35 and A40 models and contains some wonderful photos of the
Longbridge production lines. If you have any seriously difficult
questions, I can probably look it up for you.
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