Carl Slater bought the 1933 Austin 10 Saloon last February and became interested in its history.
Using its log book, he managed to track down the previous owners of the car on Facebook and started organizing a road trip to visit them all.
After a year of planning, Carl left his home in Manchester, England, traveling to Shropshire, where Elizabeth Morris became the car’s first owner, buying the Austin in 1933.
While he was there, the 53-year-old and wife also met Brian Denny, who had worked at E.J.Gittins garage when the car was brought in for repairs after 20 years on the road and two owners.
He visited the cottage near the garage where Elizabeth lived before her death in 1943.
“I managed to find out so much information—like that Elizabeth was an only child. It just kind of spiraled with people telling me information like where they lived before or where they were buried or what occupation they had.”
The dad-of-five then headed off to Ty-Draw Farm, a 45-minute drive into the hills, where two brothers used the car to travel to their local market to sell eggs. Carl drove the same route the brothers would have taken.
He said he nearly didn’t get up the hill, and at one point thought the old Austin must have had a muscle memory of the journey last traveled 80 years ago.
“We wondered if the car was getting deja vu as we slogged our way up. We tackled the hills at a slow and steady pace and only needed first gear once. I did think, if the car had thoughts, she would be saying ‘oh no, not again’.”
By that time, the car was 35 years old, and was needing regular repairs. Rupert recalled driving south to London when the car broke down on the A5. That was the last time he saw the car after he left it on the side of the road—but he regaled Carl with many more tales.
“He told us stories of mechanical mishaps and his tangle with a cattle truck while running an errand for his mother,” a 97-year-old senior who is even older than the car. She became the next stop on their road trip—and it was a touching reunion for her and the classic car collector.
“I’ll will never forget the look of surprise and joy on her face at seeing the old car again.”
Decades ago, this particular Austin Saloon was featured “in quite a few scenes” of the 2016 film Dad’s Army , a WWII-era comedy that starred Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bill Nighty.
One can only imagine how many other fantastic stories we could learn from cars, if only they could talk.
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