This was my first, given to me by my brother Des in 1964. A small British car the Austin 10 for 1939 was completely redesigned and very different to any previous Austins.

The car had a 1140cc four cylinder flat head engine, it produced 32bhp (24kw) and could reach a sizzling 60 mph (97kph).

Other interesting facts, it had rod brakes, the foot pedal was connected to each wheel by a rod, pressing on the pedal forced the shoes apart inside the drums and the car would come to a stop, eventually!.

It was actually quite a comfortable little car with its four doors and real leather seats. I drove many miles in this car. Oh, there was no radio or air/con. not even a heater. This car, along with my brother Jim and my dad's help, taught me everything I needed to know about fixing something when it broke, and I think almost  everything did break at some stage. Other important lessons I got with this car; the importance of using quality tools, the temptation to buy cheap tools is very strong, especially when the wages are little but the first time a poor quality wrench slips on a nut and the message gets through, tool maintenance, like putting them away after a job.

Another distinctive feature about this car was the monster chrome headlights, I fondly recall polishing those things.

When I first got this car it was black, I painted it light blue, I used a hand brush and painted it myself, I was actually quite proud of the job I did too.

Unfortunately the car in the photo is not my actual car but it is the same model. The Austin 10 was produced from 1939, right through the war and was replaced by the better known Austin A40 in 1947.