Austin Seven Wasp - Australian bodied Sports Model 1929
The real Wasp story - information supplied by a former Wasp owner - Tim Braby
I wish to point out an anomaly regarding the documented history of the Wasp. I believe errors crept in to the history of the Wasp when two photos were incorrectly captioned in the A7 Clubs Association Magazines several years back. This is possibly where Bryan Purves obtained the photos for his "Austin Seven Source Book". The correct information about the Wasp shown in the Source Book is as follows......
The earliest known history of this Wasp is that it came from Valery, a small locality near Coffs Harbour, and was traded in at Heelis' Garage in Bellingen sometime before WW2, for a Dodge Ute. The son of the Garage's Proprietor was Jack Heelis, who drove the little car around town in a bit of a hurry, until the motor expired one day. So Jack took the motor out and the car was pushed under a set of stairs inside the workshop. Jack always intended to put it back together again, but a stint in the Army put a stop to that and when Jack returned after the War his Dad had remarried and told his son he was not welcome home, and could not claim the car or his tools! So the car stayed until Bill Sanderson came looking for old beaded edge tyres. Mr. Heelis snr., scenting a possible buyer, showed Bill an old Ford and a Dodge he had out the back. Bill said no thank you, what he really wanted was a little Austin Seven Sports like his first car was, and was then pleasantly shown the little shape under the stairs, dusty but complete and in dry storage. In 1995 Jack Heelis was still alive and very angry about his father!
Bill Sanderson owned this car from the early 1960's until its ownership was passed on to Terry and Gwenda Hicks. In 1987, I purchased the Wasp and in turn sold it to Merv and Maureen Boatwright of Menai, NSW, in 1996. The bodywork was supplied by William Green of Parramatta Road, Petersham, as the plate on the doorsill attests. The car has been featured twice in 'Restored Cars' Magazine in Australia. A photograph and a letter have also appeared in both the 'Thoroughbred and Classic Car' Magazine and 'The Automobile'. It has been a participant in the 1988 Bicentennial Rally, the first Austins over Australia Rally in Tamworth and the Austin Seven 75th Anniversary Rally in Canberra in 1992. The car was built in early 1929, so had the coil ignition, skinny crank, early bolt on diff, and a flanged oil button. The Car Number is A7-8358, Chassis 75893 and Engine M76079, dated in December 1928, the diff. January 1929. The body was very original, except for paint and upholstery. The mechanicals had been changed somewhat over the years, Bill Sanderson played with various hot engines, which meant the original fire wall disappeared long ago, I fitted a Ruby gearbox, SU carburettor and an alloy head on the original motor which only had one rebore in it’s life. The rear axle was swapped for a screw in torque tube model when the original pinion shed 3 teeth! All the original parts were passed on to the Boatwrights. Colin Masterton of the Sydney Club kindly sent me two photos of the car (see photographs below) as Bill found it at Heelis’ Garage of Bellingen in the early 1960’s. It was a very well known car in Vintage Car circles in Brisbane, and on the Coast. So you can see it is a very well documented car, and I am only sorry that I have not contacted you, or Bryan, earlier to set the record straight.
1929 Austin Seven Wasp
Photograph by Ted Bale
This beautifully restored Wasp was owned by Tim Braby from 1987 to 1996. The photograph above was taken at Coffs Harbour in 1995.
1929 Austin Seven Wasp
Source of Photograph Unknown
This photograph taken in 1978 is the same Wasp, its owner at this stage was Bill Sanderson, a former Mayor of Shepparton, Victoria. The photograph shows Bill and his wife visiting entrants in the 1978 International Veteran and Vintage Rally when they were on display on the Gold Coast.
1929 Austin Seven Wasp
Source of Photograph Unknown
This photograph shows the Wasp in Bill Sanderson’s Terranora driveway. At this stage the car sported the old salt and pepper fabric hood and featured petrified motor bike tires. Bill Sanderson, an electrical contractor, had a keen interest in collecting cars. His collection included veteran Sunbeams and sporting ACs.
Photographs by Colin Masterton
These photographs taken in the 1960's show Bill Sanderson's Jaguar and trailer heading up to the Queensland. border with a very interesting load!
1929 Austin Seven Wasp
Source of Photograph Unknown
This early photograph show another Australian Wasp, it is very similar, except for the plated radiator cowling.
About Tim Braby
Tim has been a member of the A7 Register of Queensland for 25 years now, and presently own a 1929 Saloon, which is a twin to Clive Ball’s "Samantha". It was at Adelaide in 1999, and also will be driven to Canberra for the Shannon’s Rally at Easter, 2001.Tim also has a 1929 Sports (Charles Hope body, similar to Doug Clarke’s and Keith Collins’s), a 1928 Chummy, and a 1937 Tourer, all pretty complete, but presently in need of the time and finances to finish them. Tim is also a keen Austin Seven model collector.