Vintage Thing No.172 - Little Satan

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Getting down low with Little Satan

While in pre-war Austin mode, I found these pictures I took of a well-executed Austin 7 special at the Crash Box Club gathering at Powderham Castle back in 2019.

It's only knee high

Little Satan is a neat little aluminium blob with a mischievous radiator mascot. I reckon there’s something of a Ford Model T flat tracker about it and I’ve heard Austin 7s and Model Ts mentioned together as endowing the population with cheap reliable transport in both their respective countries.

All you need to know, clearly displayed

Running gear is 1935 Austin 7 Ruby with shortened rear chassis members and the engine was built Don Rawson, who is a well-respected name in Austin 7 circles. Output of this engine was estimated at 60bhp partly thanks to a stainless steel induction system for SU carbs by Haywood & Scott of Basildon. They were also responsible for the eye-catching stainless zorst system.

I especially like the way the ally body has been left unpainted

The current owner, who purchased the car in 2017, described the power output as more than adequate for a car with cable operated drum brakes.

Little Satan's origins are obscure. The bodywork was probably built in the 1950s using traditional methods and the radiator mascot could date to even earlier.

Sums up the car's personality perfectly

I wonder if the mascot inspired the making of the car?

It’s performance could only be a little satanic. Impish perhaps?

The reasons I like this little bolide (as the French might say) is that it is an original take on the Austin 7 special. It looks unlike any other and the unpainted aluminium panels show great artifice (good word) in their construction.

Reposition the fuel tank inside that beetle-back tail and add another similarly minimalist seat and you could entertain and terrify a passenger.

I bet that's comfier than it looks and there's almost room for a travelling companion

Additional However, Little Satan probably works just as well as a single seater and would go better without an 90kg, especially as it probably weights about 400kg dry.

Every home should have one



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