This was great fun to watch. My dad had a '49 that he bought at Falvey Imported Cars in Detroit. It was two years old, and had been owned by the wife of a wealthy businessman. She'd had it painted chartreuse, and then evidently grown tired of it and bought a new toy. My dad was over the moon proud of that car and he religiously cleaned it and washed it weekly. He named her Betsie. In '52 we moved west from Michigan to Arizona and we made the trip - dad and mom in the front seat, and my brother, sister, and me in the back. I was but a wee lad of three so I have no recollection of the trip, but I do recall going camping in the mountains outside of Phoenix all piled in our chartreuse Betsie. In '55 we moved back to Michigan and alas, while while having our dinner in a restaurant in Hereford, Texas, Betsie was rear ended by a careless teenage driver, and was a total wreck. Insurance paid for a nice '48 Chevy, which we used to complete the move. Back in Michigan, Dad acquired a couple more A40s. I recall a black one and a grey one, but he never treated those cars like he treated Betsie. Then he bought a '52 green Morris Minor in '57, a much smaller car, which he used as his daily driver, but by then it was too small to be the family car. You did an awesome job on Jinxy - you should be proud.

My first car was a black 1949 A40. Drove it across Australia and back in 1968 when I was 18. Check the water and oil each day and never gave any trouble apart from both radiator hoses and a set of points. Plod along at 50-55 mph all day and run on the smell of an oily rag. I hope it still survives somewhere, great little car.

I got a 1951 with left hand drive, my dad bought it for $25 in 1969. Drove it for 4 years in high school and delivered newspapers 7 days a week. did a minor valve repair and a new headliner, but other than that it went everywhere and never broke down. When I left for college we sold it for $50 in 1963. Was running well when I said goodbye.

One of the very best full restoration video's i've ever seen.....cost no object I presume.....What a superb result.....motoring heritage preserved.

Quiet, comfortable cars, with lovely interior - specially DASHBOARDS from that era! We used to have one, and went comfortably, (but slowly!) From London to Devon, on holiday! Enjoy yours!

Great credit to you and all those involved in the restoration. Another important piece of auto history brought back to life. Thanks a lot for the video.

We had one of these when i was a toddler in Ireland. Twin tone horn,blue upholstery, semaphore indicators and it pulled a heavy caravan! Amazing car

The dreaded lurgi called Rust which never sleeps! A labour of love. Anyone ANYONE who has done this sort is going to swear at some point regardless who they are!!!! Well done, i would think it is in better condition now than when it left the factory new. It has had far more TLC and attention to detail than any car factory would get anywhere near!

Beautiful restoration. My father had an A40 utility when we lived in the country. I was about 9 or 10 when we moved to the city and he decide to convert it to a sedan. I helped him and at the same time we rebuilt the engine and gearbox and had the diff reconditioned. I learned car mechanics on that car and it was the best thing ever. I have kept cars going way beyond the time most people would normally replace them. One 1963 Holden I kept for nearly 500,000 miles until someone pranged a Landcruiser into the back of it. These days with all the computers cars are a bit more complex but at least I can generally work out what a problem is before handing it over to a workshop.

the work on this car is amazing, I my self own a 48 a40 Devon and a 53 a40 pickup both as a long-term project car's my Devon is in quite similar shape as yours (not as much poke through rust tho) so its good to see people out there still caring for the Classics car's all these years from then

I had a Devon for ten years 1949, Mist Green, JOX 231in fantastic original condition. Two families from new. I had to sell her when I moved, and of all the classics I've owned she's the one I wish I had held on to. Hope she's still alive.

What patience and persistence - and given that this was done in England, great fortitude to be outside presumably in all weathers. Well done.

Terrific rebuild, another one saved, your panel making is brilliant. Had a Devon about 30 years ago, paid £50 for it, green in colour and local registration to us. ( Eastbourne) ended up exporting it to Holland, along with quite a few A30s and 35s some excellent repair panels for these little cars now come from the Dutch, have used some of them on my current rebuild of an A35. Hope you are still enjoying the Devon, of course the real rare one is the 2 door Dorset.

WOW!!! Now that brings back memory's. I was 15 yld [ 43 years ago ] when i did a full engine reconditioning for my first car [the conditions of owning a car said my father ] a 1949 A40 Devon in black just like this 1 .Thank you for sharing this and well done . Drive with pride.

Great patch panel work, awesome welding. Really glad you saved this little car from the scrappers. You did wonders in that little shop. Well done!

Wow! Full credit to your sir for this wonderful labour of love!! You have rescued this car for future generations to enjoy!

Thank you for saving a little bit of history 🤗

You deserve a row of medals........We had it easy back in the 60's....We had two of them, one was a column change,£55 i think. This was followed by a Somerset for £10 which I ran for a while and then sold it for £15.. The front shock absorbers were a weakness and I used to top them up with gear oil. They also burnt out head gaskets quite often.........I could go on.....Thanks for the video and enjoy your creation.

Great job. Lovely cars. I had one in Auckland New Zealand 40 years ago. No rust. Not a spot on the chrome. No salt on the roads. Had a lovely gear change and clutch. Sweet. Well done. Such a work.

Great Job. I worked for the Rover group in all it's guises and finally for BMW. I worked in the protype body shop and made the bodies from scratch. We had wooden models and patterns to work to and some of the panels are quite challenging, even in a shop with all the gear. Blokes like you, are a like armour makers and have a really artistic eye which is a part of the trade that can't be taught. Fantastic job.

Ah what memories. My first car was an A40 and I can still smell the leather. Great job. Dpoet

You have done an amazing and thorough job - well done !.I've always had a soft spot for the Devon , my best mate had one of these, a locally registered '51 in Connaught Green , owned at 17 , 50 years ago, bought from the landlord of our local pub for £37.10s.We went out in it on the day he passed his test, 3 days ahead of me passing mine, and met an identical Devon in green coming towards us, it had the consecutive registration number - after flashing the lights and waving - the oncoming driver never even noticed , although the cars were 15 years old then !.Memories of the ' Flying A ' mascot, the warm glow of the instrument lights and the fantastic heater - a great little car with immense character.

First car I ever drove was a beige A40 Devon pick up; I was about 11 years old helping out on the farm. Lovely 'tin-toy' looks.

Fantastic. First car I ever drove after passing my test at 17 was my dad's black 1949 A40 Devon. In the early 1990s it attracted some looks when I drove it to school!

Reminds me of the Moggy MM (side valve) I found laid up in a barn for 16 years. Great job mate and in those conditions remarkable. Credit to you.

WOW U Guys certainly did a GREAT job RESTORING that A40 Devon Pat yourselves on the back and a BIG one from me >GRAEME from New Zealand

Hi , what a beautiful car , and an excellent resto , you deserve a medal , for bringing it back to life, very well done , may i say keep up the good work . Rob.

Congratulations on a job well done. Your skill and patience are self-evident, particularly given the total lack of decent facilities... Nb. This model was widely exported and in it's day could be seen all over the world.

I had one of these when I lived in New Zealand, great cars. You've done a fantastic job, especially under the working conditions, well done!

Tremendous work. I’ve loved these cars ever since I was in primary school. The Headmaster owned an identical one and polished it every week.

I bought one of these in 1964, from a friend whose father had bought it brand new, having been on a waiting list with the factory. I paid him just £12 and 10 shillings (£12.50). The car ran perfectly until hit by another car and written off in 1965.

Superb.....respect to you for restoring a classic vehicle in this way.

It's nice to be reminded of the level of skill left in this country. Well done.

Amazing restoration. I'm restoring a Dorset at present, so I fully appreciate all the work you've put into this car.

Love the old Austin Devon, you did a wonderful job

Fabulous job, great little car, as soon as soon as i saw your car, i swear i could smell that old car smell. The father of a close friend had one, Long before any of us had a licence he took it for a drive,( without permission) and rolled backwards into a cop car whilst trying to start off uphill at the lights. Fun days. Tony Australia.

fantastic. My fathers first car when I was a small child. Great memories

I owned a 1950 A 40 fordor sedan;I got it for free fifty years ago in the spring of 1969 when I was a junior in high school.I was 18 at the time.The neighbour who gave it to me got his truck and we chained it up.He drove the truck and I drove the car.I ended up getting it running in a couple of days but had to replace one valve and do a complete valve job on it.As I've told people,it knocked it smoked,but it never died.It still had the original owner's manual to it plus the hand crank.The car came from Canada as I remember and the body was still sound even though the interior was completely shot.

What a great restoration. Looks gorgeous. Well done.

Fantastic restoration job, my dad had one of these in grey when I was a child, mid sixties, I used to stand in the front with my little stick on steering wheel copying him as he drove around! My mum and sister had to sit in the back!

Well done mate a true labour of love. This was the first car my dad had in the early 60`s. Very fond memories, the pictures of the dash bring it all back to me, thats all I could see from the back seat, I was about 6 at the time. Thanks for this vid and I hope that you enjoy the car for many a year. Torchy

Our families’ first car. We live in British Columbia and in the years after the war they many thousands across Canada 🇨🇦. We drove “Nellie Belle” through out the province and some western states.

That was heck of a restoration. Done with passion not profit. Guess it brought back family memories? I detect the welding was not done by an amateur. Well done.

One of favourite cars .

What a wonderful job you have done.

Great job, what I would call a labour of love.

My favorite car when I was a kid.You could buy a 20 year old one for $25.00 Canadian and the wrecker was full of parts.The front shocks (hydraulic ) were there Achilles tendon. Great vid!!!

fanstatic well done enjoyed your video some much through out the whole build process....awesome job remembing these vechiles ...in austraila when i was a young child

That is an amazing restoration, she looks great! Your metal fabrication is excellent. My 1st car was a 1949 black Devon with original valve radio! Bought for £20 did nearly 100K miles in it and sold it for £400! At 3.04, that crescent shaped device is what balances the mechanical rear brakes with the hydraulic fronts (did any other car have this?). It was awkward to adjust but when done gave great braking. The handbrake also applied the rear brakes through the crescent and if adjusted right, would partially apply the front brakes too. I once had to explain this to an MOT tester who was about to fail it because "the front brakes were rubbing"!! Thanks for sharing this video.

This car is a real beauty ! I would like to have one of these one day...

Well done, great job work you've put into this car.

Well done, great job, especially in those modest working conditions.

Fantastic Job! All your hard work payed off and she looks beautiful! whatever you did, keep on doing it! Wish I had mine now. I loved to crank her over with the starting handle and get it on BoC, tell my GF to switch on the ignition and then fire her up (the car) she was always very impressed. Best wishes from Stewie and JOV 462

Well done I love your little Noddy Car ... great video ..

A truly beautiful labor of love. Very well done

Fantastic result

Well done had one of these fed up with replacing front shocks filled them up with Hypoid 90 diff oil, no more bouncing the waves,had a few bruised back hands with it jumping out of 3rd gear soon avoided that, make and mend do no money!

AMAZING RESTORATION !!!GOOD JOB!!! I HAVE ONE HERE AT MEXICO ,LOVE MY BRIT CAR!!

Grandpa had one of these, new, I think, in sage green? his favourite colour and his last car, v much an Austin man throughout his life

You Are A Genius A Good Doctor

Beautiful, well done

Arise Sir Devon. For tireless devotion to automobile preservation.

Great job she turned out beautiful.

A very good job!!!

Well done, true grit!

Super job well done!

Most impressive!

An A49 Devon was my first car! Cost £15 in 1966, Insurance was £13, and 15miles to the gallon...

What a beautiful car...bet she's a real character...

i had one of these , my first car , love it

Lovely car very well restored ,do away with the music and tell us all about how you went about the work I'm sure that will get more subscribers

Looks fantastic, does it smell good inside.

I always have one big issue with doing a restoration like this,how do you deal with corrosion inside the box section chassis ? Old cars that have been renovated look brilliant on the outside but its that box section that would always worry me.Love what you have done and total admire your dedication to this car.

Cool

You wouldn't know where i could get a back window bezel for one of these, would you?

well done , I am starting A40 Austin Countryman project , car has been apart many years but it is all there and very little rust mine is a 1952 Devon type ..........know where one can buy the lower rad hose ? and how about oil filters ? any help would be welcomed

Blimey !

I had a A40 Devon of 1948. The engine started always at first try..

Excellent restoration, but the A40 Devon was never a looker. The Pinin Farina A40 was streets ahead in looks.

I have a 1951 Devon and I'm needing sills but can't get them anywhere . I don't have skills needed to make them myself . If you can give me some advise I would be very grateful. Think you have made an amazing job.

I rather like the music.

So much for salt ice treatment. Mine collapsed the chassis at the front door post line

🙂

A Devon is a beautiful thing. But a Hampshire is even better.

my fist car

I have a lot of questions about a Austin I have if you have time. Would love to talk to you!

Full credit to you for your skills & perseverance, but, .... WTF. A four door model? Surely there has been an open top convertible or two door model to be had somewhere. & in the end, after all this effort & expense what do you have? A four door A40 that has no real value in the marketplace. Even when new, these were regarded as a death trap with the steering box bolted ahead of just about everything except the bumper, & with its attached spearing column [yeah, that's what we called them even in the 1950's] ready to impale the driver in even low speed impacts. Yes, I was working on these back in the late '50's Anyway, that's enough bagging your car. Great job, it looks new, but perhaps next time you might choose a car that is worth your obviously high skills & talent.

A friend of mine's brother had one of these, might've been handed down from his father.

Come to Sri lanka. Theese cars are still alive.

a beautiful restoration of a grand old lady well done but its still bloody ugly

Nice job or labour of love. Please no music, tell us what you did.

A40 Devon The Car of JAFFNA.

Hi Know anyone looking for a 49 A40 Panel in need of a resto in the UK????????????? rare one

Gord mate how could you even attempt that without a decent size shed.

Was looking forward to seeing a video of it on the road....Disappointed

Well done....😂😂😂😂😎🇨🇬🇧🇬🇧

Fantastic job mate! Get rid of the music and put a running commentary to back up the pictures in it's place.

american gearhead wants video of rebuilding the mill(engine) and tranny. see what happens to Austins over here-- www.mecum.com/lots/LA0217-287276/1947-austin-gasser/ nice worj on the body and frame. have fun.

Open the hood.. show restoration of the engine......Us guys need more power.. It's not about body work it's about mechanics and dirt and grease and oil and carburetters and exhaust smoke and noise and tappets and and etc etc...

A lovely video of all your hard work but TERRIBLE music !