Perhaps you’ve heard about the Hackenberger auction in the past few weeks.  With over 700 lots, this auction has a lot of very interesting items and it has been widely publicized.  If you are one of the subscribers to our “Lead Sheets” you have probably seen three Austins and Bantams coming up for auction today.  After all was said and done, the three cars found new homes.  Here is a snapshot of the auction results.

After weeks of online bidding, the convertible coupe lingered around $850, the roadster remained strong at $350, and the coupe was around $750.  The morning of the auction, the Convertible coupe ascended to ~$5,700, the roadster to ~$500, and the coupe to ~$1,200.  Once the bidding began on the roadster, a small power surge interrupted the internet bidding; but that didn’t stop it from being a runaway hit with internet bidders.  Note, the prices published do not include any of the premiums which were tacked on for the lucky winners. (Somewhere between 8% and 17%, in different areas of the terms).

At the prices realized, it may be safe to assume that the convertible coupe and roadster will be on their way to enjoyment in their original form.  However, the softer value the crowd placed on the coupe makes one wonder what its fate may await it.

If anyone who purchased one of these cars happens to read this, it would be great to know more about your new car and welcome you into the fold.  If you are a person who was bidding on these cars but didn’t end up going home with one, send us a line as there are plenty of cars looking for a warm space in your garage.

First off, happy Summer!  It’s been a very busy few weeks and I have been neglecting this site a little bit.  A lot of my focus has been stolen by work and in getting a few reproduction projects off the ground.  There are enough projects in the works that I have a binder which is starting to fill up with everything to keep track of these efforts.

If you received the ABS’ most recent Rooster Tails, you may have seen an article about our effort to reproduce headlight lenses, if you are interested, I am taking preorders until mid-September.  Hopefully, there will be a table at the upcoming meet in Reading, PA showcasing our latest reproduction parts as well as lots of other goodies, used and new alike.

The lead sheet has really blossomed in the past month.  To be honest, there are so many vehicles for sale at this point in time that its sometimes hard to keep track of them all.  A few of the cars advertised on this site have sold and I need to update the classifieds with some new cars which are available.  Lead sheet V. 1 LS. 5 should be available this weekend.  If you aren’t a member of either club, just think, you could have had a copy of every lead sheet released this year emailed to you for free for the cost of membership in one of those clubs.

In other news, we have now secured the URL http://www.EverythingBantam.com.  You can reach this page by typing that in.  At some point, this whole site will be migrated to that URL.  You can also find Everything Bantam on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (although I admittedly don’t know how to use that one yet).  Soon, the content of the three pages will be coordinated with each one having some unique nuggets of Bantam gold.

I am working on updating the parts section of the website to reflect actual used parts available on ebay, new parts available through us and other vendors, and nos parts.

Most importantly, I am getting back to work on the Shop Project, the Bantam Sportsman.

Thanks for checking in!

At this point, no one is reproducing American Austin interior handles.  Like many door handles and window cranks utilized on 1930’s vehicles, these were made of fairly poor materials.  Fairly often, these handles are broken where they interface with the latches or regulators and they are usually fairly pitted.  If you are looking for handles for your cars, there seem to be at least two other makes which utilized the same handles as the American Austins.

First, a few months ago, Lynn introduced us to the 1931 DeVaux which featured the same handles as the Austin.  Interestingly, the DeVaux featured some styling treatments from Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, the same man responsible for much of the American Austin and Bantam looks.  These may not be a good source for parts as only 4,808 vehicles were produced and the survival rate does not seem to be very good.

1931 DeVaux Model 675

If you blow up the photo below, you can see the handles which are the subject of this blog post.

Note the Austin handle and crank on the passenger side door.

To learn more about De Vaux, click here.  To learn more about the car in the above photos click here.

Another vehicle that featured these same handles is the 1930 Peerless.  The very same car that was considered to rival Packards and Pierce Arrows utilized the same window cranks as the diminutive American Austins.

1930 Peerless Model A Standard Eight

Here is a photo of the handles in the opulent and luxurious interior of the Peerless.

Those window cranks and handles look familiar, don’t you think?

The Peerless Body Tag.

To learn more about Peerless automobiles click here.  To learn more about the Peerless above, click here for the craiglist ad or call Ed at (602) 421-5663  if the ad has expired.

Drew best described the Peerless as the missing link identifying that these handles may have been a common part for the Hayes Body Corporation who built the bodies for all three cars.  So, keep your eyes open at the swap meets.  These handles are out there, albeit probably in limited quantities.

What was recently a 1933 American Austin restoration project has become an organ donor for other fortunate Austins.  Keep your eyes on the seller to see more items which may be just right for your car.

American Austin

Click here to see: Austin Coupe Seat

Austin Driver’s side Front Fender:

Click here to see: Austin Front Fender

It has been 19 days since the last post and a few cars and parts have sold without much fanfare here.  However, there are a few things which have recently come up which will be posted and there is a seller who may soon be listing a large collection of Austin and Bantam parts.  Keep your eyes open for them and keep checking back here to be among the first to know!

American Austin Car Carrier

Click here to see: American Austin Toy Car Carrier

American Austin Toy

Click here to see: American Austin Toy Car

Through quite a coincidence, four days after I posted about one of our upcoming projects.  To read about our quest to reproduce Bantam headlight lenses, click here.  The seller has had some of these lenses in the past and had asked a good deal less at that point then they are now.  I think I had actually purchased one from them at the time.  Now, they are asking $224.99 for each lens.  One other vendor asks $180 for these lenses, and there are rumors that another vendor asks routinely over $300 for each lens (I have not verified this price but am just echoing comments people have made in the past).

When these lenses have ended up on ebay in the past, they have been at the center of bidding wars reflecting the adage that Bantam parts change hands at the price a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to receive.  All of our cars need two lenses, which today could cost $500.  It never hurts to have a spare as they are only held into the headlight housing by pressure exerted on the glass from the internal assembly.  As there are no screws or protective trim rings, these have been known to sake loose and fall out.  At $250 each, you may want to drive without lenses and put them in the car only when you are showing it.

This is why we are embarking upon a journey that will hopefully result in the ability to manufacture new lenses for Bantam headlights.  To get the project rolling, we need to have 100 lenses sold, that’s enough headlight lenses for 50 cars.  Currently, the price point is under $100.  Once we have enough commitments, a final price will be determinable.  Finally, after over 70 years, a steady supply of newly minted headlight lenses will be available at a set price that will not be driven up by demand.  In fact, the price of lenses may be driven down by higher demand.  Think of the possibilities!

Click here to see the: Bantam Headlight Lenses

Excellent news has finally come regarding headlight lenses.  I have found a company in the United States with the capability of forming correct reproduction glass Stabilite 3930 lenses.  This is a project that can be taken on if we can find orders for at least 100 lenses.  Over the next few months, I will be putting out feelers to see who is interested in being part of this exciting project.  Remember, 100 is the magic number.

As you have probably seen, correct headlight lenses can be quite difficult to source.  Even original glass lenses may have numerous visible imperfections that detract from their beauty.  Although yellowed lenses may be frustrating, the price to replace them with better ones is more so.  People have paid exorbitant amounts for NOS lenses just to make sure their headlights look fantastic.

So, if we get this project off the ground, beautiful glass replacement lenses will be available at a fraction of the price of NOS pieces and you can easily keep a spare or two around.  Generally, new lenses are only available to people with cars that were produced in greater numbers.  Now we can have a shot at seeing the road again too!

Please go to the contact us page to secure your place on the waiting list.

There is a photo of the Bantam 60 line being introduced at the factory with several executives standing in front of the cars. Here is the photo:

One of the photos that usually surfaces from this photo shoot is:

However, from the dark color and angle, a lot of details are difficult to see.  It almost looks like the car has numerous custom touches compared with a stock standard roadster.  This car is clearly visible at the left side of the line up above.  Toward the center of the panoramic photo, six men are blocking the bulk of a Panel truck and what looks to be a light colored roadster.  Perhaps the photo of the light colored car is well know, however, I have never seen it.  It’s a shame that the auction ended before I found it, but I am glad I found it among the completed items.

Given the light color of this roadster in this factory photo, you can see a lot of original details which are very difficult to see in the photos of the darker colored car.  How many details can you spot?

Click here to see the: Factory Roadster Photo

An Original American Austin Dealership Sign:

Click here to see the: American Austin Dealer Sign

New Austin sign:

There was company reproducing the above signs in a smaller size which I cannot find anywhere.  However, for a similarly styled sign click here.  This is what their sign looks like:

Bantam Truck Photo:

Click here to see the: Bantam Truck Period Photo

I believe this is this truck that is in these photos as well: