The Austin 7

By Wong Jian Eu, 12, KL

Charles Perera knows how it feels to rebuild an antique car. After all, he himself has brought back to life an Austin 7. Looking back he half boasts, “It is my greatest achievement in life.”

Charles Perera is married with three children. He works overseas in Nigeria, but comes back on alternate months. His hobby is to rebuild or create things that are needed. Of the many things he has done, his greatest pride is the Austin 7 he rebuilt for his neighbour’s uncle, who used to go to school in a car like that.

The Austin 7 was released in England around 1927. Production has stopped; those that still exist are considered very rare, and many car enthusiasts would happily pay a good sum of money for. The Austin 7s, and many of the other cars that were made in the same period, were transported to and sold in Malaysia when the Brits ruled.

When Uncle Charles’ neighbour’s uncle wanted his old, neglected Austin 7 rebuilt, Uncle Charles bought a book on the Austin 7. The book told Uncle Charles and his friends — Ganesh, who helped in doing jobs that needed more than one person; Edmund, who put together the engine; and another close friend, a professional wireman, who did the wiring and whose name Uncle Charles could not recall — all about the parts that were needed and how to arrange them. With the book open and Uncle Charles ready to give instructions to his friends, the rebuilding started.

How did they manage to get the parts for a car that was made in 1927? “I got the parts from everywhere — some from London, others from Malaysia and the rest from other countries,” said Uncle Charles. Can you imagine getting parts for an ancient car from all around the world? It’s just like what Captain Nemo did in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea — ordering parts from around the world so that his submarine, the Nautilus, would remain a secret.
Buying the car parts cost a whopping RM35, 000! That is a gob-smacking amount of money to kid like me.

Anyway, after two years of hard work ( actually one year because Uncle Charles was only home on alternate months), the Austin 7 was finally reconstructed to its original specifications. It had a 998cc engine. It had spoke wheels, which looked very much like motorcycle wheels. The brand of the wheels was Harley Davidson. The car had a nice sporty red body with black to cover the bottom area. The inside was beige in colour.

Well, with the car done, how did he feel? “I felt very proud! I drove it to Bangsar, and it felt great. Ron, Dashel and Sonya (my two sons and daughters) came along with me,” Uncle Charles said, beaming. “The Austin 7 is a real eye catcher.”

So after the Austin 7 was reconstructed, it was returned to Uncle Charles’ neighbour’s uncle. Well, Uncle Charles’ neighbour’s uncle drove it to work for a while until he got a mild heart attack. It is now understood that the car is for sale at a price of around RM65,000.

“I think that many car collectors would buy it,’ Uncle Charles said. “If I had the money I would definitely buy it.”



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