With his father driving a 1954 Standard Eight, Kylas Swaminathan grew up with a sense of appreciation for vintage and classic cars. Whenever he spotted any of these machines, he would fling himself into gathering information about it. And roads overrun with Austin 8s are among the 53-year-old Kylas' strong impressions about the Madras of the 1970s. Despite frequent encounters with this car, he did not quite warm up to it.
He would drool over a Buick 8 or a Chevrolet Impala and daydream about owning them, but an Austin 8 was never going to be parked in his garage. That was one of the certainties of life – so he thought. And In 2010, he was a bit amused with himself as he found himself driving a 1946 Austin 8 home. The change of heart had not been sudden. Kylas began to shed his perceptions about this car from the 1980s, when a neighbour invited him to look at his Austin 8.
Kylas can now tell a congregation of antique car aficionados why he considers the Austin 8 a cut above comparable cars from its era. “It follows the tallboy design, and is marginally taller than the Morris 8 and Ford 8, two other popular tallboys of those days,” says Kylas, who owns a Morris 8 as well.
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We have not verified this claim, but feel impelled to take his word for it. Because it is obvious he has engaged in quite a bit of a study about this Austin model and its rivals. He can list offhand the car’s various measurements, from its ground clearance to wheel size.
His pleasant experience with the Austin 8 has led him to becoming a ‘spokesman’ of the Austin Motor Company (1905-52). He explains how Nissan Motor Company romanced with the Austin through a reverse engineering project in 1934 which involved the Austin 7.
On the merits of his car, he points out how the disadvantage of a six-volt system is offset by a mechanism that does away with a solenoid switch and enables a direct connection to the starter. He is also happy that the car still retains many of the features unique to post-War Austin 8s, the top-hinged, flap-like number moveable number plate carrier being one of them.
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“The previous owner, a lady in her eighties, had taken great care of the car. I assured her I would maintain the car as well as she had. And I think I have kept my promise,” says Kylas.
He gave the car a new coat of paint, cleaned up the petrol tank and had the mechanical pump and fuel gauge repaired. He says, “That was all I had to do.”