Austin Champ Pickup

I met Kenny Engle this past weekend and he helped me pick up my newly acquired Austin Champ. It will make a nice addition to my collection. He's storing it for me until I can get back and haul it to either New Jersey or Nevada.

Hey, that's just your size Kenny.

There may be no such thing as a ugly MV, but that comes close. Is that the one that does 50 in reverse?

There's that dang old trailer again!

Mike, Cool Austin and Very Cool avatar!

Yep...it's supposed to do 50mph in reverse. I think that design was for the retreating French Army.

Thanks on the avatar. LIFE Magazine, June-1968.

***tire whore hijack***
what size are those XL's?

Hey, lay off my trailer. Best $100 I ever spent. It's been all over the east coast, hauled more than one CUCV and brought back an M715 from Indiana.

Kenny, It was said with kindness( pretty sure I heard you refer to it as "that dang old trailer") at the Fl rally.

I know Eric. I take lots of hits on the fact that I don't clean it up. There are days I get tired of seeing it but it's always there when I need it and has never failed to do a mission. All in a good days fun!

***tire whore hijack***
what size are those XL's?

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They are 6.5 x 16 I believe.

Bear in mind that there are a lot of roads in europe where you don't have a place to turn around. So, 50 mph in reverse is a good thing if you meet something bigger than you. that's not hard in something the size of a jeep.

As far as styling, all of the Post WWII british trucks got nice curvy body work. The biggest being the Antar. There was even the Green Goddess military fire truck.

There are other trucks as well, a Larger austin and the Bedford MJs for example.

Just keep doing what you're doing Kenny. It's trailers like yours that are still parked in the driveway every morning. The shiny, fancy ones seem to sprout legs fairly frequently.

that has got to be the ugliest military vehicle i've ever seen....... i absolutely love it.

Yep...they sure are ugly! So ugly, I had to have it! I've always liked them though.

This is what it looked like before I got it.

Sweet score! You aren't gonna see many of those at the rallies on this side of the pond! I did see a couple of 'em at one of the car shows I attended while stationed in England, but yours is the first back here in the States. Where in the heck did you find it? How did it find its way over here in the first place? C"mon! Tell us a story!

Tell us a story!

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This Champ was listed on eBay about a month ago. The owner listed it and said he would take trades. After a few emails, we agreed on a fair trade of some firearms that I had. I've seen Champs on eBay before but really didn't have a desire to purchase (or the funds). There is a good Champ website that gives tons of info on surviving Champs. This Champ came over from a guy in Holland. I've got all the importing documents. It's not the only one in the US. I just saw one at the New Jersey National Guard Museum in Sea Girt, NJ.

My plan is to get it back together, give it a paint job and drive it. I'm not sure how much I will use it because parts can be expensive because of shipping. I don't want to break anything. Besides, I've got my Mighty Mite to play with!

First of all public congratulations Mike on an excellent addition to the stable. As to ugly, you guys on the other side of the big pond have surely designed some of the most grotesquely ugly vehicles ever to be seen on the roads of the world. One further comment, the Austin Champ has been much maligned throughout its history, yet little is said about the gross abuse that military vehicles in general are subjected by many of their drivers. Like if it has 4x4 I must be able to drive it hard on and off highway, couple that with neglect of proper maintainance for whatever reason and you will break or bend most anything.

In the mean time I hope Mike's Champ will give hi a lot of fun when restored and continue to give him many years of service.

I don't think the Yugo was a USA design. Can't blame us for that one. The Marlin was a USA design but it was not military.

Jim
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Ship Sale

As to ugly, you guys on the other side of the big pond have surely designed some of the most grotesquely ugly vehicles ever to be seen on the roads of the world.

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David,

Give some examples of US Ugliness!

Well, there is the M35A3. You just can't get much uglier than that!