French vs. British: which light tourer do you choose?

Sadly you have overlooked what is possibly the most ignored of the early 1920's light cars as defined by the Light Car Section of the VSCC. I am referring to the Italian 1920/22 Fiat 501. Anyone who has owned or even worked on one of these delightful vehicles can but agree. Perhaps over looked by many, the earlier, narrow track, 501 is in my humble opinion the best of the early vintage light cars. As with all the 501/503 Fiats they are fitted with a four cylinder, side valve engine of just under the requisite 1500cc. But you really do need to look deeper into the engine. Unlike the majority of "light cars" the Fiat has a three main bearing crankshaft with full pressure lubrication. The crank is fully machined as are the connecting rods. In addition the Fiat 501 is fitted with a four speed gearbox with sensibly spaced ratios. This is connected to a smoothly operating right hand gear change. As is common with light cars of the period the brakes are on the rear wheels only however these operate in drums of extremely generous proportions with separate shoes for the foot and hand brake, certainly in marked contrast to the Austin. Having never owned or driven a Salmson I cannot comment on it. However I have in the past owned and driven a number of Austin Sevens.
Finally the Fiat 501 is a full 4 seater car offering a degree of comfort that Austin Seven owners can only dream about. Fiat owners clubs around the world can offer mechanical advice and both new and secondhand parts to 501 owners on the rare occassions that they may be needed.

Bernie Jacobson

Of the two cars, the Austin 7 has to take first place on the list. Having lived in France now for the last seventeen years, my experience of British v's French cars has to be put into perspective. When it comes to spare parts British cars and their parts availability are light years ahead of their French counterparts. That is one of the reasons that British cars are so popular around the world.

The the vintage / collector car parts industry in the UK is so sophisticated and reliable, with fair pricing. Their customers demand good service and efficiency. So the industry responds.

In France, on the other hand, supplying old car parts is still an add hoc cottage industry. The few companies involved tend to be slow, unreliable and the parts expensive. Sadly, all the time their customers accept their lax casual service it will never improve.

Owner of Salmson cars since 1964 (2300S and G72). I like them and association of other owners. Nice motor and cotal gearbox.