Ken Wharton was not the first competitor to drop an 1172cc Ford sidevalve engine onto an Austin Seven chassis as the basis for a trials special, but he was certainly the first to make the combination really work. He won a number of events in 1947, and then had an incredibly successful year in 1948 culminating in becoming the first winner of the BTDA Gold Star championship, based on the results from 14 qualifying events, and the winner of the inaugural RAC Trials Championship trial, an invitation event held in the Cotswolds in November 1948. There were several articles about the car in the magazines of the time, the most comprehensive being published in the 10 December 1948 issue of Autocar – see link below.
Link to Autocar Article (PDF file – Opens in new window)
