Some cars and trucks live weird lives and this 1966 Austin Gyspy is certainly right in the middle of a strange existence. As best we know, these trucks were never imported by Austin so this one got here somehow between 1966 and now, right? How that happened is kind of a big mystery but not he biggest mystery because the story gets better. In 2009 this very truck was found and posted on BringATrailer.com but it was in much better shape and had a wrecker boom in the back. See:
Things sure were looking nicer in 2009 than they are now. Clearly the thing has been sitting outside for the last five years and that notoriously rust prone British steel is starting to do its thing. In the photo above the doors and other surfaces look fine but now? Ruh-Ro, they definitely have some tin worm in them and you can almost hear it munching on this side of your monitor. It looks like the wheels and tires have been changed, the mirror on the passenger side is missing, and the previously pristine (and weirdly shaped) front grill is a little wonky looking now.
There was a fight about whether or not this truck was a British military truck at some point in its life on BAT but it was inconclusive. The green paint inside seems to be a tell tale sign but other English guys argued that these were never used by the military, so who knows. What we do know is that it looks like a rip off of an early Land Rover and it has a really small four banger in it so speed and big torque are two things that this truck does not have on its side.
Would we own it? Heck yeah! Do we want someone as twisted as us to save it? Heck yeah! Get there quick before more parts disappear and the condition further degrades. Poor thing.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SOME PHOTOS AND THEN HIT THE LINK TO SAVE THIS TRUCK!
This little gem must be saved!
Due to the tin worm and our climate there’s hardly any of them left here in the UK – because they were a sorry shadow of the Land Rover.
If I had this baby, I’d swap in the running gear of a Range Rover, install a lift kit and go out to the wild blue yonder to have some fun!
that’s a really sweet little piece, looks like it’s already been 4 wheelin’
I thought these were designed for military use and saw deployment in some tropical regions or something. I do recall they had a goofy rubber suspension that went to hell quickly.
Check out http://www.austingipsy.net – There are some pictures of the Gipsy as it was in 2009.
Apparently the British Government bought several hundred Gipsy’s and similar vehicles of the time during the 1960’s and kept them in bunkers in case of a national disaster i.e. Nuclear Holocaust! and yes they were Green.
I believe the British Military had a few for appraisal/testing.
Yuk …… :-]