The internet is a wonderful thing if used properly, as I found out the other day when I sent an Austin A40 brochure off to Uruguay.

Turns out there’s a young bloke near Montevideo who has an A40 Devon, as well as an A50 Cambridge. In his own words: "Hello, hoy are you? I received the booklet todas. Thank you very much! I live in Montevideo, Uruguay. I'm sending you a photo of my Austin Devon. Thanks again, Sergio”. And in the next email: "My A40 belonged to my grandfather. He died when I was 12 years (1978), and I've taken care of it ever since. It's been with me forever. Then, a few years ago, I bought an A50 Cambridge. I'm still restoring it. A long time ago, I used to go to "Montevideo Classic Car", where we also had get-togethers and rides. It was a wonderful time, and I still run into friends from that time. Excuse my poor english, Sergio”. (His English is a lot better than my Spanish….)

I did a bit of research, and it seems that by 1948 Austin had exported 100,000 cars. About 6,500 went to South America of which 2000 went to Argentina and 1000 to Uruguay. One wonders what the survival rate of A40 Devons is, and certainly Sergio's 1951 Devon looks in remarkable condition. The door handles are a give-away that the car has been used a fair bit.

Like wise, his Cambridge looks like it will lead a long life - the interior is almost like new. Uruguay is tucked in between Brazil and Argentina, so parts may possibly be sourced from Argentina, as they built Farina Austin A60s under licence, even if they had a Riley grille.

Imports of cars into most South American countries in those post-war years was difficult, as various regimes wanted to save their dollar supply. They clamped such severe import restrictions and duties on new cars and parts, making them out of reach for the average person. Most of Argentina’s taxi fleet in the 1960s dated back to the ‘20s and ‘30s. It’s obvious that Sergio’s grandfather treated his A40 Devon as a prized possession. Uruguay with a population of 3.5 has no car building industry, but Argentina for years built the Falcon, very much like our original XK right up through the the ‘80s. The Siam Di Tella organisation built the Di Tella 1500under license to BMC, which is in effect a Farina Austin A60 with a Riley front panel. They even made a ute version.

A Di Tella 1500 Taxi, with just about every conceivable extra loaded in, on and probably under it.

A Di Tella 1500 Camion, or ute - very like the one-off Freeway ute that BMC made in Sydney. Sadly never went into production, and the one prototype was found years later under a tree, too far gone for any restoration.

For those of us at a certain age will remember that one of the first battles of WW2 was in December 1939. Montevideo is on the River Plate, which runs into the Atlantic. A German cruiser, the Admiral Graf Spee had been causing trouble with British shipping and had been damaged in a battle with two British cruisers. It was in Montevideo for repairs and became trapped there, due to international law, which limited its stay in neutral ports. Facing overwhelming odds and believing he would be outnumbered by the waiting British, the captain scuttled the ship on December 17, 1939, rather than risk further loss of life. This act turned the battle into a significant morale boost for the Allies.