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1963 Lightburn Zeta motor car

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CC BY-SA 4.0
CC BY-SA 4.0
CC BY-SA 4.0
Type
Motor cars
Date
1963
Place
Camden, South Australia, Australia; South Australia, Australia
Materials
Chrome-plated metal - non specific, Fibreglass, Mineral oil, Petrol, Rubber, Steel, Vinyl
Collection
Lightburn collection
Accession number
1985.0014.0001

Description

Small grey painted fibreglass-bodied two-door 'Station Sedan' motor car. It has a Villiers two cylinder, 324cc [19.75cu in], 16.5bhp air-cooled engine, which drives the front wheels, and it is coupled to a Burman four-speed gearbox with stearing column gear shift. The Girling brakes are hydraulically operated. The radiator grille, hub caps, bumpers front and back, are all chrome-plated. The upholstery is covered in vinyl, and it has a bench seat in the back. The rearview mirror is mounted on the centre of the dashboard. 'AUSTRALIAN / MADE', 'Zeta / BY LIGHTBURN', 'FOR / ECONOMY' adhesive product stickers are applied to the rear window.

About the collection

The 'Lightburn collection' consists of a 1963 Lightburn 'Zeta' sedan and several archival documents and ephemera relating to the vehicle's production. Manufactured by Lightburn & Co. in Camden, South Australia, this car remained at the factory until 1983. The Museum later purchased it at auction in 1985. Engineer Harold Lightburn's vision of an inclusive and multicultural workplace was matched by his desire to fulfil the postwar market for inexpensive and reliable Australian-made goods. By the 1950s, Lightburn & Co. manufactured a variety of industrial products and power tools. By the 1960s, suburbs were expanding along with car ownership, roads and urban infrastructure. Lightburn created an economical and reliable vehicle to readily adapt to every family's needs. Despite these progressive intentions, fewer than 400 Zetas sold and production ceased in 1965.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 4:58:12 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2026-09-30. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.