Jaguar only started using a synchromesh gearbox in the E-Type in '65 or '66 (Series II) - that's forty years after the Austin. I have no idea why the British love to abuse themselves.

Last week I saw some old Rolls Royce that I absolutely could not guess even the decade of. The carriage looked 1930s but the interior looked 1950s - until I noticed what might have been spark advance levers on the steering wheel. It's a super luxury vehicle with super conservative styling, so I really don't know if it had a luxury interior for it's time or a classic exterior for it's time.