A mini-British invasion will arrive on the East Coast at the end of the month. But no redcoats will be among them, nor any mop-top lads.

About a dozen Britons are bringing five of their antique Austin Seven automobiles, which they plan to drive to California along remaining sections of the fabled Route 66.

They will stop in Butler Aug. 28 and 29 to see where the American version of the tiny cars were built.

Then, it's on to Chicago, where they will start their cross-country trek, and get their kicks as they travel the "Mother Road" through Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, where "America's Main Street" ends in Santa Monica.

They also plan side trips to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas along the way.

The Austin Seven got its name from its horsepower.

"The Austin Seven's rating comes from an old system of classification which only takes into account the piston area," said Ken Cooke of Hertfordshire, one of the participants.

"The actual horsepower produced is a massive 10.5 for the early cars and 12.5 for the later ones," Cooke said. "Some of the cars, like mine are near standard, but others do have some mods — and a lightweight special body making them a little more sprightly."

They have a top speed of 50 mph and cruise at 45 mph, he said.

The Austin Motor Co. was founded by Lord Herbert Austin, and produced the cars from 1922 to 1939 at the factory in Longbridge, near Birmingham.

In the late 1920s, Elias Ritts, a Butler banker, and businessman Carl Cheeseman met Austin in New York and got his approval to build an American version of the Austin. They were built in Butler from 1930 to 1935. After the Butler company hit the skids, it was reorganized by Miami businessman Roy Evans and produced the Bantam from 1938 to 1940.

Participating in the Route 66 trip are:

• Richard and Marlies Bishop of Exeter, Great Britain, in their 1938 Sports

• Ken and Eileen Cooke of Hertfordshire, Great Britain, in their 1930 Tourer

• Vince Leek of Warminster, Great Britain, and Diana Garside of North Carolina in Leek's 1929 Tourer

• George and Joy Mooney of Bournemouth, Great Britain, in their 1934 Cambridge Special

• Stan Price and Chris Loughlin of Carlisle, Great Britain, in their 1932 Saloon

• Veronica Garside of Swindon, Great Britain, and Mary Firnel of Epson Downs, Great Britain, in a support car.

The participants are members of the 750 Motor Club. The club has about 1,000 Austin owners.

The trip is the brainchild of Diana Garside, who was born and raised in London and now lives in North Carolina.

She said she returned to England last September to visit her parents.

"I asked my Dad what he still wanted to achieve in his life," she said. "I was thinking he may say something like see the Great Wall of China or Ayers Rock, but instead he shrugged his shoulders and said that he would like to drive Route 66."

He owned four Austin Sevens, which all needed restoration. She said she contacted Vince Leek, "and secretly, with my mum's help, got one of the cars, the 1932 Box Saloon, restored."

"Tragically, my dad died," Garside said. At his funeral, she said she approached Leek "and proposed that we still do the drive.

"In my Christmas stocking was a map of Route 66 from Vince, with a request for me to do some research in aid of the trip that was really going to happen. The rest is history."

Diana Garside will make the trip with Leek in his 1929 Tourer. Her mother, Veronica Garside will drive with a friend in a support car.

Marlies Bishop said the cars were shipped on Sunday. The entourage will fly into Newark Airport on Aug. 23, pick up the cars and head for Butler, arriving on Aug. 28.

They plan to begin the Route 66 trip Sept. 3 from Chicago, where the road begins.

Bishop said her husband bought their first Austin in 1970 for 5 pounds, "Possibly the best buy we ever made although at the time I was none too pleased as it looked like a scrap heap and I thought I had married some nut case."

She said he still uses it daily for his job as a self-employed carpenter.

About five years ago, they bought the 1938 Austin Special which they will drive on the Route 66 trip.

Last year, they drove the car on a trip from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, along with five other club members and their Austins.

The Bishops, Cookes, Mooneys and Leek also went on the South American trip.

Leek said his first car was an Austin Seven, which he bought in 1957.

He said he bought the 1929 Tourer he is bringing about 15 years ago and rebuilt it.

Ken Cooke, a retired TV repairman, also said his first car was an Austin, which he bought in 1952.

George Mooney, 68, is director of a small engineering company. "We purchased our first Austin Seven in 1962 as transport for my wife," he said. "It was for sale on a dealer forecourt at 45 pounds. We still have and use the car."