Unusual Austin Allegro Collection Uncovered | UK Barn Finds Fleet Update
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- "Can we do an Austin Allegro video?" asked Claire.....
Join us as we chaotically show you our own fleet of unusual Austin Allegros. People often criticise the Austin Allegro, going so far as to call it the 'worst' car ever made. We at UK Barn Finds couldn't disagree more; we think the Austin Allegro is a brilliant car and huge fun to own.
We showcase three of British Leyland's finest, tell you a bit about them and try to get some of them started and moved. Amongst the long list of calamities is a stuck clutch, leaking fluids and a damaged wheel arch. If that wasn't enough, Elton gets repetitive strain injury from the hydrolastic pump and Claire is exasperated by his point-blank refusal to read the instructions. Again.
00:00 Intro
00:36 Scissor Door Gulf Austin Allegro Spec LE
08:20 Starting Her Up
08:40 Oops The Clutch Is Stuck
15:49 Unusual Noises
18:18 Filling Up The Hydrolastic pump
25:57 Wash Time!
30:35 Martini Racing Rally Austin Allegro
37:38 Admitting Defeat!
40:45 Tesco Value Wedding Austin Allegro
Check out the Allegro Motorsports Website here:
allegromotorsport.weebly.com/
To see the full video that Elton spotted his Grandad in, as well as other old road trips around Essex and Suffolk in the 1980's, please check out @TheWurn2 channel.
Thank you, also, to Trigger of East Coast Retros for the use of the old photos.
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42:51 The sticker "My other car is crap" brilliant 😍
the allegro has been criticised for too long , i love them
Absolutely. We're glad that so many Allegro fans have found this video.
Nice to see a fairly positive Allegro video thanks 😊
Brilliant! I agree with Elton 100%, Allegros were a great little car and for years they've had nothing but bad press created by idiots and repeated by bigger idiots for years. Totally unjust.
Indeed. When you own them, you hear the same stories over and over again. They weren't perfect, but no car of that era was.
@@johncolley3317 My auntie had one where the rear wheels kept undoing from the hub. She said the automatic immobilizer was faulty...
Weird steering wheel tho🤔🤔🤔
This was the worst car I ever owned,leaked water,burnt oil and oil leaks et al. I had to replace the engine twice. How BL got away with putting this car on the market,no accountability. No wonder BL went bust.
Hmm I had one as my first car and it was quite dreadful in almost every respect, replacing it with the Cortina was such a relief.
Love your first Allegro, the suspension was well down at front o/ side.
I had an Allegro Equipe limited edition only 5000 produced in 1980 almost new ex demonstrater car.
Best car I've ever driven apart from my current Rover P6 3500s
I love Allegro's & have had several over the years, my last one was a russet brown MK3 on a W reg. I put twin carbs on the 1.3 engine & some large rostyle wheels & it gave me so much joy driving around, definitely smiles per miles😂
I picked my son up from the army barracks once & he was devastated & embarrassed to get in it but once he'd driven it he loved it, he said I can't believe how dull modern cars drive compared to the allegro.
The sound of the Austin gearbox when gearing down,it's a proper whine, a sound as kids we always listened out for as my dad always drove Austin 1300s & if you heard that sound when you were up to no good then you knew to get the hell out of what you were doing😂😂 i❤ these ones in the video. Well-done Elton 👍
Love it Elton and Claire your comments take me back to high school as were the same age. Love to see all the work in two weeks andall the cars you two have saved. Trot on guys. From Belgium a Brummie that moved out. hard
On our first trip back to the UK in 1977 we rented an Allegro and drove down from Birmingham to Somerset then on to North Devon, driving back my wife came down with the flu and even though I had the heater on full blast she was complaining of feeling cold, this was at the end of May and we both flew home to Vancouver sick!
I'm not letting you blame this one on the poor old Allegro 😂
@@UKBarnFinds Not at all, we enjoyed lovely weather in May but when we got to our friends in North Devon they had turned off the radiators and it turned very cold that's when my wife got sick and I ended up catching her bug! I hope Claire is ok she was all bundled in a overcoat and Elton was in a T-Shirt!
Thank you. Poor Claire has been quite ill lately, but is on the mend. My mum visited from Australia last week and they both seem to have had a competition to see who could have the worst cold. She's a trooper, though, and was determined to do a video.
@@UKBarnFinds Glad to hear Claire is on the mend, I have just had a cold myself it wasn't too bad it just stayed with me over two weeks, just couldn't get rid of it!!
To Brummie. Sorry to hear about your bad trip!
I'm glad to have you back. You two should be on TV, Morcambe, and Wise, and the Two Ronnie's have nothing on Elton and Claire. What a funny video 10/10.
Thank you. Every day is a calamity here, it’s just that we filmed this one 😂
Fantastic, you two do videos that bring back to me a lot of memories. Just keep making them, please.
That’s great to hear. Thank you. We’ve been surrounded by old cars for so long, we sometimes forget that it may have been a while since many people have seen some of them on the road. When we make this type of video, it’s in the hope that it has the exact effect it seems to have had on you. It’s all about the memories ❤️
Was great to see the Allegro's, of course keeping with the Austin Theme 😀. Looking forward to the next helping of Barn Finds you nice folks 👍
Thank you. That's a lovely comment.
Quite a cool machine , looks like fun , my sisters boyfriend back in the 70s worked as an trainee engineer at the Rolls Royce factory in Shrewsbury , he used the machinery and expertise to tune the nuts off his Allegro , i did drive it and it really flew .
Haha! That must have shocked a few people at the lights.
Hello Both, so enjoyed the content of the video, the laughter and chatter. What I like is the very "amateurish" approach to getting the various tasks done to get these car (hopefully?) started, all good fun!! Best wishes from Lincolnshire
Thank you, John. We appreciate you watching and commenting.
Great little video, well done! I love the little yawn Claire gave when Elton was talking about the hydragas suspension. Hydragas and Hydrolastic Services in Telford are the guys to help with suspension. I'm building a restomod Austin 1800 S Rally Landcrab with a Honda VTEC engine in and I've used hydraulic hoses for the whole system at a cost of £220 all in. I have posted pics of the build on UK Barn Finds a while ago. Keep up the good work 👌😎
Thanks again for your video. Always nice to see you two busy with barnfinds. You're such a nice couple, I envy you! Always take care, drive safely!!
Never had them here in Australia. Loved the video. Looking forward to what is coming up. Have a good week. Marc from Australia 🇦🇺
When I was 10, my mother bought an Allegro Equipe off my uncle. the twin headlamp one. they are so rare now! it got scrapped in around 1989 🥺. I wish i knew then what i know now. great video btw.
Yep, they are so rare now 😳 We’ve all done it, though. I cringe at some of the cars I’ve scrapped.
Very pretty blue. Perhaps Allegros need some modern colours now? I ADORE the striped MG seats!
Nout wrong with Allegros. I know Rowhedge very well, had friends living there in the seventies and eighties. That was my old stomping ground too. Cool. As for the busted pipe, you can make them yourself. It's like brake pipes, buy the tool and fittings, cut the pipe to length and use the flaring tool to fit the connectors. Probably a good investment with all those Allegros kicking about.
early 80s an elderly neighbour retired from what ever incarnation leyland was in then and his last company car he kept was a 1750 Equipe Allegro!! at the same time ford had the xr3 out!
An Equipe? Now you're talking! 😍😍
@alundavies5171. And the Allegro Equipe had one thing the very first XR3s didn't. A 5 speed gearbox.
I love Allegro's. Unfortunately never owned or driven one but I remember how excited I was to see my first one in 1973. There was nothing on the road quite like it then. I have never understood the antipathy towards them. I think they still look great.
What a fantastic comment. Thank you. It's a shame that you're in the minority, it would appear, as they are great cars. I hope you get to drive one eventually.
Another great video, got to get them all back on the road, they all have great stories behind them
Hi another great watch. Just love them doors Claire laughed every time you open them.
Hope to catch up with you guys soon. All the best Rob D
A high percentage of negative comments for the Allegro might appear to be from those who have never seen one let alone drive it, but did watch a Top Gear episode.
Personally, I was brought up in a household where mum and dad drove nothing but Marina, Allegro, TR7, Metro etc for the 1970s and early 1980s. Dad sold the Marina for a 1978 Cortina estate in the early 1980s and then the issues started.
Folk seem to forget that Fords of this era were eloquently known as "Dagenham dustbins" and until the Cavalier Mk2 Vauxhall were not really in the game. There were not many options for the masses in this country.
Mum owned a 1.3 1977 Orange Allegro Estate. that car was brilliant at what it did. Huge boot too.
Great memories again thank you. While I had the MG 1300 my mate had an Allegro and it was sweet, the MG was cooler of course but his elder brother had a 1600E so he sort of trumped us.
Yay, I have been waiting with baited breath for a new video ❤
Cool allegro!
I remember my dad having a bronze vandem plas model with the fancy grill and lots of 'wood' trim inside.
We love those, complete with their fold-down tables in the rear.
@@UKBarnFinds Yes they were very 'executive' and quite rare!😳😁
Every time Elton says "erm..." I expect him to go "... Hang on a minute, I've got a great idea...." While the camera pans out miles to the Italian Job theme tune 😂
Haha! I’m nicking that for a future video 😂
Allex's Assets might be able to help with regards to the hydragas
Thank you.
Wow! My late Dad had his allegro for thirteen years.
Talking my language, now! I sold my Allegro 20 years ago, to buy a bigger car - but it was the most fun of any car I've owned, and it seems just like last year when I owned it - due to programmes by Allegro owners - such as ALL THINGS ALEX, and ALEX'S ASSETS.
3 great project cars! Always a pleasure to watch your videos. Thanks for sharing with us armchair mechanics. Cheers
Thank you. So glad you enjoyed it. We had fun filming this one.
I had an 81 1.3 2 door 3 series allegro. It was great. Bodywork was mint!
Shame we didn’t get to see Claire in the dress 😅
She might keep it on a bit longer in the summer.
Hang on, that sounded wrong…. 😂
😂
Used to own a 1975 Austin Allegro 1.3 2 door Super, a true 1 owner from new, an old woman that my dad knew.During the summer of 1986, she asked me to drive up from north London to Hitchin, and I thought there goes my street cred. Then I thought, what street cred. By the time I got home,m I quite liked. We later brought the car from the lady and kept it until 1992, then I sold it after I purchased a 1963 Humber Hawk (17RHU, alas no longer around). I did regret selling the Allegro, it never let me down except when the front wheel collapsed, the garage I asked to repair it earlier on at MOT time didn't do the repair. The other time was a damp distributor which was resolved with some WD40. This happened again during heavy rain, car conked out, people in BMWs and other German cars laughed, man helped me out with some WD40, car started, and I found stranded BMWs among others stranded. Who's laughing now! Miss that little car, the little green bogey!
The damp distributor thing is a common issue, it seems. The Martini Allegro here has the remains of a Marigold on its one, which is hilarious, but effective 😂
Great video guys. Interesting cars. Enjoyed watching. 👍🏼👍🏼
Nothing wrong in liking those little cars at all. I never owned one myself but my friend at college had a Vanden Plas. Walnut picnic tables in the back of the front seats walnut I think on door tops and a radiator grill that looked as if it was stolen from Rolls Royce factory. The car was metallic blue so could have been just the same as your one is underneath. Keep your videos coming they are fantastic to watch.
Thank you. Those early days of car ownership, or when your mates passed their tests first and got cars, were such fun. I remember friends having Minis, Beetles, Dolomites, etc. It really did open up the world to us back then.
Having owned a couple of Maxis, that engine looks familiar!
I had an Allegro with the square steering wheel , loved it done many a mile in it
Great video guys keep it up brilliant
Thank you. We'll do our best!
Ive had a few Allegro's all been fine to be honest, bought my first Russet brown one, off our postman, problem was he had the clutch replaced at a fast fit place and they managed to strip the bolt that holds the clutch to the crankshaft, my dad and me dropped the engine out in the subframe and picked the car up, rolled it back, lifted the engine out of the subframe, then took it to an engineering shop, to have the crank hellecoiled, reassembled it and sold it to a garden maintenance guy for a hefty profit of £300! A fortune to a YTS lad on £35 per week! Happy days love these cars, a great idea doing weddings in it keep up the good work you two!
Are you going to the NEC this weekend?? 😊😊😊😊
Suspension pipe repairs are relatively easy, if you want a complete pipe try the Allegro Club International. They did have some pipes made up, not sure if they have any left. If not you can patch repair it using copper tubing used for central heating and compression joints. I think it's 10mm, but check 1st. I would use a pipe cutter to cut the pipes with to make sure you get a clean cut. I have a series 1 estate and have renewed all the suspension on mine, I had never done it before but if you take your time it's quite simple.
What fine cars, and great stories. Love to see the Allegros on the road again… love one myself 😊
Allegro’s are, and always have been, a very much underrated car. I owned one in the 90’s.
I passed my test in a metallic blue allegro 1500 estate, we ran it for ages it was really useful, probably quite a rare car now.
The estates are few and far between now, but look so cool.
Talking about those 1970s /1980s sunstrips reminded me of our next door neighbour way back, he had a metallic brown / copper escort Mexico mk1 brand new and quickly installed a sunstrip on the windscreen with his name and his current gf name 'Kev & Tracy'....
Only thing is Tracy found out he was knocking off Deborah..😊
New sunstrip installed 'Kev & Debs' not sure Deborah would fit?😊
Also if you were into CB it was cool to have your cb 'handle' printed on your sunstrip!
So round our estate we had a 'Love Machine' riding around in a capri with a loud colonel bogey horn and a 'Laser Beam', with his side exit exhaust on his cortina, it was quite funny because there was always some rivalry between them, with customised cars, loud exhausts and musical horns and some cb dispute going on....public arguments over their PA speakers 🔊 etc
We nicknamed our estate the 'wild west'.....😮😁👍
Happy days ...
You're not from Essex, too, are you. That all sounds so familiar! Happy times. The 70's and 80's were great decades to be a kid.
@@UKBarnFinds I grew up in a market town in leafy Cheshire....😊
Dreamed of owning a vauxhall chevette one day, like the light blue one round the corner that matched my mums bathroom suite!
It was tastfully modded, rally seats, 6 point harnesses, lowered suspension, wider tyres, dual exit loud exhaust, big 3 way speakers in the back window, go faster stripes, even had proper rally bonnet clips and cibie spot lights up front...
Amongst the Maxis, Allegros, Morris minors, hillman imps and morris marinas, oddly there was a jensen Interceptor parked on our street and a Daimler v8 250 on bricks, with no wheels in someone's garden.
As a kid into exotic cars I admired and drooled over both...😊
Closest I ever got was a lovely mint 10 year old 1984 opel Manta 2.0 GTE coupe in a orange / scarlet red 2 pack finish, with the recaro interior, I fitted twin headlights to mine from the later exclusive model, it had alley cat alloys with the centres painted in the matching body colour, I paid just £500, loved that car so much until some scroat broke into it and did so much damage to the interior in the process of trying to steal it, that it never drove the same⚠️😲😳
I was an apprentice mechanic back in the late 70's early 80's at a BL main dealership and used to hate the Allegro. As a fairly old man now I have a similar level of affectionate amusement for the BL cars of that era and these cars are just so tongue-in-cheek desirable to me now. The Late Brake Show by Johnny Smith is a favourite barn find show of mine and I always get excited when I see an episode centred around his sleeper Allegro, although that glimpse of the V8 had me me keen to learn more about it too. Loved the banter during the video, it's great to see two good friends having such a good time messing around with their cars. Thank you, I have subbed.
Thanks for the comment. I enjoyed reading that! Jonny's got some great content and we can't wait to see his Allegro on the road. The V8 one we mention in this video gets a lot of attention and his will, too. Maybe the tide will finally turn for the humble Allegro 😊
What given the old man a seizure buy pumping up that Kenwood stereo. Lol
Funny to see a little moody elton in this video and claire staying calm and happy as ever
We used to have an Allegro too also s reg, love your vlogs, keep up the good work
Thank you. We’ll try our best.
The Allegro was really a BMC 1100/1300 in a different body.
The Maxi was the car Leyland should have modernised as it was one of the early hatchbacks. You know them things that won’t catch on. But Renault were first with the Renault 16 and then the five.
Those doors would work well these days in the small parking spaces everywhere!
The Maxi is such a great car. And, yeah, it won't be long before doors like this are totally necessary if you want to park anywhere 😂
To Steven Moran. You may THINK the Allegro was the ADO 16 1100's in drag as a new car, but actually, they WERE new, bodywise - they were BIGGER. Hence a bigger boot! And, incidentally, the METRO must have been bigger than the old Mini - because the makers claimed it's boot was TWICE as big as the Mini's.
I believe the Austin A40 was the first mainstream hatchback
enjoyed the video Elton and Claire! hope your Sciatica is better and you are both ok!! i just love older British cars being a Cov kid most of my family and myself built them!!
You're welcome. I've got to get some physio for the back, apparently, but life has to go on. I hate getting old, but I guess it is a privilege and I can't complain. 😊
@@UKBarnFinds Agreed pal im 54 now healing times take longer but still here fighting the good fight lol me old Dad was gone at 47 so i count my blessings!!
Just recently discovered your channel and I'm absolutely loving it and now I'm definitely motivated to getting my ford capri back on the road which is a car I also bought from anglia car auctions, brilliant videos and looking forward to the next one 👍🏻
That’s great to hear. How long have you had the Capri? We’ve seen a few go through ACA. Trigger, our mate who appears in some of the videos, has a 2.0 Laser that was a garage find.
@@UKBarnFinds bought my 1600gl back in 2015 used it for nearly 3years hasn't been back on the road since as needs welding doing it (typical capri places arches and sills) but it will start and move👍🏻
It’s weird how time just flies by like that. Hope you get it sorted. I owned a Capri as a lad, drove one in our visit to The Great British Car Journey video, and still have a soft-spot for them.
@@UKBarnFinds I'll look for that video after I've watched the a30 driving video I'm currently watching 👍🏻
That was nice at the end that your grandad was captured on the very first prototype dash cam 😀😀😀
It certainly was. One of those 'one in a million' chances you hear about sometimes.
Ah the Eggroll what a master piece 😂, my Dad had one in the early 80's, fond memories of a musty interior smell❤
Claire's a big fan of the 80's smell. I was about to put an air freshener in another of our cars this week and she actually stopped me, as it smells so old 😂 ~ Elton
Great video ,you are such a great couple to watch , I really like Austin Allegro's
Thank you, that's really kind of you. Allegros are great and we're glad we seem to have found quite a few fans of them with this video. They often get such a bad rap on the internet.
My Dad had 3, two of them new. They are good basic cars. Keep flying the flag.
I LOVE WATCHING YOU TWO AND THE CARS IT BRINGS IT ALL BACK TO ME HOW WE USED TO REPAIR CARS HOW EASY TI WAS IN THOSE DAYS IM BEING HONEST I DO MISS IT DOING ALL OF THAT AND IM VERY JEALOUS OF YOU TWO NOW LOL BUT KEEP BUT PLEASE KEEP IT UP CAUSE ITS GOOD FUN STUFF THOSE TROLLS IT SEEMS THEY HAVE NO LIVES
Was'nt interested in old jam jars until i came across you ! Great footage of ya grandad. Must have been a bit uncanny.
Extremely uncanny. He was a good old boy and that was a bit of a nice surprise. Thanks for watching. We appreciate it.
I passed my driving test in an Allegro first attempt, but before my test I did a pre test with my instructor, it went really bad, as I clipped the mirror of another car, and messed up reversing into the kerb, my instructor said he doubted I would pass but have a go anyway, glad I did as I passed very good according to the examiner. so brings back happy memories.
Got all your mistakes out of the way before you started. Smart move!
Really enjoyed the video btw.
Our pleasure Tony 😀
Great video! I remember seeing you at ECR with the Tesco Allegro! We had Allegros in the family when I grew up, my Mum and grandparents loved them. I've often said I'd quite fancy one. What's the long term plan with the Gulf one?
It’s amazing how ECR has grown. Before the Allegro, i used to take my 1953 Ford Prefect hot rod along.
We don’t really do long term plans. Short term is to get it up on the ramp, get the suspension sorted and anything else under there, then take it to a few shows.
Besides Minis, I have a long lasting love for Allegros. They are great looking cars. One day I’ll buy my Series 1 1500 back from my mate whom I sold it to.
You need to fix your „All Aggros“ 😊
We need to fix our Minis, too, but we’ll talk about those another day 😂
I really enjoyed my 1978 1.3 deluxe Allegro.
Had an Allegro and loved it
Had a crash in one of them when the tie bars on the front suspension pulled through the body anchor point, the car fell down onto the sunp/gearbox and I smashed into the back of the car in front all because of Rust...... The journey I was on at the time was the return journey from the MOT ...... The MOT tester had just passed it, I never forgot this experience or British Leyland rot box junk, only ever driven German or Japanese cars since, Thank God I'm Alive to tell the story.......
I passed my test in a good old Allegro hated the square steering wheel though. I had two altogether both maroon. Love your gulf colour one looks brilliant 💯✌️🤟💯✌️🤟
Most likely a good few other geezers may comment on the same topic.... being the leaking SU HIF carb, which has a stuck float chamber needle valve. A quick fix is to tap it (bottom of the carb) with a stout object. Longer term proper fix, is to strip the carb & clean both the float chamber, needle valve & the main jet, then check the specified float level. Whist apart, clean out the dash pot internal piston body & piston outer edge, then finish off with a mild metal polish so it can slide without excessive resistance.
Allegros used to be everyhwere, in the timeframe I remember (mid 80s onwards) most were rotten old bangers being run into the ground, these look pretty solid thogh. For the carb probably a stuck needle valve, carb needs to come off and bottom cover be removed valve can then be replaced, alternatively a tap in situ with a percusive tool may free it off.
Loved my 1978 estate! It was a 1500 in bright yellow, with a black vinyl roof and Triumph Stag alloys 😎
The estates look so cool nowadays. I'd love one.
@@UKBarnFinds my Mum and Dad bought an Allegro estate in bright maroon, brand new in 1980, when Dad was posted to Germany for the 1st time with the Army - I was born in 1981 and spent many, many hours in the back as we didn't replace it until 87/88!
I’m sure I’ve used plumbing compression fittings to joint suspension pipes before ! Bit of a fudge, but if it works it’s a win
The Allegro has one of the coolest steering wheels in automotive history. Probably one of the earliest cars with a D-shape steering wheel in the original factory form. I’m a sucker for that.
My friends, it does not matter if you post once a month - I will still stay subscribed because I enjoy your sense of humour, your banter and the lovely old British cars that you do as well.
Now that's out the way, on to the Allegro - or "All-aggro" as many have called it. Personally, I think the name was a bit harsh for the car. Sure, because of the infamous BL "she'll be right" and "not my job" ethos, coupled with the biblical amount of work stoppages, the Allegro - like so many others - earned a crap reputation. However, as it was built on the same thinking as the Mini, used (at least initially) A-series engines and borrowed a lot of parts from other BL models' parts bins, the Allegro should have been a hit. The transverse front wheel drive setup was well over 10 years old and well proven, as was the hydrolastic (then hydragas) suspensions they used. Why were they so largely ignored?
IMHO, styling cues (and probably sales) would have been better had it been a true hatchback, but according to legend, the backwards boffins thought they only needed one hatchback on the offing and the Maxi was already filling that role. Thing is, the Allegro LOOKS more like the styling of the late 70s / early 80s hatchback we now all know and love and would that not have been a coup had they been the first back in 1973?! Even the Alfasud that the Allegro was allegedly designed to take on was still using a small boot lid, so the Allegro would have trumped it for good.
In all honesty though, I've always loved the styling of the Allegro. Here in New Zealand, NZMC (a subsidiary / sister company of BL) built the Allegro up from CKDs and over the period we built them, sold around 6000 - most of them being Series II 1300cc models with a smattering of 1500s. Only about 200 Series 1 were built (due to the Kiwi love affair with Allegro's predecessor the ADO16 being built until late 1975) and Series III became a trim package for the last few cars that rolled off the NZMC production line in Nelson before it closed at the end of March 1979.
NONE of the Allegro "saloons" assembled in New Zealand were of the 2-door variety (although we did get the Estate for a year or two late in the piece, but it was not a big seller) and nor did we ever see the 'quad headlight' treatment of any of the S-III vehicles built. I was shocked and stunned when I hopped on RUclips only 18 months ago and saw one for the first time in the form of an original Equipe.....and I have wanted one ever since! Why did they not do this to begin with?? Talk about a sexy little hot hatch....er....had it been a true lift-back, but this look would have appealed to a LOT of people....and I doubt few Kiwis have ever seen it! I couldn't believe how such a small bit of dressing up could change the total look of the car. Gone was the so-called frumpy middle-aged spread and in its place was a sleek-looking and svelte little snarler! And it made me love them all the more. I originally wanted one to do some serious modifying of the A-series but leave as outwardly standard. This was so I could have some fun - because they handle so well - on the twisting winding mountain roads to my mother's home 100 miles away, scaring the poo out of other road users as this 50+ year old bloke in a 40+ year old car goes howling past them. However, the Equipe is such a beautiful package that I cannot ignore it.
My plan is to find a 4-door (because that's all we have over here) and do a reproduction of one - including dropping a 1750 and 5-speed out of a mid-70s Maxi into it.....eventually. It's either that or I take its little A-series and tweak it something chronic like I did to my Morris 1300GT about 30 years ago. However, it will FIRST get the proper dash cluster, the silver paint, the stripes, wheels off a late-model 'wedge' Princess, retrimmed seats and door cards, the airdam / skirts, blackout highlights and quad light setup and grille of the Equipe - if I can find them and import them! - so it looks the part.
They - the Allegros in general - are a cool little car and deserve to be celebrated. Most people did not think they would survive the 80s - and a lot of them didn't - but they are still around, still driving and still looking as good as ever. I like your trio and would love to see you bring them back so I can live vicariously for a bit as well! All the best.
You can use the appropriate size diameter standard plumbing copper pipe & compression fittings to repair the steel hydrolastic pipe that has corroded. Just let in a piece where the pipe has a leak. I've actually done this on an Austin 1300GT, & it works just fine until you can get to replace the whole length. I think I used 10mm diameter copper pipe, as it was about 10 years back when I had that car. P.S. My Mum & Dad had an Allegro 3 in Rustic brown 1980 V reg with the 1275 engine. Cheers.
We used to have Allegro's Panda Cars in Birmingham, the Allegro 1300 i had as a Winter runaround served me well, it's still showing on DVLA HDA645N
Wouldn't it be amazing if that one turned up? It's unlikely, but not totally impossible.
@@UKBarnFinds I sold it to a mate of mine in the late 80's as he wanted the 1300 engine & box so i'm sure he scrapped it but didn't notify DVLA
Love your videos, spent many an hour working on a Mini, Austin 1300, A35 van and Oxfords and Cambridge's etc., all out of necessity of course. Do you ever sell any of your cars? Regards, Bob M. (71 year old) South Wales
One day, my mission is to get a Claire a project car to work on. I reckon the Austin 1300 would be a good candidate. We do sell cars at auction, but have never done direct to customer sales. The auction house takes all the work out of it for us, as we simply don't have the time to do it ourselves.
The number plate on the blue All'agro is worth a few quick.
Allegro i learnt to drive in one, great fun cars i liked them
So much nostalgia for me the year I was born 1978 I can honestly say I'm in better shape than that car..
It's a shame you still haven't got the caravan cos that looks really cool
i5 from Chester UK 🇬🇧👍
You and your wife have some cool hobbies and cars
Somebody please give that card a kiss alive
You need to upgrade those lambo doors with Tesla doors now
I would put some orange trim around them wheel arches I think it look cool
And obviously carbon fibre stickers on the boots and bonnet bow chicka bow wow
You're really onboard with the modifications on that car. I think you need an Allegro in your life 😂
I had a tan one way back in the early 90's. I went to Brighton and someone cut the handbrake cable so they could park ther car where mine was, this led to it being towed away and never seen again!
Unusual Austin Allegro Collection are four words that I would never have expected to see in the same sentence...
Hope we didn’t disappoint 😂
I had a 1979 1500le in the same metallic blue and same interior (jpt321t) back in the 80's when i was 15. I bought it off my mate for £10 and an old racing bike. It had a 5-speed gearbox,tacho,spots....pretty sorted for an agro to be fair just there was rot that was hidden by thick underseal that I never saw (being 15,I didn't know where to look tbh) anyway a few weeks after i got it he front o/s wheel leg collapsed and it pulled the drives haft out when I was wheelspinning it in the back road behind our house and killed it.
Even though I have retired, I have no time to do my things, as there is always something else to do, don't know where I found time to work !!!!
I saw your A30 appear very very briefly on the 'Pete and his bus channel'
Ah, that must have been at Rustival.
Elton get them all back up and running and takes them to the shows. Love them look great. Have you been watching Johnny smiths modded Allegro? Looks epic. Love the channel and joined the family
Great to have you on board Sean 👍 Yes we have been following Jonny’s Allegro, it’s looking proper cool 😎
@@UKBarnFinds it is in deed. Great content I will have to watch some others you have posted
Not sure I like what was done with the scissor doors (pretty hideous actually) but I do like the Allegro. I owned the Australian version (I suppose you could call it that) which was the E Series 5 speed power unit shoehorned into a Morris 1100 and it was called the Morris 1500. It was a badly engineered car because Leyland Aust had no money and didn't care about it. They were waiting on the Marina to arrive, which, in Australia, was also fitted with the E Series engine mounted in line and coupled to a Triumph gearbox. I do wish the Allegro had been released in Australia. It could have been built by Leyland Aust in Sydney and not suffered from the crippling industrial relations problems that occurred in Longbridge and the quality control would have been better. The Marina was ok but the Allegro would have been more modern in concept. Oh well. I did do a good couple of years of club motorsport in my Morris 1500 and had a lot of fun with it. It had twin SU carbies and everything! Good luck with your collection and I hope they bring you much enjoyment. 😊
You two are brilliant presenters!
Thank you. I'm glad you like the way this one comes across, as it really was just us doing what we do. We always try to laugh at the ridiculousness of our lives 😂
I had a 1750 sport which went like the blazes. The only real problem with the allegro was lack of a hatch.
I love them great cars
Agreed!
Hi i bought an Austin Allegro back in 1983 it was 3 years old i bought a bad one it was burning oil and other problems with it i was glad to get rid of it i called it all aggro i bought a Talbot Solara after that
My first car in 1976 was an Allegro 1300. It was fine as soon as I swapped the quartic steering wheel for something sensible. My second car (1979) was an Allegro 1500 Special LE - it was much better. I don't see what was wrong with these cars - at least they didn't rust away at the same speed as their predecessor ADO16s.
Jonny Smith is building an Allegro with a Civic type R engine its on his channel it is being custom built.
My maths teacher had a allegro estate two tonnes in colour a lovely musterd yellow and tobacco brown😅😢
Allegro Estates are so cool!
Cool classic British cars
The original colour was Astral Blue, claire.
Poor little blue Allegro. If that was a metallic blue LE, I'd be tempted to put it back as original. A lot of work maybe.
I remember a report coming out in the 70s ( by the AA I think ) stating that , all things factored in ,the Allegro was the cheapest British car to own and run at the time.
Wouldn't surprise me. 👍
How did you come across these Allegros? I didn't realise they had sold the fleet of them.
I had one (used) in British Racing Green with Stripes in British Racing Gold on both sides...1500 with 5 speed gearbox...drove nearly 180 000 miles with some minor issues(bulbs,brakes,exhaust pipe ),but sadly died due of corrosion after 28 years of service...Low consumption,very comfortable,very reliable...Don´t listen idiots trying to be funny and original..It was a good car and I really liked it.. !!!
That’s what we generally find; people who’ve owned one, loved them. It’s nice that this video, and our posts about it on our other social media channels, have attracted so many positive comments.
Not sure what is in the Hydrogas fluid🤔... I just used antifreeze and water in the old days...😉