The REAL truth about the Leyland Princess
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- Опубликовано: 5 июн 2024
- I drove a Princess 2200 and got two big surprises. One was bumping into its designer, Harris Mann, and the other was how much fun it is to drive, once you discover its secret weapon.
If you're seriously interested in buying the Princess, drop me a message here: www.grandthriftauto.uk/contact-8
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:33 Princess for a day
02:56 Meeting Harris Mann
04:13 Princess power
07:37 Ride and handling
10:03 Beauty or beast?
11:39 Princess, Princess, let down your hair
13:02 Happy ever after?
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Image credits
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Austin Kimberley: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Morris Tasman: Riley from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Morris 1500 Nomad: Jeremy from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Leyland P76: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Leyland Marina 262 Six: Jeremy from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Deflated Austin Princess (correct - it’s in New Zealand so it’s an Austin): Riley from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons
The Professionals (c) Mark One Productions
Terry and June (c) BBC Television 
Авто/Мото
Hello, my Breeeetesh (Leyland) choooms. I have now sold the Princess to a bloke who will cherish it.
brilliant video 😎
me and my dad found
a green one crashed in a hedge in1980,keys were in it,
my dad said get in,
he drove it to the police station,
my dad said, I'll put it on my drive till you find the owner,
the registered keeper had sold it that day, he let the new owner take the log book,
so they didn't know who owned it,
several months later a police officer came to our house,
he said scrap it or register and keep it,looked like a new car,think it was 2 yrs old,
my dad had it till 2011,
snow plough
drove into it😰
Wow, that’s quite a story! Shame it’s not still around but at least it had a long second life 😊
@@GrandThriftAuto
yes😃
I was going to have it😰
Drove a 2 litre one as a taxi for a couple of years back in the day. The company had Sierra's too but the Princess was always smoother to drive, had more torque and punters were always impressed with the rear leg room.
Ahhh memories. I was a mechanic in the 80s working for an British Leyland then Austin rover. Also I owned one, many miles motoring.
You’re welcome! For the extra cylinders, that is. Not that I added them personally. Mind you, the blokes that did are probably all dead now, just like our auto industry, so I’ll take posthumous credit on behalf of my country. Cheers from Tasmania, Australia.
In my experience, having both owned and driven many British Leyland vehicles of that era, they are often unfairly maligned. Your review was a breath of fresh air.
Thanks Peter! I’m generally drawn to cars that get a (mostly) unfair kicking.
@@GrandThriftAuto Trouble is, there are many Clarkson wannabees who simply must bad mouth UK automotive product and. just like him, they'll be millyonaires within a year.
Yes just like Old Farmer Clarkson now up on the Cotswold Hill Grasslands today.😁
Did you try the Allegro, that thing was like driving a tank
@@banana9106 I have driven a Tank and had Princess and Allegro Company cars. Cannot agree with that at all.
I agree with you. My dad had two Morris( pre BL) motors from new first in 1964 a 1100 with the precursor to the hudragas system the Hydrolastic which used fluid rather than nitrogen gas. That was pretty comfortable for a 10 year old in the back lol then he had the 1800 so called Land Crab with enough room in the back "To hold a dance" as my dad said lol. I had two 1500 Maxi's both at least ten years old in the late 80's and early 90's and I loved them, first hatch back's I ever owned and use to travel all over the south of England on fishing trips and had masses of room to get all my gear in. I got the Maxi as my elder brother had one from new and had an awful track of about half a mile up to his house in the Pennines and the suspension coped with the boulders and slabs of rock on the track admirably. I think they were great cars, spoilt by the ever present strikes in the Leland years.
4:25 look at that space around the engine, a mechanics dream... 😂👏
And it fails often enough that you need that space!
@@andyxox4168Hah ! 😅👍
As an Australian, I thank you for the recognition of our various contributions.
Glad to have discovered your channel.
An Australian viewer here. The (now thoroughly defunct) Australian motor industry did have a habit of working out ways to add some width or extra grunt to car designs and motors from offshore. I think it had a lot to do with distances in Australia. You can drive for a very long way in Australia between destinations.
The Princess looks delightful. Cars which are comfortable and easy to drive a very long way and still feel fresh are the cars I really enjoy now.
Congratulations on your great video about the Princess. I will look for some more of your videos.
You met basically a legend and passed up what would undoubtedly be an impromptu exclusive out of respect. That shows pure class mate, props.
I guess you never sat in a Rolls, Bently Jag. Bristol or Aston even?
@@jamescagney2713 I've eaten plenty of rolls.
@@jamescagney2713 Top of the World Mah. I did. Sold some too.
@@jamescagney2713 One of my friends is heavily into old British cars : he has two Healey 3000s , an MGA , a Bristol 409 and a Jensen C-V8 ; I've been out in all of them . Another friend has an E-Type 2+2 . Not all British cars are bad . I also ended up owning a Herald 1200 at one point , quite an entertaining little car , after a friend asked me to go with him to look at it ; turned out he had no money so muggins paid for it and told him he could have the car when he came up with the money , which he never did , so after keeping it six months or so , I sold it on at a profit !I paid £40 for it and sold it for £60
A balanced and informative review.
The Presenter is both well informed and articulate.
Other car Presenters could learn a lot from him...
I bought an Austin Princess for £80.00 from a car auction back in 1989 whilst at Uni. Every time I slammed the drivers door I could hear the car get just a little bit lighter as the rust from the lower bodywork tinkled to the floor. Happy days, loved that car.
Garages never seemed to grasp the concept, that if the hydrogas suspension needed to be repressurised every week, their may be a leak somewhere. LOL
Almost 300K views in a month for a video about the Austin Princess ! I'd never have believed it. But this channel is outstanding, so thoroughly deserved. You've even made me appreciate "the wedge".
Nobody’s more surprised than me! Very glad you’re enjoying the channel though, I’m just finishing the edit on a video about a different wedge…
@@GrandThriftAuto TR7? Nothing was wedgier than that ;)
@@RetroGamesCollector Very true! Except maybe the 1970s Lotuses…and see my other recent videos for a TR7 and a Lotus Elite 😊
Great video and can’t believe I’ve only just discovered this channel. I’m a proud Aussie owner of an Austin A30, Humber Super Snipe Series IV, Vauxhall Viva HA and Jag S Type (along with a Saab and two Australian Fords). I really admire your down-to-earth attitude, humble approach and affinity for the cars that once were affordable family transport. Nice.
Back in the mid 1970's I worked at the Pressed Steel factory at Oxford which made the Princess, Maxi and Marina bodies. These were then transferred via an overhead bridge to the Morris plant to fit the engines, interior, wheels etc. In particular I fitted the Princess and Maxi left hand front and rear doors. I worked on the night shift and at the tender age of about 22, I met a varied selection of characters! They were great friends but were subject to a number of pranks! For instance, they would nail my tool box to the wooden table so that when it was my turn to fit the doors, I nearly wrenched my arm off trying to take my tool box from the table. Another trick was a so called friend of mine, which seemed to be struggling with a door to fit, would ask me to hit the stop button which would stop the whole production line! Like a naïve fool I hit the stop button, he said to me, "What did you do that for??" I said "Because you told me to!!" He just laughed at me as the Supervisor raced down the line and gave me a bollocking!!! I loved working there but at the time the unions had too much of a firm grip and the production line was really overmanned. It was time for change and I realised that it was time to change my vocation in life to another more reliable company as I had a mortgage and children. However, a happy time for me fitting those doors! as a footnote, I also later owned a Princess which I really loved driving. But now I drive a Mercedes.............my poor dad would turn in his grave!!!!
And I used to cut them in half ,then extend them into a limousine…
@@nevrobinson8530 the princess'?
My dad worked at Cowley in the 70s. He told me that six of them would each take it in turns to do all 6 jobs for 10 minutes at a time, meaning that each of them had 50 minutes of every hour to sleep, or use company tools, time and materials to further the various cottage industries they had going. He reckoned the supervisor turned a blind eye to pretty much anything as long as the line kept going..
You fucked your post up with your anti-union pitch, which is what this is.
So you are still driving rubbish then.
I think people have been very unfairly critical of the shape of the Princess. It is certainly a radical design, but there are a few design clues clearly nicked by others, like Peugeot. It is not an ugly car at all and it is certainly not dull. I don't particularly get excited about practical classics from Britain, but there are a few quite unique cars that dared and it should be appreciated. That scene was certainly more diverse than today's.
As a long term Princess owner, this has to be one of the best reviews I've seen of what they're actually like to drive. On A roads especially it's a joy to just waft along, easing off a little for corners and just making use of the torque and momentum for a stress free experience. Brakes are very good for a car of its age so if you need to pull up sharpish you can. They're not fast cars certainly, but they are good at making progress and perfectly at home on the motorway even today providing you can tolerate the lack of fifth gear or any sort of overdrive. I suppose the Maxi having five gears was seen as adequate for the range and that's another thing the Princess didn't get as a result.
Thanks Angyl - I did think of you when I was talking about displacers! I meant to give you a shout out but I forgot, apologies. I'll put out a post later in the week instead.
Great to see a fellow Princess owner online. There are not many of us!
@@GrandThriftAuto I did have a little chuckle when you mentioned not wanting your Hydragas to turn into Hydrasag. Been there, done that.
@@iancross4631 We are the best people, impeccable taste, very successful and all that probably ;)
@@GrandThriftAuto The 'very light, but precise' nature of the steering makes me think that, as a Rover 800 pedaller, I'd feel at home in a Princess.
Mum had the Vanden Plas version when I was a kid. It was lovely, like riding in a Rolls Royce! Or riding inside a radiogram with all that polished wood 😀
Great review! My Father had the very first (or so he was told), Wolseley to leave the production line. He'd gone to Mann Egerton in Finchley to buy two Marinas for reps cars and saw a pre production Wolseley in the showroom, and ordered one there and then to replace his uber reliable Triumph 2000. JLF 377N was pretty bling with all the extras including Dunlop 'Denovo' runflat tyres........as another commentator stated, the car created a LOT of attention. Not long after its arrival we travelled to Northern Spain whère crowds of people would surround the car wherever we went. The car was deemed fantastic, my dad loved it.........for the first three months!!!! After that everything went wrong, suspension, power steering, electrical faults, sadly it was a BL stereotype. The car was rarely with us and my father sold it off cheaply after 18 months and never bought a BL car again!!! (bear in mind we had only ever had BL cars up to that point........ Morris Oxford, Austin Cambridge, Morris 1800, Triumph 2000 etc,etc). To how many people did this happen to hasten the demise of BL as a manufacturer of note, what a terrible shame! He moved onto five Citroen CX's after that!
Thanks for the interesting tale!
I had three Princesses when I was younger. The best was the 2.2 HLS model, light blue with the black vinyl roof with two arm rests, which was unheard of back then. I loved them all despite their reliability issues, Great post brought back a lot of memories.
After owning a Morris 1800, I bought its successor, a Princess 2200 HLS. It was both the most comfortable car I ever owned, with a gorgeous shape and the most unreliable car I ever owned. I had it for 20 months, before I had to get rid of it. It was off the road almost as much as it was on. On one occasion (I was stationed in Berlin, Germany), it took 14 weeks to get a part for the gearbox, which broke. I could put the car in gear, change gear and the speedo would register the supposed speed I was doing, but the car was stationary. On another occasion, I drove home to the UK and the clutch went 8 miles from my parents' home. I was towed there by a kindly tractor driver with a trailer. We got it fixed and swapped it for a 2.3 litre Ford Granada L - very basic inside, but very reliable for going backwards and forwards to Berlin (I had that car for nearly 10 years)! The Princess could have been one of British Leyland's best cars, but unfortunately, it was the opposite.
I think it is best described as a bit of crap.
True, it may have been better than some models, but get real please.
@James Cagney there's always one miserable git like you. Maybe some of us couldn't afford better cars back then, I know I couldn't.
@@jamescagney2713 You are to kind Sir I had the misfortune to own one This video bought all the nightmares back
I only had one journey in a Princess as a kid back in the day and the memory I took away from that journey was that it was the most comfortable car I had ever travelled in. I'm so glad it wasn't just rose tinted specs and that my memory was indeed correct! 😁
A brilliant review. As a 2.2 Princess owner myself I do enjoy seeing them on film.
Both my grandad and my dad were engineers at Leyland. I remember my grandad taking me a run in his brand new black princess. I thought it looked like a sports car. THAT short trip put me off automatic cars for many years. The ferocious gear changing as he accelerated, the whole car shook and jolted up the gears. My whole family drove rover cars at this time, probably due to the discounted prices for employees. I remember growing up taking trips to the scrap yards to fix endless problems they had. Good times 🤣
My dad had an automatic Princess that also put me off automatic cars for many years with a thumping gearbox. Now decades later I only have automatic cars, to say they've come on a bit since then would be an understatement. The 8 speed ZF auto box in my current BMW is excellent.
Some of the early Rover were good
Some early mini and the like were arguably good.
Never a patch on a quality car perhaps, but lets face it, leyland killed off the last remaining bit of crap Britain had to offer imo
@@jamescagney2713 How can you justify saying early Rovers (and the Mini) were not quality cars? The Queen & various PMs & cabinet ministers clealy thought otherwise.
@@nicholascope1497 They had to for political reasons. The Queen banging Balmoral around in a huge Cadillac Eldorado, a Jeep, or a Citroen?
Perish the thought. Much too much class, much too devoted to her nation.
@@michaelplunkett8059 OK, I can accept there may have been 'political reasons' behind the UK political establishment being seen in Rovers / Daimlers / Humbers / etc - but how can you explain the passionate following British cars have in classic car circles? Are we all wrong? I have (since the 70s) driven British cars my whole life & though I've had romances with other fine cars (Audi, Renault, Saab) I find I always return Brit classics. They may not be the absolute best in any particular area but as an overall package they have a unique style & charm - and they're also absolutely reliable. I find the endless fashionable trashing of Brit cars very tiring (& I'm not British).
My brother had two of these for his taxi business, it shows you how much he hated me - he gave the white one to me, it was a complete pile of 💩
It drank oil and petrol in equal measure, and ate fan belts at a similar rate. I was lucky enough to get a company car very soon after so the Princess moved to the western isles of Scotland with my wife’s uncle. It died there some years later, after proving to be a surprisingly reliable runabout for amateur mechanics.
You are correct about it being a looker tho 👍
I was a kid in the 70's - I always loved the look of these cars, we had a few in the wider family and even as a small kid I could tell these cars rode wonderfully - Maxi's were very similar - as a child before the seatbelt law came in, I spent many a weekend on the back-bench being driven all over the place and I always enjoyed trips in the Princess (and Maxi) much more than anything else. As someone who grew to be obsessed by cars and keen to learn about them, and own them I can also accept there were quite a few shortcomings in the final implementation of the design, the build and general quality/reliability. As you said in the clip, those cars that have survived nearly 50 years should be viewed quite differently - since they will have none of those 'in the moment' issues. This is also a sad reminder of the 'what might've been' that seemed to afflict BMC/BL/ARG/ROVER etc. a car that could and should have been a leader ended up maligned and made fun of?? It should have had a hatchback and should've been better built, a slightly more polished interior and refined engine arrangement would have made this a very serious contender for top of the segment - a cutting edge styling, industry leading suspension and ride were absolutely squandered. I don't know any other company that managed to screw up so many opportunities which, I suppose, also makes it one of the most interesting from a historical perspective in the world of motoring. Thanks for this video!
Really cool cars, reminds me of a cross between a contemporary Lotus and Lambourgini. Not shocked the stylist ran a GS, those are very chic motors, with typical Citroën bonkers style.
Hi, what a nice video.
I've owned 5 wolsey princess and ambasadors between 1982 and 1990. They were lovely. That hydrogas suspension gave them a jaguar ride at a regular car price. One really nice thing about them at the time was that you could rely on them being where you parked them, so effective was the ignorant anti BL press.
One serious problem they had was the mechanics, and i mean the main dealers when I say that. There is a procedure for setting the ride height which involved rolling the car backward and forward between readings so that the tyre grip did not interfere. the said main dealer mechanics didn't seem to know (or was it care). As a consequence loads of these cars could be seen running around as though on tiptoe.
If you have one make sure you get a propper manual to get the right methods.
Enjoyed that a lot. My Dad had an 1800 then a Princess 1800HL and later on a Montego. "Diablo" was my favourite :) Has anyone looked at a Hyundai Ioniq 5 from the rear quarter and been reeminded of the Princess? Once seen.....
I see quite a lot of BL / Harris Mann influence in modern car designs - even those rising flanks from the TR7 have made it into some modern cars………
My Dad had one in a lovely metallic light blue and it was a nice car ! Nothing went wrong and it was extremely comfortable ! He kept it for 3 years and did quite a lot of miles !
Very interesting, thank you.
As a postman way back circa 1975 / 76 . I remember turning a corner and before me was a BL Princess sitting on a driveway, and sitting on the neighbours driveway sat a Rover SD1. They both looked so futuristic and looked like two alien crafts sitting there daft I know.
But only four years before the A60 Cambridge / Oxford range was discontinued so in comparison you can see how futuristic the Princess and SD1 looked, at that time.
So true.
At the same time , you could have been looking at an Audi 100 or Mercedes W123 ; both cars light years ahead of the BL offerings and on a completely different level regarding quality , reliability and comfort .
@@derekheeps8012 To be fair those models were in a different price category ... apples and pears
I had the 2.2 Princess. We drove to the South of France and back once, and the Princess never missed a beat. My youngest son spent a lot of the journey asleep on the rear parcel shelf. I know, health and safety wasn't such an issue then. We also went to Guernsey in it, along with my in-laws, six of us in relative comfort. The only problem I ever had was a leaking fuel line, which I fixed myself in ten minutes. Wouldn't dream of attempting that in my current car. Wouldn't even know where to start.
When I was 10-years-old, I used to live close to where these were made and they frequently test-drove them through our village. They had a genius way of disguising what car they were from prying eyes, by putting some black electrical tape over all of the badges.
It was a different time! Some years later my uncle had one as a company car. I recall it was very comfortable, but that was the only time I ever went in one.
Great video, Martin. I remember having had a ride in one or an Austin Ambassador, I can't remember, when on a hitchhike vacation in the UK in 1991. The comfort is what stood out for me.
I had one of these when i was in my early twenties. It was so comfortable, great ride, hanled nicely. The engine blew and I upgraded to an ambassador, more up to date (at the time) but equally nice drive.
I found the Princess was the best car I've driven in the snow and I have driven many types of car since 1971.
I owned a 2.2 L HLS Princess, and it was one of the best cars I ever had, I lost oi pressure on the motorway and the big ends went. I could still run the car for a while but eventually got a local engineering firm to grind the crankshaft and rebore the cylinders along with oversized crank shells and pistons and or piston rings to match. I can't remember which. I had stripped the engine myself and rebuilt it. It was by far one of the best cars I ever owned and the only reason I let it go was because the bodywork let it down. The colour was a kind of purple Blue and was metallic. They were beautiful family cars and a beauty to ride. Thank you for this video which I have enjoyed.
I had an orange Princess 1700HL and then a blue Ambassador 1700. Both very good cars. Extremely comfortable, reliable and an enormous amount of space in them. The hatchback on the Ambassador was even better in that it allowed easy loading of large items. Also had a Maxi, a Marina and an Ital estate previously. All easy and cheap to work on/maintain and all bought used for bargain prices. I was very partial to BL cars of that era.
Dead right. I was given a 1700 Ambassador as a company car for about a year and there was nothing wrong with it as a car. Not fast, but always felt solid, even when driving through slush on the motorway. Fitted 4 adults and me on a trip to and around the West Country with no awkwardness and plenty of room in the boot for the luggage. Wouldn't mind one now, though it would probably lose when compared with my Lexus.
graham chandler
one of the best cars i have owned, certainly the most comfortable, wish i still had it,yes the ambassador was the most roomy.
My dad had an Ambassador ( after an Imp and an Ital !). Used to drive it a bit. There was a lot to like about it. not nesc the feature level though ( we always had the cheap ones ;) ). But yeah, certainly found the ride fantastic.
Owned Princess 2 for about fourteen years. Overall it was pretty reliable same colour as the first one but full black roof. Exhaust valves could burn and the gearbox was somewhat unrefined if tough. Eventually the plague of locating replacement suspension units here in New Zealand, like the green NZ registered car you showed, became to much trouble. Have to say, replacing the front displacers was a dead easy job though, if only you could get decent ones... BL could have achieved alot more from the car with just a bit more development.
I love how the interior is like your living room would have been back in those days with the carpets and those gorgeous seats! It's gorgeous..
I bought 2 Princesses back in1977-8. one a red metalic 1800. Could not fault it except for the boot lid. the 2nd was a Blue 2200 with a little more power. Both cars I enjoyed. Back in 75' I bought a Maxi. Nice car while on the road, but had 3 gear boxes before it was one year old. Never went back to leyland.
The most beautiful car for design and ride was the Citroen CX Pallas. However if you stood and watched it for any length of time it rusted right in front of you. those where the days!!
Strangely, I never heard about the 18/22 series Princess until I came to this country as they were never sold in Portugal.
I like these very much and the six has a very nice sound.
Another great video, thank you!
I actually always thought of the Princess as a bit of a guilty pleasure (without actually ever having had the pleasure, guilty or otherwise of driving one)
I had a Princess 2200 HL when I was 18, bought in a fit of temper when my parents wouldn't allow me to own a triumph spitfire and I needed them to agree, so it could be insured. They were against the spitfire as it was a 'sports car' and therefore, Fast. The papers motoring small ads started wit 'A' and so did Austin. 350 quid later and I owned a hand painted blue 2200. Which turned out to be 'Fast' (for what it was, back then). As a boy racer, it served me well. Handled amazingly considering and was waaay faster than the 1300cc spit that I lusted. Oh well, if you can't have the wind in your hair and look cool, earn the 'cool' by challenging anyone that laughed at me. Great car
1:12 I had one just like that in 1983. Absolutely loved driving it about.
I had a 78 1800 Princess in NZ. Not the fastest or most powerful in it's class, but the most comfortable, and a pleasure to drive. On NZ roads it was as quick or quicker on a long journey due to the brilliant handling and great cornering.
A car to love or hate, no in betweens!
Leigh
Great review. I've always loved the Princess. The car that you drove looked like an amazing example and the wooden dash really suits the car I think. Its also lovely to see Harris Mann attending these shows and speaking to enthusiasts.👍
I remember them being used has Taxis
Regards from the United States. I drove what was called in the States, an Austin America.
One lovely day, the steering failed and I had no control of the car. I quickly discovered that if I pulled the wheel hard towards myself, I could regain steering. That was enough experience for BL cars of that era.
I had a 'T' reg 2000 HL in a lovely metalic green with black cloth seats, I loved it, a friend called the Princess a "tub of shit" after he had been given one as a loaner when his car was in for repairs in the garage he bought his car from. Then I ended up buying that exact "tub of shit"from that garage. My friend was record dealer & I gave him a lift in it to a record fair in Wolverhampton with a boot/back seat full of records etc after the journey he admitted that he found the journey a very comfortable ride & he had misjudged the car after such a short time driving it, he was a bit anti BL. The engine was great, the suspension was a bit quirky & needed to be 'pumped up' with a fluid ocassionally (not with anti-freeze as some mistakenly did because it looked the same. Only one garage near me had a pump). I will always hold a special place in my heart for the 'wedge'.
My dad was in the motor trade and had a Princess with a Crayford conversion as a demo car. We holidayed in the Lakes with it and I was fortunate to drive it a lot. It was a lovely car, very plush, comfortable and with decent performance. The hatchback was a wonderful bonus for us as a family of four.
The hatchback conversions are rare beasts!
This body shape really stood out in its day and was rather "marmite". I rather liked them for some reason although they were way beyond my price bracket. It is very interesting to hear that the designer has a thing for Citroens (I have owned them for over 30 years! )
Referred to as the Flying Wedge.
I drove a friends on one occasion as he had his foot in plaster. We went on a fishing trip to a stretch of river I had only visited one before and a few years earlier. Rounding a curve I suddenly remembered about the hump back bridge. My last visit was in a Moggie 1000 estate. It resulted in fishing tackle and bait spread over the nack of my car. On this occasion, nothing untoward happened, we just went over the bridge. That suspension was amazing. I didn't want to give the car back at the end of the day. What a beautiful car to drive.
As a child of the 70s, all these old cars evoque a real sense of nostalgia in me - Obviously never drove them, but they were part of the scenery along with Vauxhall Viva's, Ford Capri's and the like when I was growing up.
I love seeing people keeping them alive and on the road. The reviews and opinions are just a bonus!
Great car ! I had a 1976 Austin 2200 HLS straight after I passed my test. I paid £175 for it and about £25 for a new clutch plate which was so easy to change. It was written off when someone drove into me so I got a second one, a Leyland badged 1979 model but it wasn't as good as the Austin version. A big weakness was the front axle nuts kept shearing the split pin and coming undone. It seems later versions had smaller splines on the axle / hub and they couldn't cope.
The Princess was never sold or badged as an Austin in the UK. It was in Aus and/or NZ.
As one of three rather fractious kids, I can understand my parents choosing first an Austin 1800 landcrab, then an 1800 Princess, then a 1700 Ambassador. The space helped keep us apart a bit, and the three of us some distance from my long suffering parents!
If I remember correctly, though the Ambassador did have a hatchback, the Princess was the pick of the three. The most reliable, and the 1800 was quite a bit easier an engine the use than the 1700 that came later.
Excellent! It’s a lusty old donkey that B-Series 1800, and fairly indestructible too.
A fan of the B series here
@@GrandThriftAuto
Are you speaking with a cockney accent?
You are clearly faking a cockney accent when you speak in your videos?
Whereabouts in the U.K are you from?
Thanks for this, brought back wonderful memories of my first car, inherited from my father when I passed my test. Loved it.
My grandad had the Maxi for as long as I can remember as a kid, then briefly in the late 70's the ford escort, which was then chopped in for the Princess. Us grandkids would mither him to take us for a drive, and we'd feel like the royals. A car, well ahead of it's time with that iconic wedge. Plus, we all piled in the back seat all four of us (no seat belts then) and would cruise the streets of town giving the royal wave. Epic car, fantastic childhood memories. Thank you for bringing those memories back.
The Nomad & O Series 2200 Princess was also exported to New Zealand in RHD along with the English CKD units 1800 & 2000 along also with the Kimberly & Tasman.
BTW - Greetings from New Zealand 🇳🇿 😀 ❤
PS - The Australian 2600 6 cylinder Marina never made landfall to NZ.
Marina 6 cylinder?
Not sure why anyone would consider it ever.
A little like killing a frog and then running volts through it to see if it performed better after death.
@@jamescagney2713 too many issues here, death (1), why a six cylinder engine (2), which country are you from James, did you lose your job with British Leyland in the UK 🇬🇧 🤔
I just don't follow !
I do know a little about why countries like Australia 🇦🇺 and Canada 🇨🇦 repower their British imported cars 🚗
I some how feel this is cold comfort, to you, how ever let me know in due course.💚👍
Due to the wide open spaces & interstate freeways and the like.
Larger engines have allways proven more realiable, whether 6 cylinder, V6 or V8, this all being before electric cars being given a green light and clean car rebates.
I have been involved in a number of forums where the british cars have been marketed abroad where to enable sales cars have adapted to the climate they were exported to.
Feel free to enlighten us other mortals your point of view😄🤭👌🍺🍻🌎👍💚
I had two Austin Kimberley cars with that smooth OHC six. At the time of their release in 1972, they were the only east-west inline 6 cylinder OHC car in the world. As you mention, those engines were 2.6 litre units in the later Australian P76 models. Apparently that was simply arrived at via a different crankshaft altering the stroke. Another unique Australian engine from BL Australia was the famous all-alloy 4.4 litre Leyland V8 engine. This engine differed in quite a few details from the Buick/Rover 3500 unit. Interesting car that Princess. A friend of mine years ago privately imported one into Australia as they were not marketed here.
I think the Austin Kimberley was called the Austin Tasmin in New Zealand
The princess which a close friend once gave me a loan of was a nightmare for parking due to its stupid length. Unlike todays cars there was lots of space and the engine bay could fit much larger more powerful engines which the princess certainly required fitting. He soon found out there were many many faults in the car lack of power being one of them. For all it's faults it did actually look ok and had loads of room. He only had it due to his father giving it to him as a gift.
Aussie here. I owned one of those Tasmans you spoke of, and then one of those Kimberlys. You see, a masochist. They were more akin to the 1800 of course, but as you said shared the engine with the Princess. Nothing wrong with that engine - it cruised easily and economically at 70mph. The car has hydrolastic suspension which meant it was way more comfortable than anything else on the road! Don't think I ever saw a Princess, so nice to read your report. Cheers.
Hi there one of your Australian viewers here. Too many years ago now I had an Austin Kimberly. Can’t remember how many Kms i put on it but it was a lot. Must say Iremember it being one of the nicest cars I have owned. ( I am 72 so I have had a few). Great engine, loverly interior trim, if you like red, great suspension. People still sometimes ask what happened to it. There are a couple of RUclips vids on this car.
Another amazing video 👍🏻
It's actually quite refreshing to watch a video that's not ripping in the BL or shaming the princess. For its time, these cars were so technically advanced and ahead of their time that with everything else going on it largely got overlooked. Shame, really 🤷🏼♂️
No ... they were not at all ... 'technically advanced' but resembled the Morris Marina in being made of spares held by BMC's liquidation buyers. BL cars became very similar indeed to East European FIAT designed Soviet cars and were built by similarly low skilled and outdated labor factories. For instance chrome in the Maxi was replaced by Flat Black or as we might say in the United Kingdom, Matt black because it killed the workers but was reintroduced more recently by robot assembly plants. Fake chrome was seen for many years and nobody wanted to replace the Maxi with the Princess, although it had been designed to replace the Maxi, the East European standards of quality in the Princess made the old Maxi, you know built of 1960s spare parts, very attractive to many. The Maxi and 'the Land Crab' were very nice British Empire quality cars but the Princess, was just like a Soviet FIAT. The styling was from the British Empire 'old skool' think tank, but that's all it was. BL became a rival only to Lada and similar, Polski Fiat typed vehicles. Even the Land Rover Freelander 1 was compared with the Soviet Lada Niva - great as they both are, they're not G-wagens or Toyota Landcruisers.
@@keplermission4947 Clearly one who studied at the Clarkson Academy of automotive excellence brainwashing. Passing with first class degree.
Decades ago, a G-Wagon tried to keep up and failed to do so with my BL-Mobile until dropping back and parking up with lots of steam emerging from around its front end.
As my long time car enthusiast friend used to tell me...
"You cannot beat German engineering and reliability "
That was two decades ago. He NEVER does that now. For good reason. Actually thirteen thousand of them. That's what it cost his finances to repair his example of one of Stuttgart's finest.
Brainwashing. My long term friend is still convinced the reason my MGs and Rovers are so reliable is because of their ... wait for it.
Honda Engines!
To be fair, one of my MGs does not have a British designed engine. It has a large chromium galloping equine on its throttle body though which reveals its true identity,
@@T16MGJ The Germans and French didn't have any war loans to repay and had attracted all of the British car industry's engineers because they could pay their employees and look after them. To be fair the British were great at bringing their soldiers to war and getting them killed by German machine guns. The tanks during WW2 had been dreadful and lethal to the crews. What were they playing at? The Spitfire had a lethal carburetor fault that was never sorted and of course the Bf 109 was better but had tiny fuel tanks. Clarkson you know was just a jerk from the British car industry mold and uh ... it was great to get rid of him and May and all the rest.
@@keplermission4947 Forty years ago I corresponded with a Japanese pen-friend with which we shared a very keen common interest. He was multi-lingual and had excellent English. He actually broadcast for the Japanese equivalent of the BBC's World Service back then.
He came to the UK one summer back in the 1980s. He was built like a SUMO wrestler and when I picked him up at the railway station, the hydraulic suspension on my MG maxed out on the passenger side.
A very interesting chance to exchange views on many subject of common interests. Including motoring. He lived in Tokyo and I was surprised when he told me the car he drove was a Ford. Another revelation was when he visited the Honda car and Motor Cycle factories in his homeland, some of the heavy engineering and tool making equipment he saw there were manufactured in UK's "Black Country" where much of the Industrial Revolution really got started.
My love of Rovers, MGs and other British cars has brought me into contact with many folks worldwide. I sometimes help them locate parts for their British cars near impossible to find in their own countries. They send images of their cars. I have many saved.
Almost without exception, those British Car owners in so many far away places hold their cars in higher esteem and value than many here in the UK ever did. More evidence of this Nation excelling at being wrong and ongoing.
Previously a lifelong supporter, I shall never again vote for the UK Political Party who turned their backs on the many thousands dependant on Longbridge in their time of real need back in April 2005.
@@T16MGJ Japan had a lot of these ... 'pen pal spies' and after they'd had their free visit you know, it was over, there was no time for any reciprocal visit so I wouldn't believe everything you heard if I were you, as I didn't think Ford were even still exported to Japan but checking on the internet Ford did briefly export since 1974 although there was badge engineered Ford, actually made by Mazda there and uh ... as for tooling in Japan you know, sourced in the Black Country, well ... take it with a pinch of salt. Maybe it came in a load of scrap with your old battleships? Most important is to learn that Britain lost WW2, it was won by the USA and your nation was crushed in the mid-1950s and you had to pay back war loans that France didn't and that's why they still have a car industry. But Britain was a jerk and the closure of Rover in 2005 should show you that there's influences there that favor the rich, against the poor. It's a pity but you know, but Britain was a nasty, class snobbish political system and Labour are no better. Gordon Brown boasted about visiting the Queen every week but had no time for his voters like Gillian Duffy, he was an upstart of the first water. Don't be loyal unless they're loyal to you first. Britain didn't help its war wounded and you know, few faltered when it bit the dust. Remember Nathan Hale.
I can attest to that magic carpet ride, the fabulous interior space, and the vast boot - I learned to drive in my dads Ambassador, which wasn’t as handsome or forward looking, but which carried over much of what made the Princess what it was. I think that the Princess is one of the most maligned of BL’s 70s cars - they were really cleverly designed, and looked marvellous. Talking of which, fantastic too that you got to meet Harris Mann - one of my car design heroes!! Great video - have a lovely Xmas, and I look forward to seeing more interesting car videos on 2023!
Thanks Simon! Totally agree. Have a great Christmas too, and thanks again for all your support ❤️
Problem with the facelift of the Princess, another wonderful styling job by Harris Mann in the Ambassador, was very cheaply engineered components. These two awesome looking cars were intended as globetrotters that would have beaten Germany, the US and Japan but you know, were largely undermined by industrial action, coal mining strikes that to be fair, were about being poorly paid as workers as had been strikes in the car industry, and Britain's attempt to meet coal demand using its own native resources under the National Coal Board that had failed, since before WW2 most steam coal was exported from India (then part of the British Empire) and that loss was never made up. That's why steam locomotives were scrapped and after the coal miners and steel industrial action wrecked the country, Mrs Thatcher had taken revenge by just bulldozing these industries and quite rightly, in my view, developing import markets in the place of the former British export industries. But rest assured that the Princess and Ambassador were superbly styled but just something like the east European FIAT designed imported Soviet cars and their customers were aware that British industry was inferior to imports, especially from France, Germany, the USA and far east.
What utter nonsense, Mr Kepler. You appear to know nothing of BL or of UK history.
My dad had a princess when I was a child. White with red leather seats. Seems to be the only car I mind as a child. Good video too.
My dad had 5 princess cars and I loved everyone of them.comfortable,smooth and elegant
while getting the facts out there. yes the Princess was a hatchback originally and remember seeing just two of them. in the R&D shop at BLMC i was working in, the challenge was the upper "C" post strength, (or lack of) and as the tailgate opened the roof buckled! As a new model was needed ASAP and no funds for engineering the tailgate had to wait for the Ambassador
That’s very interesting, thanks!
Worked for a one man band garage in the late 80s on the Isle of Wight and saw a blue hatchback Princess. The owner said he used to work for Leyland .
@@richardthomas5588 There were a handful of Princesses converted to hatchbacks - I believe the Torcars version could be ordered through Leyland dealers. Crayford offered a conversion too.
The wood dash/trim was a made by a company called Rokee who made wood trim kits for all kinds of cars starting with the Mini.
We had a 1979 T plate Princess 1700L company car from new. It did 100,000 hard miles in four years and needed a clutch, battery, radiator and.......nothing else. Not bad for an 'unreliable' car. It was a bit sluggish (it needed the 2000 really), a bit understeery on tight corners plus you had the drop gear whine and power steering hisssssss when parking. But it was fabulously comfortable, pleasant to drive, roomy and a good motorway car where it would sit at 80/85 arrow straight.
Still have a part of my Rokee.. modified to accommodate a tacho, oil pressure & temp
Seaside Garage has a RUclips channel and one of his rescue projects is a Princess, not to concourse condition but very interesting.
I watch his channel too, his 2.2 is a sweet engine.
Nice to see you are aware of the BMC Australia products. Back when these were new I was working for a BMC distributor her in New Zealand. We were agents for the full range of BMC products except for Austin and that was sold by another distributer nearby. The models we could sell was not only all the BMC UK range but the BMC Australia range as well. You could say we had the best of both worlds. One memory I have is comparing the rear seat leg room on a new 1800 with a Chrysler Valiant we had just traded in and was amazed at how little there was in the Valiant compared to the 1800.
Always thought of these as cars my grandad would own. Sadly now im 52 and some of my friends are grandparents i should get rid of the merc convertible & vw sharan and go beige or brown. enjoyed that, cheers
Yes, I did wonder if I'd have liked it as much 15 years ago (I'm about the same age as you). CAR Magazine in 1978 said 'Fine for your father'...
I have owned a wedge of some description since I was 14! So not a grandad car, it is a brilliant car!
@@iancross4631 Top man! Are you the Ian who owns the lovely black one with the Triumph Stag (?) alloys?
No 5th?
That was one of the best bits, amongst many, of the Maxi. And with an E Series too
Yes I’ve had a collapsed hydrogas Maxi, not a ridiculous job to do, if you get a displacer.
Nice review of a very nice example.
Back then getting it pumped back up was more difficult not everyone had the pump and those that did certainly made you pay for the pleasure.
@@eggy1962 I was lucky in having a garage with a pump round the corner. Not too far to drive on the bump stops.
What a fabulous video. Envious of your audience with the great Mann himself, too. I wonder whether there was any rivalry between him and Mr Axe.
Some lovely turns of phrase in there, too. I'll be stealing them all, natch.
It was nice to hear from you. Nice dog. I gotta try that heel and toe thing in my Alfa diesel.
As with all seventies/eighties BL cars, it isn't really the fault of the cars but the company that built them that causes the bad reputation. Some of the designs are excellent but were, of course hamstrung by lack of funding and the notorious management/worker relationship of the time. Only now do a lot of the models get the respect they deserve. Very well presented video. Thanks.
The story of management rejecting the hatchback seems indicative of BL in the 70's and 80's.
I remember a car show where they had the original design for the Allegro, it was a far neater design that what appeared, apparently company politics meant it didn't get the engine it was designed for, but an old taller engine which to make fit they had to ruin the initial design. I think a similar thing happened to the Triumph Stag, although they kept the design, they fitted a less reliable engine than it was supposed to have.
The lack of funding and needing to get a new model to market meant lack of R&D, this meant problems weren't ironed out before they went to market, the car then gets a reputation for lack of reliability and sales suffer, even if those problems are subsequently fixed.
So many good designs, then corners cut and crap parts fitted to them that ruined. Them. See many desirable 70s and 80s old cars being taken apart and the issues removed entirely, to great effect. Plus some electronics too of course!
@@medler2110 The Triumph Stag got the engine that it was designed for. The Triumph V8 was specifically made for the Stag. It was basically 2 Triumph 1500 4 cylinder engines stuck together to make a V8. It was a disaster. Triumph could have had the Rover V8 but due to management infighting and jealousy between the different brands the Triumph management insisted that the Rover engine would not fit.
Triumph made its own V8 which was shit and ruined Triumphs reputation in the USA.
I memory serves me correctly it was withdrawn from the US market after 2 years.
A lot of Stags were later fitted with the Rover V8 by owners putting an end to the lie that it would not fit.
Neither of these V8s generated big horsepower by any means (about 140 bhp) and the strange thing is Triumph made a straight 6 three litre that generated 150 bhp that was in the TR6.
I don't know why they didn't use this unit inthe Stag , it could have gone a long way to help save Triumph if that engine was fitted in the early model and perhaps fit a V8 later.
It's a shame as it was a beautiful looking car.
@@briancarton1804 Although I'd never profess to be an expert in such things, My understanding was basically the same as you, except I thought the Groups senior management had said the Stag was to have the Rover V8, obviously it would save development costs. But as you said the rivalry between the 2 companies meant that Triumph were never going to accept a Rover engine.
It just seems to be another bad decision and lost opportunity that dogged the British car industry.
Maybe they thought a V8 would go down better in the US.
@@medler2110 Yes the tragedy thar was British Leyland. The problem was senior management was not managing nor was the lower echelons management doing its job.
The top management were being hampered by government interference who did not want job loses for political reasons. This made the top management weak. If the board and senior management are weak it takes a miracle to bring success. By the time Michael Edwards became the boss the damage was almost fatal. British cars had gained a dreadful reputation and sales were falling. Its much easier to keep a customer than to gain one and BL were losing customers at pace.
Things were on the up with the Honda partnership unfortunately British aerospace stabed Honda in the back by selling their shares to BMW . There was a showdown between Honda and BMW where Honda insisted either BMW buy out their share or sell their share to Honda.
BMW were the buyers and they were not suited to Rover.
The whole story is a absolute shame. It could have been so different.
Another brilliantly informative video. I really do feel sorry for Mr Mann for all the vitriol sent his way for things that were largely out of his control. As per usal, the money got in the way of the outstanding design he put forward in many cases. I myself would have wet my pants meeting Mr Mann. I'd have been chewing his ear off telling him about the 1978 school holidays I spent up a tree at the end of our street willing a TR7 to go by.
Absolutely - some of his designs just became ‘uncool’ for no good reason (or at least not design reasons), but it’s great that he’s seeing them more appreciated now.
I was excited about TR7s too! I’ll do a video on them at some point.
I had an old one for ten months. It was a 2.2 with plush heated seats and was massive. Good training for driving a lwb panel Van. It was really comfortable on a long journey,where the four speed box would be a semi auto ,using second and fourth gear for hours. We called them ' poor man's jags' , after a molislip oil treatment it would do 35 plus mpg cruising and 25 plus round town. Five adults and full luggage . I used to love sleeping in it in summer . My driver's seat had retractable plush velvet armrests. I always thought it was a cheaper later reinterpretation of the BMC s with rolls engines from the sixties,or a landcrab of the future. Of all my motors , I look back and realise I truly loved the fwd triumph 1500 ,and my princess,with scabby arches.
Thanks for your hard work on the videos.x
My folks had the 2.2lt model which they took to a firm that offered a hatch back conversion which after a few teething trouble was a total godsend for lifting and shifting heavy sail boat equipment and touring in France. They had it painted a awful yellow, which had every thrip for miles head straight for this giant sunflower.
Sounds fantastic!
I would echo the praise for this review. My Dad had three of them from new, an 1800HL, a 2000HL and a late model 2.0HLS. I was a bit underwhelmed at the time because they were deeply unfashionable after the first flurry of press praise, but I also learned to drive in the 1800HL and I would say that the Princess 2 in 2 litre form was adequately fast, and by then they were well made and reliable. The less said about the 1800HL on that front, the better! They were very very comfortable and roomy, they were great A road fast cruisers, and they were good for an 85mph cruise on the motorway. At the time, the lack of a hatch did not bother us, though the absence of a fifth gear was a little annoying. There were always comparisons with Cortinas whereby the performance compared very unfavourably, but they were designed as a D segment large family car and lower executive car, and they competed very well in that market. I look back on them with a great deal of fondness and respect. Very very nearly a great car, but just missed the mark a little.
I’ve had two series 1 1800HL models in the early 00’s when they were still pretty undesirable- I bought the first one as a laugh but to be honest it won me over very quickly! Nonetheless I passed it on and then another one came up after the owner’s death, for sale by the garage that had maintained it for years.
Performance was good enough for what they were although I did daydream of a fast road head, free-flowing (but still quiet) exhaust manifold+system and distributorless ignition! I always thought the gearing in 4th was pretty good for a 70s car, very happy on the motorway at 65-70mph with the engine turning at around 3900rpm. The boot lid was a stupidly small size though and it would definitely have greater appeal as a hatch.
Overall, both the Princess and Allegro (of which I have also owned a series one example) were both clever, excellent cars by design for their time - I think they deserved much better sales success for that reason.
I passed my driving test(first time) in an Allegro and found it perfectly easy to drive and looked nice.
Excellent video! Thanks for sharing! I had two 2200 HLS's in the 1990's. An S-reg automatic and a W-reg manual. Once I got used to driving them, I never used to change down gear around bends in the road on the manual and the automatic used to stay in top gear on bends too. The automatic never changed down from top gear unless below 5 to 10 mph and would pull away with no issues with all that torque. If you really needed it (almost never) kick-down worked fine, but almost never needed.
I owned a 2.0 Princess many years ago. We traveled to Ramsgate and back between 1am and 9pm the next day. It was supremely comfortable and relaxing where the legs can be fully stretched out. In truth an excellent car, if not suffering from rust a bit on the wings.
My first job after university was with BL Cars at Longbridge in the late 70s, so I got to drive many of the then current, and previous models. The Princess did have a comfy (if floaty) ride with hydra-gas, with a fair bit of roll (cars with hydra-lastic seemed to corner much flatter), but the shape was awkward for driving in tight spaces, the gear change wasn't great, and the interior was bland and out of date. The Maxi was much better as a total family package, but my favourite was the Dolly Sprint.
Yes the Sprint was a beautiful car to drive . The rear wheel drive handling was top notch .
@@mikeraphone6745 Loved my Dad's Sprint, but its rival, the RS2000, was a far far better machine.
My workmate's dad had an Austin 'Ambassador', that was always breaking down. (It must have been an inter-strike Friday afternoon special) The family referred to it as the 'Embarrasser', due to the number of times it made them late.
Mine was no issue, trick was to always carry a new set of points and condenser in the glovebox with screwdrivers, ten minute fix no roadside assistance required.
The build quality of the Princess was way better than the Ambassador. An unloved after thought of a car that no-one liked or wanted just to bide time for a couple of years until the Montego came out.
@@johnj3577 having owned both i agree
Was it a Y reg?
@@eggy1962 There was a factory recall on all Ambassadors - they had air intakes for the cabin contained in the "hatch". I believe it was a design choice to aid in the defogging of the rear window . They had a plastic flap to prevent air going out and allow "fresh" air to enter. The problem was the exhaust fumes could enter and explained why I always suffered from headaches when riding in the car. The solution was to tape shut the air vents!
Dad had a Austin/Morris 1800 reg HAG52E which I inherited when he upgraded to a Wolsely 6 .2.2l but served him very well , then he bought a new Princess (red with black vinyl roof if I remember correct. I remember getting a loan of the Wolsely to ho to Lanark to buy a new engine for my Escort 1300GT which fitted inside the boot, great days when you could strip and rebuild the cars by yourself without all the electronic stuff we have today.
First one of your videos I've watched. I like your style of presenting and objective assessments. Good stuff.
I really like the Leyland Princess although I do have a thing for wedge shaped cars. Must have been pretty futuristic looking especially compared to the BMC 18-22 series Landcrab it replaced. Metallic copper (or reynard in this case) is my favourite car colour. Wish BLARG had kept it going for a few more years instead of replacing it with the dreary Ambassador. The latter also lacked a rev counter - even on the Vanden Plas models.
You would have like the NSU then?
@@chrisstuart1227 Absolutely! One of my favourite German cars after the Porsche 928S.
It is interesting what you say about the 4-speed box, I had considered either a Princess or an Ambassador as my first car but the lack of a 5-speed (and rarity) put me off getting one. I must say, I do kind of prefer the Ambassador, in a twisted way...
Me too - but that might have something to do with my Dad owning a couple when I was a teenager!
My first wedge was an Ambassador. It was such a great car and I went camping in it with the seats folded down.
Ambassador was more practical but for me the princess was a better looker
Just stumbled across your channel and have immediately subscribed. Love the good, plain information leavened with a sprinkling of humour.
Cheers.
Welcome aboard! 😊
My first car was a maroon 1800 HL in 1982 which my uncle had since new. Loved it.
Excellent review, as an American who has only seen pictures of Princesses in classic car magazines or books, I really felt that you did a great job highlighting this car's strengths and weaknesses. The " input " from the car's designer was an added bonus. The owner who upgraded the interior of this particular car did a great job, too bad a tacho could not have been swapped for the clock.
One final note: looking at the different front end treatments of the various models of this car I would have to say it just doesn't excite me the way concurrent Fords or Vauxhall cars do. Yet oddly, its looks seem to be bang up to date with today's cars except for the very slim pillars and the unavailable hatchback....though my current car (a 2013 Ford Fusion/Mondeo) has a similar small trunk/boot opening.
That’s a really interesting perspective - yes, when the Princess came out in 1975 Ford, and Vauxhall were going for a very scaled-down American look (which I also like). The Princess is definitely more…what? European I suppose, but really it has a look all its own.
You know in 1975 'the scaled down American look' was history. Back in 1971 such a Datsun 220c was launched to compete with British (US General Motors owned Vauxhall) Cresta and Viscount models dropped in 1972 - after the energy crush, of Shiekh Yamani of Saudi Arabia, Britain itself sold to the country in 1977 and today owned by Qatar. '72 was the last year of the aggressive Mach One Mustang from Ford, even though the Lincoln Continental Mk.V soldiered on until Detroit went belly up. The front styling of the Princess dated back to 1969 and so before the energy crush. It had to be restyled after heavy chrome was outlawed with cancer deaths in its workers and joining Europe had rid the United Kingdom of its 'old skool' identity that styled the Princess and Allegro. The small boot on the Princess was to stiffen the body and a hatchback was disallowed because it would take sales from the Maxi and the Maxi was a better car on account of its British Empire designed components. The Princess would have been great but Britain wouldn't pay its workers at realistic rates, so Cambridge University cut their throats and joined 'the brain drain'. This industrial relations thing was a problem in Britain and you know they'd refused to increase output of Land Rover Series III vehicles, and so the market was changed after Toyota built a factory in Kenya. Britain was a real jerk at the time and you know, it was cut down to size. But there were great branches of British ability that were sadly lost.
To Howard Kerr don't agree with your opinion about the looks, actually. But you're DEFINATELY right, that something so original doesn't look out of date, witness the NSU RO80
My dad had a 2.,2 ltr in the same colour you drove. Very nice seats too. I drove it to London to take my sister to work with the Foreign Office. It was nice and loads of room for sleeping on the back seat.
Great car, my dad had one and as a teenage boy racer, I once hit a badger on a fast country road. The suspension coped really well and kept the car straight and safely under control, but it did crack an engine mounting! After it was fixed, I don’t remember my dad letting me drive it much after that 😢
What a stroke of luck bumping into Harris Mann like that. Great review as always, Martin.
I impressed by the fact that this car was registered in Cumbria, not the best weather or road conditions for any vehicle, especially in the seventies.
When I did mobile tuning in the 80's, I drove most cars, including the Princess.
They were good to drive, but the SD1 Rover was my favourite. I bought many SD1 models, but the V8 with a manual box was my go to model.
The O series engine was brilliant until the timing belt broke! It was a simple job to replace, but when it broke, the engine was ruined.
My Dad had one in the same colour but I dont know which model it was. The one thing that really amazed me though in this video is the space around the engine; the SU carbs, ignition coil, distributor, all so easy to get at and tinker around with when things went wrong! Happy days those were ...
I'm one of your Aussie viewers! I moved Down Under thirty years ago for the sunshine. I remember I had a boss in England who had a Princess company car. I always thought it looked ugly, so it is with great surprise that I watched this offering and thought the old Princess looked charming. I must be getting old. Keep up the good work - very interesting and entertaining.
I ran an 1800 'Austin' Princess back in the day for a while and it was a great machine, until my Father decided he wanted to use it again and I was back in my old Cortina.🙂 Enjoyed the chance to revive an old memory, thanks.
I had a 2.2 Princess in black with gold trim. I loved that car despite it's problems and road handling was brilliant for the time.
It was suffering from bouncy suspension by the time I got rid of it.
We had two of these at work Humberside Ambulance Service used for long distance transport and superb vehicles very comfortable reliable cars I loved driving them !