Unlike the Monaro, Charger and Falcon GT, the Force 7 was a hatchback. Had it gone into production, it would've been Australia's first large hatchback being a couple of years ahead of the Torana hatch which was somewhat smaller. I remember reading somewhere that the top of the line Force 7 would likely have been called the Tour de Force.
More than a hint of AMC AMX about it. BL was ruined by infighting and politics but there was real ingenuity behind the scenes, building innovative designs with little budget.
nothing wrong with the p76 except build quality the other issue was one not talked a great deal about was the cooling systems no one made a real coolant that didn't eat the alloy engines and you would be surprised the number of muppets even mechanics that put tap water in cooling systems was burnt a couple of times by cars so chocked with corrosion it really wasn't funny check the water was an effort in taking your life in your hands...good old days uh-huh 🙄
It may be a small V8, but we must not forget the BL 4.4L was related to the Rover 3.5L, which was related to the Buick alumunium small block V8. Our English cousins are still racing them successfully to this day on the track and on the water.
I seriously considered buying a V8 P76 new. The ride and handling were impressive compared to the big three junkmobiles of the time. What finally turned me off buying? The terribly cheap plastics - particularly the dash and the switchgear; those completely let the car down IMO. Instead I bought a low-mileage P5B Rover coupé, which was still built with pre-Leyland quality.
My Dad owned an identical blue Targa Florio and I got my Licence in it. It's just as he said better on fuel better handling and more comfortable than Fords, Holdens or Chryslers. On a long straight stretch of Road my Dad decided to overtake a Ford GT and an SLR 5000 doing a bit over 100 m.p.h. he was at 125 m.p.h when he passed them.
I can relate to your comment..I owned an orange P76 Executive V8..leather interior, factory sunroof..had less than 30,000 k's on it when I bought it...not ONE of my friends with Fords and Holdens, could catch me on the straights or winding mountain roads..it went like a rocket! Sadly, I ended up going through a messy divorce..was offered a really good sum of money for it..and I sold it! I have regretted selling that car ever since ( by the way, I was a firm Ford man..but the P76 V8 changed my opinions!)
My dad Leo Smith was part of experimental at BMC, Leyland. We would have these cars with fibreglass disguises stay at our house before dad would go away to Charleville to test to destruction. I'm biased but he was a genius.
My uncle had an immaculate White P76 Executive V8 Manual with the electric overdrive back in the eighties. Asked him to sell it to me if he ever sold it. He sold it to someone else anyway. Bastard.
@@ldnwholesale8552 You may be right, my memory ain't what it was, maybe it'd been converted, no Executives came with manual trans either, but I remember a four speed floor shift with a small square sliding switch on top of the gearknob. Maybe it was another car...
My dad had two P76’s one being a green Targa Florio (1 of 30 I believe). Drove them both back in the day which was fun. My mum worked at Leyland assembly plant around the time they closed up and gave me a souvenir, a Force 7 boot badge which I still have :-).
My old man bought an executive V8 in 74 when I was a kid. We drove from Adelaide to Sydney and back a couple of times with out a hiccup. More room inside than a statesman or Fairlane, loved that car. I do remember him saying Repco had done some work on the heads and exhaust for surprising numbers. Just wonder how it may have gone at Bathurst. Having the best brakes in class, fuel economy and tyre wear. What it may have lacked in straight line speed it might have picked it up in the corners and fewer pit stops. Gess we will never know unless some comparison could be done. Great collection Glenn.
I remember sitting at the traffic lights on what was then the princes Hwy in Morwell in I think around the mid 70s and one of those two door P76s pulled up along side me. I knew how rare they were so I followed it for a while just to have a good look at it. Thanks for posting Glenn that was so interesting. Looking forward to the next one 👍👍👍
@@laustinspeiss The princes hwy travels east of Melbourne thru a number of towns including Warrigal , Moe, Morwell, Traralgon. Sale, Lakes entrance, all the way to the NSW border. In around the early 90s they built the Morwell bypass. So the HWY No longer goes thru Morwell. 👍
Very true, they where underrated! I was fortunate enough to be able to drive a Force7 in the late 80s. Bold as Brass yellow, V8, 4 speed manual. It was owned by a friend of mine. I also had P76s, great car to drive.
L.O.L. Sorry to burst your bubble, Rickne76, my older brother worked in the Chrysler agents in Albany selling these things. You don't want to hear what he had to say about them. He felt so guilty every time he convinced some sucker to buy one. They were a piece of junk.
First car i ever bought, a mint condition P76 Executive V8 in Country Cream with 30 odd thousand miles on the clock back in the early 90's. My mates laughed at me (they had Holdens & Fords) but always wanted to go out in my car because it was (Anything, but Average) Sadly, trying to get any parts for it was my breaking point & had to succumb to being a Holden Bogan 🙊🙉🙈
My dad had two P76 V8 as Taxis in Caboolture QLD . He said that they where so much better then the HJ holden and the XC ford he had. They did not have taxi meters back then and went by distance . while chatting to the customer he would easy sit on over 100 mph on the Bribie island road with out them knowing.
OMG, Ray Ikin ! Former heavy-hitter with the Charger Car Club in Vic (hi Ray) and once builder and owner of a very nice turbocharged Hemi Charger. What a blast seeing him again.
@@GlennEverittMasterofMachines the collection has somewhat changed. Gmh took the ej prem - 500k Holden, the hk brougham-1 millionth Holden and the GTR-x. I believe the federal government has stopped gm from shipping the cars back to Detroit
That was a great drive. Nice to see and hear it and it looks different but impressive. It's interesting to think about the history of Leyland Australia in comparison to GMH. British Leyland in the UK ran out of money and shut down manufacturing in other countries, forcing Leyland Australia to close, a very sad story. General Motors in the USA went bankrupt and had a fire sale of it's assets, killing Saab, selling Vauxhall and Opel and cancelling the Zeta platform project which, effectively, meant the end of Holden, a national tragedy. We seem to be always at the mercy of overseas parent companies when it comes to our cars. Thank goodness there are collectors who preserve these cars for people to enjoy. Cheers
My Grand dad had a mission brown p76. As a kid I thought nothing of it when he offered it to me when I was 15.... I said “no way” When I got a few years older and into cars more I’ve been kicking my self ever since.
These cars may not be on most car enthusiast's short list but they were a significant part of Australia's automotive history... even more so now that we don't even have an automotive industry - which is an absolute disgrace. That Force 7 is as rare as rocking horse shit. Beautiful car. Another great one Glenn.
My Dad traded his HQ for a P76. As far as I was concerned as a lucky 16/17 year old who got to drive both there was no comparison; that P76 was heaps quicker, bigger, yet so agile. Fun at the roundabouts on a wet day too. Don't remember it understeering.... Taught me lots about throttle control. Pity the quality of assembly was such crap and the big two ran such a hate campaign during the fuel crisis that it never stood a chance to be fully developed.
Excellent information Glenn, great to have an enthusiast/owner to be unsure on this Force 7 - which means its VERY rare, particularly with the number produced.
The P76 was at times known as the Rover P8.... Knew a bloke who had a Force 7... he was forced to sell it in a divorce settlement... It really was a great car.
We had one when I was a kid and when I got older I was the happy owner of two of them. Probably the best cars I've ever owned and that includes some modern Falcons. They were light and went hard and were VERY good on fuel with the lightweight alloy motor. I heard there were 72 bodies all up, most were crushed.
I use to sell p76’s in 1974 for UK motors fantastic cars particularly the V8 unfortunately theywerepoorly made their quality assurance in factory was poor. If memory serves me correctly Leyland was having a significant union problem and we will never know what went on behind the scenes shame fantastic car.
What an amazing collection. Mr Ikin is a fabulous gentleman who was obviously born with a keen eye for cars. I do hope you're going to show us more of his 'shed'
British Leyland could've learned alot from Australian Leyland at the time, though we had the Rover 3500 , which was a good looking car for a 4 door The Force 7 would've been a good Car if it could've been imported over here in the UK
The wheels aren't right on the Targa Florio. There were 13 Force 7 known by some car club members. I owned a Targa Florio for a while & lost it to divorce
The guy I right…I’ve heard of them but never seen one. I’m a kid of that era and you were with a ford or a Holden guy…but I always wanted a P76, only 4 headlight front and floor shift…Ide donate my first born for one of those today
WHY wasn't that Leyland imported to the UK in the 70s???????? I traveled to school on a Leyland bus in the UK in the late 70's. Really fast and good and thumped all the other buses.
Believe me Glenn that little 4.4 goes like a cut cat with ported heads and a 4 barrell holley hanging on top. Helped a guy do one in NZ years ago. Great handling and instant acceleration. We had a few customers had them when I was in my apprenticeship, did a couple of engines as they used to crack piston skirts for some reason. And yes we had a farmer out the back who carried a 44 in his. Cheers Steve.
Those heads will never flow. They are econobox heads. The reason Mc Cormack had very special heads cast for the 5000. And even then was well underpowered
The Marina is what killed Leyland in Australia. A poorly designed pommie car assembled in Australia using a lot of british made parts. Underpowered and completely unsuitable for Australia they gave Leyland cars a reputation of being junk!
it looks like a less lounded sd1 from the side profile ,the suspension is the same also . i'm not saying it is one just the same ideas seem to have been going round the company's different branches at the time.
Mother in law had one, drove it atrocious, for a car 15 years old, boot rusted out, drum would fall straight through. Only other innovative was wipers tucked away.
Was an apprentice at leyland at the time one of the sons of one of the bosses had a really hotted up a 6 Marina very very quick in a straight line used to kill chargers anyway he got hold of a gearbox that was supposed to go into a force seven it was a close ratio box and it was going to go into one of the force sevens for Bathurst so yes they were going to race them.
Gday Glenn here,s a weird fact My dad use to work for leyland in the day, as a mechcanical engineer, he helped develop the p76 and the Force 7. Did not know they existed until 2 hours ago. Yep he said all the Force 7 cars were all bright colors how cool is that. As you said most car where crushed and in his words a few managed to escape. Cheers
I saw all 10 at the '75 Sydney Motor Show very rare site, the thing that went a long way to killing the P76 range and Leyland was that at the time the union was in a long running fight with the company. The workers were ruining the cars reputation by hanging steel nuts on lengths of string and wire in door panels etc so that they would rattle, thereby giving the impression that the cars were poorly built and were being taken back to the dealerships or sold off cheaply
I went to that motor show and saw the cars too. They were selling bits and pieces from the left over parts bin. I bought a chrome "Force 7" badge that was supposed to be attached to a car. I still have it.
Sadly those cars were ahead of their time but management did not have a good dialogue with the workforce. I worked with a mechanic that apprenticed at Leyland in Sydney, the stories he told were horrific, the lack of quality control being the most significant. I also met a man who was an engineer at Leyland , I was driving a Ford Landau at the time and made a spectacular right hand turn and drifted into a parked position behind his bright yellow P76. He told me that he bought it as part of his redundancy and took it home and stripped it and then rebuilt it. An immaculate example and yes a 44 gallon drum did fit in the boot. They also produced some shit cars, the marina a good example but ultimately I think the union disputes lead to poor quality control and thus a downturn.
Have see this particular car in the flesh and its absolutely stunning. Ray is a fantastic bloke to boot too. Couldn't find a better custodian for this beautiful coupe!!
What the hell is the red light going off at the 8:19 mark, just to the left of his left arm hand etc, lol :) My next door nabour brought a green P76 6 cylinder and white vinyl seats, it looked great at the time band new as well, massive inside room compared to the holden and fords at the time?
Very interesting video thanks. I had only ever seen pictures of the F7. To see one in the flesh is amazing. That guy was so astute and lucky to come across all these rare beauties. I am rather disappointed though that there was virtually no discussion about the cars themselves. Plenty of surrounding history and the engine mentioned several times, McPherson struts and rack & pinion steering but just a general overview and no details on anything like the engine design itself (OHV OHC?), gearbox, brakes (4WDB's on the Targa?) dash and interior area just a quick glance. Trim and comfort levels? Also no talk of how it felt driving it. What was the steering like? The brakes? Wheels and tyres? How was it more advanced than it's competition? The hidden wipers would have been a good start. How did it feel on the road? What type of auto did they use and how did it feel? Power, torque, responsiveness, vehicle weight in comparison to the Big Three? I'm sure many thousands of Aust car enthusiasts would have liked a lot more detail in this video. Also not mentioned was one of the main downfalls of the P76. It had an atrocious build quality. I remember reading reports of cars just 6 months old with poorly fitted trim falling off and the stick-on wood-grain on the dash just not put on straight or curling up in our sun; instruments problems, fuel gauge faulty reading, water leaking problems - all indications of a rushed design and execution. These are things that, no matter how brilliant the design - often last as a sour taste for decades in the minds of people. Thanks for reading.
I'd love to be able to put such a car through it's paces to explore it's limits but in reality a careful drive is all we can perform in such rare, expensive and irreplaceable cars, and I'd personally enjoy going much more in-depth as you've mentioned. I enjoyed watching Peter Wherrett's show when I was a boy and he did awesome reviews, just as you have mentioned, exploring the cars limits too. Our biggest challenge is creating content that has broad appeal across many types of enthusiasts, so to achieve high viewer retention across a short and sharp duration, effectively to appease RU-vid and their algorithm, so they allow more to see our content. It's a fine line. Thanks for watching though, all feedback is appreciated, and in many cases we can pull from that feedback here and there with a view to applying certain elements where possible and practical within our production time restraints, being a self funded operation.
Great machine. Thanks for an excellent video test. I have a photo I took of my Citroen GS beside a two level car transporter with 5 complete Force 7s in front of the Leyland factory at Zetland in March 1975. I had started work that month with Edward Rushtons who were joint auctioneers with Mason Green selling of all the stock plus plant and machinery at the Zetland plant after it closed. Interesting to see the few dollars paid for 3,000 P76 front carpets and 2,000 rear carpets, or P76 front and rear ash trays. Steering wheels. Etc. My previous 2 weeks starting work at Rushtons was in Darwin 2 months after Cyclone Tracy helping with loss assessment work for owners. Amazing times for a wide eyed 22 year old.
I had a chance to see 2 of the Force 7s at a Shannons classic at Eastern Creek NSW about 4 or 5 years ago. I've loved them ever since. It's a shame more of these cars weren't made.
drove one to use in the film Trojan Warrior, P76 was actually written into the script. Great car to drive, just floated! better styling than the Holdens but not as good as a Valiant. I do believe there where some build quality issues and poor tooling for the panels!
@@carrot595 I had a new P76 Super. It was no. 4 off the production line. It obviously got its compliance plate before the name was announced because it was registered as an Austin!
Awesome car really, I had the privilege of driving a Force 7 in 1976, 2 door, Aluminium Alloy V8, 2 door hatch with White interior upholstery. It was designed I believe then to compete against Holden and Ford with Bathhurst as the target competition race. Managed to set up a lets say challenge against a Ford Interceptor Phase 4 and the F 7 slightly pipped the Ford, so who knows what or how well they would haveperformed if the whole Leyland Brand hadn't been shutdown.
Great motor. Really good power to weight ratio. Originally made for Buick. Then manufactured under licence for use in Rover, Morgan, MG, Triumph etc. Increased in capacity for P76. Such a shame that Leyland was going broke at the time. Although it was never released, there was also a station wagon version of the P76. At least one was assembled.
Research that engine it was developed so much by rover gm tried to buy back the rights at least twice fairly quickly the look of the engine was the most similar thing about them
I once saw a Force 7 cruising on the freeway heading to Newcastle, same colour as the one in this vid. In the 80s I knew a bloke who had a dozen P76s in his dad's chook shed
I like the force 7, and it's story in Australian history (including the p76) Ugly duckings to some, but it had alot of elements that made their way onto other cars. Just a little rushed, as with all Leyland cars back in the days. Top brass would have had the pressure on the boffins in Aus to push it quickly.
Awesome and underrated car IMO. I seem to recall an article, possibly in Street Machine, about boring/and or stroking these things to be a 5 litre. From my (very limited) memory it made awesome torque.
Yes, that's right, they do run them out to 5 litre. In the 70's they also had a pretty serious F5000 open wheeler race engine program using this engine, it may have been with Repco.
@@GlennEverittMasterofMachines A five litre option was planned for the next P76 update model, as was a 3.3 litre V6 version and station wagon. Pin pulled before this happened.
It will be interesting if you do race them in a time lap at bath hurst with some brave owners that are willing to lend their cars for a cause..?? (ie to compare with the rival cars of the time)
P76....project Smol coz 5 years, by storm angled, sloping Style massive effort How good they were for it's day Aluminum < Very light Set back brilliant tire weare P76 Dead and gone fuel crisis Late 74....60 ready to rock and roll use Sell off Auction Off 30-35k 6k instead I of them based on Well now Racing thought 4.4 cylinder head work Motor show racetrack Leyland No 351...348 Torino Tire wear Bathurst Wonder Glen. Wonder Years A blast 47.... Performanc Less than two years
Wasn’t the first time, Morris Six, Morris Marshall, Austin Freeway/Wolseley 24/80, Austin Kimberley. They tried a few times to compete head to head with GMH and Ford. All good cars, but apart from the 24/80 and P76 largely unsuccessful.
That might be the Australian only Morris Nomad. Close to the first hatchback in the world. 1970. Only the Autobianchi from the Fiat offshoot may have been ahead of the Nomad : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TB-r2JTsTmk.html
Worked at Repco Engine Development 73/74 when the engine was developed for F5000. 385 HP at 9,500 RPM. Campaigned in the green Charger raced by McCormack from Adelaide against Brocks Beast. Would have been a Bathurst winner for sure with that engine as a base for homologation.
I heard Leyland Australia developed a 5 litre Rover V8 and a few exist. The Force 7 of engines. The Force 7 body hmmm looks like a concept car from the late 60s. I think it's exotic rarity makes people overblow it's looks.
Saw one Force 7 in the wild. It was a Sunday in the summer of 1973/74 and it was on the expressway at the northern end of the Sydney Domain heading towards the bridge. Did get to drive a P76 because in a desperate bid to save Leyland the NSW government bought a large fleet of Minis, Marinas and P76s. As a car to drive it was way better than the Kingswoods, Falcons and Valiants that made up the department's fleet. But its finish left a lot to be desired and I exited with blood pouring from my finger after slicing it on a rough edge at the bottom of the dash. In those days the NSW government kept cars less than a year to profit from the resale. The state did not pay sales tax and a one year old car would get an auction price higher than was paid. So the two P76s were soon gone. Not so sad to lose were the two Marinas. 1500cc four cylinder autos, they were only car I ever drove that needed to kick down to second to get over the Harbour Bridge.
My stepfather had 3 p76models & a Marina as well the p76 one was a turquoise targa v8 @the others were 6cyl one brown one orange both had awa push button radios !! Priceless
I saw a green one in a Chrysler parts show room in Thornbury Victoria, It looked fabulous the asking price was $20k but you couldn't drive it on the street.
I remember the push for the P76 and an advert showing a bunch of P76 cars driving around. I wasn't happy with its looks compared with the Mustang of Steve McQueen. It seemed on the bloated side. I never knew about the Force 7. That model is impressive in the looks department.
When you give it a look sideways it does have some styling clues from Its UK brother the ROVER SD1 V8/ or its smaller engined versions, of which i used the 2.6 liter 6 as a minicab for 6 mad months clocked up nearly 50.000 miles, a 4 door extremely comfortable car indeed, not so slow either, but the same colour as the cop cars were using, white/ many drivers got panicky if i followed behind trying to hurry up/ lol good times in deed.
Station Wagon mentioned. Some of the rare BLMC cars here, including the super rare (1 of 1 surviving) P76 station wagon : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LQzUW8OnYRk.html Mainly rare Australian made cars, like the Austin 1800 utes, but one or two British imported ring ins.
Now that's a very interesting car. I knew of the Targa Florio but not the the Force7. It looks like a marriage of the Aston Martin Zagonda front and a Rover P3500 rear. Could it be coincidence that all 3 are british heritage?
I think I might know this bloke....if he's in Western Victoria on a farm. I wired his shed up and enjoyed a day talking about his collection while we worked.
The P38 was the 6cyl version. I owned a P76 V8, the engine was brilliant but the body was rusted pretty bad, which was the major problem with them. There use to be a green Force 7 in the industrial area in condell park near bankstown airport NSW. I also saw a yellow one at Albion Park air show obout 2017
When I was a teenager I owned a P76. What a lovely car! It's the car that I miss the most. If It was possible I'd have another one in a heartbeat. Occasionally I have a look to see if any are for sale.
I would love one of these in Targa Florio but they are hard to find and prices for good ones are going up and up. Marketing peeps have been bonkers for ever . Always wondered how anyone could get a 200L drum full of stuff out of the boot let alone why you would put it there in the first place. It's demise is a great example of how pathetic and utterly hopeless BL management was. At only 1300kg is pretty awesome for a big V8 tank! Sure it's not pretty but it is different...
In early '77 I saw one pull up outside the then milk bar in Sturt st South Melbourne near the corner of Nolan st (now Southbank Blvd). A whole pile of us apprentice technicians from what was then the Telecom Australia training school looked at it just goggle eyed!
