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.
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.
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😰
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".
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.
@@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
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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! 😁
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 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 !
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!!!!
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..
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.
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 😀
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.
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 .
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.
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 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.
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.👍
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.
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.
That's the lower column pinch bolt! It needs two half inch spanners to make sure it's clamped tight onto the rack pinon splines.needs checking every 6000miles. Many1100 & 1300 owners list control because the slack bolt could cause the splines to wear smooth 😮
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!
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.
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.
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.....
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.
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.
@@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.😁
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
@@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?
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.
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
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
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! )
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 RU-vid vids on this car.
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.
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!
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.
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 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
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😄🤭👌🍺🍻🌎👍💚
@GrandThriftAuto I drive another Harris Mann creation a series 1 Allegro Estate, the hydragas suspension is so simple to maintain and repair. You can get the solid pipework from B&Q and the displacers can be regassed by a few people in the UK. I have done all of mine. Great review and nice to see someone who didn't just take the mick out of BL.
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 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 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.
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 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!!
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.
Me and my dad had 4 versions of the Princess --my dad went from the Wolseley six to the Princess 2200HLS in the above gold color in 1976 and then onto the Rover 3500 V8s in 1980 --my 1st car was the 1700l in jade green in 1979 followed by the 2200 special six in black and finally the 2000HLS ---this video brought back memories thank you.
Mmmm, Jade Green... and the Special Six is a lovely thing too. Isn't that the only one that came in black, apart from a handful of government cars? I may be misremembering.
@@GrandThriftAuto Yes it was a bit like a John Player Special look --wish I had kept it it was in mint condition and I got it from an old couple --I think there is only one left in the World now
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.
Thanks for your time. My dads last car was a princess. RMR777S 2.2 HL in green. He died at the heartbreaking age of 36 in 1985. I’ll always hold these cars in my heart🥺
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.
@@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!
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 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.
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
@@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.
Hello from Australia. Thanks for giving us a mention. I was about to mention the 2.6 Marina, but you had that covered. The lack of a 5 speed is surprising, as we had that under our 1500 E series down here, so it shouldn't have taken much to put it under the 2200.
@@GrandThriftAuto Hi it was the 4 cylinder E Series had a 5 speed, the 6 cylinder used the gearbox from the B Series. It is the bulkier box that means you cannot stroke the engine to 2.7 litre as the 1500 Maxi was to 1750.
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 ...
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...
Great video and commentary, I own 2 princesses a t reg in vermillion red 2.2l HLauto and 1981 2.0HLS manual in ember glow , I found delightfully to drive , however totally agree that your are trying to put it into non existent 5th gear which it lacks . I believe also the other reason a hatchback wasn’t done as may infinge on the sales of the new SD1 at that time. I also own long time back a A reg ambassador van den plas which was 2 l twin carb in silver but I didn’t have front door bins but I fitted ones from a metro with same interior colour which matched I didn’t understand that ARG didn’t fit. I collect corgi and lledo model cars only to find to my surprise that they produced my vermillion princess with my reg on it ! . Regards mark
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.
I'm one of your Australian viewers, coming over here in 2008. My first car was a 1982 Austin Ambassador which did have the hatchback, but unfortunately also had the reliability that the Leyland reputation earned. What can I remember went wrong: Massive oil leaks, suspension failure, cracked cylinder head were the main ones that I recall. Much as I love my first car I do not miss it at all. It had all the appearance of a Friday afternoon special out of the Leyland factory Eventually it just died and I had to work hard to get a scrap yard to take it off my hands!
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.
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.
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 don't know how I stumbled on your channel but I'm glad I did. The Princess is a beautiful car - I'm actually surprised it was designed locally and not by an Italian design house so kudos to the chap who designed it. Great video and the graphic with the suspension was a nice touch. On a technical note, there seemed to be a slight high-pitched buzz in the audio from your room. Not noticeable on my tablet but certainly loud enough on my TV. Otherwise, a really enjoyable watch.
Thanks Mark - apologies for the sound fault, which seems to have been interference on the mic connection. I’ve now bought some better studio headphones so I won’t miss it in the edit if it happens again. Hope it won’t put you off coming back for another video :)
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.
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
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.
What a delightful video and a pleasure to watch. brings back so many fond memories. as young boy where my friends had the latest Ferrari or Lamborghini poster adorned on their bedroom walls, I was constantly mocked because my bedroom poster collection consisted The Princess and of course The Ambassador. All these years hence, I can now happily send them the link to this video. To prove, I knew real style! Great post. Instant follow.
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
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 !
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.
I’m 51 and I remember walking to abbey motors Hemel Hempstead when I must have been about 8 to pick up his new princess FGS 957T in 1979 . Sadly he is in a home for dementia in Hatfield but when he has the odd moment of awareness we always talk about his general love for this car we still both have . With technology and internet I still see it in dvla as last mot 1989 . Loved the car
I have fond memories of my dad's yellow / tan princess as a child, we travelled from Portsmouth to Torpoint in Cornwall, when my dad transferred naval base's... I was asleep on the back seat nearly all the way..... in 1990 we had a austin ambassador, but it just wasn't the same... Good memories 😃
I used to have one, 1.8l B series engine, it was like going for a drive in the most comfortable sofa. Never a speed machine but great for those long journeys
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 😢
This was a car which passed me by. In the 1970s second hand examples would have been too expensive to be on my radar. In the 80s they just seemed to fade away. Very interesting and informative video.
My dad had a identical car to this. He replaced it with the facelifted model, this time a 1.8 in a very dark brown metallic. He had no issues with either and they provided roomy comfortable transport for our family for several years.
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.
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.
What a fabulous example. Would love to bring it back to Cumbria where it was first registered (Also the Avocado green SD1 was Cumbrian registered) Get a feeling it will be expensive though. Parents owned an ex demo 1800 HL in 1977. Sadly a ropey car that when sold locally only lasted until 1985. It was replaced with a 1978 Rover SD1 2300s which drank fuel, filled its glove boxes with water and lost its silver paint after 2 years. Again sold locally to a retired couple and made it to 1992. I got the bug and bought a V reg Dolomite 1850 HL as my first car. Brooklands green and just 42k for £795 in 1992. Had it 5 years and did 45k in it. Welded every year!
