Ordinary Cars That Have Disappeared Off The Radar

[TonyRPH]

keeef said:

Here you go, my latest purchase. :-

In a similar vein, this lives on the street around the corner from me.

I think it's a 'Landcrab'??

[lucido grigio]

Yes it is a Landcrab ,an Austin/Morris 1800.

My dad had a J reg 1800 in that colour ,well all one colour and an N reg Wolseley 6 ,both bought new.

[Hub]

Gunk said:

VW Santana, I’d forgotten all about them until I saw an abandoned one yesterday in Witney.

There's loads in China - they only stopped making it there a few years ago and they were popular as taxis.

[Horsetan]

Gunk said:

VW Santana, I’d forgotten all about them ......

Still built in China until relatively recently.

[keeef]

TonyRPH said:

I think it's a 'Landcrab'??

It sure is.

I had a Wolseley Six till fairly recently. Maxi 1500 engine with two extra cylinders!

Edited by keeef on Friday 24th November 19:31

[E24man]

tapkaJohnD said:

Isuzu Piazza Turbo.
Beautiful car, world class designer, well constructed with a few rust traps, went very well, was our family motor until the kids got too big.
Then I kept it, thinking that it would eventually be a sought-after classic.
But it isnt.

Lovely looking motorcar. I always thought I'd get one, but like the Renault Avantime, never got round to it.

[johnxjsc1985]

keeef said:

It sure is.

I had a Wolseley Six till fairly recently. Maxi 1500 engine with two extra cylinders!

Edited by keeef on Friday 24th November 19:31

wasn't there one with a Rolls Royce engine or was that a Westminster ?or something like that.

[Stuart70]

keeef said:

TonyRPH said:

I think it's a 'Landcrab'??

It sure is.

I had a Wolseley Six till fairly recently. Maxi 1500 engine with two extra cylinders!

Edited by keeef on Friday 24th November 19:31

My affluent grandfather had two of these in the 70's. My mother crashed the second and he moved on to Rover 3500 SD1.

My Dad had a Maxi in early 80's that I inherited when I learned to drive. Given that it was at the end of a reasonable production life why were there still so many design issues - hydro lastic leaks, gear "selection" and exhaust bursting through the "flexible" joint.

All was forgiven as it was my first car on the road and the seats turn into a bed, y'know....

Happy days...

[johnxjsc1985]

Strela said:

Vanden Plas Princess with the 4 litre RR engine. Total ring tool weapon sleeper (am I doing this right, Barry?)

I like that are there many left it seems years since I spotted one

[Halmyre]

johnxjsc1985 said:

Strela said:

Vanden Plas Princess with the 4 litre RR engine. Total ring tool weapon sleeper (am I doing this right, Barry?)

I like that are there many left it seems years since I spotted one

I was driving behind one recently for a few miles, surprisingly small and delicate it looked amidst modern oversized hardware.

[keeef]

Stuart70 said:

My Dad had a Maxi in early 80's that I inherited when I learned to drive. Given that it was at the end of a reasonable production life why were there still so many design issues - hydro lastic leaks, gear "selection" and exhaust bursting through the "flexible" joint.

You must have been unlucky. The only problem I've had with Maxis is the last one on your list and they fixed that with a "ball joint" that replaced the flexi joint.

[johnxjsc1985]

keeef said:

You must have been unlucky. The only problem I've had with Maxis is the last one on your list and they fixed that with a "ball joint" that replaced the flexi joint.

wasn't there some sort of gear box cable conversion ?.
I like them .

[LanceRS]

I seem to remember that they had cable gear linkages which stretched causing the inevitable gear selection problems.

[wibble cb]

LanceRS said:

I seem to remember that they had cable gear linkages which stretched causing the inevitable gear selection problems.

The Maestro had cable linkages as well, thank god not many of those around these days, they were not fun to learn in.

[Roy C]

LanceRS said:

I seem to remember that they had cable gear linkages which stretched causing the inevitable gear selection problems.

The early Maxis (1969) had cable change, but they had problems with stretching and adjustment, so they switched to a rods (1970 onwards) which had even more problems.
I remember once attempting to change down from 5th gear, but only 1st was available!

Edited by Roy C on Monday 27th November 07:10

[rene7]

Maxi had a few problems for sure - but had a huge amount of space for the money, I'm surprised how few are left on the roads. You rarely see any at classic car shows.
For sure it's an everyday useable classic, one of the first 'Ordinary' cars to have 5 forward gears, so suitable for long motorway trips

[swisstoni]

rene7 said:

Maxi had a few problems for sure - but had a huge amount of space for the money, I'm surprised how few are left on the roads. You rarely see any at classic car shows.
For sure it's an everyday useable classic, one of the first 'Ordinary' cars to have 5 forward gears, so suitable for long motorway trips

It's quite amazing how huge modern cars are on the outside compared to the accommodation inside. Like a reverse Tardis.

[Horsetan]

rene7 said:

Maxi had a few problems for sure - but had a huge amount of space for the money, I'm surprised how few are left on the roads. You rarely see any at classic car shows.
For sure it's an everyday useable classic, one of the first 'Ordinary' cars to have 5 forward gears, so suitable for long motorway trips

My maths teacher had one in the mid 1980s - a 1974 model in white. He was known to be an alcoholic - although whether that was because he owned a Maxi isn't quite clear.

[Halmyre]

My dad had a couple of Maxis, massive inside and considerably quieter than the 1100s he had. I don't think either gave him much trouble, although he never had a cable-gearchange model. Mind you, he was raised on a farm and if you could win a battle with a cold Fordson N gearbox, anything else was a doddle.

Only 96 left on the road and 76 SORN'd according to https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/family/austin_maxi

[FlipFlopGriff]

Saw a Nissan 200SX (1997) this morning driving between Droitwich and Bromsgrove. Hadn't seen one for donkeys years.
FFG