RE: Spotted: Maxi rally car
Discussion
bashful said:
So: not a works car, not much racing history, not particularly original (engine), not very eligible for historic rallying - no wonder interest is slow. I'm not expecting a loving six-page article in Octane any time soon.
It was in Classic & Sportscar last month, wasn't it?cragswinter said:
article said:
He’s made sure it looks exactly like it did when the all-girl team left London in 1970, including all the period stickers. Trouble is, this attention to detail has got him trouble with the MSA who won’t let stickered up cars enter historic road rally series.
What's the score with that then 
so if someone turned up in a genuine 205t16 in original livery they'd show you the door?
ts as seems to be their usual style ... my dad had one of these in the 70's when I was a kid. My brother and I used to have to jump up and down on the back seat to get fuel to flow to the engine properly till Dad fixed it. It got nicked once and was found 400 yards away due to the fuelling problem.
Also had to swap out the engine as that failed at one point.
It was a bad car, but I enjoyed jumping up and down as I was 7-8 yrs old.
Also had to swap out the engine as that failed at one point.
It was a bad car, but I enjoyed jumping up and down as I was 7-8 yrs old.
my first car was a maxi, in beige and it w3as an auto... horrible horrible thing, when it needed about £20 spending on it my dad scrapped it as he hated it being on the drive, still, it was free.. That thing is 100% not worth £30K, owner reckons there's wriggle room on that price? If there was about £30K he could wriggle off it I "might" be interested.
Edited by M@1975 on Monday 30th April 13:50
Good on ya Robin. It's great that someone is taking the trouble to take an interest in what is still a significant part of motoring history.
I suspect that most people who slag off Maxis have never driven one. The design is actually very neat but poorly executed in engineering terms. The biggest Maxi failing was the gearbox. Every one I drove had non-existent syncro on second gear ... and the quality of the gearchange was truly appalling. This tended to cloud your impression of the rest of the car ... which really wasn't that bad. Well not Marina bad by any means!
I suspect that most people who slag off Maxis have never driven one. The design is actually very neat but poorly executed in engineering terms. The biggest Maxi failing was the gearbox. Every one I drove had non-existent syncro on second gear ... and the quality of the gearchange was truly appalling. This tended to cloud your impression of the rest of the car ... which really wasn't that bad. Well not Marina bad by any means!
It seems hard to believe these days but I remember these leaving London en route to Mexico. At a similar time BMC were paying professional drivers to take a Mini and a Land-crab 1800 across the center Australia north to south. Very funny tales of them being washed down a flooding dry river bed after a storm...
It's not a first the obvious choice for a rally car, but why not! I remember a certain Andrew Cowan & co driving a Hillman Hunter! As for the original Escort Mexico I once had the privilege of being allowed to put my head inside the original, FEV 1H at Althorp Hall at a Ford open day for the launch of the Maverick in 1992.
infradig said:
I'm sure their are people far better qualified to answer but I'll have a go anyway.
The design was quite advanced,but was really just the fourth model in the BMC fwd range fitting in
between the 11/1300(ado 16) and 1800(Landcrab). In today's terms it would be Passat/Mondeo class but obviously cars were much smaller then,although the BMC cars were always more spacious than the Ford,Vauxhall competition
As for ahead of it's time ,the Renault 16 was introduced in 1965 ,a couple of years before the Maxi. One of the Maxi's biggest competitors was the Marina and I think the all important fleets always chose the simple rwd Morris over the more technically advanced Maxi,at the time it seemed stupid all the BL cars competing with each other but now VAG are doing the same thing it's seen as good marketing!
The Maxi was horrible, though admittedly I was only 15 when I drove one. The design was quite advanced,but was really just the fourth model in the BMC fwd range fitting in
between the 11/1300(ado 16) and 1800(Landcrab). In today's terms it would be Passat/Mondeo class but obviously cars were much smaller then,although the BMC cars were always more spacious than the Ford,Vauxhall competition
As for ahead of it's time ,the Renault 16 was introduced in 1965 ,a couple of years before the Maxi. One of the Maxi's biggest competitors was the Marina and I think the all important fleets always chose the simple rwd Morris over the more technically advanced Maxi,at the time it seemed stupid all the BL cars competing with each other but now VAG are doing the same thing it's seen as good marketing!
Edited by infradig on Monday 30th April 10:27
Edited by infradig on Monday 30th April 10:30
The Renault 16 was far superior, front mid-mounted engine , fwd with a 90hp, cross flow, alloy engine (might just be the head) and a sealed cooling system using an electric fan. Made anything from BL seem agricultural in comparison.
I just don't get BL stuff. I was at the Bristol Italian car thing this weekend, every single car there had some level of style or charm or both, but if it was a BL event it'd be full of flat caps, beards and st cars with no redeeming qualities.
Still, plenty of interest with certain people so I guess I'm missing something!
t cars with no redeeming qualities.Still, plenty of interest with certain people so I guess I'm missing something!
Toltec said:
The Maxi was horrible, though admittedly I was only 15 when I drove one.
The Renault 16 was far superior, front mid-mounted engine , fwd with a 90hp, cross flow, alloy engine (might just be the head) and a sealed cooling system using an electric fan. Made anything from BL seem agricultural in comparison.
i heartly disagree.The Renault 16 was far superior, front mid-mounted engine , fwd with a 90hp, cross flow, alloy engine (might just be the head) and a sealed cooling system using an electric fan. Made anything from BL seem agricultural in comparison.
The maxi had the stiffest family car chassis made at the time, ENORMOUS real leg room, humongous wheelbase, hatchback and could make a bed with the seats. Shagtastic. It was built as a family car, not a quasi sports car.
As for your claim if R16 FWD 90hp, so was the Maxi, FWD was pioneered by BMC in family cars. BMC produced the most fuel economic engines at the time. Sure the quality was b
ks circa 1977, but look at wheelbase and layout, it is very similar to modern cars.If you are praising the R16, then praise the maxi, they are virtually twins.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff