Can we talk about the Austin Allegro VP
Discussion
J4CKO said:
I know have a mental image of the two old ladies (Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby) from Fawlty Towers being shagged senseless by the gardener, who, incidentally was played by Micheal Elphick in this particular mental image, he was affecting a fairly good west country accent in the name of authenticity as well.
So do I now. And looking at Google Earth it may still exist under a cover outside the garage. It all looks a bit dilapidated now.
Edited by wildcat45 on Monday 8th February 05:30
s m said:
Welshbeef said:
marmitemania said:
I give you the Allegro Equipe 0-70 10 seconds sports graphics and twin carb!
0-70 in 10 seconds is for the time respectable - on par with a Maestro GTI or 205 GTI The 1750 Sport/Sport Specials weren't anywhere near that?
We bought an MOT failure (rust) Allegro 1750 S to build a 4x4 sprayer. We welded up a box section chassis and put two Land Rover front axles at either end so it was four wheel steer and four wheel drive with the engine longitudinally mid mounted. The double reduction in gearing meant top speed of about 30 mph so the gearing was perfect for field spraying.
The big problem was what to call it. We cut the Allegro sign and the Land Rover sign and joined them to create a "Allegover"
I had a call from the local licencing office with a rather timid sounding young girl asking me about this "Alle" "Alleg" "Oh it's a bloody leg over!" sounds of much laughter in the background, probably her first day at work!
The big problem was what to call it. We cut the Allegro sign and the Land Rover sign and joined them to create a "Allegover"
I had a call from the local licencing office with a rather timid sounding young girl asking me about this "Alle" "Alleg" "Oh it's a bloody leg over!" sounds of much laughter in the background, probably her first day at work!
In the first episode of James May's new series, some archive film of one of the many strikes at the Leyland factory was shown. The main thing that struck me was the sheer number of workers standing outside. I couldn't believe my eyes, the sea of people stretched back to the horizon, there must have been thousands. Surely a definition of over manning, no wonder they never made any money.
MY first car was a beige Austing Allegro (1500 I think) four door. Cost me the princely some of £150 .... We took it all over the place with L plates on. I drove the family on holiday to Norfolk (from Berkshire). We went to Wrexham to look at the boats, and when we came back to the car the Windscreen had smashed !!!
As with all first cars I have fond memories of that car.
- Pete
As with all first cars I have fond memories of that car.
- Pete
Jimmy Recard said:
dbdb said:
I like the Allegro as a sort of old and nostalgic curiosity. And such an optimistic name! I don't think they're ugly. Despite what most PHers seem to believe, the Allegro suffered less from rust than the average car back then.
This one amused me!
snigger at that grille.This one amused me!
And yes, I don't know why everyone remembers the Allegro as being rusty. They were pretty rust-resistant for the time.
Not many people seem to agree with me but I think it's better looking than the mk1 Golf. That's more a criticism of the styling of the Golf than an endorsement of the Allegro though. I like the mk3 Golf styling but I've always thought 1 and 2 were awful things to look at.
rallycross said:
Back in the day if you got out of an Allegro and jumped into a lowly Fiesta 1.3 Ghia it felt like a rocket ship with amazing handling compared to the all-Agro.
In fact even an old mk2 escort Ghia 1.3 or 1.6 was a massive leap forward from a s
tty Allegro.
Fiesta maybe, but a boggo escort? No chance, the Equipe had twin carbs and about 90hp IIRC.In fact even an old mk2 escort Ghia 1.3 or 1.6 was a massive leap forward from a s
tty Allegro.zygalski said:
s m said:
Welshbeef said:
marmitemania said:
I give you the Allegro Equipe 0-70 10 seconds sports graphics and twin carb!
0-70 in 10 seconds is for the time respectable - on par with a Maestro GTI or 205 GTI The 1750 Sport/Sport Specials weren't anywhere near that?
I owned a Riley 1300 as my first car - a chintzy Austin 1300GT . Great car- handled like a Mini , 70 odd bhp but all ended badly when floor rotted through. Compared to the Allegro (never owned - I'm not insane- but drove several) the Riley was far superior - in looks , handling , go and cabin ambience. And the Maxi was even worse- good concept ruined by appalling gearchange and awful engine. But a paragon compared to the Marina....
Guybrush said:
In the first episode of James May's new series, some archive film of one of the many strikes at the Leyland factory was shown. The main thing that struck me was the sheer number of workers standing outside. I couldn't believe my eyes, the sea of people stretched back to the horizon, there must have been thousands. Surely a definition of over manning, no wonder they never made any money.
Don't forget that car factories STILL employ thousands - and that's with four decades more automation on the lines than there was back then. Robot welding was unusual enough a decade after Red Robbo that Fiat were basing ad campaigns on it.Ozzie Osmond said:
UK today celebrates the building of a million cars a year, many of them Japanese...
Well, that depends on if you count cars built in the UK as British or Japanese, doesn't it...?Let's not forget that the biggest volume producers in the UK have long been American-owned. Ford, since production started in Manchester in 1911. Vauxhall since 1925. Chrysler started to buy Rootes in 1964 and took control in 1967. It's now nearly a quarter of a century since BMW bought Rover Group in 1994.
On the commercial side, Leyland Trucks merged with DAF in 1987, and the bus business to Volvo in 1988.
Next year is likely to see the largest annual output of British-built motor vehicles... ever. Since the industry began.
Ozzie Osmond said:
... whilst at Toyota just one factory produces 4 million cars.
More than Toyota have built at Burnaston in quarter of a century.I had an Allegro, I've had a lot of crap cars, especially when I started driving, 1991.
The Allegro was bought as a replacement to the Morris Marina 1.3 GL, my first car which on it's first drive I removed the rear wheel arch going into my garage. I was still happy though, It was only £130 with 6 months tax and test. Eventually I wanted something with handling and power so I bought the Allegro, it was a white beauty, a lovely 1.3 for £300 with full MOT. It lasted 3 weeks, the Allegro is the only car I have ever written off.
I went round a corner but the Allegro decided it best to go straight on, it was clever like that. I managed to knock someone's front house door into their living room, thankfully no injuries to anyone but the police said they had no idea how I managed it, then they saw the Allegro. It was removed and crushed.
The Allegro was bought as a replacement to the Morris Marina 1.3 GL, my first car which on it's first drive I removed the rear wheel arch going into my garage. I was still happy though, It was only £130 with 6 months tax and test. Eventually I wanted something with handling and power so I bought the Allegro, it was a white beauty, a lovely 1.3 for £300 with full MOT. It lasted 3 weeks, the Allegro is the only car I have ever written off.
I went round a corner but the Allegro decided it best to go straight on, it was clever like that. I managed to knock someone's front house door into their living room, thankfully no injuries to anyone but the police said they had no idea how I managed it, then they saw the Allegro. It was removed and crushed.
Guybrush said:
In the first episode of James May's new series, some archive film of one of the many strikes at the Leyland factory was shown. The main thing that struck me was the sheer number of workers standing outside. I couldn't believe my eyes, the sea of people stretched back to the horizon, there must have been thousands. Surely a definition of over manning, no wonder they never made any money.
A friend of a friend of mine (in management) used to have a haircut monthly in an area cordoned off by an ex barber who worked on the line, so being paid for two jobs, but only making money for himself. This was in the 2000s. I know of another fella that had been off work on full pay for years because of a 'back injury caused at work' and was still being paid a large wedge until the company folded. Nothing wrong with him, he now lives in Spain on the spoils of being dishonest.
The shame of it all is that. 1. Jaguar should never have got involved with BMC and 2. Leyland shouldn't have got involved in BMH, we'd still possibly have a British motor industry.
The whole lot was laughable and destined for failure, and to add insult to injury, the then UK government of the time (1960s and lateer1990s) helped destroy it.
To me, what a very sorry state for VP ......... Finishing their days on the likes of the Allegro et al. All that skill utterly wasted
Wozy68 said:
To me, what a very sorry state for VP ......... Finishing their days on the likes of the Allegro et al. All that skill utterly wasted
Not quite, there was the Metro, Maestro and Montego VP as well.The Montego was nice car from what i remember of my dads around 1986. Certainly better than the Sierra / Cavalier of the time, was pretty quick too and lovely seats.
CanAm said:
Welshbeef said:
marmitemania said:
I give you the Allegro Equipe 0-70 10 seconds sports graphics and twin carb!
0-70 in 10 seconds is for the time respectable - on par with a Maestro GTI or 205 GTI lostkiwi said:
Might have been a different car altogether if they'd built it the way Harris Mann drew it...
That's what he reckons, but all concepts get sanitised and it should have been obvious that the details were still ste.Tat long bonnet, super raked windscreen and low roofline were entirely impractical and the only nice bits of design.
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