Any one run/know about Vanden Plas Princess 4 litre R's?
Discussion
I had one many years ago 1980 ish,very comfortable and quiet and quite fast in a straight line,its speed could overcome its wallowy handling and it was easy to kill the brakes if you gave it some stick.Found it a difficult engine to keep in tune with the carbs being very hard to set up,fuel consumption was about the same as the cmpetition at the time as in 14 to 18 mpg,similar to a 4.2 jag so not too bad. Head gasket went in the end and i wasnt brave enough to fix it and sold it for £100.00 which was pretty good money at the time,must admit id like to drive one again just to see if my glasses are rose tinted,these cars were a cut above the p5 rovers,viscounts,zodiacs and imperials of the time and there is still quite a few nice ones about so choose carefully.
My Dad had one in the 60s, LUA 11, he kept it past 100,000 miles, & I suspect it was the head gasket again, that made him sell it. Very comfortable and smooth, heater (with fan) into the rear footwells. We drove down to the south of France quite a few times.
It doesn't really bear comparison with its humble origins, Morris Oxford / Austin Cambridge. it's far better
I'd have one.
It doesn't really bear comparison with its humble origins, Morris Oxford / Austin Cambridge. it's far better
I'd have one.
Worringly, my notion doesn't sound like a completely stupid idea... Thanks for your thoughts - part of me had fully anticipated being put off. I have a fairly quick modern and an old TVR but really hanker after a sixties barge. I just like the OTT styling of the Princess 4l but I'm pleasantly surprised to hear it drives well too. Is the suspension 'trick' at all or is the Princess essentially built up from relatively simple BL parts?
I have the Autocar road test from 28th August in front of me. Paraphrasing, the differences to the Westminster include "structural changes have increased torsional stiffness and smaller 13" wheels with fatter tyres have reduced unsprung weight by 10 lbs per wheel, while the longer low-rate rear springs are controlled by steeply-raked telescopic dampers". 0-100 took 45 seconds. Fuel consumption (98 only) over 900 miles averaged 15mpg, worse than a Mk X Jaguar!. Given the size and weight, 0-60 in 12.3 doesn't seem at all unreasonable, but I doubt if you'll be trying that! Disc front/drum rear brakes worked impeccably. As was common in the day, magazines did not criticize too much, but the overall impression is that it was a nice barge for wafting that had a certain cachet above the 3 litre version. What seems worrying though is the body and mechanical differences, which would I guess lead to difficulty finding replacement parts.
HTH
HTH
Lovely cars. I haven't driven one, but a friend had one for a while in late-70s. It was agreat 60's car to be driven around in, seemed far more than 'posh' Westminster. Were they better than the Jaguars or Rovers? - not sure, but definitely different and a nice 'wafter'. Thinking about it, I can't recall the last time I saw one on the road.
I might be wrong but I thought they were know as the poor man's Rolls Royce
that's not to say they or the RR of the time are very good cars by today's standard but you probably realise that
IIRC the interior padding reduced the interior space a little and people were smaller back then so you want to sit in and drive one with passengers to see if it suits for that
if you want you can go down to the lowest of the low of VP, the 1100, which I had once, and still keep the luxury, they still had, walnut veneer dash and door cappings, armrest on front seats and one for rear, leather seats, drop down picnic tables with chrome inset glass tray, material headlining, two rear door operated courtesy lights, hydrogas suspension, separate built in fog lights
course it was a single carb A-series engine not RR but you could move up to the twin carb? 1300
that's not to say they or the RR of the time are very good cars by today's standard but you probably realise that
IIRC the interior padding reduced the interior space a little and people were smaller back then so you want to sit in and drive one with passengers to see if it suits for that
if you want you can go down to the lowest of the low of VP, the 1100, which I had once, and still keep the luxury, they still had, walnut veneer dash and door cappings, armrest on front seats and one for rear, leather seats, drop down picnic tables with chrome inset glass tray, material headlining, two rear door operated courtesy lights, hydrogas suspension, separate built in fog lights
course it was a single carb A-series engine not RR but you could move up to the twin carb? 1300
Don't know that much about them but ARonline is full of information about old BMC stuff including from memory pictures of prototype Bentley badged and grilled big Farinas and VdP Landcrab 3 Litre's.
If you need more inspiration watch the start of 'Robbery' the victim of the initial robbery is chauffeured in a lovely VdP although it might only be 3litre, worth searching out on YouTube anyway for the Jag chase that follows it.
If you need more inspiration watch the start of 'Robbery' the victim of the initial robbery is chauffeured in a lovely VdP although it might only be 3litre, worth searching out on YouTube anyway for the Jag chase that follows it.
My old guvnor had a new one in 1966 as his company motor, EHO 789D in that two-tone brown they used to do. He loved it and managed to hang on to it for 7 years till the company made him turn it in. They gave him a Citroen DS which broke his heart! I saw the VDP years later, sprayed blue and then years later again, back in it's original colour.
Got one now and they are great fun to own and drive. Parts wise they are all standard stuff (Wolseley 6/110 or Westminster MkII) on the suspension and a lot of the electrical. They had a different front subframe to accommodate the engine, a different steering box and rear axle. Inside the trim was very similar to the 3 Litre MkII but with more padding around the dash.
Engines can be tricky to repair (parts aren't shared with much else) and blown head gaskets are not uncommon but an easy fix. Just don't skim the head when it's off as they tend to conform the the block over the years and skimming can make the problem worse! You can't skim the block as the head bolts pass through it and should NEVER be removed. A complete rebuild would cost about £2000 with a specialist but they should be good for 250k miles with regular (6000 mile) oil and filter changes. Over heating will kill them really quickly so make sure they have good water flows and temps. Gearboxes are tough but readily available second hand, it's usually just stiff old seals causing a problem.
Your main worries are bodywork- look under the front wings and check that the inner wing 'trumpets' are there and in good condition (structural in a front end collision). Likewise the cross member under the front floor can disappear. Wing edges? Yeah, and all the usual places on a Sixties car. Water ingress through poor screen seals, front and rear, is common and really difficult to cure. Paint finish on these was exceptional by today's standards so resprays/repairs will be obvious unless done really well (as they should be).
When running well they are very pleasant to drive and much more of a 'drawing room on wheels' than a P5B (I know 'cause I've had one). The ride is smooth and provided you don't hustle the beast through corners the handling is fine. Wind noise is noticeable at motorway speeds but not until you hit 60 plus.
I had my first one in 1984 and my current one since 2006. It's a 1966 black over grey with a red interior and always gets comments when out and about. Go on- try one and see what you've been missing!
Engines can be tricky to repair (parts aren't shared with much else) and blown head gaskets are not uncommon but an easy fix. Just don't skim the head when it's off as they tend to conform the the block over the years and skimming can make the problem worse! You can't skim the block as the head bolts pass through it and should NEVER be removed. A complete rebuild would cost about £2000 with a specialist but they should be good for 250k miles with regular (6000 mile) oil and filter changes. Over heating will kill them really quickly so make sure they have good water flows and temps. Gearboxes are tough but readily available second hand, it's usually just stiff old seals causing a problem.
Your main worries are bodywork- look under the front wings and check that the inner wing 'trumpets' are there and in good condition (structural in a front end collision). Likewise the cross member under the front floor can disappear. Wing edges? Yeah, and all the usual places on a Sixties car. Water ingress through poor screen seals, front and rear, is common and really difficult to cure. Paint finish on these was exceptional by today's standards so resprays/repairs will be obvious unless done really well (as they should be).
When running well they are very pleasant to drive and much more of a 'drawing room on wheels' than a P5B (I know 'cause I've had one). The ride is smooth and provided you don't hustle the beast through corners the handling is fine. Wind noise is noticeable at motorway speeds but not until you hit 60 plus.
I had my first one in 1984 and my current one since 2006. It's a 1966 black over grey with a red interior and always gets comments when out and about. Go on- try one and see what you've been missing!
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