Opinions sought...

[cavmad]

...quite tempted by this but description isn`t exactly fantastic. I`m left to wonder what the sub frames, arches, floor and wings/sills are like so might ask him a question or two...


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AUSTIN-1100-WHITE ... dZViewItem

[M]

Get a good one and enjoy the space, the alcohol hung hydrolastic suspension and the ease of working on the A series lump with loads of space under the bonnet.

Get a bad one and familiarise yourself with mr welding torch, sheet steel and fabricating front pannels that are no longer produced.

I have a soft spot for these cars, generally due to oil leaks anyway the first 3rd on the car underside will be OK... The rear subframe, however was the most efficient breeder of tin worm known to man. Poke everywhere if going to view - and I do mean everywhere.
Rear boot floor & spare wheel well.
Rear arches
Rear subframe (rejoyce if it is a new one)
Flooropan from roughly the front doors backwards.
Front Vallance
Rear Vallance (esp around bumper mounts)
Bumper mounting brackets - (rejoyce if the bumbers can be removed without the use of an angle grinder as this is the sign of a looked after car)
Inner wings
Headlamp bowls
Panel Seams
A Pannels
Hinge mounts for doors
Sills (in & out)
Lift the carpets - any water?
Does the car sit level? Does it just need a recharge (£30) or is one of the bags perished? (laugh at the thought of finding one in good condition)
Electrical gremilins as the wiring loom does chaff where it passes through panels - it will be knocking on for 30 years old by now anyway.
Dont worry about the tappety sound from the engine (they all do this) Do worry if you think you can hear the timing chain rattling as they can snap (not common but it does happen) Dont even think about rebuilding the engine as decent A Plus engines in 1300cc guise are easy to come by.
Convert it to an alternator if it hasnt already been done.
Buy Buy Buy ANY bits of brightwork you see (over riders are esp rare) - as this is rarer than rocking horse poop now. Lights came out of the BLMC parts bin and are shared with many other 70's rustbuckets.

There is a cult following in Japan, so some bits can be imported back - Moss also stock some spares for the ADO16.

One of these in TC1300 guise is on my wish list...

[cavmad]

Thanks Marty. Always had a soft spot for these cars though never owned one. There is a Morris GT on eBay at the moment but that will undoubtably go way over my meagre budget I think it`s time to e-mail an extensive questions list to seller of the Austin and see what he says in response...

[tim leech]

Mate of mine had one a few years ago was 1300 and went very well sadly though the back end was rotten where the subframe mounted on, it was so far gone it got scrapped. On the body front it looked really tidy! Took it in for a MOT and they wouldnt let him drive it home as it was unsafe!

Lol so be careful cavmad!

[M]

sadly though the back end was rotten where the subframe mounted on,

Not the easiest fix in the world, but do-able. I rerpaired mine with lots of sheet steel and an arc welder. Mind you it did get to a point where I was starting to weld on top of welded plates - There are two things in the world I am spectaculaly shit at - plastering and welding with an arc welder. Welding over the top of rust with different guage steel to the original pannel..... Loadsaholes.

[Way2go]

Mate of mine had one a few years ago was 1300 and went very well

Now the understanding of desire for these things is very difficult & I had direct experience of the 1100 and the Morris 1000. They were good cars in their time but the car world did move on for the better. This also was the age when the steering wheels were like a busses probably because you needed extra leverage for their manual steering linkages. SU carburetters, bent needles & ovalised jets...ugh! & the constant need to reset points that pit and alter that critical gap!
The BX desire is understandable cos it has so much more going for it with a ride that is pleasant over long distances even and with the higher spec models a comfort & sportiness that can still put a smile on your face. & for me injection/ecu was a must from the first day I drove one.
(I will make one exception, the Humber Sceptre with that impressive dashboard of dials and comfortable leather seats...........but I suspect the tin worm has consigned nearly all of these to extinction as Rootes cars did not have longevity of bodywork! )

[Way2go]

I just checked Ebay for a series 1 Sceptre after writing the above and amazingly there are still some. Now don't you agree that this has classic good looks!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1965-Humber-Scept ... dZViewItem

[cavmad]

It`s just one of those cars I`ve always liked Way2go. I couldn`t tell you why and I`d agree to most there`s no appeal, however just like the Austin Cambridge/Moris Oxford/Austin 18/2200/Austin 3-litre I just love them.
There`s a (surely) very rare pre-Farina Cambridge on eBay at the moment but it`d be too much work for me and I hope it gets saved.

[M]

Now the understanding of desire for these things is very difficult

I was dropped on my head as a baby.

[Way2go]

It`s just one of those cars I`ve always liked Way2go. I couldn`t tell you why and I`d agree to most there`s no appeal, however just like the Austin Cambridge/Moris Oxford/Austin 18/2200/Austin 3-litre I just love them.

I had a "hairy" experience with a Morris Oxford too.
On the way home to London (then), the accelerator pedal return spring broke just before Aylesbury which meant I had to drive with my foot under the pedal which due to its weight would open the throttle fully. It was initially quite a juggle when you needed to brake or change gear. After several miles with maybe 50 to go and nearly ramming a few fellow motorists up the rear, I located an extremely large elastic band from a package I was carrying in the boot. This I attached to the pedal with the other end hung on the choke knob & continued my journey in relative comfort.

[M]

I located an extremely large elastic band from a package I was carrying in the boot. This I attached to the pedal with the other end hung on the choke knob & continued my journey in relative comfort.

A truly award winning bodge - similar ones seen are clothes pegs on mini chokes, bungee cord on throttle returns and adhesive lead flashing welded pannels.

[cavmad]

Hmm, time to forget all about this I think. I`ve had a list of what it `just wants` and it`s quite some list at that

[Way2go]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Cav & it can no longer be an everyday car so you could look on it as being a labour of love over an extended period.
The engines are easy to work on. I stripped a Morris 1000 engine down to the last nut & bolt and rebuilt it as it had lost power (power??) which probably had more to do with the holes in 3 exhaust valves than anything else. Amazingly those long stroke engines kept going with such problems as big end knock etc.

[OwenS]

I to have a soft spot for the 1100/1300, both my father and grandfather have had MG 1300's in the past. If I could afford and had space for another car I'd be very tempted. I also love its successor, the Allegro, and would love to get my hands on the range topping 1750 SS model, pref 2 door, the one with the fancy black wheel trims, viynl roof and bootlid panel between rear lights blacked out

[cavmad]

That reminds me of another car I`ve always wanted. An Austin (wedge) Princess Special Six. A Wolsely Wedge was recently sold on an Austin Rover forum for I think about £2,500, now THAT`S a rare car.
My dad had an Austin 3-litre company car many moons ago and what a cracker that was. If I remember rightly it was the `C` series engine also found in the MGC.