Wigan Album
old cars..
11 Comments
Photo: Harry C.
Item #: 22505
My boss had one of these, which I sometimes drove,I'm going back to 1971. It was an innovative car for it's time, it was one of the first cars to have a 5 speed gearbox and all the seats folded flat to make a double bed. After a couple of years he traded it in for an XJ6 which, not surprisingly, I preferred. Both cars were unreliable and spent a lot of time in the garage. Later on he got a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow which I never got the chance to drive.
Sad Face
Like every other model in the BL range at the time - a heap of junk! I had a nearly new Austin 1800 in the early seventies - almost every time I went out in it something went wrong, and always something different. When I finally managed to offload it, the garage I traded it into burnt down along with all the cars in it. Best thing that could have happened to that car!
I had one of these and loved it
Stacks of room inside and with 3 kids i certainly needed it
Great car
The first British five speed hatchback, it had many faults like most BMC and later British Leyland vehicles, but after saying that, a very comfortable car in it's day. The maestro replaced the maxi.
On reflection, perhaps I was a bit harsh in stating that all BMC/BL products were junk. The concepts of the Maxi/1800/Princess and Ambassador were all pretty good but, given the state of industrial relations within the Companies at the time, the build quality was usually atrocious. As for the Marina and Allegro - best not to go there!
derekb. As well as the Maxi(Very handy for the hatch back and room and towing my boat) my wife had a Mini Clubman, another rust bucket, swapped that for a Ford, much better.
Harryc, one of the few cars I have had from brand new was a Mini Clubman - nothing but trouble from day one until I got rid of it!
From an era that makes me wince. Why the hell couldn't we make decent motors? Took the germans and the japs to show us how. Imagine how much lower our unemployment figures would be if someone back then had actually realized what was coming and puller their fingers out.... Btw, I was hit by a beige coloured Maxi in 1984 - lost my front teeth and broke my left collar bone...
SJB. I must agree with all you say but all my Fords, Zephyr,Fiesta,Escort,Capri,Sierra,Mondeo, were all better than the equivellant B.L. model of the same era. I am now driving a Vauxhall Zafira, something I said I would never do, it's 7 years old and trouble free, I tow my boat can take take 7 people, all I have had to do apart from regular servicing is a new battery and a number plate light bulb. It's the longest time I have owned a car. Fingers crossed!
H.
Bought one as an MOT failure in 1985 for fifteen quid then realised it was too far gone to fix so wrecked it rallying it around Gidlow Coal Wash !
I decided to buy a Maxi in 1984 as another car to have fun with at a very low price, and being one of the earliest G reg more odd than the later ones and with Wigan number GJP957G in drab brown (didn't want a bright red or orange one). This car was a joke even then, dirty and stank of petrol but I loved it, and being a teacher pupils used to poke fun at it, but being very practical all the seats folded down and you could sleep in it. My fondest memories are going to Blackpool in it with my daughter on special Friday nights in December to enjoy the Pleasure Beach. Spent an hour riding on the Dodgems, Wild Mouse, Big Dipper, Grand National, before 12 hours at the Fun House in grey stockingfeet all through the night, 9pm to 9am. Sadly the Maxi failed its MOT in 1987 and had to be scrapped. Just wish I could go back in time when I was younger.