British Leyland

**Motu** · 11th February 2010, 21:44

Wow,you have a Wolseley 18/85! Just an Austin 1800 of course,just a bit tarted up.They had powersteering,which they didn't need,and made them a bit tighter under the bonnet.They were one of the first cars to have radial tyres fitted as standard.I've had a couple of 1800's...or more.They really handle well on the open road (no body roll) and the hydrolastics give the best ride ever on rutted gravel roads.My 1st one was a '65,the very first model with crash 1st gear.The fuel pump used to cut out,and I would fire it up again with a flick of the key....but sometimes it would stop at the lights.My other one was a MkI too,but I fitted a lot of MkII parts from a MkII I stole....well,I didn't know I had stolen an abandoned vehicle,but I didn't give it back either.We had a ute at one place I worked,they were on crossplies,and had massive understeer - but I still managed to 180 it a couple of times.

**MaxB** · 11th February 2010, 21:56

I had one of these. A Rover SD1 V8. One of Leylands finest I reckon. Mine was a Nelson one. That meant cloth insted of leather and no Efi. But it was a very tunable motor and mine wasn't standard for long.

I got mine from a dealer and on the test drive he stuck it at 180 indicated on the then incomplete south western motorway. It just stayed there without any fuss. Then he took his hands off the wheel. And it tracked straight and true. I pretty much bought it there and then.

Being a pommie car it had its faults. The worst was that when it rained like it does in Auckland the 2 glove boxes used to fill up with water. I learned to keep my stuff in ziplock bags.

I kept it for 15 years and was never off the road for more than 24 hours in that time. Apart from when an Indian backed over it in a Land Cruiser.

**KiWiP** · 11th February 2010, 21:57

I had one of these

The previous owner had squeezed a 3L engine into it which leaked alarming amounts of petrol (never caught fire though). No other upgrading had been done, brakes suspension etc
It went very fast, and didn't appear to care which way the wheels were pointing. It was an independent soul that chose it's own path. Although it used to scare me a lot I did have a huge amount of respect for a car that could apparently kill at will but managed to restrain it's 'Christine' tendencies (at least while I was present). But the best bit was the maneuverability and velour covering of the seats making it a superior shagging wagon

**Motu** · 11th February 2010, 22:09

The 6 cyl SD1 was a true unicam,unlike the Honda unicam which uses 4 lobes.The Rover engine had a single cam lobe for each cyl,doing both inlet and exhaust valves.I onced worked at a Rover agent and got to work on a fair few SD1's,they were interesting - but not a real Rover.

**Virago** · 11th February 2010, 22:10

Aah, sweet memories. I've had a few BL cars in the misty past, and still have a soft spot for their idiosyncratic bloody-minded designs and engineering.

Ah yes, the Marina gearbox. I spent most of my early 20s underneath my Marina.

Now, who can tell me - which BL car was renowned for being more aerodynamic when going backwards than forwards...?

**MaxB** · 11th February 2010, 22:14

Originally Posted by KiWiP

I had one of these

The previous owner had squeezed a 3L engine into it which leaked alarming amounts of petrol (never caught fire though). No other upgrading had been done, brakes suspension etc
It went very fast, and didn't appear to care which way the wheels were pointing. It was an independent soul that chose it's own path. Although it used to scare me a lot I did have a huge amount of respect for a car that could apparently kill at will but managed to restrain it's 'Christine' tendencies (at least while I was present). But the best bit was the maneuverability and velour covering of the seats making it a superior shagging wagon

Could it have been the Leyland Marina Six running the E-series 2600cc? If so it would be worth a fortune 'cos there are not a lot of them around.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Marina

**Virago** · 11th February 2010, 22:15

Originally Posted by Indiana_Jones

I own one of these...

Very pretty. Now show us a photo of your one...

**Indiana_Jones** · 11th February 2010, 22:28

Originally Posted by Virago

Very pretty. Now show us a photo of your one...

Originally Posted by Motu

Wow,you have a Wolseley 18/85! Just an Austin 1800 of course,just a bit tarted up.They had powersteering,which they didn't need,and made them a bit tighter under the bonnet.They were one of the first cars to have radial tyres fitted as standard.I've had a couple of 1800's...or more.They really handle well on the open road (no body roll) and the hydrolastics give the best ride ever on rutted gravel roads.

Yea, pretty much the same thing, just the tail lights and pig-nose grill are the main differences to see.

I donno if mine has power steering, was it an option or standard? cause it sure as hell doesn't feel like it has it!

Also mine is an 18/85s which came with the twin carbs stock, but a previous owner has removed the twins and put in a slightly bigger single carb.

-Indy

**cs363** · 11th February 2010, 22:37

First class travel.....

**pete376403** · 11th February 2010, 22:48

All this P76 talk and no-one has mentioned the Force 7. So I did. Not all of them ended up in the crusher after the design was abandoned.

**cs363** · 11th February 2010, 22:56

Those were the days:

**Edbear** · 12th February 2010, 05:41

Originally Posted by pete376403

All this P76 talk and no-one has mentioned the Force 7. So I did. Not all of them ended up in the crusher after the design was abandoned.

Try and find one now! I remember the magazine reports on it and at the time I thought it was about the coolest thing on the road! So many were disappointed it didn't go ahead!

**JMemonic** · 12th February 2010, 06:03

Originally Posted by pete376403

All this P76 talk and no-one has mentioned the Force 7. So I did. Not all of them ended up in the crusher after the design was abandoned.

There were quite a few force 7v's that made it out of the assembly line, none made it here although rumour had it they nearly did but got dumped in some large landfill in Wellington, the real trick would have been to own the station wagon, only the prototype survived.