1968-1971 Austin 1800 Mk II

The 1968 Austin 1800 Mk II came in a most distinctive package and rode on a 2 692-millimetre (106-inch) wheelbase. The cars were sold throughout Canada from 1968 to 1972 by British Motor Corporation and later British Leyland dealers.

The first generation of Austin 1800s bowed to the world in 1964. It was an ingenious size-and-space transportation package based on the runaway global success of British Motor Corporation’s micro-sized Austin and Morris Mini that debuted in 1959. 

1962 Mini.

Sir Alec Issigonis was the brains behind the Mini, the fabled 1300 that followed it and now the 1800. The trio of motor vehicle kin all made use of transversely-mounted engines coupled to front wheel drive. The cunning combo gave designers absolutely cavernous cabin space to work with while keeping the overall length to a minimum. 

1959 Austin Mini cutaway diagram shows 80% of floor space being dedicated to passengers.

On the Austin 1800 that nifty package added up to a very tidy 2 692-millimetre  (106-inch) wheelbase platform that stretched to only 4 164 millimetres (13 foot and 8 inches) in overall length.

The 1964 Austin 1800 was exported to Commonwealth countries including Australia and Canada.

To further ensure the success of the 1800, the famed Italian Pininfarina studios were engaged to create the styling. Top brass at BMC didn’t particularly like the look generated by the continental style house and in-house designers were ordered to change it significantly before production began. The final envelope boasted an exceptionally large greenhouse with curved glass riding atop straight, almost severe slab sides accentuated with angular treatments, fore and aft.

The press didn’t care for the designers’ version and promptly pronounced the cars as ungainly. The public viewed the final product as being uglier than homemade sin—and promptly gave it the unflattering nickname of “land crab.” Production would prove to be disappointing during its five-year run and the ingeniously designed if slow-selling car was revamped as the Mark II for the 1968 selling season.

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The Austin 1800 Mk II made its debut in May of 1968. It received a much needed and pleasant if very modestly restrained restyle. Revisions included larger 35-centimetre (14-inch wheels), debuted BMC’s first full synchromesh transmission, a tweaked engine and an updated instrument panel that boasted the latest fad--rocker switches. Announced as “inheriting all the famous features of the Mini and the 1300, the Austin 18000 Mk. II” and “Add to these a 90 mph (150 kph) top speed, with acceleration to match, lounge seating for five and the toughest structure ever built into a production car.”  Other accolades included “The Austin 1800 Mk II is a notable achievement in advanced automobile design” and declared its handling to be “the envy of the world.” 

 The Austin 1800 Mk II clipped along courtesy of a 1.8-litre (85.6-horsepower), four-cylinder overhead valve engine. 

Under the hood was BMC’s water-cooled, overhead valve, four-cylinder, five-main bearing engine. The mill generated 86.5 horsepower and was capable of reaching a top speed of 150 kilometres per hour ( 93 miles per hour--ancient Canadian units of velocity). This was mated to a four-speed synchromesh transmission, with final drive located in the engine sump. Power was transmitted to the front wheels by short, universally-jointed shafts. Rack-and-pinion steering promised to deliver “sensitive hairline accuracy” and servo-assisted front disc brakes (drum brakes in the rear) gave real stopping power. While it was no jet rocket—the car moved from zero to 100 kph (60 mph) in 16.3 seconds--the package gave motorists a satisfying 10.4 L/100 kilometres (27 miles to the Imperial gallon--ancient Canadian units of fluid measure).

The instrument panel of the Austin 1800 Mk II was simple in design and remained unchanged from 1968 to 1972.  A right-hand drive model is shown here. 

The Austin’s instrument panel was finished in non-glare black dressed up with simulated woodgrain panels. The warning lamps indicated low oil pressure, dirty oil filter, headlamp high beam indicator. Gauges and dials were “At-a-Glance” easy to read and included a ribbon-type speedometer, a water temperature gauge and a fuel gauge. An all-in-one stalk on the steering column controlled the headlight high-low beam, the turn signals and the horn. Below the instrument panel was a capacious parcel shelf, split in the centre by a console that held a large ashtray, radio and heater controls. The lower lip of the parcel shelf doubled as a safety crash bar.

 Front seat passengers rode in softly cushioned individual seats. Rear passengers were treated to a wide, “superbly comfortable” seat with a centre folding armrest. The interior was upholstered with a hard-wearing, washable vinyl-coated fabric with Ambla face panels on the contact surfaces for good measure. Each car destined for the Canadian market was given fitted nylon carpets with thick sound-insulation for underlay.  Generous door pockets held everything from baby’s bottle to maps (ancient GPS systems). A comfortable ride was ensured by Hydrolastic suspension with its unique float-on-fluid sealed system that had no moving parts.

Rear-seat passengers in the Austin 1800 Mk II rode in luxurious comfort. The pull-down centre armrest was standard equipment.

Extra cost items included an automatic transmission, a heater/defroster, an electrically heated rear window, power-assist steering, reclining front seats, an electric clock, a radio, a hood lock, a cigarette lighter, exhaust trim, a fire extinguisher, a radiator muff, back-up lights, roof racks of differing types, rubber mats, seat covers, supplementary instruments, travel rugs and exterior mirrors.

Despite its size and value, the Austin 1800 Mk II was not a resounding hit with Canadians. Domestic sales of Austin were added together with those of MG to equal 10,020 units for the 1968 calendar year. In 1969 BMC was reorganized into British Leyland. Sales for all BLC brands were lumped together and rang in at 12,275 units for Canada. Austin sales were broken out in 1970 when 5,861 units were delivered. Austin sales of all stripes dropped to 4,554 units in 1971 and edged up ever so slightly to 4,597 units in calendar year 1972. The marque would do considerably better in 1973.

The Austin 1800 Mk II was as equally unmistakable from the rear as it was in the front.

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Copyright James C. Mays 2007
All rights reserved.

1972 Austin Marina

Austin Marina was the first all-new car from the three-year old British Leyland Motor Corporation. Canada was chosen as the world launch site for the sharp-looking compact.

If there ever was an automobile that had all the earmarks of a winner, it was the 1972 Austin

Marina,  brainchild of the British Leyland Motor Corporation. Marina was the first all-new product from BLMC and joined an automotive family that was as blue-blooded as Britain's House of Lords. Each brand in the clan was a legendary icon of motoring, respected the world over. The Austin Marina joined MG, Land Rover, Triumph and Jaguar in BLMC’s stable.

British Leyland itself was the result of a merger between Leyland and the British Motor Corporation. The former built Triumph and the latter, such time-honoured brands as the Austin, Austin-Healey, Morris, MG, Riley, Wolseley and Vanden Plas. The new corporation was ushered into existence in May of 1968 and that same month, plans were laid for the new Marina. It was given the rather unglamorous title of Project ADO 28; ADO standing for nothing more exciting than Amalgamated Drawing Office.

The Austin Marina two-door deluxe coupe sold for $2,395 and weighed in at 934.4 kilos ( 2,060 pounds).

Management required a simple, low-priced car that would compete effectively with the Vauxhall Viva and the Ford Escort in the domestic marketplace. Equally important, they wanted a package that would meet the approval of North American drivers and our driving conditions. The new vehicle would use existing components from other cars in the BLMC stable, nicely wrapped in attractive new sheet metal. Styling mockups were ready for viewing in August of 1968. 

The project got waylaid while management put their energies into sorting out the bewildering number of overlapping brands and models that resulted from the merger. Project ADO 28 languished. It wasn’t until 1971 that the stylish little car was put on the front burner again. This time around, the project was announced to the public. In Britain, the new car would be badged as Morris and replace the now outdated Morris Minor and Morris Oxford series. In the United States, Canada and South Africa, it would carry the stronger Austin name.

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For mechanicals, the Marina was given the 1800 cc MGB engine, tested in over two billion miles of driving. The unit-construction body shell was said to be every bit as tough as the Land Rover. Its rack and pinion steering was like Jaguar’s and the four-speed manual transmission and disc brakes were shared with the Triumph Spitfire. The front suspension was borrowed from the Morris and modified for the new package.

Those in charge of the project initially contemplated front-wheel drive for the new Marina but marketing studies done in Canada for the automaker showed that Canadians did not want or like the technology. Further, front-wheel drive had a reputation as being expensive to buy and difficult to maintain. Since Canada was an important part of the corporate export market strategy, designers and engineers at BLMC shied away from FWD when the results of that study were in.

Price tag for the 1972 Austin Super Deluxe four-door sedan was $2,560.

The exterior design was pleasing. Form followed function. Designers gave the package a slab-sided body with a hint of crease below the door handles. The sedan carried a formal C-pillar and the fastback’s rakish slope looked fast when standing still. Headlights and a colour-keyed centre grille bar floated in a blacked-out opening.

British Leyland was determined to get this one right for the North American market. Long before it ever saw a showroom, the Marina underwent 75,000 miles of tests ranging from Death Valley in California to trips through the Rocky Mountains and cold weather tests in Manitoba and northern Ontario.

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Introduced formally to the North American public on February 22, 1973 as “the gas saving Marina” and “some family car, from some fine family of cars,” Marina was photographed with its kin, so that no one could miss its heritage. The press raved about the Marina. Canada was chosen by BLMC as the place to introduce the Marina to the world market. The editors at Canada Track & Traffic got the scoop on all of North America with their February 1972 test. The four-door sedan was tested extensively on the freshly repaved Cayuga Drag Strip near Toronto. The Austin Marina performed admirably.

Instrument panel was highly functional. GT versions were decked out with faux woodgrain trim.

The interior was roomy if fairly Spartan. The vehicle did offer some nice touches like contoured bucket seats, a full-width parcel shelf under the fully padded instrument panel. The fastback came with a tachometer and woodgrain appliqué on the instrument panel at no extra cost. Seat upholstery was carried throughout the cabin. David Lamb tested the car for CT&T and wrote, “From a driver’s point of view, the front seats are more comfortable than one would expect in a car of this price range.” He went on to say that “At times we drove the car for hours on end yet never had the slightest hint of fatigue or backache.”

Dressing up one’s Marina was fun. The automatic transmission came from Borg-Warner and cost $195. Air conditioning was available for $340. An AM-FM radio made driving more pleasurable. One could order an optional wood or leather-wrapped gearshift knob, GT stripes in gold, silver or black, a luggage rack and optional chrome wheel trim rims looked sharp with the $30 extra spent for a set of snazzy whitewall tires.

The Marina joined all of its British Leyland cousins on the showroom floor--the Austin Mini, the Austin America and the Austin 1800.  Prices for the Austin Marina four-door Super Deluxe Sedan was $2,560. The two-door Deluxe Coupe sold for $2,395 and the GT version added $580 to the bill of sale.

While there are no breakouts for individual brands, British Leyland sold 66,661 units in the US in calendar year 1972, that was nearly the same in 1973 with 65,948 units, despite a crippling coal strike in the UK that forced BL factories to go on a three-day work week. Records show that while BL’s overall sales were down in 1974 to 54,851 units, sales of the Austin Marina rose from 4,694 units delivered in 1973 to 4,761 units in 1974. 

In Canada, sales of all Austin models came to 4,354 units in calendar year 1972.

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The 1975 Austin Marina wore the new 5-mile an hour safety bumpers mandated by Washington. Sales shot through the roof with 13,262 units delivered. Surprisingly, British Leyland withdrew the popular model from the market. Public relations cited “cost pressures” as the reason for the car’s removal. Though it disappeared from the US market in 1974, the Marina continued on in Canada through 1978 when the 1.8-litre engine was discontinued and through 1984 elsewhere in the world. Its tenure with us was brief but pleasant.

 Visit my old car website at http://www.theoilspoteh.ca

Copyright James C. Mays 2006 All rights reserved.