1977 Austin Princess

101sean · 22-11-2010 10:55pm #1

My brother in law was left a car by his uncle recently, got it back from the UK a couple of weeks ago.

It's a fine example of the dying days of the British motor industry, Austin Princess 2200 HL. Had been stored for 10 years, had always been garaged, 40000 miles on the clock and no rust whatsoever. Some minor blemishes and the seats have faded but after a pump up (Hydragas suspension) and cleaned points it runs well. Going to need a tune up and a new clutch.

Any idea what it would be worth, not for sale but would be handy to know for insurance.

8~) · 22-11-2010 11:45pm

In Ireland I'd say about a grand at best... unless you find someone who has a thing for 70s BL metal. They didn't sell well here so don't have the same sentimental value to people as, say, 70s Fords or Opels. And they're not a exec motor like an old Jag or Merc.

That said, if he's considering selling at some time in the future do PM me. I do have a thing for BL stuff.

carchaeologist · 23-11-2010 12:17am

Still, not many about these days. Can't remember when I saw one last.

101sean · 23-11-2010 12:42am

Thankfully it's a half decent colour, I remember someone I worked with in the early 80s who had one in a revolting mustard colour and cream vinyl roof that was nicknamed The Boil

Could have been worse, could have been left an Allegro

Princess HLS · 23-11-2010 3:43pm

Great to see another Princess in Ireland - they are very rare here.
I have 2 Princesses here in Ireland and I had a third which I sold earlier in the year.

My 1978 Princess Special Six
(2200 Automatic):

1979 Princess 2000 HLS (I sold this earlier this year):

1980 Princess 2200 HLS - recently acquired.

This car has undergone a complete restoration in the past 12 months.
New sills, wheel arches, new offside front wing, complete new exhaust, new front doors, replacement rear doors, new clutch, drive shaft.

101sean · 23-11-2010 4:35pm

Wow, they are stunning :cool:

Got your pm, thanks.

carchaeologist · 23-11-2010 6:12pm

Nice work on FAM845W there, the finished job looks showroom fresh. Also that colour suits it well.

Princess HLS · 23-11-2010 7:04pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

Nice work on FAM845W there, the finished job looks showroom fresh. Also that colour suits it well.

Thanks Carchaelogist!

FAM 854W is one of the later model Princesses from August 1980.
It's a 2200 (2227cc) manual version.

It was pushed into a shed in 1995 after the clutch seized on it and was left there until October 2009.
It was then advertised for spares or repair.

One of the chaps in the UK Princess club (PAOC) went to go have a look at it and decided that it was worth taking on as a resto project.
He spent the last 12 months working on it and as you can see from the few pics I've posted, he did a fantastic job returning it to it's former glory.

After cleaning off over 14 years of dust & dirt, the first thing he did was to try get the engine running again.
It took a while but it eventually fired up and after a major service it was soon running smoothly.

The suspension was pumped back up (Hydragas).

The clutch was then freed up and along with new brake pads, some pipe work, a new drive shaft and a complete new exhaust system, it was then on to the body to tackle what had become very rotten in places (outer sills, wheel arches, o/s front wing, front valance and all the door bottoms).

All the rot was cut out & new parts welded back in.
2 new front doors and good replacement rear doors were fitted and the body was prepared and resprayed.

The interior is in very good condition so needed nothing more than a deep clean.

The engine has only 64,000 which even in 1995 was low mileage for a 15 year old car.

We will be going to the UK to collect it on 14th Dec and it should be on Irish soil on 16th Dec and off to the VRT & NCT soon after.

It will hopefuly make its Irish rally debut at the Blessington Car Clubs' Mince Pie Run on 27th December

junkyarddog · 23-11-2010 7:35pm

I had a Pagent blue one,same as the car in the pic,
mine had the 1.8 B-series engine.
The car was a total wreck,but it never failed to start or complete a journey.
Swapped it along with a mk2 escort for a '78 corolla coupe.(which I still have).

macplaxton · 23-11-2010 7:50pm

101sean wrote: »

My brother in law was left a car by his uncle recently, got it back from the UK a couple of weeks ago.

Just as an aside, vehicles acquired through inheritance may be exempt from VRT if supporting documentary evidence is supplied to the Revenue.

Doesn't really matter much on €50 Category C (unless you are a tight-wad like me

), but may be of interest to some with potentially bigger VRT bills.

8~) · 23-11-2010 9:49pm

I saw the for sale ad for FAM845W. Not a bad price and the interior is very tidy looking. Nice - look forward to seeing it at a show next year.

Princess HLS · 23-11-2010 10:29pm

You can follow the full rescue & restoration story here:

http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=readersrides&action=display&thread=90805

Here are a few photos:

Tony

MercMad · 24-11-2010 4:53pm

Hardly a "full restoration" to be fair, but quality none the less ! It retains a lot of its originality and the finish looks fabulous. The owner complains about his lack of welding skills, I'd give him a job any day........teaching me !!

Best of luck with it Tony, I'll miss that mince pie run but look forward to seeing it soon !

Princess HLS · 24-11-2010 8:23pm

Thanks Merc Mad.

You've misunderstood or mis quoted when you say 'full restoration'.

What I said above was 'full rescue & restoration' in relation to the link whereby one could read the full story!

Regards,

Tony.

johnos1984 · 25-11-2010 1:13am

Princess HLS I bought my old Maxi from Ken Davis and I was following that Princess closely. Sorry i didn't buy it but glad to see it in Ireland. I assume he still has the sporty BRM?

SEAN101: As on the wedge forum let me know what you intentions are for that Princess. I'm looking for a wedge of cheese

I'm one of the few BL nuts in Ireland

101sean · 25-11-2010 12:43pm

Not for sale at the moment but you never know!

I'll have to sign up to the owners forum on Peter's behalf, he doesn't do computers much, anyone got a link to save me searching?

Also, while I'm being lazy, do you guys know off hand what the BL or Borg & Beck part nos are for a full clutch kit?

Princess HLS · 25-11-2010 2:46pm

Clutch Repair Kit Part No: BHM 7051

I have a full BL Princess Parts Catalogue so if you need any other parts numbers let me know.

Tony

Princess HLS · 25-11-2010 2:48pm

The Princess & Ambassador Owners Club (PAOC) website is:
http://www.princessandambassador.org.uk/

That is the official club website.

An excellent enthusiast run website is:
http://www.leylandprincess.co.uk/leylandprincess_index.htm

Tony

Princess HLS · 28-12-2010 8:32pm

johnos1984 wrote: »

Princess HLS I bought my old Maxi from Ken Davis and I was following that Princess closely. Sorry i didn't buy it but glad to see it in Ireland. I assume he still has the sporty BRM?

SEAN101: As on the wedge forum let me know what you intentions are for that Princess. I'm looking for a wedge of cheese

I'm one of the few BL nuts in Ireland

Hi John,

Yes indeed, Kev still has the sporty motor.

He was asking me if you ever managed to sell that Maxi??

Tony

Princess HLS · 28-12-2010 8:39pm

Had the pair of them out today so took a few pics (on my phone, hence poor quality)
FAM 854W was over at the NCT/VRT in Greenhills on 16th Dec for registration but, as expected, no stat code was available so I'm awaiting word back from the VRT in Rosslare for it before I can get new plates, tax etc.
Apparently, if a model type is not registered within 6 months of a previous registration, then the existing stat code is deleted from the system!!
I have to say that the NCT staff were very helpfull in comparison to previous VRT dealings....

geespot · 28-12-2010 8:59pm

used to like these back in the day although they were scarce cant imagine they or the most reliable though

101sean · 28-12-2010 9:21pm

From what I've read, I don't think reliability was the problem as such once the range had settled down, it was the state of BL, industrial relations and build quality. Too big a variety of models within BL, better competition and the onset of Japanese imports also didn't help.

I don't know whether any other owners have come across cases of sabotage but it went on as well, found a tin of sardines behind a panel in a 1971 Land Rover I scrapped several years ago, waste of time in a LR, never noticed it all the time I drove it :rolleyes:

aidhan · 28-12-2010 11:26pm

Princess HLS wrote: »

Clutch Repair Kit Part No: BHM 7051

I have a full BL Princess Parts Catalogue so if you need any other parts numbers let me know.

Tony

I came across a sales brochure for the princess in the attic recently if its of interest to you ?

Anan1 · 29-12-2010 1:03am

101sean wrote: »

I don't know whether any other owners have come across cases of sabotage but it went on as well, found a tin of sardines behind a panel in a 1971 Land Rover I scrapped several years ago, waste of time in a LR, never noticed it all the time I drove it :rolleyes:

Did you buy it new?;)

johnos1984 · 29-12-2010 4:52am

Princess HLS wrote: »

Hi John,

Yes indeed, Kev still has the sporty motor.

He was asking me if you ever managed to sell that Maxi??

Tony

Hi Tony,

PM me where you are based as I am looking for a bit of wedge tastic cheese at the minute, or a least a test drive before i go abroad

Yes I sold the Maxi, it put me through my hdip. Times got better and I bought an sd1.....then they got hard again.

But they are better now long term so I am in the market again!

I'm in Wicklow and at the very least would really enjoy a look

John

101sean · 29-12-2010 8:31pm

Did you buy it new?

No, I had it for about 5 years in which time it saw some serious abuse, never heard any unusual rattles, previous owner had had it from new.

It had got to the stage it needed a new chassis and was a month too new to be UK tax free so I scrapped it, which is when I found the sardines.

w124man · 01-01-2011 7:12pm

Thought you might like to know that I was the Prototype Build Engineer back in the day when the ADO71 was prepared for the 'O' series engine in the series 2 cars. Within the budgetary constraints we did a good job with a bad engine .....
I then worked on LC10 which was the Austin Maestro before I left.

carchaeologist · 01-01-2011 9:37pm

Didn't the Wolseley version of these have a straight six mounted transversly?

w124man · 02-01-2011 3:48pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

Didn't the Wolseley version of these have a straight six mounted transversly?

Yes. It was the E2200 6 cylinder unit which was effectively one and a half Maxi 1.5 units! There were a number of 2600 E series transverse engines in prototype form at the time, one of which found its way into my Wolseley Six from 1973. There were plenty of E series 2600 inline engines about as this was used in a version of the Marina in South Africa.

There was two 4wd ADO71 cars in existence as well around that time but I have no idea what happened to them.

quattro777 · 03-01-2011 6:33pm

You wedge perverts probably know about this already but just in case.

"The very first ever BL Wedge, a Morris 1800 chassis 101, is up 4 grabs. It's very rusty. And it's free"

http://www.auto****e.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10178

carchaeologist · 03-01-2011 8:51pm

Im gonna stick this in here as its appropriate to the thread.

Its a Woodhall Nicholson Hebden apparently. Last taxed Dec 1996.

1977 Austin Princess

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