I'm probably the only Yank who was dumb enough to personally import two Allegros to the States, a Sandglow series 2 Estate then much later a denim blue Series 3, both long gone but I'm still in touch with the current owner of the series 3 who himself recently imported a triumph Acclaim Automatic
I like. At the time my father considered it to replace his Rekord. I remember that it cost a little less than the other competitors. A few hundred were imported into Italy
in 1980 i bought a 45k mile one owner 01975 Allegro 1750 sport in Harvest gold. On my way home (3 miles!) the alternator failed. Then the brake pads. Within a week the clutch went. Then i realised the carw as doing about 150 miles before needing a pint of oil. It went back to the garage who said that was normal. So it went to a well renowned local garage to have a recon engine. Two days later the new Austin branded timing chain snapped. Luckily no valve damage. The gear box then failed Over the next few weeks a tie bar pulled through the chassis, and I fitted a number of new drive shafts and CV joints. On week five a ball joint snapped, and the gearbox failed. So, It went in to have a recon gearbox. A week later the flywheel came off the crankshaft wrecking the engine in the process. So another engine. Then a drive shaft failed. I got it running and put it through the local car auction. Losing over half the original investment. But of course I had spent 3 times that repairing it. Just about 6 months after buying the car it had nearly bankrupted me. I bought a Marina. Too days later the grar box failed/i scrapped it and bought an old Cortina. I used that car for three years to recoup my finances. A revelation to drive a car that worked. Decades passed and a variety of Fords, Renaults Fiat, Vauxhalls, Audis and BMW's passed through my hands. Like an idiot in 2004, I decided I had been to hard on BL. I bought a 4 year old Range Rover 4.0 HSE. The whole nightmare started once more...
So when they put the recon engine in did they not do up the flywheel bolts? And your gearbox guy needs a chat about the driveshafts. I had an Allegro for 5 years with zero issues.
I started work at a BL dealer a month after the launch of the Allegro. I thought it was a great car, easy to work on, no real faults worth talking about which were not easily resolved! It was a much better car than the old 1100/1300 in my opinion. If only it had been a hatchback, I can't imagine that we'd be having this discussion. Under rated and I loved them!
My dad bought a 1.1 in 1979. It had a face like a Pug but was comfy. Loads of people bought them as well as the Marina. From my recollection they only became unpopular in the 80s as better and more refined cars came along.
The Allegro was a pretty good car. Much more comfortable than the Ford Escort. The only one I ever had bother with was the 1750 sport. I put that down to the fact it had probably been driven harder by previous owners. I'd happily drive an Allegro even today. Simple to service & simple to fix if anything goes wrong. If BL had stuck with the original design the car would have been as popular as it's predecessor
I had a 1300 Allegro, kept it a couple of years, it was a cracking little family car that served our needs, it was the car i bought my children home in, it was the car that got me to work everyday and the car that gave us independence as a family all for £195, i put a new clutch in and finally sold it for £250, say whatever you like but when we needed a car, the Austin Allegro done more than we could of ever asked for, about time we started appreciating these cars and realise they helped us build what we have today!!
I had a white Allegro circa 1983, a time when I was picking up cars with an mot at auction for less than £50 and scrapping for not much less when the mots expired. My memory is that it was quite warm, could handle a bit of snow, and had a funny shaped steering wheel. It was very uncool though 😅
I had several Leyland cars that people love to knock - wedge shaped Princess and Ambassador, two Marina estates, a Maxi and an Allegro. All were cheap to buy used, easy/cheap to service and work on. They carried me around reliably for years when I didn't have much money. I liked them a lot.
could easy get parts from the scrap yard and fit them yourself had one allegro that had every different colour on its doors and bonnet taught the future wife to drive in it
My dad had one. It scared the living daylights out of him going around roundabouts, if it ever started in the first place, hed have to change bulbs and fuses on a very regular basis. And when repairing it something else would break. He used to leave the keys in and no one would steal it. Very roomy and comfortable though.
At least your dad realised - my old man had one in 75 and suffered the famous 'wheel falling off' incident although I do understand this was due to poor maintenance at the dealer - but nevertheless it was a weak car. And then he gave me an old cheap one at 17 for my first car - maybe he was trying to kill me off 🤣🤣🤣🤣Very generous to get me a cheap old car - don't want to sound ungrateful - but why oh why would you choose an Allegro!!!!
The Allegro wasn’t that bad - in engineering terms it was rather advanced for the time. As you rightly said, it had big shoes to fill, and just didn’t have the style that buyers demanded. In fact, if anything, it looked too European. But I wouldn’t class it as the worst car ever made. For many owners it offered comfortable, reliable and cost effective motoring. It did it’s job - but would always be tarnished with the ‘flying plug hole’ badge on the front wings.
My Dad had a 1750 Sport Austin Allegro. It had the square steering wheel. It was actually a great car and really good on long trips. We had family in Bristol and would drive there from Dover. We also took it to Spain on one holiday. The engine was very powerful and the hydragas suspension smoothed out the roads.
Bought a lime green Allegro 1300 automatic estate with no reverse gear for £10 from Guildford car auction in 1990. It was fine and I only got caught out once because I couldn't reverse. Learnt to park leaving large gaps and used right foot out of door to push it back if I had to. Great fun and makes you think outside the box 😅.
Most of the anti British Leyland stories were created by the other car makers, who wanted a bigger share of the market, the cars were no worse than any of the competition, in fact the Leyland Cars were far more modern than much of the competition in many ways.
In 1988 I was in need of a cheep car as a stop gap so I bought a 1979 Allegro with 75,000 miles on the clock, I'd heard all the horror stories but decided to ignore them. I ran that little gem for 2 years and all it needed was a new alternator after about 6 months. I lost a hub cap and got a replacement from a scrap yard for 50 pence. It was the 1300 mark 2 in bright orange with black velour seats, really comfortable. A bit of choke and started whatever the weather, really reliable and did between 40 and 45 miles to the (imp) gallon. When I got married I sold it to my wife's sister who ran it trouble free until some idiot ran into the back of it and wrote it off. I have very fond memories of that car.
In 1985 I bought my mum an orange 1300 Allegro..... And you know what. There was feck all wrong with it. It was perfectly adequate for my wee mum to run to the shops or collect me from the pub. Ok it burnt a little oil and was fond of a set of plugs too often but mum loved it. It had bags of character and plenty of smile's per miles....
As an American, I'm absolutely loving your videos about the British cars nobody seems to want to remember or talk about (except me!). I seem to remember reading somewhere that the original door handles on the Lotus Esprit were sourced from the Austin Allegro?
The door handles were used across a wide range of vehicles - I'm not sure if the Marina was first to use them, the lotus esprit and TR7 sports cars did, as did the Stonefield 4x4 and 6x4 off-road goods vehicles
A very good friend of mine bought a brand new Allegro estate when they first came out. I must admit, I gave him a bit of a gentle ribbing about it at the time, but he wasn't a petrol head and needed a small, but roomy, estate car. The Allegro fitted the bill. Fast forward a year or so, and he's driving into work early one morning. Its a clear, blue sky, and he's driving eastwards, straight into the sun, which was only just above the horizon. He remembers driving into the underpass, but the next thing he remembers is waking up in hospital, with a splitting headache! There was a roadsweeper clearing the underpass, and the lane had not been closed! He never even had chance to brake, and hit it at a considerable speed! He was only in hospital for a couple of days. He got away with bad concussion, and lots of cuts an bruises, but nothing actually broken. He was off work for a few weeks until the doctors were sure he was OK. The police called it a miracle escape! When he went to the scrapyard to retrieve his personal possessions, the folk there were reluctant to let him near the remains of his car. They couldn't believe that anyone had got out of it alive, let alone with relatively minor injuries! The car was completely destroyed, yet the front passenger compartment had protected him extremely well. The car may have been a joke, but it was certainly strong! It saved my friend's life, and I viewed them in a different light after that!
the All-agro, as it was know when I was an apprentice in the early '80s, got its name because so many things used to go wrong with them compared to most other British built cars at the time. and once a name sticks its difficult to shake it off. the car was a very good all-rounder, well designed with excellent packaging and I for one liked the styling. a good range of engines and trim levels gave it a very broad appeal. I much preferred the Allegro over its predecessor the 1100. it should have had a hatch-back from the outset like the Maxi. so what if the two cars would have competed against each other with some buyers - a sale is a sale!
It also puzzles me that there was no 5 door estate version of the mark one and mark two Ford Escort. They only did the estate versions of these as 3 door.
The styling. It’s just wrong. If it had been a looker I think a lot would have been forgiven. It’s too fat,it’s not a hatchback,the front is too fussy. This was a time of clean lines and BL served up a suet pudding.
I did an Audi launch event and during our product training much was made of the interconnected suspension control system using gas and fluid and the squared off steering wheel ……. Just like an Allegro I piped up! It’s incredible how many once laughed at BMC/BLMC/BL/ARG/Rover ideas and designs when looked at intelligently are actually very good. Austin were true innovators while Ford and GM were plodders. Plodding was a much better idea back then 🤣
@@gravelDave From the outside looking in it appears that the supporters of Red Robbo didn't have the nowse to realise that they were consigning themselves to oblivion. The striking workers must have cost themselves and their families a brighter future.
BL did not have the $$$ to invest in modern assembly methods. Juts look at the videos. Blokes on cloth caps and cardigans using hand tools to bolt the cars together.
@@ataxpayer723 BL did not have the $$$ to invest simply due irresponsible and incompetent financial management. All the other mainstream vehicle manufacturers of the era 1968 to 1986 not only found the $$$ but actually grew. BL management was a ship of fools captained by Vassal Lords who operated in the same manner as their nobility forefathers treating workers as Surfs. They were so useless the government has to step in like child protection officers. Unsurprisingly Barber, Turnbull, Edwardes, Musgrove, Day all personally did well financially with some of them even being Knighted for incompetence. No surprises then when BMW took over none of the aforementioned were offered roles.
@@ataxpayer723 If only the blokes in cloth caps had actually assembled cars to be sold then monies could have been reinvested into BL. You can't sell cars while the (not) workers are outside on strike. The money lost during strikes could have been the difference. I worked in England for 5 years and was shocked by the class system and the poor attitudes of the incorrectly named 'working class'. They were their own worst enemy.
My first car was a white Allegro 1300 (Mk 1), but without the quartic steering wheel. I really loved that car, the ride was so smooth, especially compared to other cars I'd been in up until then. It did let me down on the M1 one day when the water pump failed at 70mph! By the time I got it stopped the engine block had cracked!!!! I had a reconditioned replacement engine that worked fine for the rest of the time I had that car. I still have fond memories of it. Jonathan.
The Allegro biggest problem was BLs management attitude towards staff in turn causing hostility, BL really could have been a world beater but always so many missed opportunities.
Dad had allegros from before I was born, with the last one passed becoming her first car, a white estate that we got when building our house, carrying bags of cement, etc. He had about 6 in that time I believe. Best car in the snow he has ever driven, a car that would get him up into the tree covered hills in the Forest of Dean when volvos, saab, and everything else could not get up. Only thing he ever had problems with was doing ball joints, a lot! And oil consumption. The 1.5 twin choke was quite lively back then. A lot of people that bought them thought they were good. A lot of people that never had one have heard or watched the Clarkson style slating. By the time the later ones were introduced, they were pretty good. Just as good or better than most of the competitors offerings of the time
Looks like Madeline Bell worked there between stints at The Benny Hill Show and the guy from Please Sir got an apprenticeship there after leaving Fenn St School
I got a white 1500 (early 1976 P reg) from my parents as a first car (borrowed, eventually transferred to my name in 1990 when it was all but dead with a vague plan to fix it). When my parents bought it in 1986/7 it has been stored over winter without antifreeze and needed a replacement cylinder head Being quite spirited as a new driver may have contributed to the engine overheating and a crack developing the engine block. Copious amounts of block seal cured this, then the water pump went (can't think why). Replaced the water pump with some help and large levers. Then it was a complete surprise that the radiator started leaking ... that was 'repaired' with fibreglass ... then the cracked engine started weeping (eventually getting to motorway journeys being carried out at 50mph to get more distance between overheat / stop on hard shoulder to add water / occasionally chat to the police about letting the engine cool down before adding water as adding cold water to a hot engine might crack the block / drive until it overheats cycle ... at 70 it overheated in about 5 mins!). I fitted a household 20A switch to the dash to bypass the thermostatic fan switch so I could start cooling early in traffic / leave it on at higher speeds) All of that could be traced to the treatment by a previous owner (apart perhaps from a tiny bit of blame going to the numpty with the fibreglass ...) ... The fan switch mod (and the coat hanger aerial in the shape of a waving hand were just normal mods for these poor cars then! The only other issues I had were the clutch slave cylinder failing (just outside a motor parts shop) and the drivers seat springs breaking on a motorway slip road (1001 uses for a bungee clip) ... and the slightly perished rubber fuel pipe that looped over the camshaft cover needing replacing before it started leaking petrol on a hot surface ... Compared with other cheap first cars in the late 80s, it was roomy, comfortable and fast ... it even had a 5 speed gearbox! And most of the time you could change gears fine (OK, towards the end first was a long way to the left, maybe something had broken at that point) Fond memories of a reasonably good first car ... much better than legend has it As to BL, it wasn't the only car company plagued by strikes in the 70s ... not even the only one in the UK ... but perhaps it had worse relations internally than companies that a well meaning government hadn't forced to merge ...
I've owned them consistently for 30 years, current one for 12 years. I've never had an unreliable one, proper maintenance helps with this. I have driven then all over Europe too. I love them, but realise that I'm in a minority. But yes to my mind it typifies British 70s motoring. Harris Mann was very much a lovely man and was very approachable.
My first car, was a N reg allegro, Many happy memories of that car, it spent more time off the road, than on the road. That’s why it was called the Austin aggro ..
Allegro great car had one for 10 yrs , also had a Austin 1100 another good car done 130000 miles in that one , always bought British cars don't have a choice now sadly 🇬🇧
Amazingly practically every car manufacturer with a performance version of their cars now uses a variant of the quartic steering wheel. Even more oddly is the fact that my 2006 Defender TD5 appears to use the same switchgear for the indicators 34 years after they were shown in the Allegro and possibly even earlier on other models.
Love the Allegro my Dad owned 2 as family cars growing up in New Zealand, a brand new 1979 Austin Allegro LE 1300 4 speed and mid 1980's he brought a Lovely 0ne owner 1976 1300 Super which I learnt to drive in. I have recently brought a New Zealand 1978 Austin Allegro 1500 LE Automatic they are actually a great design roomy and modern feeling for the period being front wheel drive . Great review Tom Loving your videos here in New Zealand 👍🏼.
Compared to Japanese and German cars they were technically inferior, unreliable and expensive to run. After ww2 the interference of Professor Harold Laski economic policies made British industry uncompetitive and we lost our car and ship building industry.
The 1750 sport was a load of fun. The biggest problem with the allegro was the lack of a hatchback -allegedly due to the idea it would take sales from the maxi....
Good point GM/Chevrolet had some great cars that could have changed a lot of minds but anytime something was too sporty or had too much power the Brass Hat guys would say it would eat into Corvette territory. The first time I saw an Opal Monza Coupe I thought why don't we have that in the US. And we did it was called a Toyota Supra.
@@markcollins457I Used to work in a Vauxhall /Opel main dealer in the eighties and used to work on and drive the monza coupes and senators. Haven't seen one for years as sadly due to our climate they have long since dissolved 😪. My favourite Monza coupe was the mid eighties facelift model.
The company I was driving for acquired a brand new Allegro and I was assigned it on day one. I managed to drive it out of the underground car park and about 100 yards down the road before the gear linkage broke in the middle of a busy junction. The company sent the car back - I wasn’t upset!
My first car was an Allegro 1500 SDL Estate, my mates ridiculed me but it was great, always started on cold, wet mornings and never let me down. My mum had a 1500 Automatic saloon, same applied. My uncle had a 1300SDL, totally abused it for 5 years and it always kept going, although he did rate the (much newer) Mk.5 Cortina 2.0GL that replaced it far better. I think it was just the odd shape that folks didn't like. Like it's predecessor the 1100/1300 (again my parents had one which they loved) they were tidy cars with the bombproof A-Series engine.
Or insurance man used to come around every month collecting the monthly installments. I was just a kid but I remember him buying an allegro when it first appeared, he was so impressed with it showing it off to me. Can't remember how long after but he got a puncture, took it to a tyre garage to get it fixed and they buckled the body and the window popped out. I can't remember the outcome as BL was blaming the garage for jacking it up in the wrong place the garage was blaming BL for not sending any instructions about jacking points, I do know the replacement wasn't another allegro 😂
The Allegro definitely showed how fragmented BL was and that meant it could never be the world beater that BL hoped it would be. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad car, far from it. I’ve had mine 5 months and it’s charming, reliable, easy to work on and practical. I can’t think of many more usable classics for the money
Curiously, it's near contemporary the Alfasud was a very similar shape and size, yet it looked fabulous and handled brilliantly. A classic example of "the devil is in the detail". To be fair it had a flat four which helped to lower the bonnet line. Unfortunately, they also rusted away as you watched them, so you almost never see one these days. As an aside, it's quite amusing to see all those idiots voting themselves out of a job under the leadership of Red Robbo.
I drove one in the early 80's to test as a potential second hand purchase for the friend of a mate. I remember it as entirely boring, the only distinguishing aspect of the car was it was brown, which summed it up.
Another fantastic example of a great viewing thank you your channel it’s leap ahead of car channels because it’s on facts not up selling like other car channels which I don’t agree, maté keep up on good work
My driving instructor had a new one, he was so proud of it. After two months the engine completely failed, and took months to replace. I had to find a new instructor with a working car.
Truly terrible car. I had a mark 1, 1300 (with the square steering wheel). The front wheel never wanted to stay attached to the hub. I bought the "mod kit", supposed to rectify the fault. It made no difference. Absolute junk.
I owned an Allegro in the Netherlands. It was the worst car I ever owned. This Allegro was my first and definitely last British car. I don't understand why the motto of British engineering is: "Why make it simple when it can also be done as difficult as possible". An example: when I tried to change the bulb of a failing headlight, I found out that you had to replace THE WHOLE LAMP UNIT! In a "normal" car the replacement of a bulb would cost a few guilders (then we had stil guilders). The lamp unit cost me 229 guilders (about 100 UK pounds). Maintenance of this car was very expensive, because of the high prices of the parts and because everything that could brake down would brake down. After a few months I traded the Allegro in (with a big loss) for a Volgswagen Golf which I had for many years.
In the U.K at least it wasn't unusual to replace the whole headlight on many cars effectively that was the bulb and known as a sealed beam head light. They were known as sealed beam head lights and were available in 7inch round , square and oblong lamps. they weren't that dear either as I remember. there were conversion units that would take a bulb either old type globular bulb or at the time new H7 with a better beam pattern through the lens unit.
Great video 👍 The failure of the design was as explained by retropower engineer "the heater and bulkhead has the biggest impact of any car build". The other reason was the over tall engine's etc.
Fair points made and strikes combined with grossly incompetent management was the slow suicide of the British car industry. I owned 2 Allegro estate cars at different times, either side of giving German cars a try because my first 2 cars had been Beetles and they were well made. By contrast the early Golf was tinny and expensive and the Passat was an electrical disaster. VW thought that its name would continue the myth of good engineering and the French jumped into the gap. Strange Renaults and Citroens were actually rather brilliant and when the Renault 5 arrived, so did the hatchback as a stylish and likeable performer. The flat bottom and strong upper frame made it good for sports too. It was actually strong despite using light steel. I never took to the BMCL 1100/1300 simply because the Italian style was a waste of body space and the engine was no longer efficient in MPG or ability to be tweaked (except by Triumph and MG) to have enough quality in build or steel quality for flat panels to make sense. It sold well because there were no other British choices at the price point and was heavily discounted at dealerships. The Fiesta and Corsa were yet to arrive and Rootes was in chaos after the Imp had been insufficiently developed -- with plants being 400 miles apart and a 4-door or hatch would have done well. The Allegro's design and mechanicals made for a good all round small/medium type car without Italian designers and with comfort, safety and low maintenance baked in. The Hydrogas suspension would have been trumpeted by other car makers and the low air resistance was nothing like the square boxes made by everyone else. The estate actually heralded the far later MPV products from Japan and making a hatch version from the start would have created a winner for Europe and Commonwealth countries. It needed a range of engines from small for the basic family saloon/hatch to what the Renault 5 series and Peugeot 205 became with different trim levels and either Laycock overdrive or a 5-speed box on a possible 1500 cc as well as a diesel version. The stupid steering wheel was actually easily replaced with a normal one in dealerships but was actually quite usable as it was -- except in late pregnancy! Lights and warning lights all round were the right size and proper Smiths/Lucas dials borrowed from Triumph would have avoided internal blandness. However, the UK media interested in BL strife settled on the Allegro for spitefulness and so did motoring TV programmes. Calling it the Allegro was a bad decision when it was not designed for chucking around so much as daily, solid, reliable use, good MPG and economy for owners from the suspension and CVs simple elegance with a tight turning circle alone. When in doubt about names use letters and numbers instead.
My father bought an Allegro from new. And it was a complete load of rubbish, with numerous faults. My dad reckoned it was definitely made on a Friday! On one particular occasion, he was driving at night, went over a bump and the headlights went out. Fortunately, he was able to stop safely and get the car recovered. It turned out that there were wires going into the fuse box, and wires going out of the fuse box, but NONE of the connections had actually been soldered! Easy enough to fix, but a fault that could have caused a fatality.
i had a picture on the wall of my room of a Austin Allegro removed from the Swiss 1974 Automobile Revue catalogue. I just love the styling of the Allegro, it is a beautiful car.
The Allegro was really an insult to the ADO16, It's forerunner, Until i started watching these videos, I never knew how important the ADO16 was. The early design, if followed through would have been a worthy successor but again management interference made the final design ugly, It didn't even look a 70's car, Forget the strikes etc nothing could of saved that car. To replace a car that beat the mighty Cortina in sales with the Allegro, Hang your heads in shame BL.
As an American, I find all of these disaster videos about the British car industry fascinating. What I never see is any sort of interviews with former BL management on videos. Are those guys just so ashamed they never give interview interviews?
ADO16 was assembled in Australia too with as much local content as possible. They were hugely popular. They were just everywhere. We never got the Allegro at all.
@loveisall5520 The reason why is that a lot of the worst of BL happened in the 60's, 70's and early 80's, Most of those in charge were middle aged back then and have passed away.
1st car was an Austin 1100. 8 years old when I bought it and needed some welding! Then in March 79 bought a brand new Allegro 1100 while serving with the RAF in Germany. Sold it to my brother when posted to Cyprus in 83. He wrote it off😂 My Allegro was a pretty reliable car though and I loved it. Went on to own a Maestro and MG Montego, all of which were good reliable cars.
I had a '74 Allegro in' 89. Drove it thousands of miles, including a tour of the north of England in the summer. It just kept going, only needing a clutch change by 1992. Sold it, got a Maestro. Another great car.
I had an 1100 Allegro from just over a year old. It was totally reliable returned circa 45mpg and good on rough welsh roads with its floaty Hydrolastic susp. Only comments were - strange occasional buzzing from driveshafts and heavy oil consumption for some reason (wasnt leaking and plugs looked normal). Only ever out of the ordinary expense was a new rear exhaust box.
When you look back at Mann’s original design sketches, for what became the Allegro, it’s an absolute tragedy. If BL had had the guts to stick with the design, forget about the bigger E-Series engines, and made it a hatchback, it might have stood a chance. The original idea wasn’t bad, in fact it had a hint of the gorgeous Alfasud about it. Imagine that original design, with a flat four, and a hatchback, that could have been a car to take on the Alfasud, the VW Golf, and the small family hatchbacks that other manufacturers were developing at that time, but unfortunately BL management couldn’t have seen a good idea if it had hit them in the face. Of course even if they had managed to build Mann’s original design, the permanent strikes at BL would probably have doomed the Allegro in any case.
I had 2 of these back in the 80's... CV Joints kept getting replaced! They were shite... But I loved both cars! Worth a small fortune now though!.... Miss them!
3:50 Ford Pinto looks. I havent forgotten to post the Austin Rover workshop coat. Just been hectic in the family dad ill. Local post office closed etc.
We had one for a few months, couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Every time I turned the wheel to go around a corner I expected the wheels to follow the direction but the body to keep moving ahead. I've never felt that sensation in any other car.
Shame that it didn’t do so well. I got one that my Grandad didn’t need any more and it was a great first car. Easy to work on and it drove well. Mine didn’t have one of those square steering wheels, but I gather Audi’s now have a square steering wheel, so it can’t have been that bad an idea.
Way back in the early 80s when my Range Rover caught fire I needed another car urgently and bought a 1500 allegro estate. Was a great car (although different to the Rover) for camping holidays. Loads of space for all the gear and plenty of power to haul it about..
The "all aggro" was our family car, I didn't drive it much as I had motorbikes but the main memory is the horrific oil consumption! My dad worked as a draghtsman at BL in Wellingborough, which I think was either an engine or prototype engine plant, probably the former as it was quite large. The car had no radio and was pretty basic but it did always start and get you there. It had a standard sterring wheel [it was a 1979 model], no ABS, traction control, ESC, power steering and a four speed box. It didn't have a lot of power either.
I had the estate version - I loved it. Yes it developed a list to port and needed the suspension pumping up every few weeks but it was a comfortable ride and home maintenance was quite easy - those were the days.
Would put the Allegro in the same category as the ex demonstration Mini Metro that I bought from the dealership. The damn thing nearly killed me when it suddenly spun round in the road as the glued rubber suspension mounting broke.
I had a ten year old 1100cc one in the ‘80s. It was OK. Great on snow with its low power engine and skinny tyres. It needed a new clutch plate which I fitted in a morning myself at a cost of £6. A new exhaust was £13 fitted by Kwikfit. I repainted it by hand with Dulux gloss so it looked really smart.
I passed my driving test in an Austin 1300, in 1973. My Dad had a brand new Allegro a few years later. So I am qualified to comment, I think?. 😀 Both cars were OK, but we sort of expected imperfections in even new cars in those days. The A series engine, for all its praise, had outlived its sell-by date. Only three main bearings and it had a thirst for oil even when new. It was when Ford came out with reliable (but mechanically very simple) cars like the Cortina and Escort that BL's offerings were seen to fall short.
My first car was an Allegro. When it ran it was a very smooth ride, but the engine started burning alot of oil and it went to the scrap man. Fond memories and it really wasnt that bad of a car
I was born in late 72 so these cars by BL/Austin/Morris and the like where the cars I saw as a kid. You’d see maxis with headlights and wings missing, the Princess looked so weird you’d laugh if you saw one. My dad had a Marina but crashed it. In the end we got a Cortina then a Datsun 100A. Must admit though the old fella next door had a real posh Triumph with a special sounding engine and another up the road had a Vandem Plas Allegro. Both looked quite good. Love your channel Tom.
As a teenager in the 70's the joke that was Leyland was always blamed on the unions. They didn't help but the stylists, designers and management deserve equal blame. Allegro Vs Escort? Marina Vs Cortina? A sprawling mess with everyone working against each other
Shame, having owned an earlier ADO16 and Allegro, the Allegro was far better, the E series engine was not a favourite for me, the gearchange was poor, jumping from an Allegro to an Escort was like winning the pools, the Ford being a much sportier drive. But the 1974 Allegro I had was well put together,superior paint and finish to an ADO or Escort, and in my opinion nicely styled. I think the UK press have always been anti British, they loved Leyland bashing, and took the pi. Sss out of Rover, until it was gone. Bear in mind Ford, best sellers throughout the 70s, had enormous strike problems as well, one Motorshow I remember they had no cars to display, due to strikes.
i absolutely loved them, over the years I've owned over 50 of them, there was a time before the internet where people used to ring me for specifications, tips and tricks on fixing them, even cross referring all the parts, I even built my own 5 door Estate version, from an estate version and a saloon, saloon been in a rear end crunch and the state with a front end crunch. made one very beautiful car. only problem is I only liked the harvest gold ones. oh and they have to be 1300, didn't care for the vdp front end, but nearly everyone that I personally ran had the vdp interior including the dashboard fitted. lol
I remember reading articles about this car back in the 70's I didn't give it a second glance for one reason it wasn't available here in the US and the style i found mundane. But a Datsun 510 was available and the smart styling caught my eye. It's a shame so many car companies made made corporate mistakes in the in the 70's on both sides of the pond.
I worked at a BL dealer in the mid 70s. We had so many cars, Princesses, Allegros mainly coming back with warranty claims. It was a real pity because the cars themselves were leagues ahead in tech terms of the Escorts and Cortinas and Vivas and Victors etc. Shame that cost cutting and poor management coupled with the militant unions destroyed some great designs!
We had a brand new Austin Maxi 1500 at work as a pool car. I loved driving it super comfy seats! I remember when you engaged first to accelerate away strongly, the engine and transmission would rock backwards and forwards quite violently and the gear knob Jesé to dip down by about two inches ha ha!
I bought a 1980 Allegro Equipe in 83 .... It was alright, but didn't stay standard for long as I modified the airbox with twin K and N's and got Janspeed of Salisbury to upgrade the exhaust manifold and throughput exhaust .... A good car, but a little off putting on corners as there was no anti sway bar at the rear ....
When I watched this it brought back a lot of memories of being a teenager in those times, I was proud to be British, but ashamed of the unions and the management, it was not just Layland, ford and Vauxhall were just as bad. It just seemed as though each side HAD to win and the real losers was our industry. The agro as it was called was laughed at by everyone but no-one cared, if you do see one of these at a classic car show nowadays they are loved by their owners because if you get a good one they go on forever. Britain at that time, we could have been world beaters but we ended up being beat by the world.
There are worse cars than the Allegro for sure, but they weren't put together very well and the styling was awkward. It should also have been a hatchback like the Maxi.
My Grandfathers last car was a 1300 1972 allegro. He owned it from new until his death 10 years later. Never had any problems with it (unlike the Toledo that preceded it) if only it had been a hatchback though.
I Learnt to drive in an Alegro, Had a brand new one on the day of my test.... Passed first time..I owe it a debt of gratitude. I liked it. ADO16 was a good car too!
Mates dad had an allergo, it was a terrible car. It was constantly in the garage. When it was on the road it was like being sat inside a box of spanners. Everything rattled, felt like it was going to fall apart.
My father traded in his Austin 1300 for an Allegro. Not a terrible family car for it's time, but it had no power steering and the clutch required an over developed left leg to operate. He must of been reasonably pleased with it, because three years later he traded it in for another. Still had the same issues as before, but both were reliable. His next car was a Triumph Acclaim, basically a Honda rebadged. It was in a totally different league to all his previous cars.
Hi I had an allegro 1500 and the first car I hired was an allegro I thought the steering wheel was pretty cool I got used to that but I never had much bother with my car just a new radiator and fan I used to do most jobs myself but I had a few B,L car's 1300,1800, mini maxi and princess and I liked all of them but I used to get car's that I could afford them days money was tight and that's why I used to fix my own car I got experience helping my dad fixing his vans and car before I could drive but I was awful times for everything back in the seventies but they where good days for me and I never minded a cheap car I could fix myself
my sister had an M plate one. It was a well designed car, roomy for its footprint, modern front wheel drive and just enough power. It went wrong a few times, mainly the electrics which was scary when driving in the rain with no wipers. It was very much a could have been
I had 5 minis over the years. My dad had 2 x Austin 1800's, a Maxi & my brother had an Austin 1100. My mum had an early Metro & I had a later 1275 GTA Metro & loved that. But non of us had an Allegro. They looked ok to me but I never drove one.
In my country, the ADO16 was produced locally and its quality was very good, these cars were smoothly running 20 years and beyond. But when the local IMV site was taken over by Renault in 1973, British cars, now imported, became much, much more expensive. Of course, the owners of these new, expensive Allegros were reluctant to talk of its faults, so, having no clue what was going on at Longbridge, the reputation of Allegros and Marinas remained excellent. Personally, I later acquired a used, 1977 Austin Mini. An excellent little car, but let down by being prone to rust and due to its mechanical issues. I sold it after just one year.
I'm probably the only Yank who was dumb enough to personally import two Allegros to the States, a Sandglow series 2 Estate then much later a denim blue Series 3, both long gone but I'm still in touch with the current owner of the series 3 who himself recently imported a triumph Acclaim Automatic
You deserve a British Empire medal 🥇 for that. 👍
Should have bought a Honda Ballade (Civic sedan in USA), chiselled the badges off and glued some Triumph ones on and saved yourself a fortune 😂.
I hope that the Triumph has beige velour interior?
Hi RRS happy new year buddy! You must tell me the circumstances that led you tell go to the expense of importing such weird cars? ( please) 🤔🇬🇧
Stil own a Princess. Some people talk shite about it and even never sit in it.
I've sat in the back of one. Very roomy and comfortable.
The Princess was one of the best cars made by the BL Group.
I like. At the time my father considered it to replace his Rekord. I remember that it cost a little less than the other competitors. A few hundred were imported into Italy
I’ve had two series 1 Princesses. They were truly excellent for their time if you got a good one.
Shame they never built a Princess GT . That six had some potential. Add a tachometer, and a manual gear change, and you've got an interesting car.
in 1980 i bought a 45k mile one owner 01975 Allegro 1750 sport in Harvest gold. On my way home (3 miles!) the alternator failed. Then the brake pads. Within a week the clutch went. Then i realised the carw as doing about 150 miles before needing a pint of oil. It went back to the garage who said that was normal. So it went to a well renowned local garage to have a recon engine. Two days later the new Austin branded timing chain snapped. Luckily no valve damage. The gear box then failed Over the next few weeks a tie bar pulled through the chassis, and I fitted a number of new drive shafts and CV joints. On week five a ball joint snapped, and the gearbox failed. So, It went in to have a recon gearbox. A week later the flywheel came off the crankshaft wrecking the engine in the process. So another engine. Then a drive shaft failed. I got it running and put it through the local car auction. Losing over half the original investment. But of course I had spent 3 times that repairing it. Just about 6 months after buying the car it had nearly bankrupted me. I bought a Marina. Too days later the grar box failed/i scrapped it and bought an old Cortina. I used that car for three years to recoup my finances. A revelation to drive a car that worked. Decades passed and a variety of Fords, Renaults Fiat, Vauxhalls, Audis and BMW's passed through my hands. Like an idiot in 2004, I decided I had been to hard on BL. I bought a 4 year old Range Rover 4.0 HSE. The whole nightmare started once more...
if you bought a 4y old range rover in '04... that was the bmw improved p38's second phase, so rather far removed from bl woes
Oh shoot! I've just bought a 3 year old Range Rover HSE ! No issues so far after 6 months! Fingers crossed!
@@TheChill001 nah, it's just the bl woes on steroids.
So when they put the recon engine in did they not do up the flywheel bolts? And your gearbox guy needs a chat about the driveshafts. I had an Allegro for 5 years with zero issues.
I started work at a BL dealer a month after the launch of the Allegro. I thought it was a great car, easy to work on, no real faults worth talking about which were not easily resolved!
It was a much better car than the old 1100/1300 in my opinion. If only it had been a hatchback, I can't imagine that we'd be having this discussion. Under rated and I loved them!
someone had too !
My dad bought a 1.1 in 1979. It had a face like a Pug but was comfy. Loads of people bought them as well as the Marina. From my recollection they only became unpopular in the 80s as better and more refined cars came along.
Vandan Plas version is beautiful. I saw one in Glasgow last week!
The Allegro was a pretty good car. Much more comfortable than the Ford Escort. The only one I ever had bother with was the 1750 sport. I put that down to the fact it had probably been driven harder by previous owners.
I'd happily drive an Allegro even today. Simple to service & simple to fix if anything goes wrong.
If BL had stuck with the original design the car would have been as popular as it's predecessor
@AmigaA-or2hj there's an interesting video on TH-cam of how these were converted from a basic Allegro at the VDP factory
I had a 1300 Allegro, kept it a couple of years, it was a cracking little family car that served our needs, it was the car i bought my children home in, it was the car that got me to work everyday and the car that gave us independence as a family all for £195, i put a new clutch in and finally sold it for £250, say whatever you like but when we needed a car, the Austin Allegro done more than we could of ever asked for, about time we started appreciating these cars and realise they helped us build what we have today!!
STEVE DYER - top man!
I had a white Allegro circa 1983, a time when I was picking up cars with an mot at auction for less than £50 and scrapping for not much less when the mots expired. My memory is that it was quite warm, could handle a bit of snow, and had a funny shaped steering wheel. It was very uncool though 😅
I remember sitting in an Allegro at the Motor Show, and thinking the build quality and comfort of this are leagues ahead of an Escort.
Hahahahaha
I had several Leyland cars that people love to knock - wedge shaped Princess and Ambassador, two Marina estates, a Maxi and an Allegro. All were cheap to buy used, easy/cheap to service and work on. They carried me around reliably for years when I didn't have much money. I liked them a lot.
could easy get parts from the scrap yard and fit them yourself had one allegro that had every different colour on its doors and bonnet taught the future wife to drive in it
My dad had one. It scared the living daylights out of him going around roundabouts, if it ever started in the first place, hed have to change bulbs and fuses on a very regular basis. And when repairing it something else would break. He used to leave the keys in and no one would steal it. Very roomy and comfortable though.
At least your dad realised - my old man had one in 75 and suffered the famous 'wheel falling off' incident although I do understand this was due to poor maintenance at the dealer - but nevertheless it was a weak car. And then he gave me an old cheap one at 17 for my first car - maybe he was trying to kill me off 🤣🤣🤣🤣Very generous to get me a cheap old car - don't want to sound ungrateful - but why oh why would you choose an Allegro!!!!
The Allegro wasn’t that bad - in engineering terms it was rather advanced for the time. As you rightly said, it had big shoes to fill, and just didn’t have the style that buyers demanded. In fact, if anything, it looked too European. But I wouldn’t class it as the worst car ever made. For many owners it offered comfortable, reliable and cost effective motoring. It did it’s job - but would always be tarnished with the ‘flying plug hole’ badge on the front wings.
It wasn't that bad ROTF 😅 it was a massive step back from the 1100/1300.
If it looked too European, what did British looking, look like?
My Dad had a 1750 Sport Austin Allegro. It had the square steering wheel. It was actually a great car and really good on long trips. We had family in Bristol and would drive there from Dover. We also took it to Spain on one holiday. The engine was very powerful and the hydragas suspension smoothed out the roads.
Bought a lime green Allegro 1300 automatic estate with no reverse gear for £10 from Guildford car auction in 1990. It was fine and I only got caught out once because I couldn't reverse. Learnt to park leaving large gaps and used right foot out of door to push it back if I had to. Great fun and makes you think outside the box 😅.
you learnt a lot about cars when being a scrap yard mechanic cheap motoring and lots of fun
Most of the anti British Leyland stories were created by the other car makers, who wanted a bigger share of the market, the cars were no worse than any of the competition, in fact the Leyland Cars were far more modern than much of the competition in many ways.
In 1988 I was in need of a cheep car as a stop gap so I bought a 1979 Allegro with 75,000 miles on the clock, I'd heard all the horror stories but decided to ignore them. I ran that little gem for 2 years and all it needed was a new alternator after about 6 months. I lost a hub cap and got a replacement from a scrap yard for 50 pence. It was the 1300 mark 2 in bright orange with black velour seats, really comfortable. A bit of choke and started whatever the weather, really reliable and did between 40 and 45 miles to the (imp) gallon. When I got married I sold it to my wife's sister who ran it trouble free until some idiot ran into the back of it and wrote it off. I have very fond memories of that car.
In 1985 I bought my mum an orange 1300 Allegro..... And you know what. There was feck all wrong with it. It was perfectly adequate for my wee mum to run to the shops or collect me from the pub. Ok it burnt a little oil and was fond of a set of plugs too often but mum loved it. It had bags of character and plenty of smile's per miles....
As an American, I'm absolutely loving your videos about the British cars nobody seems to want to remember or talk about (except me!). I seem to remember reading somewhere that the original door handles on the Lotus Esprit were sourced from the Austin Allegro?
The handles were in the Marina.
The door handles were used across a wide range of vehicles - I'm not sure if the Marina was first to use them, the lotus esprit and TR7 sports cars did, as did the Stonefield 4x4 and 6x4 off-road goods vehicles
Range Rovers, Morris, Austin, they were used across the range ; believe several kit-cars used them too.
A very good friend of mine bought a brand new Allegro estate when they first came out. I must admit, I gave him a bit of a gentle ribbing about it at the time, but he wasn't a petrol head and needed a small, but roomy, estate car. The Allegro fitted the bill. Fast forward a year or so, and he's driving into work early one morning. Its a clear, blue sky, and he's driving eastwards, straight into the sun, which was only just above the horizon. He remembers driving into the underpass, but the next thing he remembers is waking up in hospital, with a splitting headache! There was a roadsweeper clearing the underpass, and the lane had not been closed! He never even had chance to brake, and hit it at a considerable speed!
He was only in hospital for a couple of days. He got away with bad concussion, and lots of cuts an bruises, but nothing actually broken. He was off work for a few weeks until the doctors were sure he was OK. The police called it a miracle escape!
When he went to the scrapyard to retrieve his personal possessions, the folk there were reluctant to let him near the remains of his car. They couldn't believe that anyone had got out of it alive, let alone with relatively minor injuries! The car was completely destroyed, yet the front passenger compartment had protected him extremely well.
The car may have been a joke, but it was certainly strong! It saved my friend's life, and I viewed them in a different light after that!
the All-agro, as it was know when I was an apprentice in the early '80s, got its name because so many things used to go wrong with them compared to most other British built cars at the time. and once a name sticks its difficult to shake it off.
the car was a very good all-rounder, well designed with excellent packaging and I for one liked the styling. a good range of engines and trim levels gave it a very broad appeal. I much preferred the Allegro over its predecessor the 1100.
it should have had a hatch-back from the outset like the Maxi. so what if the two cars would have competed against each other with some buyers - a sale is a sale!
It also puzzles me that there was no 5 door estate version of the mark one and mark two Ford Escort. They only did the estate versions of these as 3 door.
The styling.
It’s just wrong. If it had been a looker I think a lot would have been forgiven. It’s too fat,it’s not a hatchback,the front is too fussy.
This was a time of clean lines and BL served up a suet pudding.
Lol the same thing I pointed out that made this very car a meme in the local trans community, thanks to my insinuations - a.k.a. The Wrong Body Car.
I did an Audi launch event and during our product training much was made of the interconnected suspension control system using gas and fluid and the squared off steering wheel ……. Just like an Allegro I piped up!
It’s incredible how many once laughed at BMC/BLMC/BL/ARG/Rover ideas and designs when looked at intelligently are actually very good.
Austin were true innovators while Ford and GM were plodders. Plodding was a much better idea back then 🤣
How British Leyland managed to be so crap for so long is the real BL story.
To be honest it was a miracle they managed to produce anything in the 70's and 80's. Total St show of a company.
@@gravelDave From the outside looking in it appears that the supporters of Red Robbo didn't have the nowse to realise that they were consigning themselves to oblivion. The striking workers must have cost themselves and their families a brighter future.
BL did not have the $$$ to invest in modern assembly methods. Juts look at the videos. Blokes on cloth caps and cardigans using hand tools to bolt the cars together.
@@ataxpayer723 BL did not have the $$$ to invest simply due irresponsible and incompetent financial management. All the other mainstream vehicle manufacturers of the era 1968 to 1986 not only found the $$$ but actually grew. BL management was a ship of fools captained by Vassal Lords who operated in the same manner as their nobility forefathers treating workers as Surfs. They were so useless the government has to step in like child protection officers. Unsurprisingly Barber, Turnbull, Edwardes, Musgrove, Day all personally did well financially with some of them even being Knighted for incompetence. No surprises then when BMW took over none of the aforementioned were offered roles.
@@ataxpayer723 If only the blokes in cloth caps had actually assembled cars to be sold then monies could have been reinvested into BL. You can't sell cars while the (not) workers are outside on strike. The money lost during strikes could have been the difference. I worked in England for 5 years and was shocked by the class system and the poor attitudes of the incorrectly named 'working class'. They were their own worst enemy.
My first car was a white Allegro 1300 (Mk 1), but without the quartic steering wheel. I really loved that car, the ride was so smooth, especially compared to other cars I'd been in up until then. It did let me down on the M1 one day when the water pump failed at 70mph! By the time I got it stopped the engine block had cracked!!!! I had a reconditioned replacement engine that worked fine for the rest of the time I had that car. I still have fond memories of it.
Jonathan.
The Allegro biggest problem was BLs management attitude towards staff in turn causing hostility, BL really could have been a world beater but always so many missed opportunities.
Such a pretty car, but should have been a hatchback!
@ it’d have made an ideal hatchback with its shape, shame BL were too afraid to change anything they decided.
And in turn the unions causing hostility from managment.
It was a disasterous time from any point of view. Sadly the end was inevitable.
@@paulillingworth1242They decided only the Maxi (at the time) could be a hatchback apparently that was it's selling point which to me is odd.
@chrisjones8379 You need to do some research into what a union is, tory boy.
Dad had allegros from before I was born, with the last one passed becoming her first car, a white estate that we got when building our house, carrying bags of cement, etc. He had about 6 in that time I believe. Best car in the snow he has ever driven, a car that would get him up into the tree covered hills in the Forest of Dean when volvos, saab, and everything else could not get up. Only thing he ever had problems with was doing ball joints, a lot! And oil consumption. The 1.5 twin choke was quite lively back then. A lot of people that bought them thought they were good. A lot of people that never had one have heard or watched the Clarkson style slating. By the time the later ones were introduced, they were pretty good. Just as good or better than most of the competitors offerings of the time
Passed over to my sister as her first car
I had a very tired 1500 Auto Vanden Plas, but I liked how solid & comfortable it was. Remembered fondly.
Is that Adam Chance from crossroads working at BL?
Yes, many famous people did. It fit well around their other occupation, since they were barely in work ;)
@@tomdrivesyes, Adam Chance, and David Suchet designed the quartic steering wheel……….
Looks like Madeline Bell worked there between stints at The Benny Hill Show and the guy from Please Sir got an apprenticeship there after leaving Fenn St School
@@swordscot Madeleine Smith. Gorgeous!
@@swordscot Madeleine Smith - gorgeous!
Madeleine Bell was (I think) lead singer with Blue Mink.
I got a white 1500 (early 1976 P reg) from my parents as a first car (borrowed, eventually transferred to my name in 1990 when it was all but dead with a vague plan to fix it).
When my parents bought it in 1986/7 it has been stored over winter without antifreeze and needed a replacement cylinder head
Being quite spirited as a new driver may have contributed to the engine overheating and a crack developing the engine block. Copious amounts of block seal cured this, then the water pump went (can't think why). Replaced the water pump with some help and large levers. Then it was a complete surprise that the radiator started leaking ... that was 'repaired' with fibreglass ... then the cracked engine started weeping
(eventually getting to motorway journeys being carried out at 50mph to get more distance between overheat / stop on hard shoulder to add water / occasionally chat to the police about letting the engine cool down before adding water as adding cold water to a hot engine might crack the block / drive until it overheats cycle ... at 70 it overheated in about 5 mins!). I fitted a household 20A switch to the dash to bypass the thermostatic fan switch so I could start cooling early in traffic / leave it on at higher speeds)
All of that could be traced to the treatment by a previous owner (apart perhaps from a tiny bit of blame going to the numpty with the fibreglass ...) ... The fan switch mod (and the coat hanger aerial in the shape of a waving hand were just normal mods for these poor cars then!
The only other issues I had were the clutch slave cylinder failing (just outside a motor parts shop) and the drivers seat springs breaking on a motorway slip road (1001 uses for a bungee clip) ... and the slightly perished rubber fuel pipe that looped over the camshaft cover needing replacing before it started leaking petrol on a hot surface ...
Compared with other cheap first cars in the late 80s, it was roomy, comfortable and fast ... it even had a 5 speed gearbox! And most of the time you could change gears fine (OK, towards the end first was a long way to the left, maybe something had broken at that point)
Fond memories of a reasonably good first car ... much better than legend has it
As to BL, it wasn't the only car company plagued by strikes in the 70s ... not even the only one in the UK ... but perhaps it had worse relations internally than companies that a well meaning government hadn't forced to merge ...
I've owned them consistently for 30 years, current one for 12 years. I've never had an unreliable one, proper maintenance helps with this. I have driven then all over Europe too. I love them, but realise that I'm in a minority. But yes to my mind it typifies British 70s motoring. Harris Mann was very much a lovely man and was very approachable.
My first car, was a N reg allegro, Many happy memories of that car, it spent more time off the road, than on the road. That’s why it was called the Austin aggro ..
I had an Allegro 1300 Super. It was reliable and comfortable, and I loved it.
Allegro great car had one for 10 yrs , also had a Austin 1100 another good car done 130000 miles in that one , always bought British cars don't have a choice now sadly 🇬🇧
The Allegro looked much more in proportion as an estate.
Amazingly practically every car manufacturer with a performance version of their cars now uses a variant of the quartic steering wheel. Even more oddly is the fact that my 2006 Defender TD5 appears to use the same switchgear for the indicators 34 years after they were shown in the Allegro and possibly even earlier on other models.
Love the Allegro my Dad owned 2 as family cars growing up in New Zealand,
a brand new 1979 Austin Allegro LE 1300 4 speed and mid 1980's he brought a Lovely 0ne owner 1976 1300 Super which I learnt to drive in. I have recently brought a New Zealand 1978 Austin Allegro 1500 LE Automatic they are actually a great design roomy and modern feeling for the period being front wheel drive . Great review Tom Loving your videos here in New Zealand 👍🏼.
You bought a good one there Stephen!
Compared to Japanese and German cars they were technically inferior, unreliable and expensive to run. After ww2 the interference of Professor Harold Laski economic policies made British industry uncompetitive and we lost our car and ship building industry.
The 1750 sport was a load of fun. The biggest problem with the allegro was the lack of a hatchback -allegedly due to the idea it would take sales from the maxi....
Good point GM/Chevrolet had some great cars that could have changed a lot of minds but anytime something was too sporty or had too much power the Brass Hat guys would say it would eat into Corvette territory.
The first time I saw an Opal Monza Coupe I thought why don't we have that in the US. And we did it was called a Toyota Supra.
Wasn't it the same reason why the Princess wasn't a hatchback car? If you reason like that, you need to have monopoly on making cars.
@@markcollins457I Used to work in a Vauxhall /Opel main dealer in the eighties and used to work on and drive the monza coupes and senators. Haven't seen one for years as sadly due to our climate they have long since dissolved 😪. My favourite Monza coupe was the mid eighties facelift model.
The 'Vanden Plas' was hilarious looking. 😅
The company I was driving for acquired a brand new Allegro and I was assigned it on day one. I managed to drive it out of the underground car park and about 100 yards down the road before the gear linkage broke in the middle of a busy junction. The company sent the car back - I wasn’t upset!
I was in charge of our dealer launch of the Allegro in May 1973 in North London .
My first car was an Allegro 1500 SDL Estate, my mates ridiculed me but it was great, always started on cold, wet mornings and never let me down. My mum had a 1500 Automatic saloon, same applied. My uncle had a 1300SDL, totally abused it for 5 years and it always kept going, although he did rate the (much newer) Mk.5 Cortina 2.0GL that replaced it far better. I think it was just the odd shape that folks didn't like. Like it's predecessor the 1100/1300 (again my parents had one which they loved) they were tidy cars with the bombproof A-Series engine.
Or insurance man used to come around every month collecting the monthly installments. I was just a kid but I remember him buying an allegro when it first appeared, he was so impressed with it showing it off to me. Can't remember how long after but he got a puncture, took it to a tyre garage to get it fixed and they buckled the body and the window popped out.
I can't remember the outcome as BL was blaming the garage for jacking it up in the wrong place the garage was blaming BL for not sending any instructions about jacking points, I do know the replacement wasn't another allegro 😂
The Allegro definitely showed how fragmented BL was and that meant it could never be the world beater that BL hoped it would be. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad car, far from it. I’ve had mine 5 months and it’s charming, reliable, easy to work on and practical. I can’t think of many more usable classics for the money
Curiously, it's near contemporary the Alfasud was a very similar shape and size, yet it looked fabulous and handled brilliantly. A classic example of "the devil is in the detail". To be fair it had a flat four which helped to lower the bonnet line. Unfortunately, they also rusted away as you watched them, so you almost never see one these days. As an aside, it's quite amusing to see all those idiots voting themselves out of a job under the leadership of Red Robbo.
EU plant to divide and conquer ... worked admirably.... loads of imports whilst BL couldn't make enough cars to export.
I drove one in the early 80's to test as a potential second hand purchase for the friend of a mate.
I remember it as entirely boring, the only distinguishing aspect of the car was it was brown, which summed it up.
Another fantastic example of a great viewing thank you your channel it’s leap ahead of car channels because it’s on facts not up selling like other car channels which I don’t agree, maté keep up on good work
My driving instructor had a new one, he was so proud of it. After two months the engine completely failed, and took months to replace. I had to find a new instructor with a working car.
My first car at 17 🤣🤣🤣🤣Thanks Dad, god bless you!!
Truly terrible car. I had a mark 1, 1300 (with the square steering wheel). The front wheel never wanted to stay attached to the hub. I bought the "mod kit", supposed to rectify the fault. It made no difference. Absolute junk.
I owned an Allegro in the Netherlands. It was the worst car I ever owned. This Allegro was my first and definitely last British car. I don't understand why the motto of British engineering is: "Why make it simple when it can also be done as difficult as possible". An example: when I tried to change the bulb of a failing headlight, I found out that you had to replace THE WHOLE LAMP UNIT! In a "normal" car the replacement of a bulb would cost a few guilders (then we had stil guilders). The lamp unit cost me 229 guilders (about 100 UK pounds). Maintenance of this car was very expensive, because of the high prices of the parts and because everything that could brake down would brake down. After a few months I traded the Allegro in (with a big loss) for a Volgswagen Golf which I had for many years.
In the U.K at least it wasn't unusual to replace the whole headlight on many cars effectively that was the bulb and known as a sealed beam head light. They were known as sealed beam head lights and were available in 7inch round , square and oblong lamps. they weren't that dear either as I remember. there were conversion units that would take a bulb either old type globular bulb or at the time new H7 with a better beam pattern through the lens unit.
Great video 👍 The failure of the design was as explained by retropower engineer "the heater and bulkhead has the biggest impact of any car build". The other reason was the over tall engine's etc.
Fair points made and strikes combined with grossly incompetent management was the slow suicide of the British car industry.
I owned 2 Allegro estate cars at different times, either side of giving German cars a try because my first 2 cars had been Beetles and they were well made. By contrast the early Golf was tinny and expensive and the Passat was an electrical disaster. VW thought that its name would continue the myth of good engineering and the French jumped into the gap. Strange Renaults and Citroens were actually rather brilliant and when the Renault 5 arrived, so did the hatchback as a stylish and likeable performer. The flat bottom and strong upper frame made it good for sports too. It was actually strong despite using light steel.
I never took to the BMCL 1100/1300 simply because the Italian style was a waste of body space and the engine was no longer efficient in MPG or ability to be tweaked (except by Triumph and MG) to have enough quality in build or steel quality for flat panels to make sense. It sold well because there were no other British choices at the price point and was heavily discounted at dealerships. The Fiesta and Corsa were yet to arrive and Rootes was in chaos after the Imp had been insufficiently developed -- with plants being 400 miles apart and a 4-door or hatch would have done well.
The Allegro's design and mechanicals made for a good all round small/medium type car without Italian designers and with comfort, safety and low maintenance baked in. The Hydrogas suspension would have been trumpeted by other car makers and the low air resistance was nothing like the square boxes made by everyone else. The estate actually heralded the far later MPV products from Japan and making a hatch version from the start would have created a winner for Europe and Commonwealth countries.
It needed a range of engines from small for the basic family saloon/hatch to what the Renault 5 series and Peugeot 205 became with different trim levels and either Laycock overdrive or a 5-speed box on a possible 1500 cc as well as a diesel version.
The stupid steering wheel was actually easily replaced with a normal one in dealerships but was actually quite usable as it was -- except in late pregnancy!
Lights and warning lights all round were the right size and proper Smiths/Lucas dials borrowed from Triumph would have avoided internal blandness.
However, the UK media interested in BL strife settled on the Allegro for spitefulness and so did motoring TV programmes.
Calling it the Allegro was a bad decision when it was not designed for chucking around so much as daily, solid, reliable use, good MPG and economy for owners from the suspension and CVs simple elegance with a tight turning circle alone.
When in doubt about names use letters and numbers instead.
My father bought an Allegro from new. And it was a complete load of rubbish, with numerous faults. My dad reckoned it was definitely made on a Friday! On one particular occasion, he was driving at night, went over a bump and the headlights went out. Fortunately, he was able to stop safely and get the car recovered. It turned out that there were wires going into the fuse box, and wires going out of the fuse box, but NONE of the connections had actually been soldered! Easy enough to fix, but a fault that could have caused a fatality.
i had a picture on the wall of my room of a Austin Allegro removed from the Swiss 1974 Automobile Revue catalogue. I just love the styling of the Allegro, it is a beautiful car.
The Allegro was really an insult to the ADO16, It's forerunner, Until i started watching these videos, I never knew how important the ADO16 was. The early design, if followed through would have been a worthy successor but again management interference made the final design ugly, It didn't even look a 70's car, Forget the strikes etc nothing could of saved that car. To replace a car that beat the mighty Cortina in sales with the Allegro, Hang your heads in shame BL.
Smaller and more expensive than ADO16.
Not a good idea.
128 and later Golf trounced it.
As an American, I find all of these disaster videos about the British car industry fascinating. What I never see is any sort of interviews with former BL management on videos. Are those guys just so ashamed they never give interview interviews?
ADO16 was assembled in Australia too with as much local content as possible. They were hugely popular. They were just everywhere. We never got the Allegro at all.
@loveisall5520 The reason why is that a lot of the worst of BL happened in the 60's, 70's and early 80's, Most of those in charge were middle aged back then and have passed away.
1st car was an Austin 1100. 8 years old when I bought it and needed some welding!
Then in March 79 bought a brand new Allegro 1100 while serving with the RAF in Germany. Sold it to my brother when posted to Cyprus in 83. He wrote it off😂
My Allegro was a pretty reliable car though and I loved it.
Went on to own a Maestro and MG Montego, all of which were good reliable cars.
I had a '74 Allegro in' 89. Drove it thousands of miles, including a tour of the north of England in the summer. It just kept going, only needing a clutch change by 1992. Sold it, got a Maestro. Another great car.
I had an 1100 Allegro from just over a year old. It was totally reliable returned circa 45mpg and good on rough welsh roads with its floaty Hydrolastic susp. Only comments were - strange occasional buzzing from driveshafts and heavy oil consumption for some reason (wasnt leaking and plugs looked normal). Only ever out of the ordinary expense was a new rear exhaust box.
Had an allegro 1.3 l from 1989 to 1993, practical an roomy , it was tapping on in years by then so probably not reliable but i loved it (:
When you look back at Mann’s original design sketches, for what became the Allegro, it’s an absolute tragedy. If BL had had the guts to stick with the design, forget about the bigger E-Series engines, and made it a hatchback, it might have stood a chance. The original idea wasn’t bad, in fact it had a hint of the gorgeous Alfasud about it. Imagine that original design, with a flat four, and a hatchback, that could have been a car to take on the Alfasud, the VW Golf, and the small family hatchbacks that other manufacturers were developing at that time, but unfortunately BL management couldn’t have seen a good idea if it had hit them in the face. Of course even if they had managed to build Mann’s original design, the permanent strikes at BL would probably have doomed the Allegro in any case.
I had 2 of these back in the 80's... CV Joints kept getting replaced! They were shite... But I loved both cars! Worth a small fortune now though!.... Miss them!
3:50 Ford Pinto looks.
I havent forgotten to post the Austin Rover workshop coat. Just been hectic in the family dad ill. Local post office closed etc.
We had one for a few months, couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Every time I turned the wheel to go around a corner I expected the wheels to follow the direction but the body to keep moving ahead. I've never felt that sensation in any other car.
knockknees 1950: This sounds like a bum steer to me!
Shame that it didn’t do so well. I got one that my Grandad didn’t need any more and it was a great first car. Easy to work on and it drove well. Mine didn’t have one of those square steering wheels, but I gather Audi’s now have a square steering wheel, so it can’t have been that bad an idea.
As an mot tester in the old days the only car I ever filled out 2 VT30's for was an Allegro
Seems nobody saw the original sketch, it was described to the design department over the phone at lunchtime.
Way back in the early 80s when my Range Rover caught fire I needed another car urgently and bought a 1500 allegro estate. Was a great car (although different to the Rover) for camping holidays. Loads of space for all the gear and plenty of power to haul it about..
The "all aggro" was our family car, I didn't drive it much as I had motorbikes but the main memory is the horrific oil consumption! My dad worked as a draghtsman at BL in Wellingborough, which I think was either an engine or prototype engine plant, probably the former as it was quite large.
The car had no radio and was pretty basic but it did always start and get you there. It had a standard sterring wheel [it was a 1979 model], no ABS, traction control, ESC, power steering and a four speed box. It didn't have a lot of power either.
I had the estate version - I loved it. Yes it developed a list to port and needed the suspension pumping up every few weeks but it was a comfortable ride and home maintenance was quite easy - those were the days.
Loved my white Allegro estate, 3 door, 1.5 automatic, brown velour
Would put the Allegro in the same category as the ex demonstration Mini Metro that I bought from the dealership.
The damn thing nearly killed me when it suddenly spun round in the road as the glued rubber suspension mounting broke.
I had a ten year old 1100cc one in the ‘80s. It was OK. Great on snow with its low power engine and skinny tyres. It needed a new clutch plate which I fitted in a morning myself at a cost of £6. A new exhaust was £13 fitted by Kwikfit. I repainted it by hand with Dulux gloss so it looked really smart.
I passed my driving test in an Austin 1300, in 1973. My Dad had a brand new Allegro a few years later. So I am qualified to comment, I think?. 😀
Both cars were OK, but we sort of expected imperfections in even new cars in those days.
The A series engine, for all its praise, had outlived its sell-by date. Only three main bearings and it had a thirst for oil even when new.
It was when Ford came out with reliable (but mechanically very simple) cars like the Cortina and Escort that BL's offerings were seen to fall short.
My first car was an Allegro. When it ran it was a very smooth ride, but the engine started burning alot of oil and it went to the scrap man. Fond memories and it really wasnt that bad of a car
I was born in late 72 so these cars by BL/Austin/Morris and the like where the cars I saw as a kid. You’d see maxis with headlights and wings missing, the Princess looked so weird you’d laugh if you saw one. My dad had a Marina but crashed it. In the end we got a Cortina then a Datsun 100A. Must admit though the old fella next door had a real posh Triumph with a special sounding engine and another up the road had a Vandem Plas Allegro. Both looked quite good. Love your channel Tom.
As a teenager in the 70's the joke that was Leyland was always blamed on the unions. They didn't help but the stylists, designers and management deserve equal blame. Allegro Vs Escort? Marina Vs Cortina? A sprawling mess with everyone working against each other
Where did you get that Maestro poster from?.
Shame, having owned an earlier ADO16 and Allegro, the Allegro was far better, the E series engine was not a favourite for me, the gearchange was poor, jumping from an Allegro to an Escort was like winning the pools, the Ford being a much sportier drive. But the 1974 Allegro I had was well put together,superior paint and finish to an ADO or Escort, and in my opinion nicely styled. I think the UK press have always been anti British, they loved Leyland bashing, and took the pi. Sss out of Rover, until it was gone. Bear in mind Ford, best sellers throughout the 70s, had enormous strike problems as well, one Motorshow I remember they had no cars to display, due to strikes.
i absolutely loved them, over the years I've owned over 50 of them, there was a time before the internet where people used to ring me for specifications, tips and tricks on fixing them, even cross referring all the parts, I even built my own 5 door Estate version, from an estate version and a saloon, saloon been in a rear end crunch and the state with a front end crunch. made one very beautiful car. only problem is I only liked the harvest gold ones. oh and they have to be 1300, didn't care for the vdp front end, but nearly everyone that I personally ran had the vdp interior including the dashboard fitted. lol
I remember reading articles about this car back in the 70's I didn't give it a second glance for one reason it wasn't available here in the US and the style i found mundane.
But a Datsun 510 was available and the smart styling caught my eye. It's a shame so many car companies made made corporate mistakes in the in the 70's on both sides of the pond.
I worked at a BL dealer in the mid 70s. We had so many cars, Princesses, Allegros mainly coming back with warranty claims. It was a real pity because the cars themselves were leagues ahead in tech terms of the Escorts and Cortinas and Vivas and Victors etc. Shame that cost cutting and poor management coupled with the militant unions destroyed some great designs!
We had a brand new Austin Maxi 1500 at work as a pool car. I loved driving it super comfy seats! I remember when you engaged first to accelerate away strongly, the engine and transmission would rock backwards and forwards quite violently and the gear knob Jesé to dip down by about two inches ha ha!
( Actually upon reflection it might have been a 1750 HL)
I bought a 1980 Allegro Equipe in 83 .... It was alright, but didn't stay standard for long as I modified the airbox with twin K and N's and got Janspeed of Salisbury to upgrade the exhaust manifold and throughput exhaust .... A good car, but a little off putting on corners as there was no anti sway bar at the rear ....
Allegro’s got vroom, miles and miles of vroom. Change up to top, Allegro’s got the vroom to spare.
When I watched this it brought back a lot of memories of being a teenager in those times, I was proud to be British, but ashamed of the unions and the management, it was not just Layland, ford and Vauxhall were just as bad. It just seemed as though each side HAD to win and the real losers was our industry. The agro as it was called was laughed at by everyone but no-one cared, if you do see one of these at a classic car show nowadays they are loved by their owners because if you get a good one they go on forever. Britain at that time, we could have been world beaters but we ended up being beat by the world.
As I recall, it was quickly called the "All Aggro" by those with the misfortune to own one.
There are worse cars than the Allegro for sure, but they weren't put together very well and the styling was awkward. It should also have been a hatchback like the Maxi.
My Grandfathers last car was a 1300 1972 allegro. He owned it from new until his death 10 years later. Never had any problems with it (unlike the Toledo that preceded it) if only it had been a hatchback though.
I Learnt to drive in an Alegro, Had a brand new one on the day of my test.... Passed first time..I owe it a debt of gratitude. I liked it. ADO16 was a good car too!
6min 30s all the lads checking that woman out on the shop floor! 😂
A Ford plant, she was sent in to distract them into making every car being made at that moment into a lemon.
Bravo.
Allegro has vroom for five. If I recall correctly.
We are still living down the disasters of British Leyland / Rover.
Mates dad had an allergo, it was a terrible car. It was constantly in the garage. When it was on the road it was like being sat inside a box of spanners.
Everything rattled, felt like it was going to fall apart.
I'm sure a lot of you would know ,Late Brake Show ,it's interesting how it is progressing.😊
Only drove an Allegro a few times, and it felt similar to the Austin Maxi, most certainly the same 5 speed box.
My father traded in his Austin 1300 for an Allegro. Not a terrible family car for it's time, but it had no power steering and the clutch required an over developed left leg to operate. He must of been reasonably pleased with it, because three years later he traded it in for another. Still had the same issues as before, but both were reliable. His next car was a Triumph Acclaim, basically a Honda rebadged. It was in a totally different league to all his previous cars.
Hi I had an allegro 1500 and the first car I hired was an allegro I thought the steering wheel was pretty cool I got used to that but I never had much bother with my car just a new radiator and fan I used to do most jobs myself but I had a few B,L car's 1300,1800, mini maxi and princess and I liked all of them but I used to get car's that I could afford them days money was tight and that's why I used to fix my own car I got experience helping my dad fixing his vans and car before I could drive but I was awful times for everything back in the seventies but they where good days for me and I never minded a cheap car I could fix myself
In the 70' years, my brother had an Austin Allegro. It was a comfortable car, 8hp, and without mechanic problems.
my sister had an M plate one. It was a well designed car, roomy for its footprint, modern front wheel drive and just enough power. It went wrong a few times, mainly the electrics which was scary when driving in the rain with no wipers. It was very much a could have been
I like the Fox numberplates. Do any of those survive?
I had 5 minis over the years. My dad had 2 x Austin 1800's, a Maxi & my brother had an Austin 1100. My mum had an early Metro & I had a later 1275 GTA Metro & loved that. But non of us had an Allegro. They looked ok to me but I never drove one.
In my country, the ADO16 was produced locally and its quality was very good, these cars were smoothly running 20 years and beyond. But when the local IMV site was taken over by Renault in 1973, British cars, now imported, became much, much more expensive. Of course, the owners of these new, expensive Allegros were reluctant to talk of its faults, so, having no clue what was going on at Longbridge, the reputation of Allegros and Marinas remained excellent. Personally, I later acquired a used, 1977 Austin Mini. An excellent little car, but let down by being prone to rust and due to its mechanical issues. I sold it after just one year.
I bought one of the last ones for my wife - it had that lovely A series engine and was a lovely little car. I don’t remember that it had any faults