A great summary ! To me, looking back it seems all too often that Leyland (in Australasia) and BMC or whatever they were calling themselves in the UK, so often, seem to have "snatched defeat, from the jaws of victory". Consider the Leyland P76 with a choice of auto/manual, 2.6 six cyl, 3.5 or 4.4 litre V8 engines (I'd be thrilled if I could just have a 6 cyl manual today). . What about the 'Austin' Princess (wedge) which was crying out to be a hatchback with 5 speed gearbox from the very beginning and yet was denied by beancounters.
Hi Ian from Sydney, Australia. They may have only made 30,000 of theses in maybe 2 years , but the ADO16's lasted forever here in Australia, they "failed " to wear out, and , when new these Nomads seemed to be bought by older people who looked after them , as that had finally traded in their Aussie BMC "Morris Major Elite's: that by then they had owned for 10 years or so, then years later they seemed to trade their Nomads for Mitsubishi Magna Elites another Aussie "special" in the middle of the 1980's . This period, say 1958 to 1974 Aussie BMC car owners were very loyal to brand, they would not buy anything else, and when Brit' Leyland/BMC Australia closed & decamped, the BMC car owners just kept their cars longer & longer. So the cars were used to their maximum life span and in our hot dry climate rust is minimal, but what eventually happened when the cars were 20 to 25 years old parts supply became an issue which saw them go to wreckers & be crushed, or worse, an ignoble death as a demo-derby car. Same could be said for the Kimberley & base level Tasman, or the really unique, 1800 series one and series two Austin utes there were plenty of them, and also now there are none. ALL WERE BEAUTIFULLY MADE, well painted and virtually did not rust or break. If petrol skyrocketed in price, or big engined cars were taxed highly, & I needed a 4 cylinder car it would be the Nomad or the Austin 1899 Ute, or for a small frugal MPG 6 cyl engine a Kimberley 2200, as they were decent quality items. At the moment I will stick with my 1967 Jaguar mk10 or 420G to give it its silly renamed BMC badge, and my 5 litre 1982 Holden Statesman Caprice, both almost the same size and level of luxury.
Yay a Nomad, or as my Dad called it the Gomad. I learnt to drive one of these at 10 years old. Ours was a 1500 OHC with the 5 speed gearbox. We sold it to a friend and then bought it back. The back seat folds down flat, the small pedals. The rego was JUG-009 (Vic reg) I loved this car. Bouncy hydroelastic suspension, just wonderful. I remember the wonderful exhaust noise and falling asleep in the back. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Hub Nut. Champion (I don't suppose anyone knows the fate of JUG 009?)
JUG 009 no longer on VicRoads registration system it seems : www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/registration/buy-sell-or-transfer-a-vehicle/check-vehicle-registration/vehicle-registration-enquiry Not really surprised given the low survival rate of these float on fluid cars. An intriguing subject raised of the survival rates. A combination of how a car was loved and the reliability and ease of maintenance. JUG 009 seems a much earlier issue plate than the 1500 OHC cars especially the later 5 speeds. This site says the JUG plates were from 1967 : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Victoria Did you go to the expense of keeping the plates of an earlier car?
@@johnd8892 I believe the plates were originally on my mum's Morris 1100. (I know only this from pics I've seen). Our friends had anther Nomad with prefix KPH.
The AP trans worked well until people thought they were doing the engine a favour by throwing in a friction modified multigrade oil. That knocked out the forward driving clutch inside the trans and, in most cases, required engine/trans removal, trans separation and disassembly. A friend, now deceased, used to be a service manager at a Leyland dealership and he *inherited* all the special trans tools. He could do one of these *in situ*. Hell of a savings in time and a hell of a lot of pocket money for him when he became an apprentice trainer with me in a technical college.
@@cliffwood4610 I worked at a dealership back in the day & we would change a Mini or 1100/1300 clutch in 45 minutes but if you didn't TDC the engine the horseshoe retainer would bite you in the ass. The rear main seal would add another 20 minutes to the job.
@@cliffwood4610 And I bet some of the bolts on the large clutch end cover never went back again ! I seem to remember you had to disconnect the engine mountings and heave the engine sideways to get access ? Minis were even more difficult than 1100s but fortunately less frequent customers. We could get the engine out of an 1100 in 30 minutes!
Nice to see some Finnish shipbuilding excellence on the other side of the world, namely that Spirit of Tasmania ferry in the background. No cars made here (except some assembly in relatively small numbers), but if you need ships, we got you covered.
There are actually two spirit of Tasmania ship/ ferries, they leave Port Melbourne & Devonport in Tasmania nightly or daily depending on the season/ time of the year, they are both Retired & sold off before their new replacements very shortly but l think have been put on hold and more so because of the “Toyota” corona virus.
Owned a 1500 5 speed for 10 years was the most reliable car I ever owned drove the east coast of Australia north to south 6 times and slept in the back heaps of great times😊
Lovely example of what is now a rare car. As you said, only 15 left. Top marks to owner. Immaculate under the bonnet. Glad you found this one Hubnut. Lovely to have a record of it on the net for perpetuity. I do hope perpetuity appreciates it!
This takes me back. My "1100" was actually a 1300, and here in Canada it was called the America. Unbeknownst to me, it had already had a hard life when I bought it. Good thing I worked at a BL dealership at the time so my parts were cheaper. I had to replace one outboard CV joint and one inboard Dunlop/Moulton joint. I couldn't get the oil pressure up, and then found out the body was held together with bondo. I have to admit, though, I loved the way it handled. That suspension was excellent! Working at that dealership, I remember we had a couple of Minis in requiring automatic transmission work. The final bills were kind of eye-watering. Engine wear would affect the transmission, and vice versa. Keep clean oil in there all the time.
The Renault 16 was the first hatchback in Australia followed by the Mitsubishi Colt 1100. I doubt that there are many Morris 1100s left on the road as well. Unlike the mini it was unloved in the decades after the 1960s.
I had a 1967 1300 auto when I passed my test in 1975. One day I was trying to keep the engine running with a few too many revs as I put the gear lever into ‘D’. There was a loud thump and from then on all the gear positions moved one space down the selector. This meant R was still reverse, but so was ‘N’. Neutral was next to 1 on the selector, 1 was next to 2 and so on. This meant 4 was next to drive so I had to drive it like a manual forever after that. Problem was, it would only start when the lever was in ‘N’- which was actually Reverse. So the instant the engine started you had to grab the lever back onto position 1 (which was actually Neutral) or you shot off backwards.
This is fantastic! My family, here in Melbourne, had a Morris 1500 bought new in 1971, so the sedan version of this, with the 5 speed OHC engine. This has brought back so many memories, as everything up front was the same. As a kid, I thought the ribbon speedo was the height of technology. It became my first car, but I found it a bugger to drive with difficult to change gears that I would often grind, probably more down to me as a novice driver. I ditched it after six months in 1984, traded it in for next to nothing. I remember the Nomad, and it seemed to me quite a common sight on the roads, but that's probably because you see cars you own about more. We went everywhere in the 1500, interstate trips into NSW and SA, staying at motor inns, the done thing at the time if you didn't do camping. The 1500 sedan was quite common in its day. Thank you so much for doing this, I only did a search recently for a Morris 1500 and the best video was of one running in a garage. You've made my day!
Strange looking beast, but the AP transmission was really quite impressive. I had a Mini Clubman automatic, 1975 vintage, for many years and did many troublefree miles in it. I liked the gearbox and the way it operated. There's a South African 1100/1300 derivative called the Austin Apache with Michelotti restyled front and rear ends. This has a full size boot in its extended tail. A really pretty car!
I am so delighted that you came to Australia (and especially Tasmania). You have shown me more unusual cars, from my own country, and informed me of unknown details on cars I was aware of, in such a short visit as well! Thank you so much, each post has been thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyable!!
Two points I want to make. First, I love your extensive and fascinating knowledge about cars and the auto industry, like an encyclopedia in sandals. As with automotive presenters like James May, it's simply enjoyable hearing you waffle along about things like door handles and wipers which I find more interesting than the usual cold performance numbers to judge cars. Secondly, I like the little bits of editor's commentary peppered in the videos. Many times it gives a good laugh, keep it up!
I totally agree with this comment. You took the words out of my mouth ! Keep up with this awesome work. It is the best and most fun way of portraing cars, which I have ever seen outside of printing a book. That mixture of, detail, humour, knowledge and presence of running-gags. Just fun to watch. Thank you !
I was young when the 1100 where on the roads and remember them them well but at the time I thought they were ugly and grandma looking, now I have a respect for them and want the GT version.
Lovely video Ian. I had a 1971 1500 5 speed Nomad in about 1984 when i was at uni. When I first took it to my friendly BMC / BL specialist mechanic at Frankston he said "oh, no. What did you buy one of those F***'ing things for? It's going to spew oil out of every orifice, it's going to jump out of gear, the tappets are going to clatter and are a mongrel to adjust, you should have spoken to me first!" He was right, it did all of those things and more. It was a hoot to drive though. I'd love another one... The 1971 build cars had the infamous "tall heater" of Marina / Allegro fame stuffed under the dashboard as ADRs in 1971 required a blower fan for the heater.
Such valuable advice from a BMC / BL specialist mechanic from the time. This is much more informative as to why these failed to sell. So many of the comments here are irrelevant to what happened back then. eg that they do not like the styling of the car now etc.
Yep your mechanic was right , add overheating breaking uni joints and engine mounts , but guess what as a young apprentice i fixed everything myself from changeing a clutch at a Motel carpark in Yeppoon to changeing an engine mount in the carpark at Hervey Bay . Ive never had a car that gave me so many smiles on long trips , the looks on peoples faces being past in an overtakeing lane doing 90mph in the late 80s priceless. Yes they had their faults but it was never off the road long could allways be fixed
My grandmother had a Morris 1100 auto. I didn't want to be seen driving it back in the day, but I would be quite happy to drive it now. P.S. 4th gear *was* 4th gear, not Drive.
All of my automatics had R N 1 2 3 4 D. In D the gears changed automatically. Each of the numeric positions held that gear. Gear 1 had freewheel, the others provided engine braking.
@@RussEdgar445y7tlfj yup, and they did the same in South Africa by having normal round nose Mini front end and rear end of Wolseley and its predecessor having Wolseley front end but normal mini rear end.
Makes an awesome sound! What a lovely wee thing. Makes you wonder, if Leyland Australia had lasted the course, what those guys would've made of the Allegro...Or rather, what those guys would've made the Allegro into...
I think that by 1973, they'd rather given up on front-wheel drive. They saw the future as Marina and Leyland P76, following the Aussie mainstream. Sadly Leyland Australia closed down the following year, so we'll never know what they might have come up with.
The 1500 had an optional 5th gear! That would have settled it down on highways. Unfortunately, mine didn't have 5th but she was a real little goer. She served me well for six years - not bad for $Au500 in 1985.
The 4 speed was actually the 5 speed box with a blank fitted instead of 5th gear, and a modified shifter so you couldn't select the blank gear. (according to the service manual.) They made constant modifications to the gearbox and shifter to try to stop it jumping out of gear and improve the terrible shift quality. I had one of the last of them so it should have had all the modifications but the shift was diabolical. I later very briefly owned an earlier build 1500 4 speed and the shift was actually much better, so the modifications didn't help much...
Just for accuracy you are actually in Port Melbourne where you can see the passenger & vehicular ferry the Spirit of Tasmania in the background, then you drove south a couple of suburbs away where you finished up in St.kilda, you can see the old Palais theatre & Luna Park in the background where you might notice the old timber treating that supports one of the oldest operating roller coasters left in the world that has been operating for l believe over a 100 years.
Love this car, I honestly think it’s a good looking automobile, a very honest design, all you need and nothing more. The simplicity of this car is beautiful!
How amazing that the Morris Nomad was well ahead of its time with features that only became the norm years later - 4 speed auto, folding rear seats, hatchback, front wheel drive etc. My mother had a 1300 or 1500 for a short time. She says it drove beautifully but she traded it for a new 1971 Escort because it stalled every time there was a shower of rain. The mechanic had put a hessian bag inside the front grille to keep the rain out but that didn't really work.
Fantastic video and looks like fun to drive, thanks for bringing this to us as we'd never have seen it otherwise. Leyland Australia really tried hard but were doomed really
Enjoyed the auto box sound of that a-series with it's nice changing sequence. Most 1100s i knew as a child always had two cushions in the back window and a nodding dog 😊
Aw bless, it's an 1100 with a flat cap. Thank you for saving me from Bargain Hunt repeats while I have my sandwich 👍 Forgot to say it's beautiful, whoever saved Dinsdale did a remarkable job.
I've read about the AP autobox but never witnessed one working. Apart from the 4-speeds (quite rare for autos of the day) it was also unusual in that it had an oil pump on the output shaft, meaning that a car with this gearbox could be push-started.
Owned a 1500 manual from new. It was a good highway cruiser. The muffler's sound as I remember was ex factory, and I loved it. The Auto box was I believe basically a semi-auto in the numbered positions with full auto in 'D' The Cars manual described how to arrange the seats to form a double bed and I made full use of that feature. The rear parcel shelf could be folded down to form an open space a la station wagon. Those seats were very accommodating.
THANK YOU (!!) for not talking during one of your standing starts. Much as I do enjoy your commentary, I also want the chance to hear the car uninterrupted. Sounds like the old girl doesn't like being driven hard during 3rd to 4th gear changes. I imagine the oil filter must get clogged sooner with clutch pack material. This is not a car to skip oil changes in!
HubNut here is a response I got in quotes on a discussion board when I mentioned seeing a Morris mini auto for sale. "The Automotive Products 4 speed "jerkomatic"... One hell of a weird transmission design, with shafts counterrotating in other hollow shafts, bevel gears and other workings instead of the conventional epicyclic transmissions of today's autos, and a cool governor system for deciding the shifts points where a flyweight governor driven off the output shaft moves a hydraulic spool valve further as road speed increases and the valve opens and shuts various hydraulic circuits to change the gears, and there is a spring on the governor for resistance, but the spring is pushed harder against the governor when the acellerator pedal is pushed further, giving both the kickdown and altering the shift point as throttle position changes. Simple, ingenious, and didn't work all that well...but it was a damn good try!"
We had an Austin Mini automatic. It had the larger 1275 engine with HS4 carburettor rather than the basic HS2. I remember being told in no uncertain terms to use Esso Uniflow oil, and no other. It was very expensive. The car had a phenomenal amount of sound insulation. When my father-in-law bought the car after we had it a few years he decided that the £1.00 a gallon Duckhams oil was suitable. Three months later the motor/gearbox packed in. I liked the gearbox.
Love it! Always been a fan of Alec Issigonis work with the ADO16, and the Nomad makes it all a bit more practical! Wish I'd saved one of these back when I used to scour the 'Under $1000' section in the trading post! (When it was still in print!)
Lots of glass, yes we did get the Nomad in New Zealand 🇳🇿 😀 so this where we got the idea 💡 for the Maxi, I bet your glad its not a LHD with all that heat from the engines radiator. Thanks for sharing. Yes, we got the Maxi & Allegro & Van Den Plaa, sorry no spell check. 🍹👍👌🌎🗽
When I first Arrived in Oz from Uk. (1980) My Sister in Law lent me her Nomad. Until I had chosen what Aussie Car to buy. I plumped for an XA Ford Falcon. Bench seats of course..! The Nomad performed well until it Started to Get Warm in Sept/October. I had to Drive with the Heater on, to stop her Boiling off..! But it performed well for the time I needed it..!! I wish I still had it today. Nomad and or XA Falcon. They would be worth a few Bob today..! Cheers All. Kim in Oz. 😎
The ADO16 was offered with a 1275 and AP automatic in North America as the Austin America. It met with modest success in Canada, but didn't do so well in the United States. When our small family outgrew Dad's Sprite, he had three finalists for its replacement: Volkswagen Type 3 Variant, Austin America, and Opel Kadett Wagon. The Volkswagen was dismissed rather quickly, but the Austin hung in as we were to an extent already a BMC family with a Minor and a Sprite. The Opel won out due to its conventional rear-drive platform and the national (Buick) dealer network for service availability (which was a serious consideration with family in rural Georgia in 1970.) Cheers from Costa Rica!
I remember automatic Mini's and Metro's with the AP4 gearbox and they went through the gears very quickly. Around the early 70's AP fitted new pre oiler pumps that stopped it slipping when going into top gear
Thank you for showing us this car,I had almost forgotten about them,The Nomad with the 1500 motor was a delightful car to drive as was the 1100 and the 1800 of which I had three of them over a period.
Oh wow! Came for the car as they were rare here in Aus, but then I saw the Spirit of Tasmania ferry which I went on a few years ago with my now wife. She lived just up the road from the dock in Port Melbourne at the time. You should have stolen the Nomad away onto the ferry as Tassie is a beautiful place to visit.
Nice sharp steering, comfortable ride and Dinsdale is a speedy wee supermini hatchback thing. The first Skoda Fabia estate had similar reared styling but it was extremely ungainly compared to the Nomad. A lovely thing echoing loads of different vehicles from all angles and really clever rear seat. Yet again this would have sold over here no problem.
I owned a Morris Nomad around 1985 for a short while. I don't remember it being an automatic but the best part about it was the way the seats folded down. I always thought they will call it Nomad because you could sleep/live in it. Great video, thx.
What a fascinating hatch/estate. Dinsdale is a beaut. Think it's always sad to see BMC/BLMC cars of that era, knowing that it would all end soon! Many thanks HubNut.
Everything I'd hoped for. Great idea for the collapsing back seat. The bulged bonnet made me feel an actual sympathy for the 1100's flat contribution. Anyway, loved it👍
Very much like this, very cool! If only these had more sales perhaps the allegro could have been a hatch, and history could have been different. Leyland were so many times ahead of the curve. but one step forward two steps back was indeed the leyland mantra. Top work mr hubnut!
Lets start making stuff again in the UK ! Cars & Trucks, White Goods, TVs & Audio, Ceramics, Cotton goods & so on. Ship building. Anything & Everything. Lets become the Workshop of the World! Why not?
Looking back it seems all too often that Leyland (in Australasia) and BMC or whatever they were calling themselves in the UK, so often, seem to have "snatched defeat, from the jaws of victory". Consider the Leyland P76 with a choice of auto/manual, 2.6 six cyl, 3.5 or 4.4 litre V8 engines (I'd be thrilled if I could just have a 6 cyl manual today). . What about the 'Austin' Princess (wedge) which was crying out to be a hatchback with 5 speed gearbox from the very beginning and yet was denied by beancounters.
Yes the PALAIS Theatre is an icon of St Kilda. th-cam.com/video/9T7LDmCrH6A/w-d-xo.html Rolling Stones played there circa 1965 as well as many others. th-cam.com/video/fAKKUsCtvws/w-d-xo.html Possibly even more impressive inside.
My first car was a Morris 1500....picked it up 15 years old but in near new condition (50,000 miles) for $500. It was a 4-speed, but I soon swapped in a good 5 speed box. Once I'd sorted out a few BMC niggles and swapped in some decent front seats it was a good car, and I had it for about 8 years. A fast cruiser that handled well, strong, and great on fast outback dirt roads, and never really let me down apart from a blown head gasket one time that gave me the excuse to port it, swap in a set of 4:1extractors I found hanging unloved on the wall of an exhaust shop (neccessitating cutting the inlet manifold away from the cast exhaust- ah, the things that seem reasonable when young), and porting, flowing/rejetting the SU carby to match plus a few other tweaks. After that it was officially pretty quick- 100+hp is quick in a 800kg car...it easily embarrassed a mates new 'twin cam corolla' which was properly hilarious...
I love it ! Never heard of such a thing here in UK though, like the Kimberley - that was a nice looking car too. Good video, as usual Ian - thank you. :-)
When you closed the door I mistakenly expected the tinny clank sound typically associated with little cars. instead I was greeted with a hearty thud faintly reminiscent of a 76 Monte Carlo.
@@davidhynd4435 The Oz Leylands were all "beefed up" after taking them for long test drives over "bush roads". This was forcibly brought home to me when my mate & I hired an Austin 1300 in 1971, parked it on an uneven carpark, locked up, & came back to find the doors were all popped open. We suspected foul play, but nothing was missing, & we had to move off the uneven bit before the doors would remain closed. That would never have happened with an Australian made Morris 1100!
I spotted a Austin 1300 wolsley in red a few days ago in a local supermarket, it had been sat in a garage from new and had only done 33,000 miles it was a sight to behold I was smitten being a previous owner of a Austin 1300. I used to love the magic carpet fell ride it gave, also very nippy.
Fascinatiing as usual !!! It does make you wonder why that was never sold here, if it had been there really would have been no need to develop (if that's the word...) the Maxi unless it was a cunning plan to use up surplus Land Crab doors.......
Oh that was a treat indeed, much thanks Mr H. Who couldn't love a Maxi shrunk in the wash? Another mysterious (to us in the UK) motor, have to say it does look a little odd but I love it and wish they were sold over here. As an in house rival to the Maxi that was never going to happen. So sad there are so few left, be well Dinsdale and thanks to the owner.
The E series engines were brilliant. The 1500 lacked a little oomph but the 1750 was a stroked 1500 so heaps of torque. Rarely had to adjust tappets, which was fortunate since they used buckets and shims. I had 21 Marinas with these engines (before I lost count) and did countless thousands of miles in them. They kept me on the road during the early days of my marriage and was the car my wife learned to drive in. She loved the two she had.
The Australian mini came with hydralastic suspension and wind up windows. I once owned a 1963 mini cooper long stroke and it had sliding windows. My close friend had a mini deluxe and it had wind up windows.
I’m guessing that regular engine oil and filter changes are more critical with these cars with AP automatic gearboxes to ensure continued trouble-free operation of the transmission. I’ve got to say this vid is fascinating - I’ve spent most of my life in New Zealand and there were a few of these over here. Of course you don’t see any at all now. In fact I’d forgotten these even existed until I watched your video on the Kimberley. Once again a real joy to watch, Trekka one coming up next.
I had of the normal 4 door versions of these in 1973 - with the luxury pack. Biggest heap of crap out there but did do 83mph flat out on a cold night. Biggest worry was not the gearbox but the ignition failure every time the humidity got over 50%. 50 years later I would buy my old car back if it still existed.
I used to own a Morris 1500 manual. It was the sedan and I liked it so much, I ended up buying Austin 1800s Mk 1 & 2. I always was interested in the Kimberley & the Maxi. Never found a Kimberley for sale while the Maxi was never sold in Oz!
Hi Luv your vids. the 1500 was a genuine 105mph cruiser bucket seats, 5 speed gbox;/ overhead cam chain too thin. Kimberley was the only designed and made Austrlaian car like the 1800 ute. suffered from overheating and cable shift. should have had solid rods. \The kimberley had a FANTASTIC sus. perfect for Aust conditions. 4spd gbox for cruising. extremely roomy.. UNFORTUNATELTY IT WAS FRONT WD. and was thirsty. More vids please. when are you going to test a TR6. as I still have two of them. I hope you enjoyed driving on our roads. Stay safe. and thank you for spending so much time. for our enjoyment
It brought back arachnophobia memories for me.. I bought one from a work colleague for my father. It had sat in his shed for 20 years untouched, I inflated the original crossply tyres, put fresh fuel in it, a new battery, checked fluids and it started. I drove it out of the shed and rinsed 20 years of dust from it and then had a 30km trip home. The spiders started emerging from every nook and cranny about five minutes into the drive, and there were hundreds of every type imaginable from huntsman's to big shiny black ones... every traffic stop I had to get out and do the dance... it soon became dad's favourite runabout, and it kept his Citroen DS in the shed for some time. I just recall the spiders...
That low seawall reminds me of various visits to my grandmother, who lived a bit further down in Brighton. Driving from Adelaide, seeing that seawall meant we were close after 8 hours of driving.
According to the owner's manual in my VP, the autobox has a chain driven oil pump from the diff or driveshaft(I forget exactly) to enable tow starting.....it's literally designed to break down!!
Had this car been available in the UK, I could have been tempted, at least with manual transmission. Sadly, for whatever reason, it was never produced in the UK, indeed, I never knew of it's existence until today. Thanks for a great and unexpected review!
this nomad reminds me of the old morris 1100 (or austin can’t remember) that my neighbor used to own here in croatia. interesting thing is that bmc used to produce the mini, maxi and 1100 in yugoslavia for a few years in the 60s early 70s (maybe even the landcrab but i don’t know for sure) and when they stopped citroen bought up the plant and produced their cars untill the 80s there
Lots of jump cuts, i'm sure I don't speak only for myself when I say I don't mind the umming and ahhing (if that is what you chopped out) - It makes things seem more genuine and personal to me! Another great video of a curious little car.
Well entertaining Ian, thank you, the first observation I made was the Maxi rear profile, But this beauty is quite a lot better than the Maxi, Just in the steering. Cheers
I've been looking forward to this test . I had a 1500 Nomad in Melbourne the same colour as this. I got it free off a friend because it had stuck in gear (again) and the registration was due. I fiddled about with the gear selector and eventually got it so it would engage and disengage third. I drove it home several miles like that. More knowledgeable friends got involved and I ended up with a car which would select all except fourth, which was fine. I really liked the car; it was powerful enough and very economical. I even slept in it a few times after having a few too many at a party. IIRC you've got to open the doors to make the bed otherwise the arm rests get in the way. This was in the mid 1980's when no one wanted BMC stuff and they were just a disposable car. I'm surprised the survival rate is so low though. I wonder how many 1100s and 1100Ss have lasted? Nice to see "My" part of Melbourne too. You started filming in Albert Park, then drove through Middle Park and into St Kilda. For several years I lived very close to where you finished up. It was a fantastic place to live then; far more affordable than it is now. Thanks as always.
British Leyland vehicles are a remarkable combination of poor execution of good ideas and good execution of poor ideas.
A great summary ! To me, looking back it seems all too often that Leyland (in Australasia) and BMC or whatever they were calling themselves in the UK, so often, seem to have "snatched defeat, from the jaws of victory". Consider the Leyland P76 with a choice of auto/manual, 2.6 six cyl, 3.5 or 4.4 litre V8 engines (I'd be thrilled if I could just have a 6 cyl manual today). . What about the 'Austin' Princess (wedge) which was crying out to be a hatchback with 5 speed gearbox from the very beginning and yet was denied by beancounters.
Seems like a comment that should be pinned through the ages for all to see forever.
Hi Ian from Sydney, Australia. They may have only made 30,000 of theses in maybe 2 years , but the ADO16's lasted forever here in Australia, they "failed " to wear out, and , when new these Nomads seemed to be bought by older people who looked after them , as that had finally traded in their Aussie BMC "Morris Major Elite's: that by then they had owned for 10 years or so, then years later they seemed to trade their Nomads for Mitsubishi Magna Elites another Aussie "special" in the middle of the 1980's .
This period, say 1958 to 1974 Aussie BMC car owners were very loyal to brand, they would not buy anything else, and when Brit' Leyland/BMC Australia closed & decamped, the BMC car owners just kept their cars longer & longer.
So the cars were used to their maximum life span and in our hot dry climate rust is minimal, but what eventually happened when the cars were 20 to 25 years old parts supply became an issue which saw them go to wreckers & be crushed, or worse, an ignoble death as a demo-derby car. Same could be said for the Kimberley & base level Tasman, or the really unique, 1800 series one and series two Austin utes there were plenty of them, and also now there are none. ALL WERE BEAUTIFULLY MADE, well painted and virtually did not rust or break.
If petrol skyrocketed in price, or big engined cars were taxed highly, & I needed a 4 cylinder car it would be the Nomad or the Austin 1899 Ute, or for a small frugal MPG 6 cyl engine a Kimberley 2200, as they were decent quality items. At the moment I will stick with my 1967 Jaguar mk10 or 420G to give it its silly renamed BMC badge, and my 5 litre 1982 Holden Statesman Caprice, both almost the same size and level of luxury.
Yay a Nomad, or as my Dad called it the Gomad. I learnt to drive one of these at 10 years old. Ours was a 1500 OHC with the 5 speed gearbox. We sold it to a friend and then bought it back. The back seat folds down flat, the small pedals. The rego was JUG-009 (Vic reg) I loved this car. Bouncy hydroelastic suspension, just wonderful. I remember the wonderful exhaust noise and falling asleep in the back. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Hub Nut. Champion (I don't suppose anyone knows the fate of JUG 009?)
Snap, learnt to drive an Austin 1100 at 10 years old as well, easy to learn to drive in. Like you said brings all the memories back.
I would have called it the "Gonad". 😂😉
@@Spac8 i always thought No Mad Person would buy one
JUG 009 no longer on VicRoads registration system it seems :
www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/registration/buy-sell-or-transfer-a-vehicle/check-vehicle-registration/vehicle-registration-enquiry
Not really surprised given the low survival rate of these float on fluid cars.
An intriguing subject raised of the survival rates. A combination of how a car was loved and the reliability and ease of maintenance.
JUG 009 seems a much earlier issue plate than the 1500 OHC cars especially the later 5 speeds. This site says the JUG plates were from 1967 :
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Victoria
Did you go to the expense of keeping the plates of an earlier car?
@@johnd8892 I believe the plates were originally on my mum's Morris 1100. (I know only this from pics I've seen). Our friends had anther Nomad with prefix KPH.
The AP trans worked well until people thought they were doing the engine a favour by throwing in a friction modified multigrade oil. That knocked out the forward driving clutch inside the trans and, in most cases, required engine/trans removal, trans separation and disassembly. A friend, now deceased, used to be a service manager at a Leyland dealership and he *inherited* all the special trans tools. He could do one of these *in situ*. Hell of a savings in time and a hell of a lot of pocket money for him when he became an apprentice trainer with me in a technical college.
I was shown how to change the clutch in my mini cooper in 1971,I can still feel the pain in my back...
(without removing the engine...)
I guess it's a bit like using multigrade car oil in a wet clutch motorcycle
@@cliffwood4610 I worked at a dealership back in the day & we would change a Mini or 1100/1300 clutch in 45 minutes but if you didn't TDC the engine the horseshoe retainer would bite you in the ass. The rear main seal would add another 20 minutes to the job.
@@cliffwood4610 And I bet some of the bolts on the large clutch end cover never went back again ! I seem to remember you had to disconnect the engine mountings and heave the engine sideways to get access ? Minis were even more difficult than 1100s but fortunately less frequent customers. We could get the engine out of an 1100 in 30 minutes!
Looks bizarre, slightly Maxi at the back? Any minute now Basil will give it a dam good thrashing!!
With a twig. That'll teach it.
😂🤣
I am surprised that the Maxi wasn't offered to the Aussies, a lot more modern for its time.
Basil was not driving a Maxi, it was an Austin 1100 estate, see here:- th-cam.com/video/78b67l_yxUc/w-d-xo.html
@@thestarmusic Still would earn a twig twatting if it failed to start back in the day
Nice to see some Finnish shipbuilding excellence on the other side of the world, namely that Spirit of Tasmania ferry in the background. No cars made here (except some assembly in relatively small numbers), but if you need ships, we got you covered.
MusicMikko a read you guys are supposed to be the best drivers in the world. What a shame you didn't develop your own cars.
There are actually two spirit of Tasmania ship/ ferries, they leave Port Melbourne & Devonport in Tasmania nightly or daily depending on the season/ time of the year, they are both
Retired & sold off before their new replacements very shortly but l think have been put on hold and more so because of the “Toyota” corona virus.
Ha ha ha ☺️.
Finland is alive and well down under 👍.
Before the i phone and Samsung , Nokia was the biggest selling mobile. Consistently 👍
Owned a 1500 5 speed for 10 years was the most reliable car I ever owned drove the east coast of Australia north to south 6 times and slept in the back heaps of great times😊
Lovely example of what is now a rare car. As you said, only 15 left. Top marks to owner. Immaculate under the bonnet. Glad you found this one Hubnut. Lovely to have a record of it on the net for perpetuity. I do hope perpetuity appreciates it!
Suspect there are still rather more than 15, but sadly that's all that are roadworthy at the time of filming.
This takes me back. My "1100" was actually a 1300, and here in Canada it was called the America. Unbeknownst to me, it had already had a hard life when I bought it. Good thing I worked at a BL dealership at the time so my parts were cheaper. I had to replace one outboard CV joint and one inboard Dunlop/Moulton joint. I couldn't get the oil pressure up, and then found out the body was held together with bondo. I have to admit, though, I loved the way it handled. That suspension was excellent!
Working at that dealership, I remember we had a couple of Minis in requiring automatic transmission work. The final bills were kind of eye-watering. Engine wear would affect the transmission, and vice versa. Keep clean oil in there all the time.
The Renault 16 was the first hatchback in Australia followed by the Mitsubishi Colt 1100.
I doubt that there are many Morris 1100s left on the road as well. Unlike the mini it was unloved in the decades after the 1960s.
The rear seating and folding options are AMAZING and far ahead of their time.
I had a 1967 1300 auto when I passed my test in 1975. One day I was trying to keep the engine running with a few too many revs as I put the gear lever into ‘D’. There was a loud thump and from then on all the gear positions moved one space down the selector. This meant R was still reverse, but so was ‘N’. Neutral was next to 1 on the selector, 1 was next to 2 and so on. This meant 4 was next to drive so I had to drive it like a manual forever after that. Problem was, it would only start when the lever was in ‘N’- which was actually Reverse. So the instant the engine started you had to grab the lever back onto position 1 (which was actually Neutral) or you shot off backwards.
This is fantastic! My family, here in Melbourne, had a Morris 1500 bought new in 1971, so the sedan version of this, with the 5 speed OHC engine. This has brought back so many memories, as everything up front was the same. As a kid, I thought the ribbon speedo was the height of technology. It became my first car, but I found it a bugger to drive with difficult to change gears that I would often grind, probably more down to me as a novice driver. I ditched it after six months in 1984, traded it in for next to nothing. I remember the Nomad, and it seemed to me quite a common sight on the roads, but that's probably because you see cars you own about more. We went everywhere in the 1500, interstate trips into NSW and SA, staying at motor inns, the done thing at the time if you didn't do camping. The 1500 sedan was quite common in its day.
Thank you so much for doing this, I only did a search recently for a Morris 1500 and the best video was of one running in a garage. You've made my day!
Strange looking beast, but the AP transmission was really quite impressive.
I had a Mini Clubman automatic, 1975 vintage, for many years and did many troublefree miles in it. I liked the gearbox and the way it operated.
There's a South African 1100/1300 derivative called the Austin Apache with Michelotti restyled front and rear ends. This has a full size boot in its extended tail.
A really pretty car!
Always love the whining of the gearbox and the parp of the zorst on old Austin /Morris motors....
And it has a racy bonnet bulge, oooh I say!
I am so delighted that you came to Australia (and especially Tasmania). You have shown me more unusual cars, from my own country, and informed me of unknown details on cars I was aware of, in such a short visit as well! Thank you so much, each post has been thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyable!!
Two points I want to make. First, I love your extensive and fascinating knowledge about cars and the auto industry, like an encyclopedia in sandals. As with automotive presenters like James May, it's simply enjoyable hearing you waffle along about things like door handles and wipers which I find more interesting than the usual cold performance numbers to judge cars.
Secondly, I like the little bits of editor's commentary peppered in the videos. Many times it gives a good laugh, keep it up!
I totally agree with this comment. You took the words out of my mouth !
Keep up with this awesome work. It is the best and most fun way of portraing cars, which I have ever seen outside of printing a book. That mixture of, detail, humour, knowledge and presence of running-gags. Just fun to watch.
Thank you !
I was young when the 1100 where on the roads and remember them them well but at the time I thought they were ugly and grandma looking, now I have a respect for them and want the GT version.
Lovely video Ian.
I had a 1971 1500 5 speed Nomad in about 1984 when i was at uni. When I first took it to my friendly BMC / BL specialist mechanic at Frankston he said "oh, no. What did you buy one of those F***'ing things for? It's going to spew oil out of every orifice, it's going to jump out of gear, the tappets are going to clatter and are a mongrel to adjust, you should have spoken to me first!"
He was right, it did all of those things and more. It was a hoot to drive though. I'd love another one...
The 1971 build cars had the infamous "tall heater" of Marina / Allegro fame stuffed under the dashboard as ADRs in 1971 required a blower fan for the heater.
Such valuable advice from a BMC / BL specialist mechanic from the time. This is much more informative as to why these failed to sell. So many of the comments here are irrelevant to what happened back then. eg that they do not like the styling of the car now etc.
Yep your mechanic was right , add overheating breaking uni joints and engine mounts , but guess what as a young apprentice i fixed everything myself from changeing a clutch at a Motel carpark in Yeppoon to changeing an engine mount in the carpark at Hervey Bay . Ive never had a car that gave me so many smiles on long trips , the looks on peoples faces being past in an overtakeing lane doing 90mph in the late 80s priceless. Yes they had their faults but it was never off the road long could allways be fixed
My grandmother had a Morris 1100 auto. I didn't want to be seen driving it back in the day, but I would be quite happy to drive it now.
P.S. 4th gear *was* 4th gear, not Drive.
All of my automatics had R N 1 2 3 4 D. In D the gears changed automatically. Each of the numeric positions held that gear. Gear 1 had freewheel, the others provided engine braking.
@@htimsid Strange, you'd want engine braking at low speeds, too.
Looks a bit like a maxi and a 1100 smashed together!
With a bit of Wolseley 18/85 going on at the rear end.
Which no doubt happened a lot in wet weather.
@@RussEdgar445y7tlfj yup, and they did the same in South Africa by having normal round nose Mini front end and rear end of Wolseley and its predecessor having Wolseley front end but normal mini rear end.
Funny that's immediately where I went to, an interesting car.....if not a great one. The Aussi Marina Coupe still has the edge for me.
For someone who doesn't know those cars... it looks like a Volvo Amazon crossed with a VW Typ 3 and a hint of Mini
Makes an awesome sound! What a lovely wee thing. Makes you wonder, if Leyland Australia had lasted the course, what those guys would've made of the Allegro...Or rather, what those guys would've made the Allegro into...
I think that by 1973, they'd rather given up on front-wheel drive. They saw the future as Marina and Leyland P76, following the Aussie mainstream. Sadly Leyland Australia closed down the following year, so we'll never know what they might have come up with.
@@HubNut Yeah, good point. Looking at it in this way, a stretched Allegro rocking a V6 does seem somewhat unlikely...
@@paulbennell3313 Maybe an Allegro Limo?
@@antw3565 I'm tempted to say I've seen stranger vehicles made into limos (Hummer, anyone? No, me neither...)
The 1500 had an optional 5th gear! That would have settled it down on highways. Unfortunately, mine didn't have 5th but she was a real little goer. She served me well for six years - not bad for $Au500 in 1985.
The 4 speed was actually the 5 speed box with a blank fitted instead of 5th gear, and a modified shifter so you couldn't select the blank gear. (according to the service manual.) They made constant modifications to the gearbox and shifter to try to stop it jumping out of gear and improve the terrible shift quality. I had one of the last of them so it should have had all the modifications but the shift was diabolical. I later very briefly owned an earlier build 1500 4 speed and the shift was actually much better, so the modifications didn't help much...
The Nomad looks like a hybrid of Ausitn 1100/1300, Maxi, Landcrab & Wolsey 1800 all mixed together!
Nice area that, with all the palm trees.
Beaconsfield Parade from Port Melbourne to St Kilda - Palais Theatre and Luna Park
Just for accuracy you are actually in Port Melbourne where you can see the passenger & vehicular ferry the Spirit of Tasmania in the background, then you drove south a couple of suburbs away where you finished up in St.kilda, you can see the old Palais theatre & Luna Park in the background where you might notice the old timber treating that supports one of the oldest operating roller coasters left in the world that has been operating for l believe over a 100 years.
Love this car, I honestly think it’s a good looking automobile, a very honest design, all you need and nothing more. The simplicity of this car is beautiful!
That's such a delightful exhaust note! -And those shifts, proper rapid too.
Rapid up shift brought on by a light foot on the throttle. Stomp on it, they’ll hang in each gear longer.
You know you're in Australasia when you spot a Ute 8 seconds into the video haha
How amazing that the Morris Nomad was well ahead of its time with features that only became the norm years later - 4 speed auto, folding rear seats, hatchback, front wheel drive etc. My mother had a 1300 or 1500 for a short time. She says it drove beautifully but she traded it for a new 1971 Escort because it stalled every time there was a shower of rain. The mechanic had put a hessian bag inside the front grille to keep the rain out but that didn't really work.
What an amazing car! Thanks for bringing us these gems!!!
Fantastic video and looks like fun to drive, thanks for bringing this to us as we'd never have seen it otherwise. Leyland Australia really tried hard but were doomed really
Enjoyed the auto box sound of that a-series with it's nice changing sequence. Most 1100s i knew as a child always had two cushions in the back window and a nodding dog 😊
Aw bless, it's an 1100 with a flat cap.
Thank you for saving me from Bargain Hunt repeats while I have my sandwich 👍
Forgot to say it's beautiful, whoever saved Dinsdale did a remarkable job.
Sounds really nice... love it! 😎👍
I've read about the AP autobox but never witnessed one working. Apart from the 4-speeds (quite rare for autos of the day) it was also unusual in that it had an oil pump on the output shaft, meaning that a car with this gearbox could be push-started.
Glad to revisit this car review!
I really liked learning more about car production where I live!
Owned a 1500 manual from new. It was a good highway cruiser. The muffler's sound as I remember was ex factory, and I loved it.
The Auto box was I believe basically a semi-auto in the numbered positions with full auto in 'D'
The Cars manual described how to arrange the seats to form a double bed and I made full use of that feature.
The rear parcel shelf could be folded down to form an open space a la station wagon. Those seats were very accommodating.
Thank you for showing the entire luggage compartment. That's the single most important aspect of any car. :-)
THANK YOU (!!) for not talking during one of your standing starts.
Much as I do enjoy your commentary, I also want the chance to hear the car uninterrupted.
Sounds like the old girl doesn't like being driven hard during 3rd to 4th gear changes.
I imagine the oil filter must get clogged sooner with clutch pack material. This is not a car to skip oil changes in!
Slipping into fourth was sadly very common with these gearboxes. They did carry out some changes in the UK about the time this car was built.
HubNut here is a response I got in quotes on a discussion board when I mentioned seeing a Morris mini auto for sale.
"The Automotive Products 4 speed "jerkomatic"...
One hell of a weird transmission design, with shafts counterrotating in other hollow shafts, bevel gears and other workings instead of the conventional epicyclic transmissions of today's autos, and a cool governor system for deciding the shifts points where a flyweight governor driven off the output shaft moves a hydraulic spool valve further as road speed increases and the valve opens and shuts various hydraulic circuits to change the gears, and there is a spring on the governor for resistance, but the spring is pushed harder against the governor when the acellerator pedal is pushed further, giving both the kickdown and altering the shift point as throttle position changes.
Simple, ingenious, and didn't work all that well...but it was a damn good try!"
Nice, love how practical it is with the combination of an automatic gearbox. A real workhorse
Lovely little thing and very practical. Love that look, so different.
Another one I've been waiting for, classic quality HubNut experience, thanks. The car actually looks Australian
Dumping hydrolastic suspension was the silliest thing they did. It was brilliant.
We had an Austin Mini automatic. It had the larger 1275 engine with HS4 carburettor rather than the basic HS2. I remember being told in no uncertain terms to use Esso Uniflow oil, and no other. It was very expensive.
The car had a phenomenal amount of sound insulation.
When my father-in-law bought the car after we had it a few years he decided that the £1.00 a gallon Duckhams oil was suitable. Three months later the motor/gearbox packed in. I liked the gearbox.
Yep, they were fussy on oil but required nothing special, just a good quality one.
Love it! Always been a fan of Alec Issigonis work with the ADO16, and the Nomad makes it all a bit more practical! Wish I'd saved one of these back when I used to scour the 'Under $1000' section in the trading post! (When it was still in print!)
"He wants $500 for a Nomad? Tell him 'es dreamin'." Those were the days. (I paid $150 for my Nomad in about 1983. What would it be worth now?)
Lots of glass, yes we did get the Nomad in New Zealand 🇳🇿 😀 so this where we got the idea 💡 for the Maxi, I bet your glad its not a LHD with all that heat from the engines radiator. Thanks for sharing. Yes, we got the Maxi & Allegro & Van Den Plaa, sorry no spell check.
🍹👍👌🌎🗽
I've just watched CarWow's review of Skoda Scala (I know, modern) and he couldn't decide if it was a hatchback or an estate. And now this...
Was just about to post exactly the same thing. Presumably this was where Skoda got their design influence from.
Have yet to watch Mat's review. Regardless, it's the Nomad for me.
When I first Arrived in Oz from Uk. (1980) My Sister in Law lent me her Nomad.
Until I had chosen what Aussie Car to buy.
I plumped for an XA Ford Falcon. Bench seats of course..!
The Nomad performed well until it Started to Get Warm in Sept/October. I had to Drive with the Heater on, to stop her Boiling off..!
But it performed well for the time I needed it..!!
I wish I still had it today. Nomad and or XA Falcon. They would be worth a few Bob today..!
Cheers All. Kim in Oz. 😎
The ADO16 was offered with a 1275 and AP automatic in North America as the Austin America. It met with modest success in Canada, but didn't do so well in the United States.
When our small family outgrew Dad's Sprite, he had three finalists for its replacement: Volkswagen Type 3 Variant, Austin America, and Opel Kadett Wagon.
The Volkswagen was dismissed rather quickly, but the Austin hung in as we were to an extent already a BMC family with a Minor and a Sprite.
The Opel won out due to its conventional rear-drive platform and the national (Buick) dealer network for service availability (which was a serious consideration with family in rural Georgia in 1970.)
Cheers from Costa Rica!
I remember automatic Mini's and Metro's with the AP4 gearbox and they went through the gears very quickly. Around the early 70's AP fitted new pre oiler pumps that stopped it slipping when going into top gear
Thank you for showing us this car,I had almost forgotten about them,The Nomad with the 1500 motor was a delightful car to drive as was the 1100 and the 1800 of which I had three of them over a period.
Oh wow! Came for the car as they were rare here in Aus, but then I saw the Spirit of Tasmania ferry which I went on a few years ago with my now wife. She lived just up the road from the dock in Port Melbourne at the time. You should have stolen the Nomad away onto the ferry as Tassie is a beautiful place to visit.
Oh don't worry. Tasmania has been covered. th-cam.com/video/hC2D9BIfhAI/w-d-xo.html
Nice sharp steering, comfortable ride and Dinsdale is a speedy wee supermini hatchback thing. The first Skoda Fabia estate had similar reared styling but it was extremely ungainly compared to the Nomad. A lovely thing echoing loads of different vehicles from all angles and really clever rear seat. Yet again this would have sold over here no problem.
I owned a Morris Nomad around 1985 for a short while. I don't remember it being an automatic but the best part about it was the way the seats folded down. I always thought they will call it Nomad because you could sleep/live in it. Great video, thx.
Fascinating, that rear seat arrangement is ingenious
What a fascinating hatch/estate. Dinsdale is a beaut. Think it's always sad to see BMC/BLMC cars of that era, knowing that it would all end soon! Many thanks HubNut.
Morris 1100 at the front - Austin Maxi at the back 😎 I love it and greetings from the U.K. 🇬🇧
Everything I'd hoped for. Great idea for the collapsing back seat. The bulged bonnet made me feel an actual sympathy for the 1100's flat contribution. Anyway, loved it👍
Very much like this, very cool!
If only these had more sales perhaps the allegro could have been a hatch, and history could have been different. Leyland were so many times ahead of the curve. but one step forward two steps back was indeed the leyland mantra.
Top work mr hubnut!
Lets start making stuff again in the UK ! Cars & Trucks, White Goods, TVs & Audio, Ceramics, Cotton goods & so on. Ship building. Anything & Everything. Lets become the Workshop of the World! Why not?
Looking back it seems all too often that Leyland (in Australasia) and BMC or whatever they were calling themselves in the UK, so often, seem to have "snatched defeat, from the jaws of victory". Consider the Leyland P76 with a choice of auto/manual, 2.6 six cyl, 3.5 or 4.4 litre V8 engines (I'd be thrilled if I could just have a 6 cyl manual today). . What about the 'Austin' Princess (wedge) which was crying out to be a hatchback with 5 speed gearbox from the very beginning and yet was denied by beancounters.
Charming little car and I bet you surprised a lot of traffic with the sports exhaust.
St Kilda looks like a nice place. I like the Art Deco Palace Theatre.
Yes the PALAIS Theatre is an icon of St Kilda.
th-cam.com/video/9T7LDmCrH6A/w-d-xo.html
Rolling Stones played there circa 1965 as well as many others.
th-cam.com/video/fAKKUsCtvws/w-d-xo.html
Possibly even more impressive inside.
And, not but :05 in, did you catch the glimpse of Streamline Moderne?
@@johnd8892 Sorry, only caught glimpses of the theatre name as the bloke holding the camera kept pointing it at some old car ☺
@@xqqqme I hadn't heard of Streamline Moderne so had to Google it. I have to admit I actually like that style. Does that make me a bad person?
@@caw25sha Not at all! Actually, I'd say you're quite enlightened!
What a great and unique little car ❤️
It is a beautiful oddball!
I like the way the bonnet and grill make the car look bigger than it is. That brake booster is very similar to the one in my landcrab(of fond memory).
My first car was a Morris 1500....picked it up 15 years old but in near new condition (50,000 miles) for $500. It was a 4-speed, but I soon swapped in a good 5 speed box. Once I'd sorted out a few BMC niggles and swapped in some decent front seats it was a good car, and I had it for about 8 years. A fast cruiser that handled well, strong, and great on fast outback dirt roads, and never really let me down apart from a blown head gasket one time that gave me the excuse to port it, swap in a set of 4:1extractors I found hanging unloved on the wall of an exhaust shop (neccessitating cutting the inlet manifold away from the cast exhaust- ah, the things that seem reasonable when young), and porting, flowing/rejetting the SU carby to match plus a few other tweaks. After that it was officially pretty quick- 100+hp is quick in a 800kg car...it easily embarrassed a mates new 'twin cam corolla' which was properly hilarious...
Back in 1970, I used to have a Morris 1100 Automatic Estate. It was excellent, good performance and drove like a dream.
I love it ! Never heard of such a thing here in UK though, like the Kimberley - that was a nice looking car too. Good video, as usual Ian - thank you. :-)
This is what happens when a maxi and a mini get together. Would make good backroads cruiser. Want one😀
In the 70's they all seemed to be owned by little old ladies. Shopping, church, lawn bowls.
When you closed the door I mistakenly expected the tinny clank sound typically associated with little cars. instead I was greeted with a hearty thud faintly reminiscent of a 76 Monte Carlo.
I also expected the tinny clank. My Morris 1100 certainly did the tinny clank thing. I wonder what they changed?
Inside the door is 7 pound of Aussie dust, giving it a lovely sound
Is that before or after the built-in Monte Carlo metal oxidation set in?
@@davidhynd4435 The Oz Leylands were all "beefed up" after taking them for long test drives over "bush roads".
This was forcibly brought home to me when my mate & I hired an Austin 1300
in 1971, parked it on an uneven carpark, locked up, & came back to find the doors were all popped open.
We suspected foul play, but nothing was missing, & we had to move off the uneven bit before the doors would remain closed.
That would never have happened with an Australian made Morris 1100!
I spotted a Austin 1300 wolsley in red a few days ago in a local supermarket, it had been sat in a garage from new and had only done 33,000 miles it was a sight to behold I was smitten being a previous owner of a Austin 1300. I used to love the magic carpet fell ride it gave, also very nippy.
'IT FLOATS ON FLUID'
As a kid, I never understood those stickers.
Yes i rember the Aussie sticker, it floats on beer LOL
Look at that, an 1100 hatchstate. Nice review as always. 👍
Fascinatiing as usual !!! It does make you wonder why that was never sold here, if it had been there really would have been no need to develop (if that's the word...) the Maxi unless it was a cunning plan to use up surplus Land Crab doors.......
BTW the Autobianchi Primula was produced in 1964 with hatchback.....
Deliciously odd. Very glad you did this video, Mr. Hubnut, thank you very much for sharing with us!
I owned a 1500 Nomad in the early 80's and it was great. Blue in colour.
That's a lovely sound!
That transmission sounds silky smooth!
I remember when they were on the market, certainly very different to other cars of that era.
Oh that was a treat indeed, much thanks Mr H. Who couldn't love a Maxi shrunk in the wash? Another mysterious (to us in the UK) motor, have to say it does look a little odd but I love it and wish they were sold over here. As an in house rival to the Maxi that was never going to happen. So sad there are so few left, be well Dinsdale and thanks to the owner.
The E series engines were brilliant. The 1500 lacked a little oomph but the 1750 was a stroked 1500 so heaps of torque. Rarely had to adjust tappets, which was fortunate since they used buckets and shims. I had 21 Marinas with these engines (before I lost count) and did countless thousands of miles in them. They kept me on the road during the early days of my marriage and was the car my wife learned to drive in. She loved the two she had.
The Australian mini came with hydralastic suspension and wind up windows. I once owned a 1963 mini cooper long stroke and it had sliding windows. My close friend had a mini deluxe and it had wind up windows.
I’m guessing that regular engine oil and filter changes are more critical with these cars with AP automatic gearboxes to ensure continued trouble-free operation of the transmission. I’ve got to say this vid is fascinating - I’ve spent most of my life in New Zealand and there were a few of these over here. Of course you don’t see any at all now. In fact I’d forgotten these even existed until I watched your video on the Kimberley. Once again a real joy to watch, Trekka one coming up next.
I had of the normal 4 door versions of these in 1973 - with the luxury pack. Biggest heap of crap out there but did do 83mph flat out on a cold night. Biggest worry was not the gearbox but the ignition failure every time the humidity got over 50%. 50 years later I would buy my old car back if it still existed.
I used to own a Morris 1500 manual. It was the sedan and I liked it so much, I ended up buying Austin 1800s Mk 1 & 2. I always was interested in the Kimberley & the Maxi. Never found a Kimberley for sale while the Maxi was never sold in Oz!
Hi Luv your vids. the 1500 was a genuine 105mph cruiser bucket seats, 5 speed gbox;/ overhead cam chain too thin. Kimberley was the only designed and made Austrlaian car like the 1800 ute. suffered from overheating and cable shift. should have had solid rods. \The kimberley had a FANTASTIC sus. perfect for Aust conditions. 4spd gbox for cruising. extremely roomy.. UNFORTUNATELTY IT WAS FRONT WD. and was thirsty. More vids please. when are you going to test a TR6. as I still have two of them. I hope you enjoyed driving on our roads. Stay safe. and thank you for spending so much time. for our enjoyment
It brought back arachnophobia memories for me.. I bought one from a work colleague for my father. It had sat in his shed for 20 years untouched, I inflated the original crossply tyres,
put fresh fuel in it, a new battery, checked fluids and it started. I drove it out of the shed and rinsed 20 years of dust from it and then had a 30km trip home. The spiders started emerging from every nook and cranny about five minutes into the drive, and there were hundreds of every type imaginable from huntsman's to big shiny black ones... every traffic stop I had to get out and do the dance... it soon became dad's favourite runabout, and it kept his Citroen DS in the shed for some time. I just recall the spiders...
Brother traded up from an 1100 to a brand new one. I loved it.
The transmission shifts a bit like a modern Mercedes AMG or BMW M car, but more raspy.
It has a straight fluid coupling like the original Hydramatic, not a torque converter which tends to soften shifts because of the variable ratio.
That low seawall reminds me of various visits to my grandmother, who lived a bit further down in Brighton. Driving from Adelaide, seeing that seawall meant we were close after 8 hours of driving.
Wow - front end of an 1100 and the back of a Maxi?! Great drive Ian
This a fav flashback. They did sell OK but rusted away most gracefully.
No sensible person would have bet against Professor HubNut loving that car.
According to the owner's manual in my VP, the autobox has a chain driven oil pump from the diff or driveshaft(I forget exactly) to enable tow starting.....it's literally designed to break down!!
Had this car been available in the UK, I could have been tempted, at least with manual transmission. Sadly, for whatever reason, it was never produced in the UK, indeed, I never knew of it's existence until today. Thanks for a great and unexpected review!
this nomad reminds me of the old morris 1100 (or austin can’t remember) that my neighbor used to own here in croatia. interesting thing is that bmc used to produce the mini, maxi and 1100 in yugoslavia for a few years in the 60s early 70s (maybe even the landcrab but i don’t know for sure) and when they stopped citroen bought up the plant and produced their cars untill the 80s there
Yes, I saw some lovely Yugoslavian Citroens in Croatia last summer. Had no idea they'd produced quite such a range.
Lots of jump cuts, i'm sure I don't speak only for myself when I say I don't mind the umming and ahhing (if that is what you chopped out) - It makes things seem more genuine and personal to me!
Another great video of a curious little car.
That Issigonis guy, after doing the 1100 they should have sent him to Japan or Alaska.
Well entertaining Ian, thank you, the first observation I made was the Maxi rear profile, But this beauty is quite a lot better than the Maxi, Just in the steering. Cheers
Pity no column change with that front bench seat 🍻👌👍💚
I've been looking forward to this test . I had a 1500 Nomad in Melbourne the same colour as this. I got it free off a friend because it had stuck in gear (again) and the registration was due. I fiddled about with the gear selector and eventually got it so it would engage and disengage third. I drove it home several miles like that. More knowledgeable friends got involved and I ended up with a car which would select all except fourth, which was fine. I really liked the car; it was powerful enough and very economical. I even slept in it a few times after having a few too many at a party. IIRC you've got to open the doors to make the bed otherwise the arm rests get in the way.
This was in the mid 1980's when no one wanted BMC stuff and they were just a disposable car. I'm surprised the survival rate is so low though. I wonder how many 1100s and 1100Ss have lasted?
Nice to see "My" part of Melbourne too. You started filming in Albert Park, then drove through Middle Park and into St Kilda. For several years I lived very close to where you finished up. It was a fantastic place to live then; far more affordable than it is now.
Thanks as always.