My big Austin (pic heavy!)

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threelitre
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My big Austin (pic heavy!)

Post by threelitre » Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:54 am

So I am on the Rover 800 forum here - but some know me a little longer and will know that I am really not a Rover, but a BMC (well, Austin) man. For daily transport my family (with parents and brother) does feature quite a few Rovers. And this includes 800s and I'm often asked if there is trouble to solve (as you may have found here). Anyway, a bit on one of my more special cars...

Recently I noticed that I do own this 3litre since more than 10 years now, and did not have a photographic documentation of the car... Now we had a very sunny spell last weekend and I took the car out in the afternoon to catch some of that beautiful light.

Very short history of the car: Ordered and bought 1969 presumably as the private car of an RAF commander in (West-)Berlin, the car was one of 2 cars made to "German specification" of 54 LHD cars made. With less than 2000km traveled, the car was involved in a heavy accident near the Helmstedt border crossing, before ever reaching the iron curtain. The owner ordered a new one (same specification, some weeks later). Now after some hassle with the insurance the owner of the garage it was recovered to bought it and repaired it cheaply as his personal car. He used it from 1971 until retirement in 1985 and clocked up nearly 40000kms. Move on 15 years and the car gets into my hands with just over 40k kms from the drive to Aachen. Since then I've covered more than 10k kms driving from and to shows - this is basically a museum piece that I'll not use as a daily hack. I want to keep the condition more or less as is.

Here are the results:
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The rear end still show some deformation due to the accident and the not so smooth 1971 paint-job.

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Interior is easily the best part of the car:
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The car had no steering lock, but by 1971 an anti-theft lock and hazard warning lights were needed by law in Germany, so this little mod was made for the first requirement:
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Were all the fuel goes:
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Details:
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including period rubber...
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I hope you enjoyed this!

Regards,

Alexander
More cars then sense.... :)

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funkkydrummer
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Post by funkkydrummer » Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:45 am

Thats fantastic!

I'm currently looking for a proper classic. I have been considering only Rover (P4: 100, 105, 110 and P5: 3.0 litre, 3.5 litre) but this has given me something to think about.

I wonder how many Austin 3.0 litres are still going about in the UK........?

It's a really motor - one to be proud of! :D
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Post by Richard Moss » Mon Oct 24, 2011 12:37 pm

funkkydrummer wrote:I wonder how many Austin 3.0 litres are still going about in the UK........?
Not many!

I've got the 2 door coupe version -

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Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Post by Manalishi » Mon Oct 24, 2011 3:58 pm

Lovely. "Heartbeat" - Aidensfield...

And The MGC is lovely too! I nearly got one back in the days they were "cheaper".
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Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:30 pm

What a lovely old Austin 3 Litre you have there! You say the rear end is still a little out of shape - if it is it doesn't notice in the photo, certainly not to me anyway!

Love the "immobiliser" - Saab did a similar thing for many years as a standard production thing. To remove the ignition key, the gear lever had to be either in "Park" for autos or reverse for manual cars. To get the gear lever to move from that position, the ignition key had to be in place - needless to say the ignition switch was in the centre console.
Cheers,
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Post by dollysprint » Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:36 pm

Stunning motor Alex, and no where to plug in a diagnostic computer, heaven :D
When I first joined the Army in 1980 my first Commanding Officer had one of these as his staff car, shortly after it disappeared and a Cortina MK5 took its place, he was not impressed according to his driver, the CO never actually lowered himself enough to talk to me.

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Post by 47p2 » Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:59 am

Lovely old Austin, I do like them although I don't see many around the circuit nowadays.

When I were a lad our coal-man used to have one, it belonged to Triplex Glass when new and every window in it was fitted with heating/defrosting elements
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Post by threelitre » Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:10 am

Thanks for the comments!

These cars are rather rare, I guess the total number in the UK to be around 100, including those hiding in barns and banger racer's yards. And then a few on foreign shores.

What I forgot to mention: When I was a teenager, I remember reading a small advert for an Austin 3 litre in a large car magazine - this must have been around the time the care was laid up and I'm pretty sure it must have been about this particular car.

During family holidays in the UK in the 70s and early 80s, when 1100s were still littering every street and 1800s have not been rare, I can only remember spotting a 3litre twice. Oh, and once I've seen a beautiful grey one on the motorway in the south of France (UK registered) in the late 90s. But even on shows in the UK these are rare to be seen - and have been since I entered shows regularly about 1996.

Regards,

Alexander
More cars then sense.... :)

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Post by The Professor » Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:46 pm

I always liked the 3 litre and always fancied a Trafalgar blue one. I think it really suits the car well. The other colur i really do like is an Aubergine colour . I remember seeing one for the first time in that colour in 1980. We had a Wolssley Six and were holidaying with our caravan. We stopped of at a site just outside Oxford and when we came back to the site at the end of the day parked next to us was an immaculate Aubergine 3 litre. It was owned by a retired motor engineer .
Now thats a lockable glovebox complete with nice key. I had forgotten but our Wolsley had the same.
Very nice indeed.
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Post by threelitre » Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:24 pm

This particular car was painted Blue Royale - not too far from Trafalgar Blue, but some shades darker. The repaint is a little bit too light, as can be seen when looking at the inner surfaces of the doors that are just a little bit darker even on the pictures. My other 3litre (RHD, one of the very last ones) used to be in Blackberry (I suppose the colour you called Aubergine) - a wonderful colour together with very light grey seats. But during an earlier restoration it received a paintjob in Paladin red, an early, darkish red, a bit on the brown side of Damask...

1978 was the first sighting of a black 3litre for me, actually only the rear end in a parking in Lancaster. We've been traveling with my father's Austin 1800 S (still owned by him) and I was most fascinated by a black tulip coloured Wolseley 6 sitting in the showroom of the local BL dealer.

Regards,

Alexander
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Post by The Professor » Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:41 pm

Blackberry thats the colour i was trying to think of. Very nice.
I take it blue royale was an original colour? Did they make the 3 litre in Damask? i always thought they were in damask?
My grandfather had a Midnight blue Wolsley 6 that was a lovely car. Ours was Harvest gold with olive green seats the nicest combination with Harvest gold as far as i am concerned.
Glyn
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Post by threelitre » Sat Oct 29, 2011 11:03 pm

Yes, Blue Royale is an original colour. The 3litre was also made in Damask red (de Luxe cars) or Paladin red (earlier model). Also available: Cumulus grey, Fawn brown, Black, Snowberry White, Persian Blue. There must have been more, but I cannot remember from the top of my head.

Interior colours include:
Black, Dove (?) Grey, Mushroom (later Autumn Leave), Cardinal Red, Galleon Blue (what I have). The texture of the Ambla used had a different 'grain' to the one used on the Wolseley 18/85 Mk2 on otherwise identical seats.

I did very much like the metallic shades the Wolseley 6 came in - I nearly ordered my 1800 to be painted Cosmic metallic instead of Persian Blue that it features now. Lagoon was a bit too colourful for the 60s shape though I think...

Regards,

Alexander

PS: Does this post read a bit nerdy?
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Post by The Professor » Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:41 pm

You said Damask (de luxe) cars. Were there different specs? I thought there was only one spec for the 3 litre?

I often despair when i hear people trying to tell me that the 3 litre and stag had a leather interior. :roll: Included in that have been some 3 litre owners. :roll:

In June i referred to a 9000 mile Persian blue 3 litre coming to auction
http://www.rover800.info/forum/viewtopi ... ght=#80291

You may be interested to know it sold for £7150.
http://www.classic-auctions.com/Auction ... 0.aspx?p=2

Its now for sale at £15995. Thats some mark up.
For more pics see the attached link.

http://www.oldtimermanchester.com/detai ... uto_ID=378
Glyn
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Post by Charles Weaver » Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:03 pm

There was one of these 3 litre jobs in one of my garages. It had been there since 1990 to my certain knowledge without being driven. I saw it briefly in 2006 when it was covered in dust and piled high with junk on and around it. He died soon after and his family just emptied both his garages into skips. A nieghbour told me he saw the car on the back of a pikey truck on the way to the scrappie.

threelitre
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Post by threelitre » Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:32 am

The Professor wrote:You said Damask (de luxe) cars. Were there different specs? I thought there was only one spec for the 3 litre?

I often despair when i hear people trying to tell me that the 3 litre and stag had a leather interior. :roll: Included in that have been some 3 litre owners. :roll:

In June i referred to a 9000 mile Persian blue 3 litre coming to auction
http://www.rover800.info/forum/viewtopi ... ght=#80291

You may be interested to know it sold for £7150.
http://www.classic-auctions.com/Auction ... 0.aspx?p=2

Its now for sale at £15995. Thats some mark up.
For more pics see the attached link.

http://www.oldtimermanchester.com/detai ... uto_ID=378
I have seen that low mileage one (on the internet - not in real). The price from auction seems fine, the current asking price seems a little over the top. There was another low mileage one in very beautiful and completely original (in unrestored) condition - think of a well cared for 1/2 year old car!! - that sold for 6000 without haggling to Switzerland. I would have liked that one... (see here)

The earlier 3litre (pre de Luxe) had many differences. Amongst them a very different interior. This was featuring the seats of the Wolseley 18/85 Mk1 in leather (basically similar to Austin 1800 seats with otional leather). The trim on the top of the door panels was narrow as on the 1800, but real wood. These cars had no front quarter window (and would have been quieter at speed). Later cars got the spec as shown on my car, called 'de Luxe'. The trim design was later adopted for the Wolseley 18/85 Mk2.

Early interior:
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Regards,

Alexander

PS: I has to be said, that DuPont's Ambla is a very good material: It outlasts leather with ease in most cars and it up there with todays best faux-leathers (i.e. as used in Mercedes S-class on a few surfaces).
More cars then sense.... :)

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