Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.
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Rick Site Admin

Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22780 Location: UK
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 10:59 am Post subject: Austin 1100 / 1300 & derivatives |
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Morning all,
The latest recollections-of-a-particular-car-thread, and the candidate for discussion/recollection is the BMC 1100/1300, and the many variants based on the ADO16 design. What are your memories of these cars? do you own one now, or perhaps one "back in the day"?
My first ever road journey, back from hospital was in an MG1100, the radiator grille of which hangs in the garage to this day. More recently I found a low mileage (17k) one-owner VdP which dad has taken on, formerly the property of a R-R engineer in Derby. Overall a tidy and sound little car, with a fab interior, hopefully it'll be on the road later this year.
Rick _________________ Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop |
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traction39

Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 399 Location: South Wales
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:43 am Post subject: |
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I learnt to drive in an MG 1100/1300. Not sure which! It was two-tone blue/grey (maybe the colour will say) and originally owned by my grandfather..reg HRS ???G (Aberdeen). It eventually was part exchanged for...wait for it....a Simca 1100!!!! Always good to see them around, although my wife gets a little annoyed when I remind her that I learnt to drive in one every time we see one!  _________________ Alistair
Citroen Light 15 1953, "12" 1939,
Riley 9 Special 1932 |
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Keef

Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Posts: 371 Location: Sheerness Kent UK
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:46 am Post subject: |
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Nice looking VDP Rick.
I've got a few ADO16s as you probably know.  _________________ Keef - Sheerness Kent UK
62 A40 Farina, 65 VDP 1100, 74 Maxi 1750, 76 Maxi 1750, 77 Maxi 1500HL, 79 Maxi 1750HLS, 80 Maxi 1750
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustinMaxis/
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bob2
Joined: 06 Dec 2007 Posts: 1728 Location: Malta
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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grandma had one a morris 1100 mk 1 with the recessed grill, bonnet mounted badge and rear squarish reflectors, was a light blue originally with a red interior (very nice), later got resprayed (got involved in a minor crash) to brown colour (tobacco brown i beleive) yuk!!!
Miss that car, my uncle sold it in 1998 for the great sum of Lm75 (approx. 130 sterlings) and it was still totally solid without any rust and the suspension only needing pumping up every now and then!!
Wish I had kept it now but at the time wanted a mini cooper and had recently bought a rover cooper so could not keep the 1100 as well!!
tried to trace it but to no avail unfortunately, probably got scrapped!!
my father used to drive it a lot before he bought our mini so it also had sentimental value for me!!
until the mid 90s there were still a lot in regular use in malta but nowadays they are a rare sight!! |
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ukdave2002
Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 4232 Location: South Cheshire
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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Remeber them well, I had 2; when I was a student in the 80's!
They were poorly put together rustbox's !! the latter ones must have been at the assembled during the very dark BL days.
I love them
Must have done just about every job on them. rebuilt engines and gearbox's all straight forwad stuff , repaced sills , wings and that wrap around front panel, even had a bonnet hinge mouting corrode away on one of them
The worst job I had was when a front rubber mounting on the rear subframe failed the MOT, you are supposed to take the subframe off to replace it, I managed (with a long crowbar) to lever the subframe back enough to get the old one out and new one in.
Fond memories!
Dave |
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Richard H
Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Posts: 2150 Location: Lincolnshire, UK
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:20 pm Post subject: |
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I nearly bought a two door Austin 1100 Mk2 I saw for sale in a local scrapyard in 2007, but it was £300 which I thought was a bit much for a car with no MOT and rotton sills at the time. It had 60,000 miles on the clock and was in quite good condition. Sat in the yard for about 6 months before finally disappearing. I have no idea what happened to it. The registration was TJN 370H if anyone knows where it is now?
My dad's first car was an MG 1100, sadly that died of rust in the late 1970's. _________________ Richard Hughes |
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peter scott

Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7211 Location: Edinburgh
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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After my sister wrote off my parents' Mk VI Humber Hawk my father bought a Morris 1100 and I remember it as being a very good car. It appeared modern in comparison to the heavy-weight Hawk and although small, had lots of interior space and not a bad boot either. Being small and quite perky it wasn't too bad to drive once you got used to bus driver style driving position.
317 HUS in July 1966 (Also XGA 349 my first car type vehicle. A BMW!) and PCM hasn't overtaken the telegraph poles yet!
The two side rails of my father's boat trailer were bought from a scrap yard that dismantled double deck buses. They are bus entrance hand rails.
An Austin 1100 (a 2 door) was responsible for my wife and I getting together, giving me an excuse to visit her due to the need for a small repair. It got sold but she then acquired a 4 door one that I inherited from an aunt. It had a real coffee grinder gearbox but I bought it a complete engine and transmission from a scrap yard for £20. Unfortunately this didn't have any spark plugs and had been sitting out in the rain. The gearbox was fine but the engine was very rough. Investigation revealed some very corroded sections of the cylinder walls where the pools of rain water had formed. I later swapped its original engine into place and it became a very nice car.
Peter _________________ https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon
Last edited by peter scott on Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:04 am; edited 14 times in total |
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PAUL BEAUMONT
Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 1281 Location: Barnsley S. Yorks
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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Like UkDave I had 2 when I was a student, but a decade before Dave. 1st one cost me £30 because the girl owner was emigrating. It was a Mk1 in pale blue, but she had adorned every panel with large Magic Roundabout Character stickers. It was inherited with the name Doogle!!!!
It was fairly rotten so was abandoned for a mini countryman, which was inturn abandoned for a Mk2 one owner 1100 but with serious gearbox problems. No problem, I knew where there was a gearbox - in Doogle.
I drove it home from Northampton (20 miles), leaking oil and with a selection of 4th or nothing in the gearbox!
After the rebuilt gearbox I did about 50K in it before the oil warning light started coming on at tick over, so I rebuilt the original engine and did a further 30K in it before it broke the crank. Stuck a 1300 unit in it until it eventually was scrapped.
Brilliant motors. Can someone explain how BLeylover (what ever they were called that week) managed to metamorph it in to the all agro???
PAUL |
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Keef

Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Posts: 371 Location: Sheerness Kent UK
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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Richard H wrote: | The registration was TJN 370H if anyone knows where it is now?
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The enquiry is complete
The vehicle details for TJN 370H are:
Date of Liability 01 05 2006
Date of First Registration 10 10 1969
Year of Manufacture 1969
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1098CC
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type Petrol
Export Marker Not Applicable
Vehicle Status Unlicensed
Vehicle Colour WHITE
Vehicle Type Approval _________________ Keef - Sheerness Kent UK
62 A40 Farina, 65 VDP 1100, 74 Maxi 1750, 76 Maxi 1750, 77 Maxi 1500HL, 79 Maxi 1750HLS, 80 Maxi 1750
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustinMaxis/
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CMI-Cars

Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 76 Location: Denmark
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 3:59 pm Post subject: |
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I considerd buying one a year back, it stood at 600 £, but decided to buy the 2 Anglias instead. Some of them still pops up time to time, but dosent have much space left. _________________ 1938 Ford 10 7W
1948 Ford Anglia E04A
1949 Ford Prefect E493A
1950 Ford Prefect E493A
1952 Ford Anglia E493A
1953 Volvo PV 831
3x1953 Ford Anglia E493A
3x1954 Ford Popular 104E
1955 Ford Popular 104E
1956 Ford Popular 104E
www.cmi-cars.com |
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victor 101
Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Posts: 446 Location: East Yorkshire
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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Many years ago I worked for a guy who was a typical Arthur Daley, he bought an 1100 at auction and when it was delivered I went to drive it into the workshop, when you let out the clutch the front wings and bonnet came up like a speedboat. everything else stayed where it was. |
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Keef

Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Posts: 371 Location: Sheerness Kent UK
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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victor 101 wrote: | everything else stayed where it was. |
You should have taken the handbrake off!  _________________ Keef - Sheerness Kent UK
62 A40 Farina, 65 VDP 1100, 74 Maxi 1750, 76 Maxi 1750, 77 Maxi 1500HL, 79 Maxi 1750HLS, 80 Maxi 1750
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustinMaxis/
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ukdave2002
Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 4232 Location: South Cheshire
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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victor 101 wrote: | Many years ago I worked for a guy who was a typical Arthur Daley, he bought an 1100 at auction and when it was delivered I went to drive it into the workshop, when you let out the clutch the front wings and bonnet came up like a speedboat. everything else stayed where it was. |
Ha ha, I'd forgotten about that feature! it was down to the F-R hydrolastic suspension, I some times used to amuse myself waiting at traffic lights; with the car in gear, and the handbrake on, release the clutch , the nose would go up, depress the clutch , nose would go down and then as it bounced up release the clutch again, repeat the process until the car was rocking like a rocking horse ......yes I know little things amuse etc  |
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52classic
Joined: 02 Oct 2008 Posts: 493 Location: Cardiff.
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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Yet another OCC feature car that I love!
Always think there's an MG 1300 2 door with my name on it somewhere. J or K Reg I expect.
K series engine with a Metro 5 speed box would not be too sacreligious I think.
These were a popular choice when I started driving in late 60's. MK 1s could be had for pocket money but had the benefit that you drove a 'current' car.
I've owned several but my favourite came into my hands when, newly married, early seventies, we felt we could just about afford a second car.
A relative lived in a block of flats with allocated parking spaces and one night a very tidy 1300 turned up unlocked but with no keys and within a few days the wheels and battery went missing and the 'owner' of the space started complaining.
I contacted the Police who said that the car was stolen and that they'd notified the owner who was not interested at all. Amazingly the Police agreed that it it would be best for eveyone, especilaly the people in the flats, if the car just vanished - Yes, they would turn a blind eye.
So armed with a set of wheels and a battery 'borrowed' from a mate's car I just hot wired it and drove home.
No objection to my application for a log book and a set of Cosmic wheels with SP Sports were sourced from a local scrappie to finish it off.
Super addition to the family and it was actually worth money when we sold it on a couple of years later. |
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exbmc
Joined: 18 Jun 2009 Posts: 236 Location: Derby East Midlands
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:23 pm Post subject: ADO16 |
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Wow! Nice looking VdP Rick. Derby registered, I wonder if it came from Kennings in the town, or one of the other depots in the county? I was not working there when this VdP was sold, so I know I did not PDI it.
I remember the very first transporter full of 1100's arriving, sometime in 1962. They had not then been announced, and all the badges were covered in sticky tape to hide their identity. Actually, I don't recall even knowing they were coming, I first thought it was a 4 door mini!! At that time, the "raciest" cars we sold were Morris Oxfords and Minor 1000's, along with Wolseley and Riley variants, so the 1100, with it's stylish new lines was a bit of a sensation! I only owned one myself, it was a white MG 1100, I recall it could "tramline" for England on it's cross ply Dunlops. A set of cheap radials transformed it into a very nice car. |
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