It's a Maxi adventure - Maxi in the media

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Maxi grilles post 1970 are the same. but BL  arsed around with the silver bits - to correct yours, just take some 800 grit to the grille and polish off some black paint. Maxi 2 grilles vary - early ones had no centre badge, post '81 had the badge and some really late ones had all black. The correct 1750 centre badge has the chequered flag inlay because Maxis are, of course, first across the line of life i.e for winners only.

 

 

Have a photo of ur 1750 m8:

[Six-cylinder]

I thought it was only a matter of time after your disappointment of not getting the last one you wanted!

 

I too have had a look around at the Maxi this year, but fortunately my current Metro obsession is suppressing the Maxi one!

[quicksilver]

Thank you for all the Maxi love! I knew it would be liked but wasn't expecting quite so much wholehearted approval. Early days yet but I'm sure there are many fun times ahead. Will write a longer reply tonight when I have more time.

for maximum shite points you need to adjust the reversing light switch so they inform the following traffic you "are going into 5th"

Funnily enough that's exactly what it does - the only apparent fault is a dodgy switch that puts the light on when changing gear going forwards.

[inconsistant]

That's ace, well done to you both.

[oldcars]

Very nice looks like a good one.

[LC Torana]

Fantastic.

 

Not only is this the epitome of Autosh!te, but a practical and versatile car that can do absolutely anything.  Shopping trips, long holidays, loads of timber, moving house, anything at all.

 

One odd thing though - 35 posts and not one diesel joke.

[Spottedlaurel]

Looks like a great purchase, well done!

 

Interesting car ownership doesn’t have to be as complicated as it is for some on here. Purchase a good, solid example, use it, enjoy it and don’t worry about it being concours.

 

I would have been driven around in one or two as a youngster, but I can’t recall anyone in our family having one. They had a bit of a fuddy-duddy image, but being a FWD hatchback they were vaguely radical (sufficient for people like my grandad to keep buying Marinas).

 

I remember some study or survey looking at the average family in the early ‘80s. As I recall from the article, they found a family that typified the results and they had a dark green Maxi.

[quicksilver]

Two quick questions while I'm on my lunch break:

1. Anyone know exactly what colour it is? Red obviously but there are several shades and we're not sure which one.

2. Would this be a Hydragas car? It was registered in March 1978 and we think it is but don't know exactly when in 1978 the change was made.

[SamR380]

Looks great! I'd never really considered a Maxi but seeing the proper hatch-back and low loading level has got me thinking...

[barefoot]

I seem to remember that they are relatively thirsty for what they are?

[Split_Pin]

Love it! I remember seeing a fair few Maxis in this colour back in the day so this brings back fond spotting memories.

[Asimo]

I seem to remember that they are relatively thirsty for what they are?

Don't think that is true at all. Often considered slow for the engine size but not thirsty. I remember low to mid 30s mpg, perhaps 4 or 5 mpg better than similar size Ford/Vauxhalls of the day. Manual "choke", SU carb and the fifth gear really help economy, as does the laid back driving style these encourage.

 

A quick look at the rear (easier to see) suspension units will tell you if you have gas or rubber springs, they look quite different.

[Eddie Honda]

2. Would this be a Hydragas car? It was registered in March 1978 and we think it is but don't know exactly when in 1978 the change was made.

 

Probably not. Just have a look under the back. The bottles are in the middle.

 

[carlo]

I like the sound of your seller, sounds like me with my 405s.  If you find a car perfect for you why change it?  Especially for some modern shit.

 

Nice car, I like the way you can actually see out of the back of it.  You would of thought that might have caught on.

[Richard]

They were supposed to be quite economical for what they are, but that's from a time when mid 30s was considered good for a family car.

[barrett]

This is some absolutely TOP NOTCH 'shiting going on here. I really think Maxis are genuinely cool now. I would love an early one, but nice examples seem few and far between and when they do rarely come up for sale they seem quite pricey for my means.

I'd day, though I don't really know, that they have suffered a much higher rate of attrition than Allegros despite a longer production run, and they have never quite managed the cult status that Allegros now seem to have aquired

[plasticvandan]

They were never popular, not because they were shit,but because they didn't really fit a slot in the market.Allegro has a following because of its reputation,in an ironic way.Maxi to me is one of the best BL era cars,and the last Issigonis design to go into production too

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Two quick questions while I'm on my lunch break:

1. Anyone know exactly what colour it is? Red obviously but there are several shades and we're not sure which one.

2. Would this be a Hydragas car? It was registered in March 1978 and we think it is but don't know exactly when in 1978 the change was made.

 

1. Damson*.

 

2. Hydragas - February 1978.

 

 

Edit: It could also be Damask red.

[JohnDeere]

Fantastic. Top buyage there. I spotted the wrong grill, so I'm glad you mentioned that and it's not a sign of a previous bump.

 

I presume from your description of the torque and pulling in 5th at 25mph that you got the diesel version? (OK, someone had to).

 

Mind, do be aware that that's the only pulling you'll be doing in a Maxi.

[Asimo]

One more point needs to be made about the Maxi: in the 70s there was no car more likely to pick up this hitchiker. Maxis really were very common, and their drivers were generous when they saw a hitching thumb.

 

Favourite thing about them? The tailgate hinges set into the roof and the two catches for that tailgate.

[AMC Rebel]

As with a lot of the chod on here, as I am so old, I've had a couple of these.

 

Mind, do be aware that that's the only pulling you'll be doing in a Maxi.

 

This was not my experience - although I was a lot younger and fitter.

 

I had an H reg brown one - with the dash that looked like (but I think slightly predated) the MK3 Cortina, ten foot long gearstick and obstructive cable gearchange.

 

 

Mine was a 1500 - smooth, quick and economical compared with the MK1 Escort Van it replaced, and hardly less capacious.  I fitted a rev counter which confirmed that even with the 5th gear it was quite low geared, but it would cruise at 70 all day on the motorway unless it was raining - I later established that the massive loss of power when trying to pass Artics on the Motorway in rainy conditions was due to the ingress of spray from their wheels shorting the HT leads/dizzy - as per old Minis.  I also found there's (or should be) a plastic shield on the front of the engine to prevent this.  A visit to the scrappers to get one cured the issue.

 

I only had two ftps - one in Hull where I was at university - the fuel pipe that runs over the top of the engine perished and pissed petrol everywhere - luckily no fire and the AA man mended it no probs.

 

The other one was after I bought a second car (1973 - Black but originally some other colour) as the engine in the brown one had shat itself due to an embarrassing piece of "maintenance" I did.

 

I borrowed an engine crane from a mate and got another mate to help me swap the motors over.  Easy enough job although my Ma had a sense of humour failure about the massive oil slick on the drive.

 

The second ftp was entirely my fault - I changed a buggered driveshaft and dropped the car back off the jack forgetting to tighten the wheelnuts fully - boshed the hubcaps back on and went out - inevitably the wheel fell off.

 

Managed to jack it up and refit the wheel having retrieved it from a surprising distance away, but it had ripped the front wing to bits, so the trip home was the last it made under its own steam and my Ma insisted on getting my wrecks removed by the scrapman some weeks later.

 

Memories of many happy times though!

 

When you think about it - contemporary Fords were cart sprung (Escort) rear drive (fun to drive but space-sapping and with live axles, gave a choppier ride), 4 speed (Escort, Cortina), no hatchback option (only a full estate) and hardly more reliable or less rusty. The Maxi was actually pretty good for its time.

[robinmasters]

One odd thing though - 35 posts and not one diesel joke.

Terrorists stole all the Maxi diesel jokes to fund sabotaging someone who was collecting a Renault.

[chodweaver]

 

Efa

 

<some tosh about Maxis in films>

Sent from my GT-S5830i using Tapatalk 2

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

 

When you think about it - contemporary Fords were cart sprung (Escort) rear drive (fun to drive but space-sapping and with live axles, gave a choppier ride), 4 speed (Escort, Cortina), no hatchback option (only a full estate) and hardly more reliable or less rusty. The Maxi was actually pretty good for its time.

 

 

Read contemporary road tests from the seventies and they all say that. Michael Scarlett (RIP) had an early 1750 in Damson red on a J  and compared the ride comfort and cruising ability with an XJ6. Maxis had a couple of failings - the steering is pretty heavy and the gear change was never very good. But compared to a Mark 3 Cortina with its shocking, axle hopping ride and terrible rear seats, the Maxi was actually very good really. 

 

I once borrowed a 1500 in Sandglow on an R plate to take a V12 Jaguar engine and gearbox up to Ron Beatty in Coventry. Box trailer? Fuck that, open the hatch and crane it in, engine first with the auto box tailshaft near the tailgate. After a moment, the Hydrolastic recovered and it went from Oxford to Coventry like a dream.

 

But I never understood why BL changed the dash - the original was functional and very modern for 1969.

 

The Maxi was possibly BL's best product.

[AMC Rebel]

Totally agree about the dash - and although the rod gearchange was an improvement it was really just an improvement on the laughably crap cable system. It's pretty ironic how many cars now use cables to great effect.

[barefoot]

I'd forgotten about the two catches for the tailgate, for a completely flat loading lip.

My old man's was a 1750HL with the twin carbs, it replaced his Morry Thou & as a teenager I thought it accelerated at near lightspeed.

 

re the obstructive gearchange, for a short time my Scirocco felt exactly the same & refused to engage certain ratios on occasion,

I've since wondered if with a little fettling the Maxi box couldn't be set up to select with precision & smoothness.

[quicksilver]

And still the Maxi love continues :shock:  Didn't expect it to go down such a storm! Dad had today off work for tinkering so more improvements have been made. There was a correct badge in the boot so following Skizzer's suggestion this is now fitted and it looks like an HLS and a million times better. The previous owner may have been a skilled engineer but he wasn't much of an electrician. He converted it to electric windscreen washers and cut a nice neat hole for the switch but wired it to the radio feed with random bits of wire, tape and chocolate blocks that were hanging down below the dash, so this has all been ripped out and rewired properly.

 

There is much evidence of gifferness in the paperwork: a load of old tax discs and receipts and a diary from 1986 in which he seems to have logged everything that happened to the car. He taxed it continuously but only ever for six months at a time and never filled the tank, buying just enough fuel to get where he was going so sometimes he ran out and had to refill it from a can, and all this is documented. He even made a note of the date when the wipers failed - that's giffertastic detail!

 

Found another old pic on Flickr, at BL Day 2011. Peterborough is only just down the road from his home so he used to go there regularly.

Austin Maxi by Andy, on Flickr

[Felly Magic]

I had a Maxi adventure this year, my mate Martin C gave me a lift to Wroxham in his Limeflower beast, was a smooth cruise there, but old Maxine got a little hot and bothered in traffic, but no FTP was had. 

 

 

[quicksilver]

It's now been a fortnight since we collected the Maxi and a lot has happened. Have a look at the blog to see what we've been up to: https://rustyoldrubbish.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/a-fortnight-of-maxi-ing.html

[MarvinsMom]

yey! i'm glad that this fine old bus has met, and even exceeded your hopes, and that it has given you and your father plenty of fun.

 

plus i can recommend that the new grill badge does suit it well, however looking at the picture above, it reminded me of this

 

 

 

 

just cos that original style badge looks like a nose. and i am childish enough to like sponge-bob.