Australian Cars In The UK

[quicksilver]

Found this for sale thread from 2008: http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=127595

M904KRP was apparently the only Tickford XR6 wagon development car and appears to survive although it hasn't been on the road in a decade The Tingewick car was likely the same colour (DVLA says green but it looks blue to me) but a sedan and possibly also on an M-KRP reg.

[quicksilver]

Also just remembered this Aussie Mini is in the UK, imported in 2016 (OBZ 868 is its UK reg and probably also its Aussie one). Note the different doors with quarterlights and revised handles to meet Aussie regs.

OBZ 868 - 1968 Morris Mini Cooper S (Australian-spec) by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Just remembered I've got a brochure for these things somewhere, Ford's misguided idea that all Ford fleets would buy one for the chairman instead of an XJ6 , trouble is they were more expensive than a Jag and probably not as good to drive as a Granny 2.8i Ghia X.

I only ever saw one , parked outside the Ford office just south of Oxford St in the space that at various times Mustangs and Mercury Monarchs had been seen.

[quicksilver]

46 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

Just remembered I've got a brochure for these things somewhere, Ford's misguided idea that all Ford fleets would buy one for the chairman instead of an XJ6 , trouble is they were more expensive than a Jag and probably not as good to drive as a Granny 2.8i Ghia X.

I only ever saw one , parked outside the Ford office just south of Oxford St in the space that at various times Mustangs and Mercury Monarchs had been seen.

Not to mention it looks so much like one that everybody would think it was just a Granada with a funny grille, making it rather pointless as a status symbol. I wonder if they sold any at all given that luxobarges that look like lesser models have a long history of failure (Pug 605 or Renault Safrane anyone?) and there were hardly any dealers to buy one from.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Mine is the last year of the 12v ( green rocker cover as you say) ,the 24v was avl in the next version the BA.

[Jikovron]

1 hour ago, overrun said:

Yeah, I know the lad, lives up here. Shame I never saw it in person. @Jikovron may be able to offer some info?

Aye that's a blast from a past life, Pandaman got it I think after seeing it in a piston heads advert, it had potential but the rust issues were abit extreme and the engine needed a rebuild which would have proven a sizable job finding bits given it was a Holden 308 rather than a common relatively speaking as muck 307 SBC 

[flat4alfa]

On 1/26/2020 at 9:29 PM, RoadworkUK said:

I think I'm right in saying that, although there's an overwhelmingly strong resemblance, the Falcon and Granada didn't actually share any common panels. 

Barely anything was shared. In the flesh, it’s more of a size up over the Granada 

I went in a good few when I lived over there, years ago. It was the width of them that stood out the most

Brits would talk about how well their Granada’s handled. But no Aussie would say the same of their XD Falcons. Sold well as Utes though, which were well regarded and ran into the ground, twice over

[Austat]

3 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

Just remembered I've got a brochure for these things somewhere, Ford's misguided idea that all Ford fleets would buy one for the chairman instead of an XJ6 , trouble is they were more expensive than a Jag and probably not as good to drive as a Granny 2.8i Ghia X.

I only ever saw one , parked outside the Ford office just south of Oxford St in the space that at various times Mustangs and Mercury Monarchs had been seen.

There's an '86 LTD which has been in abandoned in this car park near for as long as I remember. I recall seeing it multiple times since I was about 4 years old, I'm now in my mid teens.

It's in good condition though, being undercover.

[Austat]

Did any Morris 1500s come to Britain?

[Austat]

10 hours ago, quicksilver said:

Also just remembered this Aussie Mini is in the UK, imported in 2016 (OBZ 868 is its UK reg and probably also its Aussie one). Note the different doors with quarterlights and revised handles to meet Aussie regs.

OBZ 868 - 1968 Morris Mini Cooper S (Australian-spec) by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

I heard an interesting fact the other day that BL of Australia were ordered by Australian authorities to change the doors handles on their Minis for safety reasons, it was something under the lines of them injuring pedestrians I believe. At first they put rubber guards on the front facing corners of the door handles during c.1969-1971. Then with the introduction of the Clubman range, they changed the door handle design so that they didn't stick out in c.1970. 

https://classicregister.com/id-guides/info-guide-1969-1971-morris-mini-cooper-s-mk2

[jmsguzzi]

https://fbwat.ch/1VcMHKHB2TnKqma0

[Datsuncog]

On ‎1‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 2:24 PM, MorrisItalSLX said:

On the P76 front, there were 2 sent for evaluation, a saloon and a coupé, the latter never reaching production. There is also a Targa Florio in the UK too. All 3 of these cars survive to the best of my knowledge.

Interestingly, a while ago I turned up a pic of a UK-registered P76 saloon doing the tourist sights in 1973...

SOE 326L - Birmingham plated, so possibly there's a link to Longbridge?

Seems to be a different car from the orange one in your pic, PLW 286L (London plate), which does indeed seem to still be around - currently out of tax, but a new V5 issued in late November last year.

So maybe there was more than one on UK roads...

 

I understand the blue Force 7 coupe, eventually used by Lord Stokes for his own personal transport, arrived into the UK a bit later, in mid-1974 - hence the M-registration.

I believe it was shipped to New Zealand around 2004, and now lives happily with an enthusiast.

Sadly, nearly all of the 56 or so complete and part-built Force 7s were destroyed in 1975, having hung around the Zetland factory for nearly a year after its closure.

Apparently Leyland Australia couldn't sell them on the open market since they hadn't yet met type approval regulations; although eight examples were saved and later auctioned off as collectors' items.

Ow.

I do love the P76 myself, and if I had the time and money I know where I could find myself a few restoration candidates...

[MorrisItalSLX]

10 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Sadly, nearly all of the 56 or so complete and part-built Force 7s were destroyed in 1975, having hung around the Zetland factory for nearly a year after its closure.

Apparently Leyland Australia couldn't sell them on the open market since they hadn't yet met type approval regulations; although eight examples were saved and later auctioned off as collectors' items.

Ow.

All of the surviving examples were the mid-range Force 7V, of which I have an owners manual for, but there has been some discussion about the existence of 2 top spec Tour de Force examples.

These modern photographs are the only evidence of their existence, but I’m convinced they are out there. Somewhere.

[Datsuncog]

I really hope they are... it's not beyond the realms of possibility that staff formerly involved in the Tour De Force's development might have found a way to spirit them out of the shuttered factory before the crushers moved in.

It's brilliant to think there may indeed be some automotive unicorns still in hiding!

[flat4alfa]

JOE 526L

[flat4alfa]

Targa Florio

YJT 246M

[flat4alfa]

_EL 445L

http://www.leylandp76.com/private/uk/kev.html

[quicksilver]

Interesting stuff on the P76. That page implies the red car is JOE 526L repainted and re-registered (which is plausible as JOE 526L is now on a modern Saab), and that and the orange one PLW 286L were the two sent over for evaluation. There's a couple of interesting bits on AROnline to confirm:

• One reporting Leyland hoped to sell 5000 of them in the UK and intriguingly also that the station wagon would be more popular, but a P76 wagon never materialised here or in Aus: https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/leyland/p76/leyland-p76-in-the-uk/
• One on the fate of the UK cars, which implies both still existed with the same owner in 2012: https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/leyland/p76/essays-a-tale-of-two-leyland-p76s/

[sierraman]

5000 of them... that’s the fuzzy logic thinking of BL all over. 5 of them perhaps! 

[MorrisItalSLX]

2 hours ago, quicksilver said:

but a P76 wagon never materialised here or in Aus

There was a prototype, and it still exists too.

[AnthonyG]

There’s a Holden Commodore estate about three streets away from me.

https://www.holden.com.au/cars/commodore-sportwagon 

Did a double take at the badge as I initially thought it was a new version of the Vauxhall griffin, until I clocked the nameplate on the rear.

[flat4alfa]

33 minutes ago, AnthonyG said:

There’s a Holden Commodore estate about three streets away from me.

Sportswagon was as much as 30 percent of total Commodore sales, ten years ago...

Not now though ?

[JeeExEll]

^ But what's that in the bottom left of the pic?? . . . 

 

There were two of them . . .

The Scottish Falcon XB GTs.   Link to more info -

http://www.aus-ford-uk.co.uk/html/the_scottish_gt_s.html

Both cars scrapped long ago but 'number plate' refers to a driving school at Ingliston near Edinburgh. Connection with the race track or just advertising for a driving instructor from that area?  Don't know.

[xtriple]

I hate to see cars that have fallen into disrepair, makes me want to rescue and restore them. Probably why I'm so skint!

[Asimo]

Hereford, Aldi car park a few years ago. Holden Adventra

[Spottedlaurel]

On 1/26/2020 at 9:11 PM, TripleRich said:

Larger Mk2 Granada with a V8?  Yes please!  Did any make it, I've never seen one?

I'm not sure if it was a V8, but one was raced at a Swaffham Icebreaker circa 20 years ago (maybe more).

In slightly different vein......

1988/89 Holden Nova (Toyota Corolla) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

[Mrs6C]

13 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

http://www.aus-ford-uk.co.uk/html/the_scottish_gt_s.html

Both cars scrapped long ago but 'number plate' refers to a driving school at Ingliston near Edinburgh. Connection with the race track or just advertising for a driving instructor from that area?  Don't know.

 

This place, I believe...
https://www.ingliston.co.uk/

[mullett471]

On 1/27/2020 at 8:11 AM, TripleRich said:

Larger Mk2 Granada with a V8?  Yes please!  Did any make it, I've never seen one?

Only thing they shared was the headlights.

I have two of the XD (as above)..one a 1979 Fairmont Ghia with the 4.9 V8 (302 Cleveland) and a 1981 Falcon GL with a 4.1 straight 6

 

[cort1977]

10 hours ago, Asimo said:

Hereford, Aldi car park a few years ago. Holden Adventra

Those are really rare even in oz because they are a bit shite really. Think they rushed them out to compete with the territory. Just a regular dunny door wagon but the 4wd didn't work very well in the dirt.

[flat4alfa]

7 hours ago, mullett471 said:

I have two of the XD (as above)..one a 1979 Fairmont Ghia with the 4.9 V8 (302 Cleveland) and a 1981 Falcon GL with a 4.1 straight 6

Nice

I do like those wheel too. Do they have a name?