Tim Chadwick nails his colours to the wall, and looks to see if the time has come to recognise the Austin Princess as a classic

As with many of us, when I was a boy I would collect automotive brochures of new cars from automotive dealerships and swot up on their specifications, and study the pictures intently. Cars were always photographed in various situations to suit their perceived niche or to stir up want and pride of ownership. But nothing prepared me for the day I first viewed the Austin Princess!

Although reared on a diet of late ’60s sci-fi, in which anyone important drove an angular, gull-winged car of the future, the Austin Princess was for me (and many others) a shocking, brave statement on the perceived future of car design. Mechanically the car offered all the best features of the Issigonis-inspired era of the front-wheel-drive saloon car with family comforts that BMC buyers had come to expect from the Austin/ Morris/ Wolseley 1800 range. The wedge shape, however, was totally alien. Quite frankly, you have to look at prototypes of the original Bertone Lancia Stratos or the Aston Martin Bulldog and Lagonda to find anything more wedged and radical — and

Once inside the Princess, and having got over the rudimentary dash and accoutrements, everything is actually quite straightforward

British Leyland was doing it with its top-of-the-range, mid-sized saloons and the TR7 sports car! Code-named ADO (Austin Design Office) 17, the initial Austin Princesses of the 1970s were released in March 1975 as the 18-22 series, the numerals coming from the 1800-2200 engine sizes. By October 1975 the cars had become known as Princess under new badging after British Leyland was nationalised, following its difficulties with unions, management and finances.

Powered by the four-cylinder BMC B-series engine mounted transversely, the Princess cars of this time rode on the solid reputation of the old Austin 1800 family, and the new British Leyland Hydragas suspension that replaced the Issigonis models’ Hydrolastic suspension.

In 1978 the Princesses gained a new O-series engine and added refinements, which were ongoing right through until the model’s demise in 1982. This wasn’t the end of the radical aerodynamic wedge, however, as the final years of the shape saw the Princess reborn with windowed C-pillars as the Austin and Vanden-Plas Ambassador in its native UK. The Vanden-Plas version was fitted with twin versions of that great British mainstay, the SU (Skinners Union) carburettor.

Before the ’80s were over and done, the whole technology of the BMC/SU set-up was well vintage and archaic compared with what was being produced in Europe and, more importantly, in Japan, a country producing cars which had in that decade firmly established themselves as leaders in reliability and functionality.

Here the Austin Princess cars were well marketed, some advertising posters even proclaiming “It’s a Triumph!” with the words of industry below, a catchphrase hoping to lure the owners of the British Triumph saloons — then being phased out by British Leyland — and hopefully adding to the customer base of previous BMC Landcrab owners. Princess cars were manufactured in Nelson at the NZMC (New Zealand Motor Corporation) plant, the first front-wheel-drive cars to be assembled there.

Enter Mr Bean

Our featured Princess belongs to Chris Elliot and Tina Westall of Taranaki Toys, two motoring enthusiasts more commonly known as Mr Bean and Tina. They’re long-standing and popular toy dealers via TradeMe, New Zealand’s online internet-based auction house. Chris’ specialty area is old ephemera and toy motor vehicles — he regularly uses the 1981 Austin Princess on business trips involving the ever expanding nostalgic toy market.

“The old Princess is a great car for what I do because of its large boot, and it stands out,” says Chris with an impish grin. “But I wouldn’t call the Princess a statement car, more of an amusement car, because it’s not so much for making a statement as a bit of a talking point really, among the right people.” What Chris is referring to is the inherent ’70s wedge kitsch value in the now classic Austin Princess.

It doesn’t lack in power, Chris related. “In fact I can drag off Tina’s Honda at the lights¦ until the sweet spot of her car’s VTEC engine kicks in further on.“

“The car has never once let me down,” continues Chris, “although I have found the lack of power steering a bit tough at times, and there’s a bit of a problem the car seems to have with windows misting up on wet days if I’m full of passengers. Perhaps the ventilation is a bit out of date. Having said that, it’s a great car and the steering certainly builds up my muscles.” A chuckle emanates from the toy dealer’s slight frame.

For Chris Elliot the Austin Princess isn’t just a lifestyle choice, but a car that has nostalgic connections — when Chris left school in 1978, in the UK, he first went to work selling Austin Princess cars new at Wadham-Stringer Ltd in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. “These were the first cars I dealt with back in England, and so I think with the Princess it’s been a case of going full circle and connecting with where I first started. We began this new business of Taranaki Toys using the same kind of car that I started my first job with!”

For Mr Bean and Tina the Princess may indeed be a good omen, as their business has expanded and grown beyond pre-loved toys to brand new diecast models and other avenues of collectible goods.

The real test

For me it meant going for my first drive in one of Mr Austin’s wedges and checking things out for myself. Once inside the Princess, and having got over the rudimentary dash and accoutrements, everything is actually quite straightforward. The old Austin makes genuine BMC sounds from days of yore from both the gearbox and the engine bay.

Chris was not wrong when he referred to the heavy steering. Owning a Princess sans power steering, one could easily cancel the gym membership and build real shoulders just negotiating car parks and city streets. Happily, however, I can report that there was no lacking in power from the eager, overhead cam two-litre engine imbibing freely through its single SU. Second gear in particular saw useful revs rise rapidly. It doesn’t lack in power, Chris related. “In fact I can drag off Tina’s Honda at the lights¦ until the sweet spot of her car’s VTEC engine kicks in further on.”

The suspension was adequate by modern standards and the seats also comfortable in a basic way; the vinyl, along with the carpet, looking as though they were lifted straight off the shelves of Triumph remnants, with patterning, carpet texture and colouring pure British Leyland era 2500TC! I felt the brakes were very good, which is probably not surprising as these later Princesses featured the four-pot discs at the front, often sought-after for a variety of classic race car applications.

Provenance

Although the car was first sold through a Hutt Valley dealership, Chris and Tina bought this good example of a Princess off an elderly gent in New Plymouth, who had obviously looked after it. There is a grey metal tag under the bonnet reading ‘GPO’, and it’s also grey-stencilled in the engine bay, so Chris wondered if the Princess started life in the Hutt area as a Government Post Office vehicle (a reader may be able to shed some light on the GPO branding.)

Now, after more than a year of ownership and with business expanding, Mr Bean and Tina are looking to move on to another car, thereby freeing up the Princess to a prospective Austin or 1970s enthusiast. “I’ve enjoyed the Princess,” Chris said, “but it’s time to see it move on to a caring owner who won’t be doing the sort of mileage I’m covering, so we are offering it for sale to an approved owner. We wouldn’t want to see this good example of a rare car wrecked or having its disc brakes robbed.”
Chris has a point really, and it’s for this similar reason that I jumped at the chance to write up an Austin Princess.

After the introduction of cheap Japanese used import cars in the late 1980s, Princesses fell by the wayside in droves and began stacking up with regularity in wreckers’ yards to the point where now you very rarely see an Austin Princess of any sort on our roads, period. The classic enthusiast who wants rarity would have to go for the early Wolseley version with its central grille section (complete with the trademark light-up badging), or the very last of the Vanden-Plas Ambassador versions.

However, quite frankly if you’re looking for a piece of BL ’70s kitsch, now is the time to buy as there are few good ones left; they don’t fetch much of a price; and parts are relatively cheap via the aforementioned wreckers’ yards. They are distinctive cars with looks you cannot escape, whether you like it or not. I’m unsure as to what kind of statement you would be making owning and driving an Austin Princess, but you would be making a big statement of some sort.

Stockpiled Princesses

NZ Motor Corporation, amalgamated from the local assemblers of English Standard Triumph and Morris vehicles, at first found it hard to move the radically styled Princesses. These have been stockpiled on the Nelson wharf probably in 1978, with the windows painted to prevent sun damage to the interiors. (Photo John Miller, originally published in Assembly: NZ Car production 1921-1998, Reed 2002.)

Austin Princess

Engine: Cast-iron four-cylinder
Capacity: 1798cc (1998cc ‘2.0-litre’ from 1979 onwards)
Transmission: Four-speed floor-mounted manual, or automatic
Max power: 65kW (87bhp) @ 5200rpm (2.0-litre 69kW, or 93bhp)
Max torque: 138Nm (102lb/ft) @ 2750rpm
Carburettor: Single SU
Brakes: Four-pot discs at front, drum rear
Notes:
‘HL’ denotes ‘highline’ with vinyl roof and higher specifications. Some 2200cc, six-cylinder, overhead cam models were imported privately; these are outwardly distinguished by trapezoid headlights.
NZ assembly began in December 1978 at Nelson — the 1800 DL model sold for $8695, the HL for $9680 and the HL Auto for $10,153.
In 1980 the Princess R model was introduced in New Zealand with radio, vinyl roof and an up-spec interior. By April 1981 the NZ prices were $11,495 for the 1800 DL, then $12,340 and $12,995 for the other two models.

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