Cars of the seventies and eighties that you still like the look of

[Richard A Thackeray]

Every spring Bee Gee's fans make the long pilgrimage to Cornwall where they can still see Morris dancing.

Also to the Isle of Man, to see their parents old shop & the statue on the promenade, at Douglas

 

[Chris S]

I think the Maxi sales pitch was that the back seats could be made into a double bed.

I never thought of the Austin Maxi as a passion wagon

 

[Gunk]

I never thought of the Austin Maxi as a passion wagon

Don’t come knocking if the Maxi is rocking!

 

[grldtnr]

Don’t come knocking if the Maxi is rockin by

 

[grldtnr]

Didn't the Maxi have Hydragas? It would rock in a strange way,we had the ADO 16 the Austin 1100/ 1300 ,another good car with excellent suspension, we had an Estate version in the family, accelerate hard ,the front went down & the back up, but soon levelled out.

 

[Reynard]

Didn't the Maxi have Hydragas? It would rock in a strange way,we had the ADO 16 the Austin 1100/ 1300 ,another good car with excellent suspension, we had an Estate version in the family, accelerate hard ,the front went down & the back up, but soon levelled out.

Surely the front end would be squatting under braking. Newton's laws and all that.

 

[Drago]

Surely the front end would be squatting under braking. Newton's laws and all that.

I'd agree, although there are plenty of passive suspension designs that don't, such as leading link or hub centre on motorbikes.

I've never looked in depth at hydragas but I think it displaces fluid about to counter cornering and braking compression...to some degree.

 

[Chris S]

we had the ADO 16 the Austin 1100/ 1300 ,another good car with excellent suspension, we had an Estate version in the family,

As driven by Basil Fawlty

 

[raleighnut]

Surely the front end would be squatting under braking. Newton's laws and all that.

What it is is caused by the hydrogas suspension, as the front end lifts transferring weight onto the back the suspension lifts the back to compensate then when the meagre power runs out and weight distribution is back to normal the back takes time to realise and compensate so is now too high despite the car still accelerating it doesn't have the same energy as that initial phase

 

[Dogtrousers]

Didn't the Maxi have Hydragas? It would rock in a strange way,we had the ADO 16 the Austin 1100/ 1300 ,another good car with excellent suspension, we had an Estate version in the family, accelerate hard ,the front went down & the back up, but soon levelled out.

We had a 1300 estate. I learned to drive in it. I remember when my dad got it, to replace the previous car, a Morris Minor and he was saying how powerful it was.

 

[FishFright]

Always liked the looks of the Alfa Romeo Montreal

Had a nice Matchbox model , probably the closest I'll get to owning one .

 

[Conrad_K]

Well, that's "as reported by American car magazines." Forty years later, I don't remember which one(s).

Wikipedia says "It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick Le Quément, and was noted for its aerodynamic styling," which doesn't specifically *say* they styled it, but it's strongly implied. Uwe's Bahnsen's page takes sole credit for the styling.

Good catch. Looks like the magazines (or Ford's American PR people) bit the wax tadpole on that one.

 

[Conrad_K]

I've always been ambivalent about the Montreal. It's a nice clean shape, and the "dramatic flair" gimcracks detract from that.

I wouldn't kick one out of my garage, but some private time with some body filler and sheet metal scraps might happen.

 

[Reynard]

What it is is caused by the hydrogas suspension, as the front end lifts transferring weight onto the back the suspension lifts the back to compensate then when the meagre power runs out and weight distribution is back to normal the back takes time to realise and compensate so is now too high despite the car still accelerating it doesn't have the same energy as that initial phase

Well, my Mini's got hydrolastic suspension on it, what with it being a Mk2 do yeah, I'm kind of acquainted with the characteristics. Or lack of them, shall we say...

 

[Reynard]

I'd agree, although there are plenty of passive suspension designs that don't, such as leading link or hub centre on motorbikes.

I've never looked in depth at hydragas but I think it displaces fluid about to counter cornering and braking compression...to some degree.

I know diddly squat about motorbike design, alas, so can't really comment.