Austin Maxi

A page dedicated to my association with the Austin Maxi. The first British hatch back and the bench mark for all modern hatches. Made at Cowley, Warwickshire, which is now the home of the BMW Mini. This page will, I hope, enlighten you to the pleasures of owning a Maxi. Much maligned by Wide Boys but loved by the enlightened.

Our Maxi “Yvonne”. Above right shows her dressed as a “Camper” at the NEC CLassic Car Show 2002.

My father bought our family’s Maxi in the early seventies and this is where my first memories of the Maxi mark come from.

Dad bought the car from Granddad Taylor who had been employed at the Austins for years (see Dad’s memoirs). Granddad had been in charge of Longbridge’s company car garage which was next to the experimental block. Not long after he had bought SOM 501H the experimental block changed the 1500 cc engine for one of the first 1750 cc units. Dad says that it was fitted so that the new engine could be given some genuine road testing to see how it performed. It remained badged as a 1500 and, I believe, insured as one! Mom, Dad and I went on many holidays in it, (My brother Kim, by then, was old enough to go on holiday with his friends.) mainly walking holidays in remote places. Wales being a favourite, especially the Mynydd Du and the Black Mountains and also the Elan valley. We camped in the car. Mom and Dad slept in the Maxi and I in a little blue canvas pup tent to one side of the car. It had no ground sheet or fly sheet, wooden poles and the flap was done up by tying together six ribbons. They had no curtains in the car but this didn't seem to bother them much. In those days walking was not so popular as it is now and we were quite often the only people for miles around. Later just Dad and I camped in the Maxi when on week end walks in the Mynydd Du.
We had an open fire at home in those days and we were always scouring the countryside for free logs. We were often ferrying backwards and forwards anything from old fence posts to logs. I remember once going round a new roundabout in Redditch and down in a dip to one side was a pile of logs from trees felled to make the roundabout. (To the left when going between the big roundabout by Tescos and the next immediate roundabout on the way to the hospital) We did a bit of off roading down to the logs and loaded the back up a number of times till they were all gone. Not sure if this was legal or not but the oak logs kept us warm for a while! I also remember trips to the tip with the back of the car piled high with rubbish and in those days no one took much notice of scavengers like me so I wandered about the heaps of rubbish collecting things Dad usually demanded I leave behind. I do remember finding an intact Airfix model of an Heinkell 111 which I brought home with me. I also remember Mom opening the door of the Maxi and throwing out her old 1970s cork wedge soled sandals and going home barefoot.

We had two terrific crashes in the Maxi proving just how robust a car it was. My Dad failed to notice a car stopped in the road (attempting to turn right). We hit the rear of the car which was a white MGB GT. The MG, with its startled driver, shot across the road, down an embankment and into a telegraph pole. The car following rammed us. After exchanging details we drove off leaving the others by the side of the road! It was certainly a tough car. Not long afterwards Mom was driving and Dad was navigating. Dad said “Straight over the traffic lights at the next cross roads” Mom did but didn’t bother to see if the lights were on red or not. It so happened that they were on red and we met another car coming from out of the side road. The wing of the opposing car pushed a large V shaped dent in the front of the Maxi but, surprisingly, touched no vital part (the radiator being on the near side of the engine and not in front as with rear wheel drive cars.) The first I knew that we’d had a smash was when my head came into contact with the door post as I had been kneeling on the rear seat looking out of the open near side rear window at the time. When the stars in front of my eyes had subsided it was obvious that the other car was a write off. Our Maxi on the other hand ran fine but the wheel arch rubbed on the tyre when we turned a corner. The local butcher came out with a crow bar and sorted the problem out. We drove away again. Dad was getting worried at this point as he thought he wouldn’t be able to get any insurance if he had another accident!

Eventually the Maxi succumbed to rust, or perhaps the engine mounts gave way. Dad came home without the car one day and when I asked him where it was he replied “The engine’s fell out!” He’d been going round a corner when it happened and had to get a lift home. Soon after my father part exchanged her for a tiny, white, Fiat Camper Van (KCX 489N). I remember us pulling out of the FIAT garage and looking at SOM 501H from out of the Fiat’s window as we passed by. I felt we were betraying her. It just didn't seem right. We had good times in the Fiat but it just wasn't the Maxi. A search for SOM on the DVLA’s web site show that she’s no longer registered. Presumed scrapped. (As with KCX)Pity really as she could well have been an important historic vehicle.

SECOND ENCOUNTER:
The five of us (me, Jean Louis (Lou) Johnson, Tammy Harris, Alan Moorse and camera man Richard (Dicky) Hull) decided one day in 1985, when we were eighteen, to go on a camping holiday. None of us had a decent car for the chosen journey to Port Einon in South Wales. Tammy’s Dad said he had a Maxi we could use but it had been stood for a year. He kindly gave it a service and an MOT test. On the chosen day we loaded her up and off we went.

This photo is typically posed. Eighteen years old, maverick, fed on Monty Python and the Sex Pistols. No idea what I’m gurning at or what Louis’s doing, Tammy’s even less sure. Alan’s just suffering!
It was to be one of those holidays: very little money and plenty of rain. We set off and soon discovered that after a short while, in a prolongggged downfall, the wipers had an annoying habit of blowing the fuse. Eventually reduced to using Cadbury chocolate bar foil, which proved not to be inexhaustible, we finally decided to pull over at the nearest phone box for me to call my Granddad (Jo Taylor of SOM 501H fame). He suggested the wires in the wiper switch were in the wrong sequence but was unsure what the sequence should be. On extracting the switch we observed a number of wires. Like Russian roulette we pulled two wires out and swapped them round. Rain hammered down on the roof whilst we replaced the switch and the penultimate piece of foil in the fuse box. Ignition on, wipers on, fuse holding Houston. Marvellous. Forward to Port Einon.
Reaching Port Einon, though the rain had stopped and with sodden ground beneath our feet we pitched the two house tents: Face to face and close together with a sheet of polythene roofing the space between. Both were three man but one was newer than the other. Tam, Lou and Dicky bagged the best whilst Alan and I were relegated to the second division. Everything was damp. Alan contracted serious tonsillitis and managed to dislocate his shoulder when lying on his sleeping bag. I remember him saying with cracked voice: “What the hell am I doing here!” I tried to utter encouraging support but felt sympathetic.
I remember that the holiday was remarkably unmemorable. I do remember a terrific rain storm, thought, kicking up one night and there being some plaintive voices outside our tent asking permission to enter. Their fine tent was flooded, our old tent was dry! We said “****off, sleep in the Maxi!” They did with little complaint.
That’s all really. I can’t remember much else except having breakfast at a Greasy Spoon in the Mumbles. Steam gently rising from our moist clothes in the relative warmth of the cafe and drawing patterns in spilt tea on the Formica table top and wondering what to do next.
I wonder where DUY 564S is these days? Not to be found in DVLA’s search. Presumed scrapped!
PS. Is that another Maxi beyond ours?!
If you want to see more about camping in a Maxi in 2007 please click HERE.

THIRD ENCOUNTER:
In May 2001 my wife and I decided to buy a second car. We nearly bought a modern Rover for £2.5K but we couldn't bring ourselves to part with the money. In the back of my mind I had this hankering for a Maxi. I’d had it for years. I tentatively broached the subject with Jacky and she was horrified! I was surprised but later found out she thought I meant an Allegro. It turns out that her Mom and Dad had had a Maxi too! I didn’t impress anyone else though. One night I went to the local pub and met my mates. We sat down and after ordering the drinks I dropped into the conversation the fact that I intended to buy a car. When I said that I was thinking of buying a Maxi I was met with a wall of silence. I’m sure I would have been met with the same reaction if I had said “I’ve a grenade in my pocket” or “I’ve won the lottery”. Then they all talked at once. “Too slow!” “Tanks!” “Rust buckets!” “Ugly!” But I stuck to my guns and after contacting the Maxi OC Jacky and I were put in touch with Phil Marrison. He said there was a lovely damask red 1500 (YVC 468K) with 43K on the clock up for sale up near Coventry. We drove up and met a retired couple at their lovely house in a cul-de-sac. He showed us around an impressively clean Maxi, even lifting up the carpets to show the absence of rust. He had some photos of work carried out the previous year, especially the replacement of the outer sills with genuine (almost none existent now) BMC parts. The gentleman took us for a spin and explained how the synchromesh was going in all the gears and he had toyed with idea replacing the gear box. There was some difficult gear changes and plenty of crunched gears as we negotiated the route round the block. He advised us we should not attempt to go any faster than 50 mph. On return to his house we sat and had tea in his kitchen and he gave me a gentle quizzing about my experience of using a spanner. Questions like “There’s an oil leak where the gear selector rod enters the engine. Can you fix this?” “Yes” I replied. “Should be a simple task of removing the rolled steel pin from the selector shaft and extracting the oils seal. If it’s like a Mini I should be able to get two oil seals in as double protection against further leaks.” I think he wanted to make sure I was genuinely going to look after, what was after all, his wife’s pride and joy. She was noticeably absent throughout the whole time. The pain of parting must have been too much. I handed over £600 cash. He tried to give us back £20! so we split the difference.

Wondering whether I’d made the right decision. Thinking of new gear boxes and fragile engines I set out with Jacky following in the Metro. I found after a while that she was quite capable of motor way driving and 70 mph easily attainable though 60 preferable. The gears were a bit unforgiving but, over the years, I’ve learned that not to rush them is the way to smooth gear changes.

After a thorough service and an extra polish she (Yvonne) looked and ran beautifully. My staunchest “rust bucket” critic was amazed. “It’s ticking over better than my new Rover!” he said when we met him for the first time in Tesco’s car park. On the 7th July 2001 we went on an epic journey to Larkhill near Amesbury for Army Day 2002. (a journey of just over 200 miles.) I say epic, I’m sure it was for the car because I think it had only gone to the local shops and back over the last thirty years! We took Mr “Rust Bucket” (Alan Moorse by the way) with us. His first reaction was “Blimey, I’ve my own settee in the back here!” We made the show, enjoyed a picnic and sat back feeling rather pleased with ourselves! Some friends were parked near by and whilst we were away they were amazed at the attention given to the car. Comments like “Most comfortable car I ever owned.” “So much space! You don’t get that in modern cars do you!” We had a great drive back and believe it or not, arrived home at the same time as our friends in a modern Subaru (and probably managed the same mpg as well!). The more people who come into contact with "Yvonne" the more they realise just what a good car the Maxi is. If you’re into posing around town, beating other cars away from the lights, have an ego the size of Namibia, vanity the size of Mozambique or just need to travel from A to B at the speed of light with speed cameras flashing and cops chasing you then a Maxi is not for you! Maxis are reserved for practical people who are now content with life and need a cheap, spacious, comfortable and versatile British classic. (Mind you, if you change the inlet and exhaust system for something a little less restrictive a 1500 will do 120 mph!

Above: Potted shrimps and a fresh brew of tea at Lark Hill Garrison.

Jacky and I were quite unprepared for the amount of interesting places and people we would get to meet whilst in the Maxi OC.. The AGM was held one year on the 23rd April at Dr. Alex Moulton’s house down near Bath. For those who are not familiar with Dr. Moulton he was a contemporary of Sir Alex Issigonis who designed many cars for the Austin including the Mini and Maxi. Dr. Moulton designed the rubber suspension of the mini and also the Hydrolastic and Hydrogas suspension used on cars such as the Maxi. Hydrogas is till in use today on the Challenger MBT. Dr. Moulton showed us around his grounds and allowed us to cycle one of his new bicycles now under production at his factory next door. I was introduce to the charming gentleman as I had redesigned and had had made a new radius arm bush for the rear suspension. He gave the thumbs up to the design and chatted to me about some of the problems he had encountered with the Allegro suspension. Afterwards we drove up the Foss Way for our AGM at Gaydon, British Motor Heritage Centre with free admission to this most interesting and poignant museum.

REASONS FOR AND AGAINST THE MAXI

WHAT DOES IT COST? (2000)

Purchase price (43,000 miles on the clock):

ANUAL RUNNING COSTS:

MOT test:
Insurance (Fully Comp, 2 drivers, breakdown
recovery/home start):
Road Tax:

Beat that!

Above. My father’s first Maxi SOM 501H. Below: Mom getting dressed (left) and me (Right) after a night camping in the car. Circa 1978.

£600

£45

£137

£0

FOR

1) Designed by the legendary Issigonis.

2) Britain’s first hatch back.

3) Seats five in comfort.

4) Seats fold for a variety of options.

a) Sleeping.

b) Carrying something as large as a side board.

c) Carrying something as long as eight foot.

5) Loads of leg room.

6) Excellent all round visibility.

7) Excellent towing car due to short overhang.

8) Excellent in the snow.

9) Five speed box.

10) Increasing “Classic” status.

11) Modern shape compared to other period cars.

12) Hydrolastic suspension and wheels “in four corners” gives excellent road holding.

14) Big car internal space for small car exterior.

15) Runs on unleaded petrol and returns as much as 40 mpg.

16) Older ones are road tax exempt.

17) Very cheep insurance.

18) Excellent Owner’s Club.

19) Mounting points in the rear for seat belts and child locks on the rear doors.

AGAINST

1) Can attract derision from those with inflated egos.

2) 1500 cc cars may not have enough power for some people.

3) Not flash enough for those needing a “Sporty” image.

4) Like all 60s designed cars can be affected badly by rust.

6) Gear change is not “slick”.

7) No power steering which can make driving in town tiring.

8) Later hydrogas less reliable than earlier hydrolastic. Parts scarce and expensive.*

9) Earlier vinyl seats uncomfortable in hot weather.

10) Can be noisy at high speed.

*Dr. Moulton is working on designing a refurbishment kits for hydrogas units.

We go to many Classic Car meetings. 2006 was at the Moira Blast furnace which was very interesting, especially for me as my father was an Heat Treatment Engineer. Maximeet 2006 photos.

If, by now, you still don’t think that the Austin Maxi is a classic car, value for money and a versatile family car then please click HERE.

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