Have your say: February 2008
Many people write in to AROnline, and everyone has something good to contribute.
Many people write in to tell us how much they love the site, or they have something to say about its content, and sometimes merely to tell their story. So we've put another page up just for you - if you write in, and what you have to say is interesting, factual, or simply offering an opinion, we'll publish it here - and where possible, respond with some comments.
So, if you have something to say, get your thinking caps on...
Also, if you want to write, but don't want to see it here, mark it, 'not for publication...'
18 February
More P76 revelations
GEOFFREY LUCK, Mittagong NSW, Australia
I’VE just been reading the page on similarities between the Rover P8 project and the P76. Having studied and researched Leyland Australia in relation to the P76 venture for more than 30 years, I’ve always been struck by the likeness between P76 and Rover 3500. But I doubt very much your hypothesis of a shared or common heritage. I have interviewed at length all the major players in the P76 development story and also have copies of many of the BMC/BLMC Australia company documents 1965-75.
There is nothing there to give credence to the idea. In the first place David Beech who was the driving force in the project was fiercely determined on an independent course, and both resented and rejected interference from the UK. He believed Australia had been betrayed by the management of Austin, Morris, BMC and finally Leyland in not recognising that its vehicle range was by the 1960s totally inappropriate for Australia and the Australian market.
The proof was in the decline in market share from pre-war 90 per cent to 49 per cent in 1948 and 12 per cent at the time of the P76 launch. The UK refused to take cognisance of the dominance of the 6-cylinder 'medium' car represented by Holden, Ford and Chrysler. Its obsession with front wheel drive delivered Australia small, uncompetitive and expensive cars (Mini, 1100, 1800) which were increasingly driven into niche positions. And the UK took no interest in, or account of the Japanese invasion which attacked that very segment, aided unfortunately by the government’s manufacturing plans. [Harriman once told visiting Australian director Norman Lawrence: 'But Norman, we know they only build motorised rickshaws!']
Finally, British Leyland, itself convulsed by the strains of the merger (or Stokes takeover) was in no position to assist and in fact actively opposed independent Australian development plans until Stokes himself finally gave in to the pestering. Pressed Metal did do some of the tooling for P76 (and did some badly, contributing to the quality problems which helped sink the car) but only after top-level intervention on pressure from Australia to get its job up the queue. The P76 styling was essentially Michellotti and the similarity of the flow of line from bonnet to sill seems a common feature of both cars, but that would be only to be expected of a designer sketching two large cars.
There’s obviously a lot more to tell, but looking at your website and the chronology of the cars that were designed, those that were built, and those that were abandoned, such as the P8, one can understand the confusion, waste, and political in-fighting which lamed the group and rendered it incapable of understanding the requirements of markets outside the UK, or of providing the much-needed support.
William Lyons, in my view, was the biggest spoiler, and exercised disproportionate power and influence. Most of his cars, at least in the Australian environment, were rubbish – over-engineered, expensive, complicated, uncompetitive and highly unreliable. One needed to buy two to be sure of having one to drive.
Now its ta-ta and off to Tata.
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11 February
V8 clarifications
IAN ELLIOTT
THOUGHT I ought to say that Andrew Elphick's piece about the ZT V8 engines/subframes etc ought to be qualified a little, even if it was written tongue-in-cheek - you can't just bolt these subframes up into a front drive 75!
Some fairly radical surgery and new body sections are needed to mount the V8 power pack and rear end. Definitely not a DIY operation!
At Longbridge, to make the ZT V8 and 75 V8, they laser-cut the transmission tunnel and a chunk of bulkhead out of the standard shell, then CO2 welded in a custom-made replacement sub assembly. Then you need a replacement 'half-moon' spare wheel well and other bits and pieces at the back end to accommodate the diff and revised rear suspension.