Comparing the Austin 1800S, Wolseley 18/85 Auto and 3 Litre

Very comprehensive! Far more critical than the old 1950's reviews, which could be almost toadying to the manufacturers. I thought that was pretty evenhanded.

Chris.

While I agree with many of the comments in the report, I would like to take the opportunity to discuss my experience with a number of crabs that I owned between 1972 and 1988 that I used as my daily drivers.

I appreciate that a sample of one owner (me) is not representative. However, I wonder if the sample of owners used in the report was biased towards those who wanted to record their cars’ faults while those who were happy did not comment? Some of the percentages of faults appear questionable to me.

My cars
Austin 1800 Mk1.5 1967 - owned 4 years - mileage covered circa 90,000
Wolseley 18/85 Mk11 1971 – owned 4 years – mileage covered circa 75,000
Austin 1800 Mk11 1970 – owned 6 years – mileage covered circa 60,000 (2nd car)
Austin 1800 Mk111 1973 – owned 3 years – mileage covered circa 25,000 (2nd car)
Austin 1800 Mk111 1975 – owned 13 years – mileage covered 190,000
(Morris 1800 Mk11 1968 and Wolseley 18/85 auto owned between 1992 and 1996 nominal mileage)

Turning to the comments in report in roughly the order they were displayed my experience was as follows:

Need churning to start.  I never experienced this summer or winter with the 4 star leaded fuel
Jerky around town. Never an issue, if tuned and driven properly- single carb
Bumps throw off line mid corner. Only experienced in my W18/85 due to wrong steering arm fitted on left hand side
Rough roads bouncing uncomfortably.  Compared to what? Better than my Saabs
Front wheels sliding in the wet.  Not an issue using steel braced radials (SP 68 on test were     quiet but not renowned for wet grip)
Heating not adequate. Not my experience nor Tommy’s in Norway!
Fuel consumption. I kept detailed records for all my cars and the average was around 30mpg for mixed town and fast road driving. Many reports of the time noted fuel consumption in the low 20s. I can only assume the test drivers failed to use the low down torque and drove them as they would a Cortina or similar oversquare engine.
Handling and performance. I am amazed the Corsair 2000E would be considered as a sporty alternative for handling and performance. While the comparatively light Corsair had better straight line acceleration, my experience driving both was that the crabs handling was vastly superior and safer.

Faults
1 in 3 cars door locks.Not one issue with any of my cars ever
Thermostat. I routinely changed every 12 months, cheap service part
Head gaskets. 1 failure + 2 others replaced when rebuilding engines, one full overhaul at 110,000miles the other after primary shaft nut came loose at around 70,000 miles
18/85 power steering. No issues
Report Accuracy. Back seat head room quoted as 25” for 1800S!

Notable Faults my Cars

Mk1.5 Austin 1800 1967. Lower suspension arm rubber bushes twice (replaced with later single piece)
W18/85 Mk11 1971. Crankshaft thrust washer failure, crb failure,front wheel bearing
Mk11 Austin 1800 1970. Primary shaft nut loose, grinding aluminium from housing (maybe not tightened by garage after clutch change). Rubber donuts replaced with nylon type, rear hydrolastic unit, rear Slipflex bearing replaced, servo overhauled 
Austin 1800 Mk111 1973. Clutch plate broken
Austin 1800 Mk111 1975. CV joint, rubber donuts x 2, engine rebuild at 110,000 miles, steering rack, 160,000 miles, starter motor brushes at 120,000 miles, front right knuckle joint 170,000 miles

Misc
Exhaust systems typically lasted only 2 years
Suspension ball joints and track rod ends replaced approx. every 40-60,000 miles (cheap enough not to bother re-shimming)
Alternator and dynamo brushes and voltage regulators
Hoses and ignition parts all replaced every 1-2 years
Carb overhaul as needed, mainly float chamber needle valve
Brake m/s, clutch m/s, calipers and wheel cylinders replaced, rebuilt as required    
Welding to sills Mk1




It would be interesting to hear your experiences with crabs that you owned or were in your family in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

David

Dad had a second hand one that he bought in 1973 when it was three years old. Same probs as now really - rust by the time it was 5 years old, power steering pump, many cv joints, displacer failure, cracked cylinder head. It was eventually passed to me - it lasted about a year until it holed a piston and was given to a family friend!
I then spent £25 on a 3 litre with 6 months MOT which was fun then moved that on!
Cheers
Andrew