wotsit?

G'Day
I know its not a truck, BUT there WAS a truck version, and I have driven it ! What is this ?



Is this too easy ?

a austin kimberley.. if its the series1 it has the powerhouse twin SU carbed 2250cc transverse front wheel drive 6cyl ..
actually i like them..they look a lot better than the austin 1800"landcrab"body they were based on
... the Kimberley was the leyland groups attempt at a big aussie car ..their next attempt was the P76

a austin kimberley.. if its the series1 it has the powerhouse twin SU carbed 2250cc transverse front wheel drive 6cyl ..
actually i like them..they look a lot better than the austin 1800"landcrab"body they were based on
... the Kimberley was the leyland groups attempt at a big aussie car ..their next attempt was the P76

G'day Kenny and Roland,

Me old man had one in his workshop many, many, many years ago - this one DID have the front wheel drive and SU carbied six pot engine! It did grow on me - Dad got very p!ssed off about it as he couldn't get parts for it! What a car though!

The Leyland P76, now there's a car you could fit a 44 gallon drum or the occasional dead body into the boot of safely! Don't try it though!

Joe

they actually went well with the twin Su 6 pot motor ..105mp/h in 4 speed form . . . compare that to a GTR torana of the day..
also the 2.6 leyland marina /P76 6 cyl engines bolt straight in..
just dont mention the reliability problems though. . .

G'Day Kenny and Joe.

Yes , I thought it may be too easy.
I have never seen a Kimberley which was based on the UK Austin 1800 ( nickname 'landcrab').
I found this pic while searching for a pic of the ute version. This was codenamed YDO14 . I expect you know that that stood for 'Yarra Drawing Office'.
Only 1 was ever made and it was sent to UK for structural and noise testing. It was badged as 'Austin Tasman' and I got to drive it as I was working in British Leyland R&D on Noise and Vibration research. It was one hell of a truck, with about 15cwt (750kg) payload.
If I had found a pic I dont think the answer would have been quite as easy
I wonder where it went ?

Cheers

we had landcrab utes here in OZ .. by the way the Tasman was the cheaper version of the austin Kimberley ..single headlight front etc ..
id say the Ute was basically a 6cyl version of the landcrab ..you wouldnt want to carry to much of a load because you mite have very light "powersteering" or just no traction being front wheeldrive lol

we had landcrab utes here in OZ .. by the way the Tasman was the cheaper version of the austin Kimberley ..single headlight front etc ..
id say the Ute was basically a 6cyl version of the landcrab ..you wouldnt want to carry to much of a load because you mite have very light "powersteering" or just no traction being front wheeldrive lol

Sorry guys,

You've reminded me that it was the Tasman, not the Kimberley!

Joe

we had landcrab utes here in OZ .. by the way the Tasman was the cheaper version of the austin Kimberley ..single headlight front etc ..
id say the Ute was basically a 6cyl version of the landcrab ..you wouldnt want to carry to much of a load because you mite have very light "powersteering" or just no traction being front wheeldrive lol

You are right Kenny, it was 6 cylinder which probably helped with the weight distribution, and it was slightly longer wheelbase too, which also helped. It was a good truck. Perhaps its hiding away in the back of a shed somewhere in OZland. They definitely only made one YDO14.

Cheers

were the landcrabs aussie or british made

cgi.ebay.com.au/Austin-1800-utility-ute_...93%3A1|294%3A50

were the landcrabs aussie or british made

cgi.ebay.com.au/Austin-1800-utility-ute_...93%3A1|294%3A50

G'Day, Kenny
Sorry for the delay in replying.
I have had no internet for 3 DAYS.. Been going mad....
Anyway I am back on now.

You ask where the 1800 utes were made ?
The simple answer is Leyland Australia, Fishermans Bend, Melbourne.

How do I know this ? This is the extended answer.
In 1971 I was working for British Leyland here in the UK.
We had a 'clocking in' machine in the works (nothing unusual there) and on the front of the machine they used to advertise internal job transfers within the Leyland group.
Usually the jobs were in Swindon, Birmingham or sometimes Scotland.
But one day there was a job advertised in the Melbourne factory !!
It was exactly the same job I was doing and my experience meant that I just had to say yes and the job was possibly mine.
They were offering to pay the air fare as well !
I was engaged to my Late wife at this time, and she was not keen on flying. I had to make a decision, Melbourne or Marriage ?
I chose to get married. I had a great married life, and all was fine.
Three wonderful daughters and 33 years later my wife died in 2006.
I have wished to visit Oz since 1971, and now I am only 4 months from doing so.
If I had made the other choice I would be an ageing Aussie by now and not a Old Pom.
As I said thats the long answer, hopefully not too boring.

Cheers