Motoring
Mind your manners
Alan Judd
Those fortunate enough to have been automotively aware 40 years ago will recall the Morris Oxford Series III, a sturdy four- seater saloon, neither dashing nor grand, more homely than stately, not quite a P4 Rover but not humble, either, and big enough for the family holiday. Its fintailed successor was bigger and squarer whereas the Series III was more rounded and humpy, with a slightly fluted bonnet. I test- ed a new one this week.
In 1959, the unwanted production-line was given to Hindustan Motors and, as anyone who has been to India will know, the renamed Hindustan Ambassador has been in production ever since. Its survival is testimony to its rugged design and sim- plicity of maintenance, as well as to Indian determination to keep anything moveable moving. High ground clearance and funda- mental strength enables it to cope with pot- holed roads, while the large number in commission and the continuing demand means that there is almost no such thing as a complete write-off. Nothing of them need be wasted.
Several readers wrote about the 'mighty Hindustan Ambassador' after I'd said last year that I'd like to see a cheap, robust, long-lived vehicle in which you could com- fortably wear a hat (Motoring, 1 June 1996). One of these helpful correspondents was a firm called Fullbore Motors, who import them. The venerable Oxford is now greatly improved by a modern 1817cc Isuzu engine and five-speed gearbox (floor- mounted but you can still have column- change and bench seat if you want), as well as by modern suspension and brakes. The engine and gearbox power the Vauxhall midi-van, so parts are available from all Vauxhall dealers. The underneath is under- sealed and waxoyled. Despite the opening of the Indian market to more modern vehi- cles, the Calcutta factory clocks up 40,000 a year and has a year's waiting-list, while Fullbore have been importing about half a dozen a month for the past three years and selling, somewhat to their surprise, increas- ingly to the legal profession (though one has gone to a minicab firm and does 1,000 miles a week). They have full EU type approval and a year's warranty. Fuel con- sumption for the Isuzu engine is reckoned at 38 mpg. There are other differences. The basic model as imported from India costs about £8,000 but it is very basic and the finish is awful. Fullbore, therefore, offer a bespoke service, according to which the car is repainted, retrimmed and reupholstered to the buyer's choice, with the addition of stainless steel exhaust, new mirrors, tyres, hubcaps and so on. You can also choose your dashboard, instruments, carpets and steering-wheel. All this adds about £3,000 to the cost.
The one I tested was deep maroon with a wooden dash and wheel. The view along the bonnet, the door-handles, quarter- lights, narrow windscreen, long-travel handbrake, round mirrors and the petrol cap raised like a pimple on its bottom bring 1950s motoring back to you before you start. Nor does the impression fade once the new radials roll, despite modern run- ning gear. You don't race this car (it cruis- es contentedly at 70 with plenty to spare, but wait for the wind noise), nor do you snatch the gears or throw it round corners, though the addition of a front anti-roll bar is reassuring and a skilful driver might manage something interesting with it. Cars of that era still had to be driven, in that you had to be more aware of the road and of what you were doing — and do it more slowly — than with the insulated, finger-tip ease of modem motoring. Anyone used to powered assistance will find the steering heavy at first, but it is positive and sure and soon feels right. You point that bonnet in a rather satisfying way.
It grows on you. A Friday afternoon drive out of London, on to the M25 and into the snowy wastes of the home counties is a fair test of a car. It was comfortable and felt solid and trustworthy, even on snow and ice. I'm pleased to be unable to say how it handles in a skid. The heater (courtesy of Range Rover) made it warmer than our house, the lights (courtesy of Land-Rover and the Mini) were more than adequate. If you want the look and feel of the Fifties with contemporary reliability, look no further — but don't look to drive it like a Mondeo. It won't permit bad man- ners, though it does evoke gratifying sur- prise when you overtake on the motorway. The only disappointment was that I couldn't wear my hat without reclining the seat to an unacceptable degree, though it coped with a sheepskin cap, ear-flaps up. I counted 36 knobs, dials, switches, handles, catches and controls, a manageably modest number (excluding the radio). Expect a few more when I take my hat off the peg for next month's test car: the Toyota Lexus.
Fullbore Motors are at Heathman's Yard, Heathman's Road, London SW6. Tel: 0171 371 5931, fax: 0171 371 8565. It's comforting to discover that they have a waiting-list for second-hand examples. P.S. Thanks to Damian Dever, Patrick Yarnold and Carol Richards for spelling dzdakai or diddicoi, following my quandary last month. Mr Dever will be relieved to learn that 'toe-rope' was a misprint and not a refer- ence to Yorkist practices.
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