BMC ADO 17

BMC ADO17
1970 Morris 1800 Mark II
Overview
Manufacturer	BMC British Leyland
Also called	Austin Balanza Austin Freeway Austin Windsor Morris Monaco
Production	1964–1975
Assembly	United Kingdom Australia, Newmarket, Auckland and Petone, Wellington, New Zealand
Designer	Sir Alec Issigonis
Body and chassis
Class	Large family car (D)
Body style	4-door saloon 2-door coupe utility (Australia) 2-door cab chassis (Australia)
Layout	FF layout
Related	Austin Kimberley/Tasman
Powertrain
Engine	1798 cc B-Series pushrod Straight-4 2227 cc E-series SOHC straight-6
Dimensions
Wheelbase	106 in (2,700 mm)
Length	165 in (4,200 mm)
Width	67 in (1,700 mm)
Height	55.5 in (1,410 mm)
Chronology
Predecessor	Austin Cambridge Morris Oxford VI Wolseley 16/60
Successor	Austin / Morris / Wolseley ADO71

The BMC ADO17 is the model code that was used by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) for a range of cars produced from September 1964 to 1975 and sold initially under its Austin marque as the Austin 1800. The car was also sold by Morris as the Morris 1800 and by Wolseley as the Wolseley 18/85, and later as the Austin 2200, Morris 2200 and Wolseley Six. In Denmark it was sold as the Morris Monaco. Colloquially known as the "Landcrab", the 1800 was voted Europe's Car of the Year for 1965 – the second year of the award, and a second successive contest win for the UK, the Rover P6 having won the award a year earlier.

The Austin 1800 was developed at BMC as the large-car follow-up to the successful Mini and Austin 1100 under the ADO17 codename, ADO being an abbreviation for Amalgamated Drawing Office. Additional badge-engineered Morris 1800 and Wolseley 18/85 variants were launched in 1966 and 1967 respectively, catering for BMC dealerships selling these marques, and their loyal customers. The 18/85 name had previously been used on the Wolseley 18/85 of 1938 to 1948.

The car was unconventional in its appearance in 1964, with its large glasshouse and spacious, minimalist interior including leather, wood, and chrome features plus an unusual instrument display with ribbon speedometer and green indicator light on the end of the indicator stalk. There was a chrome "umbrella handle" handbrake under the dashboard parcel shelf, and the two front seats met in the middle and could be used, on occasion, as a bench seat. Both Alec Issigonis and Pininfarina worked on its exterior. The technology "under the skin" was also unconventional and ahead of its time, including Hydrolastic suspension and an example of inertia-controlled brake proportioning, in the form of a valve which transferred braking force between front and rear axles as a function of sensed deceleration rather than as a function of fluid pressure. The bodyshell was exceptionally stiff with a torsional rigidity of 18032 Nm/degree, this was greater structural rigidity than many modern cars up to the end of the century.