Four of us travelled on a three week circular tour of France in 1980 with our Tahiti Blue Maxi 1750.
Towing a camping trailer down the west coast from Calais, along the Med and back up the eastern border with Italy, Switzerland, Germany etc before finally crossing west to Calais for a ferry journey back to Blighty.
We slept in a “mushroom” tent most nights but when their Lilo deflated, our friends used the folding double bed offered by the adaptable Maxi seats. We stopped at several campsites and drove almost 4000 fault free miles on that holiday only to find that the hot summer had melted the UK motorway west from Dover back home. Suffice to say that the French Autoroutes were fault free in much higher temperatures!
Our Maxi was the standard 1750cc model (NFC 442T) and was fitted with a pair of Lucas Square 8 driving lights above a matching pair of front fog lamps as the standard headlamps were not the best in the world, especially when fitted with amber bulbs for continental use. We also fitted a tow bar with a chrome plated “flipper” cover over the tow ball, as the car was frequently used with our trailers.
The only real fault we had, was the rear parcel shelf that initially collapsed into the boot area with monotonous regularity – until a new replacement was purchased. Sadly this was only available in black, so the original blue vinyl covering from the old shelf had to be carefully removed and fitted in place of the black covering of the replacement.
Overall we really liked the Maxi as it served us well for several years until it was replaced with a new 1600s Vauxhall Astra hatchback (FBW 507Y).
Submitted by Gordon Perry
I learnt to drive and passed my test in a 1962 A40, that I still own.
I enjoy working on my classics that include examples of the Maxi that appears in this photo of my family’s cars in early 1980s. Submitted by Alessio
No photographs sadly of my Maxi as it was a workhorse and as such was never deemed to be photogenic! However it served it’s purpose well and that was to act as a temporary post van during the 1982 and 1983 seasons.
It was a 1976 1750 in a strange shade of Blue – I understand it was in fact a Ford colour as the previous owner wanted a respray and it was all he had (yes it was painted in a shed.) It never broke down (ran out of petrol twice but that was my fault) and proved a flawless and comfortable way for me to punt about in and as I said use it as a postal delivery vehicle for 2 years.
It met a sad end when I sold it to a local chap who decided to try and race somebody in a Mini around the local back roads. I replaced it with a 1977 Rover SD1 V8 and that was me converted never to see another Maxi again. Submitted by Brian McCalmont
My grandad and Aunt both had Maxis and I always liked them.
I bought my first in 2011, a slightly tatty Citron coloured one. Put good doors on it and tidied it up. Loved that car, Last seen in the hands of Mike Brewer. Then in 2020 I bought a Damask HL which I think is the actual car in your Buyers Guide! Submitted by Philip Truman
They are just great cars. I owned my first one 30 years ago and still own two of them as per these images.
Great family cars, very practical. I can’t imagine not having a Maxi! Submitted by Kees Buijs
My father was the editor for High Road, the magazine for British Leyland. The magazine only ran for 2 years but one of the perks from being its managing editor was occasional use of the latest BL offerings.
The Maxi was one vehicle that he personally favoured, “I think they got the formula right on this one” he said.
Well that convinced me, I had been the owner of a rather tired 1964 Mini 850 and the RAF had just posted me to West Germany in 1976. I knew my Mini wasn’t up to long drives across Europe so when I spotted a brown 1969 Maxi 1500 with the original cable link gear change at Robin Hebdon’s garage in Bury St. Edmunds for £550. I thought, perfect. Plenty of room to carry all my kit and good legs with the 5th gear, (it was a bit of a novelty back then) .
So money changed hands and a week before departing the UK the timing chain link separated and fell into the sump. Luckily the Maxi engine is a simple affair and plenty of room there to work on so it was back together in time for my drive to Germany. I cringe when I think of it now but there were no SAT-NAV, no mobile phone, no breakdown cover, just me, my toolbox. and a Haynes manual.
As I approached Dover I noticed the engine temp was very hot and the car seemed to have no power. I pulled over and the car stopped very abruptly with the smell of red hot front discs and metallic pinging sounds I realised the brakes were somehow being forced on. I checked the brake pedal for free movement and found no problem. I decided to crack open one of the single circuit brake lines and found the fluid was under very high pressure. This freed the brakes so I tightened the pipe union and continued on for a mile. Then the same fault repeated. This time I removed the whole brake servo and discovered there is a small threaded bar between the servo master cylinder and the foot pedal input rod that had become loose and was itself applying input force to the servo master cylinder due no free play. This I managed to adjust to gain some clearance and with a good squirt of Loctite on its threads (I always have some in my tool box), I crossed my fingers and made the ferry.
And that was it, I duly completed my two and a half year tour in Germany, travelled all over that part of the world and the Maxi didn’t give me any more trouble…apart from slowly rusting away! Submitted by Steve Burdon
I didn’t own a Maxi, but hired one for a holiday in Cornwall. It ran great from Yorkshire to the West Country.
Not a great colour though – pale green..
Submitted by Roger Tompkin
Submitted by: Maxi owners
