Home » Austin 3 Litre

Austin 3 Litre

1967–1971 · 9,992 built · around 300 came here

Rear-wheel drive, self-levelling Hydrolastic, and the best suspension BMC ever built — in a car almost nobody bought.

Find Austin 3 Litre parts by category

All Austin 3 Litre PartsEverything we list for this model, in one place
Window SealsWindscreen · Rear screen · Quarterlight Door SealsDoor rubbers · Pinchweld · Bailey channel Boot & BonnetBoot seals · Bonnet rubbers · Buffers Body & TrimPanel rubber · Mouldings · Bumper fittings Clips & FixingsTrim clips · Moulding · Screws · Washers Carpet & InteriorCarpet sets · Underlay · Interior trim Brakes & ClutchCylinders · Kits · Hoses · Pedal pads Suspension & SteeringBushes · Ball joints · King pins · Idlers Engine & GasketsGasket sets · Mounts · Seals · Bearings CoolingHoses · Thermostats · Caps · Senders Ignition & ElectricalPoints · Caps · Rotors · Coils · Leads Fuel & FiltersPumps · Hose · Filters · Exhaust mounts Lighting & MirrorsLamps · Lenses · Bulbs · Mirrors Axle & GearboxSeals · Mounts · Bearings · Universals

RelatedAustin 1800 & 2200Austin A99 & A110All Austin

Not listed? Plenty of parts suit several marques and never get the model name in the title — ask us and we will check the books for you.

About the Austin 3 Litre

Announced at the 1967 Motor Show and properly on sale from 1968, the 3 Litre was Austin’s attempt at an executive car. It used the seven-bearing redesign of the 2,912cc C-series — evenly spaced bores with coolant between every cylinder instead of siamesed pairs, and a new Weslake-chambered head — for 125bhp, driving the rear wheels, because the engine was too big and heavy to package transversely. Alex Moulton’s suspension is the best thing about it: Hydrolastic front and rear, interconnected, with the rear rubber springs separated from the fluid displacers and engine-driven hydraulic rams holding the ride height constant whatever the load. Moulton called the finished car “a bastard of a car” while conceding the suspension was the pinnacle of Hydrolastic development.

It failed for a stack of reasons: it looked like a stretched Landcrab because it shared the doors and glasshouse, it cost nearly half as much again, it had less interior space than the cheaper 1800 because of the transmission tunnel, the engine was heavy and thirsty at around 16 to 20 miles per gallon, and the Austin badge carried no premium in that class. 9,992 were built against a target of fifty a week. For a New Zealand parts business, though, a different number matters: roughly 300 to 350 came here, so New Zealand took around three per cent of the entire world production, and the Austin 3L Register of New Zealand tracks something like 35 to 40 running or restorable cars still in the country. Doors are shared with the 1800 and the Maxi. Almost nothing else is.

Austin 3 Litre — specification & changes within the model

Built
Announced 1967, on sale 1968, production ended May 1971. 9,992 built — against a target of fifty a week.
Engine
2,912cc C-series six (83.4 × 88.9mm), seven main bearings, evenly spaced bores with coolant between every cylinder, Weslake combustion chambers, twin SU HS6, 8.2:1. 125bhp @ 4750rpm, 157lb ft @ 2500rpm. The same seven-bearing unit as the MGC — not the four-bearing engine of the A99, A110 and Austin-Healey 3000.
Drive
Rear-wheel drive, engine north-south. The odd one out in the BMC line-up, because the C-series would not package transversely.
Gearbox
Four-speed all-synchromesh with optional Laycock overdrive, or a three-speed Borg-Warner Model 35 automatic. Floor selector. Final drive 3.91:1.
Brakes
Girling, servo-assisted. 10.4in front discs, 9.0in rear drums with 2.5in shoes.
Suspension
Hydrolastic, independent front and rear, interconnected, with engine-driven hydraulic self-levelling holding ride height constant under load. Double wishbones at the front, semi-trailing arms at the rear.
Steering
Power-assisted rack and pinion, 3.94 turns lock to lock.
Shared with the 1800
The doors and the glasshouse, and the instrument panel. The wheelbase (115.5in against 106in), the front and rear structure, the drivetrain, engine, gearbox, brakes, steering and rear suspension are all its own.
Late cars
The last of the run had the MGC-specification engine.
Here
Imported, never assembled here. Around 300–350 came to New Zealand — about three per cent of world production. The Austin 3L Register of New Zealand tracks roughly 35–40 running or restorable cars.
Not sold in
Australia.
Sorry, this collection is empty.
Continue shopping