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Austin Allegro

Longbridge · 1973–1982 · 642,350 built

Hydragas from the first car to the last — and two entirely different engine families under the same bonnet.

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About the Austin Allegro

Harris Mann’s design, launched in May 1973 and built at Longbridge until March 1982, when the Maestro replaced it. 642,350 were built, over 150,000 of them at Seneffe in Belgium. New Zealand assembly began at Panmure in Auckland late in 1975, and the roughly 200 Series 1 cars built here had the round steering wheel rather than the quartic. Series 2 four-doors followed in 1976, mostly 1300 manuals and 1500 automatics, with production narrowed to two colours — metallic brown and solid dark blue, with a cream vinyl roof. Local assembly ended in 1980 after a final delivery of 48 Series 3 kits, about 6,000 cars over five years. By then NZMC was assembling Honda in the same showrooms.

Capacity decides everything on this car. The 1000, 1100 and 1300 use the overhead-valve A-series with a four-speed gearbox. The 1500 and 1750 use the overhead-cam E-series with the Maxi’s five-speed. Those are entirely different engines and entirely different gearboxes, and nothing crosses between them — the A-series is well supported, the E-series far less so and prone to head gasket trouble. After that it is the series. Series 2 from October 1975 changed the grille, interior, suspension, brakes, driveshafts and engine mounts, the mounts going from synthetic to rubber to cure driveline snatch. Series 3 from September 1979 brought a new dashboard, bumpers, grille, rear lamps and steering wheel, with quad round headlamps on the HL and HLS — so there are two different front ends inside Series 3 alone. Every Allegro is Hydragas; there was never a Hydrolastic one, which is the opposite of the Maxi.

Austin Allegro — specification & changes within the model

Built
May 1973 – March 1982, Longbridge. 642,350 built, including over 150,000 at Seneffe in Belgium.
A-series cars
998cc A-Plus (1980–82, 44bhp) · 1098cc (49bhp, then 45bhp from 1975) · 1275cc (59bhp, A-Plus 62bhp from 1980). Four-speed gearbox.
E-series cars
1485cc (76.2 × 81.3mm, 69bhp) · 1748cc single carburettor (76.2 × 95.75mm, 76bhp) · 1748cc twin carburettor from 1974 (90bhp). Five-speed gearbox, the Maxi unit.
Suspension
Hydragas on every Allegro ever built, interconnected front to rear. There was never a Hydrolastic one.
Brakes
Front discs, rear drums. Revised at Series 2.
Series 2
October 1975: new grille, reversing lights on most models, more rear legroom, revised ventilation, higher gearing, and changes to suspension, brakes, engine mounts and driveshafts.
Series 3
September 1979: new dashboard (the air vents are the Jaguar XJ6’s), round four-spoke steering wheel, new grille, wraparound bumpers, front spoiler, new rear lamps, and quad round headlamps on HL and HLS.
The quartic wheel
Fitted from launch, phased out from 1974 and gone by the Series 2 in October 1975. Never fitted to the Vanden Plas 1500, despite appearing in its manual. Now a sought-after part.
Bodies
Two-door and four-door saloons 1973–82; three-door estate from April 1975. No van was ever produced. The Series 1 estate ran about 100 days, so it is very rare.
Vanden Plas & Equipe
Vanden Plas 1500 from autumn 1974 — bespoke upright grille, leather, walnut fascia and rear picnic tables; trim is specific to it. Equipe from July 1979, 2,700 built, twin-carb 1750 with GKN alloys and hockey-stick decals.
Built here
Panmure, Auckland, from late 1975 to 1980 — about 6,000 cars. NZ Series 1 cars had the round steering wheel, not the quartic. Never sold in Australia.

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