MEET THE OWNER – GLYN ANDREWS AND HIS BELGIAN AUSTIN MAXI

People’s first question about his Maxi is invariably ‘why did you buy a LHD?’ However, it is sometimes forgotten that the Austin Maxi was sold and built overseas.

Glyn Andrews is the proud owner of a 1978 Belgian specification model. He says: “She is a 1750HL, but the European spec cars are different from the UK: only a single carb and a different grill badge.”

BL enthusiasts will already be familiar with their plant in Seneffe, which started assembling BMC cars in 1963. Two years later, the Corporation took the works over, as part of their European strategy, and Leyland embarked on an expansion programme at the end of the decade.

By June 1977, an Austin Allegro 1300 Special became Seneffe’s 500,000th vehicle, but just five years later, the factory closed – another victim of the British Leyland Saga.

Chris Cowin notes in aronline.co.uk that “few cable-change Austin Maxis were assembled at Seneffe. The production records show assembly of the Maxi at Seneffe starting with 1,606 units in 1970/71 (which could have included some cable-change cars) and ending in 1974”.

As to the Andrews Maxi, Glyn is unsure as to its production history: “It is a very difficult question to answer. According to the plate under the bonnet, yes. However at that time they were all built at Cowley and then shipped over and distributed from Seneffe – but all Maxi records were destroyed in a fire, sadly.

We’ve also thought that it could possibly be the car used for the European brochure as it’s identical”.

The Andrews Maxi had been off the road since 1989, languishing in a Belgian barn. In Glyn’s words “it had a broken gearbox and lots of other issues. My son Duncan, who is also a Maxi owner, and I went over it in January 2019 and trailered it back through the Euro tunnel”.

Back in the UK, work commenced in earnest, for the Austin required “lots of re-commissioning work including an engine and gearbox replacement, brake overhaul, some electrical faults and some bodywork. But it was almost rot-free due to its dry indoor storage over three decades”.

Glyn remarks on the Maxi “out of 1/2 million made only just over a hundred remain. My only criticism was that the design hung around until 1981, and it was, by then, a 12-year-old car. They were no worse than any car of the era but far more practical, including the double bed seat fold-down design”.

In the summer of 2019, Glyn used the refurbished Maxi as the transport to church for his friend Simon - ‘I was his best man’. It also starred on the Owners’ Club stand at the NEC Lancaster Classic Car Show and at the Gaydon BMC/Leyland Show.

Glyn finds that “loads of people ask about it and remember them fondly. And his Belgian Maxi more than fulfils BL’s promises of ‘versatility, practicality and comfort’.

With Thanks To: Glyn Andrews