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Morris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally car

Morris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally car
Morris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally car
Morris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally carMorris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally car
Lot number 40
Hammer value N/S (est. £40,000 - £50,000)
Description Morris 1800 S MkII 'Landcrab' ex-works rally car
Registration OOH 745G
Year 1968
Colour Red
Engine size 1,800 cc
Chassis No. MHS 8D4419A
Engine No. 18H 273 H109

The 1968 London-Sydney rally had been a huge success, with manufacturers appreciating the publicity it gave them in vital export markets across the globe. Everyone was up for another go and with the 1970 Football World Cup being hosted in Mexico, it seemed the perfect destination and timing for another event.

Organised by John Sprinzel and John Brown, the Daily Mirror sponsored the gruelling 16,000 mile high speed rally, covering some of the most difficult and challenging terrain imaginable spread over three continents.

The BMC competitions department had been exercising their brains on the 1800 Landcrab for some time. Never really thought of as in any way sporty, BMC had at least introduced an S model with twin carburettors boosting power to a useful 95bhp. This perked the car up no end and a team was put together for the 1968 London - Sydney rally. It did fantastically well coming home in second place. The car’s virtues of big wheels, immense toughness and the clever hydrolastic suspension worked in tandem to produce a winner. Having developed a winning formula, they were definitely not going to be left out of the London – Mexico event, whilst the car’s abilities had not gone un-noticed elsewhere, with teams of privateers queuing to get their hands on a works prepared car.

Large budgets were found from Ford and BMC, whilst other manufacturers supported privateers in a huge range of machines – although we suspect that our own local star of the rally, Bill Bengry from Leominster, didn’t elicit much support from Rolls-Royce, having decided to do it in style in a Shadow 1.

The event certainly lived up to its promise - of the 100 starters, just 23 arrived at the finish, a significant number even struggling to complete the European sections.

In the end it was left to the Abingdon-based Special Tuning team, headed by Basil Wales, to prepare the 1970 cars, using ‘off the shelf’ tuning kits they had developed for customers to upgrade their existing cars. The engines were blueprinted, over-bored and fitted with high compression heads at 11.5:1. This no doubt explains the modifications to the heater controls which were in fact connected to the distributor to allow a certain amount of advance and retard to take into account the variable petrol quality they were expecting to encounter en route. Twin 2” carburettors were used and a full sports exhaust was fitted – the new units developing a very reliable 130bhp at 5,500rpm.

In preparation for tough terrain, a hydrolastic hand pump was fitted on the rear shelf should it be needed whilst huge fuel tanks from an Austin Westminster were fitted giving a massive range, whilst all of the pipes were routed inside the body and a huge sump guard fitted.

OOH 745G was built by Basil Wales’ department for a privateer Police team, Hugh Penfold, Eric McInally and Peter Jones, and was entered as number 34, the car originally being painted orange and white. BMC fitted fibreglass doors, boot lid and bonnet, whilst the windows were perspex to reduce weight and stop them being shattered by flying stones. Perspex covers for the headlights were also made and these are still with the car, although not currently fitted as one is cracked. These modifications significantly reduced the weight of the car, making it a most ideal endurance rally machine – strong, stable, roomy, comfortable and surprisingly quick.

Alas it was not to finish the rally, however it did better than most as it made past Sao Paulo in South America before mechanical maladies put it out of contention.

Little is known of its subsequent history until it turned up at the Mouldsworth Motor Museum. Its then owners prepared it for the Pirelli Marathon, fitting a rebuilt engine, new gearbox and brakes. Whilst being set up on the rolling road, a blocked carburettor caused the mixture to run weak, overheating the engine and causing a valve insert to fall out on the way to the start line, putting them out of the event. The car was repaired and put back into the museum where the curator was able to purchase it from the owner who decided to get married instead!

During a visit to the museum in 2004 by Tony Fall, a works BMC rally driver who won the first International event in an 1800, Fall was able to confirm that the car is the most original example he had ever seen, even down to the plastic map cases on the rear shelf which were normally discarded as a matter of course. He recalled that they were fabulous to drive and felt virtually indestructible, handling much like a grown up Mini.

A good selection of spare parts accompany the car, including a block and head, gaskets, brake parts and gear cables etc. There is even a donor car which is included in the sale and which can be picked up from Cheshire upon arrangement should the new owner so desire. The car starts on the button and is taxed and MOTd until the end of March 2013.

What would you need to pay for a works Cooper S these days? This rare, original and complete BMC works rally 1800 S with its fascinating history is certainly available at a fraction of the cost of its smaller sibling and would no doubt open all sorts of doors when entering the ever-growing number of classic rally events.
 

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