The Rarest Most Popular Car Around

            How is it popular for a car that during its heyday was the most popular selling car in the UK and one of the best sellers throughout Europe and even into America today be so rare? We’re not talking some great grandpa of a car from the early 20^th century. This is a car that ruled the British roads in the 1960s and into the 1970s.

            Greg Shooner has just such a car in his 1970 Austin America. He bought the car about three years ago from the owner who lived in Louisville, KY.

            Greg admitted that he was looking specifically for an America when he was car searching. “This is third one I’ve owned. My very first car in high school was an America,” he said. Though that car was an automatic and not the sexiest or the peppiest, Greg still loved it.

            “You always love your first car. The best car you ever own is your first car. Even it’s actually a terrible car. It’s your first one,” he added.

            One of the biggest drawbacks of that first car was that it sported an automatic transmission and at the time these cars were only sold in the USA as automatics. Greg stated without hesitation that the automatic transmission in that first car was terrible and that he much prefers the manual four speed in his second and current car. “It was a car made for a four speed,” he said. “It drives the same as a Mini.”

            With good reason. The car that is the America was originally manufactured by the British Motor Corporation, later British Leyland, beginning in 1962. At the time BMC was the largest automobile company in Great Britain and, similar to how General Motors had various brand names within its holding, released cars badged by MG, Riley, Woolseley, Mini and, yes, Austin.

            What was originally coded the ADO16 came to market as the Morris 1100 in 1962 and sported a 1098 cc transverse mounted four cylinder engine. In 1967 the car received a 1275 cc option that would carry it through the rest of its life, ending in 1974.

            Essentially what British Leyland did was take the basic construction of the car, engine, frame, suspension, etc. and re-body it slightly to make it brand specific. But essentially it was the exact same car.

            These cars had a number of unique features that set them apart from others around the world. They sported single caliper disc brakes in the front, were front wheel drive, had rack and pinion steering, and sported a hydrolastic suspension. There were no springs or dampers in this system. Instead, the car road on fluid filled units that were interconnected between the front and rear.

            “If, say, the rear end compresses,” said Greg as he pressed down on the left rear quarter panel of his America, “the front would go up keeping the car perfectly level.” He added that because of this and despite the high profile of the car, it tightly hugs the curves.

            “I really have to try, go into a corner hard to try to get any sway at all,” he said.

            So why is a car that was seemingly ahead of its time, affordable and wildly popular so rare these days? Simple; they are prone to rust.

            “Most of the cars they imported to America have probably disintegrated by now,” Greg explained. While there aren't exact numbers, Greg has found that his is one of only a handful of unrestored, rust free models still on the road.

            His is in such great shape because it was stored in a climate controlled garage in 1975 and didn’t come out until he bought it in 2008.

            While the engine was understandably locked up and he needed to fix the brakes, clutch, battery and give it a tune-up, the car is almost brand new. There was no rust, he said. The rubber, normally something that easily crumbles away with age, especially in a British car, and the upholstery foam in the seats are like show room new.

            The car gets about 30 miles to the gallon and actually measures more leg room than some Rolls Royce models. Those are just a couple of the reasons Greg drives the car on a fairly regular basis.

            He said he doesn’t drive it if the weather gets bad or there is salt on the road, he averages about three days a week. Even with it garaged for all those years he has managed to add to the total of 55,600 miles the car has traveled.

            Even though his wife refers to it as his “clown car,” Greg finds a great deal of satisfaction in it. “It’s a winner. I really like it,” he said.