1968 Model Year:
Sales Slogan:
"America by Austin. The first car built to be a second car."
Exterior body:
The 1968 model had wide
stainless steel body side mouldings with no reflectors set into them at the corners of the car, and no side marker lights.
The over-riders on the bumpers were chrome, with no rubber centers. A psuedo winged emblem with the Austin Coat-of-Arms
was located in each front fender to cover the openings that would later be used for sidemarker lights in the 1970 models.
Interior:
Inside they had a two-spoke
steering wheel with a fake woodgrained grip area. The black "leathercloth" covered seats were very comfortable,
but had no headrests. They had to be completely lifted forward to allow passengers in and out of the rear seat.
3 point static seat belts were installed for the front seats and lap belts were installed in the rear seat. The parking
brake lever was chrome. The ignition switch was mounted in the center of the dash in between the generator and oil pressure
warning lights. The only interior color available was black with a white headliner. Carpets were a salt and pepper grey
color. (It's interesting that they were able to be sold without headrests. In 1968 the VW Beetle came with
headrests for the first time.)
Engine & Transmission:
The engine had a cartridge type oil filter with an amber colored
oil filter by-pass warning light located in the dash, just to the left of the speedometer and below the hi-beam indicator
light. The electrical system was positive ground, and had a generator with external voltage regulator control box on
the passenger side upper firewall.
1969 Model Year:
Sales Slogan: "The
first car built to be a second car."
Exterior Body:
The 1969 model had only slight exterior body differences from the 1968 model. The
stainless steel side trim had amber reflectors recessed into the front fender trim and red reflectors recessed into the rear
body trim. Optional front and rear "Bumper Guards" were available.
Interior:
The interior was also the same as the 1968 model, with the exception of front seats being
equiped with headrests. These were unusually shaped and very tall. Flat across the bottom to match the top of
the seat, but rounded at the top. They were completely flat on the front and back and approximately 3" thick.
Like the 1968 model, the front seat backs had no provision to be tilted forward. Rather, there were hinge pins
at the front of each seat and the entire seat was tipped forward to allow passengers access to the back seat. The
new headrests were so tall that they were hinged and had to be tilted forward and down out of the way of the ceiling when
the seat was lifted to accomodate rear seat passengers. A chrome topped ashtray was mounted to the tunnel on the floor
of the car just behind the front seat backs.
Interior trim options were available in 1969 and these included: The "Convenience Kit" comprised
of aluminum scuff plates for the door panels, and tops of the rocker panels, as well as Austin crested rubber front floor
mats, all made by AMCO. A transisistorized Motororola AM radio was also available as an option.
Engine & Transmission:
No notable changes were made in the mechanical components of the car.
1970 Model Year:
Sales Slogan:
"Austin America. The perfect second car."
Overview:
1970 was a transitional year for the America. During this production year,
it became a "modern" car with several improvements in safety features, as well as refinements to it's mechanical components.
Exterior Body:
The 1970 model had several exterior body differences from the 1968 &1969 models.
To meet USA Fedral Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 2 changes were made: The front and rear bumper overriders were
clad with rubber. You'll notice these overriders sit more centered on the bumper, where the earlier all chrome overriders
sat taller. Lighted side marker lights were added to the fenders. Amber side marker lights were added to the front
fenders to replace the Austin 'coat-of-arms' badge. Red side marker lights were added to the rear fenders just
below red reflectors located in the body trim molding. The optional front and rear "Bumper Guards" were still available.
To signify BMC's change to British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), British Leyland "Turbine"
emblems were fitted to the front fenders just ahead of the doors.
Interior:
The interior was generally the same as the 1968 & 1969 models, with the exception
of front seats having smaller, modern looking headrests. These had a new shape that kept them from getting
in the way when the front seats were tilted forward to accomodate rear seat passengers. These new headrests
improved vehicle and passenger safety by better protecting the head and neck, as well as providing better visibility for the
driver.
Another added safety feature was the steering wheel. New for 1970 was 3 spoke
sport model with a wide black rubber grip area and wide center crash pad. To protect against theft, the ignition
switch was relocated from the center of the dash, to the steering column. This allowed for the steering to be locked
when the key was removed. Some cars had a locking ignition switch mounted in the middle of the upper steering column
cowl. Others had the lock located further down towards the lower dash. The metal tunnel mounted ashtray located
behind the front seats was removed and replaced by 2 plastic ashtrays both mounted in the rear quarter trim panels.
The same Interior trim options were available in 1970 including: The "Convenience Kit,"
comprised of aluminum scuff plates for the door panels, and tops of the rocker panels, as well as Austin crested rubber front
floor mats made by AMCO. A transistorized Motororola AM radio was also available as an option.
Engine & Transmission:
The 1970 year model was the first year model to have a negative ground electrical system.
This change also incorporated a switch to the Lucas 16ACR alternator with internal voltage regulator. Hence, the external
voltage regulator was not present on the passenger side firewall.
1970 year model cars destined for sale in states that had strict emmission control
laws, like here in California, also had an updated crankcase fume and fuel tank vapor recovery system. This consisted
of a plastic canister, containing activated charcoal granules, being mounted on the firewall. The
fuel tank was fitted with vent tubes and an over-flow catch tank, as well as a larger sealed fuel filler cap. The
fuel tank vents were plumbed to the front of the car and attached to the charcoal canister. The engine now had
a sealed crankcase, with a non-breathing oil filler cap, a breather tube on the valve cover, and a second crankcase vent
on the timing cover.
The intent of this system was to recover and burn all the vapors and fumes which normally
escaped to the atmosphere. When the engine was turned off, fumes and vapors were absorbed and stored in the charcoal
canister. When the engine was started, these noxious fumes were sucked into the engine, and burned during normal combustion.
Another change for the 1970 year model car was that the radiator fan was now the improved
design, 11-blade nylon plastic fan. It was much more efficient than the metal fan used on previous years.
Also, the inner fender radiator cowl was not as deep. This allowed the entire radiator and fan assembly to be mounted
further from the engine, making repairs and removal much easier.
Finally, the wiper motor had a round motor housing, and was mounted to the left inner fender
instead of on top of the radiator cowl as seen in the above picture.
1971 Model Year:
Sales Slogan: "The
1971 Austin America: the Big Little Car."
Overview:
1971 was yet another transitional year for the America.
Quite and effort was made to update the look of the car. The look of the previous models was consided too "heavy" looking.
So, the America's look was re-styled to appear lighter, sportier, more modern. Sadly just as the car began to cosmetically
catch up with it's competion, sales were rapidly falling and in September 1972 sales ceased.
During this production year, the America moved even closer becoming a "modern"
car with refinements to the interior and exterior trim and it is credited with being the first car sold in the United States
with "inertia" seatbelts, a trend that continues in all automobiles sold in the US today.
Exterior Body:
The 1971 model had several exterior body differences from the 1968, '69, and '70 models.
Again, to meet USA Fedral Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: The front and rear bumper over-riders were clad with rubber.
Lighted side marker lights remained on the fenders, but they were redesigned to include a large reflector.
This change compensated for the very thin and stylish side molding trim, which did not have any reflector as
on the earlier cars. The optional front and rear "Bumper Guards" were still available.
British Leyland "Turbine" emblems remained fitted to the front fenders just ahead of the
doors. The grill also received some major re-styling and was changed from the traditional heavy chrome bars, to an all
black center section with only two thin chrome strips and a very stylized "America" script located on the far right side.
The Austin coat-of-arms crest was left off the grill, as was the trademark black and white "Austin America" badge. The
motif in the center of the grill surrond now simply said "Austin" on a black background.
The slotted tin wheel accent trim rings were no longer used and the painted steel wheels
were left exposed. The front parking/turnsignal light lenses now had a clear parking light section, but the turn signal portion
remained amber. Previously, these lenses were all amber colored.
At the rear of the car, the trunk lid now had a fin that stuck out and incorporated the
license plate light. The bumper was changed by removing the two "frog-eye" style license plate lights that were used
on the earlier cars.
Interior:
The interior now came in a choice of two colors: Autumn (tan) or Navy (dark blue).
The dash face was now covered in a wood grain vinyl, instead of the traditional matte black wrinkle finish paint. The
rear view mirror now had a night and day feature and was no longer mounted to the windshield via a clear suction cup.
The door panels were fitted with chrome trimmed map pockets. Door and rear quarter window weather stripping was
now color matched to the interior. Air conditioning was also available.
The 3 spoke sport steering wheel was retained, as were the small front seat headrests.
However, the front seats were now mounted to sliding tracks and could be adjusted front to back to suit drivers of any size.
The seat backs now folded forward to allow passengers access to the back seat. The locking ignition switch also remained.
The same Interior trim options were available in 1971including: The "Convenience Kit," comprised
of aluminum scuff plates for the door panels, and tops of the rocker panels, as well as Austin crested rubber front floor
mats all made by AMCO. A walnut gear shift handle was also available. A transistorized Motororola AM radio was
available as well. Other available options included a cigarette lighter, an electric clock, white wall tires, and a
roof mounted luggage rack.
Engine & Transmission:
The 1971 year model retained the negative ground electrical systemand the Lucas 16ACR
alternator with internal voltage regulator.
1971 year model cars destined for sale in states that had strict emmission control
laws, like here in California, also retained the crankcase fume and fuel tank vapor recovery system.
|
