BMC ADO 16. A bestseller is sixty years young. Part one: the development

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The year 2022 is nearing its end. Many car models celebrated another special anniversary this year. As usual, we highlighted a number of these jubilees this year. Even now that the end of 2022 is in sight, we will not leave a historic car unmentioned. Or car: we prefer to speak of a series. Because BMC's ADO 16 series has been around for sixty years. There is so much to tell about this that we pay attention to this classic of British origin in three parts. Today part one: the development of a success number.

Under the direction of Alec Issigonis, BMC engineers started developing project XC9002 during the 1959s. This medium-sized family car would be above the future Mini in the BMC program. Because of the consequences of the Suez crisis (fuel shortage), BMC had every interest in a cheap and economical to drive car. BMC Chairman Leonard Lord urged Alec Issigonis to rapidly develop the Mini models. Meanwhile, BMC did not abandon the aim of developing a four-door family car. This led to a prototype that showed many similarities with the nearly finished Morris Mini Minor and the Austin Seven, which were shown to the world in XNUMX. However, according to Issigonis, the four-door prototype showed too many similarities with the future Mini.

Codename ADO 16 is born

And that was the signal to rename the project codenamed XC9002. The project was named ADO16. Pininfarina was responsible for the drawing of the bodywork. Development of the technical side of the story was handed over to Charles Griffin. Issigonis was therefore able to focus on the completion of his brainchild, the Mini. BMC had excellent experiences with master design house Pininfarina. The Italians were allowed to unfold their vision of the model to be placed above the Mini and did so with verve.

Every centimeter used

They designed an elegant four-door body without a classic trunk. The tailgate sloped so that it found its way between the two arrow-shaped taillights, another typical Pininfarina characteristic. The car was designed in such a way that the occupants benefited from maximum space. The nose was short, the trunk was usable, and the wheels of the front-wheel drive newcomer were on the corners. This created an attractively designed small mid-sized car in which every centimeter was optimally used.

Enlarged A-series engine
There was also news under the sun from a technical point of view. The front-wheel drive was already known from the Mini. And the 1098 cc BMC A-series engine was a further development of the 946 cc engine from the Morris Minor. Initially there was a plan to develop a V4 engine for (among other things) the new model. After the 1098 cc engine was approved, BMC abandoned that plan. The modified A-series engine was placed transversely. It shared the crankcase with the gearbox. Remarkable and space-saving was the side placement of the radiator. The application of independent wheel suspension was not yet commonplace either, but the designers did apply it to project ADO 16. 8″ Lockheed disc brakes were also mounted at the front. The rear wheels got drums. To neutralize the effects of front-wheel drive and steering movements as much as possible, CV joints from Rzeppa were mounted.

Hydrolastic
The Hydrolastic suspension system was completely new. It debuted on BMC's new compact mid-size car. Initially, Alex Moulton and his team came up with a more complex variant. The system that was finally chosen worked simply. Simply put: BMC mounted displacements with two fluid chambers and a rubber spring on the front and rear wheel on each side of the car. These were connected by a pipe. A sprung wheel at the front therefore resulted in a sprung wheel at the rear. The suspension and damping system was 'regulated' by the displacement of an incompressible fluid through the connecting pipe. That fluid displacement caused the wheels to compress and rebound. Delivering lively and smooth handling, the system debuted on the Morris 1100 when it was introduced. Later the system was followed in other ADO 16 models and several cars from the BMC (and later British Leyland) stable. Think of the Mini, the Maxi, the ADO 17 series (1800/2200 and Wolseley 18/85 and Wolseley Six) and the 3-Litre.

Starting shot
Project ADO 16 was ready for the start, and on August 15, 1962 it was time: the Morris 1100 made its debut and was available as a two- and four-door variant. It was the start of a great success, which was accompanied by a great deal of badge engineering. But at the same time, success was not achieved without a struggle. You can read more about this in part 2, as well as about the national and international development of the total ADO 16 delivery range.

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BMC ADO 16. A bestseller is sixty years young (part 1)
Simple representation of the operation of the Hydrolastic principle
BMC ADO 16. A bestseller is sixty years young (part 1)
Big BMC gentlemen with the brand new Morris 1100. Hydrolastic developer Alex Moulton next to the man who also developed the Mini: Alec Issigonis
BMC ADO 16. A bestseller is sixty years young (part 1)
Cross-section of the Morris 1100. It is clearly visible how the technical solutions and the creation of maximum space went hand in hand
BMC ADO 16. A bestseller is sixty years young (part 1)
BMC was proud of the Morris 1100, the very first ADO 16 version

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7 comments

  1. Nice article. I grew up with Gliders. My grandfather drove them together as a company car in my youth. My father worked in a BMC garage in Rotterdam, so that was not surprising. For example, in '77 I ran into my first Glider 1300 that I had for 20 years and then scrapped. Since a few years I have another one, a 3d 1100, unfortunately too rotten in the floor to fix up. Recently bought one that I am now making while driving. So I hope to contribute to the maintenance of the still running fleet of these fantastic cars.

  2. In 1982 I founded the ADO 16 club, because they had to be preserved as much as possible. In 1968 I bought my first new car, an Austin glider 1300. I was a representative at Adidas and Tretorn Netherlands and drove a lot of kilometers with my Glider. What a super car that was. Then bought an Austin Maxi. The Ado 16 is still a very affordable super Classic.

  3. In 1964 my father bought a new Morris 1100. And just in 1964 I got my driver's license in an Austin Glider. A few years later my father bought another 1100 (Dove grey) and a few years later an Allegro (Grrr)
    Good memories!

  4. Youth Sentiment. My parents had a Morris1100. And later 1 more. I bought myself a 16 GT at the age of 1300 – my father's dream car from that time. Unfortunately too bad (rust) to keep on the road.
    A beautiful old design indeed.
    Might own one someday.

    • My father bought a second hand dark green Wolseley 1300 which later on when he bought a P5B became my mother's car. Total about 8 years. We especially liked the suspension when we had injuries ourselves and therefore had less problems with bumps in the road. The seats were also very luxurious. My father had a major frontal collision and Doorn in Leende fixed it up, except for the grille that my father got back into shape with a lot of patience without the chrome jumping off, what a quality!

    • Join the AMRWR or Austin Morris Riley Wolseley registry. ADO16 models are regularly offered in our club magazine The Badge. We also have a very active forum, where everyone is well helped with technical questions. Of course, many fun activities are also organized…

  5. The car with which I got my driver's license in 1965 in Hilversum. Somewhere near Snelliuslaan. I've always remembered how much space there was in it. I also fit in a Dauphine at the time, but over the years it has grown somewhat into a “Large Petite”
    At the British Car meet at the Van dusen gardens this year, here in YVR, it was amazing
    how many of those cars are still there . also quite expensive versions with leather and a lot of wood, which turns out to be real wood. A design that has aged nicely.

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