austin vanden plas princess limousine 1968. POV Drive

[@bbjunkie]

The first time I drove one of these was the day after my wedding when my father-in-law took ill. Picture this; small carpark at the back of the hotel with lots of cars me not able to find reverse, every time I let the clutch out I was getting closer and closer to the car in front 😂 All worked out ok in the end. We still have the car, love it.

[@1961kickboxer]

What a beauty ,a real car.

[@elizabethrowlands9419]

i had one , lovely cruiser , got stuck between first and second gear once - a bit confusing !

[@billpeters5037]

beautiful car.

[@mryan5529]

Use double clutching as this car has a straight gearbox similar to a truck.

[@montecarlo1651]

it has syncro and doesn't need double declutching. The gear shifting was a bit timid and he seems to have forgotten the H, making him hesitant. The old linkages might have been sticky too.

[@MrBernardesreis]

Beautiful place . Tell me, where was this ride filmed? Thanks for post. And greetings from Brazil!

[@Backwardlooking]

An antique when built. Only employed for certain functions; weddings, funerals etcetera.

[@philldownes8685]

these were not made in 1968......you might find this car is infact 1958.

[@asa1973100]

Production 1952-1968 . We own one on a H plate registered July 1969 New

[@waynemurphy4542]

Yes, they were made until then, at which point with Jaguar being part of BL, they were discontinued and succeeded by the DS420

[@johnmontgomery9149]

Terrible driving, starting off in 2nd in such a heavy car.

[@SimonNoina]

He can hardly drive it all - as you say - terrible, sliding the clutch, no allowance or compensation for lack of synchromesh - take him out of it and put someone in who can drive it properly! 😉

[@waynemurphy4542]

Actually first gear was really just for hill starts. I had a (older) Sheerline, same engine, gearbox and mechanicals, it happily pulled away in 2nd and that's how I was advised to drive it

[@douglasthompson296]

All I can say is I wish my 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧 roads were that traffic free😮 BTW I had a part time wedding driving job driving these VDP limousines. Until you get the 'knack' of gear changing it's very 😨 and yes a double declutch change was better to use.

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

They were actually quite nice to drive especially compared to the Humber Pullman and Imperial 7 seaters. The engine is the Austin D series (sometimes called K series) that has its origin in the pre WW2 Austin High Speed Truck project highly influenced by the trucks Bedford were making. Austin took a hard look at the Bedford version of the Chevrolet Stove Bolt Six engine in the Bedford and produced their take on it which was the direct ancestors of all BMC Series engines large and small.