1980 Leyland Maxi from UK and Ireland - Comments

The head gasket failed several times.

The shift linkage failed.

The carburettor developed a fault, and had to be replaced.

Heater core was plugged.

Numerous electrical gremlins occurred.

Driver side seat frame broke.

This is perhaps the ugliest car I've owned. What were they thinking? The Brits are so capable of building fine cars, but they punted here. Still, the bodywork was sound and well engineered. The doors and panels fit together well, and the car was reasonably solid.

The engine was another story. Clattery, smoky, and always leaving chips of metal in the oil, it just wasn't very good. I gained proficiency in changing the head gasket, and could repair it in about four hours. Still, what a clunker. It would frequently stall or misfire right in a roundabout, which always provided great thrills.

Still, after all the drama, it did a good job of getting me around whilst not taking all my money. Not bad for a car that is considered by some as one of the worst ever.

I had a 1750 Twin Carby Maxi back in 1980.It was a boy racers dream and gained me much respect for its performance. It did handle like a sack of potatoes, I found myself constantly going sideways. Obviously it constantly broke down. I was very popular with the local girls due to its extremely large back seat.

We had a 1973 model Maxi 1750. A very modern innovative car that unfortunately has a horrible build quality. Roomy hatchback with more room than the Volvo 244, 5-speed transmission, peppy engine, comfortable hydro-pneumatic suspension. Sounds good? Well everything broke on this car. Transmission went after 2 years, clutch lasted 4, head gasket failed every second year, all kinds of electric faults which is strange since there wasn't that much wires in that car, knobs fell off, windows got stuck, unable to open trunck when freezing, brakes, exhaust, the hydro-pneumatic suspension failed twice, hesitation to start in the cold and we had a emergency stop about every year (electrics, faulty carburettor, ignition problems, exhaust falling off just naming some reasons). What killed this car in the end was the rust when we tried to change the tires the jack holed the sills and just a year later we had to scrap it because it was unsafe to drive. It lasted about 6 years and circa 80.000km.

Even if it was very good and comfortable to drive, this was a badly, badly, badly built car. No wonder it has been claimed 'worst car ever'. They just don't build cars like that anymore. Luckily.

UK car industry, R-I-P. No wonder the germans and japanese have taken over your car industry.

My Maxi was wonderful for my social life. I have never met so many breakdown Patrols. Clutch oil seal failed regularly due to worn out crankshaft. Changed crankshaft twice in five years due to primary drive gear winding its way through the locating flange. Oil pump failed twice. Gearbox was worse than stirring porridge. Fuel consumption was horrific. Having to open both back doors to fold down the rear seat was not much fun in the rain, although the space under the rear seat was useful for carrying the tools and spares necessary to fix it. Handling was non-existent. I experimented with different tyres and pressures over the time I owned it, and nothing improved it. Hoses blew with monotonous regularity. Fuel pump failed.

The reason I bought it was because it was spacious and I had two small children. Consequently, it was some time before I had the spare cash to replace it. We took great delight in taking it to the crusher.

These are all common maxi problems. The E series overhead cam engine is a notorious oil burner and eats head gaskets for a hobby. the gearbox was no good even when new, and failure was likely at any time from 5000 miles onwards.

Crusty sills were par for the course, and the odd profile made fixing them tricky. a shame really, it had a lot going for it if only they'd built it properly, and some styling would have been nice. Leyland at the time worked on the basis that "it doesn't matter what it looks like as long as it works"