John Crosse's Nissan-Powered 1961 Vanden Plas (Austin) Princess
as published in BritishV8 Magazine, Volume XVI Issue 2, October 2008Owner: John Crosse
BritishV8 UserID: Myster John
City: Boulder, CO
Model: 1961 Vanden Plas (Austin) Princess 3 Litre MkII
Engine: 1980 Nissan 280ZX 2.8L inline six
Conversion by: Motorway Ltd., Ft Collins CO
Background Information
Guillaume Van den Plas was an apprentice blacksmith in Brussels Belgium who inherited
his uncle's workshop in 1870 and went into business making axles for horse-drawn
carriages. Successful at this work, in 1884 Mr. Van den Plas moved to Antwerp and
started producing complete carriages. By the early 1900's the company was actively
building bodies for installation on Daimler, de Dion Bouton, and Germain chassis.
In 1913, a Westminster England company called "Theo Masui Ltd." began building Van den Plas
designed bodies under license, using components imported from Belgium. Theo Masui changed
their company name to "Vanden Plas (England) Ltd.", just in time for their business to
change radically with the outbreak of World War I. With the war, however, Vanden Plas was
absorbed into the Aircraft Manufacturing Company ("AMC"), and their facilities were put
into use building aircraft components. After the war, AMC was liquidated, and one of the
company's managers, Edwin Fox, bought the Vanden Plas assets (including trademark) for
£6000.
The automobile market was taking off, and Fox was able to secure a contract to provide
car bodies for the Panhard (French) car company. "Vanden Plas (England) 1923 Ltd." moved
into the large Kingsbury Works with this contract in hand. Since the building was larger
than they needed, they sub-leased the excess space to another small carmaker, Bentley Motors.
Ultimately, Vanden Plas ended up making nearly a quarter of the bodies for all "pre-Rolls"
Bentleys, including five LeMans winning race cars.
Vanden Plas continued making bodies for Rolls-Royces and Bentleys from 1931 (when Rolls-Royce
acquired Bentley) through the outbreak of World War II. With the outbreak of that war, they
once again switched to producing aircraft components. Vanden Plas especially made major
components for the de Havilland Mosquito.
At the end of the war, looking toward a return to automotive production, Vanden Plas
desired to modernize their facilities. The future didn't look certain for
hand-built, very low volume vehicles. Meanwhile, the Austin Motor Company was looking
for a partner to build an upscale saloon body for their flagship 4-litre model. Vanden
Plas agreed and became a subsidiary of Austin in June 1946. A Vanden Plas bodied Austin
was indeed available starting in 1947, and it was named "Princess". The 4-litre
Princess was primarily offered as a limousine for "ceremonial" uses.
In 1952, Austin became part of the British Motor Corporation ("BMC"), and from 1956,
Vanden Plas cars were no longer badged "Austin" because BMC considered the Vanden Plas
name more upscale and entirely sufficient on its own.
As if this decision about badging wasn't confusing enough, however, BMC also decided to
simultaneously offer two entirely different Vanden Plas "Princess" models. The 4-litre
Princess would continue indefinitely... and in 1959, Vanden Plas introduced an entirely
new and more modern 3-litre "Princess". The 3-litre Princess was also a luxury automobile,
but it was better suited for a member of parliament than for a member of the royal family.
During the 3-litre Princess's seven year production life, 12,703 examples were built.
More Luxury for the Princess
Extra refinement added to mechanical improvements in Mk.II version of the Vanden Plas 3-Litre.
The specific automobile featured in this article is a "Vanden Plas Princess Mark II" - a longer
wheelbase, higher horsepower version of the 3-litre Princess. The Mk.II variant was introduced
in 1961 and built until 1964. BMC summed-up the sales proposition as follows: "One of the most
mechanically advanced cars on the road today, this supremely elegant saloon has been provided
with the most dependably engineered features for safety and smooth, untroubled performance."
The 3-litre Princess featured the same six cylinder engine as the big Austin-Healey 3000 sports
car. For the Mk.II Princess (1961 model) BMC claimed 120bhp and a top speed of 102mph.
John Crosse's 1961 Vanden Plas Princess Mk.II apparently traveled with a previous owner from
England into Canada sometime in the late sixties or early seventies. It eventually ended-up
in California. When John purchased it, the original engine had been blown and was beyond repair,
but the body was solid and the interior was nearly entirely complete. John had the Princess
transported to Colorado, where he began contracting out aspects of its transformation into a
reliable and fun car for Sunday drives and picnics.
How It Was Done
| Engine: | 1980 Nissan "L28" 2.8L inline six (from a low-mileage California spec.
280ZX donor car) with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection. (Stock fuel map chip,
cam, etc.) In the 280ZX, this engine was rated 149bhp @ 5,200 rpm and
144lb ft @ 4,000 rpm, SAE net. The Bosch electronic fuel injection system
is fairly simple and self contained, but it did require installation of a
new fuel tank, high volume/pressure pump, return line, etc. |
| Cooling: | re-cored stock radiator, plus thermostatically-controlled electric fan. |
| Exhaust: | Nissan iron exhaust manifold feeding into a single pipe exhaust system. |
| Transmission: | Nissan 3-speed automatic, with floor-mounted gear selector. The Austin
driveshaft was utilized, but with a new U-joint knuckle to suit the Nissan
transmission. Note: the Princess originally came with 3-speed manual
transmission plus overdrive. That transmission was column-shifted, with a
switch for overdrive. |
| Rear End: | stock (3.9:1 final drive ratio and open differential). |
| Suspension: | stock (double wishbone front / leaf sprung rear, with knee-action shocks.) |
| Brakes: | stock (with single circuit master cylinder, servo-assist, Lockheed single-piston
front disc brakes, and drum brakes in the rear.) |
| Wheels: | stock 14x7 steel wheels with Michelin "X" 195/75 tires. |
| Weight: | ~3500 pounds (approximately same as stock.) |
| Instruments: | stock, plus an aftermarket water temperature gauge mounted under the dashboard. |
| Body: | stock and original in appearance (in two-tone paint with lots of chrome).
Note: although this car was built by Austin, it was marketed as a "Vanden Plas"
and no Austin badges appear anywhere on the car. Pininfarina designed the body,
and BMC used versions of it for several models of "badge engineered" cars. |
| Interior: | stock and original in appearance (with leather upholstery, wool carpet, and
burled walnut wood veneer trim). BMC/Britax three-point seat belts were apparently
added in the late sixties or early seventies. The original under-dash parcel
shelf and the new floor-mounted gear selector currently have an interference
issue, but one or the other could be easily modified. |
| Completed: | 2005. (Driven approximately 1500 miles since conversion, as of June 2008.) |
| Performance: | reliable, practical, and fun to drive! |
| Comments : | a Vanden Plas "Princess" is a very unusual car to find in North America, although
these cars are well supported by an active owner's club in the U.K. (Note: only 3344
Vanden Plas Princesses were made, from 1957 through 1968.) This particular example
was apparently imported into Canada, and then spent some years in California. With
the Nissan engine, this is now a "sensible" car. It's mechanically sound and
presentable. An overdrive and air conditioning would be welcome additions for
long-distance touring. It's sufficiently strong to pull a trailer. As such, it
would be perfect for transporting a V8-powered British sports car or a
race car; your tow car might get as much attention as your "baby"! |
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