Thread: Austin - Landrover on Heartbeat - Prime

Speaking of de-ja-vu


Something was bothering me about the styling of the front of the early Gipsy: Something strangely familiar about it :?

Austin Gipsy



And then it hit me (as a former owner of a Mini Moke)



The Gipsy was reincarnated as a Moke (even down to the bonnet clips)

There was a Gypsy in an Australian film a few years ago, with Claudia Karvan and Hugh Jackman, Paperback Hero I think it was called.

I guess it was a Gypsy then. Anyone had a Champ?

Gazzz

hi all , im kev dent , and 2 of the 3 gipsys you see on heartbeat are my vehicles , the grey gipsy flexator was ex afs and the green gipsy was ex fire service before i fully restored the body useing 14swg galv steel[to try to combat the pommy steel worm] you can find these 2 gipsys and many more through the austin gipsy site , i think its great that gipsy can be a topical discussion over there and also great that heartbeat has a following over there also , all the very best folkes gipsykev

G'day Folks
And a special G'day to Gipsykev Welcome to the Australian Landrover Owners Online site and a very happy New Year to you and yours feel welcome to make use of the forum, as we are foremost 4wheeldrivers with a british built bias and some of our members might benefit from perousing you site as there was a thriving British Motor Industry, until Leyland bit off more than they could chew


G'day garrycol I have driven a Rolls-Royce powered(B40 engine) ex-military champ a few times All Independant Torsion Bar Suspension, 5 Speed with a seperate forward/reverse joey box :? hense 5 forward--5 reverse gears 8O coupled with Rack & Pinion Steering made for a very twitchy ride, in reverse it was lethal 8O and when in Army service here accounted for a few deaths resulting from Reverse Races 8O

Bung-Tiddley
Uncle Ho

I can remember when the Gypsy's first came out, looking over them at the Easter Show in Sydney. Even then I was not all that impressed - bodywork finish crude even compared to Landrovers - I seem to remember a chain pull on the door locks.

Knew a bloke once in the Georgetown (Q) area had a Champ. He reckoned it had 150 grease nipples that needed greasing every 500 miles (possibly a small exaggeration). Very capable, good ride and performance but very little carrying capacity, and prone to mechanical problems. Also appalling fuel economy - not that anyone seemed to worry too much about that in the early sixties.

When I bought my series 1 back in 78 I looked at a champ - nearly tempted but I am glad I wasn't - I don't think that my pocket could have afforded it (not the purchase price but the upkeep) - at least I would not have to buy a snorkle.

In theory they should have been great but let down by over engineering in some areas and under in others - complexity was a bit much for the 50s. A bit like the D3 is overly complex for toyota drivers.