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Tim Britten2 Nov 2012
NEWS

From The Classifieds: 1974 Leyland P76 Executive

Much maligned, and the subject of many an industry in-joke, the Leyland P76 wasn't half as bad as most people seem to think

The Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia was perhaps not the force it hoped to be in Australia during the early 1970s, but it certainly saw itself as a contender.

To be that, what it thought it needed was a car to directly challenge the mass-selling Holdens and Fords of the time. Following an era where it had successfully campaigned the likes of the front-drive Morris Mini and 1100 – and, to a lesser extent, the Austin 1800/Kimberley – the Australian arm of British Leyland embarked on a campaign to join the mainstream rear-drive segments, first in 1972 with the tragically ill-fated Morris Marina (in four and six-cylinder form!) and finally, in June 1973, with the fully-local P76 sedan.

By October 1974, the P76 was no longer in the British Leyland lineup as Leyland faced closure of its manufacturing facilities in Zetland, Sydney, during the company’s global downfall.

The P76 was a gutsy venture by the Australian development team, which defied instructions from the UK head office to forget the project. The P76 was appropriated from a design intended for a forthcoming Rover sedan which, suitably enough, was capable of accepting either a six-cylinder or a V8 engine. The latter, none other than the ex-Buick all-alloy V8 that had an amazing career across various Leyland vehicles, was the hero powerplant.

It was bumped in the P76 from its original 3.5 litres to 4.4 litres and, combined with a relatively light body weight, its 143kW/386Nm output was enough to produce a decent turn of performance. It was available with the choice of four-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission.

With a genuinely large interior, the biggest boot in the business - it was capable of holding a 44-gallon drum - and a generally more refined suspension than its competitors (using a live-axle, coil-spring rear end and steered by a rack-and-pinion system) the P76 was mainly let down by under-par quality that didn’t quite match that of the current Kingswoods, Falcons and Valiants.

However, despite the P76’s very short life, its place in Australian auto history is quite high-profile, partly because it was so widely panned by the press and partly because it was symptomatic of the Australian company’s seemingly myopic outlook.

The result is that P76s have become quite collectable, and the survivors have been around long enough and well-enough cared for that most of the production line glitches that existed when they were new have been addressed.

This concourse-winning 1974 Executive model from Hervey Bay in Queensland is a good example of what can happen if you take something known for its early faults and treat it with expertise and loving care over a long period.

Although the current owner only bought the P76 in 2008 (it is the fifth he has owned since 1982) he understands he is only its third owner.

Apart from a respray of the Bitter Apricot paintwork in 2010, it is in original condition, including the black cloth trim, original cassette player, floor mats, owner’s manual and the steering wheel which comes from the aborted Force Seven coupe version planned by Leyland.

Otherwise any work that has been done on the car has been generally maintenance – for which the owner is happy to provide details and receipts.
Currently under club registration, the P76 won first place as the “Best Executive” model at this year’s P76 club national meeting on the Sunshine Coast.

The P76 might have been the swansong for Leyland in Australia, but its good points tended to get lost among all the flack thrown around at the time. They appear to be well in evidence in this car.

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Written byTim Britten
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