Austin FX4

Austin FX4 in classic black livery

The Austin FX4 (also: BMC ADO6 ) is still considered the classic black London taxi . Although there was no corresponding regulation, the majority of the vehicles were delivered with black paint. Over the years the FX4 has been sold under various brand names.

Construction and appearance

The Austin FX4 was the successor to the Austin FX3 , which was produced from 1948 to 1959 and was also considered the classic London taxi in its day. Like the FX3, the FX4 was designed by Austin in collaboration with " Mann and Overton " (a taxi dealer) and " Carbodies " (a carpentry business ). The design team consisted of Albert Moore from Austin engineering, Jack Helberg from Carbodies, and David Southwell from Mann and Overton. The original construction came from Eric Bailey (Austin) and Jake Donaldson (Carbodies). Only a few changes were necessary for the appearance of the model produced.

Like the FX3, the FX4 also had a separate chassis (which had only seen a few changes compared to the FX3). The partition between the driver and passengers served as reinforcement for the body.

The first FX4 with the approval number VLW 431 came onto the market in July 1958; the official presentation took place in the same year.

history

When the FX4 first came out, it had a 2.2 liter Austin diesel engine and a Borg-Warner 35 automatic transmission . From 1961 the manual transmission from the Austin Gipsy was also available on request . From 1962 a 2.2-liter petrol engine could be ordered. The great majority of the FX4s used in London were equipped with a diesel engine and automatic transmission.

A facelift followed in 1968. The vehicles were now equipped with small brake lights and direction indicators mounted on the roof, which were named "bunny ears". The rear fenders were changed and received the taillights of the Austin 1100 . Likewise, indicators were attached below the headlights at the front. The "bunny ears" later disappeared.

In 1971 the 2.2-liter diesel engine (2178 cm³) was replaced by a variant enlarged to 2.5 liters. This model was called the Austin FX4D .

Originally, the FX4 was fitted with chrome-plated bumpers with bumper horns, which were also claimed to be the same as those on the Ford Consul . In 1979 the molds for the chrome-plated bumper horns were worn out, so that from this time onwards, bumper horns made of rubber were used. The chrome bumpers were retained.

The FX4 from Carbodies

In 1982 the company Carbodies, which had already been manufacturing the FX4 for Austin for a few years, also took over the model rights and now manufactured the taxis under its own name. Due to difficulties with the emission of pollutants, the old Austin machine was no longer produced and the manufacturing facilities were sold to India . Carbodies chose the Land Rover's diesel engine with 2495 cm³ displacement and 68 bhp (50 kW ) as a replacement. The new model was called the Austin FX4R . The FX4R received a few improvements over its predecessors, such as power steering (recognizable by small bulges on the lower parts of the hood) and better brakes. The performance and reliability of the FX4R were very mediocre.

Some customers replaced the Land Rover engine with the Mazda Perkins diesel with 2977 cc and thus received a very powerful car. The FX4R with a Perkins engine was said to run very loudly at high speeds and cause cracks in the chassis.

Another possibility at the time was to equip old chassis with new bodies and the 2.5-liter diesel engine from the production facilities exported to India. Because these vehicles were based on old chassis, they were given registration numbers with the letter Q instead of the designations usually used in Great Britain based on the year of manufacture. Hence they were called FX4Q or "Q-Cabs". They didn't have power steering but were significantly cheaper than the FX4R. These vehicles were manufactured by Carbodies, but sold by "Rebuilt Cabs Ltd.". In 2006 there were probably still one or two Q-Cabs in use in London.

The FX4 from LTI

In 1984, London Taxis International (LTI) was acquired by Manganese Bronze Ltd. founded, which already included Carbodies and Mann and Overton.

LTI revised the FX4 to the FX4S and installed the Land Rover diesel with a displacement of 2.5 liters. The previous toggle switches have been replaced by rocker switches and the passenger compartment has been redesigned to accommodate five passengers instead of four as in the earlier models. The chrome bumpers have been replaced with black drawn steel bumpers.

Some observers consider the FX4W , which from 1986 was also suitable for passengers with wheelchairs, as an independent model. In this vehicle, the left rear door could be opened by 180 ° and the partition wall was movable. It was also possible to use wheelchairs by converting cars that had already been delivered. Handicapped suitability became a requirement for all London taxis from 2000, which means that many older taxis have been taken out of service because the conversion was too expensive.

With the FX4S Plus introduced in September 1987 , the then very old-fashioned Smiths instrument sets were replaced by other models from the Austin Rover Group . The wheel suspensions have also been improved.

In February 1989 the fairway was brought out. It had a 2.7 liter Nissan diesel engine which made the FX4 a fast and reliable car. However, the brakes were not adequate for the engine power, so a number of accidents occurred. The redesign of the braking system was complex, as a maximum turning circle of 7.6 m is required for London taxis. GKN revised the brakes and the wheel suspensions so that disc brakes could be used on the front wheels despite the tight turning circle. Older FX4s could be retrofitted with new disc brakes by replacing the entire front axle. The fairway driver was the last FX4 model. The last copy was given the number "R1 PFX", ie "RIP FX" (rest in peace, FX), was delivered on October 1, 1997 and now has a place in the " National Motor Museum " in Beaulieu .

The successor to the FX4 was the TX1 .

The FL2 Hire Car

The FL2 Hire Car was an FX4 version for private individuals and had no taxi sign on the roof. It could also be ordered as a guest vehicle with better equipment (such as air conditioning) for hotels and shops. It was also sold as a private limousine, for example to the Duke of Edinburgh or Steven Fry .

Web links

Commons : Austin FX4 - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

London Vintage Taxi Association