The
MOKE
Prototype
work started in 1960 with one of the briefs been to produce a
vehicle for the Army using Mini components. By using the standard
parts of a Mini the only real cost to bring it into production
would be the body. It was thought that the Army would need a small
vehicle that could be dropped in by parachute, that would seat four
with some space for equipment. The Navy were also approached, and
they did show some interest as a means of transport on a aircraft
carrier. The main problem was that the ground clearance was poor
for any off-road activities so the armed forces lost
interest.
You
will see from the military version shown above, compared to the one
sold to the general public that the following changes had been made
to try and impress the military. There are four seats, the front
panel has been modified with the headlamps going into the wings.
This gave more room in the engine bay which would help cooling. The
grille is now a one piece with a fine mesh to keep out
debris.
Why
did it get the name Moke, well the dictionary says Donkey,
or another definition would be a workhorse.
In fact in the American brochures it said the following. "Own a
four-passenger donkey! The Austin Mini-Moke is as tough and
versatile as its namesake, but not half so obstinate. The rugged
transverse-mounted BMC engine combined with front wheel drive,
makes it sure-footed on the roughest terrain. Carring a load,
caddying around the golf course, or coursing over back roads and
beaches, the Austin Mini-Moke is the real 'can do' vehicle. A lot
more economical than a donkey, too!"
Moke
coming off the line
Nice
side view but beware of the dog
So
would the general public buy it. The company had hoped that the
Customs and Excise would class the Moke as a commercial vehicle, as
this would mean it would not incur Purchase Tax. But instead it was
deemed a car because it could carry passengers and therefore Tax
was payable. So it was launched in 1964 at a price of £405 in just
one colour Spruce Green. The only standard fitting was a windscreen
wiper for the driver, everything else was a option such as
passenger seats, grab handles, heater, windscreen washer and a
removable canvas top.
Filming
'The Prisoner'
At
first sales were slow but the Moke did attracted attention as a
'cult' vehicle on the back of the Mini but its main media exposure
was in the popular television series 'The Prisoner'. In all 14,518
Mokes were produced at Longbridge with about 90% exported mainly to
more sunny locations in the world.
They tried to get the USA Army interested and one was sent for
evaluation show here on test. But that lack of ground clearance
killed it off.
In
1967 a MkII was anounced which incorporated changes that had been
introduced in the Mini. But you did get a passenger wiper as
standard now, along with a choice of two body colours Spruce Green
or Old English White. Another try was made to interest the Navy,
but it came to nothing.
Ready
for Take Off 1968
Date
when launched 1964, production ceased in 1968. Production was then
transferred to Australia and then in 1981 to Portugal.
Total produced in UK 14,518 Total produced world wide about
40,000
Engine
848 cc 34 bhp at 5,500 rpm Max torque 44 lbs/ft at 2,900 rpm
Australia and Portugal builds
1275 cc 58 bhp at 5,250 rpm Max torque 69 lbs/ft at 3,000 rpm
Length 10ft 0ins Width 4ft 3.5ins Height 4ft 8ins
Wheel Base 6ft 8ins Track front 3ft 11.4ins rear 3ft
9.8ins
It
was in January 1963 that because of heavy falls of snow that as a
way of getting some publicity for the Moke it was decided to make a
4 wheel drive version by simple putting an engine in the back,
originally the gear changes were connect together along with the
clutch and throttle pedal. This proved to be a bit of a nightmare
as it was very difficult to synchronise both engines and the
gear-changes. The solution was solved by putting an automatic power
unit in the back, which was not the perfect solution, but as a
prototype worked quite well.
Twin
Engine Moke on the CAB car-park
Early
version with both Manual Gearboxes
Rear
Engine Manual Gearbox
Australia
Build
Moke
production started in Australia in 1966 and continued till 1981.
Initially they were built exactly like the British version with the
1098 cc engine and 10" wheels, but after a few months 13 inch
wheels were fitted. This increased ground clearance making them
more practical for gentle off-road or beach use. Latter on an
additional model arrived on the scene, called the 'Californan' this
was powered by the 1275 cc engine along with improved seats and
made the Moke now a more attractive vehicle. A pick-up version was
announced in 1975 as a drop side type with a cloth top over the cab
area. Also a 4 x 4 version was looked at again, but unlike the UK
prototypes it had only a single engine driving the rear wheels via
a transfer box.
Portuguese
Moke 'Californian'
When
production ceased in 1981 British Leyland transfer production yet
again, this time to their subsidiary in Portugal where the
"Californian" version which had been developed in Australia
continued till 1991 having built 8,500 in this 10 year period. At
this time British Leyland had seen many changes and was now called
The Rover Group. The rights to the Moke were sold in 1991 to Cagiva
a motorcycle manufacturer in Italy who decided to continue to make
the Moke in Portugal. One of the changes they made, was to
standardise on the then current Mini parts from the UK, this meant
they were fitted with 12 inch wheels A decision was made in 1993 to
transfer production to Italy, in the end production was never
restarted. So in that two year period 1,500 were produced, this
made total number of Moke's produced in Portugal to 10,000
units.
*
* * * * * * *
This
left-hand 850cc engine Moke was imported into the UK. It is fitted
with a Barton hard-top
How
to customise your Moke
_________________________________________________
And
along came the ANT (ADO19)
Mock-up
of a Ant (1964)
Early
Prototype Ant (1966)
Fully
Engineered Prototype
It
was in 1964 that work started on the Ant, designed by Sir Alec
Issigonis for the then BMC. Sir Alex Issigonis had already applied
for various patents in 1962 which mainly covered the transmission
aspects of the design. Conceived for two markets, one being for
military use as the Moke had been rejected by the Army mainly
because of its ground clearance and only two wheel drive. One
feature that the Army had asked for was that the passengers seat
would fold-down flat, so allowing a stretcher to be carried It was
also thought that there could be a market for a small Land Rover
type vehicle. So the Ant which was based on the 1100 platform was
only 3ins longer than the Mini at 10ft 3ins. If this vehicle had
reached the market place would it have been the start of a new
vehicle that would have become a cult like the Mini.
Under
Bonnet
Power
was from the 1098 cc A series engine, but later this was changed to
the 1275 cc version. Althought the larger engine gave only 2 hp
more, the torque increased from 61 lbs at 2,000 rpm to 69 lbs at
3,000 rpm. The engine is tilled backwards, as can be seen from the
above picture. (Note the rocker filler cap). The whole engine and
four speed gearbox along with a transfer box would have compromised
the ground clearance if it had not been inclined backwards. It had
high and low ratios and the drive to the rear wheels could be
disengaged if only 2 wheel traction was needed as this would save
on fuel and also gave the vehicle a higher speed.
Power
Unit
One interesting point of the design, was that the steering rack had
a centre pinion so could be used for both right hand and left hand
versions. The front suspension, by torsion bars, with the one end
fixed on to a cradle attached to the transmission housing. So in
affect the whole engine, transmission and front suspension could be
removed as one unit, The rear suspension used a single torsion bar
that was held in the middle and the ends fixed to each wheel
unit.
Braking was by means of 8 inch discs at the front and drum at the
rear. Ride was fairly neutral with minimum roll or pitch. which by
all accounts proved fine
It
had front disc brakes with drum on the rear and 12in wheels. So
this unique vehicle became the world's first 4 x 4
trasverse-engined that was light and compact making it suitable for
airborne operations.
Some
experimental prototypes were built, and
after evaluating the test results it was decided to move to the
next stage. This was to build 30 pre-production fully engineered
prototypes, whilst this was happening a decision was made to order
the tooling so as to prepare for production with the bodies to be
made by Nuffield Metal Products in
Birmingham.
The
30 pre-production build was to be done by Methods Proving
Department at Adderley Park Birmingham. Shown below is the cradle
that was constructed, the body was bolted to the cradle which then
allowed the body to be rotated, which made the fitting of
components easier.
Finished
Ant
The
various prototypes were then dispatched round the world for
evaluation. Early in 1968 three prototype vehicles were sent by BMC
to Australia and New Zealand for evaluation by the Armed Forces.
One stayed in Australia for reasons unknown, and the other two came
to New Zealand. A Soft-top model went to the Auckland Austin dealer
Seabrook Fowlds, and the other a hard-top model went to P H
Vickery, the Austin agents of Invercargill. The two examples in New
Zealand were sold to private buyers. The white coloured
Invercargill vehicle was purchased by a local farmer Alfred
Walmsley and used on Stewart Island. It was later purchased and now
owned by Geoff Sneddon of Dunedin.
Then came the merge between BMC and Leyland who owned Land Rover,
so the Ant was looked at by the new management in 1968 as been to
close a competitor to the Land Rover range so the project was
cancelled before production got underway and most of the vehicles
were broken up.
According to the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon there is only two
in the UK, one in the museum and one private owner whose vehicle I
have photographed, with five others around the world.
As with many concepts from the design studios of BMC at Longbridge
in the 1960s, they were way ahead of their time. It makes me sad
that the management did not have the vision to bring these concepts
into production, the Ant been one such example.
Final
Pre-Production Version
Note
the change to the canvas roof which gave more
headroom
Main
measurements
Length 10ft 3ins Width 4ft 6ins
Wheel Base 6ft 5.5ins Track 3ft 11.3ins Turning circle 33ft
6ins