{"id":4267,"date":"2019-12-12T09:51:24","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T09:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=4267"},"modified":"2024-09-12T10:22:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:22:07","slug":"1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"1968 Austin Vanden Plas – Project Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

If, back in the day, your car had Vanden Plas<\/a> written on the bootlid, you knew you were doing well for yourself. Vanden Plas started in the late-1800s by building axles and later, luxurious horse-drawn carriages. It wasn\u2019t long, however, before vehicles started to receive the attention of the company\u2019s founder, Guillaume van den Plas and his sons, Antoine, Henri and Willy. In 1884, after enjoying enviable growth, the company moved to Antwerp where it grew into a powerhouse of bespoke bodybuilding, with some 400 staff producing over 750 bodies per year for the likes of De Dion Bouton, Berlier, Germain and Packard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many others, the company\u2019s efforts turned to those of a military need during the war. However, once peacetime returned the company carried on with car bodies. In 1906, Vanden Plas bodied cars found their way to the UK, and in 1913, Warwick Wright began selling bodies built under licence, carrying the Vanden Plas name. Again though, war broke out and the efforts of the company were redirected until peacetime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"1968<\/a><\/p>\n

It was in 1946 that the partnership with Austin began. The British company wanted to make high-end, luxury versions of its cars and Vanden Plas were the company to do it. From that point on, Vanden Plas and Austin went hand in hand, producing cars like the Austin A105, the 3.0, the 4.0R and of course, this little slice of luxury, the Vanden Plas Princess 1300.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is it?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a 1968 Vanden Plas Princess<\/a>, which is basically a normal Austin 1300 with a load of wood, leather and chrome thrown at it. Austin wanted to bring luxury motoring to the masses, and decided the best way to go about that would be to make an extremely high-end version of one of its small cars. Think of it as the Aston Martin Cygnet of its day. It was stuffed with extra gauges, the dash was made from rich, hand-veneered Walnut, as were the door cappings and the fold-out picnic tables in the rear. The body was dressed with extra lashings of chrome, including a darling set of \u2018VDP\u2019 hub caps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"1968<\/a><\/p>\n

Power came from the familiar A Series, though in the case of this model, that A Series is 1.3 in capacity, which made it quite a peppy little thing. Though a 1.1 version was also available. This one seems to be a manual transmission car, though an automatic was available too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being a \u201868, this is an early second-generation car. It was also a car of many names. You could have an MG version, a Morris version, a Wolseley version and a Riley version – that\u2019s some serious badge engineering. That said, only the Austin models were available in Vanden Plas specification.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is it a project?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The poor little Austin just needs to be put back together by the looks of things. This three owner car seems to have gone through a good chunk of restoration work before being given up on. Before being laid up in what looks to be an honest-to-goodness barn (imagine that) some five years ago, the little VDP was stripped down and repainted inside and out. Now dusty and unloved, it\u2019s still evident that it was a proper, full-on respray, not just a cheap blow over.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"1968<\/a><\/p>\n

The car runs and drives, which is good to know. However, you\u2019re going to want to go through all the mechanicals for peace of mind and to also give everything a damn good service. Other than that though, it just looks like it needs putting back together. The vendor states that all the parts are with the car, which is good given the rarity. The storage seems to be dry, as that white paint would be quick to show any rust developing. Think of it as a big, driveable Lego set.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Five things to look for:<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

1) Parts<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

These little VDP Austins<\/a> are getting rare now, so parts are going to be hard to find. Mechanical stuff is simple enough, but VDP specific parts, they could be a nightmare. The dash, for example, looks to be cracking and faded – that\u2019s going to take specialist work to rectify.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2) Suspension<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The suspension in the ADO16 cars, of which this is one, was hydrolastic. You need to check the condition of this, as the rubber elements are almost certainly going to need replacement. Also, check the condition of the subframes – they love to rust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3) Chrome<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The chromework is what sells the VDP. The bumpers, the trim, that proud grille. Of course, they need to be bright and free of corrosion. Pitting and light corrosion can be repaired by a specialist, but if the metal is properly rotten, it\u2019s going to be a time consuming and costly exercise to replace.<\/span><\/p>\n

4) Chassis<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The vendor seems confident in the condition of the car, and given the apparent quality of the respray, we\u2019d be inclined to believe them. That said, it never hurts to check. The ADO16 loves to rot around the arches, the sills, the boot floor, the subframe mounts and also the roof edges. It should all be fine, but check anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

5) Paintwork<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Looking at the ad through our eternally optimistic eyes, we think there\u2019s a decent paint job under the dust. Still, it won\u2019t hurt to clean a bit of the car off to see the true quality of the job. Also, the car has been in storage for a long time. Has it been dinged or damaged in that time?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"1968<\/a><\/p>\n

What should you do with it?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s not exactly a big market for a Vanden Plas hot rod, so probably best to finish what somebody started and instead bring this car back up to original specification. It\u2019s going to take time and money, but all the hard work seems to have been done. This VDP honestly presents itself as a solid, honest, low mileage (33k) base for restoration. And it\u2019ll be well worth the effort. Being a 1,300, this is the one to have. They\u2019re a remarkable amount of fun to drive, and all while feeling as luxurious as one of London\u2019s most expensive clubs. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If, back in the day, your car had Vanden Plas written on the bootlid, you knew you were doing well for yourself. Vanden Plas started in the late-1800s by building…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":4268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[322],"tags":[1315,121,1316,15,110,1318,12,13,11,14,1319,108,16,1317],"yoast_head":"\n1968 Austin Vanden Plas - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How about this for a bit of bargain luxury - a 1968 Austin 1300 Vanden Plas. Very posh indeed, though some assembly is required\u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1968 Austin Vanden Plas - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How about this for a bit of bargain luxury - a 1968 Austin 1300 Vanden Plas. Very posh indeed, though some assembly is required\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Car & Classic Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-12T09:51:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-12T09:22:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/12\/12190147.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"798\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Car & Classic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Car & Classic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Car & Classic\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39\"},\"headline\":\"1968 Austin Vanden Plas – Project Profile\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-12T09:51:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-12T09:22:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/\"},\"wordCount\":1028,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"1968 Austin Vanden Plas Princess\",\"Austin\",\"Austin Vanden Plas\",\"automotive\",\"barn find\",\"BMC\",\"carandclassic\",\"carandclassic.co.uk\",\"classic car\",\"motoring\",\"projec car\",\"restoration project\",\"retro car\",\"Vanden Plas\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Project Profile\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/\",\"name\":\"1968 Austin Vanden Plas - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-12T09:51:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-12T09:22:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"How about this for a bit of bargain luxury - a 1968 Austin 1300 Vanden Plas. Very posh indeed, though some assembly is required\u2026\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"1968 Austin Vanden Plas – Project Profile\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/\",\"name\":\"Car & Classic Magazine\",\"description\":\"The latest in the classic car world - articles, news, how to's, advice and more\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Car and Classic Limited\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Car-and-Classic-Square-Green-Background-Large.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Car-and-Classic-Square-Green-Background-Large.png\",\"width\":4262,\"height\":3881,\"caption\":\"Car and Classic Limited\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39\",\"name\":\"Car & Classic\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df8ff943eb64ce998eeba2661f03a69a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df8ff943eb64ce998eeba2661f03a69a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Car & Classic\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/author\/car-and-classic\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"1968 Austin Vanden Plas - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine","description":"How about this for a bit of bargain luxury - a 1968 Austin 1300 Vanden Plas. Very posh indeed, though some assembly is required\u2026","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"1968 Austin Vanden Plas - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine","og_description":"How about this for a bit of bargain luxury - a 1968 Austin 1300 Vanden Plas. Very posh indeed, though some assembly is required\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/","og_site_name":"Car & Classic Magazine","article_published_time":"2019-12-12T09:51:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-12T09:22:07+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/12\/12190147.jpg","width":1200,"height":798,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Car & Classic","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Car & Classic","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/"},"author":{"name":"Car & Classic","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39"},"headline":"1968 Austin Vanden Plas – Project Profile","datePublished":"2019-12-12T09:51:24+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-12T09:22:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/"},"wordCount":1028,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization"},"keywords":["1968 Austin Vanden Plas Princess","Austin","Austin Vanden Plas","automotive","barn find","BMC","carandclassic","carandclassic.co.uk","classic car","motoring","projec car","restoration project","retro car","Vanden Plas"],"articleSection":["Project Profile"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/","name":"1968 Austin Vanden Plas - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-12-12T09:51:24+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-12T09:22:07+00:00","description":"How about this for a bit of bargain luxury - a 1968 Austin 1300 Vanden Plas. Very posh indeed, though some assembly is required\u2026","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1968-austin-vanden-plas-project-profile\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"1968 Austin Vanden Plas – Project Profile"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/","name":"Car & Classic Magazine","description":"The latest in the classic car world - articles, news, how to's, advice and more","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Car and Classic Limited","url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Car-and-Classic-Square-Green-Background-Large.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Car-and-Classic-Square-Green-Background-Large.png","width":4262,"height":3881,"caption":"Car and Classic Limited"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39","name":"Car & Classic","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df8ff943eb64ce998eeba2661f03a69a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df8ff943eb64ce998eeba2661f03a69a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Car & Classic"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.carandclassic.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/author\/car-and-classic\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4267"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31391,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267\/revisions\/31391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}