Austin Ant

[Polarsilver]

Had a look around an "on road" Austin Ant at last Sundays BMC Gaydon day .. informed this prototype Ant is based on ADO16 components with the 1098 engine inclined backwards to get the Gearbox set up positioned & with selectable 4 wheel drive that Ant is far ahead of its time.. the owner was very willing to describe his Ants features & i must say i was impressed .. Q what does the Forum know about the Ants Gearbox & selectable 4x4.. looks to be very interesting ?

[mk1]

I believe there was some further development in Aus after the project was cancelled in 1968. I believe the same (or a similar) system was used in the prototype 4WD Mokes.

Maybe our Aussie contingent will know more.

[roger mcnab]

hi
i have a friend that worked at the bmc factory in zetland sydney i will ask him about the 4x4 moke and see what he remembers
cheers roger mcnab

[mab01uk]

"The 4wd Austin Ant was the last Issigonis project for BMC.
Most of the work was done by body engineer John Sheppard and chassis engineer Jack Daniels."
Jon Pressnell talks to the engineers who turned the idea into a prototype, and drives one:-
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/new ... t-hill-mob

[Pandora]

I have a (very) dim and distant memory of an article in a fairly early Miniworld about the blue 4WD clubman rallycross car that Special Tuning built having the transmission from an Ant used at the factory to pull dead cars off the line. The donuts had holes drilled in them to get the spring rate right I think? It might have been an 8 port engine on the 4WD box and transmission system. In the end the weight and complexity was probably not enough of a benefit over FWD on the short events

Al

[mab01uk]

4 wheel drive (16 pages) :-
http://mk1-forum.net/viewtopic.php?t=3570

[mk1]

4 wheel drive (16 pages) :-
http://mk1-forum.net/viewtopic.php?t=3570

Thanks for the link MAB.

The most depressing thing about re-reading that old post is the number of excellent members that have fallen by the wayside in the last 10 years.

M

[minimk1man]

Post by Polarsilver » Wed Jul 12, 2023 9:30 am

Had a look around an "on road" Austin Ant at last Sundays BMC Gaydon day .. informed this prototype Ant is based on ADO16 components with the 1098 engine inclined backwards to get the Gearbox set up positioned & with selectable 4 wheel drive that Ant is far ahead of its time.. the owner was very willing to describe his Ants features & i must say i was impressed .. Q what does the Forum know about the Ants Gearbox & selectable 4x4.. looks to be very interesting ?

Which Ant did you see there. Was it POF 95G

[Polarsilver]

I think it was POF95G .. had the Mine Detector Kit in the back & told it does work
BMC did not think the Ant was viable .. so the Suzuki Jimny proved otherwise.

[Pandora]

The most depressing thing about re-reading that old post is the number of excellent members that have fallen by the wayside in the last 10 years.

M

On the upside though, it seems my memory is better than I thought!

Al