1958 Austin A152 Omnivan
1958 Austin A152 Omnivan in The Link Men, TV Series, 1970 Ep. 11
Class: Cars, Van / MPV — Model origin: 
— Built in: 
![[*]](/res/star.png){kind=small}
Background vehicle
Comments about this vehicle
| Author | Message |
|---|---|
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◊ 2019-03-20 17:44 |
J2? |
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◊ 2019-03-20 17:46 |
Apart from the fact that this has the front pressing of an Austin A152 Omnivan, Yes. Maybe the Australian version used the Morris name on the Austin grille. |
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◊ 2019-03-21 00:21 |
Another in ep1![[Image: i001245251.jpg]](http://pics.imcdb.org/10314/i001245251.jpg) Bit of an info gap on J2 in my BMC in Australia bible; has an entry for Morris JU250 (1968) and 2 index references for Morris J2, but nothing on the listed pages. Nothing at all for any Austin version. wiki lists Morris J2 build in Aus (and Bogota!!) but does not have equivalent Austin page. In UK, Morris J2 adopted the Austin front in autumn 1965 as J2-M16, so presumably similar for Aus. So - fingers crossed - entering all the Aus examples as 1965 J2-M16. -- Last edit: 2019-03-21 13:49:39 |
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◊ 2019-03-21 01:54 |
We definitely had the Austin version in Australia - period newspaper classified ads are full of 'em, mostly referred to as "Austin J2", although advertised by Austin as "152": Link to "i.pinimg.com" Whether or not the Austins were built here, I can't say (although it seems silly to have built the Morris and imported the Austin). -- Last edit: 2019-03-21 01:54:53 |
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◊ 2019-03-21 03:22 |
^ That throws things up into the air again. Seems no need to invoke the 1965+ grille change, we can just switch these to Austin, probably using A152 title as UK and assuming local build. BMC Australia had many examples of parallel Austin and Morris twins, sometimes inventing siblings which did not exist in UK. Are there any Aus examples or literature for the pre-1965 Morris J2 front?? If so, it would explain the suggestions for Morris build as distinct from the Austins. |
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◊ 2019-03-21 04:48 |
It's a frustrating one, for sure... They appear to have been sold in roughly equal proportion - if you do a quick Google search on either Austin 152 or Morris J2, you'll find both in Australia. I'd suspect that they were physically identical; only actual difference would have been an Austin or Morris badge on the front, and maybe the "Messenger" name-plate on some of the Morries. I don't remember ever seeing that (hideous, IMHO) earlier front in Australia.. |
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◊ 2019-03-21 13:48 |
Let's just go for Austin - with your Oct 1958 advert and the claim "A product of the British Motor Corporation of Australia" implying local build, it's safe for what's seen for the three examples we currently have (now found here). Any other info on local J2 production welcome such as dates for each of Austin and Morris, whether the first front Morris was made, and whether the 1965 UK revamp applied in Aus to bring both versions together with the same grille. |
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◊ 2023-07-12 03:48 |
Update: now confirmed there was a Morris badged J2 as the Morris Messenger and it looks like we have one here with a bit more info. Looks as if both Austin and Morris shared same grille, so only difference is badge shape - square ends ("waterfall") = Austin - probably as seen here - and torpedo shape with pointy ends = Morris. |
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◊ 2023-10-27 19:17 |
![[Image: s-l960.jpg]](http://pics.imcdb.org/10314/23/s-l960.jpg) ![[Image: s-l960.1.jpg]](http://pics.imcdb.org/10314/23/s-l960.1.jpg) (from an ebay listing in Aus) |
