The Austin 1800 was developed at BMC as a larger follow-up to the successful Mini and Austin 1100 under the ADO17 codename, ADO being an abbreviation for Amalgamated Drawing Office.
Additional badge-engineered Morris 1800 and Wolseley 18/85 variants were launched in 1966 and 1967 respectively, catering for the BMC dealerships selling those marques.
The 18/85 name had previously been used on the Wolseley 18/85 of 1938 to 1948.

The car was unconventional in its appearance in 1964, with its large glasshouse and spacious, minimalist interior including leather, wood, and chrome features plus an unusual instrument display with ribbon speedometer and green indicator light on the end of the indicator stalk.
There was a chrome "umbrella handle" handbrake under the dashboard parcel shelf, and the two front seats met in the middle and could be used, on occasion, as a bench seat.
Both Alec Issigonis and Pininfarina worked on its exterior.
The technology "under the skin" was also unconventional and ahead of its time, including Hydrolastic suspension and an example of inertia-controlled brake proportioning, in the form of a valve which transferred braking force between front and rear axles as a function of sensed deceleration rather than as a function of fluid pressure.
An interesting feature was a tail/brake/indicator night dipping system.
A resistance circuit was connected in such a way so that when the sidelight circuit was energised the resistors dimmed the tail/brake/indicator lights so not to blind or dazzle following drivers.
The bodyshell was exceptionally stiff with a torsional rigidity of 18032 Nm/degree.

Progressive improvement was a feature of most cars in this period, but the number and nature of the changes affecting the early years of the Austin 1800 looked to some as though the car had been introduced with insufficient development.
In December 1964, a month after its launch, reclining front seats and the option of an arm rest in the middle of the back seat were added to the specification schedule.
A month later, in January 1965, the final drive ratio reverted to the 3.88:1 value used in the prototype, from the 4.2:1 ratio applied at launch: this was described as a response to "oil-consumption problems".
The same month also saw the indicator switch modified.
At the same time, higher gearing and reduced valve clearances cut the published power output by 2 bhp but cured the "valve-crash" reported by some buyers when approaching top speed on one of Britain's recently constructed motorways.
The manufacturer quietly replaced the "flexible, flat-section dipstick" which, it was said, had caused inattentive owners to overfill the sump after inserting the dipstick back-to-front so that the word "Oil" could not be seen on it.

Subsequent modifications included changing, repositioning and re-angling the handbrake in October 1965, removing the rear anti-roll bar and rearranging the rear suspension at the end of 1965, at the same time adjusting the steering to address a problem of tyre scuffing, and fitting stronger engine side covers in January 1966 along with modified engine-mounting rubbers which now were "resistant to de-bonding".
February 1965 saw water shields fitted to the rear hubs and the car's steering rattle cured by the judicious fitting of a spacer, while the propensity of early cars to jump out of first and second gears was addressed by the fitting of a "synchroniser".

Further improvements followed the launch of the Morris 1800 early in 1966.
Gear cables were revamped to deal with "difficult engagement" of first and third gears in cold weather, and the seat mountings were adapted to increase rake in May 1966.

In June 1967, without any fanfare or press releases, a modified version of the 1800 started arriving in dealerships with repositioned heater controls, a strip of 'walnut veneer' on the fascia and separate bucket seats replacing the former split bench seat at the front.
Various other criticisms seem to have been quietly addressed at the same time, including more highly geared steering which now needed only 3.75 rat
The Austin 1800 was developed at BMC as a larger follow-up to the successful Mini and Austin 1100 under the ADO17 codename, ADO being an abbreviation for Amalgamated Drawing Office. Additional badge-engineered Morris 1800 and Wolseley 18/85 variants were launched in 1966 and 1967 respectively, catering for the BMC dealerships selling those marques. The 18/85 name had previously been used on the Wolseley 18/85 of 1938 to 1948.
The car was unconventional in its appearance in 1964, with its large glasshouse and spacious, minimalist interior including leather, wood, and chrome features plus an unusual instrument display with ribbon speedometer and green indicator light on the end of the indicator stalk. There was a chrome "umbrella handle" handbrake under the dashboard parcel shelf, and the two front seats met in the middle and could be used, on occasion, as a bench seat. Both Alec Issigonis and Pininfarina worked on its exterior. The technology "under the skin" was also unconventional and ahead of its time, including Hydrolastic suspension and an example of inertia-controlled brake proportioning, in the form of a valve which transferred braking force between front and rear axles as a function of sensed deceleration rather than as a function of fluid pressure. An interesting feature was a tail/brake/indicator night dipping system. A resistance circuit was connected in such a way so that when the sidelight circuit was energised the resistors dimmed the tail/brake/indicator lights so not to blind or dazzle following drivers. The bodyshell was exceptionally stiff with a torsional rigidity of 18032 Nm/degree.
Progressive improvement was a feature of most cars in this period, but the number and nature of the changes affecting the early years of the Austin 1800 looked to some as though the car had been introduced with insufficient development. In December 1964, a month after its launch, reclining front seats and the option of an arm rest in the middle of the back seat were added to the specification schedule. A month later, in January 1965, the final drive ratio reverted to the 3.88:1 value used in the prototype, from the 4.2:1 ratio applied at launch: this was described as a response to "oil-consumption problems". The same month also saw the indicator switch modified. At the same time, higher gearing and reduced valve clearances cut the published power output by 2 bhp but cured the "valve-crash" reported by some buyers when approaching top speed on one of Britain's recently constructed motorways. The manufacturer quietly replaced the "flexible, flat-section dipstick" which, it was said, had caused inattentive owners to overfill the sump after inserting the dipstick back-to-front so that the word "Oil" could not be seen on it. 
Subsequent modifications included changing, repositioning and re-angling the handbrake in October 1965, removing the rear anti-roll bar and rearranging the rear suspension at the end of 1965, at the same time adjusting the steering to address a problem of tyre scuffing, and fitting stronger engine side covers in January 1966 along with modified engine-mounting rubbers which now were "resistant to de-bonding". February 1965 saw water shields fitted to the rear hubs and the car's steering rattle cured by the judicious fitting of a spacer, while the propensity of early cars to jump out of first and second gears was addressed by the fitting of a "synchroniser".
Further improvements followed the launch of the Morris 1800 early in 1966. Gear cables were revamped to deal with "difficult engagement" of first and third gears in cold weather, and the seat mountings were adapted to increase rake in May 1966.
In June 1967, without any fanfare or press releases, a modified version of the 1800 started arriving in dealerships with repositioned heater controls, a strip of 'walnut veneer' on the fascia and separate bucket seats replacing the former split bench seat at the front. Various other criticisms seem to have been quietly addressed at the same time, including more highly geared steering which now needed only 3.75 rat
BMC ADO17