Ronnie Gordon, Advertisement Manager, drives a Princess 1800 Auto...
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This particular Princess has the 1800cc engine and was specified with automatic gearbox.
Maintenance requirements have been minimal since acquisition in July 1976 with the exception of the gear-change adjustment. This has needed repeated attention to ensure that the change operates smoothly — and to ensure that the kickdown operates at all.
Fuel consumption has been a fairly constant 26mpg with oil consumption virtually nil. The front tyres were replaced at 19,000 miles while the back ones are the originals with just over 20,000 miles to date.
1 like the concept of the rincess very much. It is a pod-looking, practical shape in ie modern wedge image arid fords plenty of room with an finitely variable driving posian.
My previous car was also an BOO, but with the old shape. I link the new version has an riproved suspension over the der design as the ride is Jperb.
So far, my criticisms have ntred around the automatic gearbox, or rather, around control of it. The Borg Warner box itself is excellent.
When the car was delivered, the automatic gearbox control was hopeless, the control of the kickdown was hopeless, the whole gearchanging process was hopeless Part of the kickdown trouble was due to very stiff throttle return springs. The change control has been attended to but it is still not right. The "tune' of the kickdown has never been achieved to specification.
For a car as big as the Princess, 1 think the engine is inadequate. It needs two litres minimum. To achieve any sort of performance, I have had to use the gearbox a great deal which doesn't help consumption. So far, I've averaged around 26mpg which I don't think is very good.
The Princess is a very good car in design and specification, but only if the manufacturers have the ability to produce the car to the designers specification. I have had far too many superficial problems with mine.
F.R.G.