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London Taxi - What in the H**L do I have?

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Mike B

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I purchased a London Black Taxi in May at the Mecum auction in Indy. It is for the most part in good condition however I do need to make some what I thought were minor repairs.

The front suspension needs attention ie. new upper and lower A frame bushing, ball joints and tie rod ends. The power steering box also has a leaking seal. Upon trying to find replacement parts it appears that this is going to be a lot more difficult than first thought as I'm not sure what I have or what parts to order.

The taxi was purchased as a1979 FAIRWAY FX4 LONDON TAXI 2664cc, Right Hand Drive. Vin #FX4DR37922X I contacted Kip Motors who is the U S Taxi specialist and source of parts. It appears that the FX4 did not have power steering in 1979. The Fairway wasn't added until the mid 1980's and is different than the standard FX4. I pulled the number off of the engine TD27-111310 which identifies a Nissan 2.7 liter diesel which the FX4 did not have. Also the larger and heavier Nissan engine required disc brakes on the front.

So far, here is what I have been able to ascertain. In order to avoid the import duty, many titles were altered to show a 25yr old or older vehicle by the importer (my title reads 1979). My taxi does appear all original, ie. not a modified or replaced engine. Therefore, what I have is a 198? something taxi that is most likely a Fairway since that is when they upgraded to the Nissan engine.

I figured that would be enough information to order parts but the rep at Kip Motors still seems confused as to what parts to send for the suspension. He asked if I had front dis brakes. I took pictures of the wheels and I cannot tell if they are drum or disc as everything is covered. I have attached the pictures. Can anyone here tell me what brakes these are?

Or better yet, does anyone know of someone I can contact that would be able to decipher what I have and supply parts? The other issue is finding someone to rebuild my power steering pump or sell me a rebuilt one.

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestion or solutions would be greatly appreciated.
 

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Yeah....so now things get even curious-er. It has the Nissan 2.7 liter engine with front drum brakes. I was told that there was a switch to front disc brakes with the Nissan engine. So now I don't know what I have in the suspension nor does Kip Motors. They said I may have to pull the bad parts, send the parts to them and have them match them up one by one.
 
From what I see they look like drum brakes to me. ?? PJ
 
I own an Austin FX4- licensed as a 1966 model but actually a 1974. I had to match other things to make that decision. Comparing brakes, steering, and body fittings. There is a club, The London Vintage Taxi Association (LVTA). There is / was an American Section as well as a European Section to the mainly UK group. The dues seemed rather steep, at least $50 per year. They produced a full color magazine style newsletter several times per year. It was worth while having a source of information. The newsletter had ads from several taxi spares companies. The members were very helpful, though not always timely - I really think distance played a part. I have directed others to the group. Generally The LVTA is not willing to provide a lot of information without joining the club. I found KIP not always helpful and at times quite expensive. For example the turn signal fixtures that I bought for my Spitfire through The Roadster Factroy for $19.95 were $39.95 from KIP. I bought the diesel injection pump replacement from them - they were the only game in town, so to speak.
 
So I have determined that I do have a 1979 Taxi that someone has upgraded in the past with the Nissan 2.7 liter diesel engine as well as power steering.

Upon further research, I found that the steering box is from Rover. After much searching, I found a Rover steering box and matched it bolt for bolt so made the purchase. I had my mechanic make the installation only to find that when turning the steering wheel to the left, the taxi went right and vice versa. We then realized that the steering box on the Taxi sits ahead of the front wheels rather than behind them which would create a direct duplicate steering motion. Do to the steering box location, the internal gears had to have some sort of reverse gearing. As a solution, we just opened both boxes and moved the gearing from the old box to the new one which had the proper seals intact to prevent leakage.

I am now back on the road with ample steering assist as well as a much smoother and quieter ride do to the front end suspension parts replacements. I look forward to having a lot of fun the "George" once the weather breaks here in the midwest USA.
 
Indy British Motor Days car show in Zionsville on August 12th. Cars + Gravy once a month starting in June. Cars and Coffee on Saturdays - schedule not released yet. We quite often go to the square in Noblesville on Saturday nights (once the weather turns).
 
Thanks for the update Bob. I've had my 54 Bentley, 2017 Jag F Type and Taxi at th Zionsville British Motor
Days event but will look for other there as well as Saturdays on the Square in Noblesville
 
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