news!! 50 years ago this month the ro80 is released in Australia!!
IT WAS A YEAR OF PROGRESS IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL - MAN WALKED ON THE MOON!!
HARD TO BELIEVE IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO!!
IN FEBRUARY 1969 THE NSU Ro80 IS RELEASED IN AUSTRALIA. 49 EXAMPLES ARE SOLD HERE IN THE FIRST YEAR THRU THE IMPORTER JOHN CASKEY HOLDINGS
Known facts about Ro80 Sales and Dealers in Australia
The Ro80 was sold in Australia from Feb 1969 till discontinued in Nov 1973
Known new registrations per year and retail prices :
NSW VIC QLD S.A. W.A. TAS N.T. ACT TOTAL RETAIL PRICE
1969 27 7 0 10 4 0 0 0 48 $6,400
1970 35 13 7 8 6 0 0 1 70 $7,391
1971 16 5 1 3 7 0 0 2 34 $7,391
1972 8 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 12 $7,630
1973 14 5 1 3 0 0 0 2 25 $7,691 ($7,800 according to Australian Motor Manual June 1973 )
TOTALS BY STATE : 100 31 9 25 19 0 0 5 189
Total offical registrations in Australia 189
SOURCE : AUSTRALIAN AUTOMOTIVE YEAR BOOK 1969 - 1974
John Caskey Holdings Pty Ltd of Sydney had the NSU importing concession (now defunct).
The cars were distributed by:
NSW
EUROCARS PTY LTD , PH : 319001 , 131 William St ,Sydney 2000 ( still in business in South Aust distributing Peugeot, Porsche and Suzuki ) They were also located at 257 Pacific Hwy, North Sydney 2060 ph 929 - 9232
AUTO NUOVA PTY LTD , PH 969 3000, 427 Military Rd Mosman
AUTOSTRADA PTY LTD , PH 434 456 , 21 Hotham Parade , Artarmon NSW 2064
VICTORIA
REGAN MOTORS ( SALES ) PTY LTD , PH 348205, 594 Elizabeth St, Melbourne, 3000 ( still in business as a Pugeot dealer )
also located at 295 Whitehorse Rd, Balwyn 3103 ph. 83-9779
QUEENSLAND
WILLIAMSON & GRAY PTY LTD, PH 54301 , 438 Wickham St , Valley ,Brisbane 4006 (still in business as an independent repairer )
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
EXHIBITION MOTORS PTY LTD , PH 231179 , 12 PULTENEY ST, ADELAIDE 5000
also at 25 Anzac Hwy ,Keswick, Adelaide 5035, ph 97-1111
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
NEW TRAVEL PTY LTD , PH 221 296 , 984 Hay St, Perth, 6000
I have also heard of a PARA MOTORS, but have no details on them
ACT
ALAN HENRY MOTORS , PH 91941, 41 Whyalla St , Fyshwick - aparently he also had a premises in Kembla St
JOHN GRANT bought and sold the last 7 Ro80s and a LHD demonstrator. He only paid $2,500 each for each brand new car and $1,850 for the LHD one , but he can't remember how much he sold them for.
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTORS FOR NSU PARTS - CONTINENTIAL CONCESSIONARIES PTY LTD, 33 HOTHAM PARADE, ARTARMON
AND SOME OTHER KNOWN FACTS:
The car was offered with an 18 month or 18,000 mile warranty - the last 7 sold were offered with a 24 month or 24,000 mile warranty!!, and very special price, purchase or lease plan. Most car manufacturers at that time only offered 6 months warranty.
As we now know, NSU engines didn't last long and failed quite regularly. Most cars needed an engine every 20-30,000 miles - if they made it that far!
The warranty costs were enormous and in 1973 John Caskey Holdings closed down.
some options :
upholstery : vinyl with leatherette inserts ( most popular ) , cloth , genuine leather
radio - becker or blaupaunkt unit
pls note that mag wheels and sunroof were NOT offered on offical Australian cars
192 Ro80s were officially sold in Australia, 3 of these were probably LHD examples that are not included in offical registration figures above . I know of at least 3 private imports - 2 of which have the larger rear taillights and rubber bumper inserts fitted to 1976 - 1977 models.
I have some very rough figures on cars left at this stage:
55 in total of which:
14 registered
10 being restored
15 wrecks
17 have Mazda engines
13 NSU motors (twin and single plug)
2 are piston-engined (argh!!)
Known new registrations per year and retail prices :
NSW VIC QLD S.A. W.A. TAS N.T. ACT TOTAL RETAIL PRICE
1969 27 7 0 10 4 0 0 0 48 $6,400
1970 35 13 7 8 6 0 0 1 70 $7,391
1971 16 5 1 3 7 0 0 2 34 $7,391
1972 8 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 12 $7,630
1973 14 5 1 3 0 0 0 2 25 $7,691 ($7,800 according to Australian Motor Manual June 1973 )
TOTALS BY STATE : 100 31 9 25 19 0 0 5 189
Total offical registrations in Australia 189
SOURCE : AUSTRALIAN AUTOMOTIVE YEAR BOOK 1969 - 1974
John Caskey Holdings Pty Ltd of Sydney had the NSU importing concession (now defunct).
The cars were distributed by:
NSW
EUROCARS PTY LTD , PH : 319001 , 131 William St ,Sydney 2000 ( still in business in South Aust distributing Peugeot, Porsche and Suzuki ) They were also located at 257 Pacific Hwy, North Sydney 2060 ph 929 - 9232
AUTO NUOVA PTY LTD , PH 969 3000, 427 Military Rd Mosman
AUTOSTRADA PTY LTD , PH 434 456 , 21 Hotham Parade , Artarmon NSW 2064
VICTORIA
REGAN MOTORS ( SALES ) PTY LTD , PH 348205, 594 Elizabeth St, Melbourne, 3000 ( still in business as a Pugeot dealer )
also located at 295 Whitehorse Rd, Balwyn 3103 ph. 83-9779
QUEENSLAND
WILLIAMSON & GRAY PTY LTD, PH 54301 , 438 Wickham St , Valley ,Brisbane 4006 (still in business as an independent repairer )
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
EXHIBITION MOTORS PTY LTD , PH 231179 , 12 PULTENEY ST, ADELAIDE 5000
also at 25 Anzac Hwy ,Keswick, Adelaide 5035, ph 97-1111
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
NEW TRAVEL PTY LTD , PH 221 296 , 984 Hay St, Perth, 6000
I have also heard of a PARA MOTORS, but have no details on them
ACT
ALAN HENRY MOTORS , PH 91941, 41 Whyalla St , Fyshwick - aparently he also had a premises in Kembla St
JOHN GRANT bought and sold the last 7 Ro80s and a LHD demonstrator. He only paid $2,500 each for each brand new car and $1,850 for the LHD one , but he can't remember how much he sold them for.
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTORS FOR NSU PARTS - CONTINENTIAL CONCESSIONARIES PTY LTD, 33 HOTHAM PARADE, ARTARMON
AND SOME OTHER KNOWN FACTS:
The car was offered with an 18 month or 18,000 mile warranty - the last 7 sold were offered with a 24 month or 24,000 mile warranty!!, and very special price, purchase or lease plan. Most car manufacturers at that time only offered 6 months warranty.
As we now know, NSU engines didn't last long and failed quite regularly. Most cars needed an engine every 20-30,000 miles - if they made it that far!
The warranty costs were enormous and in 1973 John Caskey Holdings closed down.
some options :
upholstery : vinyl with leatherette inserts ( most popular ) , cloth , genuine leather
radio - becker or blaupaunkt unit
pls note that mag wheels and sunroof were NOT offered on offical Australian cars
192 Ro80s were officially sold in Australia, 3 of these were probably LHD examples that are not included in offical registration figures above . I know of at least 3 private imports - 2 of which have the larger rear taillights and rubber bumper inserts fitted to 1976 - 1977 models.
I have some very rough figures on cars left at this stage:
55 in total of which:
14 registered
10 being restored
15 wrecks
17 have Mazda engines
13 NSU motors (twin and single plug)
2 are piston-engined (argh!!)
INFORMATION FROM COLIN TIGWELL - EX NATIONAL SERVICE MANAGER FOR JOHN CASKEY HOLDINGS ( NSU Ro80 DISTRIBUTER ) 1969 - 1972
Most of what I have to say would not be docuemented so I am hoping that it
fills in the missing pieces for you.
Firstly the LHD RO80 was brought down with a view to see if it could be
converted to RHD because at that stage NSU had no intention of producing
them.
However by the time it arrived the Britts had decided that they want some
action and so the problem was overcome. Our studies showed that whilst not
impossible it would be quite expensive.
When the first car arrived other than a small dent in the turrent it was
OK. We had the roof repaired and painted and it looked good.
The car was supposed to come with a travel kit but it was stolen in
transit, so my first task was to order what thought we might use in 20,000 km of
running.
The created a lot of interest so much so that the head of Repco ordered one
and what a car it was. Had factory mags and leather seats and a really flash
Becker radio.
It was painted a pinky tinged colour and it was the last to be produced in
that colour. Car if it exists today would be a collectors item.
Taken to Victoria and I never saw or heard about it again.
Only the first batch of cars did not come with headrests, and seat belts
were installed here but the points were put in by the factory.
All cars came with the proposed USA time lights except for the LHD car
which was not changed.
The Bosch headlamps we retro fitted and Bosch agreed to make and supply
them again for the UK Market, the twin headlight version was not populair.
Again not all cars were delivered with the Bosch lamps and they too were fitted
on predelivery.
Other than the Repco car, which was the first RO80 to be registered, no
other cars came with mags and their high cost stopped us offering them.
Not all the RO80’s brought into the country were sold and registered.
Early in the piece a dark blue one with very low milage was involved in an
accident and was hit hard and would have normally been a write- off, I pulled a
dark blue one out of stock and removed most of the bolt ons and sold the NRMA a
body complete with all the panels that had been damaged. Win Win we got rid of
a stocker and the NRMA did a quick changeover and all was well. Would not got
away with that today.
None of the RO80’s went thru the ADR process though I was sure they would
have walked it in. The NSW gave us a dispensation and the other states just
rubber stamped them.
Engine problems quite early in the piece arose and we put it down to the
oil. Valvoline came up with a special oil which was designed to stop the tip
wear. It also solved the problem by the Torque converters bogging down.
However the tip wear problem continued.
We also were MAZDA dealers and they had the same problem even though they
had redesigned the rotor tips seals. NSU quickly came up with that concept as
a fix but all it did was make the chattering in the rotor housing more
pronounced. Of course this caused a lowering of compresion and power lose.
Used to ask the customer when he complained of lose of power, to idle the car
and pull it onto full lock. Usually the engine would stall.
Normally we would take out a demo and pull the car in for a tune up. What
actually happened was we would change the engine with another from the rebuild
bank. Customer was happy till of course it happened again.
Other problems was associated with ignition timing and getting both sets of
points syncronised and we saw little improvement with the two plug
machines.
Another engine problem was the oil coolers used to rust out, but NSU would
not allow us to change to the better type until we had a failure .
The gear boxes were great, if only the car had a litle V6 and proper auto
transmission.
Airconditioning was a local deal, quality of workman ship was often not up
to scratch, but our problem was we did not have the volume to get better
units.
Windscreens, probably because of their size was susceptable to damage, in
actual fact normally came packed three to a box. If you only ordered two then
the box cost more than the screens.
The only LHD we imported was a white one and if I recall correctly it was tan
trim.
All cars imported had XAS tyres as the alternates were not really
represented at that time.
NSU were
very easy to deal with, but our problem was the lack of information particularly
with the engine problems.
Tail lights we imported through Hella. The cars came with white reversing lights as
replacements, but the batch we imported through Hella could only get
them with yellow lens. We used to take some sets out of new cars so the customer
did not bitch about having to buy two lamps.
The electrics gave no trouble and Bosch gave good support. The glass ware was very expensive and the
windscreens were easiy damaged.
Original tool kits were contained in a nice little box. After
first shipment we used to bring them down with the parts shipments as they used
to get pinched as did the wiper blades.
The batteries were no good and
often would be stuffed when they got here. The plates were too close for our
conditions. We use the battery hold down and rods from a Austin 1800 to affect
replacements.
Another problem is the exhaust pipe used to dry out the
inboard CV joint, now let me see I think that is on the drivers side. Every second service we would remove the shaft, clean out all the old
grease and repack the inboard joint.
trim.
All cars imported had XAS tyres as the alternates were not really
represented at that time.
NSU were
very easy to deal with, but our problem was the lack of information particularly
with the engine problems.
Tail lights we imported through Hella. The cars came with white reversing lights as
replacements, but the batch we imported through Hella could only get
them with yellow lens. We used to take some sets out of new cars so the customer
did not bitch about having to buy two lamps.
The electrics gave no trouble and Bosch gave good support. The glass ware was very expensive and the
windscreens were easiy damaged.
Original tool kits were contained in a nice little box. After
first shipment we used to bring them down with the parts shipments as they used
to get pinched as did the wiper blades.
The batteries were no good and
often would be stuffed when they got here. The plates were too close for our
conditions. We use the battery hold down and rods from a Austin 1800 to affect
replacements.
Another problem is the exhaust pipe used to dry out the
inboard CV joint, now let me see I think that is on the drivers side. Every second service we would remove the shaft, clean out all the old
grease and repack the inboard joint.
Other than the two plug engined cars, all came to the same mod standard and
no more actually came into the country after 1973.
John Caskey, who was a good boss, but very set in his ways would not allow me
to raise claims on NSU for the engine failures. They eventually sent the
company to the wall because an engine rebuild even in those days way may
thousands.
A problem that we also shared with mazda was on the two plug engines, they
would suffer stationary gear failures, very large bang and no further noise, in
the end we did not waste time dismantling the engine just put it in the Sims
bin. I think at one stage we had three complete engines and about six short
motors.
The whole situation was very sad, in the begining we had people lined up to
buy. Towards the end we were lucky to sell one every three months.
no more actually came into the country after 1973.
John Caskey, who was a good boss, but very set in his ways would not allow me
to raise claims on NSU for the engine failures. They eventually sent the
company to the wall because an engine rebuild even in those days way may
thousands.
A problem that we also shared with mazda was on the two plug engines, they
would suffer stationary gear failures, very large bang and no further noise, in
the end we did not waste time dismantling the engine just put it in the Sims
bin. I think at one stage we had three complete engines and about six short
motors.
The whole situation was very sad, in the begining we had people lined up to
buy. Towards the end we were lucky to sell one every three months.
We were told that the 01 in the serial number meant its build state, though I
never had a full explanation. All serials started with 380 which of course
indicates it is a RO80 and the engines always started with 612. The actual
part numbers however do mean something for example 01 in the second block
indicates it is on its first revision.
Again the LHD car was fitted with an early water pump and they used to
fail. We put the late model pump and fan on it and of course we never saw the
problem. Fans used to shatter I suspect by the heat cooking them.
There was a green RO80 that the German consul brought down but it was
exported, I personally took it to the wharf and saw it loaded. I think it may
have had a sun roof.
I recall that it had a different tool kit and also a travel kit.
never had a full explanation. All serials started with 380 which of course
indicates it is a RO80 and the engines always started with 612. The actual
part numbers however do mean something for example 01 in the second block
indicates it is on its first revision.
Again the LHD car was fitted with an early water pump and they used to
fail. We put the late model pump and fan on it and of course we never saw the
problem. Fans used to shatter I suspect by the heat cooking them.
There was a green RO80 that the German consul brought down but it was
exported, I personally took it to the wharf and saw it loaded. I think it may
have had a sun roof.
I recall that it had a different tool kit and also a travel kit.