Our Feature Car
Phil McCumisky is the current registrar in the Leyland P76 Owners Club of Victoria & Tasmania, and his latest P76 is a top- of-the-range V8 Executive built in November 1973. It is still in its original Country Cream paint, and the interior is original. The original engine was recently overhauled and reconditioned, and a number of modifications made to bring the car up to modern standards, as Phil explains. ‘I put heavyduty front and rear anti-roll bars on it to improve the handling a bit, and I’m just waiting for a set of 15in Minilites to turn up. I’ll still keep those original wheels and tyres so that if and when the time comes to sell, the next owner’s got the original gear to put back on the car if he ever wants to.’
Phil, who is now semi-retired but spent his working life in the oil industry, also fitted an extra bonnet release that can be reached from outside the car, after-market door mirrors to replace the originals and Perspex covers to protect the headlights. The car also features a swag of original equipment accessories, including four mud flaps, the front sun visor, driver’s wind- deflector, radiator insect screen, rear window venetian blind, number plate covers and a little vanity mirror in the spacious glovebox.
Phil likes to point out some of the other great features of the car’s design too, saying: ‘Leyland Australia was full of smart engineers. One of the things on the P76 is that everything you need to check on the car is on the lefthand side, so you don’t have to stand with your arse against the traffic – you open and shut the bonnet and do water, oil, battery and all that sort of thing on the lefthand side.’
He also gets fed up with reading derogatory stories in magazines about the P76, which still has a poor reputation in the general public’s mindset, particularly the arrogance of some of the motoring writers who just said no, it’s a lemon, it’s a dud, without having ever driven one. Phil and his fellow club members are gradually turning that around, getting the facts out to a wider audience and taking pride in showing off their cars, but there’s always room for a bit of fun. The most often asked question is whether a 44- gallon drum really will fit in the boot, so Phil has one painted up in matching Country Cream and displays it in the car at shows.