Maxi’s seats fold into a double bed

Robert paid £ 3000 to restore the 1980 vehicle

It was the first five- gear five- door hatchback - and the back seats fold down to create a space the size of a double bed.

It’s the Austin Maxi - and Robert Beatson, 68, from Rankinston has a near- perfect 1980 model.

Robert’s Maxi is in an impressive Oyster Silver metallic shade and boasts a 1748cc engine.

Incredibly, Robert acquired the car for just £ 120 - bought unseen from an Aberdeen lawyer.

“I outbid a £ 100 offer from a scrap dealer,” he recalls.

The lawyer sold the car, on behalf of a client, after it failed its MoT in 2009.

Robert was delighted to discover there wasn’t much wrong with the Maxi.

“I ran it for a couple of years until 2011, then decided to put it off the road,” he said.

But Robert then embarked on a full scale restoration of the vehicle.

“It was stripped down to the four wheels, and the floor and chassis was found to be solid,” he said.

“It needed some small welding at the jacking points on the sills.

“It also got a new clutch and suspension joints.

“Bodywise, it needed two new wings and a front panel.

“It was then ready for a full respray in its original colour of Oyster Silver – not the Champagne Gold I first thought it might be.”

Robert and wife Elizabeth have lived in their Ranksinston bungalow for four years now.

The couple previously lived in Cumnock, and much of work on the Maxi was done in Robert’s workshop, behind the nowdemolished Cumnock Chronicle building in Ayr Road.

Robert, now retired, ran a taxi/ minibus/ wedding hire business, and did a lot of his own maintenance on a range of vehicles.

The grandad reckons he’s spent around £ 3000 bringing the Maxi back to pristine condition.

Nowadays, he only takes it out for classic car shows, and the mileage on it is just 71,000.

He’s looking forward to the car becoming 40 years old in 2020, as he will no longer have to pay road tax.

“The car was maybe aimed at travelling salesmen,” joked Robert.

“They coould sleep in the car, and claim expenses for a hotel”

The Austin Maxi was the last car designed under the British Motor Corporation banner, before it became British Leyland.

Designer was Sir Alex Issigonis of Mini fame, and the car first came on the market as a 1500 model in 1969.

Criticism of its engine and gearbox saw it re- launched 18 months later, with 1500 and 1750 models.

Nearly half- a- million Maxis were made between 1969 and 1981, but there’s reckoned to be only two or three hundred left.

Robert’s immaculate 1980 Austin Maxi Hi- Line is certainly a worthy survivor.

Do you have a classic car? Why not tell us about it. Call Ayrshire Post reporters on ( 01292) 262200.