ORIGINS, HISTORY AND BUYING
The Wolseley 1500 and its Riley One Point Five cousin entered production in 1957, based on a design penned by Gerald Palmer shortly before he left BMC and moved to Vauxhall. Palmer’s prolific design portfolio included the MG Y-Type saloon, Jowett Javelin, Wolseley 4/44, MG Magnette ZA plus Vauxhall’s Victor and Viva cars of the ‘Sixties.
Targeting the market segment for refined compact saloons, the Wolseley cost £ 759 when launched. Powered by a 1489cc version of the BMC B-Series engine, it was based on the floorpan and suspension of the Morris Minor. In creating the Wolseley 1500 from their top selling small saloon, BMC made a serious effort to differentiate the ostensibly upmarket Wolseley and Riley offerings from their humble underpinnings. This view is backed up by the limited range of spare parts from the Morris Minor that will fit the Wolseley or Riley.
At the front, suspension is by torsion bar and lever arm damper with a precise rack and pinion steering setup, all borrowed from the Morris. The rear utilises a leaf sprung live axle from the Minor but with strengthened half shafts, plus another pair of lever arm dampers. Large diameter front drum brakes and are unique to the Wolseley and Riley, while the rear utilises the Morris’ front brake drums. Clearly BMC used as much as they could from the Morris Minor parts bins, though ultimately much adaptation was needed to cope with the power of the larger engine.
The Wolseley 1500 evolved from MkI to MkII guise in 1960; obvious differences being the later version’s lack of Wolseley side wing badges and the fitment of internal boot hinges. In its final iteration, the MkIII, had a wider chrome front grille, lower suspension and improved interior trim. Production finally ceased in 1965, with just over 103,000 Wolseley 1500s having been made.
BU YING A WOLSELEY 1500
The Wolseley 1500 survives in reasonable numbers and searching via the Wolseley Owners’ Club or Wolseley Register is likely to be the best route to ownership, possibly turning up a car for sale that hasn’t been advertised. Body condition is critical and determines value far more than mechanical well-being.
The Wolseley’s rear doors and wheel arches are notorious rust spots; repairs are time- consuming and expensive as panels aren’t available, meaning repair sections must be hand crafted. Also check sills, floors, suspension mounting points and wings for corrosion.
Mechanical spares availability is very good for the engine and MGA- derived gearbox; most parts are reasonably priced too. However, beware as many parts were unique to the Wolseley 1500 and Riley One Point Five and as a consequence, these are rare today. The ‘hard to find’ list includes front brakes, rear axles, plus most body panels and chrome. The rarity is reflected in high asking prices when these parts do occasionally come up for sale.
In terms of price, £4000 should bag a smart usable Wolseley 1500, though dealers may ask up to twice as much for exceptionally good cars. Project cars are a rarity nowadays but shouldn’t cost much more than £1000.