THE AUSTIN GIPSY SITE
This site is dedicated to the Austin Gipsy four wheel drive Built by Austin from 1958 to 1968, approximately 21,000 Austin Gipsys were built but many still remain all over the world. This site exists to aid in the maintenance repair and restoration of the Austin Gipsy 4×4. If you have a Gipsy that you would like to add the the site please email me.
The Austin Gipsy
The Austin Gipsy was first conceptualized in 1956, they wanted to build a civilian replacement for the military Austin Champ that could compete with other manufacturers like Land Rover and Jeep. The Gipsy was first announced in February 1958 and was intended as a rugged cross-country machine. It had a rounded box-section chassis and four wheel independent suspension.
The G1M10 (Series 1) was built at Longbridge East works and had a wheel base of 90” it rode on torsional rubber springs called Flexitors on which were mounted trailing arms, the Flexitor units gave a soft ride and had a self damping effect, combined with hydraulic dampers the Gipsy had the ability to travel more smoothly over rough terrain than leaf sprung vehicles. It had a load capacity of 10 cwt.
The differentials had a 5:12-1 ratio and were mounted up on the chassis, there were plans to mount the brakes inboard on the sides of the differentials as well but this couldn’t be done due to legal requirements.
Engine options were:
2199 cc petrol with 62 bhp @ 4100 rpm, 110 ft lbs torque @ 1500 rpm
2178cc diesel with 55bhp @ 3500 rpm, 89 ft lbs torque @ 2750 rpm
Transmission:
Four speed manual gearbox had a 4:1 non sync first gear and syncromesh on second third and fourth.
The transfer case offered only 2 wheel high and 4 wheel low with neutral for PTO operation. Click here for G1M10 sales brochures.
The G2M10-M15 (Series 2) was introduced in late 1959 early 1960 and was now built at the Adderley Park factory.
And a new model G2M15 with an 111” wheel base and load capacity of 15 cwt was offered as a pick up or personnel carrier. The long wheel base model had leaf springs on the rear with the independent flexitor suspension on the front.
There were several changes made to the steering and suspension to improve on durability ride and cornering.
The Flexitor units were made with a softer compound to improve ride and ground clearance, the trailing arms were made with a heavier gauge steel to eliminate cracking and the steering linkage was improved to give a tighter turning radius and more predictable steering.
The transfer box now had four wheel drive high and low range along with two wheel drive high and pto modes. Other improvements were the addition of outer door handles, and optional fibre-glass pick up cab or full fibre-glass top. The front badge was redesigned as well a larger lower vent in the windscreen. Click here for original sales brochures.
The G4M10-M15 (Series 4) was introduced in mid 1963 (there was no G3)with even more improvements and models to choose from. The Gipsy now came with the choice of Flexitor independent suspension or solid axle leaf sprung suspension. Both were offered in 90” and 111” wheel base.
The petrol engine now had 72 bhp @ 4000 rpm and 112 lb ft of torque @ 1500 rpm.
The front grille was updated with a cover at the bottom to accommodate a winch and the fresh air vents were moved from the front of the inner wings to the outer side of the front wings. Leaf sprung models had optional manual locking hubs and the axles were full floating on the front and rear. There were many other changes and options that you can see in these sales brochures.
