Celebrating “The Biggest News Since The Mini” – Simon Hayes and the Leyland Princess Enthusiasts’ Club

Like a lot of classic car owners, my interest was started by nostalgia – we had a Princess in the family back in the 80s, and I was always amazed at its shape, its size, and the noise its engine made. As a child I can remember being taken to Norwich, and my Auntie bought me the Dinky Toys Princess model – I vowed one day I’d have a real one. Sadly, the Princess and the Auntie are no longer with us, but I still have that toy car!

Simon Hayes is not just a devotee of the British Leyland ‘Wedge’; he has succeeded Kevin Davis as the Chairman of The Leyland Princess Enthusiasts’ Club. When this writer first met KD on a photo shoot in 2005, the 18-22 was largely and utterly unfairly maligned, often with the occasional Terry and June reference. The fact that Motor Sport went so far as to praise the original flagship Wolseley as “the finest car to come out of British Leyland since the XJ6” seemed totally forgotten in a morass of sub-Little & Large BL Jokes. But as Simon points out:

Reaction to the Wedge from the public has changed somewhat of late. Once upon a time, they were regarded as terrible cars and had a terrible reputation for just about everything, which is why so few survive. However, popularity does seem to be on the increase, and when a Princess is posted to most online forums I’m a member of, they are met with kind comments. I love driving mine about – people literally stare as I go past as few people have ever heard of one, let alone seen one – I’ve had comments asking if it was a Lancia!

The work of Kevin, the Founder of the Club, in changing the perception of the Princess range over most of the past two decades cannot be underestimated, and Simon is eager to further the Club. One of his principal aims is to “continue the hard work of the previous Vice President and Treasurer and, hopefully, see the Club grow and thrive”. This will involve establishing a network of regional chairs across the country – “if a group of owners want to get together, for instance, in Scotland, they can, and can still represent and promote both the club and the cars”.

Simon will also be developing the Club’s social media presence. In his words: “we want to give this a big overhaul so members can post their stories and questions. Plus, we want a section with ‘how to’ guides, tech information etc to assist our members to restore, maintain and improve their cars”. In addition, he is contacting various companies “to see if discounts can be offered to club members for things like insurance, repairs, parts overhaul etc..” A further plan is for regalia – “however as yet I want to see if the demand is there!”.

Of course, one significant benefit of membership is help and advice with spare parts. As Simon notes:

The current Princess Club already remanufactures windscreen rubbers – if a need or demand exists, we’d like to explore this as more wedges in need of TLC seem to appear every week, but the supply of parts does not! The Club has a vast stock of mainly second-hand spares, which exist but isn’t widely publicised. So we intend to catalogue these and sell them to club members via an online shop, whether via Facebook or the website is under review.

Finally, Simon perceives the Club as oriented towards the 1975-1982 Princess and hopes to recruit more of its 1982-1984 successor, the Ambassador. He says:

We want as many of these on board as possible to ensure the very low numbers of remaining cars are restored and also for members not to feel left out – we are currently thinking of a slight name change for the Club to reflect this and to encourage Ambassador membership.

As for Simon’s own car, the catalyst occurred during the lockdown. “Finding myself at home and bored, I started watching re-runs of The Professionals on Sky TV, and of course, Cowley in the early episodes drove a Princess. And that was it”. A subsequent Facebook post “didn’t receive much luck – most were either rotted out beyond my restoration capabilities or in Europe and out of reach”. However, a fortnight later, a gentleman named Eddie contacted Simon, who asked if he might be interested in his Dad’s car. And so:

I asked for some photos, and that was it…she sat in her Oyster Gold splendour, and I was in love. I had to have her, but she was 600 miles away in Inverness - I live in Lowestoft - and hadn’t moved for four years. There was also an issue of money which I didn’t have, but I didn’t care. I wanted her, and one bank loan later, I struck a deal and organised a recovery. Bodily, I knew she was great, but she did need more mechanical attention than I had originally planned….Who cared – I had my Wedge, and I was happy! It’s the only one I own, but I’d never rule out another. And maybe another after that….

Of course, the Oyster Gold magnificence that is the Hayes 1980 2000 HL mesmerises passers-by, for it is sometimes easy to forget they ceased production 41 years ago. Simon reports:

Again, most comments are nostalgia-related - i.e. ‘My dad/grandad/uncle had one of those!’ or ‘I had one of those as a company car’ etc. It’s great to hear people reminisce and see a smile and a positive reaction. Last year, embarrassingly, I broke down when the Princess overheated in traffic on the way home from a show and while waiting for her to cool down, a guy stopped and said, ‘I had one of those as my first car; it spent a long time with the bonnet up too!’. We had a good laugh, and again he had fond memories. It’s bringing people together that makes owning any classic a joy.

We could not agree more. So here is to Simon, the Club and the car that really did make such an impact on its debut - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxgdRAuDsTE

With Thanks To: Simon Hayes and https://www.leylandprincess.co.uk/