BMC E-series engine
motor vehicle engine
The BMC E-series engine is a line of straight-4 and straight-6 overhead camshaft automobile petrol engines from the British Motor Corporation (BMC). It displaced 1.5 L or 1.7 L in four-cylinder form, and 2.2 L or 2.6 L as a six-cylinder. The company's native United Kingdom market did not use the 2.6 L version, which was used in vehicles of Australian and South African manufacture. Although designed when the parent company was BMC, by the time the engine was launched the company had become British Leyland (BL), and so the engine is commonly referred to as the British Leyland E-series engine.
History
The E series was an overhead cam design, planned essentially for front-wheel drive use in the BMC range. It was intended to replace the transverse A- and B-series overhead valve designs used at the time in other BMC cars (but see also the O series, another replacement line for the B series). A purpose built production facility was built at Cofton Hackett south of Longbridge, Birmingham to build the units. The first use of the E series was in the Australian built Morris 1500 sedan and Morris Nomad hatchback followed by the front-wheel drive Austin Maxi five-door hatchback of 1969. These models were closely based on the ADO16 platform, but fitted with the 1.5 L E series. The 1500 was a four-door saloon, the Nomad a five-door hatchback which whilst bearing a similarity in looks to the Maxi, was an entirely local design.
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