old garages

[Longbridge 1]

Can any body please help with a photo of Dartmouth Garage's Ltd West Bromwich as my dad worked there around the late 50's early 60's.

They were I think the main Austin dealer for West Brom , later on taken over by Charles Clark Ltd

I have some vague recollections of being taken there as a nipper.

Cheers
Steve

[nick rogers]

DSC07506.jpg

I had to find this thread again to add this pic I took of a fantastic art deco front. This was taken on a weekend away in (I think) Norwich . No doubt someone will recognise it and correct me if i'm wrong.

[Nick W]

Hi Nick
I think it's in Cardiff ....seems like restaurants are more profitable than garages nowadays

Nick

[nick rogers]

Thanks, Nick. That makes sense, as we also had a weekend away in Cardiff this year.

[coop12g295]

Tim just got back the heritage cert for my SDL mini and it too went to Cheltenham Car Mart in 63

[Cables]

Bit of a long shot but has anybody got any information on Slack & Mickle BMC dealership in Crewe?

[andya]

Does anyone know any info regarding Weybridge Motors Limited, my Austin mini was supplied new here in 61 (found out from the heritage certificate), I would love to find out about this place, also I have read in previous posts about Lex Weybridge in the 70's which changed from Weybridge Automobiles, does anyone know if Weybridge Automobiles and Weybridge Motors Ltd are the same?

Thanks in anticipation.

Andy

[spoon.450]

Came across this place while driving through LLandrindod Wells, mid Wales last week.

[LMM76C]

Came across this place while driving through LLandrindod Wells, mid Wales last week.

Looks like "The Automobile Palace" - BMC dealer in the great days of road rallying and the MN Championship. Corner of the road that goes up to the lake? Very experienced in welding tie bar brackets back on to Mini sub frames when cars recovered from the surrounding countryside.

[spoon.450]

Came across this place while driving through LLandrindod Wells, mid Wales last week.

Looks like "The Automobile Palace" - BMC dealer in the great days of road rallying and the MN Championship. Corner of the road that goes up to the lake? Very experienced in welding tie bar brackets back on to Mini sub frames when cars recovered from the surrounding countryside.

Hi Keith,
It was last weekend, the weekend of the Red Kite Rally in Llandovery......mk1 and 2 escorts everywhere !!!!

[SMOKE GREY]

Does anyone know any info regarding Weybridge Motors Limited, my Austin mini was supplied new here in 61 (found out from the heritage certificate), I would love to find out about this place, also I have read in previous posts about Lex Weybridge in the 70's which changed from Weybridge Automobiles, does anyone know if Weybridge Automobiles and Weybridge Motors Ltd are the same?

Thanks in anticipation.

Andy

My dads 64 'dry' 1275s was supplied to them.

[LMM76C]

Does anyone know any info regarding Weybridge Motors Limited, my Austin mini was supplied new here in 61 (found out from the heritage certificate), I would love to find out about this place, also I have read in previous posts about Lex Weybridge in the 70's which changed from Weybridge Automobiles, does anyone know if Weybridge Automobiles and Weybridge Motors Ltd are the same?
Thanks in anticipation.
Andy

Probably the same. Tony Brooks' autobiography says that the garage he bought (60? or very early 60s) in Brooklands Road was called St Georges Garage and was re-named Tony Brooks Motors and had an Austin franchise - but the "main" franchise was "just up the road" (which would fit with the site I knew as Lex) so he was "always in the shadow" and didn't get the volume of new sales. He then got into bed with Lancia, later Fiat/Lancia (including a separate site). Then when the main Ford franchise in Weybridge was given up (eastern end of the main street) he took on the Ford franchise. Can't see there would have been room for yet another BMC franchise in Weybridge in early 60s. I was getting S parts from Lex in 71 and lived nearby in Walton 75-78 and 79-86.

[LMM76C]

Came across this place while driving through LLandrindod Wells, mid Wales last week.

Looks like "The Automobile Palace" - BMC dealer in the great days of road rallying and the MN Championship. Corner of the road that goes up to the lake? Very experienced in welding tie bar brackets back on to Mini sub frames when cars recovered from the surrounding countryside.

Hi Keith,
It was last weekend, the weekend of the Red Kite Rally in Llandovery......mk1 and 2 escorts everywhere !!!!

The Rootes names threw me as they must be pretty old - but the blue is Chrysler blue and would be 68 at earliest? Pre-Peugeot (78 or 79? - I was living in the USA when that change happened and came back to something called Talbot).
Definitely BMC in 1969 (the year you would have seen Rob Lawrence's JMO969D parked up outside the Commodore Hotel about 100 yards behind your photo spot, having just won the MN Dursley Rally). Maybe changed to Rootes/Chrysler shortly after 69. I also stayed in Llandrindod Wells in 70 and later buy can't recall what franchise the "Palace" had then.
(My mate and I drank the Log Cabin Bar of the Commodore dry of real ale on one occasion... but that's another story).

[Simon776]

Pritchards premises is not the same place as The Automobile Palace.

[coopertim]

Does anyone have any info or pictures of a Manchester dealership called John Noble Ltd? Apparently it was on Brook Street, Manchester M1.

Cheers Tim

[Pete]

Other Car Mart branches (just bought a car that went through the Colchester branch...)

Anyone got a picture of the Colchester branch of Car Mart?

[nimbusprint]

All this talk of old BMC garages reminds me of my first mini, a 1963 850 bought from Wilson's garage in West Monkseaton, must have been 1966/7 Owned by the Craven Bros. who then bought The Coast Road Motor Co. in North Shields, I drove my first Cooper S from them, a mk2, in 1968, that car was a revelation !!

[mk1]

Wasn't it great when garages looked like this!

[nimbusprint]

Certainly was, although I think this picy was from much later than my dates, I'd already left for the sunny south by the time those cars were built. I do remember the old chap in the parts department drove a J2 van, and took a daily trip up to Buist's in Newcastle to pick up spares for the workshop guys. Rose coloured specs for all !!!!

Ian

[surfblue63]

All this talk of old BMC garages reminds me of my first mini, a 1963 850 bought from Wilson's garage in West Monkseaton,

When I first moved up to in the North East in 1996 Wilsons were still trading as a Rover dealer. They closed a year or so later. The buildings as seen in the picture were demolished between 2002 and 2005 and replaced with a an apartment block which is called Wilson Court.