Another one for the Brummies this is Evans & Kitchen Austin main dealer. Austin Gypsy seen perched on the roof ready to demonstrate it's agility. I think they were told to remove the ramp pretty soon after !
Closer to home, Rodney Bloor's Sports Motors of Manchester ..
That Zephyr was the tow barge for many an exotic sports racing car.
Mr Ratcliffe senior and aspiring racing driver Harry outside Ratcliffe Bros, Mount Green Garage Littleborough. Clearly a Morris (and Wolseley) dealership which explains why nearly all of the BRT/Vita race minis were Morris's......
Aren't those old garages and dealerships just amazing. I especially liked Slades that RS6 posted. Wonder if it has been converted to a dwelling now, like an old branch-line railway station. I dont suppose the conditions for the poor mechanic were all that wonderful though, no hoist only a pit. Come to think of it a lot of these smaller garages were family run, so the owner may also have been the 'poor' mechanic while his wife took over office duties and pumped petrol. We had a few like that in NZ years ago; all gone now of course, and some that struggled on got taken over by the oil companies and dragged into line according to company policy. If petrol sales fell off the place was shut down, often to become a roadside cafe, some of which did very well. We have definately lost something in this day and age.
AMCO72 wrote:Aren't those old garages and dealerships just amazing. I especially liked Slades that RS6 posted. Wonder if it has been converted to a dwelling now, like an old branch-line railway station.
Does anyone have any pictures of a garage called M.B.Motors 334-336 New Cross Road SE14 or have any ideas where to search? This was where my 1959 Morris Mini Minor was sent to, although i have not had any luck on finding a picture of the place.
Just recalling some other garages i remember local to me in the Longbridge area but have long gone. Spot-On at Northfield (Triumph Dealership) ,Tessall Garage i think was an Austin dealership and Owens of Rubery was i think a Morris Dealership from my failing memory. The Spot-On premisis is still there and at one time a cycle shop and now a car wash outlet, and Tessall lane was knocked down and in its place is now a job centre (very ironic) and Owens became a indoor market but has now been bulldozed . Sorry i have no photos to put on here but somebody out there may be able to help?
Following on from the Preston Garages here another image. I also seem to remember that recently when they built the new building for the University on Marsh lane they discovered an old sign that had been covered up for years. I can't find anything about it on the internet but it was in the local paper.
Classic Mini Steering Drop Brackets here Kiddspeed
tomkidd wrote:I also seem to remember that recently when they built the new building for the University on Marsh lane they discovered an old sign that had been covered up for years. I can't find anything about it on the internet but it was in the local paper.
tomkidd wrote:I also seem to remember that recently when they built the new building for the University on Marsh lane they discovered an old sign that had been covered up for years. I can't find anything about it on the internet but it was in the local paper.
Bit of a long shot, but does anyone have any pics of the main BMC dealership in Oxford?
Austin or Morris?
The Austin distributor was Hartwells in Park End Street and on Cowley Road.
The Morris distributor was Morris Garages on St Aldates.
Are you certain the car was sold by the distributor? Only the distributor would appear on a Heritage Cert. as they would have supplied the smaller garages in the area.
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who do not possess it.
Here's a few images of where my Mini originated - Fred Deeley Dealership in Vancouver, BC. I'm still trying to find images of the dealership as it was in the 1960's though. This place was MASSIVE - 81,000 sqft - and the Deeley empire also branched off into motorcycles. The Trev Deeley Harley Davidson dealership is still in town now.
Thanks for the link to this thread it is really interesting.
It got me wandering what the place of origin of my own half finished 1963 car looked like back in the day, and lo and behold the dealership is still there
I now have a deadline to finish the car for IMM 2014 so that I can swing by Barrett's for a couple of photos on the forecourt
They also have a great page on their website chronicling the company's history.
