Life at Cambridge motor co, Division st 1970's

[Oh Carol]

Me and my business partner at the time Barry Joell (now living near LA,USA) used to go for lunch at Lin Hongs on London Road for the three and ninepenny special lunch.A crowd of motor dealers were always upstairs having the same fare. Graham and Rowland Castleton,Graham Fowler,Tony Boyes,Ray Vickers and more.........

We once bought a blue Volvo estate from Graham Castleton with 12k on the clock and later sold it to a chap from Millhouses.He phoned up some weeks later and had found that the Volvo had last been serviced at Appleyards in Leeds with a recorded mileage of 92k and had belonged to the Spinners folk group who were regularly on TV at the time.

The chap never asked for his money back as the Spinners were his favorite band,just a service would do!!

Graham was mystified as to how it could have happened????

[David Bee]

Oh Carol hi Is that Barry Joell,big chap was involved in TV for a while,think he spent some time in South Africa? I remember the lunch meetings and the names all ok one to one but a bit competitive in a gang for my taste. I can visualise Graham now and here him clearing his throat as he stood one leg straight and the other bent at the knee discussing the problematic mileage!

[Oh Carol]

Oh Carol hi Is that Barry Joell,big chap was involved in TV for a while,think he spent some time in South Africa? I remember the lunch meetings and the names all ok one to one but a bit competitive in a gang for my taste. I can visualise Graham now and here him clearing his throat as he stood one leg straight and the other bent at the knee discussing the problematic mileage!

Yep ,that's Barry alright,did quite a bit of motor racing at the time,a crowd of them used to meet at the Eyre Arms at Hassop on friday nights..............then race back to Sheffield!

[David Bee]

I remember those races in Derbyshire pre breathalyser day.bl..dy crazy and in very high powered cars quite often.Knew Barry for many years although we did not socialise. Raced around in Derbyshire in the seventies but always sober after my breath test failure in niñteen,' sixty eight. The cars were even more powerful, and at one time drove a Ford Gt40 as my personal tranort,what a monster that was.This car was a great sense of occasion to drive.At only 40inches high, the relevant part of the roof opened with the door to aid access. The seats were slung in position and held by two mounting bars.To enter, you steped over a large sill which house one of the two fuel tanks. Now seated,the gear change was on your right side. The speedometer on the left of the dashboard and angled toward you, the important instruments in front of you. To start up,switch ignition on ,left and right fuel pumps on,and thumb the starter.The massiveV8 burst in to life situated just behind you, the sound sending shivers up your spine.As many will know the building and development of these cars was financed by Ford of America to stop the winning onslaught of Ferrari at the Le Mans 24hr race. The result, consecutive years of first ,second,and third. One year bringing in two cars as a dead heat, first place a third car in second place, and a fourth car in third place by team orders. The cost of their Le Lemans race programme, said to be divided up between the cars raced, including cost of cars,1 million dollars per car.Just looked up current values,in seven figures. Aw Mum, can I 'ave another go, I'll be good, honest. lol :-)

 

---------- Post added 28-03-2014 at 10:32 ----------

 

[/color]A little story.A dealer from Nottingham came up to buy a number of cars from us bringing drivers with him.they were not familiar with Sheffield and had travelled by train and taxi up to Division st. They bought a Ford Toreno (like in Starskey and hutch) a Corvette Stingray, a Z28 Camaro.and a Cadilac Seville. I agreed to lead them out to the M1. I was in a Pontiac Trans-am 455 in bright red with the eagle motif on the bonnet.As we made our way on to the parkway I spotted a BMW police motor cycle on our outside. He kept himself along side each car taking a keen interest, before moving on to the next.He drew along side me and after he had made his appraisal there was a gesture of approval. The bike roared off to take up position on my off side and to the front,on came the blue light and we had escort,fab. We traveled in this convoy until the speed limit changed.He sort of swung around in his saddle and waved us past but the gesture suggested that we should give it all we had got .My trans-am kicked down and the huge air intake( bolted directly to the cab but protruded through a large cut away in the bonnet)howled as seven and a half litres scrambled for air .One after another the cars lept forward and past what I am shore was a grinning policeman.:)

Edited March 31, 2014 by David Bee
Additional information

[maggotdrowne]

Hi David..

I'll have to see if I have any old A.D newsletters with your good self and M.B on the trike..

Doesn't seem that long ago I saw one.. lol:D

 

Sorry Dave, it's D.M here..

Edited March 30, 2014 by maggotdrowne
missed that bit...

[davecop]

HEY dave. mal says to ask do you still hold the record for fastest time between london to sheff in a car regards d.

[David Bee]

Maggotdrown hi David, nice one!

 

---------- Post added 30-03-2014 at 14:52 ----------

 

Davecop hi say hello to Mal for me ,he might like to join in and that would be fun.Hows life with the down town patrol, still living the high life. I don't know if I still hold the record but probably,I daren't post the time although forty years agog ,I don't want to spend Christmas in jail,makes my hair stand on end to think about it, although in early hours and no traffic on the M1.It was in a Lamborghini say no more.

Edited March 30, 2014 by David Bee

[IRONMONGER]

I thought that I held the Sheffield to London record in a .......wait for it....... hillman Avenger GT. 'Twas on January 1st. 1975 and we left Weston Road, Crookes at 7.45am and parked in Olympia car park at 10.25am including a toilet break at Scratchwood. We went to the Racing Car Show via Park Lane and Hyde Park Corner. It was New Year's Day AND there was a nationwide 50mph limit due to a fuel crisis.

Incidentally I achieved 14mpg !!!

[David Bee]

Ironmonger c.c. For c.c. You probably hold the record and at 14 mpg that was a record in its class lol.well up the reves per minute.Would that be a 1600 cc? In those days we were young and seeking thrills,and all about being King for a day. We all had fun and as long as we were impressing the girls. To be truthful any thing over sixteen hundred cc was excess, only good for showing off and busting the bank with the fuel bill.It was a privilege to have all that fun, which in some ways, this memory lane is celebrating. The value of King is King, in that way we are all equal.still doing it to day,just king for a day. lol. KEEP THE THREADS COMING. HAVE LOADS OF STORIES

Edited March 31, 2014 by David Bee

[IRONMONGER]

A 1600cc it was, a pretty shade of yellow with a half vinyl roof. At the said Racing Car Show I ordered a set of wide heavy spoke alloys which David Hawley equipped with very wide Kleber's. It looked great except it couldn't turn corners until Reg Long on Broomspring Lane tapped up the front wheel arches for me.

i also had a Hillman Imp at the same time which was set up for rallying, sprints, auto tests and PCT's. But I only won 1 12 car rally, with Simon Cork as navigator and that was with the Avenger.

I am now of an age where I forget names, but I remember getting fantastic service at Pickfords, mainly because I went motor racing with the lads there.

I remember going to the British GP at Silverstone with a group from Pickfords and Service Garage at Barnsley and we 'camped' at Stowe Corner all night, bet we couldn't do that these days.

Boy,I could write a book on motoring escapades in the wonderful seventies.