Photos of cars outside the factory...

[Old Merc]

This photo brings back memories for me.In the 70`s I was service manager at this Peugeot Dealer,the MD and the sales manager were out for the day,so I was in charge.The phone went and the guy on the end just said "I would like to order four Peugeot 604`s please". I replied "is that you John taking the piss".Luckily for me the guy saw the funny side and four 604`s were delivered to Castrol Research for testing their new oils.

[Vanin]

[dandarez]

1973

[dandarez]

Oops, pic above, forgot to put G21s outside Ginetta factory, in Sudbury that year.

This one is inside, in the area of G15 production.

[dandarez]

2172cc said:

OK, I know its not outside the factory but how a line up of cars sold by the same dealer 30 years ago?
These are DAC registered Sunbeam Lotus cars outside the original Talbot garage Arbury now a Peugeot dealer.

OK, I know this isn't a outside factory pic either!
As indicated by others, Pug dealers didn't look anything like that modern in the 80s, I know as I used to frequent them often. Usually after reduced Imp clearance parts for my Ginetta G15. I remember getting a transaxle for stupid money like 25 quid, all boxed and crated but never used it.

Relative to the Sunbeam Loti above, the other 'bargain' at the time - really! - were clearance sets of Sunbeam Lotus alloys. They had the same pcd as Hillman Hunter and as I'd just built a kit GRS Tora, using a Hunter as a base I grabbed a set for stupid money, like a tenner each. GRS was sold in early 1990s 'with' those Lotus wheels still on. Case of wheels worth far more than vehicle now, if it survives. LOL


On way home from work one day, I just had to take this pic. (note the Sunbeam Loti wheels).

[aeropilot]

2172cc said:

OK, I know its not outside the factory but how a line up of cars sold by the same dealer 30 years ago?
These are DAC registered Sunbeam Lotus cars outside the original Talbot garage Arbury now a Peugeot dealer.

I can do outside the factory

Here's the last Sunbeam-Lotus to leave the Humber Road plant.



The Gibbs brothers (Arbury Service Station) collecting the last car with the Sunbeam-Lotus workforce seeing it off. Leon Gibbs is shaking the hand of Alan Gandy of Talbot who was the Manager responsible for the Sunbeam-Lotus. The guy in the foreground standing with his hand resting against the rear quarter panel was the man who fitted the stripes to all the cars.

[markymarkthree]

I hope these count.
Any guesses?

[finlo]

markymarkthree said:

I hope these count.
Any guesses?

Savages or Urens?

[Blue62]

Old Merc said:

This photo brings back memories for me.In the 70`s I was service manager at this Peugeot Dealer,the MD and the sales manager were out for the day,so I was in charge.The phone went and the guy on the end just said "I would like to order four Peugeot 604`s please". I replied "is that you John taking the piss".Luckily for me the guy saw the funny side and four 604`s were delivered to Castrol Research for testing their new oils.

Possibly my favourite so far, I used to think the 604 was so cool but no idea why now, had similar feelings towards Triumph 2500 and Vauxhall Victors, nice memories.

[aeropilot]

markymarkthree said:

I hope these count.
Any guesses?

The old Raceproved workshop in Hanwell.

The guy that used to look after my Sunbeam-Lotus on occasion and did the MOT's on it for me back in the early 90's went to work at Raceproved after he finished his apprenticeship and spent a few years there building the Savage's. A few Savage owners used to still take their cars to him back then as there was nearly always one in the workshop whenever I visited.

[2172cc]

This cropped up on my Facebook feed......


Kenning car hire John Player Special liveried Morris Marina's

[Dapster]

Blue62 said:

Old Merc said:

Possibly my favourite so far, I used to think the 604 was so cool but no idea why now, had similar feelings towards Triumph 2500 and Vauxhall Victors, nice memories.

Back in the late 80's the school run rota would be my mum's bottom of the range Polo, an All-Agro and the middle class country housewife's gold standard, the Volvo 245 DL. However every once in a while, my mate's dad would do the pick up and we'd be ferried home in a 604, a V6 no less with the comfiest seat's in the history of Creation. It was silent as well, and had space age features such as electric windows and a rev counter. It also had headlight wipers but get this, two on each headlight. How cool is that.

Here's one from me - the AMG factory c 1983. These were the days when AMG were independent Mercedes tuners.

Edited by Dapster on Wednesday 23 November 23:43

[72twink]

aeropilot said:

I can do outside the factory

Here's the last Sunbeam-Lotus to leave the Humber Road plant.



The Gibbs brothers (Arbury Service Station) collecting the last car with the Sunbeam-Lotus workforce seeing it off. Leon Gibbs is shaking the hand of Alan Gandy of Talbot who was the Manager responsible for the Sunbeam-Lotus. The guy in the foreground standing with his hand resting against the rear quarter panel was the man who fitted the stripes to all the cars.

And still owned by Leon, unregistered with the standard test loop 123 miles on the clock!

[72twink]

2172cc said:

OK, I know its not outside the factory but how a line up of cars sold by the same dealer 30 years ago?
These are DAC registered Sunbeam Lotus cars outside the original Talbot garage Arbury now a Peugeot dealer.

i

Sadly no keys ........ In fact it's never been used!

[2172cc]

72twink said:

aeropilot said:

I can do outside the factory

Here's the last Sunbeam-Lotus to leave the Humber Road plant.



The Gibbs brothers (Arbury Service Station) collecting the last car with the Sunbeam-Lotus workforce seeing it off. Leon Gibbs is shaking the hand of Alan Gandy of Talbot who was the Manager responsible for the Sunbeam-Lotus. The guy in the foreground standing with his hand resting against the rear quarter panel was the man who fitted the stripes to all the cars.

And still owned by Leon, unregistered with the standard test loop 123 miles on the clock!

We had a fantastic day at Arbury, hosted by Leon himself. Many of his ex-staff were there to celebrate the occasion and it must have been a great place to work in its heyday. We were presented with a commemorative framed copy of that very photo as well as an Arbury tie and a keyring, although not an original one like you have Mr Twink.

[aeropilot]

72twink said:

2172cc said:

OK, I know its not outside the factory but how a line up of cars sold by the same dealer 30 years ago?
These are DAC registered Sunbeam Lotus cars outside the original Talbot garage Arbury now a Peugeot dealer.

i

Sadly no keys ........ In fact it's never been used!

When I drove my car back to Arbury SS back in 1989 to visit with Leon, he gave me one of those unused key fobs, an original unused rear window sticker, some unused ASS Lotus-Sunbeam enquiry forms that he used to send out to customer enquiries etc and one or two other bits n bobs.
All that went in the history file for the car and went with the car when I sold it.

[Old Merc]

Blue62 said:

Old Merc said:

This photo brings back memories for me.In the 70`s I was service manager at this Peugeot Dealer,the MD and the sales manager were out for the day,so I was in charge.The phone went and the guy on the end just said "I would like to order four Peugeot 604`s please". I replied "is that you John taking the piss".Luckily for me the guy saw the funny side and four 604`s were delivered to Castrol Research for testing their new oils.

Possibly my favourite so far, I used to think the 604 was so cool but no idea why now, had similar feelings towards Triumph 2500 and Vauxhall Victors, nice memories.

The 604 had everything,fully loaded with all the extras(of the time),a big V6 luxury car,full of leather.When they replaced the triple carburetors with Bosch fuel injection it was right up there with Merc`s & BMW,and it was half the price of them.
Trouble was the name,if you were a successful businessman you arrived in a Mercedes or a BMW,not a PEUGEOT.Peugeot`s were for farmers and country folk.The 604 was not a sales success.

[austin]

The 100,000th Austin 7 coming off the production line.

[dandarez]

Now someone has posted something old, how about this?

Charles Warren's garage, which was a BEAN CARS agent (and others like Morris etc, in 1925).

Anyone recognise the building without cheating. Clue: It later became quite famous for many years as home to a marque still going.

[droopsnoot]

dandarez said:

Anyone recognise the building without cheating. Clue: It later became quite famous for many years as home to a marque still going.

You know it gives the answer to that across the bottom of the photo, if you screw your eyes up?