Glasgow car dealers in the 60's -70's

[ian2144]

Thanks for that, old cars and diggers.......great stuff.

I forgot about Andersons, the plant hire company I worked with back in 74 had a Simca 1100 van on loan from them. Thrashed the nuts off it, from Partiick to Baloch and back for 3 months never missed a beat.

[exitwound]

Blythswood Motors near the Kelvin hall.. Americans, sports and vans, including Harry Webb's '68 Firebird that I bought later...

Albany Motors at Pollockshields.. Americans, sports and kitcars (including the Probe 2000 as used in Clockwork Orange.)

Beach Buggies Scotland.. Canal St Paisley.. GP buggies and Geoff's own 356 Porsche autocross car (Players No.6)

[exitwound]

wav8 said:

Humper said:

Back on topic, what about dealers in Killie? Maconochies, JW Scotts, Dunlops, Calex Car Sales ......

Dicks, A&D Fraser,Appleyard and Ian Skelly;s were all here at one time oh and Queen Street cars,J&W Scotts

I used to live out at next to Caprington Golf course in Kilmarnock. What is now a Garden Centre just along the main road at what we called 'Peace and Plenty' with a small Fina petrol station, was Skelly's Ford compound. That compound was awash with rows and rows of Mk1 Capris, Mk2 Cortina Lotuses and Mk1 Escort Twincams, no regular Ford cars..

In the mid '70's Skellys dealership closed in Tichfield street and it became an indoor market.

[vanordinaire]

I wouldn't have a clue about Glasgow car dealers. My Dad always said ' Never buy a car from anyone west of Harthill, they're all robbing bds over there' . And I never have.

[ian2144]

exitwound said:

Blythswood Motors near the Kelvin hall.. Americans, sports and vans, including Harry Webb's '68 Firebird

I tried to by a 970 Cooper S from Blythswood Motors, way over priced if memory serves....a rare and very expensive Mini now..

[exitwound]

I tried to buy a rhd '65 Mustang 289 fourspeed when I was 21 back in 1975. Exorbitant at £900!!

..and the insurance was a huge, unheard of £238!

Was a regular from a young age as my parents would dump me there when they went shopping and drinking.

[ian2144]

Scottish Motor Services at Charing Cross was another regular on the weekend

[StescoG66]

ian2144 said:

Scottish Motor Services at Charing Cross was another regular on the weekend

Still there. Generally have some very nice cars in.

[teejay212]

When I was growing up in the late 60's / early 70's we stayed across the road from Cameron & Campbell VW dealer in Knightswood just across the road and up a bit from Knightswood Bus Depot - I remember the Showroom on Gt.Western Road and the Service Department at the side on Knightscliffe Ave - there was also a Birrell's newsagent shop there too !!

Crow Road also had Appleyard Gibbon Rover dealer I think ??

There was also a garage selling cars where the Kwik Fit is now just before Anniesland X - I think it was owned by a guy called John Davidson and he had JD 52 on his number plate !!

Those were the days - never to be seen again !! Lol

[47p2]

Couple of adverts from 7th January 1970

If only we knew then what we know now we could have stock piled Aston Martins...

[woodysnr]

I doubt any of us of that era could afford those prices 1970 . My first flat in E-K was £4K in 1971 value today around £80k .. So the car would have been a better investment by now

[HendryG]

exitwound said:

I used to live out at next to Caprington Golf course in Kilmarnock. What is now a Garden Centre just along the main road at what we called 'Peace and Plenty' with a small Fina petrol station, was Skelly's Ford compound. That compound was awash with rows and rows of Mk1 Capris, Mk2 Cortina Lotuses and Mk1 Escort Twincams, no regular Ford cars..

In the mid '70's Skellys dealership closed in Tichfield street and it became an indoor market.

Interesting! Was it at that point Maconochies at Campbell Street became the Ford dealer in Kilmarnock?

[exitwound]

HendryG said:

exitwound said:

I used to live out at next to Caprington Golf course in Kilmarnock. What is now a Garden Centre just along the main road at what we called 'Peace and Plenty' with a small Fina petrol station, was Skelly's Ford compound. That compound was awash with rows and rows of Mk1 Capris, Mk2 Cortina Lotuses and Mk1 Escort Twincams, no regular Ford cars..

In the mid '70's Skellys dealership closed in Tichfield street and it became an indoor market.

Interesting! Was it at that point Maconochies at Campbell Street became the Ford dealer in Kilmarnock?

I think so, Maconochies up til then was a Rootes Dealer with Avenger rally cars on show. Before then, the Ford dealer was along from JW Scott in Grange st. and behind the old GPO, opposite what was then the Auld Killie pub. You can still see the showroom window with its curved glass which was (the last time I looked) a hairdressers on the corner of Park and Grange.

In 1963, they had a motorsport show with the Cortinas that won the East African Safari Rally, complete with all the red mud on them. That blew my mind to see the actual cars as before that all I had seen was Pathe News coverage in the Plaza cinema which is now where M&S is.. I used to have a bit of that mud that had dropped out of a wheelarch and kept it for years! Real African mud! How cool was that! Even took it to school to show the teacher.

http://www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/scotland/kilmarn...

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=grange+street+...

Edited by exitwound on Wednesday 9th December 16:58

[exitwound]

Also in Kilmarnock, behind the Laigh Kirk Church on the left in College Wynd, there was a guy building beach buggies! I was really into them at 16 and would go around at lunchtime from school and after school to watch. He had two demonstrators that sat in College Wynd. An orange Manta Ray and a blue GP swb. The guys place opened out onto John Finnie Street and this is where I first saw one for real.. It cam out and took off up to the traffic lights opposite the station and blew my mind!! No car has ever had the impact that did on me. I'm 61 now and I STILL want a GP mk1 swb with beetle seats, steering wheel, banded wheels with hubcaps!

Like this..

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=manx+buggy&amp...

If you watch on Youtube for 'Cowboy in Africa' this is what I watched in 1968 just to see the buggy which I think was a Manx. It appear in the opening credits and occasionally in the programmes. Awesome!

Here...

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cowboy+in+afri...

[exitwound]

Leaving Kilmarnock, following the old road (turn right before the slip to the A77 to Ayr) and follow the road right around, you will arrive at the old Spittalhill Garage. They used to have an odd selection of really old and unusual cars around like a '20's Morris Isis, a old Alvis drophead and a yellow '64(ish) Mustang that appeared at the Hansel village Players No.6 autocross at Hansel Village in 1970 (still got my programme).

[HendryG]

exitwound said:

Leaving Kilmarnock, following the old road (turn right before the slip to the A77 to Ayr) and follow the road right around, you will arrive at the old Spittalhill Garage. They used to have an odd selection of really old and unusual cars around like a '20's Morris Isis, a old Alvis drophead and a yellow '64(ish) Mustang that appeared at the Hansel village Players No.6 autocross at Hansel Village in 1970 (still got my programme).

I'm a good bit younger than you so all my recollections of Kilmarnock are mid 80s onwards:

- Blair and Gray at Beansburn, Yugo dealers and then later Skoda dealers.
- Dalry Motor Company at East Shaw Street/High Glencairn Street which is now a Lidl or Aldi, was a Renault dealership then changed to Citroen.
- As well as J & W Scott Vauxhall dealers, at that point there was also an Opel dealer before Vauxhall/Opel began being sold together under the one roof. Possibly called Grange Motors?
- Bickets at Campbell Street which before it became a mish mash of different brands in the 2000s and then got took over by Verve was 3 separate dealerships, Fiat at the roundabout, then further along and across the road Mazda, then further up again and across the road was Volvo.
- Robert Wypers Seat at Wellington Street.
- The showroom at Dean Street which is now Ingram Seat. I remember it as Drew Dodds Renault, then it became the ubiquitous Arnold Clark Renault for a time, then Kershaws Cars Nissan dealership. Then when Octav Botnars AFG came about it became AFG Nissan, then AFG Vauxhall then Caledonia Vauxhall before it became Reg Vardy Vauxhall who moved to the retail park.
- Peat Road Motors Peugeot at West Langlands Street I think where Morrison's now is, later became Robert Wypers Peugeot.
- Calex Car Sales at Crookrdholm/Hurlford. Then became Gael Hyundai before Verve took them over, moved to Campbell Street Bickets for a few years then back again. Showroom still there and vacant.
- I also seem to remember a Proton dealership not far from where Dalry Motor Company were. Possibly called Kingsgate Motor Company.

[jbc63]

There are a couple of names missing I think. JL Bomphray in Dean Street who used to have Rootes agency then became a Mazda dealership for almost twenty years, up until the business closed. They were on the opposite side of the road from Robert Wyper's premises and the site was cleared for housing some years ago.
The other was Deanside Motors before it changed hands and became Blair& Gray; they always kept a nice stock of sports car's, E-types, Elan's and the like. They were nice people to deal with.

[exitwound]

HendryG said:

exitwound said:

Leaving Kilmarnock, following the old road (turn right before the slip to the A77 to Ayr) and follow the road right around, you will arrive at the old Spittalhill Garage. They used to have an odd selection of really old and unusual cars around like a '20's Morris Isis, a old Alvis drophead and a yellow '64(ish) Mustang that appeared at the Hansel village Players No.6 autocross at Hansel Village in 1970 (still got my programme).

- Bickets at Campbell Street which before it became a mish mash of different brands in the 2000s and then got took over by Verve was 3 separate dealerships, Fiat at the roundabout, then further along and across the road Mazda, then further up again and across the road was Volvo.

Bickets in the long middle section had petrol pumps there and a Weber agency down the side for their Fiat dealership. The Mazda showroom was the old Riccarton Co-op and across the road where the Jeep franchise was, was the Ayr Road Motor company, who sold Renault.
The building is long gone and is now an empty space where the vehicles park to the right of the current main showroom which what was a row of miners cottages with the Golf café at the end where the Jeep dealership now is.

In Troon there was another place down the side of the Harbour Bar I think that was called 'Sports and GT motors' I remember they also had a shop in Ayr which is now a park for Vauxhall cars on the Prestwick/Ayr road. The last time I was in there they had a '65 TVR Tuscan for £595 and a Sunbeam Tiger for £495.

Back to Kilmarnock, there was a wee place behind Andrew Barclays that sold 'boy racer' Mini Coopers/Imps/Anglias etc all with wide steel wheels, Peco exhausts and 'rally' seat covers.

As you come down Strawberry bank, heading to the viaduct, there were shops and tenements on the left that backed onto the river. This was Fred's place, for motorcycles before he moved to underneath what is now Paris Match.

[Phunk]

Andersons Garage in Newon Mearns 1965-1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZMDgj9E0Dg

[deadslow]

jbc63 said:

JL Bomphray in Dean Street

Their daughter was in my class at school. Noice