British Leyland
Discussion
Not an enthusiast but had a few from the BL era back in the day - like many on here - when they were just everyday cars and have had friends with a few as well. 200 Wedge, Maxis etc.
I had a BL-badged MGB and also a Triumph Stag. The Stag cost me a small fortune and was only 12 years old when I got it. The MGB less expensive but again, 12 years old approx.
What's your interest in them?
I had a BL-badged MGB and also a Triumph Stag. The Stag cost me a small fortune and was only 12 years old when I got it. The MGB less expensive but again, 12 years old approx.
What's your interest in them?
I wouldn't call myself a BL 'enthusiast' but I had a Morris 1800, two Maxis and two Princesses. Some were good, some weren't. I also had, god help me and only briefly, an Allegro. That really was sh*te.
I think that most of the slagging off BL gets these days is from teenage motor and classic car magazine scribblers who weren't around at the time and just use hearsay and Google.
BL - the way it worked and what happened to it - has to be seen in the context of technology, capital and, particularly, labour relations as they were more than 30 years ago.
If you want to see a situation with many parallels today, look at the French motor industry.
I think that most of the slagging off BL gets these days is from teenage motor and classic car magazine scribblers who weren't around at the time and just use hearsay and Google.
BL - the way it worked and what happened to it - has to be seen in the context of technology, capital and, particularly, labour relations as they were more than 30 years ago.
If you want to see a situation with many parallels today, look at the French motor industry.
A worker's life (mostly) in BL Tale:
My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the s
ttiest old cars imaginable.
My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the s
ttiest old cars imaginable. My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
Breadvan72 said:
A worker's life (mostly) in BL Tale:
My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the sttiest old cars imaginable.
My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
Cracking post.My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the s
ttiest old cars imaginable. My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
ruff'n'smov said:
Breadvan72 said:
A worker's life (mostly) in BL Tale:
My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the sttiest old cars imaginable.
My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
Cracking post.My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the s
ttiest old cars imaginable. My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
That would have been the early 60's, I cant see it happening now.
Breadvan72 said:
A worker's life (mostly) in BL Tale:
My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the sttiest old cars imaginable.
My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
I have several friends who were all engineers at Longbridge back in the 70's, they are clever chaps who really enjoyed what they were doing back then, but they all say the same as Breadvan 72's dad, it was wrecked by bad management and millitants. There was a lot of innovation and good engineering but what ended up in the showrooms was another matter.My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the s
ttiest old cars imaginable. My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
I have a BL badged TR6 which is pretty original and still looking good and going well, I also remember briefly owning an Austin 1800 which seemed like a bit of a barge but was basically a good car, compared to whatever else was available in that sort of price range.
)
Breadvan72 said:
A worker's life (mostly) in BL Tale:
My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the sttiest old cars imaginable.
My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
Fantastic post and story....although I didn`t work at Longbridge I work as a service engineer for a tooling company that supplied cutting-tools into south & east works and spent many an happy-hour there working on the K series and KV6 engine lines.The Rover 75 was a class-leading car at the time,its a crying shame it was allowed to close.My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the s
ttiest old cars imaginable. My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
Edited by esso on Saturday 30th August 18:11
I have always had BMC/BL group cars. My first car was a Dolomite Sprint. Since then I have had 1850s, Triumph 2000s, Rover P6s, loads of Minis and Moggie 1000s, several MGBs, a Triumph GT6 and two Spitfires.
I still have Midget 1500 and Dolomite 1500HL, with a Spitfire and Moggie to restore at some point.
As much as I love Triumphs I think the best cars I have had were the P6 Rovers, so comfortable and great handling.
I have recently bought a 2003 Rover 75 and can't help wondering why a company that was building such a quality car went to the wall, such a shame.
I still have Midget 1500 and Dolomite 1500HL, with a Spitfire and Moggie to restore at some point.
As much as I love Triumphs I think the best cars I have had were the P6 Rovers, so comfortable and great handling.
I have recently bought a 2003 Rover 75 and can't help wondering why a company that was building such a quality car went to the wall, such a shame.
Breadvan72 said:
A worker's life (mostly) in BL Tale:
My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the sttiest old cars imaginable.
My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
Fantastic post, I really enjoyed reading that. It's nice to hear the perspective of someone who was actually in the thick of it at the time. My dad arrived in the UK from Dublin in the late 1950s. He went from the building sites (he worked on Junction 1 of the M1) into Lucas in Birmingham. He started as a labourer, and was successively lathe operator, tool setter, and tool maker. He was a shop steward for a while. I can recall the Christmas party for workers' children at the factory, and later the works Panto trips.
Lucas funded my dad to go to night school and take exams, and he moved to the white collar world as a time and motion guy, and carried on as an Industrial Engineer, working on production processes. This meant a pay cut, obviously! My uncle was a tool setter at Jaguar and wore bespoke suits, played golf, and changed his car for a new one every year. My dad was now in management and wore off the peg suits, had no time for hobbies, and drove the s
ttiest old cars imaginable. My dad moved to Rootes, then located near the BSA factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. He worked on the fastback Sunbeam Rapier. Then he left to run an electrical business. That failed after the oil crisis when banks called in small business loans, and he went back to his old job at Rootes-Chrysler. He was sent to Linwood as part of a trouble shooting team, and commuted at weekends by BAC 111. Soon afterwards he moved to BL, and worked in all divisions except for Jag and Land Rover (even though we lived a few hundred metres from the Land Rover factory). He briefly ran a factory making (very flammable) foam for seats.
At Longbridge, my dad, a staunch union man himself but now in middle management, had to deal with Red Robbo and the two almost came to blows.
My Dad was appointed as a management lecturer at BL's staff college. That was his favourite job. He was headhunted from there by Michael Edwardes to be part of a roving trouble shooting team of managers.
My dad blames Lord Stokes, the pre Edwardes senior managers, and Thatcher (for excessive meddling) for the collapse of BL. He says the unions took the piss, but the bad management was worse. The design and engineering ideas were often great, but the execution was often poor, and short term pursuit of profits led to neglect of investment. Group meetings between different divisions were fractious, as the different brands treated each other as rivals. Jaguar spent the whole time plotting ways to escape.
By the 80s, my dad was running a factory making exhausts. He was made redundant and immediately given his job back as a self employed consultant. He finally left the car trade and went to run a pub. When Rover finally failed (Rover had the biggest selling car in the UK on the day it went bust), my dad was not surprised, as the blokes who had bought it were well known whamster scamsters.
Now he is retired in Birmingham and is not well, but he is still full of stories. He loves cars. He can no longer work on them. He has a 2009 Fiesta with an autobox that is surprisingly good, except uphill.
During the Lord Stokes era, and before, short term shareholder advantage was all important, and so expenditure on retooling and so on took a back seat in favour of dividends. My dad recalls a party from Honda visiting a BL factory and asking how often it retooled. "We haven't retooled since the war" was the reply. "We retool every eight years, whether we need to or not" said the Honda men.
My dad watched a worker using an approved factory bodge on a Marina, made necessary by parts and holes not aligning, and pointed out that the bodge would fail under load. "I know", said the bloke "but we have been told to get them to the dealers, who will fix it under warranty".
My dad is quite colourful about the shenanigans re the Stag and the failure to obtain the Rover V8 for it.
One car that my dad praises, perhaps surprisingly, is the Princess, which he thinks was underrated.
My dad watched a worker using an approved factory bodge on a Marina, made necessary by parts and holes not aligning, and pointed out that the bodge would fail under load. "I know", said the bloke "but we have been told to get them to the dealers, who will fix it under warranty".
My dad is quite colourful about the shenanigans re the Stag and the failure to obtain the Rover V8 for it.
One car that my dad praises, perhaps surprisingly, is the Princess, which he thinks was underrated.
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