British Makes

: Ian Johnston ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much : like they were saying : : : > I know, I know. Mind you, I only heard about the Slough do about two : > weeks in advance. : : The first info about it was on the Website in April, and would have been in : probably the June mag.

Website? mag? I decided after one year that the Citroen Car Club was a waste of money. And look what that rotten deicion cost me - a trip to Slough. Damn. : > Ian (owner of the world's newest DS, unless someone can beat May '76) : : Alan Clark's widow, Jane, can. : : Her decap was built '78. And bought new by them.

No it wasn't. It was a conversion from a much earlier (1973?) estate. All the important bits of that car - ie barring a few body panels - were driving around long before my car was assembled. "Last Chapron conversion" I would grant you, maybe, though you can get a new one done today if you pay eye-watering amounts of money to some nice people in Holland who have the Chapron patterns.

ian

Ian Johnston ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

It's changed a lot in the last couple of years.

: Ian Johnston ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much : like they were saying : : : >: > I know, I know. Mind you, I only heard about the Slough do about : >: > two weeks in advance. : : >: The first info about it was on the Website in April, and would have : >: been in probably the June mag. : : > Website? mag? I decided after one year that the Citroen Car Club was a : > waste of money. : : It's changed a lot in the last couple of years.

Yes - I may give 'em another go. When I joined there was bugger all for the DS owner.

Ian

Ian Johnston ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

You'll be very pleasantly surprised, then - the D Section is *thriving*.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Ian Johnston" saying something like:

Key words are 'under one roof'. Most steelworks and other large factories of the day were very bitty and spread out under various roofs. Especially in the 20s, when steelworks and the like would have been on sites that had grown over the years - a hodgepodge of various buildings fitted together at different times.

Nice comprehensive site. I've bookmarked it for further investigation.

Fascinated to watch a group of Japanese crowded around a Berkeley recently trying to work out what is was!

[...]

Isettas were built under licence, from Iso of fridge and supercar fame, by several companies. AIUI BMW Isettas were built in house and British Isettas by an independent sublicencee which uniquely produced 3-wheelers for the UK tax-break. I don't think BMW ever owned an Isetta factory outside Germany.

Nice concise history:

A

Alistair J Murray ( snipped-for-privacy@fluffy.f.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Hmmm. V12 Alpina Isetta...

: Ian Johnston wrote: : : [...] : : > When did BMW take over the Isetta factory? The Isetta owners' club : > site just indicates that it was between 1957 when the original factory : > opened and 1964 when the Portslade one closed. : : Isettas were built under licence, from Iso of fridge and supercar fame, : by several companies. AIUI BMW Isettas were built in house and British : Isettas by an independent sublicencee which uniquely produced 3-wheelers : for the UK tax-break. I don't think BMW ever owned an Isetta factory : outside Germany.

According to the Isetta Owners Club

"BMW took over the manufacturing of the Isetta moving the factory to the Victoria Road site, Portslade, brighton until production finished in 1964."

Ian

Could be...

The British Isetta was certainly based on the BMW development rather than the Iso original but it doesn't seem to make much sense for BMW to buy a low capacity Isetta factory having moved upscale with the 600 and

700 and being on the point of entirely abandoning microcars thanks to the success of the "Neue Klasse" 1500.

BMW stopped building Isettas in Germany in 1962 and the 700 in 1965.

BMW got into Isetta making to occupy surplus capacity but by 1966 they had the opposite problem bought Hans Glas more for the capacity than the technology (including the rubber cam-belt!).

A

[...]

...a bit like this?

Something a little more subtle with a K brick driveline might be fin round town though. :)

A

Here are a few more that do not seem to be listed on your site. All were listed prior to 1916.

Albruna De P. (The Deptford Co.) Ensign (The British Ensign) F.A.B. (Brookswood & Co. Ltd.) Forest (Forest Car Co.) Halladay (R. A. Rothesmel) Lawton Luxior (Clifford White & Co) Motorette ( The Premier Motor Co. Ltd.) N.B. New Engine Car *uncertain if this was British built* New Pick (New Pick Motor Co.) Ogston (The Ogston Motor Co. Ltd) Sherwyn Tweenie (Alfred Dunhill Ltd)

Alistair J Murray realised it was Wed, 08 Feb

2006 13:26:52 +0000 and decided it was time to write:

Not quite a V12, but very nicely done. Must be frightening to drive.

Yippee ( snipped-for-privacy@intuh.net.invalid) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

For the "occupant" (I won't use the word driver, because I suspect they'd be more of a passenger) or the onlookers?

Adrian realised it was 08 Feb 2006 17:29:06 GMT and decided it was time to write:

For all within earshot of the thing.

[...]

I reckon the steering response would be as good as or better than any rail dragster, and braking better.

...not much chance of surviving any crash you did have unscathed though.

A

Alistair J Murray ( snipped-for-privacy@fluffy.f.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Yebbut, at least...

1. You'd be killed fersure. None of that painful lingering.
2. You'd die with a smile on your face.
3. The blood wouldn't show on the wreckage too badly.

Adrian realised it was 09 Feb 2006 16:21:57 GMT and decided it was time to write:

You're right, we should all drive cars like that.

Thanks Richard

I do already have:

Albruna De P Ensign (listed under British Ensign) New Pick (Listed under Pick) Tweenie (Listed under Dunhill. A Tweenie was a Goodwood FOS a couple of years ago, see picture on website)

Motorette (This seems to be PMC or Premier, both the Premier Motor Company, but I will check further) N.B. (Could New British but needs further research)

The others are new to me and I will investigate further.