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THE CARS WE OWNED

  • Thread starter Thread starter colinwilliams1
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colinwilliams1

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I have been building up a picture of the vehicles owned by the williams clan .(sad really but there you go) so have listed below what I have so far.

POPPA WILLIAMS (Billy Williams 117 Alma St )
He claimed to have one of the first cars registered in Birmingham.
We know he had the following

Bullnose Morris
Alvis (model not known)
Morgan 3 wheeler .
A car I have the reg number and a photo
A Motorcycle I have the reg number (between 1908 and 1912 )

How do I trace these ?
The morgan people say their records were destroyed .
Other orgs say the reg numbers are "presumed destroyed " when dvla centralised records.

LEN WILLIAMS (SON Of ABOVE Born above)

Motorcycles and sidecars
Ariel no model Have reg no
Matchless 600 Have reg No
Triumph TR6 No reg No
CARS
Vauxhall Via No info
Lancia Beta No Info
Fiat 136 No Info
Ford sierra No Info


Colin Williams (son of above) ie me

BSA Bantam
Velocette Viper

Ford Anglia
Austin Healey Sprite
MGBGT
MG Midget
VW Beetle
Jensen Healey
Fiat X19
Ford Escort 1.6
Various company cars
Toyota MR2
Jeep Cherokee

More motorcycles (too many to list )

Interesting how often I have changed my vehicles as opposed to my pop and his pop .

I now own a few cars and motorcycyes (but that is a hobby so doesn't really count)

Is an obscure but interesting history of the family ..
 
my first car was a bsa three wheeler, and then a morgan three wheeler, and boy do i wish i still had them have you seen how much they are fetching today then my first 4 wheeler was a armstrong siddly hurricane soft top, those were the days
 
My first car was a 1939 Standard Flying Nine. Just like in the old films the engine was found by lifting up half the bonnet revealing a flat top engine with the spark plugs neatlly arranged on top. The doors hung on a central and out pillar within which was the pop out indicator which often reluctantly exited unless prompted by a good solid thump with the fist. The floor was wood which shrunk in the summer and needed autumn rain to swell it to make it watertight. The front windscreen wound up which ws great until one was bombarded by insects and other flying objects. The car had no heating, no windscreen washers. The brakes were Bendix wire cables, held well in forwards motion but if you parked on a hill a brick under the back wheel gave security. Dipped headlights operated by means of movable reflectors which went with a loud clunk. If a following motorist blinded you the car was equipped with a roller blind operated from the the front seat. It had real leather seats but worm and ball steering which with the advent of the MOT meant that six inches of play were unacceptable. The car cost £25 pounds, what would the number plate BDP 25 be worth today.
 
That sounds wonderful but I have to admit I do like the shock absorbers and heating in modern cars. I remember what the old cars were like although my parents did not have a car my older brother did. Some friends had really old cars in the late 50's and early 60's and I remember how cold it was in the winter. My first car was Ford Anglia which was quite luxurious after my friends old cars and Vesper Scooters and my husbands was a mini. He was almost in tears when he had to part with it.
Do you have a photo of your first car Busby it would be great to see. O0
 
;D The topic of cars we owned reminded me of an old boyfriend in 19er something, He bought an old A40 from a dubious Bomb site sales man, my boyfriend ranted on about the beautiful ride the car gave and how it bounced over pot holes and such, until a couple of weeks of ownership and he found his foot went though the floor and it did'nt have any shock absorbers. Ah well we lived and learnt.
 
Here's me and my mate Johnny with my first car... ;)

Thank God they don't make cars like they used to!​
 
I bet you were so proud of your car Paul. O0
What year would that have been made? It is great.
We have an antique car club in town that meets at the shopping mall parking lot once a week during the summer. :)
It is very popular for people to walk around.
 
Sakura said:
I bet you were so proud of your car Paul. O0
Click to expand...
Mo, Proud?... who could be proud of THAT? :(
What year would that have been made? It is great.
Click to expand...
Ah, now that depends which bit you're on about. ^-^ The picture was taken in 1961/2. The engine was nicked in 1951. :coolsmiley:
 
Ah, now that depends which bit you're on about. ^-^ The picture was taken in 1961/2. The engine was nicked in 1951. :coolsmiley:


What I actually meant was, what year was the car made? From your reply are you saying you nicked the engine and put it into a chaise? I bet you thought you were the cat's whisker's and the girls were all after you, what ever you say now. :D Mo
 
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Mo,
I was havin' you on. 8) I haven't got a clue what the car is or who it belonged to. We just found it and had our picture taken with it. I thought the winking smiley and "Thank God they don't make cars like they used to!" was an indication that I was scamming... Sorry for the confusion.
smileysmart3zl.gif


Alf,
Don't tell me you're still running that engine in the Carlton!
7211512zm.gif
 
It must have been a smashing motor anyway. Just look at the beautiful bodywork. I'm wondering, was it a big Jowett?
Peter
 
The body style puts it in the mid 20s I would say and possibly something as mundane as an Austin 12 but I'm only guessing. E.
 
Actually my first car was a 1960s version of this
AustinA35Countryman865DHU-1.jpg
in metallic Electric Blue with a white roof. It cost £40, I had it for two years and loved it. I sold it in Ireland for £30. The buyer then sold it after a year for £30 again. Gave a lot of service that Blue Potato (as my daughter called it) did, to a lotta people.

I replaced it with a new Fiat 127 which was great to drive but fell apart in a couple of years - loada rubbish.

Then a VW Beetle, which was okay but not very practical for carrying a lot of luggage. I sold that for £100 more than I paid for it new when I was moving back to England.

Back here I bought a 3 year old Vauxhall Chevette Hatchback. That was okay

After a year or two I replaced it with a year old Chevette Estate. That was okay apart from noisy windscreen wiper motor. It didn't fair very well when it slipped off the handbrake and rolled into two parked cars after I'd parked it outside the house.

This was replaced with a new Metro - biggest loada rubbish of all. Couldn't dump it quick enough. The subsequent owner had even more trouble with it.

Next was a new 1600 Ford Escort Automatic - great car.

I followed this up with 4 new Ford Festia Auotmatics; three years between each.

Then a VW Polo - Loada rubbish - could never be sure it was going to start - dealers were useless in sorting out problems - dumped that after two years.

The 1600 Ford Focus Auto Estate I replaced the Polo with was the best of the lot. I regretted haveing to change that when my condition dictated a WAV car.

I now have a WAV converted 1600 Renault Kangoo Automatic, which I will get rid of as soon as I can find something better (preferably a Ford) that will do the same job at the same price or less.

Banana02a.jpg

And this is why it's known as the Yellow Submarine...

TestCarelessParking.jpg
 
Great post..... Oisin. You certainly have owned a variety of vehicles with a variety of outcomes. Shame you had to get rid of the one car that you say was great. The "Blue Potato" was a favourite too. The Yellow Submarine looks ok in the water. :'(
 
Love your yellow submarine, very nice Paul.
I am not going to get caught asking if it really floats, knowing your photographic talent. O0
Or have I got caught, we have buses in Toronto that go down a ramp into the lake at Ontario Place. I could not believe what I was seeing in the summer when we were there.
 
We didn't have our camera with us Jennyann as we were at the Canadian Nation Exhibition and went over to Ontario place to cool off. When you see this you will understand why we were surprised to see the bus enter the lake around Ontario Place when we were not expecting it. :)

Go down to the vidoe on the link below, hope everyone enjoys it. Summer is on the way. Mo

https://www.torontohippotours.com/main.html.
 
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my first car i owned was a 1977 vw polo,diamond silver,just like the one in picture only it was silver, i bought it for £75,spares or repair,it was a good little runner for its age and set about spending my wages on fixing it up back to it prime,i sold it two yrs later for £280,
 
Together with a mate I bought this in 1960, used it for a year then sold it to an American gent and shipped it to San Francisco. E.
 
This is a photo I have just found of our lovely car. It was a Hillman Super Minx it took me a while to get used to the column change but it was lovely to drive very sedate. The photo was taken in 1976 it was becoming a classic by then
 
Birmingham firm Fletchers Autostore shuts after 50 years

Jan 30 2010 With Thanks to the Birmingham Mail. If you wanted car spares or material to cover your worn out seats etc this was the place to go and wander around, i did, did you?. Len.



FLETCHERS Autostore, one of Birmingham’s most established motoring businesses, is to close its doors after more than 50 years.
Formerly known as A.B. Fletchers, the Great Lister Street shop has been a magnet for West Midland motorists on the lookout for parts and accessories for decades.
But the business has been dealt a fatal blow by the recession, with drivers spending less and less on their cars. The store will close on February 21 with around 11 job losses.
Andrew Clutterbuck, Fletchers managing director, said: “Sadly, the current difficult retail climate combined with motorists doing less DIY on their vehicles has led to the store suffering from a drop in turnover which has not been possible to sustain.
“People have really not spent much money on their cars for 18 months now – even the recent cold weather didn’t make much difference.
“It’s a big old place to run and the figures and sums just do not add up. It was a very difficult and painful decision to take given the considerable investment in the store and in a name that has been serving Birmingham motorists for such a long time.
“I would like to thank our many loyal customers over those years and wish our colleagues all the best in finding new employment.”
Mr Clutterbuck said the family-owned business would now concentrate on its other outlet in Coventry, where it runs a similar operation.
 
I was in the Table Tennis team at Kyrle Hall with Barrie Fletcher back in the late 50s. Happy days. Dek:cool::cool:
 
HI GUYS
I CAN REMEMBER OLD MAN FLETCHER WITH IS ORANGE BOXES FULL OF OLD BITS AND BOBS AND OLD SPARE BULBS AND HEAD LIGHTS
AND BITS OF ALSORTS SELLING PARTS FOR 6d UP TO THE PRICE OF HALF ACROWN
MY OLD GRAND FATHER ERNEST JELF WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH OLD MAN FLETCH HE HAD THE SHOPS ON THE CROSS
AND OLD FLETCH STARTED TO SELL OUT SIDE IS HOUSE IN THE AVENUE ST FACING ST MARYS SCHOOL
THEY USE TO DRINK IN THE STAR PUB BUT ERNIE ALWAYS SLATED FLETCH AND HE SAID MANY A TIME WHEN HE NEEDED APART FOR HIS OLD VANS AND MORRIS AND HIS THREE WHEELER VAN WHILST RUNNING IS BUSSINESS USE TO SAY TO MY MOTHER I WOULD NEVER BUY ANY THINK OF THAT OLD FLETCH
HE TO EXPENSIVE BUT GOOD OLD FLETCH SERVED THE ASTONIANS AND BRUMMIES WELL AND HE GOT THEM WHAT THEY NEEDED
ITS A PITTY OLD ERNIE AIN,T AROUND TO DAY JUST TO SEE WHAT OLD FLETCH DID SUCCEED WITH OUT IS TWO BOBS WORTH
FLETCHERS WAS A LAND MARK IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER , AND ITS SAD TO SEE THEM GO
DOES ANY BODY KNOW IF THE AVENUE RD STILL EXCIST I SURPOSE IS OLD HOUSE IS LONG GONE
BEST WISHES ASTONIAN ;;
 
Eric Gibson said:
Together with a mate I bought this in 1960, used it for a year then sold it to an American gent and shipped it to San Francisco. E.
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I knew someone at Lucas who bought one these quite cheap and ran it for a few years.
 
I used to keep my old bangers running thanks to Fletcher's. Sorry to see them go. But there is so little you can do with modern cars.

Back in about 1967 a friend of mine stayed with us - he had a 1936 Austin Big 7. One morning he went out and found a petrol leak due to a crack in the cast brass banjo connection to the carburettor. Oh woe! However, a quick trip to Fletcher's produced a boxful of said banjo's, which my mate bought on the spot. He also bought a load more bits and pieces for Austin 7's in general - he couldn't believe such a place as Fletcher's existed.

For the record, my first motor was a 1952 split-screen green Morris Minor, 948 cc of throbbing power and christened "Hogsnort Rupert". 65 flat out downhill with the wind behind it and doors open. Its cable brakes were its demise, failing to stop it outside the Albion ground one icy morning. I hit an Austin Cambridge loaded with Irishmen - one dead Moggie Minor, one undamaged Austin Cambridge.

Wendy - I had a 1966 Hillman Minx (1796 cc, I think) which was a lovely car - quiet and solid. However, the front door pillars rotted, and that was that as there was no way of replacing them.

My VW Passat Estate is a very very nice car, but it has no character...not like the old 'uns.

Big Gee
 
some of my favourite cars i owned were,anglia, cortina, and my fav ford corsair column change, red with long seat in the front, it was the nearest i was going to get of an american looking car. i wish i still had it ,lovely silver trims .and so comfy to drive.then numerouse other cars since ,but nothing takes the place of the old corsaire.
 
My list started with a 14 year old morris minor, held together with filler! had 5 years use from it , bet the reg would be worth more: 575ND.
I progressed then to a Hawleys breadvan converted into a "camper"this consisted of carpet on the floor and a heater from a Ford Capri bolted behind the driver which kept your left leg hot and the rest of the vehicle cold, good fun in the winter.....
Next one was a Renault 14, beatiful comfort but rotted away in front of me!Then a new Renault Espace, what a vehicle composite plastic body over a gavernized chassis, loved that vehicle but "o" so unreliable, traded it in for a Renault 21 monaco best car, fully loaded, auto and fitted with the 2 Ltr Renault 25 engine! ran that car for several years until a fault developed with the engine management system and was quoted over £600-00 to try to cure! had to scrap it in the end. Then I bought a Nissan Micra Auto, most reliable car, had it 10 years now, not had to open the bonnet yet!!!!
 
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