Mrs H had one of these. We painted it purple for some reason, but the main problem was rust. I think a layer of starter rust must have been painted on during manufacture. If so, it was very effective.
13 comments:
The Jannie
said...
Underpowered, bad handling rotbox with a horrible interior: in other words a typical BMC product.
I thought its appearance rather attractive. Lousy car, of course. The car of that period I remember driving was a Triumph Herald. I never mastered the reverse gear but it didn't matter because it had a wonderfully small turning circle. I have never driven a Mini. Or a Hillman Imp. Or the Ford with the strange rear window - the Anglia I think.
The A40 could have been the Golf. But British Industry seemed doomed to be always having a good idea which they never quite get right at the production stage. Spend a fortune on developing something with a fatal flaw, sometimes literally. And always some company overseas picks up the idea gets it right and sells. Lots. Cars, planes, tilting trains, medical advances, computers, nuclear power, green power, We proudly proclaim that this, that and the other was invented here, but did me make any money as a result. Did we bollox.
I,ve studied this subject (outlined by Doonhamer),for many years and have even worked in such companies. The Germans could do it and the Americans and Japanese could do it. I conclude it's a matter of culture. There is a common characteristic in British people that causes the phenomena that Doonhamer describes.
Tammly: I don't think it's the British people as a whole - we have our share of excellent craftsmen and workers. It's British management: tell someone he's a manager and he starts to believe his own publicity. It will be his way or no way regardless of the evidence and when you throw in local and national politics you have a recipe for shit pudding.
The 1st Mrs. Vega had an A35 when I met her at university. I was so pleased to have a girlfriend so posh that her parents could afford to buy her a fifth-hand car that I overlooked its obvious faults. I'd love to drive one now, just to see how they handle.
The lousy standard of much British management could be blamed on the unions for many decades. Which able lad would say "I like motor cars so I shall work in the motor industry"? No able lad who has seen union antics on the telly. I knew mechanical engineering students who wondered where to work to avoid the problem. The oil and chemical businesses proved good employers where they could hope to be engineers and eventually managers without all the mass union bollocks. No doubt other able lads thought of the City, the Law, Medicine ... whatever wasn't manufacturing, ship-building, or mining.
As my summary has it "it's the workers who hire the managers whether they know it or not".
A friend of mine sold his old A40 to a very large bloke, not so much fat but rather very tall and built like the proverbial door. The buyer drove to Wales from Herts. While driving along the mountain road to Aberystwyth the bottom fell out, completely rusted away. He completed the journey squatting uncomfortably, probably gripping the wheel for balance.
We used to say never buy a BMC car that rolled off the production line on a Friday afternoon.
A friend of mine lodged with a chap who worked at Cowley in BMC days. Despite qualifying for an employee discount on BMC cars, the landlord bought a Ford. My friend asked him why. He said, "Every day I have to watch BMC cars being made. I know that Fords are probably made the same way, but I don't have to watch them being made."
We were on holiday in Greece in the 70s and befriended a couple from the Midlands, he worked at BL and the stories he told about the Morris Marina summed up the state of the industry at that time. One item I remember was the dashboard scuttle, a very big batch arrived with the wrong dimensions, rather than snd them back they were told to fit them and fill the 1" plus gap with mastic as the gap was to wide to weld, there were other horors but it is a long time ago, appaling non quality control.
Jannie - the one Mrs H bought was reliable enough but we got rid of it as soon as we could afford to.
dearieme - it was rather attractive and maybe it could have been a winner if it hadn't been so poorly made.
Doonhamer - yes it could have been the Golf. I think it took failures such as this for us to learn that the world doesn't owe us a living.
Scrobs - until the rust set in I imagine.
Tammly - you may be right. It seems to be reflected in the public sector, or at least that is where it is most obvious.
Sam - my cousin had an A35. It had a hole in the floor and a wheel once came off while cornering so he sold it for 50p. A very good price I thought, having been given a lift in it once or twice.
dearieme - people forget or don't know how bad it was. You are right, bright youngsters wouldn't go near that kind of work.
Andy and decnine - a chap I once knew told a story about a BMC assembly line worker who bought a new car, one he's seen being made. After five years it was so rusty he could poke his finger through a body panel.
Wiggia - I remember a Montego on a dealer's forecourt. I could put my finger into the gap between the front and rear doors.
13 comments:
Underpowered, bad handling rotbox with a horrible interior: in other words a typical BMC product.
I thought its appearance rather attractive. Lousy car, of course. The car of that period I remember driving was a Triumph Herald. I never mastered the reverse gear but it didn't matter because it had a wonderfully small turning circle. I have never driven a Mini. Or a Hillman Imp.
Or the Ford with the strange rear window - the Anglia I think.
The A40 could have been the Golf.
But British Industry seemed doomed to be always having a good idea which they never quite get right at the production stage. Spend a fortune on developing something with a fatal flaw, sometimes literally.
And always some company overseas picks up the idea gets it right and sells. Lots.
Cars, planes, tilting trains, medical advances, computers, nuclear power, green power,
We proudly proclaim that this, that and the other was invented here, but did me make any money as a result. Did we bollox.
It was the company car of choice, belonging to one of my directors in 1964...
I,ve studied this subject (outlined by Doonhamer),for many years and have even worked in such companies. The Germans could do it and the Americans and Japanese could do it. I conclude it's a matter of culture. There is a common characteristic in British people that causes the phenomena that Doonhamer describes.
Tammly: I don't think it's the British people as a whole - we have our share of excellent craftsmen and workers. It's British management: tell someone he's a manager and he starts to believe his own publicity. It will be his way or no way regardless of the evidence and when you throw in local and national politics you have a recipe for shit pudding.
The 1st Mrs. Vega had an A35 when I met her at university. I was so pleased to have a girlfriend so posh that her parents could afford to buy her a fifth-hand car that I overlooked its obvious faults. I'd love to drive one now, just to see how they handle.
The Jannie- your assertion doesn't detract from my statement in the slightest. I agree with you by the way.
The lousy standard of much British management could be blamed on the unions for many decades. Which able lad would say "I like motor cars so I shall work in the motor industry"? No able lad who has seen union antics on the telly. I knew mechanical engineering students who wondered where to work to avoid the problem. The oil and chemical businesses proved good employers where they could hope to be engineers and eventually managers without all the mass union bollocks. No doubt other able lads thought of the City, the Law, Medicine ... whatever wasn't manufacturing, ship-building, or mining.
As my summary has it "it's the workers who hire the managers whether they know it or not".
A friend of mine sold his old A40 to a very large bloke, not so much fat but rather very tall and built like the proverbial door. The buyer drove to Wales from Herts. While driving along the mountain road to Aberystwyth the bottom fell out, completely rusted away. He completed the journey squatting uncomfortably, probably gripping the wheel for balance.
We used to say never buy a BMC car that rolled off the production line on a Friday afternoon.
A friend of mine lodged with a chap who worked at Cowley in BMC days. Despite qualifying for an employee discount on BMC cars, the landlord bought a Ford. My friend asked him why. He said, "Every day I have to watch BMC cars being made. I know that Fords are probably made the same way, but I don't have to watch them being made."
We were on holiday in Greece in the 70s and befriended a couple from the Midlands, he worked at BL and the stories he told about the Morris Marina summed up the state of the industry at that time.
One item I remember was the dashboard scuttle, a very big batch arrived with the wrong dimensions, rather than snd them back they were told to fit them and fill the 1" plus gap with mastic as the gap was to wide to weld, there were other horors but it is a long time ago, appaling non quality control.
Jannie - the one Mrs H bought was reliable enough but we got rid of it as soon as we could afford to.
dearieme - it was rather attractive and maybe it could have been a winner if it hadn't been so poorly made.
Doonhamer - yes it could have been the Golf. I think it took failures such as this for us to learn that the world doesn't owe us a living.
Scrobs - until the rust set in I imagine.
Tammly - you may be right. It seems to be reflected in the public sector, or at least that is where it is most obvious.
Sam - my cousin had an A35. It had a hole in the floor and a wheel once came off while cornering so he sold it for 50p. A very good price I thought, having been given a lift in it once or twice.
dearieme - people forget or don't know how bad it was. You are right, bright youngsters wouldn't go near that kind of work.
Andy and decnine - a chap I once knew told a story about a BMC assembly line worker who bought a new car, one he's seen being made. After five years it was so rusty he could poke his finger through a body panel.
Wiggia - I remember a Montego on a dealer's forecourt. I could put my finger into the gap between the front and rear doors.
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