129 replies to this topic

[Quincy Sparks]

Great thread, some top knowledge and images. I'm also on the dealer sticker repro path :) Trying to track down original dealer for our Designer, registered in Chelmsford in 1988 and our Cooper, registered in North East London in 1990. Anyone remember any dealers from these areas? I know about Lookers in Chelmsford - would they have been an Austin Rover dealer in '88? Anyone know what their logo / dealer sticker looked like then?

 
I can check this when I get home this evening as my '89 still has the handbook pack, which includes a dealer list...

 
According to the booklet that came with my car, in February 1989 Chelmsford was served by:

Retail dealer J Day, 74 Main Road, Broomfield CM1 5DH, tel 0245 440571
There was also a fleet and retail dealer at Lex, Victoria Road South, CM1 1NA, 0245 492294
 
NE London there are a few more:
Crouch Hill Motor Company (retail dealer)
Palmsville Garage Muswell Hill (Main dealer)
Imperial Motors Tottenham (retail)
Mann Egerton Finchley (distributor)
Winchmore Hill Garage (retail)
SMAC Group, Chingford (main)
SMAC Group, Forest Gate E7 (distributor)

Thanks so much for this - helps me narrow down the search!

[zinzan]

This is quite interesting reading.  As a Canadian, the whole idea of registration indicating initial ownership is quite unique.  Over here, your plate number changes every time the car ownership does, or you can transfer your plates to a new vehicle if you wish.

 

I don't know a lot about the history on my car, other than I think I'm the 3rd owner and at one time it was in Milton Keynes.  The guy I bought it from lived in Hull.  (I'll leave my opinion of him out of this...another story for another time)   Mine's a '93 spi and the old plate starts K28....  Does the letter indicate a location then?  Someone told me that location designator changed in the 90s, they thought.

 

I hadn't even noticed a dealer's tag or name on my UK plates that came with the car until just now. Mine have "Motorama (Hull) HU3 3BE". A quick google says Motorama is an RV parts place.  Did they sell Minis at one time?

[some1158]

This is quite interesting reading.  As a Canadian, the whole idea of registration indicating initial ownership is quite unique.  Over here, your plate number changes every time the car ownership does, or you can transfer your plates to a new vehicle if you wish.

 

I don't know a lot about the history on my car, other than I think I'm the 3rd owner and at one time it was in Milton Keynes.  The guy I bought it from lived in Hull.  (I'll leave my opinion of him out of this...another story for another time)   Mine's a '93 spi and the old plate starts K28....  Does the letter indicate a location then?  Someone told me that location designator changed in the 90s, they thought.

 

I hadn't even noticed a dealer's tag or name on my UK plates that came with the car until just now. Mine have "Motorama (Hull) HU3 3BE". A quick google says Motorama is an RV parts place.  Did they sell Minis at one time?

 

The 'K' indicates that it was registered in 1992-93.

 

Basically the historic system until 1963 was simply a combination of letters and numbers (e.g. 621 AOK or AOK 621, both were possible).  From 1963 a letter was added to the end to give a registration like AOK 621A - this last letter changed every year (except for E which was just 6 months).  When the system ran out of letters (1983) it was reversed to give a registration like A621 AOK.  This lasted into the 1990s with an annual letter change on 1 August, but from the mid-90s the letter was changed twice a year to smooth out sales.  From autumn 2001 we have had a new system with numbers in which changes twice a year - currently we are on '14' and from the autumn it will change to '64'

 

The letters telling you where a car was registered in the old systems are the last two of the three letters - so in A621 AOK it is the OK which tells you and which means Birmingham.

 

See http://en.wikipedia....s#1983_to_2001

and also

http://en.wikipedia....#Current_system

Edited by some1158, 15 March 2014 - 08:36 AM.

[CityEPete]

I never knew that about the E reg thing! I presume thats how we got to the reg changing on august the 1st rather than Jan of each year then? every day really is a school day

[zinzan]

 

This is quite interesting reading.  As a Canadian, the whole idea of registration indicating initial ownership is quite unique.  Over here, your plate number changes every time the car ownership does, or you can transfer your plates to a new vehicle if you wish.

 

I don't know a lot about the history on my car, other than I think I'm the 3rd owner and at one time it was in Milton Keynes.  The guy I bought it from lived in Hull.  (I'll leave my opinion of him out of this...another story for another time)   Mine's a '93 spi and the old plate starts K28....  Does the letter indicate a location then?  Someone told me that location designator changed in the 90s, they thought.

 

I hadn't even noticed a dealer's tag or name on my UK plates that came with the car until just now. Mine have "Motorama (Hull) HU3 3BE". A quick google says Motorama is an RV parts place.  Did they sell Minis at one time?

 

The 'K' indicates that it was registered in 1992-93.

 

Basically the historic system until 1963 was simply a combination of letters and numbers (e.g. 621 AOK or AOK 621, both were possible).  From 1963 a letter was added to the end to give a registration like AOK 621A - this last letter changed every year (except for E which was just 6 months).  When the system ran out of letters (1983) it was reversed to give a registration like A621 AOK.  This lasted into the 1990s with an annual letter change on 1 August, but from the mid-90s the letter was changed twice a year to smooth out sales.  From autumn 2001 we have had a new system with numbers in which changes twice a year - currently we are on '14' and from the autumn it will change to '64'

 

The letters telling you where a car was registered in the old systems are the last two of the three letters - so in A621 AOK it is the OK which tells you and which means Birmingham.

 

See http://en.wikipedia....s#1983_to_2001

and also

http://en.wikipedia....#Current_system

 

 

 

Thanks.  Will have a read.

Edited by zinzan, 15 March 2014 - 12:33 PM.

[greatgrowler]

This was the Victoria Road South dealer in 1978. It was still there well int the 80s.

https://www.flickr.c...w-owsU2k-odhFpj

Edited by greatgrowler, 01 August 2014 - 10:55 PM.

[mab01uk]

I never knew that about the E reg thing! I presume thats how we got to the reg changing on august the 1st rather than Jan of each year then? every day really is a school day

 

I had a 1967 'E' Reg Mini in the mid 1970's and even then an E reg was a much rarer reg number due to only being current for 7 months.

(The registration year ran from 1 January to 31 December until 1967 when it was moved to 1 August).

[henri1972]

 

Any info on this one? As it seams odd I have zero previous history of the car, with it only ever having 2 previous owners and it being registered on an A plate.

 

 

Mann Egerton were a large dealer network. Started off in Norwich doing non- car related things and then pretty much opened dealerships all over the place. Most of them were taken over by Inchcape, however a Mann Egerton still exists in Exeter.

 

http://www.flickr.co...N05/8791410998/

 

There's your dealer sticker.

 

Doesn't look like there's a car dealership there anymore, at Acrewood Way, Hatfield Road.

 

it is now a electrical sales place next time i am in st albans i will take some pics went there many times for spare parts

[mab01uk]

 

Mann, Egerton & Company Ltd. was an automotive and aerospace company headquartered in Norwich. United Kingdom. The company was formally founded in 1905 by Gerald Mann, an electrical engineer, and Hubert Egerton, although the two had been working in partnership for a number of preceding years. Various parts started to be sold off from the mid-1960s and they finally disappeared in 1986.
The art deco tower of their showroom in Morden, Surrey was a local landmark. Sadly whilst the site is still a car dealership for Peugeot the building has disappeared.

http://photoarchive....y/garages/29425

 

My brother did his apprenticeship as a BL motor mechanic in the 1980's here, shame the art deco tower did not have a preservation order on it.....

[mininuts]

Great pic. I spot an Advantage parked on the front

[davejustdave]

There was a hartwell Charles Clark in west brom too... Did my work experience there, many years ago!

[welldc]

Parish's of Hull were enthusiastic rally supporters beck in the 70's.

 They sponsored the Moonraker Raly organised by North Humberside Motor Club, using their premises for scrutineering and the start.

 

They also sponsored our Cooper S rally car 

 

[CCX]

I posted in here before about my Mini potentially being an ex-demo at SMC, and I now know for definite that this was the case! I emailed them directly a while ago and Kelvin Pring from SMC replied and offered to look into the car's history for me. Fortunately it was registered not long after they had a new computer system installed, so they still had the records which showed it as being a demonstrator. It was first registered on 1st March '99, and sold on 4th June the same year for £9995 (new, with it's options it would have cost closer to £11k). Great to know about this part of its history. Kelvin even arranged to send me some little period SMC items for free! Not what I expected at all.

Edited by CCX, 10 December 2014 - 02:41 PM.

[Mk1Dave]

Wadham stringer aldershot my car came from
Originally. It then became wadham kenning. Then a nissan. Which is where I brought my car from as a trade in. This was in 2002.

[surfblue]

Love those old dealer photos - keep them coming!