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Pete Farries did indeed build the 'Whomobile'.155bcef419dfd73586a4ff9ca4900a68.jpgbase was of 3 wheels and the windscreen was from a boat...Pete worked with Jon Pertwee on designs.

(Pertwee collecting it from Pete.)

It ended up being  used on the BBC series.

If my memory is correct..it featured on Blue Peter kids show..check YouTube??

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I remember the number plate being on the Corniche I did lots ofJensens they were a nice motor good bird puller I was working on one in the showroom and when I turned round there was a woman standing

Not really relevant to this thread but to those who know about my ordeal with my first car, Pixie, the C3. She was bought from me on Tues for £150. I didn't want anything for it other than to no longe

I had a thames camper in the sixties me and my mate put a four speed gearbox in had the same problem we put a separate lever in between the drivers legs You had to make sure you were in neutral before

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imp engine in this one and fully road legal ,if I remember right reg no was WVO3M,good days them we all used to go in the Carlton Hotel with Nottingham Drag and Custom Club,Dereck Hodgetts had a nice jag powered Capri and a strajght 8 Buick ,DaveYoung had a PlymouthSport Fury and a 59 sedan  de ville ,Malc Donovan had a 56 I think Pete hadAPontiac ambulance and a single deck london bus then.

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it was when Youngy did a massive burn out ,the neighbors rang the police and complained about him testing his brakes ,ah the fickleness of youth,  I don,t know how we never got pinched

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  • 5 months later...
On 5/15/2015 at 8:27 PM, ceeaych said:

That was my grandads garage on wollaton street...my dad worked worked with my grandad then opened a place on alfreton road called motax....

Hi , could you please help me ? , I am trying to trace the Sharpe family who owned/worked in MOTAX car shop .

 

If anyone knows their whereabouts I would be most grateful if they could contact me on kerrie1969@gmail.com.

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  • 4 months later...
On 12/8/2016 at 11:17 AM, philmayfield said:

My father briefly had a Citroen DS back in the 60"s. This had a very advanced system whereby the car could jack itself up. You put the jack into the appropriate slot by the wheel and extended it to reach the ground. You then switched on the engine, pulled a lever and the car, through its hydraulic suspension, would lift itself at the appropriate corner. Unfortunately this happened on a very hot day and the jack sank into the soft tarmac so we had to borrow a proper jack to lift it up. Never buy a French car! 

 

Errrrr… no. Even DSes, IDs etc couldn't lift up the appropriate corner, although they could drive along on 3 wheels and a flat tyre if necessary. The  whole car, went up or down depending on the setting of the lever. The highest setting is the one used for wheel changing, but it is up to the driver to (a) ensure that the car has reached the correct height and (b) ensure that the jack is adjusted and in a safe place - like any jack. This is all covered in the manual, but people don't read manuals, do they!
At least the top of the jack didn't generally go straight through the sills, as was my experience with more than one fairly new Brit vehicle. As for BMC's wonderful Hydrolastic cheapo version of the Système Citroën, the less said the better.

    

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Well basically the whole car raised itself up on the hydraulics and then you put the jack under the appropriate corner and let the hydraulics down whereby the corner with the jack remained suspended whilst the other three wheels made contact with the ground.

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I had an ID19 in the early 70's. Despite its idiosyncrasies, it was probably the best car I've had. Certainly about the fastest !

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Bristol Street Motors on Mansfield Rd were the agents I dealt with. Absolute rip off merchants !

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I recall seeing some motors in the 40s with an on board jacking system called jackhall i am not sure if it was austin or morris they had a ram on each corner of the axle long time ago  meeowed

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I have no jack, no spare wheel and run flat tyres plus a button on the roof where someone will come out to rescue me if I press it. I think with the size and weight of wheels plus my advancing years I wouldn’t want to do a wheel change. Some years ago I had a Jeep Cherokee and heard a loud bang whilst I was driving down the M1. I pulled over and we all scrambled out. A passing AA man spotted us before I could ‘phone and he changed the wheel in minutes. I certainly wouldn’t like to change an o/s wheel on the hard shoulder of a motorway! Nowadays patrols carry a universal type spare which is adequate to get you to the nearest tyre depot.

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2 minutes ago, philmayfield said:

 I certainly wouldn’t like to change an o/s wheel on the hard shoulder of a motorway! 

 

And don't even think about it happening on the 'Smart' motorways which don't have a hard shoulder.

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I have one of the buttons in the roof and have been advised that you will get priority when it is used. There was no spare wheel with mine when I ordered it , but being an old fashioned dinosaur I paid for a spare wheel, jack and tool kit. If it is needed I will still have to press the button for help as I am unable to change the wheel.

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My Jag went into ‘limp mode’ and then came to a halt in Fiskerton about two miles from home. Jag rescue acknowledged and by the time I’d been into the Bromley Arms for a pee the AA had arrived. They jump started me and followed me home. Sadly it was a Saturday so I had to wait until Monday for the rescue truck to take the car to Lincoln. Two more trips there, one again on a rescue truck and the problem was eventually resolved. They even arranged for a taxi from Nottingham to take me to Lincoln where a brand new XF Sport was available for my use. I and the AA both told them it was the alternator but it took two weeks for them to admit it!

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I've told my tale on here before about main dealers, I just wish I could find the smary, supercilious sod who  insisted  there was no fault

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  • 2 weeks later...

I remember globe electric they were on manvers street but were somewhere else before that and of course Brown Brothers huntingdon street The rep was a little tubby chap who would recite every product they stocked and could do likewise with jokes meeowed

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Hi Edgar i see you worked at Brown Bros.We used to buy parts there in the 60s did you know a salesman there called Pat think it was short for Patterson he called at the garage once a week to take orders sometimes we phone orders in and have delivered by bus usually mgo F4 orB4 some times it was difficult if there were exhaust pipes to be delivered.

 

Did a short stint at Trumans in mid 60s Jack Cunliffe was the shop foreman excellent mechanic.

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When you were at Truman's, did you know anyone at Atkeys next door?. I went to Atkeys as an apprentice,69_70. I think the foreman in the 'mini clinic was Alex ?????, Can't remember his surname. Wish I'd stuck to my apprenticeship, but got tempted by more money to go and work for a guy down under the arches on Arkwright st. Lost out big time!!

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