My old Showrooms!!! Not your usual car sales!!!

[Birchall]

Someone has just posted a picture on Facebook of my car sales business. Back in the 90's!!!!

That was a great time in my life until a certain Maggie Thatcher crippled the economy and I had to let it go.

We used to cause huge traffic jams outside the showrooms!!!

Selling twelve "unusual autos" every month !!!

By the way, the name was a play on words.

A bit too subtle for some people who rang in and asked for Ed !!!

Steve B

 

[A2Steve]

You've led a very varied life Mr B. Looks like a great setup you had.

 

[a2sumo]

Fantastic----before i opened the pic i had "mr t" in my mind.

 

[Birchall]

Fantastic----before i opened the pic i had "mr t" in my mind.

It was Mrs T that was the problem!!!

Steve B

 

[Alan_uk]

View attachment 17699

Ah! Classic cars and classic art deco - my favourites

 

[Adrian888]

Looks good however I don't get the Mrs T connection?

 

[Birchall]

Looks good however I don't get the Mrs T connection?

The UK went into a major recession when Mrs Thatcher was in power
She was known as Mrs T (amongst other things)

Steve B

 

[manhattan$]

What a cool showroom! Love the name! Haha

 

[Birchall]

This was my daily driver of choice when I had the showroom.

It is the ultimate sleeper.

Hidden away under the tin box in the back is a tuned Rover V8 engine.
At the rear you can just about make out the Jag IRS (shortened a tad!)
No propshaft at all, the BW auto gearbox was bolted directly to the diff!!!

I had so much fun with that little truck (and I mean little, it was tiny)

Due to the mid engine configuration it handled really well and the power to weight ration was phenomenal.

I once took it along to a drag race event I was running in at York Raceway and after competing in my race car I took it down the strip against a highly tuned Mustang with all of the sponsor stickers on it.
My little truck left it WELL behind, the crowd went crazy.
That was a great weekend for me too, because I managed to get my race car (a street legal 4.0 litre V8 Escort) down into the 10 second quarter mile! That is 0 to 60 in less than three seconds and it used to lift the front wheels off the ground when launching with nitrous on!!!

And for those that haven't seen it yet (not many)
This was my last project before the A2 project
A 8.2 litre London Taxi!!! Wit lots of features (including hydraulics - it "danced" too)
This was taken with the suspension at its lowest (ZipnJeff style!!!!)

Steve B

 

[manhattan$]

Did you get a few people wave you down for a Taxi ride?

 

[Birchall]

Did you get a few people wave you down for a Taxi ride?

That was why I removed all external handles!!! (it had remote opening)

Once in London a woman insisted that I take her somewhere, she wouldn't believe that it was not a working taxi and was getting quite stroppy, all I did was to fire up the V8 and she instantly walked away !!!!

Steve B

 

[A2Steve]

The fact that you have chosen the A2 after owning such special cars before just goes to show how good the A2 is.

That Mk1 escort looks to have been a bit of a beast.

After driving something like that do you hanker after more power from your A2?

 

[Birchall]

Hi
Yes it was a beast but totally driveable and street legal (with the right rear tyres.)

But I am an old guy now and more interested in MPG than MPH. (Kinda)

I do miss the power but there is nowhere to safely use power( apart from track days).
My Evo 7 was a super car in sheep's clothing but I got rid of that before I lost my licence or killed someone. That kind of power is very addictive.

And yes it is s HUGE compliment to the A2 that I have settled fir that car after all of the others. But it just seems to do everything welll and is quick enough for me and today's motoring conditions.

Steve B

 

[Birchall]

Someone just posted a picture of that little pickup when I raced a drag prepared car.

The drag car LOST !!!!!!

It took a week or more for the smile to disappear from my face !!!

Warming up the tyres in the "burnout"

The start!!!!

Steve B (still smiling!!)

No pictures of that though!!
I hate having my photo taken,
I only have one photo of me in the house and that is stuck on the fridge
To keep the kids out of it!!!

 

[Birchall]

An probably the one picture that brings back so many memories for me.

They just posted a picture of my race car on the trailer with my tow car

Both run a Rover V8, but the race car has a 4.0 with two sets of nitrous on it.
The tow car has a chromed V8 3.5 (tuned) and a built in TV screen amongst the luxuries and that was in the days where that was almost unique (No flat screens either, this one had a tube!!! I mounted it to a roof console (tastefully I must add)

My TWO pride and joys

Steve B

 

[manhattan$]

I love threads like these! Some great car pics Steve!

The photo on the fridge quote made me lol

 

[Birchall]

And a (low res) copy of the page where "street Machine" featured my Mk3 Cortina" (ignore the one that shows a much younger (but still ugly) scouser with the traditional scouser moustache)

Steve B

 

[manhattan$]

Is that you in the picture Steve? With the 70's tache?

 

[Birchall]

Yes, I just edited the post to comment on that.

Steve B

 

[manhattan$]

Yes, I just edited the post to comment on that.

Steve B

Were you in Brookside?