I worked in the Triumph and Jaguar plants in Coventry. Also at Chrysler/Talbot/Peugeot at Ryton
I installed most of the time recording equipment and the master clock systems in those plants when I worked for International Time Recording.
Big Jon’s dad:
I worked in the Triumph and Jaguar plants in Coventry. Also at Chrysler/Talbot/Peugeot at Ryton
I installed most of the time recording equipment and the master clock systems in those plants when I worked for International Time Recording.
But it’s no co incidence that Jaguar was the only manufacturers in the Leyland Cars group that was considered to be worth re privatising when BL and Jaguar/Rover/Triumph was broken up.Probably because it was the only division still making decent cars because no one there listened to all the bs about oriental or German cars (and workers) being better.
IIRC the Jaguar was always a premium brand, considerably higher priced than the Rover and Triumph models, not that I could afford any of them new anyway. The TR7 was so ugly with the huge bumpers to meet US regs.
Jags seemed to rust worse than most other cars of the period tho…
Driving for a bloke in the car trade, I picked up a bit of the parlance. The Dolomite was known as Dollop of zb. The Triumph Snag was just that and the SD1 was an expensive joke. But as normal Carryfast always flies the flag for the lame duckling or the black sheep 
Jaguar were part of a chequered history and survived only because the UK competition was crap, BMW built one of the best British cars in Oxford, the Rover 75, until that went to China, the Jaguar went to India and Longbridge is a St Modwen business park
Wheel Nut:
Driving for a bloke in the car trade, I picked up a bit of the parlance. The Dolomite was known as Dollop of zb. The Triumph Snag was just that and the SD1 was an expensive joke. But as normal Carryfast always flies the flag for the lame duckling or the black sheepJaguar were part of a chequered history and survived only because the UK competition was crap, BMW built one of the best British cars in Oxford, the Rover 75, until that went to China, the Jaguar went to India and Longbridge is a St Modwen business park
Jaguar is still at Castle Bromwich and there is still something at Jaguar in Browns Lane Coventry. Triumph is a Sainsburys and another shopping centre, Peugeot Ryton is a bomb site.
Big Jon’s dad:
IIRC the Jaguar was always a premium brand, considerably higher priced than the Rover and Triumph models, not that I could afford any of them new anyway. The TR7 was so ugly with the huge bumpers to meet US regs.
Jags seemed to rust worse than most other cars of the period tho…
If you’ve never had an E3 BMW then you do’nt know the meaning of rust.I spent more on maintaining the bodywork on my old one,when it was 5 years old,than I did on buying it.There are just 5 left in the UK now whereas there are a lot more Jaguar XJ 's from that time built under British Leyland that have survived.
If we’re talking about the demise of the British car industry it’s mainly the late 1970’s and early 1980’s medium and high performance ranges of oriental,British,and German cars which are the relevant comparisons.In which case it’s British rear wheel drive cars like the Dolomite Sprint and Rover V8 Vitesse etc and (what should have been affordable decent V8 powered Triumph saloons and convertibles like the Stag),and cars like the Jaguar XJS/XJ6/XJ12,versus the opposition from Germany and Japan at the time.But the idea of dumbing down the uk car industry to just turn out mickey mouse oriental cars,that underpaid British workers can afford,in a mickey mouse global economy,is just what has got the British motor industry where it is today in general.Not an overpaid,workshy,militant workforce which idiots like Thatcher wanted everyone to believe.
Jags of the 70’s and 80’s were rust traps and build quality and development was nowhere near the German marques. I used to work on Classic cars mainly Jags and owned a couple of 1980’s Jags and knew people who owned BMW’s and Mercs of similar era’s.
I believe that all of British Leyland was privitised about the same time.
But the Austin Rover side seemed to learch from one crisis to the next until it finally collapsed.
Jag and Land Rover Survived, they were in a niche market, but they had to up thier game.
Carryfast:
and (what should have been affordable decent V8 powered Triumph saloons and convertibles like the Stag),
Is that the same Triumph Stag the used to suffer over heating problems?
Wheel Nut:
Driving for a bloke in the car trade, I picked up a bit of the parlance. The Dolomite was known as Dollop of zb. The Triumph Snag was just that and the SD1 was an expensive joke. But as normal Carryfast always flies the flag for the lame duckling or the black sheepJaguar were part of a chequered history and survived only because the UK competition was crap, BMW built one of the best British cars in Oxford, the Rover 75, until that went to China, the Jaguar went to India and Longbridge is a St Modwen business park
The Rover 75 was actually the real dollop of oriental zb nothing like a rear wheel drive a BMW and compared to the old rear drive P6 it was just an inferior heap.Which is why Rover have gone but BMW have’nt.But (so far) the Indians have had the sense to just let Jaguar keep building decent British designed and built,rear wheel drive,big V8 cars just like Rover did before they went all Japanese 
and I reckon that my old British Leyland TWR 6 Litre V12 XJ with a manual box is better than a Rover 75 thanks.It all depends on who you speak to in the car trade but I reckon that bloke might have been one of the old ex Rover management team.
muckles:
Jags of the 70’s and 80’s were rust traps and build quality and development was nowhere near the German marques. I used to work on Classic cars mainly Jags and owned a couple of 1980’s Jags and knew people who owned BMW’s and Mercs of similar era’s.
So how do you explain the performance,refinement and survival rates of the old E3 versus the XJ. 
muckles:
Carryfast:
and (what should have been affordable decent V8 powered Triumph saloons and convertibles like the Stag),Is that the same Triumph Stag the used to suffer over heating problems?
The Dolomite Sprint did’nt suffer from many overheating problems and that’s the engine which should have been developed into the Triumph V8 not the lash up which the bean counters forced on it’s designers.
Big Jon’s dad:
Wheel Nut:
Driving for a bloke in the car trade, I picked up a bit of the parlance. The Dolomite was known as Dollop of zb. The Triumph Snag was just that and the SD1 was an expensive joke. But as normal Carryfast always flies the flag for the lame duckling or the black sheepJaguar were part of a chequered history and survived only because the UK competition was crap, BMW built one of the best British cars in Oxford, the Rover 75, until that went to China, the Jaguar went to India and Longbridge is a St Modwen business park
Jaguar is still at Castle Bromwich and there is still something at Jaguar in Browns Lane Coventry. Triumph is a Sainsburys and another shopping centre, Peugeot Ryton is a bomb site.
Jaguar is still at Whitley, Halewood, Gaydon, Browns Lane but the company is owned and run by TATA in India
In the 1970’s I had a Wartburg. 3 cylinder 2 stroke with a freewheel. It could accelerate from traffic lights pretty well, but didn’t like getting wet much. Water got in the points too easily.
Funny thing, it had 3 coils and 3 set of points.
I have also owned 4 Ladas, 3 Tatas and about 8 Fiats since then.
Carryfast:
Big Jon’s dad:
I worked in the Triumph and Jaguar plants in Coventry. Also at Chrysler/Talbot/Peugeot at Ryton
I installed most of the time recording equipment and the master clock systems in those plants when I worked for International Time Recording.But it’s no co incidence that Jaguar was the only manufacturers in the Leyland Cars group that was considered to be worth re privatising when BL and Jaguar/Rover/Triumph was broken up.Probably because it was the only division still making decent cars because no one there listened to all the bs about oriental or German cars (and workers) being better.
Is that praise for our blessed Margaret from carryfast? 
Wheel Nut:
Big Jon’s dad:
Wheel Nut:
Driving for a bloke in the car trade, I picked up a bit of the parlance. The Dolomite was known as Dollop of zb. The Triumph Snag was just that and the SD1 was an expensive joke. But as normal Carryfast always flies the flag for the lame duckling or the black sheepJaguar were part of a chequered history and survived only because the UK competition was crap, BMW built one of the best British cars in Oxford, the Rover 75, until that went to China, the Jaguar went to India and Longbridge is a St Modwen business park
Jaguar is still at Castle Bromwich and there is still something at Jaguar in Browns Lane Coventry. Triumph is a Sainsburys and another shopping centre, Peugeot Ryton is a bomb site.
Jaguar is still at Whitley, Halewood, Gaydon, Browns Lane but the company is owned and run by TATA in India
But a British Leyland built V12 E Type is worth as much as,or more than,a brand new XKR or similar BMW and that’s before you’ve bothered to put a bigger 6.0-7.0 Litre engine in it. 
Carryfast:
Wheel Nut:
Big Jon’s dad:
Wheel Nut:
Driving for a bloke in the car trade, I picked up a bit of the parlance. The Dolomite was known as Dollop of zb. The Triumph Snag was just that and the SD1 was an expensive joke. But as normal Carryfast always flies the flag for the lame duckling or the black sheepJaguar were part of a chequered history and survived only because the UK competition was crap, BMW built one of the best British cars in Oxford, the Rover 75, until that went to China, the Jaguar went to India and Longbridge is a St Modwen business park
Jaguar is still at Castle Bromwich and there is still something at Jaguar in Browns Lane Coventry. Triumph is a Sainsburys and another shopping centre, Peugeot Ryton is a bomb site.
Jaguar is still at Whitley, Halewood, Gaydon, Browns Lane but the company is owned and run by TATA in India
But a British Leyland built V12 E Type is worth as much as,or more than,a brand new XKR or similar BMW and that’s before you’ve bothered to put a bigger 6.0-7.0 Litre engine in it.
Yeah because they are as rare as rocking horse dung because most of them are just iron oxide now.
Wheel Nut:
Carryfast:
Big Jon’s dad:
I worked in the Triumph and Jaguar plants in Coventry. Also at Chrysler/Talbot/Peugeot at Ryton
I installed most of the time recording equipment and the master clock systems in those plants when I worked for International Time Recording.But it’s no co incidence that Jaguar was the only manufacturers in the Leyland Cars group that was considered to be worth re privatising when BL and Jaguar/Rover/Triumph was broken up.Probably because it was the only division still making decent cars because no one there listened to all the bs about oriental or German cars (and workers) being better.
Is that praise for our blessed Margaret from carryfast?
No just pointing out that according to her those same workers went overnight from being so called militant Leyland employees,turning out crap products,to good engineers turning out the best cars made in Europe,although they were exactly the same cars made by the same workers.It’s just that when it came to investing it’s own money the City knew the difference between bs and the truth.
■■■■… beaten to that one by Jons Dad…
The Rover was a nice car, but still didnt have the refinements fitted by forign cars. Maybe, if the workers hadnt spent as much time walking out over stupid things, and had valued the industry they were in, they would have been able to come up with good cars into the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. instead of being on the dole.
Big Jon’s dad:
Carryfast:
Wheel Nut:
Big Jon’s dad:
Wheel Nut:
Driving for a bloke in the car trade, I picked up a bit of the parlance. The Dolomite was known as Dollop of zb. The Triumph Snag was just that and the SD1 was an expensive joke. But as normal Carryfast always flies the flag for the lame duckling or the black sheepJaguar were part of a chequered history and survived only because the UK competition was crap, BMW built one of the best British cars in Oxford, the Rover 75, until that went to China, the Jaguar went to India and Longbridge is a St Modwen business park
Jaguar is still at Castle Bromwich and there is still something at Jaguar in Browns Lane Coventry. Triumph is a Sainsburys and another shopping centre, Peugeot Ryton is a bomb site.
Jaguar is still at Whitley, Halewood, Gaydon, Browns Lane but the company is owned and run by TATA in India
But a British Leyland built V12 E Type is worth as much as,or more than,a brand new XKR or similar BMW and that’s before you’ve bothered to put a bigger 6.0-7.0 Litre engine in it.
Yeah because they are as rare as rocking horse dung because most of them are just iron oxide now.
But not as many are iron oxide as those BMW’s and Datsuns from the same era and who would want to pay as much for a BMW new or old as they’d pay for a decent Jag.
Big Jon’s dad:
Carryfast:
Wheel Nut:
Big Jon’s dad:
Wheel Nut:
Driving for a bloke in the car trade, I picked up a bit of the parlance. The Dolomite was known as Dollop of zb. The Triumph Snag was just that and the SD1 was an expensive joke. But as normal Carryfast always flies the flag for the lame duckling or the black sheepJaguar were part of a chequered history and survived only because the UK competition was crap, BMW built one of the best British cars in Oxford, the Rover 75, until that went to China, the Jaguar went to India and Longbridge is a St Modwen business park
Jaguar is still at Castle Bromwich and there is still something at Jaguar in Browns Lane Coventry. Triumph is a Sainsburys and another shopping centre, Peugeot Ryton is a bomb site.
Jaguar is still at Whitley, Halewood, Gaydon, Browns Lane but the company is owned and run by TATA in India
But a British Leyland built V12 E Type is worth as much as,or more than,a brand new XKR or similar BMW and that’s before you’ve bothered to put a bigger 6.0-7.0 Litre engine in it.
Yeah because they are as rare as rocking horse dung because most of them are just iron oxide now.
Unfortunately the Rover 75 never reached its full potential before the crooks had busted Rover. Amongst the rare classics will be the Ford Mustang engined V8 Rover 75.
I have never driven a TWR XJ12 to my knowledge but enjoyed my time in an MG XT and my own BMW oil burning Rover 75
Unions, where were we? oh yes, ruining profitable companies 