My Motoring Memories Part 2 (company car years)

My new position as Works Engineer at Peerless Plastics of Tamworth, came with a Company car. With a choice of a 1300 Ford Escort or a 1300 Morris Marina, I chose the Morris. I collected the shiny new White car registration No SDA 429S from Marmion Motors of Tamworth during August 1978.

The benefits of a company car began to set in, No tax or insurance to find, No maintenance or repairs to do, or even pay to have done, and best of all No fuel to pay for. With a fuel account at Marmion in Tamworth, and Kennings, at Walsall Wood, this was motoring at its best. In 1979 the company ventured in Structural Foam Moulding, and a new factory was built. I was promoted to Works Manager of the new factory known as Peerless Foam Mouldings. Higher up the tree meant a better car and I received a 2 litre Ford Cortina Mark 4, estate registration EWD 172T

This will pull a caravan we said, so I fitted a towing bracket,and purchased a second-hand, Eccles Topaz from a family in Pelsall.

  

We joined the Caravan Club, and after a weekend rally, decided to venture to Wales for Spring Bank week. As we were driving through Wales, the car seemed to be labouring, so I pulled into a lay by to investigate. The brakes were all cold but the differential was quite hot. I carried on to the next telephone box, where I phoned the AA. The patrolman checked the car over, and informed me that the car was 100%, and Ford axles did run hot. When I explained further, he laughed and said You’ve just come over Dinys Mawdly, and if you can pull a caravan over there, then there’s nothing wrong with the car.

Having taken to caravaning, and finding water ingress in the Eccles, we decided to purchase a new Monza 1400 from Cannock Caravans.

My Cortina was eventually replaced with a Sierra 1600 Hatchback, registration No B127 DOK.

 Peerless plastics Division was bought by Newman Tonks, and our smaller company was then renamed to Tamworth Plastics. I was made Health & Safety Engineer, later to be changed to Personnel Manager.

We continued to caravan with the Sierra, and later updated the caravan to a Swift Corvette, from Canwell Caravans.

My Sierra was replaced when I had put the required 70,000 miles on the clock. In October 1990 it was replaced with a White Vauxhall 1600 Cavalier, registration H488 MUK. The first rally with the new car was the AGM when I was elected Chairman, we then had comments of, Here’s Lord & Lady MUK.

Six Months later due to the Company’s decline, and policy changes, my job as personnel Manager was made redundant, but I was offered a position of  maintenance engineer, to incorporate safety and training officer. I accepted the offer but had to hand back my company car.

Another part of my new position was to look after all the legal requirements, such as licensing, MOT, servicing and drivers hours, for the company’s 7.5 T0nne Leyland DAF curtain sided lorry. Also I did occasional local deliveries or collections.

To be continued in Part 3