Sam Grange Bailey: My Dad's Car Dealership. Rod Stewart's Miura, and Mum driving a Rolls through the garage door into a Gullwing Mercedes! S3E4

[00:00:00] Welcome to My Dads Car Enjoy! Welcome to My Dads Car, a podcast discussing our personal relationship with all the modes of your style. And you know what? It doesn't even have to be about your Dads car. You can be your

[00:00:22] Mum's, your Grange, your parents, gardens or even a neighbours if it made an impression. Let's talk about it. Hi Sam! Hi, how are you doing? Yeah, we're not too bad. Sorry to keep you. No, no, not all. I've literally lost my

[00:00:40] minute as usual. So I've only just come on. Sorry about that. Hi Sam, how are you? Hi, very well. Thanks how are you? Yeah, good. Thanks. Good. Good. So yeah, we normally do a quick for the benefit of the tape. I think I reached out to you

[00:00:55] Saturday night through Instagram. I saw your profile or your commented on something and we're always kind of looking for interesting accounts and people sort of in our sphere. Yeah. I was like, are this could be an interesting story? So I sort of reached out to you

[00:01:08] and yeah, kind of transpires. Oh, you can probably tell the story better. You run a business, which will start by your file, I believe? Yeah, yeah. I put a last back Friday post on because I've

[00:01:18] got bags and bags of photos going back to the 60s and 70s of cars so I tried to do something with them. Okay. And yeah, you sort of commented on and we got chatting based on that really. Yeah.

[00:01:28] But yeah, I took over the family business about five years ago from my dad. But obviously, you know, he's been a cordialist since a long time before I was around, which is quite a long time.

[00:01:40] And for people listening, where can they find you? Sam, what's the business? Let's give it a plug. The business is southerncars.co.uk or acts of encourage UK on social media.

[00:01:49] And that's because my dad in the 80s 90s had a show really Manchester in the southern part of Manchester. Okay. Well, a lot of the businesses are calls and whatever. So although we're in Manchester or

[00:01:59] Russia, we are calls of encourage. But yeah, give me a follow. We'll go and have a look on the website. And so I'm interested in stuff on there hopefully for you. Yeah, open your wallets. Well, yeah, I mean, I was just going to skip around that.

[00:02:13] Let's jump in. So yeah, we start with the same question. Really, what's your earliest motoring I grew up with them. I don't have a car or particular memory. They were just

[00:02:24] part of our lives, basically. You know, for as long as I can remember, we couldn't all be out the house at the same time in case the foam runk has been added. There's always a correlated

[00:02:33] story. I came from from hospital in a legonder three litre. What sort of era is that? 30s, 40s? And I don't know that would've been probably 50s. Okay. But 40s, 50s. I think

[00:02:44] pretty sure. So I was born from memory. Yeah, beautiful cars. And it sounds really flash. But the reality was a typical sort of motor trade story that my mum was sort of sat in a passenger seat

[00:02:54] with me as a newborn with no seat belts on. The passenger seat not actually bolted into the car. So every time my dad breaks, she'd sort of have one hand on the dash and one hand holding me.

[00:03:06] She'd back a little bit. Yeah. But yeah, we just, it will have picked a up in it because it was sold or it just picked sort of in the body shop, you know, and they

[00:03:13] haven't bolted the seat. And there will be no fun for Sarah Modi. It just will have literally bed. But he was running it for some reason at the time and he didn't need to pick it from hospital.

[00:03:22] But yeah, the cars were completely sort of forgotten. They were just there. They were part of, you know, it's a family business. And everybody looked ten and, you know, I got pictures of,

[00:03:32] like a miora and a two, seven, five GTB and with the washing line in the background and my remember the bikes in the driveway. We'd have a punts of coming to see it. So my mum will have

[00:03:41] been teacasting it all day. But so yeah, we were sort of pitch and then the good stuff was always at home. So it was always a bit of a funny box and forth. You know, the phone went, somebody wanted

[00:03:51] to see a cars. My dad and my mum said, you know, you need to get it ready and she'd be like rolling this leaf. You know, a lot of people get the car dealers wives. So we had a lot to be with

[00:04:00] what went on in the sort of 60s, 70s, 80s as well. But yeah, my dad had only had one car or my life that wasn't for sale. So I suppose that that's the one for me that I had been most memories with,

[00:04:11] just because it was the one that was there for the longest and that was a gorgeous, cloud-free, continental, jobhead, Chinese eye and that was what we went. We went to France in

[00:04:22] every year. We went for some delunch in it and that was kind of the one that was part of the family, I think, it's the best way to describe it. And so we'd rough down to the self-defense area with

[00:04:31] me and my brother in the back, we'd obviously no seat belts or anything like that and really call memories about that. We came back once and also needed to pack in so the guys at the ferry were brilliant,

[00:04:40] they let us get on last so we were off first and we were allowed to leave it running good. There's always a story, you know, it's sat like a state sound really flat but there's always

[00:04:48] there's always a story behind it. And we actually emigrated when I think it was nine and that was why we sold it and I sort of cheerfully wave the family and friends off and broke my heart when that

[00:04:59] sold and when driving up the path that the you know these, the cars really were sort of big sort of part of our childhood or a list pose. It's unusual for car days to not sort of allow

[00:05:09] anything to be sold. Is there some sort of saying like everything's for sale or everything's for sale? Nothing's not for sale. Yeah. How's three was the only one that I mean, doing your own choice

[00:05:17] someone that offered him death money but it was never, yeah, yeah. Never advertised that was kind of his world-creding journey and he did have another one later on sort of in the 80s but I

[00:05:25] don't think there was never the sentimental attachment to that one that was to the one that we had in the 70s. And he always from the 80s onwards he tended to to laugh around in things like

[00:05:35] comargs but they were always advertised they were always for sale because he was using as his own they were always sort of slightly transient and that they were always advertised you know someone came

[00:05:43] along and you know everything was for sale but I mean he was a dealer so it cars bikes boats, paintings, jewelry, watches and just what more to the other you know we'd end up guessing you know

[00:05:55] house in exchange for car and so it was a proper dealing time especially I think you know the motor traders sort of particularly colorful back in those days as well but yeah we just took a

[00:06:04] background to do it was just what went on. Proper Arthur daily by a sound of it. Well no I know I don't like the offer day. Not in terms of being dodgy but in terms of fingers in lots of pies.

[00:06:15] Well no just in times of you know that's how you went to living and not so for spill do where you know if you get an offer of something in work there's going to be profit and you won't say no to it.

[00:06:23] Yeah of course. All about sort of yeah making a living at the end of a day. So you've taken over the business you kind of hinted when we were chatting before your dad advised you against it's didn't he? Oh yeah we got really long on running

[00:06:35] family jokes so when I left school at 16s the wall excised you know washing the bloody things since I was five I'm already to join the business and my dad said no which gets quality years

[00:06:45] do business so these do some useful accounting business so be something like that that's going to give you a bit more of a grounding so I went off to college to use the business studies

[00:06:53] and once we came back again dinner right I'm here now ready to go full time and he told me there's no game for a bird. Oh initially he said don't really need a set of every at the moment

[00:07:02] it's just so well that's handy because it won't be one but um yes the biggest sort of strat lemme is it's no game for a bird so I actually went to working sports trade for

[00:07:11] 11 to 12 years which was arguably not an easy place for young girl in the ages and 90s either but I went back to it for my dad in 2004 I mean I was always doing sort of the

[00:07:20] afternoon and and and abs and running around and cleaning them and that's the same but 2004 I taught him into a website and email and he said well I really can't do any of that without you

[00:07:31] so we did a deal and I went and working for in 2004 and then I took over in 2018 on my own. Nice. So you took the business into the digital age then I suppose from

[00:07:44] I love I did I mean it was very difficult when somebody had once you photos of a car and my dad was still going off to super snaps and then asking me to go to post stuff and post them and

[00:07:54] that's what you do. I can have this done in seconds dad you know so yeah I mean even right until when we lost him he couldn't read a text message I had to go check his phone

[00:08:02] sort three times a week for any text that were coming in and it's just it was yeah it was quite old school and it came to take on the date but but the internet we started a website 2000 for

[00:08:11] and that kind of really drove the business forward for us so we sold a show room just because it wasn't viable anymore to go and open up every morning and sit there all day and deal with

[00:08:21] messers and people couldn't even take the photo and that sort of thing when you know really the majority of the business was based on appointments that would be made via email from electronic advert sauce in the website so yeah after 2004 really was the start of modernising the business

[00:08:36] and sort of how we operate now and I think the days of and these were quite you know these were happy days I think in my possibly roasted memory of where you were car shopping you would get

[00:08:45] in the car and you drive around all the pictures and there's a quite camaraderie as well especially sort of in the 70s and 80s is where if you didn't have something on your pitch but you had a

[00:08:53] punter you'd get on the phone and you'd send them down to somebody and you'd have a drink out of it they bought a car and that was kind of how you looked for cars back in those days isn't it?

[00:09:03] Whereas now you do shop and you do you shortlist online and by the time you go and see a car you've got pretty narrowed shortlist and you know I don't do any viewings until I've done video

[00:09:13] viewings first it just saves wasting anybody's time and by the time they come out to see it and drive it you know they they know exactly what they're coming to say so I find it more efficient

[00:09:22] and I just sometimes I'm a service I think it puts people's mind with it rest as well. Was your dad's business on what's now yours? Was it always focused on classic cars or was it just

[00:09:31] they were the cars of the time and now it's changed to be classics? No it was a bit of both to be honest with you and so I can go back to sort of my early childhood memories in the 70s we did do a lot

[00:09:42] of 50s and 60s cars so I guess now it would be like me dealing what you probably class as modern classics and my dad's always loved pre-war stuff 30s and 40s especially

[00:09:52] American so we always had bread and butter cars the pitch and then we'd have all the sort of special stuff my dad was always taking upon really quirky things as well so he would often

[00:10:02] buy things that nobody else would buy. Okay and you know he did really well and he had a reputation for that but he also did and the 60s he was doing American plus stuff in Manchester so

[00:10:13] things like covats and caddies driving rounds Manchester in the 60s and 70s was quite much to be honest and my mum and dad's first date was in the covats C1 you know they were halfway

[00:10:26] to get a drink or whatever and the windscreen might as part of them he said I'm really sorry I'm going to have to do a quick dive I need to talk to the picture so I'm going to talk to

[00:10:32] for a fast and vagor and finish the date in a fast vagor so he was always weird and wonderful stuff but I suppose I mean you look back now and you know in the mid and late 70s yeah we always

[00:10:43] probably were pretty modern cars really where is now we look at them as being credible iconic classic cars a lot of the stuff he was doing then probably was maybe 10 or 20 years old and modern

[00:10:54] classics and 20-30 years old but he did always have you know the sort of 40s 50s role as in the American stuff as well so really kind of broad church in terms of what I grew up with

[00:11:05] and my favorite car's manager in the room is the slightly left field stuff any celebrity customers but yeah or kind of vehicles which he made it mean on that I don't know how much he made on them

[00:11:16] I was cleaning them I was too busy in the box but it had Rod Stewart's Miora at one point oh wow he did quite a lot with Sir Arthur McAlpine who owned the construction firm okay Oliver Reed

[00:11:28] he bought and sold with quite a few times and he just used to say come around and they're on the back and see what he won't make me an offer apparently really easy to deal with but yeah yeah

[00:11:38] no he's had a few celebrity cars in and out over the years I think we've had evil canyvals ex-galiber okay so we lived in the States as well for six years so okay we did quite lots of stuff

[00:11:50] are there any I was gonna say Sam are there any cars that have come through the business that have sort of reminded you of your folks and you sort of thought oh I want to hold onto

[00:11:57] that one of myself well I have got I've got a 95 call that that was my dad's but I've still got that okay I mean anything sort of 50s 50s 60s American stuff is always very much my dad and

[00:12:10] any sort of pre shadow role so sort from cloud three backwards always you might make very much of my dad it's just anything weird and wonderful well and I look at everything always with

[00:12:22] other people you know but yeah we probably for the past 10 or 15 years we've had some sort of quite heated debates about moving the business more into the 70s and 80s stuff the sub 30

[00:12:33] ground market both a bit more buoyant and a bit more much because my dad was semi retired so three or four because of the year he was happy and obviously now I've kind of got my own way

[00:12:43] and I'm sort of much more 70s and 80s and more commercial cars as I've been a bit of a boom sort of post-COVID because obviously there's a lot of TV programs now isn't there that's

[00:12:52] sort of around Covid was great for business and I'm doing more business than ever in London at the moment because my big six liter early 70s young times are you less compliant?

[00:13:03] Leave it or not yeah and I sold a six and a half liter call that earlier this year to a chop in London who said the heat he objected to be in trouble what he couldn't drive he was

[00:13:13] going to have it as he's one an only car and sent it down in a Covid transporter and he was in his long-world base van with a Covid transporter behind him and the woman on the bike

[00:13:25] pulled up next to some traffic lights hurling abuse off him about how he was killing the planet oh so when did down brood leads up send and said you should see what I've got in that

[00:13:34] backlog. The thing I'm experiencing with the EV movement is it's almost creating a backlash and this initial scam from Korea of electric cars are going to kill classic cars I completely disagree

[00:13:47] with I think they're having a huge renaissance because of it and I think that people are discovering the joys of driving a 41 year old Austin Spray or MG or affordable five grand plastics that

[00:13:57] they can whiz around, tax exempt, MOT exempt although we always haven't done any way for safety and you less compliant you know I think the contrary I think classic cars are having a moment

[00:14:07] because of it. Yeah yeah I think you're probably right I live in the South East Sam. I'm not saying I say loaves and loaves but I've definitely seen more sort of you know huge American pickups

[00:14:16] of these gas gusts living in engines and stuff so I think there are people out there that like you say I just sort of thinking if I can't do that then I'll go for circle and I think as well a lot of

[00:14:24] people view it as a bit of a two-fingered salute if they've got one in the garage in the second are and then you go to London they'll just take that now. Yeah I think I don't know it's a very

[00:14:33] difficult I think Covid brought a lot of the car community together at a time when you could go to a pub or a restaurant or cinema or some of the more traditional social environments

[00:14:43] the fact you could also sort of meet up on the roundabout go for drive out for the day without sort of flancing any rules it was for a lot of people it was it was that only sort of social

[00:14:54] interaction and you know a lot of car meets and cars and coffee and car clubs that were popular before anyway they were a bit of a lifeline I think for a lot of people and I think just

[00:15:03] having this sort of classic car community online in terms of social media and forums and that sort of thing you know for a lot of people where you couldn't leave the house during Covid it was

[00:15:13] you know that sense of community was really important to them and I think coming out of Covid I think if anything the whole kind of scene has become a lot more a lot more important to people

[00:15:24] I run a Porsche Club which I started during Covid actually but there you go you say Casey and Pauline's our first event was I think you could meet six people or something can meet up outside

[00:15:34] and basically we went to a public car park where you had to buy a ticket to be there and the rule was don't hug anyone and as long as you'd bought a ticket you'd paid to be there

[00:15:42] you've got a contract with that car park just so happened that there was 50 cars there and then the next time 75 cars to adapt and then yeah and it we grew up for 16 convoy

[00:15:52] and if you want up into polo but to chat your levels and that your engines cooldown the same place well yeah coincidence don't go within a certain distance of each other but for lots of people I

[00:16:01] say it was a bit of a lifeline really I think and I don't think it's worn off since we've come out I think people are quite used to it and whilst I buy and sell them I am an enthusiast as well

[00:16:11] so I understand the best bit is a bit in the middle it's the ownership and you have to understand when you're buying selling cars particularly selling cars to people the importance of ownership

[00:16:19] it's got to be right for them and what they want to do with it and you've got to advise people well on keeping half an hour and resale value as well at the end of the day you know we can all

[00:16:28] have a couple of quick back out the other end it keeps people interested my big concern has been the next generation hmm yeah I think that's a big thing we were chatting with chap called

[00:16:38] Ed and he was talking about kind of how kids are driving around in like metros or whatever but actually that is a really considered choice for them yeah it's accessible it might be kind of yeah

[00:16:47] 1500 quid two grand or whatever but that's not just like grand and granddad and now passing down like 15-year-old cars on the if they've hopped their clogs or I've given up driving they're giving

[00:16:57] them a forward focus not a kind of 1980s metro or fiesta no I mean that's stuff with the cars that we all kind of cut off teeth on is that you ended up more food necessity spanner in it yourself

[00:17:10] and you could do and I think that a lot of the first cars now there's some ridiculous statistic if everyone that could pull over safely could change the wheel put the spare on or put a

[00:17:23] Thai world in rather than phoning the AA and waiting for five hours for that truck to I know they're all going electric now as well but they haven't been for a long time that that kind of our generation

[00:17:32] you run out of petrol you walk to the petrol station you had the flat Thai you got out and changed it it's a different generation now the kind of keeping you car running yourself isn't a thing

[00:17:42] getting more I mean I know that if we were setting off on a journey you check your levels no you just set any more these longs and they're like some of the dash all as well

[00:17:52] my dad used to carry a bodging kit in the boot yeah yeah yeah yeah it just have spanners adjustable and look I do it for big journeys but I am complacent for kind of other stuff

[00:18:01] that you think actually yeah I've got I've got a mobile phone I've got the AA and worst case I think he said on the last podcast I'm the modern cars and maybe modern people to certain

[00:18:13] extent it's a bit like a train compared to a car you just you just get in the modern car you just get she where you want to be similar to a train whereas you know the old stuff you

[00:18:22] do have to think about it and I'm not sure the next generation will have the same relationship with the first cars and second cars and third cars that people who we now obviously plus or

[00:18:32] sales is petrol headstay because even getting out in the morning was a well at the time it was a fast now you look back and it was almost like how to go out start the engine full choke

[00:18:43] go back in get your roosters out get back tape on of the clothes pegs off the choke from the 10 minutes and there was almost like ceremony skittens the drive in the morning where

[00:18:54] I think that kind of understanding how cars work and having to work with them is kind of gone a little bit now and you're a lot younger than me but the days if you know like flooding your engine

[00:19:06] or over choking it or under choking it or giving you starter mode to a crock I'd admit it that drove out for years with a plank I would in a mallet because it's just a bit easy

[00:19:15] perhaps starter mode so I'm gonna stop back to all the then to replace the starter mode so I just I think don't hear many young people with motoring stories about their cars and problems and incidents and it's all feeling a little bit sterile for me these days

[00:19:30] and I don't know whether I'm looking back with roast instant specs or whether they're just that kind of relationship with cars is dying off a little bit this podcast will be pretty boring

[00:19:39] if we had to go grow up we'd have a sort of general rule of thumb down maybe we can't have a guess that's sort of why younger than us because there's just nothing to talk about like

[00:19:49] well I've got a 19 year old son and he's just spent he's got his 18th birthday money saved at like mad and he's just put on 1933 obviously in seven the sked it back on the road. Oh amazing he's not

[00:19:59] pretty driving session and he's gonna end up with a Twitter eye get or something to get to college and back but that's what he's chose to do and I think the pre-war stuff's a particular worry

[00:20:08] because it's Pijoy and the sort of the drama and the theatre and the ceremony of the starting procedure makes me smile I don't think people necessarily get that anymore and it's all kind of just

[00:20:18] jumping and go I don't know how we make this stuff cool for an acceleration. Yeah I kind of felt sort of interested from 50s onwards really that the old old stuff will like it left kind of

[00:20:28] lived down the road from good but I've been to kind of revival members meeting etc and I've got more into people like racing almost like the open, pram type things which is just sort of flying

[00:20:39] goggles and scarf's in the wind and that's that's completely ridiculous but yeah I don't know whether I'd want one I don't know how I would use that and we go local, short journeys, go out for lunch,

[00:20:49] local car meets that sort of thing and it's just charming and it makes me smile but I know I'm in the minority even the prices of them have dropped off you know there was there was a time where

[00:20:58] T.R.3s for example were and they are wonderful cars drive like genuinely really really nice drives and they were quite desirable, quite an expensive car and you can give a T.R.6 away now you

[00:21:13] can't give a T.R.3 away and a T.R.6 is gone through the road so I just think we kind of have this natural progression of what people remember, what people enjoy and where they want to put their hobby

[00:21:23] money I mean you know for most of it it's a hobby isn't it I think? It's that nostalgia thing yeah I was going to say I think it's sort of moved through the ages isn't it? Yeah like naturally

[00:21:32] I think we said before obviously now the fast forward movement is a massive thing and the prices on those are just insane because you know a lot of the dads had those cars back in the day

[00:21:42] 100% nostalgia driven that want you know my favorite car's when I was younger the cars I'd have now most people have never even heard of because that's what I grew up with when I think that

[00:21:52] that's where the fast forward movement sort of comes from and do they want to keep some on the road and all for it I've got pleasure to have our GT-I had moment 1.9. Oh cool. And there's

[00:22:01] some smiling from the minute I jump in it to the minute I get out of it but we've probably only got under the 2030 years of people that will remember them and want one yeah and then that their

[00:22:09] moment will have gone. Is that your Sam or is that on the fork or? Yeah. It's not just had the calipers service I've got all traditional Monday coming to sort out a combat at 90s and mobilise

[00:22:21] at 80s 90s and mobilise at all they do is make sure anyone else off it drive it off except so that's coming out and then I think I might send that one to auction. What color is it?

[00:22:32] Black. Oh nice. Yeah. Now I actually prefer to drive I draw the throw 1.6 round but the 1.9 is a weather body was it the main. I've never driven one I remember in neighbor growing up

[00:22:43] they had teenage boys when I was probably 10 or something like that and they went through a succession of hot hatches they had one Astrid GTEs 2.05 GTIs XSRIs XSIIs etc so yeah they were always zooming up and down

[00:22:57] the road. Yeah I mean I just think the main thing for me is that they're there to be enjoyed even the six figure stuff you know what's the point if you're not going to drive them

[00:23:07] for me because I grew up in a house where they were just part of life and they did get driven and I got dropped off to school in some incredible 70s super cars I just you know we just got

[00:23:18] in the room we took them and that's kind of I drive mine now I you know kids at from school and go to sales bris in them and all that sort of stuff and they don't like to be sat you

[00:23:27] know they need to be driven so nice afternoon and something's not been out for a few weeks I'll jump and it's going do the school run and going get 20 miles under its belt and

[00:23:36] a speed to keep the running is keep the running on us. I suppose that's a good thing with the year list we'll see a bit of a resurgence potentially and people you know using these

[00:23:44] are would a cars a bit more frequently. Yeah I think I mean I think the thing is that whenever anybody is interested in a car the first question is always happy had on before

[00:23:53] if you're driven one before because you know if you don't love driving them it's not the car for you and I would never took somebody up with a car knowing that they were going to hate

[00:24:00] it. If you go into spend money on a hobby car or a second car it's got to put a massive smile on your face and yes there's other things to consider like keep your half an eye on on resale value

[00:24:10] you know investing wisely low mileage could file to sort of things that will always make it the desirable one when you can sell it on again. But you know I think essentially we spend a lot of

[00:24:18] time cutting to people about what you want to do with it, why do you want to go with it? You can do local meets, do you want to do it on journeys, you go across your planet and that's got

[00:24:26] a lot to do with making sure you stare people into the right car really and there are people that will always come back when they're ready for change and any car I've sold out how

[00:24:34] hopefully buy back so it's always a case when you come to the point where you want to move it on would you give me a call first? Yeah is it something that your son wants to gain to?

[00:24:43] They kind of keep that going or are other members of the family also still involved? No I've got two teenage girls who I thoroughly embarrass. So no my son he's just in two years

[00:24:54] at college mechanical and he's on an internship now at the college in the workshop but no James is James is autistic so he's really fascinated by the engineering side this is why I can't

[00:25:04] wait to get cracking with this Austin 7 because it's not run for we don't how long and we're going with stuff to new to these coming with me because he's off college on Friday he can't

[00:25:11] wait to pull the spark plugs out and stock it and it leads off and you know in simple terms it's just their fuel in a spark. So he's fascinated on that side of it I don't think he'll deal

[00:25:21] but don't think he'll want to buy and sell them but it's in his blood you know I mean Hamlin 19 year old lads won to Austin 7 I mean none of us are normal all the way but he's definitely

[00:25:31] third generation without it. To be go looking for it or is it one you had in and he was a quite no I told one a few weeks ago but that was a really rare fabric body car and that was stock

[00:25:43] and that was kind of too valuable to not move on in terms of its rareity so that's gone to a homin island now I think it was really cross with me if it's selling it so I saw look out for

[00:25:54] one but we'll look out for a project one you've got you got your 18th birthday money and I can get one sorted for that and I brought it up to an option. Oh that's going to well Sam do you know how you

[00:26:02] father actually got involved in the first place? Yeah I do yeah my dad was a really cool full character when I got expelled at 14 from school he's dyslexic and the official reason for his

[00:26:13] exposure was his stupidity can you believe it so he won't work in a hotel in Wales, Lied by his age chefing and he entered in the merchant navy as a chef. Okay came out the merchant navy

[00:26:24] Annie brought himself a chip shop in Michael's field and the carpets cottage garage in Mac so my uncle Harry Johnson Johnson's with big card in the family as well in Manchester had a

[00:26:34] pitch in chieidle so dad had a few kind of a row so are there anyway fast forward a few years and he actually bought the big pitch in chieidle off Michael Harry. He wasn't really mine call you grew up

[00:26:46] lots of uncles who aren't anybody's brother so we ended it with that pitch in chieidle you know I could say he's a real dealing man and even now his friends he's friends before I was born

[00:26:58] especially because he was poorly briefly and we lost him and they helped me look after him and they looked after me when I decided to trade on so it's a real kind of tiny community.

[00:27:07] That's nice that you had that support that wasn't it in the aftermath of taking over and stuff. Yeah yeah my friends we're really sort of supportive over while I was making the decision whether

[00:27:17] I traded on without him or those that shop but yeah and there is this kind of I think it was conception of the most trade you know Swiss Tony and afterdaling all that kind of thing and

[00:27:26] the reality is most just current he's asked that I look you know to make a bit of a living out of it. Absolutely yeah do you recall we went up to Bangas and Cash live what six months ago or something

[00:27:37] like that we were chatting to it was Colin wasn't it who was on stage talking Colin Denson yeah he had like it's a friends with funny names have you also got oh yeah yeah I'm not sure

[00:27:51] I think Colin was in the same boat it was in the end it's something names that rolling off his tongue we sort of thinking probably not anymore. Yeah yeah I'm trying to get no

[00:28:03] everybody had an am it was a really colorful, colorful place to grow up for me Manchester managed trade in the 70s and 80s. I love the fact you talk so fondly about it almost in the way that they kind of

[00:28:16] talk back about Liverpool when the Beatles are coming out and I guess Manchester's stone roses are waces or has he under or whatever. Yeah I wouldn't I wouldn't just want to be in your

[00:28:25] for anything I loved being the age I am and the age I grew up in but I mean I was I was a real daddy's girl anyway so even going back to when I was like four and five my dad always take me to

[00:28:35] the pitch on a Saturday with him but brother was sitting in the bait with my mum one Christmas my brother got a most like a little eat-held jet and I got a rockin horse and my books he did with swaps

[00:28:47] he was really trying to make my brother the next car the other but it just wasn't out my brother is a big car not that big to be bad okay like I say always have a book in

[00:28:56] sponge we saw stuff it was a caravan and it was a static caravan and a little brick office and it was always dad's friends in a fuck of cigar smoke and you know really hard working

[00:29:07] folks but a bit of the community spirit a lot of them obviously were around for a long time you know when you moved to my life and and thankfully someone was still out yeah it was

[00:29:16] it was a great time we used to take into the options and kids weren't allowed on the trade on the options back in those days he'd be taking me because he took me everywhere and I

[00:29:24] had sitting in office for the secretary's we'd like a sweet swalli was on the floor and I need come and pick me up afterwards so it was um yeah I mean I've run a cigarette pin at a really

[00:29:31] did what age were you driving did he teach you to drive he under as well well yeah I was thinking about this about things you might ask me and my first memory of driving is that cloud three

[00:29:41] continental sat on my dad's knee and yeah he's sitting his knee instead also but yeah I mean the rollers were dead easy one but yeah no I don't drive quite young because we moved to

[00:29:52] the station I was nine okay so sort of 14 when you got your provisional so actually learn how to drive in a in a lifetime drive in a trans-am and you know I think one thing about being a dealer

[00:30:03] and especially because I do American stuff as well is you just get used to sort of jumping in anything even like the pre-war stuff you enjoy driving all sorts of different things

[00:30:13] was he still trading over here when you were in the state so was that kind of he moved the business there and then well we were always importing an exporter with a state anyway but

[00:30:22] dad was always boat dealer here but mostly over there so we spent a lot of time in the states before hand and to be honest we had towards the end of the 70s things like BAT rules for traders and

[00:30:33] super tax were just crippling a lot of people and there's quite a few people from the most trade that went to live what we went to live in for Lordin and South Florida and we were three

[00:30:43] rows down from poor Philips and his family who was another bunch of the most traded so I went to school in Florida with Gary Phillips who we moved within a month of each other and you

[00:30:52] know they were quite a few people that did that just because he got to keep more of what you weren't and my dad liked son it was a nice away at life and there was no language barrier

[00:31:02] it was an easy choice really and then we came back here in the medatus but he was always back so forward he's always kept his hand in if he had a dream car I guess that might be the role

[00:31:09] it was it or was there one which would he kind of aspired to? If you wanted one you bought one I think that's the lovely thing about being in the trade but the the roles the clouds three

[00:31:19] are you into that for a long time and a one Christmas Eve my mum last minute dot comics usual Christmas Eve dropping on the present software because there's a massive thing what hit Colin change guestick into what she thought was reverse put foot down and went

[00:31:34] forwards straight to the garage door with a muck growing on the other side and he didn't speak to at least that oh my god I know the the muck was fine the roles was a mess but it was

[00:31:45] more pissed off about the garage door because the garage door was more than the recording anything back now and you think God you know driving the cloud through into a garage door with

[00:31:55] going on the other side but at the time it's just how are the values on those two vehicles now the go wings is obviously astronomical I imagine yeah yeah um a cloud three

[00:32:05] bit more than a garage door not six figures not not as men as a gallwing okay yeah considerably more than the steel garage door but yeah no I mean it's my favourite car from

[00:32:17] when I was young other than the one we kept is I got real think about AC428s nobody's I've heard of them so don't worry if you've not they made handful of them and they were basically

[00:32:27] AC wanted to make a luxury co-brake a GC basically so they made the full show because big I'm just seven litre V8 American engine in it but it's in full body so it's just a really

[00:32:39] pretty Italian car with a massive great big American V8 in it and over the years there were two of them that we had we had them both when we lived over here when I was little and that's the

[00:32:49] first car I came home and I just completely fell in love with it we had a red one on a black one and obviously just sold them both and when we were in the States a few years later

[00:32:59] it came a privatized over there one of them was in the States so we bought it back okay and had it for a little bit and sold it again and then he came back here and it was

[00:33:09] advertised in the States so we bought it and I remember going to Liverpool dox to pick it up and then the other one came up a several few years ago and we had that one back as well so

[00:33:17] I think they even made about 29 convertibles and we've had two of them twice she's no yo like having pigeons and nobody else will buy them or the one in the seven series that's why my dad would take a glance from them because they was just the stuff you

[00:33:31] take for granted that was just part of everyday life now dealing in 10 grund 205 GCIs it just seems crazy but I suppose back in those days that's what that's what these cars were if you got a phone call tomorrow with someone saying I've got six of something

[00:33:44] what would you want it to be like I guess realistically what what are the people phoning you are asking for and of like I've got six GT40s and I want a pound each for the

[00:33:54] black that would be a lovely phone call but but and then I'd wake up but what what you kind of getting asked for is it the 2.5 GTIs that kind of the the hot ticket?

[00:34:06] yeah I think I'm not in terms of level of value but in terms of desirableity I think things like Mark 2 Golfs 205 GTIs were in new fives that kind of thing we lost so many cool cars for

[00:34:17] the structure scheme so many modern classics and yeah I feel a bit sick and I thought it might be happening again to be honest with you and I bid on the car at an auction two weeks ago

[00:34:28] and it's a fear X1 9 oh wow and the bloke out to swap it on the scrapbook scheme and the bloke at the garage said let me give you a number of mate and mine it's got a classic

[00:34:39] corruption house and it's harmony cars are going to go again you know it's setting and it makes me furious if I'm honest but I don't understand what sits behind it getting rid of all these

[00:34:51] cars it doesn't make any sense on any level like it's so bizarre how we have this thing about how cars resonate and and music certain cars I associate with certain music depending on where I was at the time and smells and obviously I think that's one of your

[00:35:06] podcasts where the car that's not like fogs and you can smell like fogs in a sparse and what pipes smoke and you did you associated in a music and smells and cars and I think the modern

[00:35:16] cars are so stir round and we just you don't get that emotional kick with them I don't think or I do anyway it's a bit like opening the doors for premiere in isn't everyone is basically

[00:35:26] the same yeah although I and the way I think my first cars is such a TCC and my dad gave me the keys and said if you can learn to drive that you can drive anything and he probably was

[00:35:35] a wrong but I got one in three weeks ago and I opened the door and smelled my head and probably still bugs actually but it's just or they bring so many memories back cars you know and I think

[00:35:50] especially if you grow not with them every point in your life has a has a marker and you associate everything with a particular car and all our family disasters and for me stories

[00:36:00] always always around come I've really had a friend around for T1 night and the dog bitten never bit anyone in his life kid was winding yeah any better than some of dad sort of

[00:36:09] focus parents were I'll meet you at any and take him off and he was in a comarget the time and this slide like plays the door to me some oh no awesome dog why from the roles but yeah it's

[00:36:21] everything you know I come up with a being woke and a little night by my mum with a pillow in the blanket in the back of the car going pick up from crees station because he delivered one down

[00:36:29] job on off in London but the train back up crees the last place they stopped you know late at night in those days and that sort of thing yeah yeah I've got very full memories of growing up with

[00:36:38] the cars not just the cars themselves but the whole sort of car world as it was awesome thank you very much Sam that's really good thanks Sam it was really good to talk I've really enjoyed listening

[00:36:46] back to you old podcast as well wonderful thank you very much Jason by cool I enjoyed that yeah it's good it's good insight into a car dating wasn't it real car dating yes the first car

[00:36:58] we've had obviously we've had mentioned of Terry yeah your father's preferred dealer Terry word yeah no I've mentioned it Terry but it's nice to know isn't it that that old way of I think Sam

[00:37:10] very much leans into sort of the old style of dealership essentially with a sort of personal touch and not just certainly anything to anyone it's nice to know it's still going on really and swapping it

[00:37:19] for something else we're awesome but how yeah watch whatever it is going yeah we can do a deal I don't know if she mentioned horse that just came to him hand from the beans yeah so um yeah

[00:37:35] I found that really enjoyable and I think the people were listened actually will find it kind of interesting yeah I guess reconfirming what kind of many of us beliefs about U-Lays and the potential

[00:37:45] that the older classics will die out because there's less sort of following for pre-war staff and that sort of thing yeah I was thinking as she was sort of saying that you know we've had a lot of

[00:37:56] people now sort of the same thought about the whole thing maybe good to find someone that maybe supports it and hear the argument if there is someone I was going to say it might be a decent

[00:38:08] bonus episode for us at some point but I've put the the beaver on the market already yeah just because well I won't go into it too much but I mean it's just sitting there isn't it and it's like exactly

[00:38:20] like I'm sad and needs to be used and yeah it's not being used so it's a waste of a good car into the day so you'll then have to speak to her about just a nice little run around

[00:38:31] yeah yeah see if she can say I'm a scientist 50 years old and noise is like course okay thank you very much John let's wrap it up roll the credits back to you for listening to our doubts card I actually enjoyed the show these support us

[00:38:52] barbeccofe and subscribe and tell all your friends