Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) TR7

Hi Colin,

Thanks for that background. I worked for BEWAC Ltd. HO based in Edgbaston which was originally the official importer of BL and other UK products into British East and West Africa and a sister company to Mann Egerton which was part of the Inchcape Group. BEWAC had a small network of UK dealerships in the late 70's , including BL, Jaguar, Audi, Vauxhall, VW, Peugeot and Lotus, which was eventually subsumed into the Mann Egerton division. So I had access to all sort of demonstrator vehicles from Rover SDI to Lotus Esprit and Eclat, needless to say I preferred the German demonstrators as they were far more reliable. I remember having a top of the range Rover 3500 I think it was a Vitesse, only downside it had been in Rover/BL open field storage awaiting delivery for a few years and was pulled out of the mud submerged nearly upto its back axle ( which was not uncommon)....needless to say great car when it didn't break down and of course it had problems with its rear axle and brakes and corrosion. After I had it a few months, it was sold onto a punter as a used demonstrator.....I then got a long storage Dolomite 1850 which boiled it;s battery and the resultant fumes put me in hospital, .after that I had only VW/AUDI demonstrators.

People don't always appreciate how long some of the BL products sat in open storage fields, which did not do much for their longevity and reliability and therefore they became subject to massive warranty claims by the dealerships to put them right.