| [ Total Views: 10240 | Total Replies: 90 | Thread Id: 70689 ] |
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 vw54
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| posted on July 30th, 2008 at 06:48 AM |
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I know they were in Forest in Aug 1981
as i bought a 54 from they for the grand sum of $80 hehehehehe
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vw54
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| posted on July 30th, 2008 at 06:54 AM |
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| Quote: |
I already have 1962, thanks, but not 1963, '65 or '67. I suppose Sept '62 is CLOSE to '63, but let's see if someone else has a '63 list
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Ok this is what i have let me know which to copy
sep 62
jan 63
sep 63
nov 64
apr 65
oct 65
nov 66
may 67
nov 69
then 4 editions not date stamped but different from LNC as per above
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 Phil74Camper
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| posted on July 30th, 2008 at 10:33 AM |
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Hi Dave,
Looks like you've got lots of early ones, nearly the whole set!
I have the Sep '62; I reckon there won't be many changes to Jan '63. Can you copy me:
Sep 63
Oct 65
May 67
Plus the 4 later ones that aren't date stamped? I think we have enough info already to work out when they were. eg, from the Sydney White Pages:
Cloughs were listed in 1978 but not in 1979
Blacktown's dealer was RR Gore from 1973-78, then Lennox Motors from 1979
Hibiscus Motors at Caringbah were listed in 1977-78-79 only. Tynan Motors (same address, 144 Taren Point Rd) were 1980-81 only.
Manly Repair Centre at Manly Vale were listed 1971-79 only.
Lanock Motors Maroubra were 1972-81 only.
In Penrith, Barry Dyer Motors were listed 1973-77. Alan Whittaker Motors was 1978-81
And so on - should be able to work it out.
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68AutoBug
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| posted on July 30th, 2008 at 11:14 AM |
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Hi
Hunter valley machinery company was owned by RH Taylor
with head office in Maitland..
they were in Scone Muswellbrook Maitland [RH Taylor] and Stroud.. owned by Dick Taylor..
Ron Bower was a big VW dealer in the 60s around Newcastle... they are still about but only as a smash repairer..
Lee
- [size=4]Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY--- [/size]
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Phil74Camper
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| posted on July 30th, 2008 at 08:08 PM |
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Thanks to everyone who has given feedback on the VW history page, and to those who have pointed out some errors.
I've asked Steve Carter to make the following corrections:
From 1976:
The Golf is released onto the market in March, joining the Passat as the second water-cooled VW model sold in Australia. Locally assembled by Nissan
at Clayton, alongside the Passat, 1600 Beetle and Transporter, it is released in 1600cc LS form only, in three or five-door manual, or five-door auto
versions.
(I made a mistake about the door variations available)
From 1990:
A luxury syncro 4WD version of the Double Cab is also announced - the Tristar - but only one of these ever arrives. Instead, Graham Lees uses a base
twin-cab Syncro 16" to compete in the Australian Safari, winning his class.
Also from 1990:
The Passat B3 is displayed at the Sydney Motor Show, in both sedan and wagon layouts, together with a choice of collectable Australian-edition
brochures, but only 13 of them would be imported before the model is discontinued.
(The Tri-star was promoted but, apart from one red example, was not sold here. Grahame Lees' Safari Kombi was not a Tri-Star, but a Syncro 16".
Magazines and newspapers of the time called it a Tri-star, but it wasn't.)
From 1991:
Lanock Motors, once Australia's largest Volkswagen dealer, is closed down and their last two sites are sold. The St Leonards site closes first, and
later becomes a Holden dealer (and, in 2008, a Skoda dealer).
(I only just found out that the former Lanock Motors site at St Leonards is now selling Skodas! Hunter Holden is listed as 4 Herbert St; North Shore
Skoda is 10 Herbert St)
From 2006:
Also made in Poland, the windowed and trimmed Caddy Life can seat seven people, convert to a van or any arrangement in between.
(I made a mistake - the Caddy/Caddy Life are made in Poland, not Spain).
From 2008:
It is joined by a new turbo diesel version, the Golf GT Sport TDI. It has a 125 kW / 390 Nm 2.0-litre diesel engine, with direct-injection
'pumpe-duse' technology. The power output is exactly the same as the 1.4 petrol, but with 90 Nm more torque.
(The TDI is not twin-charged - only the petrol version is)
Glad we cleared that up!
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phaeton
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| posted on July 31st, 2008 at 07:31 PM |
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Hi Phil ,
Firstly great work on getting this up I applaud your work: yes:
I helped out with some of your last edit through the Vortex - Poland instead of Spain and the LT 3.5 to 7.5 which you have clarified up 
Also you have written the the Polo GTI made its Global Debut @ AIMS 2005 it is sort of true, you see Tokyo Motor Show started a day or so before AIMS,
VW debuted the Polo GTI there first but the all the fuss was made in Sydney due to Wolfgang Bernhard's visit.
Also the Victorian and NSW Ambualnce Services do use T5 Ambulances and if your interested SA Police have had one T4 and currently one T5 V6 Police
Van
see here for Maris's shot of the T5 Ambulance in Broken Hill http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=3785&page=8
NSW LT Ambulance http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:ANSW-Volkswagen_LT.jpg
and here for the Victorian Ambulance http://www.colacambulance.com/VW.htm
SA T4 Police http://www.auspolcars.info/index.php?state=sa&image=0512-as2_vzexec_05
SA Police T4 and T5 http://www.auspolcars.info/index.php?page=0507
NSW T5 Police http://www.auspolcars.info/index.php?state=nsw&image=0512-pr_vw-flt15_02
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silver
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| posted on July 31st, 2008 at 07:39 PM |
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What about Hollywood Motors in Liverpool I used to buy parts from them in 1976 I think they were VW and Audi Dealers
Keeping it real !
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phaeton
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| posted on July 31st, 2008 at 07:51 PM |
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From SmartTalk Issue 3 the Official Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Newsletter
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Phil74Camper
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| posted on August 1st, 2008 at 08:56 AM |
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Wow, that is brilliant! Have seen no mention of this in Sydney at all. Thanks for the links.
My sister is an Ambo based in the 'Shire'; her station uses MB Sprinters exclusively. But I'll ask her about the T5 when I see her next; perhaps
they are somwhere else about.
I have seen a few of the NSW police T5s about. I had it in the back of my mind to write to their PR dept for info on them, but never got around to
it.
Also I didn't know that VGA publish an additional newsletter for Commercial Vehicles only! I must try to get back issues. At least I've managed to
get copies of all the 'Volkswagen Magazine Australia' issues, although it's been tricky as they are only published once every six months.
Thanks to everyone for all your help with the history. There's so much to it that it's just impossible for one person to get everything right, but
at least we are getting closer now!
Hollywood Motors was the third Volkswagen dealer in Liverpool. The first one was Peter Warren Motors (yes, THAT Peter Warren), who had a VW dealership
on the corner of Elizabeth St and Hume Hwy, from 1959 to 1966. The old Hume Hwy is now Macquarie Street, and is cut completely by the Westfield
Shopping Centre. No trace of this old site exists, as it has been built over by the shopping centre. In 1967 a new VW dealer opened at 50 Hume Hwy
(still Macquarie St today), Provincial Motors. They changed to become a Datsun dealer in 1975, and today the site has a modern office block on it.
Hollywood Motors at 420 Hume Hwy (cnr Mill Rd) opened in 1978, and stopped selling VWs in 1988. They were a Subaru dealer for a few years after that,
then it was 'Tokyo Motors Used Cars', but today the site is a bulldozed vacant lot. The current VW dealer, McGrath Autohaus at Boundary Rd and Hume
Hwy, opened in 2003.
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vw54
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| posted on August 6th, 2008 at 07:55 AM |
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Phil copied
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amazeer
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| posted on August 6th, 2008 at 06:43 PM |
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Not quite on topic Phil, but the town in VIC where my old man comes from, St Arnaud, hasnt moved along very much. Think they have one set of traffic
lights in town. But for as long as I can remember there has been an empty showroom with Chevrolet/Holden/ and I think Pontiac etched windows. probably
worth some money! I havent been there for a few years though. It was easily the coolest thing in town. Other than you can go on an all night pub crawl
and not leave town. No idea how a small town like that can support so many pubs, though it might explain my old mans appetite for ale.
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whatnow
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| posted on August 6th, 2008 at 08:45 PM |
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hi phil, if you are interested in a copy of the dealer book that came with my 56 pm an email address. the manual is the august 55 edition, but i
didn't see any date on the dealer list. . at the moment all i have are photo's as my scanner hates me.
henry.
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Phil74Camper
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| posted on August 7th, 2008 at 12:54 PM |
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Henry, that would be brilliant, thanks. The '55 is probably the first one they produced.
Hi Chris, yes I love the idea of old forgotten bypassed towns with old car dealer buildings still standing. I have fantasies about finding an
abandoned locked up '60s Volkswagen dealership in a tiny country town, with a forgotten attic full of NOS parts and brochures. You never know...
I'd never heard of St Arnaud until I looked it up! No Volkswagen dealer was ever there. Nearby, Ararat had Bowman's Motors at 38 Tuson St from
1956-62, then 30-32 Tson St from 1963-65. I wonder what's there now?! Bendigo had three different VW dealers; Horsham had four.
But I guess the closest to St Arnaud would have been Warracknabeal. It had Daniels Motors at 14 Scott St from 1956 to 1965, then GF & LM Corazza
at 14 Franklin St from 1966 to 1974. Now THERE's some candidates for having long lost VW parts in the attic! Wonder what's there now?
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amazeer
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| posted on August 7th, 2008 at 01:13 PM |
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Use google street view to find out!
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Twinkle
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| posted on November 13th, 2008 at 08:09 AM |
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Ive just found this thread its fantastic am just going to check out the site to see what i can learn about my 58 bug!
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VDU.88A
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| posted on December 12th, 2008 at 04:55 PM |
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A work collegue has asked me if i knew who was the oldest vw dealer in sydney he thought it may have been a place by the name of BARKER MOTOR COMPANY
which he thought later became lennox possibly lanock motors. From reading thought this post it appears RR Gore became lennox motors. Does anyone know
about the Barker motor co possibly located near killara. Any help would be good.
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Phil74Camper
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| posted on December 15th, 2008 at 06:14 AM |
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Hi, Barker Motors at Killara was established in the 1950s, on the Pacific Highway. They were one of several VW dealerships established on Sydney's
north shore, alongside Lanock Motors at St Leonards and Waitara, Freshwater Motors in Manly, Youngs at Collaroy and G Brothers at Mona Vale. Lanock
Motors (Australia's largest Volkswagen dealership group) bought out Barker Motors in 1966. This got a mention in LNC Industries' annual report of
1966. Barkers then became Lanock Motors Killara. This branch closed in the late 1970s. For many years after that the site was a Mitsubishi dealership.
For several years in the mid 1990s the site was again a VW dealership (a branch of Northshore Automotive I think) but that also closed. I am not sure
what is there now!
The 'oldest' VW dealership in Sydney is difficult to say for certain, as several of them all started in 1954. Regent Motors in Melbourne was the
very first (beginning in late 1953), but NSW VW sales did not begin until Easter 1954 - the NSW VW launch was at the 1954 Royal Easter Show! LNC
Industries already owned Grenville Motors (the Rover dealer), and when they were awarded the VW business for NSW, they initially set up a VW
dealership and distribution centre at Rushcutters Bay, called Lanock Motors (from the names of two LNC Industries board members, Lane and Locke). They
then traded the Larke Neave and Carter (LNC) Rover dealerships at Camperdown and Crows Nest for VW dealerships, which became Lanock Motors branches.
Other VW dealers to start in 1954 included the Lanock headquarters on William St in the city, as well as two other city dealerships called Charley and
Lord. The Rushcutters Bay centre became Jack Jeffrey Motors.
The Camperdown Lanock Motors was the biggest and longest lasting - the service area on Australia St had a feature called the 'tunnel of love'. The
Rent-A-Camper business was also based at Camperdown. It closed in 1991 when Lanocks was sold to City Ford, and dissolved. Today the site is a Toyota
dealership.
Lennox is a different business entirely. They were only ever based at Parramatta (from the late 1960s), and Blacktown (1970s).
The last VW dealership from the air-cooled era to survive was Muller and Muller at Lakemba. They began as an unofficial VW service workshop in the
early 1960s (called Muller and Markwell), and became an official VW dealer when Ronstan Motors became a Toyota dealer in 1967. Initially they were
only a service centre, but later sold new VWs too. They lost their status as an official VW dealer in 1995, but they are still in business.
The oldest Sydney VW dealer today is Chatswood Classic Cars, which began in 1989.
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modulus
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| posted on December 15th, 2008 at 03:21 PM |
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Great information! This cleared up a lot of model doubts I had.
Thank you.
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vw54
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| posted on December 15th, 2008 at 06:09 PM |
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| Quote: |
hi phil, if you are interested in a copy of the dealer book that came with my 56 pm an email address.
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Henry While yr at the photocopier please push the 2 copies button as i would like one to PM sent my Address
Thanks
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grumble
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| posted on December 15th, 2008 at 08:26 PM |
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In 1966 I started my apprenticeship at Mid North Coast Motors new premises at Purfleet(now Taree South).The previous premises were in Crescent Ave
Taree,this was a big multi franchise selling and servicing Volkswagen,Rover,land Rover,Rambler,Fiat and the occasional Citroen and in the late 1960's
Datsun.The business was owned by Bert Tickner from Forster who also owned the Sunliner caravan factory( these were made to be towed by the mighty 1200
36hp beetle. There was a fleet of these vans for hire at the time.The on site training was good as the new models came out the dealer reps would
travel to the dealerships and carry out training schools for the staff. I remember one of the the first reps I knew as Hermann Maher who could drive
the bum off the company 1200 bug,sideways most of the time,coming over the 4 mile into Taree when the police caught him on the wrong side of the
double yellow lines. His argument was that only 2 were on the wrong side and they happened to be the front wheels.These guys did a lot of work with
the Southern Cross Rally Team The later training schools were held at VWA in Ryde.
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1500S
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| posted on December 15th, 2008 at 09:19 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by Phil74Camper
Hi Dave,
Looks like you've got lots of early ones, nearly the whole set!
I have the Sep '62; I reckon there won't be many changes to Jan '63. Can you copy me:
Sep 63
Oct 65
May 67
Plus the 4 later ones that aren't date stamped? I think we have enough info already to work out when they were. eg, from the Sydney White Pages:
Cloughs were listed in 1978 but not in 1979
Blacktown's dealer was RR Gore from 1973-78, then Lennox Motors from 1979
Hibiscus Motors at Caringbah were listed in 1977-78-79 only. Tynan Motors (same address, 144 Taren Point Rd) were 1980-81 only.
Manly Repair Centre at Manly Vale were listed 1971-79 only.
Lanock Motors Maroubra were 1972-81 only.
In Penrith, Barry Dyer Motors were listed 1973-77. Alan Whittaker Motors was 1978-81
And so on - should be able to work it out.
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Just looking at this one about Lennox Motors at Blacktown and something looks wrong with those dates. It was trading as Lennox Motors during the 60s
to the 70s as I was involved socially with that company through a number of the mechanics working there. Some names which some may remember:
Harold Upston...spares, has been at Cowra for many years.
Les Gabriel, Neil Lennox,Heinz Wehmeyer... mechanics
Noel "Granny" Caterson... Manager.
Blacktown branch closed from memory during the mid 70s and moved totally to the other branch at Church Street, Parramatta before it's final
demise.
We had a VW dealer in Windsor, NSW but can't remember it's trading name. It was situated at the site where the garage now is adjacent to McQuade
park on the road between Windsor and Richmond.
I believe that the first VW sales during the 50s in Windsor was by Bob Pye who owned a service station at South Windsor.
Just a bit of our local VW history!!
DH
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whatnow
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| posted on December 19th, 2008 at 03:25 PM |
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phil, dave, the check's in the mail. merry christmas.
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Phil74Camper
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| posted on December 22nd, 2008 at 07:38 AM |
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Hi Grumble, fantastic first-hand info there, many thanks! Yes according to the VW dealership lists (which I am trying to collect and turn into a
spreadsheet), Mid-North Coast Motors at Crescent Ave were the first VW dealership in Taree, starting sometime before 1957. They moved to the Pacific
Hwy (the lists were no more specific than that) in 1967. In 1974 they changed their trading name to 'M.N.C. Motors Pty Ltd' but this is obviously
still the same business. The address was now listed as 70-80 Victoria St. This dealership closed (or stopped selling VWs anyway) sometime between 1978
and 1982, by which time another VW dealership, Taree Continental Car Sales, had started on the corner of Crescent Ave (Pacific Hwy) and Railway Pde.
As far as I can tell, this dealer was still going in 2006 but was not listed for 2007. Do you have any photos of the old dealers when they were
active? What is on the sites nowadays?
Yes DH I didn't give the complete story of VW dealers in Blacktown, and you are right. In fact, Blacktown has had SIX different VW dealers so far,
and maybe a seventh next year if a new VW dealer opens - in the latest Volkswagen Magazine Australia, they list a new Blacktown dealer under
construction.
Anyway, Midland Motors was the first VW dealer in Blacktown, opening on 220 Sunnyholt Rd in 1960. This became Lennox Motors, on the same site, in
1964. The first Lennox Motors dealership had opened in Parramatta in 1961 (Lennox Motors was named after the Lennox Bridge across the Parramatta
River). In 1965, Lennox opened a second Blacktown site at 130 Main Street, and for two years there were two Lennox Motors in Blacktown, but this one
closed in 1967. The 220 Sunnyholt Rd site closed in 1968, and was replaced by a new Lennox Motors site at 102 Sunnyholt Rd which also opened in 1968.
There is nothing left of the 220 Sunnyholt Rd site today - the area has been redeveloped into an industrial estate. In 1974 the Lennox Motors
dealership became R.R. Gore Pty Ltd, but in 1979 it changed back to Lennox Motors. It survived as Lennox Motors until 1986, when it became Crest Autos
Pty Ltd, still at 102 Sunnyholt Rd (on the corner of Bessimer St). This finally closed in 1988. The site was a tool hire shop for many years, then a
Daihatsu dealership, but Google Earth Street View shows the site currently vacant and For Lease (the buildings are all original). I don't suppose
there are any VW parts left in the attic !
Lennox Motors at Parramatta is another story...
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Phil74Camper
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| posted on December 22nd, 2008 at 07:56 AM |
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BTW, thanks for mentioning Windsor, which would have been a quaint, remote little country town during VW's air-cooled era, not the booming Sydney
suburb it is today!
The first VW dealership in Windsor was Condon's Truck and Tractor Service, which became a VW agency in 1957 at 6-9 Richmond Rd. They must have lost
the VW franchise in 1960, or went out of business, as there is no agency listed in Windsor for 1960-61. In 1962 a new VW agency, Robwitson Pty Ltd,
was listed at the same 6-9 Richmond Rd address. In 1963 this was relisted as the Highway Garage Windsor Pty Ltd, still at the same address. This
closed in 1967. There was no VW dealer in Windsor again until 1975, when Bangalow Motors Pty Ltd opened at 98 Macquarie St. I remember this one. It
also sold Subarus, and later Hondas. It stopped being a VW agency in 1985, and there has been no VW dealer in Windsor since.
Looking at the street directory, I am guessing that 'Richmond Rd' is now Hawkesbury Valley Way, in which case yes the original VW dealer (3 names)
would have been opposite McQuade Park. There is a 7-11 servo there, as you say, so you'd never guess this was once a VW dealer.
Oh, and the former Bangalow Motors site on Macquarie St, which was a tiny, pokey little shop with a small lot, has been bulldozed and redeveloped into
a huge Toyota dealer.
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matara
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| posted on December 22nd, 2008 at 09:05 AM |
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Phil, do you have any more detail on the 61 cabrio beetles that were imported for the Melbourne motor show in 1961. I have a 61 factory cabrio with
chassis number 3558067 and was wondering if this might be one of them. Do you know how many were brought in?
Cheers
Steve
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1500S
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| posted on December 22nd, 2008 at 09:38 AM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by Phil74Camper
BTW, thanks for mentioning Windsor, which would have been a quaint, remote little country town during VW's air-cooled era, not the booming Sydney
suburb it is today!
The first VW dealership in Windsor was Condon's Truck and Tractor Service, which became a VW agency in 1957 at 6-9 Richmond Rd. They must have lost
the VW franchise in 1960, or went out of business, as there is no agency listed in Windsor for 1960-61. In 1962 a new VW agency, Robwitson Pty Ltd,
was listed at the same 6-9 Richmond Rd address. In 1963 this was relisted as the Highway Garage Windsor Pty Ltd, still at the same address. This
closed in 1967. There was no VW dealer in Windsor again until 1975, when Bangalow Motors Pty Ltd opened at 98 Macquarie St. I remember this one. It
also sold Subarus, and later Hondas. It stopped being a VW agency in 1985, and there has been no VW dealer in Windsor since.
Looking at the street directory, I am guessing that 'Richmond Rd' is now Hawkesbury Valley Way, in which case yes the original VW dealer (3 names)
would have been opposite McQuade Park. There is a 7-11 servo there, as you say, so you'd never guess this was once a VW dealer.
Oh, and the former Bangalow Motors site on Macquarie St, which was a tiny, pokey little shop with a small lot, has been bulldozed and redeveloped into
a huge Toyota dealer.
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Good to see this history coming up here! Even though I've lived here in the Hawkesbury all the time, it's easy to forget some of the names of the
early business names. One of the mechanics at Highway Garage was Tony Neal. Went to old Richmond High about the same era as I did. Tony moved
north to Lismore area in about the early 80s. Lost track of him when his parents moved up there as well.
As a point of interest, the only Karmann Ghia in the area was owned by Mrs Bob Mayne. The brother of Mrs Mayne, Vic Gillespie, also the Mayor of
Windsor, drove an Oval Bug around into the 60s. The old @#$!! wouldn't sell it to me no matter how hard I begged back then!
BY THE WAY! Windsor is still a good old town on it's own! We don't like our Macquarie towns lumped as "suburbs of Sydney"! Fitzroy bridge should still be a toll gate with day passes only and proof
of convict ancestry mandatory.
DH
PS. Phil
The new Hawkesbury Valley Way is only the new high level road from Groves Ave to Macquarie St. Richmond Road (not to be confused with the
Blacktown-Richmond Road) is from Macquarie Street, Windsor to Windsor Street, Richmond (along past the RAAF Base).
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Phil74Camper
Son of Jim - Creator of Good
Head in the Clouds
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| posted on December 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 AM |
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Hi Steve, sorry mate no I don't have any specific details on chassis numbers for cars imported /sold by VW Australia, or even how many were brought
in. The FCAI, as I have mentioned, only records 'VW 1200' sales for 1961. On another post we were wondering about the numbers of Cabrios imported in
'61; some had said 20, I think I was, but I had only heard of around half a dozen. I think there were only two on display at the Melbourne Show in
1961.
There are a couple of ways you could check, if you have any free time over the holiday period! The State Library of NSW in Macquarie St keeps old
issues of Australian magazines and newspapers on file. They have Modern Motor from June 1954 on (Q629.205/1, Mitchell Library), as well as Wheels
(NQ629.205/21) from May 1953. You could pop in there and ask them to retrieve the issues for 1961; the car magazines would have had Melbourne Motor
Show special articles. This might give you more info on the 1961 Melbourne Show and the cars on show. I don't know what month of the year the
Melbourne car show was/is - so you could always spend a happy afternoon reading ALL issues for 1961. Think of all the other cool VW stuff you might
stumble across...
Once you know the dates of the Melbourne show for 1961, you could also look at the Melbourne Age newspaper for that time, as they would also have
published a Melbourne Motor Show special. The NSW State Library has the Sydney Morning Herald on microfiche, but I don't know if they have the Age -
they might. Otherwise you would need to visit the National Library in Canberra, or the State Library of VIC in Melbourne. Or ask one of our Victorian
friends to look! The fiche readers are like printers and can do an A4 hard copy of whatever part of the fiche you like. Anyway, the State Library is a
very interesting place to visit and their staff are always helpful.
Even so, I doubt whether this will give chassis numbers. Without your original owners papers, it would be very difficult to know. You could try
writing to the VW museum in Germany - some of the people here have done that for their cars. Since the Cabrios were German-made, their info could be
useful, but they charge $$ for it.
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Phil74Camper
Son of Jim - Creator of Good
Head in the Clouds
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| posted on December 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 AM |
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Below is a list of Sydney VW dealers from 1960, 27 of them (or 28 if you include the Lanock Motors head office showroom in William St). Interesting -
there are only 9 VW dealers in Sydney today, selling about the same number of VWs, to twice as many people as 1960.
These sorts of lists are dynamic; they change continually. Sydney dealers to have just closed before this list was published include Draper Motors at
Crows Nest, and Sleet Brothers at Ramsgate. Robert Dewley at Bankstown had just replaced the previous Ashtons Car Sales. Jack Jeffrey's VW workshops
at Bondi and Rushcutters Bay aren't included, for some reason. And new dealers at Mosman, Parramatta and Kirrawee would open later the same year.
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Old Dubber
Wolfsburg Wizard
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| posted on December 23rd, 2008 at 11:14 AM |
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I visited the VW factory in Wolfsburg many years ago. I arranged a meeting with the archives person and requested any information on the Australian
content. All they could provide were the sales figures and financials. There was no detail on Serial numbers etc.
They would not allow me to photocopy any of the material, which was not much by the way. The person I spoke to, more or less implied, that the
information I was seeking would be able to be supplied by Volkswagen Australia. I subsequently wrote to VW Australia, but did not get a reply.
I wrote down some of the info which I will try and find!
Grahame
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Phil74Camper
Son of Jim - Creator of Good
Head in the Clouds
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| posted on December 23rd, 2008 at 01:10 PM |
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While you can pay money for the history certificate for your VW from the Wolfsburg museum, I don't think this is reliable for Australian-manufactured
VWs up to 1968. I have heard stories of people sending in their 1966-67 chassis numbers - that start 196 or 197 for Aussie VWs - and getting a reply
stating that the number is not valid!
Today's Volkswagen Group Australia, created in 2001, does not have any pre-2001 Australian archival VW material or history at all. Their first MD,
Peter Nochar, once came to a Club Veedub show and was surprised to learn that there was once a VW factory in Australia! Their current MD, Jutta
Dierks, gets a free copy of Zeitschrift each month so hopefully she's a bit more aware of our local VW history.
The old Volkswagen Australia, which had its head office in North Ryde, was fully owned by LNC Industries, which had the Australian VW franchise from
1968 until 1987. Their division called 'Volkswagen Australia Pty Ltd' was closed in 1984. From 1984 to 1987 VW sales and service was handled by
'LNC Distribution'. In 1987 LNC reliquished the VW business to Ateco Industries, which was taken over by TKM Automotive in 1990. TKM was taken over
in turn by Inchape Plc in 1992. Inchape traded under the 'TKM Automotive Australia' name for several more years before changing the VW business name
to 'Volkswagen Distributors'. There really wasn't any such thing as 'VW Australia' at this time. None of these businesses would have had any idea
of 1960s Australian VW history, so I'm not surprised you didn't get a reply.
As the Club Veedub editor, I personally crossed swords with several of the TKM/Inchcape heavies in the 1990s. Their PR guy Nick Senior, who never
answered my letters either, now works for Subaru. Former MD Peter Sturrock organised a '100th birthday party' for Audi in 1994, and when I pointed
out that today's Audi has only existed since 1967, he complained. He now works for the FCAI. Another Inchcape PR hack, Edward Rowe, once complained
when I criticised the then New Beetle, and he questioned my VW enthusiasm. He now works for Fiat.
Today's VW Group Australia isn't perfect either - remember the Touareg ad, 'Announcing our first ever 4x4?' But they are a lot better than
TKM/Inchcape.
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