Hi, Patton -
I have no information on Hoffman Motor Car Co., but wanted to point out that
the Destination given on the BMIHT certificates is the Port of Entry for the
car into the U.S., not necessarily its final destination. From there, the
car could have been trucked to a dealer and sold to its first owner
anywhere. For example, my BJ8 was "Despatched" to Charleston, South
Carolina but was sold new at Harmon-Rowland in Raleigh, North Carolina --
300 miles and another state away from Charleston. Apparently, the factory
knew and recorded in the records in most (not all) cases to which POE the
car was to be shipped, but they did not know to which specific dealer the
car would go. I assume that this was determined by the distributor.
The BJ8 registry has the North Carolina DMV records for about a hundred cars
to date. Those which were sold new in North Carolina also have the import
information attached to the DMV records. Again using my car as an example,
there is an "Importer's and Manufacturer's Statement of Origin to a Motor
Vehicle" which states:
"The undersigned CORPORATION hereby certifies that the new motor vehicle
described below, the property of said corporation, has been transferred this
30 day of June 1966 on invoice 04010 to THE BRITISH MOTOR
CORPORATION/HAMBRO, INC., whose address is 734 Grand Avenue, Ridgefield, NJ
07657, etc., etc. The "said corporation" is British Motor Corporation
(U.S.A.) Limited.
On the back of this document, it goes on: "First Assignment" British Motor
Corporation/Hambro, Inc. transfers ownership "for value received" to Ship
and Shore Motors, 701 South Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL. "Second
Assignment" transferred ownership from Ship and Shore Motors to
Harmon-Rowland, Inc. Raleigh, NC. "Third Assignment" was from
Harmon-Rowland to the actual first owner of the car.
The point of all that is that several transfers of "ownership" were done on
paper, but the car went straight from Charleston to Raleigh. I would love
to know exactly who determined to direct the car to Harmon-Rowland and how
it was done. There import/distribution chain was probably similar for
Midwest and West Coast cars, but I do not have any documentation for them
that would verify that.
Steve Byers
HBJ8L/36666
BJ8 Registry
Havelock, NC USA
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-healeys@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-healeys@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Patton Dickson
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 8:06 AM
To: Healey List
Subject: Austin-Healey Dealer in Chicago
I have a business card for the Norman J. Allen, Service Manager of
Hoffman Motor Car Co. of Chicago. The card lists thier brands as
Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, and Austin-Healey. Was that the only
dealer in Chicago? My Heritage Certificate says the Destination
(dealer) was Chicago, so I am wondering if this is the dealership for
my car.
Thanks
Patton
--
Patton Dickson - http://Austin-Healeys.com/
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