Ok.
Personally I love this detail, & I think I need to add some Australian
perspective here. ;-)
Pressed Metal Corporation here in Australia were responsible for part
of the "local content" when BMC started building Sprites and other BMC
cars here in Australia.
The first Sprite they built in Australia was given a body number 501.
That was in conformance with a BMC policy which was underpinned by a
customer satisfaction survey which dictated that no one ever wanted to
buy anything from BMC which wasn't properly tested, and any number
under 500 probably wasn't...
Anyway, the first Sprite shell was 501.
Many years later, we realised that the pressed metal corporation's
previous job was building 500 pressed steel coffins......
Legend has it that PMC took the project, because they didn't even have
to reset the number stamps, and the tooling wasn't much different to a
Bugeye .....
Before you flame, this is meant to be funny, and is based on some
historically bent facts! Ok ???
So if you have a Bugeye with a body number less than 501 in
Australia.... Check your boot.
;-)
Chris
Sent from my iPhone
On 16/07/2011, at 2:15 AM, "Rich Chrysler"
<richchrysler@quickclic.net> wrote:
> Gentlemen,
>
> The first 19 pre production cars were body numbers 1 through 19.
> Then with
> the production cars Jensen assembled and painted the body shells and
> sent
> the first 5 on a transporter over to the new Longbridge assembly
> line. Last
> one on (Body 24) was first off the transporter and therefore first
> one onto
> the assembly line. That became Longbridge Chassis number 138031, the
> "first"
> car down the Longbridge line, though it was about 3 t 4 weeks before
> it was
> actually done, due to constant adjusting and shuffling of the assembly
> process to make more sense and smoother flow of adding components,
> etc.
>
> As things progressed and the gradual speeding up of the new line, with
> logistics being constantly adjusted and improved, they eventually
> ended up
> with a number of transporters taking 5 body shells at a time over to
> Longbridge holding area. It is easy to imagine how the exacting body
> sequence numbers that left Jensen got mixed up coming off the
> transporters
> in the Longbridge marshalling area. That is one of the many reasons
> why the
> Body numbers fell out of sequence by the time a finished car came
> off the
> Longbridge line.
>
> For instance in the Hundred Registry, we list Body 133 and Body 140
> coming
> off the Longbridge finishing the same day (18 August 1953).
> Meanwhile Body
> 156 came off the next day (19 August, 1953).
>
> Rich Chrysler
> Hundred Registrar
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: healeys-bounces@autox.team.net [mailto:healeys-
> bounces@autox.team.net]
> On Behalf Of Curt/Nancy Arndt
> Sent: 2011-07-15 11:36
> To: David Nock
> Cc: healey list; Jim Cox; Mr. Finespanner
> Subject: Re: [Healeys] Kathy Wissig's AH 100
>
> David,
>
> I believe that's what I said...
> *
> "Blair Harbor's car, the first production AH with body no. 24..."*
>
> However I never heard about the switching at the loading and
> unloading. I
> assumed that Jensen would not discard the first 19 or 20 pre
> production car
> numbers and restart numbering with the production cars. Anyone
> else out
> there know about this, or have an opinion?
> Cheers,
_______________________________________________
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