Hi everybody...

Starting a new tread on this forum, dedicated to the BMC's Training Unit Busses.

Designed by Pininfarina and build by Marshall Bodywork, Cambridge. There supposed to be build a total of 21 units, first a series of six, then a batch of 15. First series were slitghly different from the second, mostly in the front and side mouldings. They were shorter and rounder. A few were used by The Competition Dept. as race transporter and support vehicles. One training unit is under restoration here in Norway, in that case I'm searching for history and other facts/pics of those busses.

Please feel free to post what ever you know of those units.

See photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brimen/

Sincerely,
Brimen.

Would be nice to find one of the transporters.

Tony

Wasn't there a training bus for sale that we were trying to get you to buy, some time back, or am I having another senior moment?

P

The one in Texas, I believe...but it couldn't carry a car.

The one in Texas is now here in So Cal and is for sale again. If I had the room, it would have been here long ago.

If it would haul a car inside.....

did you get the newspaper article I sent?

Yes, I got it.

I have a "Christmas eve" now, thanks alot, it helps me search for more facts.
Thank you very much.

The "union Jack" painted bus were sold to Mr. Craig Burchsted, Houston TX. Last year a classic car dealer in Santa Barbara CA bought it, and it's now for sale again. (link below)

http://www.finecars.cc/en/detail/car/28329/index.html?no_cache=1&ret=20&request[filter][offset]=0&request[filter][rowcount]=6

Sincerely,
Brimen

cool - FWIW they wanted $8,000 back then (mid 90's)

What's "FWIW"???

Have a nice day, take care...

For What It's Worth

Hi there...

Been searcing the "Newspaperarcive.com" tonight, and find three interresting articles regarding this BMC Units. Two of them says that there were six Training Units serving North America.

# 1: "Lebanon Daily News, PA., October 16, 1963". Ladd Motors.
# 2: "The Van Nuys News, CA., Aug. 20 1963". Hammer Imports,11041 Sepulveda Blvd.
# 3: "The Sunday Gleaner, July 12 1964". Kingston, Jamaica. St Andrew Trade Training Centre, 66 Spanish Town Road.

Yes, they even been to Jamaica!!

Also got one article from Toronto area, "Guardian of Guelph, March 19, 1963". Walter Swanston Farm Equipment, Nuffield tractor dealer.

Officially there is only one left in North America, the one in CA., but I know there is some interest from Netherland!

Take action guys, save this historic vehicle in your country!!!

Pics and facts are highly welcome

Have a nice day,
Brimen

Welcome Brimen! And good luck with the bus...it's neat!

I have had a sort of "poor man's version" of that in the past when I had my ~Old NY Fire Dept StepVan~

~Another Picture~

I passed it on to another family member but he's looking to sell it.......runs decent and all aluminum body with 350 engine and FDNY heritage to boot!
$2000 if anyone's interested.

I've been inside that bus. the guy that owned it previous to the Texas owner used to bring it to the Watkins Glen Vintage Fest every year. One year he gave me a tour of the bus, and told me a bit of it's history. At the time it had been converted into an RV instead of being the workshop van that it originally was. I have pics somewhere. He was a little odd, but a very nice guy. The bus was hard to miss. I wanted to buy it and turn it into a rolling parts store to take to British car shows and events.

Actually Ben...

Both of the BMC Coaches were converted into motorhomes after being sold off here in Canada back in the 1960's. Which I'm sure made sense at the time to the new owners of them.

I was at British Car Day in Ontario the year that both of them were at the show (perhaps 2001 or 2002?), it was before Al painted his example with the Union Jack, they were parked right beside each other. I think Al has always been a British car fan, but I seem to recall that the person who owned the other one wasn't really, it was just simply an old motorhome that was nice for camping with, I suspect that many of the previous owners of these motor coaches/motorhomes never really knew how significant they are... At least they all managed to survive to preserve some interesting history.

Thanks for comment, Sherlock.

You talk about two busses at the same meet early 2000. It might be right, but I know that Alan Guest (big Al) did sell one unit to UK March 2000. It drowe down to New York and was shipped to Southampton, UK. So in that case, if you saw two busses in 2002, there must have been a third bus in that area!!! Very interesting. Hope you will take your time search for pics you might have from that British Car Day. Hopefully it shows the licence plate numbers for further searching. The bus Alan did owned was licenced "107 HVA".

I have contact with Big Al and some others from UK, and will recive some new info soon.

I surely will post some info here, we must get to bottom of this......
Lets stick together.

New fotos added at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brimen/

So long...

I hope that Basil will excuse this crosslink to another forum. For those interested in more pictures about these support vehicles, please see the parallel thread running at MiniMania.

http://www.minimania.com/web/threadid/95371/msgthread.cfm

Big Al is a very important person in the Mini community.

Here is a copy of the article in
"The Van Nuys News, Aug. 20 1963"

BMC Training
Van Will Visit
San Fernando

A huge diesel - powered
mobile training unit, one of
six being operated by the
British Motor Corp. throughout
the United States and
Canada, will stop at Hammer
Imports, Inc. of 11041 Sepulveda
Blvd., Mission Hills, for
a special operating and
training session between
factory-trained service engineers
and Hammer Imports
mechanics, service manager,
and parts managers.
Traveling with the mobile
training unit is a factory representative
to explain the
design and operation of the
mobile units.
Purpose of the mobile
training units is to bring to
BMC's nationwide dealer network
the latest factory information
and how it should
be applied by mechanics,
service managers and parts
managers in the workshop.
Each mobile training unit
is set up to simulate a lecture
room and is complete with
blackboard, movie projector,
work benches, tables and
chairs. A complete range of
BMC service tools mounted
on tool boards during lectures
can be stowed in low level
lockers for transit.
With the introduction of
mobile training unit, BMC
feels that it will more effectively
increase the standard
of product knowledge at
its dealerships resulting in
improved service to BMC
car owners in North America.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



HAMMER IMPORTS INC., 11041 Sepulveda Blvd, San Fernando, will play
host to British Motor Corp's. giant mobile training van. BMC has six such
vans calling on its dealers throughout United States and Canada. Their purpose is to bring to BMC's North American dealer network latest factory information and how it should be applied.

(This is a picture text, unable to copy the pic.)

See you...

That's a great idea. It would be useful to fill the bus with a complete set of fuel pumps, dizzy rotors and caps, coils, spark plugs, water pumps, thermostats and stuff like that. You'd make a mint at any british car show!

By the way, I have only one thing to say about this bus:

If the bus is a rockin', don't come a knockin'