Car Dealers, Garages, Petrol Stations

Does anyone have any recollections of a small independent petrol station situated almost opposite St. James Church, Tile Hill Lane in the late 50s early 60s?

Hello Bad Boy. There was a petrol station sited the other side of the shops on the corner of Farr Drive on Tile Hill Lane. On go**le earth, there are new houses there now. The one you may be on about may have been at the other (Broad Lane) end of Jobs Lane. Both filling stations were small in size. If St. James Church is the one I am thinking of, then the Newlands P.H is almost over the road.

Hello again. The petrol station on Broad Lane had white boarding around the sides of a small shop. The ground fell away to the rear where there was a small workshop if my memory serves. The owner lived in the house next door. The station on Tile Hill Lane was a Shell garage, and had a car wash I think. That is the only 2 I know of in that area. There was one more on Broad Lane but that was up past Jardine Cres and the factory units.

Yes, just beyond the Newlands pub. I have recollections of a couple of old pumps standing there.

You're right Baz and Mike H, it was just beyond the Newlands PH and yes there were just a couple of old pumps. I recall the owner being a rather elderly man.

Hubby has been in this garage, if you come out of the garage and turn right up to the Holyhead Road, he thinks the wall in your picture would be on the left hand opposite corner of Holyhead / Barras Lane.

It's a long time since it's been a garage but I know what he means

Carburettor Sales and Service was owned and run by Brian Coppola. My mum was at school with his wife. I used to go there before he retired - which became a necessity when car engines stopped using carburettors! He still lives between Allesley and Corley and has a farmhouse with stable block with all his old engine testing equipment in. I went there on a couple of occasions since retiring as he was still keeping his hand in! I still have his business card in my wallet from Barras Lane!

The carburettor tuning shop in the picture was known to me as Billy Pitts, he was an expert tuner of Solex Zenith and later SU carburettors.

I remember it as Pitts in the 1960s. I used to have a Redex tune up at the garage in the Butts, did me and the 105E Anglia the world of good.

Brian definitely owned the place in the 80's until it closed and he retired.

Two names I thought I would see are Astons of Coventry who had showrooms and workshops in Lower Ford St, Far Gosford St, Spon End and owned Light Cars also in Far Gosford St. They had some real characters working for them. I joined full time in 1960 staying for over 10 years, good times in the main! The other old name is Sam Robbins of Cox St and Rugby.

Johnny Medlock worked at Astons, opposite the Paris cinema if my mind serves me correctly. His brother, Peter, was a partner in the garage which stood on the Holyhead Road, on the corner just past the driving test centre

Just discovered this interesting thread. Certainly remember some of those garages from the 1960s. The one my folks used was Blamire's on Queen's Road. My dad didn't drive, so it was a while before we got a car. They got the first one in 1962. I think they were going for a Morris Oxford ("Oxbox") but my dad thought the salesman at the Parkside Garage (that was the one on Warwick Road opposite the station and down a bit, I think) was "too pushy" so they went round the corner to Percy Blamire and bought a Hillman Super Minx in Pippin Red and Moonstone. They replaced it in 1966 with another Super Minx and here is the invoice: In 1975, I'd just started going out with my future wife and she suggested I should get a car to take her out. I was about to buy the old Super Minx off my parents when she recommended I buy her dad's 1966 Hillman Minx as it was lower mileage. So I bought the Minx instead and we still have it 37 years later. In the late 70s I spotted the old Super Minx in a side street on the other side of Coventry (near Far Gosford Street) and took a photo for the record: Donkey's years ago I found a Rootes Group dealer list in the glove compartment of a scrap Rootes car I was taking parts off. It's dated June 1965 and lists the Rootes dealers in Coventry as Coventry Garage, 10 Holyhead Road (Main dealer) Cheylesmore Garage, Daventry Road Green Lane Garage, Kenpas Highway Martin's Garage, London Road Morton's Garage, 81 Binley Road Philip Rickards, 28-29 Union Street The Swan Lane Garage, 10-20 Ford Street. Found an interesting article published in the CET about some of the garages mentioned in this thread.

Ace number plates. My late father in law was the foreman in charge of the number plates at Cornercroft for many years. If the order was for a VIP he assembled the plates himself which were wrapped in tissue paper for dispatch. My wife was the secretary in their marketing deptartment which included manning their stand at the Earls Court Motor Show. She dealt with a lot of the big names in the motor industry such as Paddy Hopkirk. Somewhere we have an Ace chrome GB badge in its box (with separate letters) for fitting on a car boot lid, quality chrome.