what jobs have you had ?

Clan Chieftain · Post by **Clan Chieftain** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:52 am

8) i left school in 62 and joined the post office as an apprentice mechanic
.served my time on z type vans,morris minors with rubber wings.we had plenty of seddons and karriers. then there was the j2,j4 and ju vans.they were a nightmare.we also done the bsa bantams.
i left in 69 and drove buses for 5 years.i rejoined the post office in 74 and we had marinas,ha bedfords (what a nightmare they were for distributor drive shearing and jamming the timing gears) we had pb commers(more rubbish)minivans.then the mk3 escort 1600 diesel.i was promoted as workshop foreman in glasgow in 87 and came off the tools in 90 and went into the stores ordering parts.was medically retired in 96 after 2 heart attacks and a cardiac arrest (gone for 4 minutes ) not too bad now.i now drive for a motor factor in a kangoo van. great job.the only problem i have now is that i think at 60 i can still do the work i did when i was 30 and i cant. i just work on the cars now when i feel like it. the reason people of my age group have older cars is we are trying to relive our youth.........larry

Muskydo · Post by **Muskydo** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:55 am

I started work in local BMC garage beginning August 1969 aged 14,wasn't 15 till end of August so only just old enough to leave school,Started 5 year apprenticeship,seen the arrival of the Marina I remember vividly when the pre launch cars were delivered they were disguised with bits of cardboard and masking tape so people couldn't see what they were untill the big day

Stayed for 2 years after qualifying and then had itchy feet so applied for job at local vauxhall garage,the day of my interview I made sure I had a PDI for road test which was a 10cwt van,instead of doing the regulation 10 mile road test I went straight to interview(got job)never took much notice of van on journey,it turned out that particular van had a fault which triggered a recall

The problem being the angle of the diff pinion in relation to the propshaft was to acute creating an unpleasant vibration.The recall fix was to insert steel wedges between the axle casing and the springs to tip the axle to desired angle (not sure what was long term fix).Needless to say I was in big DoDo for that but I was going anyway

I also triggered another recall on the Princess range when doing a PDI one day I happened to try and lift a rear wheel checking for play and to my surprise I lifted a few inches,after checking other new Princess's the same fault was found meaning the Hydrolastic suspension had air in the system when it was pumped up (you can of course compress air but not fluid) At that time I could do no wrong and BL knew their LEYCARE system was working.
Worked for few other dealers then went self emplyed for approx 15 years and decided I no longer wanted to be crawling under cars in later life so applied for and got present job working in a Brewery

Long winded I know but that's my working life in a nutshell.
Steve

Clan Chieftain · Post by **Clan Chieftain** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 1:51 pm

8) thats interesting. i remember the vans with the wedges at the back axle.its great when someone triggers your mind on what was done years ago. i visit a lot of garages in my job and there a lot of hammer and chisel men on the go. i really wonder how many have trade papers. i have my city and guilds first class technicians but strangely never went for the a.m.i.m.e. the conditions some of them work in nowadays is awful but its their own choice i suppose. every time we finished a job we had to sweep up behind us. that was the motto in the post office then .if it doesnt move..paint it...the amount of bull in government departments then was unreal.if a van had a faulty plug it got one..not a set..one...reminiscing again larry.........must go taking the engine out of the "j" plate.

Muskydo · Post by **Muskydo** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 4:36 pm

Oh happy days, the Post Office Marina & Itals used to have bulkhead behind the seat with no passenger seat if my memory serves me well

I never went any further than City & Guilds as once we had achieved required standard we had to start earning our keep

But yes I agree it's good to recall how it used to be,but I wouldn't like to go back on the spanners now, working on my vans is as close as I want to get.

Steve

Al Williams · Post by **Al Williams** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 5:04 pm

I started off as a printer but joined the Royal Air Force.

Had a great time working on such diverse aircraft as VC10, Harrier, Spitfire's/ Hurricane's, Lancaster, Dakota and Chipmunk's!

Currently work on the Typhoon as a Flight line controller, a grand title which means I ensure none of my younger guy's and girl's don't get sucked into an engine!

My trade is Airframe/Propulsion engineer and am probably one of the last guy's in the RAF who were trained to rivet!!!

Plastic aeroplanes, bah humbug!

Uncle Frank · Post by **Uncle Frank** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:42 pm

Blimey Larry, now you`re asking.....I left school in 1977 with no qualifications whatsoever and after passing an i

The General · Post by **The General** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:49 pm

Left school in 1994 and went to work ont he building site before changing to a welding company. Left there and went to work for Park's Motor Group in 1995 where i spent 5 years serving my time as a partsman through, citroen, honda, bmw and bentley franchise. Left Parks in 2000 and went to join T.M.S Motor Spares where i spend a further 6 years and got a branch managers position at 24. I now work for the largest independent motor factor company in scotland Dingbro Ltd.

Uncle Frank · Post by **Uncle Frank** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:54 pm

Sorry chaps..pressed the wrong button there....i`ll try and carry on, after passing an IQ test for the Royal New Zealand Navy, i emigrated to NZ and joined the Navy!!, thoroughly enjoyed that, but due to family problems at home i had to buy myself out, and return to the UK, got a job in a sports shop, repairing Cricket bats, rackets, fishing rods etc, working part time for a local theatre as a backstage technician..which was great fun, working with the likes of Jimmy Tarbuck, Norman Wisdom, Leslie Crowther etc, then i got into cars, got a job as a car cleaner at a Fiat franchise where i worked my way into the bodyshop and became a fully skilled car body repairer, then in 1991 i decided to go it alone and here i am today...still woking on cars, but mostly older classics instead of new Fiats!

Uncle Frank · Post by **Uncle Frank** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:58 pm

As you can see Paul i may have mastered car bodywork but i still struggle with these damned computers :? :roll:

billy purves · Post by **billy purves** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:46 pm

I left school in1970 was apprenticed to a small country builder for 5 years as a stonemason/bricklayer.
As it was a small firm we had to do a bit of everything...slating,plastering concrete work etc. and keep the machinery serviced and working.
On my 21st birthday my boss gave me an envelope with Ã‚Â£21 in it and sacked me.
Armed with my trade so I thought, and out into the real world.
I was self employed for 30 years on price work on various and numerous building and construction sites throughout the UK.Europe and North Africa.
At present I am working as a site foreman with a property developer renovating farm steadings and former industrial buildings into private luxury housing

Clan Chieftain · Post by **Clan Chieftain** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 11:50 pm

8) this is fascinating reading about other peoples jobs and what they have done over the years. some really educated people on this forum....very interesting.

minispeedstar · Post by **minispeedstar** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:14 am

Left School in 1993/4 to work for Dagenham motors in the bodyshop as a training panel beater, but was made redundent when it was closed about 3 years later, then made a move into retailing as a bar manager for 2 years, shift work soon killed that off so i got a job at a motorist shop (old style) called Topspeed, after 8 years i was starting to fall out with the owner,when i told him i wanted to leave he asked me to buy the shop but i declined, I've since then been working for a motor factor called Camberley Auto factors, one of our 30 branches in the south of England, we are part of the UKPA aswell Ray

, and am enjoying every minute of it..

http://www.camberleyautofactors.com/home/index.php

Clan Chieftain · Post by **Clan Chieftain** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 9:00 am

8) another memory jogger there. the post office vans had a plywood bulkhead behind the driver to stop parcels falling forward and the passengers seat was taken out so the postie could sit his letter tray beside him to save going in and out of the back all the time.
the vans were brush painted as well.brush strokes had to be finished up and down the way and not across.we used to have right idiots running the workshops.promotion then was by seniority number..nothing else.everyone had a number then and if a promotion vacancy came up the one with the lowest number got it.number 50 for example could be really clever at everything but number 49 who was a complete doughnut got the job. that was goverment jobs for you.
wouldnt like to be leaving school now. not such a thing now as as apprentice like it was in the 60s.then you could walk out of a job on the friday and into another on the monday.the good old days..you better believe it.britain was for the brits then ..not now...better not go on about that i will be writing till doomsday

billy purves · Post by **billy purves** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:52 pm

I used to buy Ital vans at Kinross market for work as they were cheap and reliable if my memory serves they were around Ã‚Â£400.
Also on the plywood panel was a little first aid kit in a little black box.......Happy days?

Clan Chieftain · Post by **Clan Chieftain** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:05 pm

8) aye billy they were always empty. then there was the brass pyrene fire extinguisher.got good money off the scrappie for them...happy days

Fast Marina Magazine

what jobs have you had ?

what jobs have you had ?

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