RUMCars Forum

General Category => Unusual Microcar Discussion => Topic started by: richard on September 02, 2015, 09:22:14 PM

Title: Testwood motors
Post by: richard on September 02, 2015, 09:22:14 PM
Can anyone tell me , Testwood Motors has a connection to Messerschmitts and in particular TG500's ,. Exactly what ? and is there a connection to other vintage micro's or not ? thanks 
Title: Re: Testwood motors
Post by: Grant Kearney on September 02, 2015, 09:45:45 PM
Testwood Motors was the largest and most successful Messerschmitt/FMR dealer in the UK.  They sold 9 of the 18 Tg500s sold here and of course campaigned them very successfully in competitive events with the  legendary Ken Piper at the controls.
What's your interest ?
Title: Re: Testwood motors
Post by: richard on September 02, 2015, 09:52:19 PM
Well I was the one that paid a fair old price for those Bond chassis plates, badges etc. the e/f/g/ bonnet badge was near mint - actually a lot of it was very good .  What I was partly after was the little black enamel Testwood Motors chassis plate type badge , I thought it probably unnoticed and possibly desirable ? Perhaps they are not uncommon , replicated or not wanted but I thought it interesting enough
Title: Re: Testwood motors
Post by: Grant Kearney on September 02, 2015, 10:37:38 PM
I too was bidding at Monday lunch time on the said items...........
I was after just the Testwoods badge.  its should be a brass etched and black painted.  They were fitted  to the rear bonnets of KR200s.
Title: Re: Testwood motors
Post by: Big Al on September 03, 2015, 01:09:59 AM
Testwood Motors still exist. But last time I was there they seemed completely unaware that they seem to have sold about a quarter of the Messerschmitts around. I have probably 5 ex Testwood cars myself, yet I specialise in Kings Motors cars. I do not recall Testwood doing other microcars, but they would have sold trade ins from people uprating to Schmitts, ponce, strut, sneer.

Even Testwood failed to get some special orders. So the Sport and odd colour combos had to be collected, by order, from the factory by Claude Tipper and others. So Testwood were not the be all and end all of Schmitting, despite their dominate position in marketing the cars in the UK.

My fav Schmitt dealer plate is N J Whisker, as no one else seems to have one, or a record of them. Was from a very early car, 1955.