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The road to recovery for your ‘ pranged9 car


6 Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, June 14th, 1979


CRASH, bang, wallop . . . and the gleaming car you polished so lovingly last Sunday now looks l ike the ugliest thing on four wheels — or possibly three — that ever came out of a car factory.


transport now has more wrinkles than a walnut. How is that crumpled heap of metal going to take you to work again? And what about the trip to the coast you promised the in-laws this summer?


Your beloved private


lives most motorists will probably experience that sickening feeling of stand-


At some time in their Advertising feature


ing numbly at the side of the road after a bump, thinking: “This was never going to happen to me.” When the immediate


feeling of relief at having escaped from the. crash without serious injury has passed, your next worry is repairs.


New life


How long will it take? Where can I have it done? Are there going to be any problems with the insur­ ance? All these worries are


What’s it going to cost?


new to you, but for the local car body repair expe r t s at Well gat e Motors, Clitheroe, giving new life to “pranged” cars


accepted by VBRA, the association’s inspectors look into the company’s business history, the qual­ ity of its workmanship, the number of skilled staff employed, the state and size of its premises and the repair equipment avail­ able.


eight-page code of practice for members which was drawn up in consultation


THE RIGHT BLEND PANEL-BEATER and welder John Tomlinson.


DURING the past few mo n t h s Wel lga te Motor s has invested £10,000 towards provid­ ing a better body repair service for motorists. In the new body shop, for example, there are two pieces of equipment


c os t i ng a t o t a l of £4,500. The installation of


factory-made colours covered 90 per cent of a r e f i n i s h c r ’s needs. Today there are 6,000 car colours among Brit­ ish and foreign makes sold in the UK, increas­ ing the problem of matching enormously.


IC I c o l o u r -mi x i n g e q u i pme n t enabl e s Wellgate to match any colour on any car. In 1970, a range of 600


be produced in several s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t shades. Many different col­


Often one colour will


ours have to be blended and weighed in exactly the right quantities to arrive at the correct col­ our for YOUR car. With the right equip­


ment available, Well­ gate can have the job done immediately with­ out having to wait for materials to be deli­ vered.


The association has an


the latest repair and paint­ spraying equipment and is the only garage in the area belonging to the Vehicle and Body R ep a ire rs ’ Association, known as VBRA. Befor e a garage is


is an everyday job. The company boasts all


with the Director General of Fair Trading in the interest of the motoring public. The association strives


to improve the profes­ sional status of the car body-repair industry by ensuring a satisfactory repair to a car at a realistic cost to the customer. It also handles complaints. A VBRA arbitration


scheme provides custom­ ers with an efficient and i n e x p e n s i v e o u t l e t whereby complaints which cannot be resolved bet­ ween repairer and motor­ ist can be settled quickly by an independent arbit­ rator.


Control


in close touch with the lat­ est techniques in body repairs provided by the repair research centre at Thatcham, Berkshire. This centre is run by the


Wellgate Motors keeps r.Ol■


THERE are 6,000 colours among British and foreign cars sold in the ICI colour mixing equipment at Wellgate Motors will match them Gordon High demonstrates part of the careful blending procedure.


UK— and the all perfectly.


British Insurance Associa­ tion and Lloyds. Its aim is to control the costs and to improve the standards of vehicle repair, thus help­ ing to keep down insurance premiums. At the centre, body


panel replacement times on hundreds of cars are calculated. The centre helps keep down repair costs by persuading car manufacturers to produce replacement panels for smaller areas of the car’s body. A classic example of this


is “doorskins” to put on a dented door instead of replacing the whole unit.


CAR body repairs and respraying form a major part of the work-load at Wellgate Motors. Four, men and an


recovery service for drivers in the Clitheroe area. A s


flow. The body shop foreman


apprentice concentrate s o l e l y on body re­ building and painting. It is a full-time job, too, for one of the storemen Gary Grainger ensuring the right panels and parts arrive at the right time to provide a smooth work-


der is John Tomlinson, the painter is Peter Adcroft, and they are assisted by Gordon High and new apprent ice David Winklcy. Mr Spenslcy is con­


is David Pearson, a man of vast experience who has spent his life in the car-repair industry. Before coming to Well­ gate Motors lie was in charge of a large body shop at Skipton. Panel-beater and wel­


' system for straighten­ ing cars after a bad


Another new piece of equipment at Wellgate Motors which owner John Spensley consid­ ers "fantastic” is a Mitek collision repair


The sys t em, whi ch anchors to the floor, can pull in any direction from any point round the car.


crash.


Hydr a ul i c power ed chains and extension


“It is the very latest piece of equipment in this field and is simple, fast and efficient,” says Mr Spensley.


tubes are used to pull, or push, the crashed car back into shape.


cerned about the training of apprentices in car bodywork. He is very keen on


training young people in the motor industry, but he says: “Few garages seem prepared to train


road. Then, as now, Wellgate Motors were on hand to provide a speedy


IF you do have an accident in your car, don't feel so bad. Motorists were crashing their cars many years ago —


when there were far fewer vehicles on the


outside the original premises of Wellgate Motors in Wellgate, the early experts at the garage were called out frequently to cars which crashed, like this one, on Sawlcy Brow.


you can see from our picture (below) of the old break-down vehicles


breathing new life into them. Modern repair techniques practised at Wellgate ensure that the motorist


(above) —


receives the fairest possible deal for his — money.


or his insurance company's — Driving conditions have changed since then — but Wellgate Motors is still bringing cars back from collisions and and so has the recovery wagon


AT your service: GaryGraingerJohn Tomlinson, David Pearson, Peter Adcroft, Gordon High and David Wink- ley, members of the hard-working team.


from the trees." As well as accident work, the garage is tak­


body repair apprentices, they seem to expect trained men to spring


ing on more and more general respray and body repair work. The price of a new car


many people are finding 'V


it more economical to have their car restored to its showroom glory by investing in a respray and r es t orat i on of bodywork.


WE KNOW.. . OUR BODYSHOP MANAGER IS THE LAST PERSON YOU WANTTOSEE...


But if you have tc^you’ll be able to view the best equipped body and paint workshop in the Ribble Valley with MITEK, the most advanced car body straightening and pulling jigs now available.


Mitek collision repair system uses the «Vector Principle» to pull in any direction from any point around the vehicle. A 10 Ton ram provides the pulling force and anchor pots in the floor provide tiedown. Multiple power units can be used to . correct the damage.


Members of the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association


And an all new paint BLENDER/MIXER to make over 6,000 colours to match every BRITISH and FOREIGN car sold in the UK.


VEHICLE BODY REPAIRS — FULL OR PART RE-SPRAYS ON ANY MAKE OF CAR.


The unique feature of this machine is


that it can PUSH as well as PULL, and when used with our Celete body bench and jigs, forms an unbeatable combination.


ACCIDENT DAMAGE AND INSURANCE WORK OUR SPECIALITY.


WELLGATE MOTORS LTD. THE PAINT AND BODYSHOP %


WATERLOO ROAD, CLITHEROE y


HEADOFFICE DUCK STREET, CLITHEROE. Tel. 22222-3-4


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