Lonsdale yd41???

[Formula Autos]

This thread popping up again has reminded me of a conversation with my Dad a few weeks ago, which touched on Dale’s Lonsdale that I tried to find a couple of years ago (see posts passim). 
 

My Dad reckoned that when the new Dale (let’s call him Dale2, for ease) had “got his feet under the table” next door he investigated the untouched detached garage at the property, only to find a car in there. Now, don’t get too excited - this seemed to be a Colt Celeste I’m aware of re-surfacing round here. Apparently Dale2 contacted the original Dale (let’s call him LonsDale) about getting it moved out of there. Dale2 had told my Dad that the car in the garage was the last one remaining of LonsDale’s hoarde of cars, that LonsDale had been finding homes or storage for, after he split up with Julie and moved out.
 

Now it’s a slim hope, but if the car in the garage was the Celeste I’d heard about, and given that’s still in existence, there’s a chance the Lonsdale was found a home, or LonsDale managed to store it somewhere. Though as he died years ago, and I think I’ve found some evidence of his Lonsdale passing through a scrapyard nearby, I still think it’s probably been cubed long ago - even if he had managed to save it for a while.

 

Or maybe that’s the one that ended up being mentioned in the comments of Corsicar’s YouTube video? Bought by someone off Dale?
 

What I know for certain about LonsDale’s Lonsdale (having seen it with my own eyes) is that it was definitely: 

A Lonsdale, and not a Mitsubishi - I remember the badge where Dale had taped over Lons as a joke, so it said Dale

A saloon

Brown when I saw it (though that’s not 100% definite as the colour it left the factory with, I doubt anyone would have spent money spraying such a low value car another colour - especially an unfashionable one. Maybe call it a 95% certainty it was brown from factory?)

Not in too bad a condition at that point, and in the hands of a bloke who did bodywork/repairing cars for a living

 

 

 

I’m still clinging to a tiny bit of hope it’s out there somewhere ….

[mk2_craig]

BBC have dug out this old clip featuring Mick and Pegs scran van. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/videos/cqxy0v8e2g7o
 

Unfortunately the camera angle doesnt give us any way of telling whether this is a Lonsdale or a Galant, unless there’s any giveaway details visible?

[georgeinabz]

BBC have dug out this old clip featuring Mick and Pegs scran van. 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/videos/cqxy0v8e2g7o
 
Unfortunately the camera angle doesnt give us any way of telling whether this is a Lonsdale or a Galant, unless there’s any giveaway details visible?

Not sure they imported the galant /sigma estate into the UK, remember the japs had a 10% embrgo for a while hence we didnt get the full range, looks like lonsdale wheels

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[georgeinabz]

I stand corrected old sigma was estate only on model run out I assume ,Galant only saloon, I assume as not to impose on Lonsdale sales as both imported and distributed by Colt Car Co. and their dealers. Shrewd guy the MD , Michael Orr.

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[georgeinabz]

I didn't remember apparently as the Lonsdales didn't sell very well they were rebadged as Mitsubishi, I suppose you would have to check vin plates to see I you've got an Aussie assembled Galant

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[Six-cylinder]

14 hours ago, georgeinabz said:

Not sure they imported the galant /sigma estate into the UK, remember the japs had a 10% embrgo for a while hence we didnt get the full range, looks like lonsdale wheels
 

I have had a look at my 1988 Glass's Guide Check Book and it appears Sigma Estate were sold in the UK at the same time. 

[georgeinabz]

I have had a look at my 1988 Glass's Guide Check Book and it appears Sigma Estate were sold in the UK at the same time. 

I noted the statement in the GG , "previously marketed as Lonsdale " 2.6 was Aussie spec engine only

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[sierraman]

Is there no inroads into finding out who this Irish farmer is with the barn? 

[Lucas Aid]

Thanks to Dr Google, I stumbled across this forum and I may be able to offer a little insight to all you Lonsdale hunters out there. Here goes…

My father owned a range of slow selling cars in the 70s and 80s that might be classed as Autoshite today. Lada 1600ES (three of them), 2 x early 80s Subaru saloons (not the trendy 4WD models), a Fiat Argenta (highly unreliable) and an Aussie built Mitsubishi Sigma – essentially a late Lonsdale YD41. They were all purchased new and owned for around 12- 18 months as he covered a reasonable amount of business miles. Remember this was a time of 12 month warranties, dodgy build quality and epic rusting, so business users tended to change their cars more often back then. Anyway, being a junior petrol head at that time, I remember happily accompanying him around various dealerships when it was time to change vehicle. I enthusiastically collected the brochures and it’s fair to say that I have some good knowledge of Autoshite at a time when it was new and cutting edge Autoshite!

I could go on about some of the specimens that he tested and rejected such as the 1980s Daihatsu Charmant LE, Lancia Prisma and Trevi, Fiat Regatta 100S and Citroen BX GT. I also remember him testing a Lada Niva when they first became available in the UK late 70s, but Mother wouldn’t let him have one as they were LHD only. However, I digress…lets get back to Lonsdale.

I first recall seeing the Lonsdale at the 1982 NEC Motor Show. It was almost outwardly identical to the then current model Colt / Mitsibishi Galant, but I always seem to remember the Galant being marketed as an executive / luxury model with all the associated toys such as electric windows, central locking, PAS. They also had the Turbo model at the top of the range. The Lonsdale in comparison was more basic and missed out on many of the extras that came as standard with the Galant. Despite this spec difference, I don’t remember the Lonsdale models being priced particularly competitively. The Galant was always a niche, slow selling model in the UK. The Lonsdale even more so. The Galant was completely remodeled and went FWD by 1984, so the RWD Sigma was looking quite dated within the Mitsubishi line up by that time. I can therefore understand why the Lonsdale / Sigma didn’t sell well.

At some point – possibly late 84 / early 85, Mitsubishi UK dropped the Lonsdale monica and badged the Aussie built cars as Mitsubishi Sigmas. As far as I am aware, they were identical apart from the badging. Not sure if they were badged as Lonsdales / Sigmas at the factory in Australia or upon arrival in the UK?

The story of Father’s Sigma starts with the Fiat Argenta. The old man bought this from Kennings in Walsall back in August 1983. I think he went looking for a 2 litre Super Mirafiori, but they managed to upsell him the top line model. The Argenta was a lovely car – it sounded great, went well, smart interior and was loaded with kit for the day. Unfortunately, it spent more time back at Kennings than it did on the road as something either broke, blew up or fell off it with alarming regularity. We were on first name terms with the local RAC man.

Kennings in Walsall had been a big BMC/BL dealer for many years. The building was on Hatherton Street and was a well known local landmark – now sadly demolished. In the early 80s, they dropped BL and switched to Fiat, Citroen and Mitsubishi. During his ownership of the Fiat, they downsized and moved to a smaller garage on Ward Street – It’s now a Kwik Fit. Due to his frequent visits back to Kennings to resolve warranty issues, we often had a glimpse of the newest models coming into stock. Father was also keen to see the back of the Fiat, but was also on the look out for a good deal come PX time. It was here that we clasped eyes on two new, pre registered Aussie built Mitsubishi Sigmas. There was a blue 2.6SE manual saloon and a gold 2.0 automatic estate. This was around March 1985. I think that Mitsubishi UK had decided to pull the plug on the Lonsdale / Sigma import project by this time but still had a quantity of cars to shift. As I remember, a fair number of pre registered Sigmas were dumped into the dealer networks around the country to sell on at heavily discounted prices. For example, the 2.6SE was originally listed at around £7500. I think the pre reg screen price was around £5500. The estate was a couple of hundred cheaper.

The old man was clearly attracted by the discounted prices and having dismissed the estate, (he wasn’t a fan of automatics) chopped the Fiat in for the 2.6 saloon. Also, as I recall, the 2.6 models were the only ones to feature alloy wheels, PAS and disc brakes all round – as well as a radio cassette player!

The registration number of our Sigma was B567RDD. If you check on line, there are a number of Sigmas registered within this sequence. DD was the identifier for vehicles registered in Gloucestershire back then. The Mitsubishi / Colt importer was based in Cirencester. B567RDD was last taxed in 1994, so I think it’s safe to say that it is long dead. I’m sure that someone with a little spare time on their hands would be able to trawl through the sequence to identify any others that might have been on the road until recently.

The car itself was a good motorway cruiser with a plush, blue velour interior. I do recall that a radiator hose worked loose the day after we collected it, but that was quickly resolved by tightening a jubilee clip. Also, one of the alloy wheel centre caps was missing when he got it. Despite asking on numerous occasions, he never received one from Kennings. I also remember that it came fitted with Dunlop tyres. The old boy was cruising down the motorway one day when he heard a thud and then a repeated tapping noise. He stopped the car to investigate and noticed that a piece of tread the size of your palm had stripped off the middle of one of the tyres. After a bit of too and froing with the dealer, they referred him to Fort Dunlop in Birmingham who fitted a complete new set of tyres under warranty. I also remember that it didn’t have a particularly large luggage capacity. I recall a trip to the airport for the annual holidays and having to sit atop one of the suitcases perched on the back seat as they wouldn’t all fit in the boot. For that reason alone, I wish he’d bought the estate instead! I also recall that he used to take it to Castlecroft Garage in Wolverhampton for servicing as they were another local Mitsubishi dealer at that time. The garage is now a Lidl, but I think the business is still trading somewhere in Wolverhampton. He kept the Sigma until the end of 1986 when he chopped it in for a new Mazda 626. He owned five of them in total, but that’s another story.

I don’t think I have any photographs of the Sigma (I do have one of the Fiat), but I believe I have one of the old tax discs squirrelled away somewhere. I also have at least one Lonsdale brochure in my collection (the one with the flip up tab showing a TV in the boot) along with many brochures of various other Autoshite from the era.  I did think that I was alone in my interest in these unremarkable cars, but I was surprised to read that so many people have an enthusiasm for such mundane offerings. You might wonder how my own car ownership turned out? Well, I have been the custodian of quite a few random vehicles over my driving career, but I’m now at the same age as my father was when he purchased the Sigma and I drive a Kia Ceed. Nuff said.

I hope my ramblings might prove to be of interest and I really do hope that someone out there is able to track down a surviving specimen of one of these antipodean gems, but I fear that they are now a long lost automotive unicorn. I don’t think I’ve seen one since the 1980s. I speak as someone who’s done more than my fair share of Midlands scrap yards and bomb site car auctions in the late 1980s to early 2000s where the last of these would undoubtedly have ended up.

As a foot note, I wonder if any Fiat Argentas have survived? Now that would be remarkable!