Time capsule

[j-j]

So there was I doing a wee bit of work on Aphrodite the mighty Shitroen CX a few weeks back

 

when I find the need to remove the large glove box. I'd never removed this before and knew I'd lost a couple of documents down the back at some point because I could see a bit of paper just beyond the back.

 

So I remove the thing and recover the fairly large amount of bits of paper and such from the space behind the metal glove box. (on these it's a metal lower section to the dash that's covered in a weird felt finish that looks like action man's buzz cut though blue.) Anyway, it turns out that the lost papers of mine were not mine at all, they also were not just 'papers' as I found a cassette tape and a sun glasses pouch (as is ALWAYS the case when you take command of an old machine - FACT)

 

Anyway, WTF did I find there?? well only a whole bunch of stuff from 1979!!

 

Seriously, this stuff has all been there since 1979. Among the find is a hotel reservation for a chap named Stan Reeves and wife for a 2 nights stay in a London hotel. The address in Malvern of Mr. Reeves on the reservation (this CX was supplied by one 'Chevron Motors' of Malvern so Mr. Reeves was surely the first owner?!?!) The date and room number in the Dorchester Hotel (still there) and a whole bunch of bumph about an exhibition/conference at the Albert Hall on the next day of the hotel reservation.

There's headed letter of something called the 'Falcon Club' - WTF? is this going to be some sort of 70s swingers' club???? nah, turns out to be a Life Assurance company. Here's Stan Reeves's 'With compliments' slip:

The Hotel reservation complete with address of my CX's first owner (yep I have google map street viewed it!)

 

Some itinerary to do with the conference at the Albert Hall - looks like it was a right bangin' event

compiled by 'Jane' presumably a secretary, I wonder what she was like...... 70s babe I'd like to imagine

 

I wonder if Mr and Mrs Reeves lost their hotel reservation before or after their arrival at the Dorchester in 17th Jan 1980. "honestly dear it WAS there - I made sure the reservation was here in our 3 year old Citroen's glove box" - I wonder if there was a fuss at the reception of the Dorchester all those years ago (when I was less than a year old!) upon the arrival of the Reeves.

 

There is also a bunch of stuff that was obviously lost at a different time to the weird conference stuff.

 

There is a cassette tape that appears to have been unplayed as it has the clear 'leading tape' in totally uncrinkled condition - i can't describe it but you just 'know' when a cassette is new and not played in a player. The fact that it's ~Fred Astaire in a 1979 recording is not the point! but that this CX didn't actually have a cassette player fitted when I got it 5 years ago and had a push button radio is!

 

Also there's a page torn out of a street map of the Wednesbury area with lots of Xs marked at addresses. I checked out the same area today on google maps to see what the score was. The area has changed massively and many of the X - marked areas are redeveloped from residential streets to other stuff now but some many streets remain and show private housing so I guess Mr. Reeves the Life Assurance broker/executive visited these addresses for some business reason.

 

There's a 'What's on in Dudley' pamphlet in the find. April 1979 edition. Mere days after I was born!

 

Also there's a few bits and bobs to do with the life assurance stuff, a brochure to do with the Novotel chain with proper 70s shades- wearing swinger types on it in pools and such and there's a sachet of like 'wet wipes' if a brand I'd never heard of but that my mum was all: "O yes, XX brand .." like it was something familiar.. and a 'Driving on French autoroutes' guide thing from the same era.

 

I think it's great! The stuff is totally untarnished and there's no sign of any dampness or sun damage to anything. I'd always wanted to find something like this in an old car but for some reason didn't think the little corner of paper I could see beyond the end of the glove box hinge would be anything of the sort. I always dream of like turning back time to see what this exact car was like at different times but this has been there behind the glove box for pretty much the whole time I've been around so every memory I could ever recall, this stuff was in this car somewhere.. as a kid in the 80s- 90s and beyond, this stuff was there. Every news event on TV I can recall, this shit was there, vibrating away on a motorway somewhere in England sometime in the 70s, 80s 90s and 2000s until I found it.. It is a time capsule of someone's life 30 years ago and I still rag this car as a daily....

 

** right click on the images to see the full thing**

[retrogeezer]

cool....I love finding stuff like this.

[j-j]

Well, this is the firs time I've found weir old grot in an old grotmobile - I've waited years for this shit

[Albert Ross]

HIs Wife's called Vera, and they lived in Malvern until 2002 by the looks................. According to my limited use of the electoral register....

[scaryoldcortina]

That''s amazing. I love finding stuff in old cars - I once bought a Herald which had been standing for 30 years, there was a 1974 dated "Dear John" letter and an empty Haig 1/4 bottle under the driver's seat. A mk5 cortina gave up a collection of streetmaps and tourist brochures (1980's, mostly north yorks) and the 1981 Whitby area phone book (all 52 pages of it), and In a mk2 capri stored since 1981 a full set of furry seat covers, the manual and ariel for a binatone CB radio, a book on identifying ducks and geese, and the previous keeper's shotgun licence.

[j-j]

My god, so he's maybe passed on...? If so I feel a wee bit guilty about shouting"ya complete shiny bastard" at the CX the other morning when the starter solenoid stuck in the -13Ëšc cold!

 

I wonder if Mr and Mrs Reeves had any children who'd remember the car?

[Lord Sterling]

Wow! That's amazing. You found some great stuff there Graeme. Lol @ "Whats on in Dudley" there isnt that much stuff 'on' there now.

 

I've not taken my gloveboxes out out of any of my cars yet, though I did take some dash-cubby hole thing off the Micra and found an old Tweenies cassett that belonged to my sister. My mum would put that on for my sister when she was younger and when the car had a cassett player.

 

I doubt there is anything of interest in my Rovers apart from rust and some broken plastic. Only thing I found in the glovebox was an old Esso "Tiger token"

[j-j]

That''s amazing. I love finding stuff in old cars - I once bought a Herald which had been standing for 30 years, there was a 1974 dated "Dear John" letter and an empty Haig 1/4 bottle under the driver's seat. A mk5 cortina gave up a collection of streetmaps and tourist brochures (1980's, mostly north yorks) and the 1981 Whitby area phone book (all 52 pages of it), and In a mk2 capri stored since 1981 a full set of furry seat covers, the manual and ariel for a binatone CB radio, a book on identifying ducks and geese, and the previous keeper's shotgun licence.

 

Jeez! I can imagine that - wonder what happened to the guy that received the letter. 52 pages in a phone book! those were the days! Anyone else find some old untouched shite in their respective shite wagon?

[j-j]

Wow! That's amazing. You found some great stuff there Graeme. Lol @ "Whats on in Dudley" there isnt that much stuff 'on' there now.

 

I've not taken my gloveboxes out out of any of my cars yet, though I did take some dash-cubby hole thing off the Micra and found an old Tweenies cassett that belonged to my sister. My mum would put that on for my sister when she was younger and when the car had a cassett player.

 

I doubt there is anything of interest in my Rovers apart from rust and some broken plastic. Only thing I found in the glovebox was an old Esso "Tiger token"

 

I might have to take some scans of the things in the 'What's on in Dudley' pamphlet as there's an interesting advert complete with a fine pair of titties a few pages along from some family friendly ads for like school pantos or something..

[Lord Sterling]

Nice.

 

Have you seen the Malvern address on google? Looks a seriously well-to-do area, really nice looking area. I can just imagine the CX in the 80s pulling into the estate by some brown suit-wearing important looking bloke.

[j-j]

Nice.

 

Have you seen the Malvern address on google? Looks a seriously well-to-do area, really nice looking area. I can just imagine the CX in the 80s pulling into the estate by some brown suit-wearing important looking bloke.

 

I did! You're right - there's a a certain middle class look to that cul de sac - all mock Georgian houses. I'm totally seeing the Brown suit! I couldn't get google maps to stop at the exact address though, either the house numbers have changed or the address was the single bungalow that you can just make out beyond where the google car stopped and turned around. i can't recall how to post a google maps image of a street.

[autofive]

i think President Falcon is / was a upper class insurance company, mainly dealing in aero and boats

 

unfortunately google doesnt help much

[j-j]

I know, I tried to find out about it. I think that company was absorbed by other insurance companies years ago. I have some details somewhere of the address of the Mr. Reeves' office that is IIRC, in the center of somewhere like, or close to Dudley. The street, when viewed on streetview shows various companies such as estate agents and stuff but one building is named 'Insurance house' though it's now housing other companies, I tend to reckon that Insurance House might just have been wherte Falcon/Hasbro or whatever life assurance was based all those years ago. But it was an educated guess.

 

I still haven't played the cassette..

[j-j]

Sorry, it is in Wolverhampton as can be seen in the 3rd photo^^ The street you see when you put that postcode into streetview is one of the sort of streets you could imagine 30 years back being much more 'parking friendly' and I can just about imagine the blue CX being parked there of a day.

[Lord Sterling]

I know, I tried to find out about it. I think that company was absorbed by other insurance companies years ago. I have some details somewhere of the address of the Mr. Reeves' office that is IIRC, in the center of somewhere like, or close to Dudley. The street, when viewed on streetview shows various companies such as estate agents and stuff but one building is named 'Insurance house' though it's now housing other companies, I tend to reckon that Insurance House might just have been wherte Falcon/Hasbro or whatever life assurance was based all those years ago. But it was an educated guess.

 

I still haven't played the cassette..

 

Digging around a bit has flashed up that Hambro Life Assurance was bought out by Zurich Financial Services in 1998. I've had a look on google maps, Hambro Assurance was based at 29 Waterloo Street, in a building which is occupied by "Garratts" Chartered Accountants.

 

I wonder how long our Brown corduroy suit and thick black rimmed glasses wearing Mr Reeves (Who I now imagine looked something like an older George Fourmile in Hirst's avatar) worked at Hambro Assurance for? At the time it seems he was a Sales Executive, I wonder if he progressed higher in the chain? Or did he retire in the same position?

 

I can imagine his office with those faux-wooden panels all over the walls (ala-1970s office) with a big ticking 70s clock on the wall. The sound of typewriters tapping away outside. "Jane" would be some puffy-haired, slim 40-year old married women, devoted to her work, welcoming Mr Stan Reeve and his clients with a nice smile and all the correspondance typed up for him before he leaves to go and see 'clients'

[j-j]

Don't spoil my dream Lord S, to me Jane is a 22 year old, pert young thing with whispy blond hair and ambitions to become like Anna Ford but still climbing the ladder (not too high now! it is 1980 after all!) trendy but middle of the road - listens to Abba as opposed to the stones etc. She probably drives a Mini or a newish Renner 5 maybe a Dyane. Anyway I want to marry Jane well not NOW obviously but the Jane I've made up

[Pete-M]

Heh, lovely finds those.

 

The P5 I had last year had a load of stuff in from the early 60's. A list of hotels and campsites in Cornwall from '63 and a few other bits and bobs.

 

I too like the idea of Jane the Secretary..

[STUNO]

The only "interesting" thing I have found while cleaning a car was tucked under the carpet. A condom or two ready for instant use. The car belonged to my happily married family-man boss. I was too young to think about blackmail then............

[Danblez]

I love stuff like this, it is indeed a lovely drive to be wafting up in the CX.

 

There was also a Stan E. Reeves and Vera Reeves listed on the electoral register in 2002. Coincidence? I think not!

 

 

EDIT D'oh, only just realised it actually says Stan on that slip.....

[seth]

Great find!

 

I've got hand written pencil dates on the back of the drivers side sun visor in the Hillman, MOT dates or something from the mid/late '70s.

[Mash]

That's a fabulous find. All I got from my Triumph was a little card under the carpet that said "HOME MARKET" on it.

 

However, I recently helped clear the personal effects of a deceased friend of the family who was 82. I aquired all of his car related paraphenalia and other random tat that he'd kept for years and going through it was like a window in to the past. He'd kept so much ephemera relating to race meetings, holidays, cars and work and it's just magic stuff, all in pretty much mint condition. One of my favourites is the original order form, bill of sale and tax disc from his Citroen GS bought new in 1981.

[HillmanImp]

ambitions to become like Anna Ford

 

Lame to fame. My auntie Maureen used to go out with Anna Fords brother when her family lived in Brampton.........

[Clevtrev]

The Chesterfield Hotel looks pretty swish. Just off Berkeley Square. http://www.chesterfieldmayfair.com/ He was obviously a high flyer back in the day!

[pogweasel]

Six quid breakfast / tea allowance.

That's pretty t'right for 1979.

When I had a proper job we only got a fiver for breakfast and a tenner for tea...

[Split_Pin]

Nice find!

[bigstraight6]

Quality! I love stuff like this, an insight into the life of the cars previous owner of over 30 years ago. Most sales reps were driving Cortinas or Caviliers at the time which adds to the mystery. I've never found anything interesting in a car, just coinage lodged near the front seat runners.....

[j-j]

Cheers all - tbh, I never did find anything in any previous wrecks (Apart from the crappy old sunglasses cases there always are)

 

So this Reeves character was a possible high flyer? £6 dinner allowance, swish hotel, classy pad in malvern - does this meanz I can haz class now?

 

Mr Reeves eh, if only he could see the car now:

 

 

All glamour as you can see!

[chaseracer]

I grew up in Malvern, and remember Chevron Motors well - in fact I bought my GS1220 there in 1985.

[Shep Shepherd]

Fabulous finds

 

The only things that I usually find in new acquisitions are pens, parking tickets, till receipts, sweet wrappers, dog hairs and old-size 10p and 50p pieces. However, I did find a Haynes manual in its plastic wrapping under the boot carpet of my Volvo 240GL, which I still have, even though the car is long gone

[Cavcraft]

Ace find, it's great coming across stuff like this when you route through cars.

 

 

I think you should do a (fun) competition as to what's inside the 'What To Do In Dudley' leaflet. I'll go with the traffic lights changing on Sundays!