- Joined
- Oct 7, 2005
- Messages
- 1,170
Knut:
I never got to visit the Plumstead Road facility while at N-V. I heard some odd tales about the condition of their machinery back in '66, but the tales may have referred to machinery moved there from Bracebridge Street when AMC took over Norton. I think the muti-millionaire that resurrected Norton (he already owned Villiers) would have put a load of cash into AMC to get better quality work, but I don't know for sure.
Communication between top management and lower levels was marginal and the top man at Wolverhampton was a former Rolls-Royce Aero Engine manager whose expertise was in the chemistry of kerosene combustion. Very pleasant man, but no familiarity with motor-cycles. I don't remember seeing any technical correspondence between Wolverhampton and Plumstead while I was there.
For a few months at the start of my N-V job, we were living in Kenilworth, about 45 miles from Wolverhampton. I was loaned a rather tired 650SS as a commuter and got very familiar with the vibrations of the parallel twin rigidly fastened to a Featherbed frame!
I never got to visit the Plumstead Road facility while at N-V. I heard some odd tales about the condition of their machinery back in '66, but the tales may have referred to machinery moved there from Bracebridge Street when AMC took over Norton. I think the muti-millionaire that resurrected Norton (he already owned Villiers) would have put a load of cash into AMC to get better quality work, but I don't know for sure.
Communication between top management and lower levels was marginal and the top man at Wolverhampton was a former Rolls-Royce Aero Engine manager whose expertise was in the chemistry of kerosene combustion. Very pleasant man, but no familiarity with motor-cycles. I don't remember seeing any technical correspondence between Wolverhampton and Plumstead while I was there.
For a few months at the start of my N-V job, we were living in Kenilworth, about 45 miles from Wolverhampton. I was loaned a rather tired 650SS as a commuter and got very familiar with the vibrations of the parallel twin rigidly fastened to a Featherbed frame!