A Rebuilt Beardmore to DAC's Mr Bagwash!
Then four years ago, Wally heard of an old Beardmore that was on sale and "...in urgent need of renovation." That usually means that it's a wreck! But Wally was looking for a back-up vehicle to the Asquith and decided to have a look.
"It really was in a state," Wally told Call Sign, "it didn't even have working brakes." However, Wally bought it, nurtured it for two years with new parts and upholstery, totally renovating the vintage taxi until it worked as well as any modern day cab. And indeed for the past two years, Wally's Beardmore has been joining the Asquith for wedding orders.
The taxi - DAN 702D - was first plated 36 years ago and was one of the last hundred Beardmores made. This group were also the only ones to have 4 doors, the previous taxis having
The Beardmore as it now is
just an open luggage step on the front nearside.
One secret Wally let Call Sign into was why he was nicknamed
Bagwash...
"When I was four," said Wally, "we
used to live just off Caledonian Road and just above where the bagwash was
taken after collection. Friend used to knock on the door and ask if Wally
Bagwash could come out to play! It seems to have stuck. Everyone calls me
it, but I just don't understand how they know!"
One certainty is that Wally doesn't carry any bagwash in
either the Asquith or Beardmore!
