Hancock motors selling spares

[Mike Kelly]

Found this in a Govt. gazette, Jan. 1963. Appears that the Govt. purchased over 8 thousand pounds of DUKW and GMC spares from WH Hancock motors. So did Hancock buy the parts as surplus , then resell the spares back to the Govt. at a massive profit?

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...11558/26082173

Hancock was still going in the 1970's , he had two warehouses in Melbourne ,
full of surplus vehicle parts. The Mitcham warehouse had Studebaker White Scout car and Diamond T parts , I went there scrounging many times.

[Keith Webb]

Very interesting find Mike, as you know I worked for Hughes Auto Spares in the mid 1970s, they were a division of Hancock Motors by then, located at Hunter Road Camberwell, now I think a carpark for a school. The place was packed with WW2 NOS surplus vehicle parts, all at one time carefully inventoried by Jack White who worked with Jack O'Donnell, the manager. By that time the other warehouse in Nunawading belonged to Auto Surplus I think, but there was still a presence out at Coburg next to Hughes Trading.
In your other post about the government buying back GMC spares, I think it was not unusual for disposals to realise too late they'd sold stuff they still needed and had to buy it back at inflated prices.
Those were the days eh!

[Mike Kelly]

Hi Keith

Yes your correct , there must have been other cases where the various Govt. Departments sold stuff then bought back the stuff later on.

Regarding Auto Surplus at Nunawading , I got to know Colin Bell, the chap on the counter , as I often went there to go through the shelves. I asked Colin directly : who actually owned the parts. His reply " old man Hancock " Colin would tell me interesting stories, he was a buyer for Healings just after the war and he was involved in the surplus game over many years. He was a Lieutenant in a transport company during WW2. He told me he had a large collection of vehicle manuals . Auto Surplus changed hands during the 1980s and the new owners went over to vintage car stuff. I'm guessing much of the WW2 parts were sold at giveaway prices to make room for the vintage car parts.

[motto]

There are some interesting stories around about military vehicle parts and the shifty deals that went on.
One has to do with a large amount of Studebaker spares that was acquired by the government when the stock of U.S. 6 trucks were being put into service. Many of the spares were repackaged used parts instead of NOS. I remember seeing a knackered transfer case in its transit box all greased up at one of the dealers and that is where I was told the story. You had to be careful what you were buying.
I even came across some of this stuff in the possession of Chris Wilkinson in the UK. A large number of used Hercules JXD big end shells that were individually repacked.
The story went that one of the three characters involved in the scam committed suicide when it started to come to light.
I also remember visiting Auto Surplus when they were having a sort out and the scrap skip in their yard containing a mass of NOS stuff that had got too slow moving.

David

[Keith Webb]

Having met quite a few of these characters I can fully believe that, although I hadn't heard the one about the suicide.

I was overseas when Hughes Auto Spares was being cleared, there were stories about a Hillman Husky which made many severely overloaded trips out of that place.

Originally Posted by motto

There are some interesting stories around about military vehicle parts and the shifty deals that went on.
One has to do with a large amount of Studebaker spares that was acquired by the government when the stock of U.S. 6 trucks were being put into service. Many of the spares were repackaged used parts instead of NOS. I remember seeing a knackered transfer case in its transit box all greased up at one of the dealers and that is where I was told the story. You had to be careful what you were buying.
I even came across some of this stuff in the possession of Chris Wilkinson in the UK. A large number of used Hercules JXD big end shells that were individually repacked.
The story went that one of the three characters involved in the scam committed suicide when it started to come to light.
I also remember visiting Auto Surplus when they were having a sort out and the scrap skip in their yard containing a mass of NOS stuff that had got too slow moving.

David