THERE was not sat nav when the first vehicle rolled off the production line and Saddleworth a small cog in the British car industry.
But some Midas kit cars manufactured at Heybottom Mill (Robert Scotts) in Greenfield are still going strong 40 years on.
And they found their way from across the UK to mark the anniversary and to take part in a rally across the moors to the Oil Can Café in Holmfirth.
As exclusively featured in the August edition of the Independent, Harold Dermott and Maurice Holt started D & H Fibreglass Techniques Ltd in 1975.
Under licence they began building the Mini Marcos before in August 1979, the mark one Midas made an appearance on Britain’s roads.
Production eventually moved to Corby in Northamptonshire before a fire in 1989 hastened a move into liquidation.
However, the name lives on and organiser Alistair Courtney, owner of the Midas company since 2003, was delighted by the turnout in Greenfield.
“We had been discussing how few there are still around on the roads but we had around a dozen with us to mark the event.
“We have get-togethers every year at the Stoneleigh kit car show (Warwickshire) but haven’t held anything in the north for 10 years.
“It was good to mark the anniversary of where it all started. We had hoped Harold would be able to attend but unfortunately we couldn’t get in touch.
“However, we had cars travel from South Wales, Birmingham and near Bristol plus a good turn out from more locally based owners.”
Brian Babcock made a near 200-mile trip from Clevedon to attend the rally.
“I have had the car since 2002 and it’s been involved in a rolling restoration project” he told the Independent.
“Originally, it was white and in a very sad state. So, I re-built the car from the ground up. And for a number of years it was used as a daily drive before we bought other cars.”
• For more details on Midas cars visit the website: www.midascars.co.uk