What is BMC British Automobile?

What is BMC?

“What is BMC?” is an incorrect question for this website. You see, BMC was a short for “British Motor Corporation", a company that came about from the merger of Austin Motor Co. Ltd. to Morris Motors Ltd. in 1952 and was known by most people as such until the complete reform in 1968- in other words, the golden age of the British Automobile industry.

A proper question for this website is Who is BMC? BMC is me, Brian Mc Cullough, and British Automobile is my small corner of the British automotive world.

But what’s a Scot doing working on British vehicles? Well, that’s Scotch-Irish to you! (and a lot more too!) My Dad, Dwight Mc Cullough, was a Mercedes-Benz specialist for many years and ran his own business for around 15 years. He also owned (and still does) own and repair British vehicles. I was far more interested in the Austin Healey Sprites and MG B’s then any Mercedes or BMW Coupé that would pull in for repairs and since he always had his Sprites around, I was hooked at a Very young age. By the time I was eleven years old, I had an idea of what compression ratios were, a little understanding of camshafts, gearboxes and lots on electrical. I had already rewired a few pieces of his recently repainted and disassembled Bugeye (while he was AWAY at work!) and worked out the four wheel drum brake dragging problem on the same ‘59 Bugeye.

As I grew older, I would hang around his shop and eventually worked under him. We worked together for a few years and then I went off on my own some time after high school. Continuing on a ‘self study’ course collecting everything I could and talking to anyone who had anything to say about automotive Repairs, Restorations or Alterations, all the time retaining to the Anglophile that already had people in high school pegging me as that guy who drove them funny foreign cars!

I worked at a few small time car places learning the bottom end of the repair business and then went to work for Tom at Odyssey Restorations-restoring true Classic automobiles from turn of the century to “as new as” 1936 full Classics such as Franklin, Packard, Pierce Arrow and other names associated with Proper American vehicles. This was a wonderful place with the highest quality workmanship in the Midwest (and then some as proven by awards!) and I would recommend them to anyone looking to restore American Classics. While my time at Odyssey was drawing to an end, I was steadily building up parts, information and more for starting British Automobile.

By 1999, I had already established the business and in mid 2000AD started full time with nothing less then a 1950 Morgan Plus 4, a 1960 Bugeye and more.

2006 (aught ‘six) is just around the corner as of this writing and the business has grown. We moved to a new home with a dedicated shop <still> on residential property three years ago almost to the day in December 2002. Our square footage can now be advertised as “Adequate” working on two to four vehicles at a time with storage too. The local work keeps coming in and our restoration work gets more attention around the Midwest with our V6 conversions going from Alaska, Hawaii, the other‘ 48 as well as dozens of people in Canada. Our internet site has been up since around 2000 and keeps getting better and better thanks to my webmaster and brother Jon “Apple Bit” Mc Cullough with the British Sports Car Restoration and Conversion Parts store online to provide you the best quality components for your British Sports Car.

A little about me personally:

• Born in April 1975 in Anoka County.
• Lived and worked in Anoka County my whole life
• Graduated in 1993 from Blaine High school
• Started college and realized “it wasn’t my thing”
• Married Jennifer Zalazar, my high School sweet heart in 1996 (and kept her going to college for a while!)
• We have three daughters and one son
• Sit on Linwood townships Park and Recreation committee 2003 to present.
• Member: Minnesota MG Group, Minnesota Austin Healey Club and Minnesota classic mini’s (MMPEAPSHA)
• Attend Constance Evangelical Free Church
• Believer and Follower of Christ Jesus.