page_title: Guy Motors
section_title: The decline of the company
hierarchical_section_title: Guy Motors / History / The decline of the company
caption_attribution_description: English: Guy Big J4 (1972)
context_page_description: Guy Motors was a Wolverhampton-based vehicle manufacturer that produced cars, lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company was founded by Sydney S. Guy who was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham. Guy Motors operated out of its Fallings Park factory from 1914 to 1982, playing an important role in the development of the British motor industry.
context_section_description: Although new designs such as the Warrior Mark II were being produced and despite the fact that their lorry division was performing well, by 1960, Guy faced seemingly insurmountable financial problems. The failure of the Wulfrunian was a commercial disaster and the operation in South Africa was losing them £300,000 a year. 
  By 1961, Guy had no choice but to enter receivership. Sir William Lyons, managing director of Jaguar, acquired the company for £800,000, transferring its assets to a new company, Guy Motors (Europe) Limited, which left all the liabilities with the now defunct Guy Motors Limited, the name eventually reverting to "Guy Motors Ltd" in 1966. Jaguar immediately set about rationalisation, reducing both the number of employees and the range of vehicles in production.
  Guy continued to be successful throughout the 1960s, with the development of the Victory trambus and the Big J series of trucks. The Big J was designed around a new, high-revving Cummins V6-200 engine coupled to a 12-speed splitter-type gearbox, and was intended for motorway operation. The reliability shortcomings and poor fuel economy of the Cummins V6-200 engine soon saw it replaced by engines from other sources.  For example, AEC AV505, Leyland O.401, Gardner 6LXB, Cummins NH180/NTK265 and Rolls-Royce Eagle 220/265 were popular choices dependent on Gross Vehicle Weight.  Gearboxes were sourced from AEC, David Brown and Fuller.  Rear axles were selectable from ENV and Kirkstall Forge offerings.  Such were the permutation of fitments that each vehicle's configuration was recorded on an "Erection Sheet" which, in the pre-internet age, was mailed from the factory to Guy dealers to have a record of each vehicle that may require attention in his workshop.  The distinctive, non-tilt cab was sourced from Motor Panels.
  However a series of mergers by their parent company had left them in a precarious situation In 1966, Jaguar had merged with the British Motor Corporation to form British Motor Holdings. This company had then merged with Leyland in 1968, to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation. Leyland ceased the production of Guy-badged buses in 1972, although Leyland-badged versions of the Guy Victory were produced at Wolverhampton and Leyland until 1986. Despite the mergers, the British motor industry continued on a generally downward trend and British Leyland looked for where it could make savings. 
  Guy Motors was able to postpone closure, in part due to the success of its Big J range, because it was one of the few companies owned by British Leyland operating at a profit. Nevertheless, in 1981, Leyland took the debatable decision to close the Fallings Park plant, as part of a rationalisation drive and, in August 1982, the doors were shut at the cost of 740 jobs. On 5 October, the factory was stripped clean and the contents auctioned off. The closure of Guy Motors had a devastating effect on the factory's neighbouring areas, including Heath Town and Low Hill, where many of the company's workers lived, contributing to a rise in the already high unemployment in these areas.
caption: Guy Big J4 (1972)
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