O. D. Cars
of Dunmore, Antrim Road, Belfast
'It seems our feature last week on the experiences of Captain Wilbert Harris of Moneymore as an apprentice with J. B. Ferguson has aroused quite a bit of interest among the older generation’s motoring fraternity. I've just received a letter from Mr C. Gilliland of Marylebone Park in Belfast, who tells me that a friend of his was responsible for taking all the parts of the original Fergus Car to Mr James McKee of Dunmore. And it was that same Mr McKee who, along with Mr Frank Eves, designed the O. D. car. According to Mr Gilliland the parts from the Fergus car were used in the construction of the O.D. The O.D. car — which denotes owner driver — was designed in about 1916 and the prototype was manufactured in 1918 by Messrs O. D. Ltd. of Antrim Road, Belfast, Mr McKee was managing director of the firm which was set up to produce the car, to be bought hopefully, by the newly emergent class of car owner interested in driving and servicing his own vehicle. With a cruising speed of 60 mph and a maximum speed of 75 mph the car covered some 250,000 miles before going out of service. To put the car into production would have needed a considerable amount of money, and as funds were not available immediately following a world war, the venture was abandoned.'[1]
Produced by James A. McKee
1940 O. D. Cars Ltd are agents for David Brown Tractors.[2]
By 1953 they were Car and Light Commercial Vehicle Stockists.
1960 'The old-established firm of O. D. Cars Ltd., who are going out of the agricultural machinery side of business, offer some 20 tractors and 15 machines'[3]
1960 Purchased by David Brown. Detailed history in article.[4]
See Also
Sources of Information
- A-Z of Cars of the 1920s by Nick Baldwin. 1994. ISBN 1 870979 53 2