Caltex gone, Ampol back

Submitted: Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 08:40
ThreadID: 140023 Views:11708 Replies:14 FollowUps:36
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So what does everyone think of the name change of Caltex back to Ampol? I remember it everywhere.

I guess we'll get the old 'Australian owned' theme in droves over the next few years.





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Reply By: OBJ - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:05

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:05
It's just a name change. Nothing to think about. It means zero as the fuel will still be the same price. At least the staff will get new shirts.
OBJ
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Reply By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:05

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:05
Great News, a great Australian icon.
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Reply By: Bob Y. - Qld - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:24

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:24
We've got a Caltex only a stone's throw from our place...........hasn't changed yet!

Completely OT & a bit of trivia. At 00.52 secs in the ad, a bloke is sitting on a sandstone cliff face. This is at Kanangra Walls, in Kanangra-Boyd N/P NSW. This is also the spot where they threw 2 dummies(not baby type dummies!) off the cliff top when remaking a section of Chauvel's film "Jedda".

Bob

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Follow Up By: Member - Vince M (NSW) - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:42

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:42
Been to Kanangra Walls many many times from the early sixty's to only a few months ago & never took that in, your dead wright with the add & i think a lot of us would have sat & had our photo taken there, I no I have one on the point some where from when i was a kid, will have to check out the movie
Thanks Bob for that bit of trivia
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Reply By: RMD - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:44

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 09:44
With one less letter in the name it will make it easier for some Aussies to spell, so a definite plus there, or is that " definate" as some say?
In the first pic of boobook above, I wonder if the next pump is labelled "Front Pump" to eliminate confusion!
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Follow Up By: Mark C9 - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 10:37

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 10:37
Massive expense in changing all the signage etc for what? Still owned by Chevron!
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 11:52

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 11:52
Chevron hasn't owners it for years. Hence the name change.
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Follow Up By: Mark C9 - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12:31

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12:31
Thanks My mistake. shouldn't have used google to get facts
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Follow Up By: AlbyNSW - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 13:42

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 13:42
Mark C9 , I remember reading a couple of months back when this was announced that they were/are paying in the vicinity of 20 million a year to use the Caltex branding name so it is probably worth the effort to change back
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Reply By: Member - Michael P (QLD) - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 10:18

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 10:18
Yep at a cost of $160,000,000.00.
US oil conglomerate Chevron has withdrawn Caltex Australia's right to use the Caltex brand so they revert to Ampol. Nothing to do with Nostalgia.
AnswerID: 631620

Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12:04

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12:04
.
Ahh, will this herald the return of the Ampol Round Australia Trials? Those were the days!

And for those who believe that nothing less than a 4.5 Litre V8 Twin Turbo Diesel is necessary, take a look at this video of the Lightburn Zeta doing the job in the 1964 Ampol Trial. You could slip a Zeta into your hip pocket. And all four finished the trial!
Made in Adelaide by Lightburn with a fibre-glass body and 0.324L Villiers engine it was a Moment in Time.

Those rutted tracks in the video are now designated National Highways.
Yes, Those were the days


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Allan

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Follow Up By: OBJ - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12:40

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12:40
"Those rutted tracks in the video are now designated National Highways.".

Correct. But they are still rutted tracks :)

OBJ
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Follow Up By: Life Member - Duncan W (WA) - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 13:47

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 13:47
Loved the front bar on the Zeta looked like it wouldn't even protect anything bigger than a rabbit strike if that. :)
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 14:53

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 14:53
.

Dunc, that wasn't a roo-bar on the front of the Zeta. That's the handle to carry it with. lol

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Allan

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Follow Up By: Member - David M (SA) - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 15:25

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 15:25
A great vehicle cut down in it's prime through lack of finance. A sad loss.
Dave.
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Follow Up By: OzzieCruiser - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 16:00

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 16:00
But out of date by the time it was introduced - eclipsed by the mini and newer japanese models coming on line at the time - if it had been built in the early 50s rather than the mid 60s it would have probably been a success - and had time to evolve as more sophisticated small cars were introduced in the 60s.
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Follow Up By: Bob Y. - Qld - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 16:27

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 16:27
Lightburn was certainly a multi-faceted company in their prime.

In mid ‘60’s, when I started work, Lightburn hydraulic jacks were supplied in new Bedford trucks, and perhaps many other commercial vehicles. Noticed in the video, the Zeta drivers were using one to change a tyre.

Almost all small tradie or handyman cement mixers were Lightburn, driven by, back in the day, Villiers engines or electric motors.

At one stage, I needed a robust washing machine, to survive the rigours of my teenage staff. A Lightburn twin tub, resembling part of a cement mixer, was chosen because I’d seen the Australian Army using them.Well, they may have worked for the military but, despite expensive repairs, they couldn’t hack life on a station!

Maybe there’ll be a resurgence of similar companies in the years to come, after the virus subsides?

Bob

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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 17:17

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 17:17
.
Lightburn certainly were "multi-faceted" Bob. They'd have a go at anything. But they did produce SOME good products. Their hydraulic jacks were first class. In fact I suspect that some of their problems were the quality being higher than people were prepared to pay for. Their production runs were too small for economical manufacturing. Forever launching into new ideas and products before sorting out the existing ones. They made a fair concrete mixer but translated its design concepts to a clothes washing machine as you instanced. We had some of those at Woomera and they were bl00dy awful things.

They had engineering management on the factory floor much of the time solving problems.
I had some dealings with them in the 60's advising on instrumentation needs such as temperature control on behalf of my company Foxboro, an American instrumentation manufacturer. They loved me as they got my guidance free of charge. Their fibreglass moulding line for the Zeta was something to behold. It was a collection of timber/masonite moulds and stuff everywhere.
It was inevitable that the company would not last!

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Allan

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Follow Up By: ian.g - Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 11:51

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 11:51
Bob Y talks about a Lightburn twin tub washing machine, one place I worked in Western NSW we used to use a Lightburn cement mixer as a washing machine, was probably the cleanest my work gear ever was until I got married.
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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 12:17

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 12:17
The Lightburn washing machine we had on our farm in the '50's was like a cement mixer with a spin dryer mounted in front of the bowl so you could pull the wet clothes out and straight into the spin dryer:



Bob, is that your up-market twin-tub at the bottom left! The boys would never have broken the one we had - except perhaps the spin dryer. It had no imbalance cut-out, so if it was out of balance it would thrash around until someone rescued it.



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Follow Up By: Bob Y. - Qld - Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 21:35

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 21:35
Was the "cement mixer" type, Frank. Those young blokes didn't respect such a labour saving device.

That old advertisement is a gem, good enough to frame.

Bob

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Reply By: Member - rocco2010 - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12:35

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12:35
The name will change but the same old marketing practices designed to milk motorists will go on.

Yesterday's example was two same brand servos 5 km apart, one selling diesel 10c a litre cheaper than the other.

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Follow Up By: Gramps - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 13:31

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 13:31
Hardly milking motorists in that example. If they're stupid or lazy enough to pay the higher price they deserve to have their wallets lightened. With the availability of fuel pricing apps etc they've got no excuses.

Regards
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Reply By: old mate - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 13:14

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 13:14
I dont give a toss. I've got a BP card.
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Reply By: Phil G - Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 16:51

Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 16:51
Should have brought back Golden Fleece!
AnswerID: 631630

Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 10:31

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 10:31
What about Esso Phil, to put a Tiger in your tank....lol
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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 10:48

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 10:48
Amoco - "It's nice going with Amoco"

and Total. Can't remember its slogan
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Follow Up By: Member - PhilD_NT - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 10:55

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 10:55
I so not want the Amoco final filter back. Was agony sometimes with slow delivery, especially with a 36 gallon tank to fill.

EDIT: I do miss the $18 to fill it though.
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Follow Up By: Phil G - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 11:47

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 11:47
Yeah, I picked Golden Fleece because it was Aussie and I like seeing the old signs and bowsers in the Museums.
"Tiger in your tank"....haha.... what were they thinking?
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Follow Up By: gke - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 14:32

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 14:32
Remember the fake tiger tails you could hang from the filler cap?
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 15:00

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 15:00
.
gke,.... I now know your age! lol
I also remember the young women dressed in tiger-skin body suits who would writhe over your bonnet and clean the windscreen while you filled up....... with petrol, that is.
Only at some servos..... others gave out steak knives.

Can't find any on-line photos of these window-cleaning tigers to show you. Nobody had phones-with-cameras in those days. Maybe it never happened..... just a figment of my over-active imagination?
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Follow Up By: Phil G - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 15:42

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 15:42
This young lady worked at Golden Fleece. And there is a toasted sandwich vending machine on the wall behind her!

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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 15:47

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 15:47
.

The ones I remembered were skin-tight outfits...... but the above is pretty close! lol
How come you got the photo Phil? Did you marry her?

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Allan

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Follow Up By: Phil G - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 16:07

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 16:07
Nah, sadly I found her on google - photo came from 1975 so not that long ago and taken in Melbourne :-)

I did better than that - met my wife in Alice Springs in 1979 and from the start she knew how to make a toasted sandwich.
I'm guessing your lady in the tiger suit was one of South Australia's best kept secrets. Did you marry her? :-)
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 16:14

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 16:14
.

Yep, South Australia, and pretty conservative in the 60's.
Marry her? Nah, she scared the pants off me...... figuratively speaking of course!!!

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Allan

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Follow Up By: Candace S. - Monday, May 18, 2020 at 01:34

Monday, May 18, 2020 at 01:34
A toasted sandwich vending machine ?! Were the sandwiches any good?
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Follow Up By: Griffin - Monday, May 18, 2020 at 08:05

Monday, May 18, 2020 at 08:05
No but she was.
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Follow Up By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Monday, May 18, 2020 at 20:24

Monday, May 18, 2020 at 20:24
Frank, Amoco had the best TV ads, fast convertibles with the jingle, " Amoco in your machine", very smart ads for the time, 70s I'm thinking. Michael.
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Follow Up By: OBJ - Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 14:32

Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 14:32
Where did you say the sandwich machine was???
:)
OBJ
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Follow Up By: Member - shane r1 - Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 20:15

Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 20:15
Obj, you’ve gotta look past the girl! LOL
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Reply By: Member - Outback Gazz - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 09:03

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 09:03
Hey Boobook

Do you, or anyone else know what location the servo in the top pic is ?

Looks like the exact same one I used for many years - Goodwood Road, Westbourne Park S.A. ?

Cheers

Gazz
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 13:23

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 13:23
Sorry Gazz, I just got the pic from Google. But I must say it had a familiar look to me too. And I thought it was near Camberwell in Vic.

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Follow Up By: Member - Outback Gazz - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 14:17

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 14:17
Boobook

I guess a lot of the Ampol servos looked the same - it's just that I remember that pinky coloured house in the background !

Cheers

Gazz
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Follow Up By: OzzieCruiser - Monday, May 18, 2020 at 12:30

Monday, May 18, 2020 at 12:30
The parked car has an older Qld number plate so logically up there somewhere.
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Follow Up By: Mark C9 - Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 09:31

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 09:31
Do a reverse google image search
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Follow Up By: Member - Outback Gazz - Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 18:41

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 18:41
Howdy Guys

Well - I actually drove past the servo that I thought it was today and sadly it is no longer there - been a vacant sight for a couple of years. Stopped to check out the house in the background but the site was fenced off and I couldn't get a good look as it was cover in a vine. But after a sticky down the side of the house from the street I could tell it's not the one I thought but very very similar.

Cheers

Gazz

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Reply By: Mikee5 - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 09:13

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 09:13
Do a search on YouTube - John Cadogan, Caltex forced to re-brand as Ampol. All the info in there.
AnswerID: 631640

Reply By: Dean K3 - Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 12:42

Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 12:42
Can't use the woolworth "wish gift cards" is my biggest gripe. purchase them through RAC get 25% discount and rewards card get another 4 cpl discount making it worth for longer trips out esp up coast of WA and some inland towns.

such is life
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Reply By: bellony - Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 23:08

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 23:08
Will my 2 rattly old diesels that have used Caltex Delo 400 for the last 15 years survive on the new Ampol brand oil??
AnswerID: 631677

Reply By: Ron N - Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 00:19

Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 00:19
I bought and burnt up millions of litres of Golden Fleece diesel, petrol (both Super and Standard petrol - who remembers them?!), as well as tens of thousands of litres of Golden Fleece oils and tonnes of Golden Fleece grease cartridges, between 1965 and 1973.

The only thing I wish I had done - was keep all those GF-branded containers!!!

I'd be a millionaire now, if I'd kept all those fabulous GF-branded containers!!

Instead, I either cut them up, buried them, burnt them, or just left them in rubbish dumps!!

If only!! ..... LOL

When I first started buying Golden Fleece fuels, petrol was 3 shillings and fourpence (33c) - a gallon! (4.546L).

And diesel was exactly half the price of petrol! - because it needed less refining! What a difference to today!!

Cheers, Ron.
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