With all the interest in the Whomobile's whereabouts, when my wife stumbled across this site, http://freespace.virgin.net/dr.dean/, that is dedicated to Bessie, well, I just had to post it here because many people probably have not see it yet.

The site gives all sorts of info on Bessie: history, technical info (of the actual car, not the "Doctored"-up version), etc. And since Bessie doesn't have her own thread on here... yet... I thought I'd put this into the Off-Topic But Related section. (And if the Mods feel this should go into an actual Bessie Thread, I'm sure one of them will relocate it.)

So check out the site! It could be a wealth of info for someone who (PUN!) is trying to, or thinking about, building a replica.

Dino.

EDIT, 22 April 2018: Original link above is defunct. Info can still be found here: Bessie Info Site: Web Archive Pages.

Interesting that Bessie gets a new credit for "The Name of the Doctor."  I assumed all her shots were material from "The Five Doctors" but it seems they did some new film of her for the new story.

I'm pretty sure they did the filming with Bessie from Monday 26th November 2013. I was at the Doctor Who Experience after it had closed to put up a TARDIS wallpaper display. This was what I wrote on FACEBOOK at the time: ...I saw the Exhibition in London when it was on there and remember thinking it a shame they hadn't put in Bessie, the Doctor's car. How lovely it was to see her in Cardiff the day I went to hang the wallpaper. You can see her through the window! After putting up the wallpaper I thought I'd get a photo of her as I left but....no Bessie! Apparently the BBC had made off with her for something!
Funnily enough Dr Dean bought some wallpaper that week and we speculated on what she might be up to....Now we know!

BBC must have their own Tardis.  "The Name of the Doctor" was broadcast on 18 May 2013!

Is that a "vworp, vworp" I hear!

Ha! No....That should've been 2012

As I recall, it'd be the shot of Bessie passing by Clara (and she spins to see it) which would be the new footage, as there wasn't a shot like that in The Five Doctors, and you can tell it's new footage due to the small changes to the car since 1983.

Yeah... Bessie had some serious, and some slight mods done to her over the years. I wonder if she'll ever make another appearance in the New Series at some point. With U.N.I.T. and Kate (Lethbridge-) Stewart coming into the picture - so to speak - Bessie could even be in a static cameo as the Doctor walked through (what would appear to be part of) a U.N.I.T. building, passing her and patting the bonnet with a "Oh, hello, Bessie, old thing."

I love seeing stuff like that. It lets everyone know that they really haven't forgotten the past. (Like that Seal of the High Council the Doctor put on "Handles'" head - nod back to that exchange between the 3rd Doctor and the Master in "The Five Doctors". Absolutely loved it! I'd love to see the same thing happen with Bessie.)

Dino.

Here are a few reference photos of Bessie from... back in 2004, I think? It's been a while, at least, so I don't remember exactly when. But she was looking pretty fine (and I still had hopes then of someday building a replica - maybe from an old 1910 Buick which had a similar look to her).

If anyone recognizes any of these, please chime in so the photographer gets the proper credit.








(Note the different number plate: not her filming plate of WHO 1, or her original registered plate of MTR 5.)



I know they're not the best, but I'll keep digging in my "WHO" folders to see what else I've got on her. As for some of her accessories, here is the remote control that the 3rd Doctor used on her (and the story title escapes me, though I keep thinking it was "The Daemons"; so if anyone remembers the correct story, please let us know):

Sorry, but I don't have a clearer image of this, and I've cleaned this one up as best I could.

And of course, her "turbo booster" the 7th Doctor used in "Battlefield":

This little gizmo attached to the center of her steering wheel, and when the Doctor "wound up" the little joystick in the center, the seven red LEDs started blinking away as Bessie raced off at super speed.

Again, I'll see if I've got any better photos of any of the above. And if anyone had some photos, feel free to post them. (This thread is for everyone, especially Bessie fans!)

Dino.

I believe there are about 4 siva edwardians in yellow knocking around in yellow the one with the ford grill isn't screen used.

I think the 2nd one down is from Longleat '83 and I'm fairly certain the last one is the real deal complete with (unsightly) bonnet addon, but I couldn't say where it was taken.

The other Bessie pictures are, as Domvar Says, not screen used but replicas.

Nice screen grab of the 3rd Doctor's remote control. Looking at it, kinda reminds me of the modern day remote key fobs that can strat the engine, open the boot etc. Another future technology that Doctor Who got right.

Another site of interest on this subject:

http://sivaedwardian.co.uk/index.html

And one of the menu items at the top is "Bessie", with the headliner on that page "Dr Who drove a Siva"!

Nice find, Theta Sigma!

Also, a thank you to domvar and Mark for helping to ID some of the photos I posted as replicas, and the actual Bessie. And as I said, Mark, sorry that I couldn't clean up that grab of the 3rd Doctor's Bessie remote control any more than I did. I'd love to see what those labels are on the buttons (and near the little "steering wheel"), and the markings on the meter. The aerial/antenna looks like a smaller version of the one on the 4th Doctor's "Beware Sutekh" signal detector. The buttons (rectangular and little red round ones) as well as the main casing look like "Radio Shack" project box specials. The little steering wheel? Not sure what that might have come from. (If anyone has better photos of that, or the "turbo booster", please post them!)

(I wonder if they ever sell Sivas on eBay Auto? ) Not that I could afford one, but one can dream.

What I'd really love to know is, how does one go about getting a replica of Bessie's "WHO 1" number plates? I've seen cars in the States driving around with those types of plates (at least the front one) on their cars, bolted either above or below their proper front plates (wherever it fits best), but I have no idea where they're getting them. They're not "Bessie" plates, but they are the white-on-black and personalized. I'd love to bolt the front one below my regular plate (since we've been calling our car Bessie, in her various incarnations, since the 1970s); the rear plate I'd just hang on my den wall. (Although, the next time we manage to make it to Timegate, with our Bessie becoming a permanent fixture in the hotel car park for the weekend, I might swap both front and rear plates out for the replica "WHO 1" plates until it's time to drive home.)

Seriously... with all of the Bessie replicas out there with the proper number plates, where and how are those people getting their plates?

Dino.

Here's a bigger screen shot of the remote control from the Deamons DVD.
I planned on modelling it in 3D

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SINGLE-PRE-73-BLACK-SILVER-PRESSED-ALUMINIUM-NUMBER-PLATE-FOR-CLASSIC-CAR-/321073702790

getting WHO 1 should be fine as long as you make it clear it is just for use at shows and will be removed or covered when driving in the uk

I have a fantasy of having Bessie one day but little hope of it, but have followed the cars. For years anyway.  They sell on eBay every so often, around 4-5000 pounds for a good example is not unusual.  Not bad for a 1950 base car.    It was reputedly unreliable, small, cold etc etc but somehow even knowing the faults there is some magic about that car...  

Quote from: galacticprobe on Feb 09, 2014, 05:41 am
And one of the menu items at the top is "Bessie", with the headliner on that page "Dr Who drove a Siva"!

Nice find, Theta Sigma!

Also, a thank you to domvar and Mark for helping to ID some of the photos I

(I wonder if they ever sell Sivas on eBay Auto? ) Not that I could afford one, but one can dream.

What I'd really love to know is, how does one go about getting a replica of Bessie's "WHO 1" number plates? I've seen cars in the States driving around with those types of plates (at least the front one) on their cars, bolted either above or below their proper front plates (wherever it fits best), but I have no idea where they're getting them.
Seriously... with all of the Bessie replicas out there with the proper number plates, where and how are those people getting their plates?

Dino.