PIONEER Australian automotive identity Bill Buckle, whose numerous achievements included the development of the Goggomobil Dart, the highly successful Buckle sports car and one of the nation’s busiest Toyota franchises, has died aged 96.

William “Bill” F. Buckle was born into an automotive family with his father William G. Buckle founding Buckle Motors in 1927 at 127 William Street, Sydney as the (then) NSW exclusive Triumph and Talbot dealership.

The business expanded with the NSW franchises for Citroën, Armstrong Siddeley and DeSoto. In 1947 Bill’s father WG Buckle died, leading to him entering the family business.

Always innovative, Bill Buckle in 1952 travelled to England and found fibreglass-bodied sports cars being manufactured and a plastic sports car body shown at the 1953 London Motor Show.

On his return to Australia, he persuaded the company’s other directors to start making a unique fibreglass-bodied sports car. The development produced a prototype roadster in mid-1955 that used Ford Zephyr components.

After testing and minor design changes, the finished vehicle was first manufactured in June 1957 as the Buckle 2.5 Litre in a factory in Punchbowl, New South Wales. Only 25 were made but the coupe was successful in competition.

Noting that import taxes on cars could be reduced if they were imported incomplete, Bill went to Germany to look at potential vehicles that could be built in Australia.

He visited Hans Glas’ operation, Goggomobil, in Bavaria in 1958 and struck an agreement in which the chassis, engine and running gear would be imported and the body would be manufactured in Australia at the Punchbowl factory. Some complete vehicles were initially imported to make fibreglass moulds.

Mr Buckle made the sedan almost identical to the German equivalent, but made body changes to the van – called the CarryAll – which made it more rounded and added a side roller door for the cargo area.

The CarryAll also used the roof and windscreen from the Holden FC station wagon. Buckle also made nine examples of the cabriolet which existed as a prototype in Germany but was never put into production.

But the most identifiable change made to the Goggomobil range was the addition of a unique model for Australia, the Dart.

The Dart, based on the sedan, was made from 1959 to 1961. It first came without doors and a 293cc two-cylinder, two-stroke engine and later, ‘suicide’ (front opening) doors were added along with a more powerful 400cc engine.

The Goggomobil was made in thousands which were sold through a retail outlet that also supplied Borgward, Goliath, Lloyd-Hartnett, Hillman and Humber vehicles.

In 1961 Buckle Motors was purchased by Hong Kong investors and in 1963 Bill Buckle started Bill Buckle Auto Conversions that specialised in converting American cars from left-hand-drive to right-hand-drive.

Never one to stay still, In 1966 Mr Buckle made the Mini Monaco, converted from standard, Australian-built Morris Minis.

The conversion, which cost $400, replaced the original roof with a lower, sleeker, fibreglass roof to reduce weight and improve aerodynamics. The roof made the car about 100mm shorter than the original Mini.

It is believed that about 30 Mini Monacos were made between 1966 and 1967, with the majority being based on the Mini Cooper S.

Demand for the Goggomobil Dart exceeded supply but the Buckle’s business was hit by competition from the launch of the Mini which had four seats, a more powerful four-stroke engine and greater cabin space.

Mr Buckle then discovered a new venture, converting left hand drive vehicles, mainly from the US to right hand drive for the Australian market.

In another business move, he started installing German sunroofs into cars which evolved into him designing an innovative sunroof that won an Australian Design Award and was patented worldwide.

In 1964, Mr Buckle was one of the first Australians to get a Toyota franchise which led to him opening a showroom in the northern Sydney suburb of Brookvale.

About a decade ago, he bought back from one of his first customers a Toyota 700cc Toyoglide. The lady owner bought it from him in 1965 and sold it to Bill in brand new condition and with only 20,000 miles on the clock.

The Buckle dealership property was expanded and Mona Vale was added in 1974 for northern peninsula customers. A new Toyota showroom was built on the site in 1992.

Bill Buckle Autos then added a Subaru franchise in 1994 and followed up with a new showroom in 2005. The company built a service complex in Brookvale in 1996; added the Volkswagen franchise in 2004 and did so well it received an updated premises in 2007.

In later life, Bill Buckle and his wife Alvia led an extremely full life which includes many grandchildren with Alvia involved in golf and Bill involved at Buckle Motors as the chairman of directors. They owned a 50ft catamaran designed by Bill. He also owned two Darts. His son Bill Jnr was managing director of Buckle Motors and daughter Jane was customer service manager (and a director) while Jane’s husband Graeme was sales manager.

Buckle Motors was sold to AP Eagers (now Eagers Automotive Ltd) in 2008, added Jaguar Land Rover to its list of franchisees in 2013, and was then sold to the Australian Motor Group in 2022.

By Neil Dowling