|
My first car was a Viva HB around 1972 in Blandford. It's still around too! Got me thinking when this young chap wants a type ''r'' as a first car how times have changed. Petrol was under 50p a GALLON etc etc. How about you?
|
|
An ex-tyre fitters MkII Escort van, he'd stuck polystyrene tiles throughout the back to stop condenstation! It was brilliant on wet cobblestones for doing 360s, being rear wheel drive.
|
1969 "G" reg, Mk1 Ford capri 1300 XL in white cost 600 pounds.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
|
|
E814UWM - Seat Ibiza 903cc Designer 3dr.
Not the best car in the world but different from my mates with fiestas and the other usual 1st car suspects.
|
A J-reg fiat Uno in Lordy Blue with red go faster stripes down the side.
It had a manual choke and a very unreliable ECU - I learnt more about cars in the three years I owned that car than ever before or since!
|
1949 Sunbeam Talbot IIa bought in 1968 for £40! (mind, £40 was a lot of money in those days!!) - and insurance, though I can't remember was probably as much as the car cost!
--
Phil
|
|
|
|
|
It was a later version 1600E Cortina. White with a proper black roof.
18 months old and bought with my own £££s. IIRC £950.
I added all sorts of safety features over the years.
|
wish i could drive :-(
:----------------------------------)
|
1929 fabric bodied Riley 9 Monaco.
purchased from the estate of an artist who had owned it from new.
By neccessity I learned a lot about cars.
Bought for £30 sold for £90 6 months later.
madf
|
Bought for £30 sold for £90 6 months later. madf
Wonder what it's worth now madf.... Bet you wish you'd kept it.
|
|
|
|
|
A 1937? Austin 7, bought for £25 amongst 4 of us, when RAF trainees in 1958!
|
|
|
|
There's something special about your first car isn't there, especiually if like mine it never refuised to start first time nor ever let me down on the road. It was a 1955 Austin A50 Cambridge, bought for £65 in 1969, appropriately in Cambridge just as I was finishing my degree.
Sold for £65 6 months and aboiut 10,000 miles later when my father gave me his MG 1100 which he'd had from new. That was very generous and I was suitably grateful, but privately missed the Austin. It came from the era when Austins were the best and most reliable of mass-produced cars. If I ever have money to spare I would be tempted to buy a restored A50. It wasn't fast by modern standards but it went just as well as the mich heavier A60 current in 1969. Driving behind that glorious flying-A mascot made you feel good to be British!
|
1961 Moggie 1000 (yes a RWD) 2 dr in Black, red leatherette seats, key number FS961. - later fitted with twin SUs from a scrappie, went like stink in stright lines and from the lights in the bottom of town. Enduring memory
starting it on the handle on cold mornigs !
|
OVW896M Mini 850, "The Purple Panther". Gutless and brakeless in equal measure, this lasted me two or three years and failed every time it rained. A squirt of WD40 usually sorted it out.
A bad moment was once when I was off to see a girl on the other side of London in the rain and it just refused to run under any circumstances. She dumped me for not turning up.
A good moment was related to the same fault. Driving a different girl on the Dronfield bypass in the rain, it started to stutter. I jumped out with the WD40, sprayed it on the still running engine and was rewarded with a very implressive ball of flame that dired the leads out bautifully.
Best moments were all driving from Macclesfield to Sheffield every few weekends. I'd drive the entire distance with a grin.
In retrospect, though, it was a complete shed of a car.
V
|
|
|
|
|
Triumph Herald (13/60) Convertible. RWD and no weight at the back - lethal in the wet but great when the sun came out.
|
Pea green 1958 Austin A35, 95 pounds, 'tuned up' by filling the sills with pudding and painting them with green paint from my friend's MGA.
I'm sure you could buy petrol at more than three gallons for a pound then...
|
|
|
Some people on here are really showing their age! ;-) Anyway my first car was a 1994 Fiesta 1.3 LX in a very fetching shade of dark green in 2002. Its 2 previous owners had been neighbours of mine on either side so we knew its history and somehow managed to cover 20000 miles in its first year with me- only problem was 1 wheel bearing and one clutch cable. It was a very rattly thing though but I loved it.
Ben
|
|
A 1600 Mk1 Capri. A dog of a car.
|
X reg Vauxhall Chevette ES. ES for extra stingy. The seat backs didn't recline and it didn't have hazard lights or a cigarette lighter. Bought for £600 in 1989, sold in 1993 with a blown head gasket (I honestly thought it had a water leak), rustholes the size of fists and a complimentary broom handle to hold up the rear hatch.
That said, went everywhere in it, it did 35 mpg and at 22 i was paying £129 per year insurance.
|
|
|
|
|
A 1989 'F' Fiat Panda 1000 fire, in white. Maximum speed 83mph. Always sounded willing, ready to get up and go, but that was mostly because of the overenthusiastic choke.
|
|
|
|
|
GWM 97E - Singer Chamois MkII, fro the princely sum of £295
--
Go on, get out of the car...
www.mikes-walks.co.uk
|
|
|
|
1956 Morris Minor bought in 1971, split winscreen, 802cc side valve engine. Several holes in the floor, one in the passenger footwell that would give the passenger a suprise if driven through a puddle.
|
Steve,
Guess you remember the master cylinder's location between the holes in the floor then ! A fence near my home town still bears the scars of an early morning "contact" when the brakes failed on the way to school !
|
Mini city 1000, AGS 229X
Had it for about four years, lost count of the number rof CV joints and wheelbearings I changed. I could change a set of points condensor and dizzy cap in a matter of minutes, practice does make perfect after all.
Was great fun to drive on a twisty road but I'm not sure I would ever want to drive another again.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
|
|
|
pologirl:- ''It had a manual choke and a very unreliable ECU - I learnt more about cars in the three years I owned that car than ever before or since!''
Mine too was a FIAT Uno, and whilst I enjoyed some of the design features, I lost count of the number of problems/breakdowns that cropped up over the years, but haven't forgotten the rust (and not forgotten what a work colleague said ''a FIAT? - it'll rust). Also, as a link to an earlier thread about LJK Setright, one of the reasons I went for the Uno was his road test in one across the USA .
S6 1SW
|
I also had my first crash in it, whilst I was learning about understeer and road holding!
S6 1SW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1968 Viva HB LUN 918F It lasted 3 years even with my miss use!
|
|
|
|
|
1995 Cinquecento SX, in all-over black, bought when 9 months old (hooray for dead relatives, is all I can say). Loved it to bits, even the fire-breathing 39 bhp 899 cc engine. Had to have a smaller steering wheel fitted so I could drive it comfortably (being 6' 6). Used to get some right funny looks from people as I unfolded myself from it!
Replaced by my mother's old Punto, as at the time I was tooling up and down between Cardiff and Brighton a fair bit (going to and from uni) and mother dear didn't like the idea of me dicing with the lorries on the M4 in something as small as the Cinque. Bless her...
|
|
|
A silver Mitsubishi Colt GLX 1410 auto five door, 1982, Kuwait City, ex rental car, one year old.
Me eighteen years old.
I wanted a new BMW 320 two door as my first car, but thankfully Dad's arguments as to why it wouldn't be the most sensible idea on the planet were heeded; the savings that instead plied their way back to the UK gave me a flying start when I too returned in 1984. I still reap the benefit today, twenty two years later so it seems Dad Knew Best. ;-)
Having walked in to a well paid tax free job within weeks of A levels in the UK and touching down in Kuwait, the prospect of $$$$s had filled my eyes and I remember the decision wasn't quite so easy to make at the time!
|
|
1994 Citroen Xantia 1.9TD SX. It was great.
|
|
A 1977 Mini Clubman, Overall not a bad car for its day and fairly trouble free.
|
|
Triumph Herald 1200 convertible bought in 1973 for £125. TPFT insurance was £35.
|
|
......at age 17. I feel sorry for the youth of today forking out so much for insurance.
|
|
|
|
|
1962 VW Beetle LHD with Webasto sunroof re-registered BYE 131H, bought in 1971 for £125
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
|
|
1954 Triumph Mayflower, bought in 1966 for £10. Sold two years later for £20. Replaced by 1947 Triumph Roadster, cost £45, sold in 1972 for £700.
|
|
|
|
1993 Nissan Micra 1.0LX - K51 MMA
I put 60,000 miles on that car and it never missed a beat. Catastrophically uncool, but wheels nonetheless - I loved it, in a funny sort of way. Petrol was about 55p a litre back then.
|
1986 Cavalier 1.8 GLSi; didn't actually own it but was given exclusive use of it when I passed my test, as my Dad had just gone self-employed and got a new car. A very cushy introduction to motoring as I didn't have to pay for insurance and occasionally got a free tank of petrol. That poor Cavalier, used to get thrashed to within an inch of its life. Got done for speeding in it but luckily didn't crash it!
Couldnt afford a car through Uni so then the first car I bought myself (in 1995) was a 1984 Audi 80 quattro in metallic black, for £700. What a great car. Looked a tiny bit like a Mk5 Cortina (ie. not cool at the time) and was not in tip top condition, but had a torquey 2.2 five cylinder engine, fully independant suspension and 4 wheel drive. And an exhaust note to die for!
|
My first car was a 1948 Morris 10, bought for £20 (this was in 1960) brushpainted in glossy black, grill painted with a black and white chequer. I was eighteen, and very proud of it! Unfortunately, it was one of the early stamped chassis models(no girder underpinning,)and very rusty, necessitating frequent visits to my local garage to have ever-larger steel plates welded over the spring attachment points. After three years I had to 'let it go' after the car folded in half upwards when being jacked up. Luckily the prop. shaft kept the front and back apart so I could drive it to the breakers..Ah!-Those pre-MOT days...
P.
|
First - Dark green Hillman Imp - VMP631G - bought 1972. Sold 1973 - couldn't afford to run it as a student. I remember driving around with a 50Kg bag of aggregate in the front boot to balance the handling.
Second, a few years later when I had a job - Blue Ford Anglia - PYF767F - bought at age 22 for £150. I needed a bank loan which I paid back at £9 per month.
|
1973 mini estate - bought it for £50 on my 17 birthday, did the work to get it MOT'd, learned to drive in it, and a drink-driver rear ended it by Chew Valley lake a week after I passed my test.
|
In 1989 I shared a (wait for it) dark blue Allegro 1.3 Super with my mum. Beautiful car.....
Then I had a Nova 1.2 (surprisingly rapid, especially after the Allegro.... which should be called Lento in my opinion!) and then in 1993 an Uno, and then in 1995 the dizzy heights of a Scirocco (which I loved). Then a Japanese MX-3 (Eunos Presso) in 1999 and then a bewildering array of VW Group products since 2001.
|
|
|
|
1967 Vauxhall Victor 101 Super Deluxe - bought from a family friend for £125
The Deluxe model came with a heater!
Lovely motor car - huge comfortable bench seats - three on a tree gearchange - cavernous boot.
Horrible drag link steering though - failed bushes/joints finally killed it at MOT time.
|
1976 Mini 850. Started a love for the old Mini which still hasn't gone away.
One fuel leak
One small electrical fire
Otherwise brilliantly reliable and perfect for the 90% city / local driving I used to do.
Cheers
DP
|
1961 Ford Classic 1500 de luxe reg 155 EWD - bought in 1973 for £80
sold 15 months later for £30............and replaced with a 1967 Mini Traveller for £230
The Mini very quickly "lost" 1st gear - but what the heck I still had 3 others, no problem until one day I visited Lyme Regis for a day out, the harbour (Cobb) is at the bottom of a very steep and busy hill. Couldn't get back up pulling away in 2nd despite several goes.....................ended up reversing all the way to the top (3/4 mile?) with all the bank holiday traffic patiently following behind!!
Got a recon 'box after that!
Jacks
|
|
|
|
My first car (dad owned it though) was an f reg cavalier 1.6. For a year or 2 I had exclusive use of it, and thought at the time it went really quite fast. But being 20 I don't think it would have been wise to give me a car with any faster acceleration. The memories I have are going much to fast for the traffic and/or road condtions. How I managed to only take off 1 wing mirror I don't know!
The was replaced by a 1.2 P reg clio in 2002 and is still with me. It is slower with plain styling but am more attached to it.
|
|
|
|
|
1953 Austin A30. 803cc. I bought it from a retired Austin employee in Redditch, in 1967. He had a new "Gold Seal" engine put in, which was excellent. Pity the rest of the car was not much good. I was always pleased that I could do the 50 miles back to Northampton on 5 shillings worth of petrol.
|
Viva HC 1300 GLS 1977 (meaning twin front lights, rostyles, velour upholstry and centre console), bought in 1988. Slow and largely dreadful, if I'm honest (Seemed to go wrong alot). I added a spoiler, rally giant spotlights, and shifted the front number plate to the side (like the Alfa 156- boy was I ahead of my time!). Very sad. Insurance was about £250, I think.
Cheers,
Alex.
--
Dr Alex Mears
MG BGT 1971
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
|
A 1948 LHD Citroen Light 15 with austerity post-war trim, painted matt desert sand colour, had twin carbs and a 4-spoke spring steering wheel, bought in 1961 for £60. Loved it dearly, treated it abominably knowing no better and must have been pretty lethal in it on my Irish driving licence obtained by a friend in Dublin for £1 and a couple of creative untruths.
Got away with it however although the poor Citroen only lasted a few months.
|
|
renault 5 gordini turbo. insurance wasnt that expensive back then.
|
|
|
|
1931 MG M Type midget.Cost in 1945 £20 sold for £120 some 12 months later,those were the days.
ndbw
|
Mine was a 1968 MkII Mini 1000 bought for £100 off the receptionist at work, sold for £175 so that I could buy my brother Cortina MKII 1600 Super. Insurance was about £250 TPF&T. I remember pulling into a gas station and the wheel trim rolling off with my brother chasing it, the assistant suggested that I take it home before the engine dropped out.
Steve.
---
Xantia HDi.
Buy a Citroen and get to know the local GSF staff better...
|
Mine was a 1961 Ford Popular 100E, bought in 1971 for £50. IIRC the insurance cost £35.
3 speed gear box and the 1172cc sidevalve engine.
Nice car to drive except in the rain, when, as the older posters know, the wipers stopped when you overtook.
Had some bucket seats from a Wolseley 1500 in it and with a 13" Mountney steering wheel - boy was it fast!
Well the engine wore out fast anyway after my rebuild. White metalled conrods etc.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
|
1991 Peugeot 309 1.9D when I was 19, looked like a shoe box with wheels, but did 50mpg, was as quick or in some cases quicker that small petrol engined hatchbacks and needed nothing more than a tyre, exhaust rear box and a driveshaft gaiter on top of regular servicing. Wasn't much on it to go wrong i.e. no PAS, electric windows, central locking or alarm. Still, a great car though, would have kept it if I hadn't crashed it!
Martin
|
Ford Cortina Mk 1 1500 Super, given to me in 1975 by my mum & dad & dad & I spent 6 weeks welding it up to get it a ticket. Resprayed in Hammerite blue, lasted a year. 588KOO where are you now?
|
1975 Viva HC 1256cc, in a horrible shade of yellowy orange.
The acceleration & cruising ability of a dead sloth.
Bought in 1985 for 400 quid. Drove it into the concrete gatepost at my parent's house within an hour of buying it.
Big end starting knocking the day after I bought it.
One day someone decoded to throw up all over the bonnet; summed it up really.
Replaced with a brand new 1600 Cavalier a year later, which felt like a Rolls Royce in comparison! Sold the Viva for 250 quid a few weeks later, the cheque bounced & the guy did a runner - I think that car was cursed.
|
|
|
|
1969 MG Midget purchased in 1979 for £425 when I was 21
The kind offer of the owner to throw in a boot full of spares should have sounded the alarm bells but I was in love with the idea of the car and its general scruffy condition was ignored. Virtually everything went wrong with the thing over the next 10 months of ownership. Luckily a Ford Escort T-Boned me at a set of traffic lights and the MG was written off.
I did n''t learn the lesson of the MG. The next car was a 1971 Triumph Vitesse ................!
_______
IanS
|
A 1958 Morris Minor - UXN 373 - bought for £100 at auction in 1984, from the estate of the 'little old lady' who had owned her from new.
Sadly over the course of a very happy year of ownership my poor little moggy kind of disintegrated... When MOT time came around there wasn't enough metal left on the chassis, or rubber on the tyres for my student finances to save her.
The little 'parp' sound that Morris Minors make between gear changes will always be one of my favourite sounds - happy days!
|
1969 Ford Cortina mk2 1600 super. Cost me £250 in 1980.
Had a broken leaf spring on the back, which meant you could do 4 wheel drifts at remarkably low speeds and had an awful rumble from the prop shaft.
Loved it though........... traded it in for a bright yellow TR7.
|
|
Citroen ZX 1.4 Aura. Not really mine (bought by Dad), bt the first car I had unlimited access to. £450 in 2003, as it turned 10 and 100,000 miles and had a Cd player. Carburetor was shockingly bad. Spun it once in the wet - that darned PSA lift-oversteer (mainly cause it was a 205 under the skin and all the better for it). Immense fun-to-drive in a crude way with the bestFrench gearbox I've tried to date (including 405 TD, Megane I, 206/306 HDi, 207) and an astounding ride quality. Creaky/rattling/squeaking interior, but spacious enough and the rear seats slid (so the Yaris wasn't that much of a innovator after all!). I loved that car. It was just horrifically unreliable/expensive to repair by Feb 2005 and didn't have a/c... Traded in at a £200 value for Focus, which in spite of it's clear superiority in every way (space, quality, handling, reliability, safety, security, equipment) but ride quality, just, somehow, isn't quite as loveable...
|
|
|
|
|
|
