My first car, after passing my test.

1979 mini clubman estate in brown, paid 300 quid for it
1098cc engine, drum brakes all round, bit scary when it came to slowing down.

I managed the fiet of putting it ontop of a hedge and crushed the front end and after that it underwent transformation number 1 and ended up with a bigger engine and brakes

Its currently in the garage as transformation number 2 started a couple of weeks ago....
 
£150 got me a 1977 Datsun 100A in baby-pooh beige with a brown vinyl roof:love:

Managed to drive it flat out on a number of occasions and also managed to fit 7 of us inside on many occasions when going out for the night.

It lasted all of 6 months then some serious rust to the chassis managed to cause my front wheel to collapse while turning at a major junction (it was only 8yrs old!!). I abandoned it on a double yellow line outside the Angel tube station, never to be seen again:'(
 
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This is me with my first car. Bought in 1963 for £135,it was a 1955 Standard 8.I bought it of a local couple who had had it from new. 803cc engine,semaphore indicators and the colour was a pleasant Elfin Green. Kept it for a couple of years before part exchanging it for a Ford Anglia 105e.
 
Cobra said:
I guess that would have been the "Cooper" as the early mini's were
850 IIRC
Actually a quick google brings up the facts and figures on the "A" series.
seems it had quite a "run"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMC_A-Series_engine



My next "move" was to an Austin 1100 ( that put me off front wheel drive motors "forever" :D)
The only saving grace was that it looked like an MGBGT, from a distance
AND on a dark night :D
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Aye was versatile little engine, for the Mini they grafted a 4speed box on the side. a clutch housing on one end so the whole unit could be lifted out in one lump fairly easily and mounted it transversly saving a lot of room in the passenger area. All four wheels where at the extreme corners making it hold the road very well. I did own a Cooper at one point that came with a 1275 twin SU carb engine of the same type, was considered fast for those days.
You could fill it up for a fiver.:eek:

Driving seemed so much more fun back then...lamb chop sideburns....real boy racers...girlfriend lighting your ciggies for you, sliding car door windows...proper spare tyre... not many cars on the road...no working heater... getting wet feet in the rain... the list goes on.:lol:
 
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I bought an ivory 1988 1.1 Fiesta MkII for £300 in 2006.
She was a great little car, with enough room in the back for a 6' fridge/freezer. :eek:
She got badly vandalized early on New Years Day 2012, and the garage said they couldn't guarantee they'd be able to find the parts to fix her. :'(
The car undertakers gave me £40 for her though, so she earned her keep.
 
Oops forum lag
 
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I started out with a 1963 Ford Anglia D/Lux (105E) 1147cc. Black with a light grey roof. A cracking car, or at least I thought so at the time. :)
 
Mine wasn't very exciting, I was bought an old Peugeot 106 for my 18th. A week later however I needed a new one as I'd managed to write it off while ploughing into an old lady's micra on a roundabout. Whoops!
 
Reliant Robin Supervan! Just like Del Boy's, only in (almost) white. Girlfriend of the time wouldn't go on the back of my Kawasaki KH250 - quite wise, really - and it was a cold winter so I did a straight swap with a mate. No car licence, but then (is this still the same??) you could drive a three-wheeler on a bike licence. I'd never driven a car, but spent a few hours driving around some quite roads and got the hang of it pretty soon. It was warmer than the bike (and used less fuel!), and even survived taking six people to Bristol to see Yes. Also saved me having to spend out on driving lessons; passed my car test first time a couple of years later (I'd failed my bike test twice...)
 
My first car after I passed my test was a 1970 Escort mk1, most of the time it would never start in the morning. This was way back in 1980 and the car cost me £200, the insurance also cost me £200.
 
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swag72 said:
1978 brown 1.3 Austin Alegro.

An interesting car, cost me £400 and got £50 from the scrappy when about 2 months later someone drove into the back of me and wrote it off.

To be fair a wasp could have flown into the back of it and written the thing off, but it was all mine and I loved it!
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Did they have that sort of squared off steering wheel?
My brother owned one,neither of us liked driving it lol.
I had an Austin Marina,not a car for someone with a weak stomach as the ride was rough to say the least.
 
1st car was a Morris Marina before passing my test, but rarely got an outing in it as no-one would sit with me twice :D
Cortina III after finally passing.
 
Nikon Man said:
Driving seemed so much more fun back then...lamb chop sideburns....real boy racers...girlfriend lighting your ciggies for you, sliding car door windows...proper spare tyre... not many cars on the road...no working heater... getting wet feet in the rain... the list goes on.:lol:
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Driving at its best!
Those were the days :thumbs:
 
Another A35 van here, but an 848 cc one. With the help of my dad and an h.p. company, plus most of my wages every month for 3 years, I bought a new one a few months after passing my test in 1963. I had loads of extras, like a heater, passenger seat, sun visors, rear seat (yes it was an option for the van), seat belts, all on the road with road tax for £410.00.00
Petrol went up to 5 shillings a gallon (25p) not long after I bought it, I thought that was a rip off, oh dear, if only eh.........

For all its faults including a lack of brakes quite often, I loved that van, I think you always do with your first vehicle, and yes, the room in the back was usefull for emmmm, entertaining shall we say :naughty:


Trev van car A35 1.011Sep64 by Trev4 Photography, on Flickr
 
Trev4 said:
For all its faults including a lack of brakes quite often, I loved that van, I think you always do with your first vehicle, and yes, the room in the back was usefull for emmmm, entertaining shall we say :naughty:
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Mine was the "back seat conversion" too.
IIRC the back of the seat was only supported by a "bar" across the back,
and if you removed the back bar, you could lay the seats flat :D
 
My first car (in 1989) was a very tidy 1982 Fiesta 1.1L. It had a radio, front headrests and aftermarket sunroof.

My second car was a Fiesta 1300s. It was tatty, had no headrests, no sunroof, was 3 years older than the other Fiesta but it was faster (twin choke webber carb) and that was simply irresistible for the young ZoneV. :lol:
 
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"the room in the back was usefull for emmmm, entertaining shall we say":D

When you're young and fit, it's quite amazing what can be accomplished in the back of an (original) Fiat 500 (minis were positively vast in comparison, but many a knee was injured on the floor-mounted ashtray.....)....;)
 
I had an orange robin reliant too, that thing was a blast to drive, always carried a big tool box with me, usually to fix the spark plugs, when the engine decided to be a 3 cylinder instead of 4.
The gearbox was only 4 speed and the selector had loads of play in it, so it was like having to guess where each gear was, due to the fact it felt like the lever was on the other side of the car when selecting first.

Cornering was something that was dreaded, you virtually straight lined roundabouts just in case it rolled over, however the tool box acted as a good counterweight and fixed this problem.

Maintainence was a breeze, no computers or electronic gadgets, just simple mechanics, I used to fix everything myself, even my mates chipped in if it was a major pain in the butt job, but it was fun :)

Sold it for more than I paid.
 
Cobra said:
Mine was the "back seat conversion" too.
IIRC the back of the seat was only supported by a "bar" across the back,
and if you removed the back bar, you could lay the seats flat :D
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Absolutely right, it made for a useful flat area. Have you looked at one recently though, I am sure they have shrunk with time, dont think I cold even kneel down in the rear never mind any other sort of acrobatics :thinking: :lol:
 
Organnyx said:
"the room in the back was usefull for emmmm, entertaining shall we say":D

When you're young and fit, it's quite amazing what can be accomplished in the back of an (original) Fiat 500 (minis were positively vast in comparison, but many a knee was injured on the floor-mounted ashtray.....)....;)
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Ahhh, memories :D
 
I bought my first car in 1988 when I was 18, a 1976 Morris Marina 1800 ("B" series engine, as used on the Austin Cambridge, Morris Oxford in 1622cc form, Wolsley 15/50 (in 1489cc form) Landcrab and MGB in its final 1800cc version) for £500. It didn't handle - lever arm front dampers? really? - and it rusted like it thought it was a Lancia Beta.

That said, the engine had enough torque to make motorway driving a relaxed experience and once I'd figured out maintaining points and condenser ignition I had very few problems with it.

Cost me £280pa to insure with 0 no claims. I wanted an Imp but my parents said no as they still remembered how unreliable to one that Mum used to have was.

BL did some "great" colours in the 1970s, mine was in something called Sandglow. Ewww :lol:
 
Hugh Jarse said:
Loved the car but swapped it for a convrrtible Ttiumph Vitesse....
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oooh jealous! A couple of times I have come very close to buying a convertible Vitesse, love the Michelotti Triumphs.
 
Trev4 said:
I am sure they have shrunk with time, dont think I cold even kneel down in the rear never mind any other sort of acrobatics :thinking: :lol:
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You and me both :D
 
Mine was an Austin Maxi 1750 HL. KAY 816V.

An absolute dog of a car with very clunky Hydrogas suspension! It constantly overheated despite numerous thermostats, to stop it boiling over I had to run it with the heater on hot and fan at top speed. This was fine in winter but, the drivers window winder broke and during the summer it was unbearably hot!

It was still on the road when I saw it 5 years ago!!

Andy
 
PMSL yep I had one one those, Austin Maxi 1750, unstoppable regardless of the weather/mud I loved it despite it being a tank of a car.
Mine threw oil over the clutch every 10,000 miles, got changing it down to a fine art by tilting the engine rather then dropping it out, had a good mate who was also a mechanic :thumbs:
 
dinners said:
The suspension OK Trev ? :)
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Worked ok for me Phil, just asked SWMBO what she thought.... she's denied all knowledge of such things and I lost a whole heap of Brownie points now :gag: :lol:. They were a bit bouncy going over the humps or any rough bits though :naughty:
 
Trev4 said:
Another A35 van here, but an 848 cc one. With the help of my dad and an h.p. company, plus most of my wages every month for 3 years, I bought a new one a few months after passing my test in 1963. I had loads of extras, like a heater, passenger seat, sun visors, rear seat (yes it was an option for the van), seat belts, all on the road with road tax for £410.00.00
Petrol went up to 5 shillings a gallon (25p) not long after I bought it, I thought that was a rip off, oh dear, if only eh.........

For all its faults including a lack of brakes quite often, I loved that van, I think you always do with your first vehicle, and yes, the room in the back was usefull for emmmm, entertaining shall we say :naughty:


Trev van car A35 1.011Sep64 by Trev4 Photography, on Flickr
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Blimey love the mud flaps AA/RAC badges on the grill front and chrome rear view mirror's, and do I see two fog lamps on the bumper?

Yes back seat evenings down by the river always remember those with fondness.:love:
 
just realised my first car was actually a rover p6 i acquired when my grandad died and i was 12.... although i didnt get to drive it until i was about 21 (again ive still got it, lovely car, brought my missus to our wedding in it!
 
daugirdas said:
'98 1.2 clio, and the first thing I did was to take it up on Porlock hill (just, in the 1st gear) :cuckoo:
As everything else in this thread - badly underpowered, poor brakes, unsafe, uncomfortable and probably failing :lol:
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Now that takes me back to the late 50's when my dad had a Ford Prefect, he was in the AA and in those days an AA man used to stand at the bottom of Porlock hill and salute members as they went by, he waved us down and suggested the best way for us to get to the top was to go up in reverse as it was a stronger gear, he actually followed us up on his motor bike and side car.
 
What a great thread! My first was a 1967 VW Beetle, I actually bought two for £55 - one had a good engine and knackered body and the other one had a knackered engine but good(ish!) body. Luckily the engines are relatively simple to swap and I was soon on the road and I still have fond memories of hoolying around Inverness in it with some of my mates. The speedo on the old Beetles only went up to 85mph iirc and this was about 4:30-5 o'clock (if you imagine the speedo dial as a clock) and I remember careening down Drumossie Hill outside Inverness and the needle being at the 6 o'clock mark. Petrol was 31p a gallon and I worked at a filling station on Saturdays/holidays that was attended service so lot's of tips from the account customers - "Stick a gallon down for yourself!". Happy days.
 
My first car was a Triumph Dolomite 1750HL (with overdrive) in Inca yellow. It was a great car, comfortable, quickish and looked good. It did however disgrace itslef, when I took a trip up to London with it on a provisional licence (my girlfriend had passed her test), and it decided to lose all the lights in Trafalgar Square at midnight. They came back on again, but repeated the performance at various intervals on the way home, including a stretch of the A20 which was pitch black.
 
Mine was a Citroën 2cv on a d plate I loved it and I still love 2cv's, it got totalled by a boy racer in an xr2, but i brought a lomax kit to build on it, that was 20+ years ago and it is still say in mums garage, hopefully I am going to get it back on the road this year.
 
Blimey! What a shower! It's only slow drivers who need fast cars! :p

My first car in 1974 was a ten year old, £90, rear-engined Renault 8-1100 which had about 46bhp but couldn't half race away from the traffic lights! And the brakes worked fine - ish ... better after I loaded all my school books into the boot to put some weight onto the front wheels and I learned how to balance and slide the car on it's 135-15 Michelin X tyres.

I'd be quite happy driving it again in modern traffic - it would give me something to concentrate on and stay awake! - just as I'd be happy to drive some [not all] of the other cars here. :D
 
I think this thread has reminded us just how bad cars used to be - we've become spoilt by cars that don't rust away as soon as we get them, cars that actually steer, stop and start.

The generation that could (because they had to) fix a car by the road side on the way there, and again on the way back, who knew about brake fading, who could drive in snow without ESP and ABS and who didn't worry about breaking the speed limits because their cars couldn't, is dying out:)
 
Triumph Herald 12/50 with a rain roof - I was in the RAF at the time and my CO described it as 2,000 rust spots flying in close formation ....
 
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