First car

[WayneKerr]

Not sure if this has been posted before but here goes

I'll kick-off with mine: 1966 Hillman Super Minx bought for £60 in 1975, (I think that equated to about 6 weeks wages for me in '75).

 

[Friesiansam]

A 1976 Mini 1000, in 1983. Driving position was a joke, I'm over 6 foot and have big feet but, had a lot of fun in it.

 

[WayneKerr]

A 1976 Mini 1000, in 1983. Driving position was a joke, I'm over 6 foot and have big feet but, had a lot of fun in it.

I'm definitely much shorter than you. Had a couple of Mini's over the years, always a hoot to drive, can't beat an original Mini for sheer fun.

 

[Gray]

Before I properly owned a car, I bought a mini (van I think it was) from a bloke called Fred.
I never met Fred, he was someone my brother worked with.
What I never forget is lifting the footwell mats - and seeing my driveway through large holes.
Anyway, Fred gave us the money back - and we assume that, Fred by name, he knew he'd tried to unload a Fred Flintstone vehicle.

I've had plenty (always English makes) but never much interest in cars.

I think the first was an orange Austin 1300, with what I think was called hydroelastic suspension.....it must have had a severe leak, because the car was tilted about 3 times higher offside to nearside and was like driving round in the crooked house 😆.

 

[WayneKerr]

Before I properly owned a car, I bought a mini (van I think it was) from a bloke called Fred.
I never met Fred, he was someone my brother worked with.
What I never forget is lifting the footwell mats - and seeing my driveway through large holes.
Anyway, Fred gave us the money back - and we assume that, Fred by name, he knew he'd tried to unload a Fred Flintstone vehicle.

I've had plenty (always English makes) but never much interest in cars.

I think the first was an orange Austin 1300, with what I think was called hydroelastic suspension.....it must have had a severe leak, because the car was tilted about 3 times higher offside to nearside and was like driving round in the crooked house 😆.

Great story Gray. I had an Austin or Morris 1100 somewhere along the line, they weren't bad cars actually.

 

[Revolutions]

I bought a MKI fiesta with no mot from my friend in 2001. I paid him £50. Took it to the garage & it failed so badly the mechanic mostly just laughed at me.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

A maroon Renault 5, powered by a less than mighty 1.1 litre engine.

I have only owned six cars in my entire driving life, and hope that with suitable TLC the present one lasts me out.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

And only present and previous car still seem to be alive. Still, the one before that would have been 23 this year, so maybe that's not too big a surprise.

 

[Gray]

I bought a MKI fiesta with no mot from my friend in 2001. I paid him £50. Took it to the garage & it failed so badly the mechanic mostly just laughed at me.

You have to wonder about these so called 'friends'.
I had a T reg (1979?) Roman bronze Fiesta Ghia....nice interior, but had trouble getting up a very steep hill once (actually started going backwards).

 

[WayneKerr]

I bought a MKI fiesta with no mot from my friend in 2001. I paid him £50. Took it to the garage & it failed so badly the mechanic mostly just laughed at me.

Did you get your £50 back from your mate?

 

[WayneKerr]

A maroon Renault 5, powered by a less than mighty 1.1 litre engine.

I have only owned six cars in my entire driving life, and hope that with suitable TLC the present one lasts me out.

Wishful thinking? You've probably got another 20 odd years in front of you yet.

 

[Gray]

I have only owned six cars in my entire driving life

You've done well.
My brother reached 30 once he started counting what he'd owned - and that was ages ago....he's had 4 or 5 since then.

(Of course he often paid less than the cost of a tyre for his cars).

 

[WayneKerr]

You've done well.
My brother reached 30 once he started counting what he'd owned - and that was ages ago....he's had 4 or 5 since then.

(Of course he often paid less than the cost of a tyre for his cars).

Think I'm on my 22nd, give or take a couple.

 

[Revolutions]

Did you get your £50 back from your mate?

did I f… 😂

On the subject of how many cars, I scrapped my last car when I moved back to London in 2012.

Can’t even imagine how much money I’ve saved over the last 10 years. But I can imagine how much fun I’ve missed out on by not owning a sports car & instead hiring a Fiat Panda for 3 days 😢

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Wishful thinking? You've probably got another 20 odd years in front of you yet.

Possibly. But whilst it gets regular use my mileage is very low. It's not done 100k yet, and I believe 200k isn't too big a stretch for (relatively) modern stuff. Whatever, fingers crossed. They don't make 'em like mine anymore...

 

[WayneKerr]

Possibly. But whilst it gets regular use my mileage is very low. It's not done 100k yet, and I believe 200k isn't too big a stretch for (relatively) modern stuff. Whatever, fingers crossed. They don't make 'em like mine anymore...

You're definitely right there, your Audi should breeze 200k with ease, and substantially more methinks with the correct TLC I'll ask you in twenty years time... if I'm still around

 

[Jasonovich]

I never really cared much about driving, it wasn't until my first wife got pregnant and it became a real necessity. I acquired my driving licence at grand age of 32, my sister was 17 when she got hers.
I purchased my first car black Fiat Uno with rust holes peppered around the front and back. It was a tough lesson after wasting bucket loads of money on the car but I soon learnt the fine art of avoiding the cowboy mechanics.

 

[Gray]

Think I'm on my 22nd, give or take a couple.

Not sure, but I must be on around half that.

Being well into photography, younger bro took pictures of everything - and has still got one of me driving the T reg Fiesta.
What's notable about it, is that it's the only car on the road in 'rush' hour - on what's now one of the busiest roads in Essex 🙂

Driving was more pleasurable then - the equivalent of driving round at 2 in the morning now.

 

[Jasonovich]

I'm dying to ask the question:
What was your life changing experiences in a car?

In La Palma Canary Islands 'Isla Bonita'; we were driving around a rented car, a tiny Renault with the missus and getting a lot of the fingers from cyclist as we whooshed past.
She said, take this turn, its a short cut. I didn't like the look of the dirt track but didn't want to get it in the ear afterwards if our journey took longer than expected, choosing her option, I can always fall back on "Well, it was your idea".

It was the worse decision ever, La Palma is just one big volcano sticking out of the sea, the route took us up into the mountains, meandering, narrow dust roads and the car was above the clouds. It was beautiful and scary, adrenaline was fully pumped.

The 1 litre engine was screaming at me, like an angry China man wha dah fl' uck, wha dah fl' uck,

As we ascended another vehicle from the opposite direction was approaching us, there was a stand off. I thought them being locals, they would reverse, pull in, give us the courtesy and allow me to pass. No, I had to give way, this guy was stubborn as a mule and handsome as my left buttock. I switched into neutral and allowed the car to roll back on its weight, the brakes were smoking. All I kept hearing from the missus, be careful, be careful, I recall the car going up slightly against the slope of the mountain and searing sound as the rocks tore into the paintwork.

The toad in the other car drove passed, he did not flinch not even a gracias. Peasant.
Then there was the dog lying down in the middle of the road....Honestly, if you have a plan just stick to it, don't deviate and don't listen to the missus.

 

[michael hoy]

Mark IV Triumph Spitfire in 1975, hadn't even past my test but could not resist it.

 

[WayneKerr]

Mark IV Triumph Spitfire in 1975, hadn't even past my test but could not resist it.

Flash b*gger

 

[Dave_]

1980 Mini 95 (Van) with a 1275 MG Metro Turbo engine/box swap, Cooper S 7.5 Disc conversion up front, stock drums at rear and running on Cooper S 10" "reverse rims"

 

[nightanddaygamechangers]

A 1980 Datsun Cherry I inherited from my Gran in 89. Passed my test a few months after my 17th. Where I grew up there was no public transport, so the sense of freedom was incredible.

I’m 6’ 4” and with the seat fully back I couldn’t get my legs under the bottom of the wheel. I effectively used the outer edge of my feet on the pedals which meant my left knee was nearly touching the gear stick.

I think the engine was less than a litre. The engine was so basic I could reach through the engine bay in several places and almost touch the floor. The car was nicknamed the milk float because that’s all it could overtake, and the hoover because that’s what it sounded like.

Fond memories. Cherry red with a 70’s brown interior.

 

[WayneKerr]

1980 Mini 95 (Van) with a 1275 MG Metro Turbo engine/box swap, Cooper S 7.5 Disc conversion up front, stock drums at rear and running on Cooper S 10" "reverse rims"

Blimey Dave that must have been a flying machine with massive grin factor

 

[Dave_]

Blimey Dave that must have been a flying machine with massive grin factor

It was.

Built by my dad, brother and me over the course of the winter in '91, ready for passing my test in the spring of '92.

Was rotting away in a hedge on a farm owned by friends of my dad.

Body had to be pretty much fully restored.

I think the only panels that didn't get replaced or repaired in the end were, the roof, firewall (though that needed to be modded to accommodate the turbo) and side panels.