Cars I (you) have owned, and thoughts thereon:-

[powerdesal]

I found a recent thread about motorbikes on the same theme, Coops suggested a 4 wheel version, as she needs cheering up (I suspect), here is a topic................

MG TC (1947 model), a year to rebuild from multiple cardboard boxes, great fun, lack of sidescreens created weather ''issues'' whilst driving in the rain.

1961 Austin Mini 850, everyone had one at some point. A rubber glove over the dizzy stopped lack of ignition in the wet.

19?? MK 1 Cortina (in Africa). Footwells filled with water in the rains, handbrake didn't work but........

1963 Mini Cooper (in Africa) 997cc not the better 998 model. Snapped the crankshaft which was a bit of a pain.

Peugeot 404L 7 seat SW. (in Africa). Bought on leave in UK, driven from Cape Town to Kitwe. Terrific car, christened the 'Queen Mary' cos it was big and white. Not many were seen in UK in the early 70s when we were on leave.

VW 1500 Beetle (in Africa), a bit of a non-event, bought to replace the Peugeot which was sold on as a taxi.

19?? Austin / Morris 1100. A pretty little car, bought by SWMBO because she liked the colour !!!!!

1973 Austin Maxi 1750. A magnificent towing car, over Shap at 70+ with a caravan on the back ( silly ! I know)

19?? Humber Sceptre. Great 'cockpit', fast but a lousy tow car.

19?? Peugeot 204 SW. Nice but not memorable

19?? Mazda 616 ( in Dubai), eventually scrapped, but we have the gear lever knob as a souvenir.

19?? Range Rover (in Dubai), the first of our RRs - we would eventually learn to avoid them.

198? Subaru 4wd SW, imported from Dubai on return, excellent tow car but ate front tyres.

19?? LWB LandRover, SWB LandRover, Escort van, Citroen van (with the corrugated sides) all farm / business vehicles. Nothing much to say apart from rolling the Citroen van was an experience.

1991 Range Rover (in the Middle East) (not a 1991 model though), the second time, the learning curve was very shallow. Exported it to UK where it was (thankfully) stolen and written off.

198? BMW 730i, paid for by the insurance from the RR. What a car, fabulous to drive, fast, comfortable, I would have another at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately it was written off by No 1 Son,

I had driven it for only 5 weeks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

19?? Range Rover (AGAIN !!!!!!!!) in Sharjah UAE - we finally learnt our lesson from that one.

1993 Daihatsu 4wd Rocky. Nice car, wrong colour, black is not good in the heat of the middle east.

1999 Isuzu Trooper 3l LWB. Only one word, Terrific. We kept it for 11 years.

19?? BMW 316 (kept in UK), standard spec ex-Germany LHD. A very nice car but......no power steering. Good at speed but a 'work-out' to park. A bit too low for SWMBO to get out of.

2005 Vauxhall Zafira diesel. Very nice but 'A' pillar vis was a problem with a RHD drive when in France, dangerous even.

2009 Kia Sportage 2l turbo diesel, all the bells and whistles, a great car, have achieved 50+ mpg.

What would I (we) buy if money was no object - no idea. I would have an Mazda MX5 but that would be my toy only.

Anyone want to join in ?????

[Dog]

I won't bore you with ordinary cars I bought.# These were the memorable ones....

Reliant Regal cartwheeled it through a hedge - chassis was severly bent.

Vauxhall VX1800 Estate - wonderful car did nearly 400,000 miles - you could get 40 bottles of wine under the floorpan. The French had never seen one. I finally wore it out - it was terminally old and the diff blew up making loud clonking noises.

VX490 - I bought it from a very religious Caribean gentleman. On the test drive I threw it around a roundabout at great speed - I had never previously seen a dark skinned man turn white with fear. He didn't say anything until we got back to his house. Where he shakily said that he had never been so scared in my OWN car! It rusted and fell apart. He kept in touch for years - I was the first to put the fear of God in him.

Vauxhall Ventura 3 litre straight six. Was made of thicker metal than other VX's and had a great lump of chassis under the radiator - who knows why? Never had a bit of rust on it. A great limo but not made for speed. Head warped three times and I gave up with it. A hotrodder bought it and fitted a V8 and jacked it up. I bet it's still out there somewhere.

I would like to mention I purchased Vauxhalls because people didn't like them and they were cheap!

I wanted a Lotus Seven but stupidly bought a fake kitcar one with a 3 litre V6. Crumbs it was quick - nearly as quick as a motorcycle - my glasses vibrated so much over 100mph I couldn't see! Sadly the idiot that built it must have built it an afternoon and ignored the instructions. It was a death trap.

Ford Probe 2 litre - bought as had sold all UK cars but needed a runaround for a few weeks until moved to France. Paid £500 quid for it, low mileage - was a reasonable car but made for Americans with children with no legs as there was no rear legroom. Sold it for £800.

Lada 1300 - bought it for a Hungarian. He was a Uni lecturer of English. I found that on his salary it would take him 20 years to afford to buy a Lada. So I bought him one 12,000 miles £350. Trouble was it was only 3 years old. I gave it to him and he cried. Then found that as it was so new!!! he would have to pay a massive import duty so I got stuck with it.

I got it up to 112mph slipstreaming my brothers car. It was a hilarious car to drive - what had I got to lose in it? You could leave the keys in it and it wouldn't get nicked.

I drove it over ploughed fields, had great duels with big posh cars. Wheels fell apart - they are not heat treated. I visited a mate with a 911 and he sat in the car and we chatted while I held the pedal to the carpet for 5 minutes while we laughed and I explained he couldn't do this in his Porche.

That burned the cam lobes off - oops. It eventually ended up in a bed of stinging nettles by my garage - until a Geordie bought it to export back to Russia - he had shipped over 400. I feel sorry for the Ruskie that bought mine.

I won't bore you any more for now.............

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

My first car was a 1982 Yugo 413. No more to say on that.

Then I got an Austin Maestro that hated cold weather.

Volvo 340 was next which hated wet weather.

Volvo 460 which was alright I guess.

Toyota Corolla that hated going up hills. I blew the motor up in it.

Mazda 929 Turbo. That was a lot of fun.

Mitsubishi Magna 2.5. Auto, best car I ever had. Drove beautifully.

Ford Capri (not like in The Professionals). This was the two seater convertible type. But it was a Ford, say no more.

Kia Sportage. I should have bought a roller skate instead.

Peugeot 206CC. Continual problems with the auto gearbox. Had bought it brand new, went back to the garage countless times and Peugeot never solved it. I sold it back to them before moving out to the US with them thinking it had been solved.

Mitsubishi Galant. Like my Magna, another great car to drive.

[PaulT]

My 4 wheel driving started in 1969:

1958 Ford Consul MkII highline £20 - front bench seat and 3 on the column. Took my test in this. The examiner sorted out his briefcase on the seat between us whilst I was taking the test.

1959 Ford Consul MkII lowline £25 - my ex FIL bought this at auction, why I have not a clue because it was not suitable for what he needed so I bought it off of him

1960 Ford Consul MkII lowline £8 - bought off of a friends uncle. The cheapest and the best

1963 Vauxhall Viva £? - my ex decided it would be a good idea to buy it. What a heap of junk. The gear lever broke off which was handy. When the MOT ran out did not bother putting in for nother and took it to where it deserved to be, the junk yard

1966 Austin Cambridge A60 £45 - bought it off a student who had driven it down to St Tropez with some mates. He dvertised it for £80 and I friend told me to give up when I had got him down to £45. Took the wheels and drums off to check the brakes and all was fine. The next day drove down the road, pushed on the brake pedal and it went to the floor. Put it in to a road sign to stop sailing out on to  busy road. A fibreglass wing sorted it out. The chssis was somewhat weak and drive down the road, turn the wheel from side to side  couple of times and it would continue shaking from side to side. Spent a weekend repairing the chassis. Put it in for an MOT nd they failed it on the chassis! Charged me £15 to fix it and ll they did was slap some underseal on part of my repairs.

1967 Wolseley 18/85 £300 - beautiful car even if the auto box did fail. Fitted  manual box and drove it for a great many miles. Sold it to a friend - regretted it ever since

1968 Morris Oxford Countryman £? - a bit of a heap but needed a second car.

1963 MG Magnette £? - bought from a firend. Cannot remember what happened to it. The wood interior was a little tired.

1973 Rover 2000TC £1200 - the start of a love affair with P6s. Great car but not that easy to work on. Got involved with the P6 Rover Owners Club.

1975 Rover 3500 Auto £75 - the owner had driven it from Bath and the auto box went. I bought it, got a 2nd hand box for £75 and a great car but a little ragged. My ex used to drive it and had got stopped once and talked her way out of getting done. Then, one evening we were coming down the A12 from Norfolk. She was doing 95 and then the inside lit up with blue lights. I said 'you've done it this time you had better pull over'. She did and the police car raced past

1966 Rover 3500 proptotype £320 - the V8 was launched in 68 and this was a true prototype. It had 200 inner wings which meant that the servo had to be moved to change 2 of the plugs. Had also been used to evelop electric windows which would feature on US only V8 models. The MD of Rover had bought it when he retired.

1968 Rover 3500S Auto development car £99 - only 2042 of the actual thing produced. This car had been built up for board approval for production. I was manning the P6ROC stand at Birmingham when some one came up and sked if anyone as interested in parts. I started to chat to the person and quickly started to think this was not run of the mill. I questioned the bumpers (unique on the S Auto) and yes, it had tose. I told him not to break it and how much did he want and the deal was done without me seeing it. The factory had subsequently modded it and fitted a manual box which I presume was for testing prior to launching the manual version. BMIHT Heritage had a load of photos of the car in development.

1973 Rover 3500S RHD Export £? - bought for parts it was a bit rough

1978? Austin Maxi £? - the original P6 gearbox expired so I bought this. An amazing vehicle, plenty of power and amazing the building materials it could carry

1994? Rover 800 £3,500 - very nice car - would give 40mpg at 70 mph on the motorway. 

1994 Royale Sabre kit car £12,000 - and no kit cars are not cheap. Based on 30s Delahayes and Delages by an absolutely ace designer, John Barlow ex of Leyland Trucks and the chassis would not disgrace a lorry. Two year build and then an everyday car doing 12,000 miles a year. So good most people did not believe it was a kit car.

1998 Rover 800 £6,450 - bought from a Rover dealer with 15k miles. It had come direct from Rover. Bought in Torbay and driving it back to Surrey the gearbox started to play up. Had Rover warranty. In to the local Rover dealer and they claimed they had overhauled the box. Still problems and it caused an argument between Rover, the selling daler and repairing dealer. The result was a new box fitted.

1996 Land Rover Discovery 300TDi £10,500 - bought as we bought a caravan. Nice tow vehicle and nice high position to drive. Put 110,000 miles on it. Two weeks bfore the first drive down to our French house the gearbox tarted to play up in 2nd. I was happy to drive it down but someone else was concerned it would not make it and could not get the box overhauled in time. Worked out what it would seel for with a good box, deducted what a box would cost and sold it for the the good cost less gearbox cost

2001 Rover 75 Connoisseur 75 CDT Estate £3,695 - very nice comfotable car although sometimes a little cramped on our trips down to France mainly due to the dog having the whole of the estate part.. Bought with 92k on it, now with 197k and when we get back from our France trip in August it will have 200k on it. It has been very reliable. Soon it will be going (to my BIL) nd will be replaced with a later version.

Think that is all of them

Paul

[idun]

I like my cars to get me from A to B safely and economically  and without breaking down.

So I had a green and white banger in 1975 that did none of the above and fell apart.

Then a brown one that wasn't much better. An orange one R12TS, which was good, then a yellow R12. Onto Fords a red one and a white one. Then Fiats 4 white ones. Then a white citroen and now a grey, well they say silver Citroen and that is to date.

And that was interesting for me, as I hadn't realised that once we buy a make that we usually buy at least one more before moving on to another make.

[powerdesal]

I suddenly realised that in my list above I had forgotten a Vauxhall Cavalier Estate and a Vauxhall Nova.

The Cavalier was great, a very under estimated car in my opinion.

The Nova was a little red rocket sled, boy could that car move !, only 903cc and we had an indicated ton with 4 in the car. Speedo error (?) and downhill had something to do with it no doubt. Even so, it was a cracking little car.

[PaulT]

I have also forgotten a few cars:

These were around the Rover 800 and kit car time:

1972 Rover 2000 TC £450 - very shortly afterwards it was hit in the car park at work. A driver had hit the rear of mine and then gone down the side of a Vauxhall. They drove of but witnesses took the number of the car. In addition, there was high quality CCTV in the car park and there were clear images of the whole event. Good old classic car insurance....agreed value £900 so I doubled my money

1973 Rover 2000TC £? - needed the brakes and exhaust doing. Sold it at the Bromley Pageant of Motoring (anyone in SE England should go to this). Absolutely no interest all day and then 15 minutes before the close a young chap came up and bought it.

1962 Ford Zephyr MkII Lowline £1,200 - good condition apart from the brake and clutch hydraulics. Overhauled these and it was fine. Took it out for the first time on a Good Friday and gave it a blast along the M25. A car overtook me and there was this terrible noise and I thought 'he's got some troubled when suddenly I realised it was the Zephyr. Pulled over on to the hard shoulder and looked under the bonnet. A con rod had gone and knocked a hole in the crankcase and there were flames on top of the oil in the sump. Fortunately, the flames went out. Called the AA who sent a breakdown truck from a local garage. The driver said 'my governor has some of these'. Turned out he had MkIII cars and one that he was going to break so I bought the engine from him. Now, what is the chance of that happening.

1982 Triumph TR7 DHC £4,000 - always wanted one of these and finally bought one in 1998. This one had been reupholstered in magnolia leather and had low mileage as well as improved suspension bushes etc. When we moved in 2001 work was needed on the house so it sat outside until I cleared the garage and then it went in there where it has languished ever since. The non use has done it no favours, especially being outside. The front wings have a fair bit of bubbling around the arches. Need to get it on the road very soon as we have the house on the market. I then intend pulling it completely apart and carrying out a thorough reatoration.

1981 Triumph TR7 FHC £220 - bought a few years ago unseen on eBay for parts some of which I sold to recoup my outlay. However, if it had been saveable then I would have. It was not as the rust in it was incredible. If I had been retired then yes, I could have welded it and made up new metal.

Paul

[tonyinfrance]

Too many to mention all of them but in round terms -

1968      1930s Austin 10 (almost as new, bought from a bus driver in Staines)

1969      Austin 7 special (the back fell off it on Weybridge High Street)

1970s     An array of Fords, Humbers and Wolseleys along with an E Type, a Jensen Interceptor and a TR3A I kept for 34 years

1980s     Happy days of company car free motoring!  Mostly Ford Granadas

1990s    Mercedes S500 coupé, an Escort and a BMW 318

2000s   Mercedes 280SL (still have it) and a BMW525 as the daily car

I like to see the Consuls and Zephyr/Zodiacs of my teenage years but there are few of them about these days.....

[bettyboop]

Morris Minor - named Gertie, 1st car bought for £20, my dad hand painted it with one of his paint brushes - say no more, it had fat wheels,sports seats and binatone cassette lol

Fiat 127 - less said the better

Triumph Dolomite - rust bucket

2.0s Capri - gorgeous

2.8i Capri- brilliant

Lotus Sunbeam - fastest thing on four wheels at the time

Kids turned up:-

MG Maestro

Cavalier SR and SRi

Escort XR3i

Toyota Supra

Mondeo ST24

Mondeo ST220

Lotus Esprit Turbo

Lotus Elise 135r

Clio 172 sport

Z3

Z4

and now:

BMW 320M - posh car

Toyota MR2 - my shopping car

Petrolheads lol

[Will]

Like Dog and one or two others I'll only mention the more noteworthy ones, or those which seem to be part of a common thread here.

Various Austin 7s and specials thereof, none of which ever worked, but as I wasn't old enough to drive them who cared?

1954 Renault 4CV - bought as a abandoned shell from behind the local garage and rebuilt, with back end mechanical bits from a Dauphine. The Dauphine (850cc) was never one of the most powerful vehicles, but in a body that weighed a mere half ton it worked really well. So well that it was followed by...

1961 Renault 4CV, one of the last made and originally from Jersey, also received a Dauphine transplant. This one had a metal sunroof which may have made it a bit heavier, but when open increased the downforce and improved cornering no end (discovered about the same time that F1 and CanAm discovered wings).

Followed by 1966 Mini Cooper, super little car even if it didn't actually seem a lot quicker than either of the uprated 4CVs. Wish I still had it.

Racing 850 Mini and MG Midget

Saab 95 estate, one of the early V4 models (1967?). The most memorable bit was the free-wheel mechanism.

1978 Vauxhall VX2300 automatic, wonderfully smooth and comfortable, but only mentioned because they seem favorites round here.

1971 MGB GT - only quite recently sold for a second restoration to somebody in France.

[Alan Zoff]

Forgotten most of them which probably says enough about them:

As for those I remember:

First was an Austin A40 with bits salvaged from various ex-Post Office Morris Minors that my older brother used to do up and sell in the 60s. I spent hours taking it apart and putting it back together for no real reason and loved it dearly. Gave to younger brother who rolled it after a week.

Then my Dad's cast-off 1964 Hillman Minx 1600. Built like a tank with less acceleration. Wrong image for a teenager.

Next a Mark 1 Escort 1.3. Made it look like something sportier by adding wheel spacers, chopping out middle bumper section, etc and adding Marchal spotlamps that almost stopped the engine when turned on. Christ they were bright. Over-did engine tuning - my younger brother blew it up a week after I gave it him. (Pattern developing there.)

Brilliant Renault 16 to mark arrival of first child. Not the prettiest car in the world but my mechanic brother said it was the one in a thousand fluke that had been assembled perfectly, with a wonderfully smooth engine and most comfortable seats ever. Pity floor disintegrated. I paid someone to have a go at welding it up and he accidentally (I think) set fire to it.

Talbot Solara. Tinny heap of scrap with the noisiest tappetty engine I have ever owned. Camshafts were apparently weak so no sooner were clearances adjusted than they would start rattling again due to fresh wear.

Alfasud TI. Another rot box with a very temperamental engine but when it was working properly it was fantastic to drive. God I scared some passengers in that. Lumps of bodywork seemed to evaporate overnight and it had to be towed away.

Citroen GS Club. If there was anything good about that car I have forgotten it.

Fiat 127. See Citroen GS Club.

Cavalier GTI which was unbelievably fast for a standard road car at the time. Surprised I kept my licence with that one.

Early Renault Savanna 2.0 petrol estate. Dreadful build quality but quite quick, and cavernous for family with dogs. Later had a 7 seater diesel version which was much better made but painfully underpowered.

Peugeot 605i. A car no one seemed to want in UK but I thought it was great. Lively for a big, comfortable car and would go round roundabouts like a Lotus. I surprised - and overtook - many a sportier car on roundabouts in that.

Mazda Xedos 2.0 V6. Bought a 1992 auto model which so impressed me, even though the autobox failed, that I part-X'd it for a later manual version. Incredibly reliable, quite fast, well equipped and practical. Would have another if they still made them.

[mint]

First car was a Triumph Herald, black and white.  You really could "turn it on a sixpence" as it was very manouvrable (can't spell that!)  but it didn't have much power and it used to be touch and go on steep hills if there was more than me in it.

Next was a mini clubman which was great fun to drive but I only kept it for a few months.  It was a present from a boyfriend and, when I finished with him, I didn't want to keep the car as a reminder.

Then I had an MG Midget; not the one with the chrome bumpers, it was the 1400cc twin cam and wonderful for the growly noises it made.  It was very cold to sit in in the winter and wretched to look out of when it rained.  Plus, I was always being stopped by the police under some pretext or other.  But I was always pushing it to its limits and I did a spectacular skid in it once, turning at least 180 degrees.

After that, I grew up and was in a steady, staid sort of a job.  With the aid of an interest-free loan from my employer, I bought a Volvo 343.  Deadly dull but it was suited to my purpose.  It did have a lot of gadgets for those days and I remember the heated driver's seat very well because, after I sold it to some girl, she complained afterwards that the heat melted her knickers![:-))]  Don't know what sort of knickers she wore but I loved that seat on cold mornings.

Then I had a Toyota Carina which I absolutely loved and I think it was my favourite car ever.  In the meantime, I was working in the Centre for Safety Studies in Bournemouth and, at work, I had use of a Volvo 740.  I was allowed to drive it for all work-related trips so I never minded where I had to go as it was a lovely big beast and I felt very important driving it.  Only problem was, I could never drive it other than very well, heeding all speed limits, etc because it would have been mighty embarrassing to have had any sort of "incident" in it as it was given to us to use by Volvo and, anyway, I was researching safety issues, LOL!

After the Carina, I had a Toyota Corolla, the one with the yuppy roll bar at the back.  It was also wonderful but, after I'd done over a hundred thousand miles in it, OH wanted me to have something newer and with less mileage.

So, I ended up with my present automatic Hyundai Lantra.  It's fine, very dependable, and some on the Forum might remember I pranged it a couple of years ago but, at the advice of a few on here, I had it patched up and now I do so little driving that it's hardly worth changing.

It's just passed its CT, I've had 2 new tyres and the dog loves it as it has a very good view through the back window as it's an estate.

[JSKS]

70s

Hillman Imp - usual head gasket thing

VW Beetle (with split rear screen) - just kept going

Triumph 1300 - munched crankshaft on M1

80s:

Renault 5 - brilliant

Vauxhall Cavalier - not!

Astra GTE - Umm?

BMW 316 - forgettable

Golf GTi - marvellous

90s:

Peugeot 205 diesel - just went on and on and on and....

Late 90s and noughties:

Then a collection of tax-free motors bought while serving in British Forces Germany and sold at earliest opportunity for variable profit

4 x Volvo 850s - all OK

Merc SL 320 - made from granite, I think.

BMW 325 estate - small estate car.

Merc E240 estate - bigger estate car

BMW 318 convertible - too hot to use roof when sunny. Covertibles are so impractical except in a cool country.

TVR Tuscan - most unreliable heap of garbage but great when it (occasionally) worked.

5 x BMW X5s - thank goodness for tax free fuel!

Jag XK8 (mine was the first one registered outside UK)

RR Sport - mobile leather armchair but soooo slowwww......

5 x Ford Kas - cracking little motors - even our sons couldn't break them!

Also had a couple of Citroen Berlingos locally bought which between them did 250.000km trouble free (once the trim had fallen off and stopped rattling).

Today:

2010 VW Touran with the boggo 1.9 prehistoric diesel engine. Extra €1000 for 15 extra bhp and a more complex injector system? No thanks. 5.5 ltr/km, cruise all day at speed limit, lots of room for the dog and seems to be well screwed together.

[mint]

JK, I can't believe that one person could get through so many cars!

I can never bear to part with mine and it is usually OH who'd insist I changed....

I guess men and women do perhaps have different attitudes to their cars?  And, perhaps, to their houses also?

[JSKS]

Sweetie,

Most were only kept 6 months or a year, one each for me and the Mrs then when the boys were old enough they had about 5 between them. Normally such as the X5s, TVR, Jag etc would be of little interest but when you can have one for a year then sell it for more than you paid for it, it would be foolish not to!

Now we are back in the real world. thus the rather more mundane Touran which we will keep until it (or us) falls apart.

[mint]

Looks good that Touran.  We test drove one when we first came out here but I thought it was bigger than we needed.

 

[Richard51]

Wonderful thread.

The car I remember most - an A35 van when I was a student. Bought for £35 (NB I was on a full grant then but that's another thread) and eventually sold for £5 in a morning and then I went out in the afternoon and bought a pair of shoes for £3.  The Mot had been introduced that year and it may well have failed - when bought the sills had been expertly covered with house drainpipes and the "respray" was with household paint.

Then passing through a singles phase: including MGB and TR7 - the others were memorable for all sorts of reasons but not sporty .

I loaned the MGB to a friend on the basis that he would take the car for an MOT in the morning and have use of it in the afternoon. He left it at my home at lunchtime as the garage described it as a death trap - eventually sold for scrap for £50, and my friend was not too impressed that his plans (definitely aimed to impress) were thwarted.

The TR7 was also not that successful. Knew OH by that time and she wasn't that impressed with its failings.

Since then rather mundane. We have tended to keep cars for long periods rather than swapping regularly. My current is a Skoda Fabia Estate 1900 TDi. New in 2001 and bought in 2003. Has given great service. OH has the "better" car. Currently a Toyota Auris which is extremely underpowered at 1400cc. She waxes lyrical about her previous Honda Civic (sporty version) which I totally agree with.

Mr R51

 

[PaulT]

[quote user="Richard51"]The car I remember most - an A35 van when I was a student. [/quote]

That's brought back memories....

In my youth a friend had an A35 van with a mattress in the back. His mother was a role model for Hyacinth Bucket and she was not impressed

[Chancer]

I took my test in an A35 that had no synchro-mesh remaining and required synchronised upchanges and double declutch downchanges, it was 2 weeks after my birthday and I had had no lessons at all, my family refusing to aid me in any way.

In fact I even technically stole the car (my sisters) to go to my test driving without an accompanying driver, it can only have been my mastery of the controls of this virtual death trap that convinced the examiner to pass me, he did however give me his frank assessment of my borrowed wheels, he had noticed that every time I released the brakes I had to get on the throttle quickly to hide the fact that they were still applied whilst knocking off the handbrake on my right hand side, it had mechanical rear brakes operated by a slave cylinder by the handbrake and the sliding clevis had been bolted solid in order to get the rear brakes to work.

Straight after that I bought an Ex post office Bedford Beagle van for a tenner from my BIL, he said that a piston was gone and the big end also, it certainly ran on 3 cylinders chuffed out loads of oil and made a frightfull clattering noise but to my ears the frequency was more camshaft/valve gear than crankshaft.

20 minutes later I had it repaired at zero cost after redeforming the stiffnut that had come loose on one of the inlet rockers, had I had an older head on my shoulders I would not have rubbed my BIL's nose in it with such glee.

The next job was to put the mattress in tha back and cover everything that i could in the rear with fake fur [:'(]

[idun]

 took my test in an A35

 

ROFL, I could not remember what sort of car my first one was, but that was it. Paid £20 for it and was robbed.

[Chancer]

My sister paid £7.50 for hers, she took me along to check it over and do the negotiating, at 15 I was already a good mechanic and negotiator..

[crossy67]

80's

1.5 Austin Allegro (all agro) super (I still chuckle at the super bit), slow, thirsty and rubbish,

1.3 Mk2 Escort 2 door in lime green.  Shed really a girlfriend wrote it off by hitting a bridge in a car park.

Yellow Triumph Dolomite sprint.  It was loud, bright yellow and looked the part.  In reality it was quite quick, handled badly and was unreliable.

Red Mk5 Cortina 1.6.  My all time favourite car ever, it would do 97 in 3rd following a bit of tuning.   It had a huge sun roof and I literally lived in it.

1.1 Talbot Sunbeam.  Slow, too slow. I took the engine out of my Cortina and wedged it in with the Sunbeam diff.  0-100 was awesome but it wanted to kill me every time I got in it.

80-s -90's

Blue Mk5 Cortina.  Not as good as my old one but it was much better on fuel.

Daihatsu Charade.  3 cylinder 1 liter and 72mpg.  Met my wife in it.  Was very reliable until I selected 3rd instead of 5th.  Ooops, new valves.

Fiat X19.  Great fun for a couple of months but rot got it.

Ex police Vauxhall Senator 3.0.  Probably the slowest 3.0 in the world but it handled awesomely.  Really annoying though, everyone would slow to a crawl when you were behind them thinking I was the law.

Peugeot 205 1.9GTi.  Loved it.  It began my love affair with 205's

Went onto bikes for a few ears.

2000 on

Peugeot 205 1.4 XS.  Even better than the GTi.  Gave many Golf GTi's a run for their money despite having a smaller engine.  It handled even better which made up for it.

Citroen Saxo.  Geat looking car in shiny gold.  That's the best thing I can say.  Crap car.

Went into vans for a few years.

Toyota Celica GT4, one with 4 headlights.  One hell of a car.  4wd 350bhp with a little modifying, would do 165mph on a private track day.  Stunning looking, and 100% reliable, I would have another tomorrow if things hadn't moved on.

Vauhall Corsa CDTi 1.2.  Great little car, 61mpg and fast enough for me.  I like it because it's tatty so I use it like a van.

JK have you thought about getting your Touran remapped?  My Corsa has been and I now get 61mpg instead of 50mpg and it goes like stink.  Okay, if you use the extra power it's a bit thirstier but driving gently it's a huge improvement.  The next car I get will be another diesel and it will get a remap.

[mint]

Er...Crossy, can you explain to the uninitiated what a "remap" is?

[Richard51]

The car my DH failed to mention was the Escort Mk II he sold me before we started going out (we were work colleagues at that point).  It was a lemon (despite his assurances that it was 'good and reliable' and would be 'a great first car').  I had to have a re-bore (brother and his mate re-installed engine - painted in very patriotic red, white and blue - but that is a whole other story!)  I had my moment of retribution.  Five minutes after he proposed and I accepted I pointed out that this, of course, meant he got his damn car back LOL [:D]  

His face was a picture [:D][:-))]

Mrs R51

[Richard51]

Double post