What was your first car?


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Hi!

Thinking about my first car. Still have some slides of it. A '57 Ford Popular bought from a mate at the Electricity Board where I worked at the time.

Paid fifteen pounds for it and patched up a bit of body rot. It ran great but was a bit unstable much above 45mph. Which was o-k because it wouldn't go much faster anyway.

Had a sidevalve engine about 1000 c.c. Six volt electrical system and vacuum operated wipers. Lots of fun in pouring rain. harder you pressed the gas peddle the slower the wipers went.

For some reason it made a very loud clunk if you applied the brakes hard, which was great for scaring pedestrians.

Painted it with Blue Valspaar and loved it. Sold it for 30 pounds after 3 years.

Ahhhh! they were the days.

Dave

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Lets be a bit more patriotic, years ago the british used to fly in wellingtons now anything goes, trainers, flip flops.

When being a kid was much simpler   

Tip for all the Audi gang if you move your seat forward more you could get even closer to my bumper.

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A Rapier Scimiter Alpine (excuse the spelling please) old R plate 2 door and all the mates you could get in!

Wish I still had it ( worth a fortune now)

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My first car (owned jointly with 2 other students ) was a 1948 SWB Landrover purchased in 1960 for 60 pounds. It took us all over Scandinavia and a year later all over Europe as far as Greece.It was sold in exchange for the LWB version 2 years later.

The first car I owned myself was an ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY ( Whitley), purchased for 10 pounds in 1965,and I have never owned a better car since(including a rubbishy new Landrover Discovery).

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£12 to buy a '53 Ford Popular Sit up and beg...3 coats of Dulux blue gloss for exterior finish.

Windows held up by sculptured wooden clothes pegs...

During my driving test a sudden downpour required me to activate the hydraulic wipers [which went slower the faster you drove] by reaching beneath the dash' to activate 2 levers and rapidly withdraw the hand, before mincing - as the proper switch was 'no more'! Examiner most impressed at my ingenuity, passed with flying colours...not Dulux Blue.

Drove the vehicle for many miles - even managed the East Coast - without incident or repair for almost a year, until it disintegrated around me whilst driving along Skeavington's Drive at Cotmanhay...got £5 for scrap, so depreciation of £7 pa seemed not too bad - times change.

Cheers

Robt P.

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Mine was a 1957 Austin A35 - I paid 30 quid for it in 1970. I bought it from the original owner who had an ad in the Post! Rebuilt the motor, and repainted it (green with a white roof) and sold it two years later for 35 quid! I wish I still owned it!

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A Triumph Herald reg no 6235 VT with go faster stripes and head rests. Broke my heart when it went to the scrapyard

(Ponderossa at Bestwood) I split up with my girlfriend on the same day but the car was a better ride. (Sorry Audrey)

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Mine was a very fine example of the Riley Elf.

Bought it for £75 in Thurso - north of Scotland when I was working on the Dounraey Prototype Fast Reactor site in 1970

http://www.ukaea.org.uk/sites/dounreay_site.htm.

Carefully drove it all the way back to Nottingham after a couple of weeks of ownership as it was my week off (6weeks on and 1 week off), managed to drive it in Nottm for 2 days before I got nudged by a double decker outside of the old bowling alley in town (Barker gate?) and it was a write off :-(

elf_re998.jpg

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/rileyrob/specs/elf.htm

Notice the Speed spec - 0 to 50mph in 18.3 secs - whheeeee!

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My first car was a Morris 1100 which I bought for £80. Had to have a new sub frame, which they were notorious for. Transverse engine which gave the car a lot more interior room than it would appear from the outside. Must say it was a very comfortable ride. Had a total of 16 cars to date, my favourite was a 1966 Triumph Herald 12/50, HDB970D, did all my courting in that - oh happy days!

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Hi Guys

Great stuff so many memories.

My girlfriend's dad had a new Morris 1100 back in 63 which he used to let us take. I didn't have a car at that time just a bike. That was a young guys dream a great girlfriend and a new car as well. She used to say I only married her for the car. :-) Not quite true but it sure didn't hurt

Went on my honeymoon in a red mini in 1965. Not a Riley elf though. Old red Morris mini from swan Self Drive on Nuthall Rd. Wonder if it's still there. Swan I mean not the car.

Well Rob, you beat me on that Ford Pop. 53 eh? Mine was the old sit up and beg type though. Front seats so close together you could neck and drive at the same time. One thing about brush painting them, when they looked a bit run down just give e'm a fresh coat. Never worried about door dings in parking lots.

Just curious. Where did you get the Avatar of the cobra? Those things make me cringe just looking at e'm. We have rattlers in the woods around my place I don't go in there in the summer. Could carry my gun but I could probably never hit one. No criticism intended just curiosity.

Present car 98 Ford Crown Vic. Probably considered an old man's car but the ride is nice and as they used to say, "Don't laugh, its paid for." I don't tend to trade 'em every three years. Why have an eternal car loan? Keep 'em til they fall apart I say. Actually the Ga. climate is very kind to vehicles. Mild, so batteries etc. do not get too stressed and little to no snow so no salt on the road to cause rot. 40 below in Canada made for some hard starts and they rattled like a bag of nails because the shocks etc. were frozen. Had to plug them in at night to keep the motor warm enough to start.

BTW. The Mini seems to be making quite a come back here in Georgia. See quite a few Coopers around. Are they still popular in the UK?

Dave

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Well Rob, you beat me on that Ford Pop. 53 eh? Mine was the old sit up and beg type though. Front seats so close together you could neck and drive at the same time. One thing about brush painting them, when they looked a bit run down just give e'm a fresh coat. Never worried about door dings in parking lots.

Dave,

Beyond your accurate observations on the romantic potential of the Pop's front seating, do you also remember how spacious - and surprisingly comfortable - was the back seating?

Recall taking 4 rear passengers to Skeggy, with plenty of fighting room!

Cars of the 50's sometimes seen around - restored and cherished by loving owners - but can't recall seeing a Pop' for decades. A close Bingham friend covets his immaculate Standard Ensign and A40 Farina...

Cheers

Robt P.

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Just curious. Where did you get the Avatar of the cobra? Those things make me cringe just looking at e'm. We have rattlers in the woods around my place I don't go in there in the summer. Could carry my gun but I could probably never hit one. No criticism intended just curiosity.

Dave,

The King Cobra picture was taken by my son who lives in Pattaya, Thailand. This is the least aggressive of a pair of cobra's that are owned by his Thai friend and neigbour, and is on my son's patio...

Tipped out for my benefit as I've always had a long-held ambition to face a cobra sitting up for a strike - along with a Great White, from more of a distance! Initial terror is soon taken over by fascination at such a magnificent creature...

Ground rules:

Never get closer than 6 feet and move slowly, although they attack from a static position and will always hiss just prior to the strike. He made just the one partial strike towards me...but I'd moved well back by then!

Owner John handles them with great care and responsibilty, via specially made tongs to trap the neck. Not fangless oldies, as both are milked regularly for their venom. His brother has an even more lethal Russel's Viper...

Christened (or should that be Buddahed!) UGD...Ultimate Guard Dog!

Only ever seen one of your rattlers...

It was a huge Western Diamond Back slithering around the Navajo parking lot at Monument Valley, UT...even the Red Indians gave it a wide berth!

Cheers

Robt P.

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Speaking of snakes any idea what the (seemingly black or very dark grey) one was that I saw slithering (wild) in Busche gardens Tampa Fla a couple of years ago

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My first car was a 1963 Vauxhall Viva, which had been resprayed metalliic blue, which within weeks had developed an orange peel effect!

I bought it from a colleague's husband when i worked at Dixons around 72/73.

To say it was the worst car ever would be an understatement!

I remember driving along Hyson Green and hearing a thud and a metallic scraping noise, and stopped to find the bell housing i think its called, (houses the clutch i think!) scraping along the road!. As a teenager with little knowledge of my rights, so my uncle spoke to the man who sold it to me, and i recall having either a partial refund, or he did the repairs on it foc.

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Yes indeed...Vauxhall Viva notorious for clutch problems - the plate setting was not adjustable.

Lucky for me that my next door neighbour was a Police Vehicle Examiner, as he could regularly replace my Viva clutch plate in about 10 minutes flat!

Must confess that, beyond the persistent clutch problem, I was well pleased with the several Viva's that I owned...even driving 30K+ miles per annum, as I did then.

Cheers

Robt P.

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Me thinks this topic as been raised before but hay ho who is counting it’s been a long two years and we have many new members now who I can bore stiff with my misspelling and inappropriate punctuation.

Before I recall my motors I beg of you not to laugh to loudly at my choice of transport in my informative years, I was quite oblivious of any p1$$ taking directed at me at the time, it was better than taking the bus everywhere. That’s what I say!

Ok here goes…..my first mode of transportation was on two wheels….peddle cycle then motor bike… my next I went for an extra wheel, yes you guest it a Robin Reliant which I soon became an expert at going round corners on two wheels with, my mum told me many years ago that when I was young I had a three wheel tricycle of which I use to do the same thing on, she said that I have scared her many times with my dare devil stunts, I personally don’t recall those worrying days for my mum.

No wonder she went grey early.

My second motor was a NSU 1000c air-cooled. Made I believe by VW.

My third was a Triumph Toledo 1200cc which had a knack of going rusty very quickly in fact I couldn’t keep pace with the amount of filler it needed just to stay in one piece, saying that though I kept it for over ten years.

My next was an Austin Maestro red in colour, it had four forward gears; the fourth was an economy gear bit like the fifth gear in modern cars today. Kept that again for over ten years until one day going to work it dropped a valve, had it repaired and sold it to a work colleague. Sucker.

My next two were Fords both Fiesta’s one red one green.

My seventh was a Fiat Bravo, brand new straight from the showroom the only one for miles about. Only kept that for two years, had many teething problems, got rid in the end. Traded it in for a Brand new Toyota Corolla kept that for a little longer but eventually had to get rid because of engine problems, was starting to drink oil.

Chopped the Toyota in for the present one a new Black Citroen Picasso with all the whistles and bells attached.

Bip.

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Yes indeed...Vauxhall Viva notorious for clutch problems - the plate setting was not adjustable.

My old man had a couple of Vivas MCW 35 H and NNU 640 P (ain't it daft, I can remember his registration from all those years ago, but struggle to remember mine now, and I certainly can't remember the last one) Anyway I digress, The 'H' reg disinterated under us when we were returning from holiday. Yes dear reader you guessed correctly, the bell housing fell off dragging the engine from its mountings and as this dug into the M1 it nearly flipped us on the roof as the prop shaft acted as a pole vault, we all escaped unscathed but a little more weary, but he still replaced it with another, which had just had the clutch 'done' and this lasted him till he bought a brand new car on his retirement in 84

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Scary!

I always like the Viva.

Rented one for a trip to Scotland in 67. It was a nice car to drive and I hated to take it back to Swan. Now I'm glad I never bought one.

The old Ford Pop lasted until I sold it to emigrate to Canada.

Dave

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So it's just me then who had a Reliant Robin, NSU 1100c,Triumph Toledo, Austin Maestro, two Ford Fiesta's, Fiat Bravo, Toyota Carola, Citreon Picasso........WELL IS IT ??????? or was the list to long and you all gave up reading it half way through?????

Bip.

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So it's just me then who had a Reliant Robin, NSU 1100c,Triumph Toledo, Austin Maestro, two Ford Fiesta's, Fiat Bravo, Toyota Carola, Citreon Picasso........WELL IS IT ??????? or was the list to long and you all gave up reading it half way through?????

I had the misfortune to buy just about the first Toledo in Nottingham...collected on the first day of its release. By the time I'd driven it back to Oadby {where I then lived) about 3/4 major faults had become apparent. So p...ed off and wound up was I, that my ex Mrs drove it back to the garage next day to shout the odds...at which she specialised.

Initial problems cured, but merely a precursor for numerous others!

Not a shrewd purchase...

Cheers

Robt P.

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The 'old mans' last car A123 ERA (his retirement present to himself) was a Maestro it lasted our kid brother long after my dads premature death in 90

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After the A35 I had (in order) a mini, MGB, Morris 1800, MGB, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Granada, Renault 5, Renault Fiero, Ford Aerostar, Ford Taurus SHO, Nissan Pickup, Ford Focus, and currently own a Nissan Pickup, 1971 MGBGT, 1974 MGB Roadster and 1978 Kawasaki KZ650!

I have also owned a Vespa Sportique, Triumph 500 SpeedTwin, Yamaha XS650, and a Yamaha XV-750 Virago!

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After the Rapier I had a Honda CB200 then A Gold Wing, (I got caught, and let off for riding without a motorbike licence, so I got rid sharpish) then a big come down a step through Honda 50, which was upgraded to a stepthrough Honda 90, (I went to Cornwall and back on that!!!!!!!) then a CM125 (Honda again ,can you see a patern emerging?) Finally I bought another car A Morris Marina 1800 Supra estate, that earned me a small fortune because I was self employed and it used to take me everywhere to earn my crust,bought for £30 and sold for £35 eighteen months later having earned me approx £20,000.

Then a company car (Astra estate) ,Audi Avant, Honda c125, Astra Belmont (Great car), A Renault 6, A Sierra Saphire, Ford Orion, and finally my Renault Scenic.

I didn't realise when I started this rather long winded list that I had owned so many vehicles over the years ,sorry.

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