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First Car memories
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First car was an old rusty A40, only car I have ever made a profit on when I sold it!1
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My first car was a Fiat 127 old W reg (1980) that I got in late1989. Not the quickest with a 1050cc engine... but it was pretty reliable, except the fuel gauge was forever stuck on a 1/4 of tank, so I had to guess when I needed to re-fuel.0
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So was mine, swapped it for a 50cc motorbike. Then again, I was only 16, but learnt how to drive down the muddies.thai malaysia addick said:First car was a much-loved black Hillman Imp - EWC871B. I can remember the reg of all my cars until about 15 years ago then the mind is blank.
Now known as the Greenwich Penninsular.0 -
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Not the actual car but my first motor was one of these beauties, a Talbot Horizon. Manual choke, no power steering, brakes made of sponges and a terrifying steering wheel wobble at any speed over 45mph. It was a bag of spanners but when you’re 17 and stuck in a godforsaken rural market town anything that gave you some freedom for adventure was cherished. I butchered the parcel shelf putting in some speakers but I was soon pumping out Run DMC, De La Soul and Ice T whilst cruising along Scarborough seafront or me and mates would head off to Leeds or Bradford for gigs. That car played it’s part in my evolution from a boy into a man.0 -
When I worked for the Prudential I had a cover note book & could issue them whilst the policy was being underwritten. Wish I knew how valuable it was....ROTW said:
Cover notes were a simple solution.eaststandmike said:
I bought it off a mate who was handy with cars, he let me have it at "mates rates" and I paid him in 3 x installments so it was doable. Yes the Insurance was high but those were the days when you could pay weekly/monthly for the policy so it could be spread.Lordflashheart said:
Mark I is the classic shape - coke bottle styling - would love an RS 3.1 litre oneeaststandmike said:
Lol, I just Googled "Pale Blue MK1 Capri" as I do not have any original pics. Bloody internet.Lordflashheart said:
Picture is of a Mark 3 Capri ?eaststandmike said:Pale Blue MK 1 Ford Capri for me.
Have to say having a Capri as first car is impressive - insurance must have been high0 -
Some of the shitebuckets on here really take me back - I've had about twenty five cars in thirty six years of being on the road, but the last three have lasted fifteen years between them, which shows how short-lived the others were.Started with a Morris 1100 MkII, YKN 469 J, in flame red, pretty much the same as the jalopy that John Cleese wallops with the branch in Clockwise, and which elicited much the same reaction from me on wet mornings. Good car though, and lasted me about three years before I sold it to a mate at college for £140 and bought a much, much, much, much, much, much worse Triumph Dolomite 1850, VRT 279 M, in turn replaced by an equally dreadful Hillman Hunter 1500 DL in "mood indigo" after about 6 months. Weird how you remember those old reg numbers.0
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Your the kind of financial advisor I like.golfaddick said:
When I worked for the Prudential I had a cover note book & could issue them whilst the policy was being underwritten. Wish I knew how valuable it was....ROTW said:
Cover notes were a simple solution.eaststandmike said:
I bought it off a mate who was handy with cars, he let me have it at "mates rates" and I paid him in 3 x installments so it was doable. Yes the Insurance was high but those were the days when you could pay weekly/monthly for the policy so it could be spread.Lordflashheart said:
Mark I is the classic shape - coke bottle styling - would love an RS 3.1 litre oneeaststandmike said:
Lol, I just Googled "Pale Blue MK1 Capri" as I do not have any original pics. Bloody internet.Lordflashheart said:
Picture is of a Mark 3 Capri ?eaststandmike said:Pale Blue MK 1 Ford Capri for me.
Have to say having a Capri as first car is impressive - insurance must have been high
When SIG PLC hit a brick wall I will message you :-)0 -
I drove a mate down to a farm in Whitstable to look at an old A40.Hartleypete said:First car was an old rusty A40, only car I have ever made a profit on when I sold it!
It was stored in a barn shared with dozens of chickens. The vendor said I doubt if she'll start - it's just been sat there for years (quite believable judging from the level of chicken excrement on it). Anyway, it did start first time. My mate paid a nominal fee and it served him well a couple of years, after which he sold it to my father-in-law - and it did OK for him too.0 -
My first car was a 1964 Morris Mini which I bought off my brother for £50 when I was 17 in 1973. No synchromesh in first gear and a starter button on the floor. My brother had turned it over during his ownership and as a result it leaked through the roof. My solution was to drill a hole in the floor to let the water out.2
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Me too. Couldn’t change from 2nd to 3rd gears unless got up to 40 mph.AddickUpNorth said:
Not the actual car but my first motor was one of these beauties, a Talbot Horizon. Manual choke, no power steering, brakes made of sponges and a terrifying steering wheel wobble at any speed over 45mph. It was a bag of spanners but when you’re 17 and stuck in a godforsaken rural market town anything that gave you some freedom for adventure was cherished. I butchered the parcel shelf putting in some speakers but I was soon pumping out Run DMC, De La Soul and Ice T whilst cruising along Scarborough seafront or me and mates would head off to Leeds or Bradford for gigs. That car played it’s part in my evolution from a boy into a man.Got a three year car loan and wrote it off after three months. Was coming out car park at Abbey Wood station and going round a long corner. My suit jacket was folded on passenger seat and as car leant over the jacket unfolded and went in the large gearstick. The pocket got caught, and as I struggled to get it off the stick I failed to notice I had for round the corner and carried on up the kerb and smashed into a lamppost, knocking it down into an empty space in the car park.Was only third party so couldn’t afford another car until loan was paid off.1 -
Ah my beauty...
My first love was light blue. When I was 16 I got into a mass fight outside of the ABC in Catford, not that unusal for a Saturday night. I was quite badly sliced up but cut a short story even shorter about 8 months later the Criminal Compensation Board awarded me about £700. This is the beauty I purchased.1 -
I thought the Talbot Horizon was a very good looking car in it's day. I used to have a big thing about everyday mass market cars in my younger days. I thought they were far more interesting than sports cars in terms of their evolution and design.
I was fascinated how BL had a talented designer in Harris Mann and they managed to ruin his designs from blueprint to finished model. People say that BL was destroyed by the unions and I'm sure they played their part, but they had inept people running it. The picture below is Harris Mann's Allegro design - one of the worst cars BL ever produced but it looked good before the idiots took it over. For instance, they decided not to give it a hatchback as they were worried it would take sales from the Austin 1100, 1300 range! They didn't want it to be as good as it could be FFS!
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Very similar to the Austin Princess that he also designed. He also did the Triumph TR7MuttleyCAFC said:I thought the Talbot Horizon was a very good looking car in it's day. I used to have a big thing about everyday mass market cars in my younger days. I thought they were far more interesting than sports cars in terms of their evolution and design.
I was fascinated how BL had a talented designer in Harris Mann and they managed to ruin his designs from blueprint to finished model. People say that BL was destroyed by the unions and I'm sure they played their part, but they had inept people running it. The picture below is Harris Mann's Allegro design - one of the worst cars BL ever produced but it looked good before the idiots took it over. For instance, they decided not to give it a hatchback as they were worried it would take sales from the Austin 1100, 1300 range! They didn't want it to be as good as it could be FFS!0 -
MuttleyCAFC said:I thought the Talbot Horizon was a very good looking car in it's day. I used to have a big thing about everyday mass market cars in my younger days. I thought they were far more interesting than sports cars in terms of their evolution and design.
I was fascinated how BL had a talented designer in Harris Mann and they managed to ruin his designs from blueprint to finished model. People say that BL was destroyed by the unions and I'm sure they played their part, but they had inept people running it. The picture below is Harris Mann's Allegro design - one of the worst cars BL ever produced but it looked good before the idiots took it over. For instance, they decided not to give it a hatchback as they were worried it would take sales from the Austin 1100, 1300 range! They didn't want it to be as good as it could be FFS!Ah the all aggro!If you stretch that design out a bit and add a couple of doors - hey presto Austin Princess (another dog!).
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I refer the honourable gentleman to the previous post above hisbobmunro said:MuttleyCAFC said:I thought the Talbot Horizon was a very good looking car in it's day. I used to have a big thing about everyday mass market cars in my younger days. I thought they were far more interesting than sports cars in terms of their evolution and design.
I was fascinated how BL had a talented designer in Harris Mann and they managed to ruin his designs from blueprint to finished model. People say that BL was destroyed by the unions and I'm sure they played their part, but they had inept people running it. The picture below is Harris Mann's Allegro design - one of the worst cars BL ever produced but it looked good before the idiots took it over. For instance, they decided not to give it a hatchback as they were worried it would take sales from the Austin 1100, 1300 range! They didn't want it to be as good as it could be FFS!Ah the all aggro!If you stretch that design out a bit and add a couple of doors - hey presto Austin Princess (another dog!).
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DaveMehmet said:
I refer the honourable gentleman to the previous post above hisbobmunro said:MuttleyCAFC said:I thought the Talbot Horizon was a very good looking car in it's day. I used to have a big thing about everyday mass market cars in my younger days. I thought they were far more interesting than sports cars in terms of their evolution and design.
I was fascinated how BL had a talented designer in Harris Mann and they managed to ruin his designs from blueprint to finished model. People say that BL was destroyed by the unions and I'm sure they played their part, but they had inept people running it. The picture below is Harris Mann's Allegro design - one of the worst cars BL ever produced but it looked good before the idiots took it over. For instance, they decided not to give it a hatchback as they were worried it would take sales from the Austin 1100, 1300 range! They didn't want it to be as good as it could be FFS!Ah the all aggro!If you stretch that design out a bit and add a couple of doors - hey presto Austin Princess (another dog!).Ah yes - didn't see that.If I hadn't spent ages looking for a similar angle shot of a Princess I would have beaten you to it!!1 -
Was it a myth that the Austin Allegro was more aerodynamic in reverse?0
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If you asked me to take a 70s design and turn it into a modern car, I would consider the Princess. Another design ruined by the stages beyond the designer. I can't think of another car of that time which had concealed wipers.DaveMehmet said:
I refer the honourable gentleman to the previous post above hisbobmunro said:MuttleyCAFC said:I thought the Talbot Horizon was a very good looking car in it's day. I used to have a big thing about everyday mass market cars in my younger days. I thought they were far more interesting than sports cars in terms of their evolution and design.
I was fascinated how BL had a talented designer in Harris Mann and they managed to ruin his designs from blueprint to finished model. People say that BL was destroyed by the unions and I'm sure they played their part, but they had inept people running it. The picture below is Harris Mann's Allegro design - one of the worst cars BL ever produced but it looked good before the idiots took it over. For instance, they decided not to give it a hatchback as they were worried it would take sales from the Austin 1100, 1300 range! They didn't want it to be as good as it could be FFS!Ah the all aggro!If you stretch that design out a bit and add a couple of doors - hey presto Austin Princess (another dog!).
Look at the Ka, Fiesta and Focus today. They have a design theme.0 - Sponsored links:
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100E van with no bumpers, real sporty.1
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I worked for Ford in the 90’s and worked on parts for all 3 of those cars. None of it would be of interest to anyone unless you have a fascination for brackets, widgets and the tooling that makes them.MuttleyCAFC said:
If you asked me to take a 70s design and turn it into a modern car, I would consider the Princess. Another design ruined by the stages beyond the designer. I can't think of another car of that time which had concealed wipers.DaveMehmet said:
I refer the honourable gentleman to the previous post above hisbobmunro said:MuttleyCAFC said:I thought the Talbot Horizon was a very good looking car in it's day. I used to have a big thing about everyday mass market cars in my younger days. I thought they were far more interesting than sports cars in terms of their evolution and design.
I was fascinated how BL had a talented designer in Harris Mann and they managed to ruin his designs from blueprint to finished model. People say that BL was destroyed by the unions and I'm sure they played their part, but they had inept people running it. The picture below is Harris Mann's Allegro design - one of the worst cars BL ever produced but it looked good before the idiots took it over. For instance, they decided not to give it a hatchback as they were worried it would take sales from the Austin 1100, 1300 range! They didn't want it to be as good as it could be FFS!Ah the all aggro!If you stretch that design out a bit and add a couple of doors - hey presto Austin Princess (another dog!).
Look at the Ka, Fiesta and Focus today. They have a design theme.
But a little known fact, the Ka used many parts from the Fiesta and one of these was the pedal box assembly. Jackie Stewart did a bit of development consulting work for ford and thought the pedal position wasn’t quite as good as it should be. So they redesigned a new box and pedal layout at great expense on cheapest car in their range.
Also the concept car for the Ka was very close to the finished design, the most notable difference was the concept had bug eyed headlamps.
Not defending the destruction of BL’s concepts but sometimes it’s not just the budgets that kill the designs it can be the designs are too difficult or impossible to make, especially pre modern methods.0 -
Our first new car was a Triumph Herald station wagon bought in the 60s when overseas funds were required to buy a new car in NZ. We were attracted by the walnut dashboard and we loved it. Totally gutless though and very frustrating to have a work colleague - an elderly lady - pass us on the motorway each morning in her Austin 1100. The so and so who sold us the car informed us the design of the car hadn’t changed for yonks so we were disappointed when the headlights changed from round to rectangular the following year. We discovered sometime later the spare tyre was very used.Addick Addict said:Mine was a Triumph Herald
My first car was a 1951 Ford Prefect, temperamental to start but a sturdy old war horse which took me all round the South Island and served well for a number of years. To dip the headlights there was a button on the floor - and going downhill the windscreen wipers would slow down. Don’t ask me why.0 -
One of my early cars was an Allegro,you cheeky fuckers ;-).
Yellow/mustard colour.
Bought it from Charlton Car Auctions.
Engine went within a month. Where the engine number should have been was the word “fucked”.Saying that, got a Renault 11 out of that same auction for £60.
10 months MOT, yet if you lifted the back seat you could see the wheel spinning.
Put 12k miles on that motor (Including 23 hours non stop to Turin - Italia 90)
Sold it for £40.That car auction was dodgy as fuck though.0 -
1963 Mini 850. I got it in 1971. Nice little car to learn in. Thing that really sticks in the memory was the really long gearstick - changing gear was like stirring soup!
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1970 Morris 1100 bought for £325 in 1977. For a car only seven years old it had already been resprayed.0
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Had an orange white roof 850 for a few years. Despite it being low mileage and looked after in excellent condition it never EVER started it cold winter conditions. I recall push starting it one very cold winter morning in Sheffield with thick ice and snow over it. I got the wife to help push as we needed to get three strrees away before a decent hill to bump it. On one of the streets I was behind the wheel and the windscreen froze up on the inside hence zero visability and it went straight into the back of a parked car. No damage done but lots of cursing. Once running it was great however and did 50mpg+ at about 60mph (top speed).cafc-west said:1963 Mini 850. I got it in 1971. Nice little car to learn in. Thing that really sticks in the memory was the really long gearstick - changing gear was like stirring soup!0 -
All the pre-90's cars except Volvo seemed to be the same. Had a Montego that needed both rear arches welding / replacing at only 5 years old. My guilty pleasure is my 87 MG Maestro sat in my garage.Hal1x said:1970 Morris 1100 bought for £325 in 1977. For a car only seven years old it had already been resprayed.1 -
One of my work colleagues has the MG Maestro Turbo as a hobby type car. They were very quick in their day.The Prince-e-Paul said:
All the pre-90's cars except Volvo seemed to be the same. Had a Montego that needed both rear arches welding / replacing at only 5 years old. My guilty pleasure is my 87 MG Maestro sat in my garage.Hal1x said:1970 Morris 1100 bought for £325 in 1977. For a car only seven years old it had already been resprayed.0 -
Not many left now, a very rapid carThe Prince-e-Paul said:
All the pre-90's cars except Volvo seemed to be the same. Had a Montego that needed both rear arches welding / replacing at only 5 years old. My guilty pleasure is my 87 MG Maestro sat in my garage.Hal1x said:1970 Morris 1100 bought for £325 in 1977. For a car only seven years old it had already been resprayed.0
