My first car

[LLB]

My first car was a 3 door viva estate in metallic green and tan seats with no synchro on 2nd gear. It died when the drive for the distributor sheared off, and I scrapped It. It was a bit of a heap though. After that I got a 1275 GT mini clubman Whilst I was living in Bristol. Good little car, but I was forever spannering it to keep it on the road. I'd not like to be in one in an accident though

 

[Arch]

. I'd not like to be in one in an accident though

Perhaps if more cars gave people that feeling, we'd have less accidents! (Semi-seriously - you have a much better feel for when you're doing something daft right at your limits...)

 

[Stick on a Giant]

First car was a sickly yellow Citroen Dyane, the posh 2CV. Like like the Spitfire, easy to work on, could take the front wings off in about 15 mins to get access to the engine compartment.

About 15 years ago I needed a cheap car so got a Lada due to it's simplicity - it wasn't overly reliable, but at least I could fix it if it went wrong. Was also able to scavenge spare parts at the scrapyard for peanuts. Someone I know who owns a scrapyard says he makes a fraction from spares now compared with that time.

 

[llllllll]

Minis are great cars. Much better than those nasty, fake ones you get these days.

Quite right, new Mini's are xxxx.

My first car was a mini, a J reg sprite, it had the 1275 but only had the single carb so not as quick as the 1275GT. I painted it (with a paint brush) with a black and white swirly pattern, it was supposed to look all sixties, but I'm not sure it worked, got a lot of attention though - got over taken by a Jaguar C-type once and had the driver giving me the thumbs up . It died, as most do, through too much rust. I thought about paying out for a new bodyshell, but spent the money on a brand new MG hatch instead. I still regret not going for the re-shell, the MG was so boring compared to the mini. Modern cars just don't do it for me now, I sold the MG after less than a year (lost loads of money) and bought a sixties Reliant Scimitar. I'd love another mini, but the rust problem can drive you mad, so until I get a garage I'm sticking with plastic cars.

 

[Arch]

Quite right, new Mini's are xxxx.

My main issue is, they're not Minis! They are huge and exactly like every other new car out there! If they were called Baby Beamers, I'd think aw, cute, fair enough (still prob wouldn't want one though), but THEY AREN'T MINIS!

<and breathe>

 

[Over The Hill]

Only had one car Arch!
Here is the best I can do at remembering my cars 1978 - 2008
Ford Corsair, MkIII Cortina, Hillman Hunter, Ford Consul (Granada shape) Corsair again, Hunter again, MkII Cortina, Spitfire MkIV, Volvo 16something, A vauxhall estate, Capri MkII, Maxi, TR7, Dolomite Sprint, Rover SD1 2.6, Mini, Maxi again, Metro, Dolomite Sprint again, Renault Fuego, Fiat Croma, Lancia Dedra, Pug 605, Vauxhall Omega, C Class Merc.
I did buy them cheap and do them up and sell at a profit, but often just bought something I fancied a go in.
Of late I tend to go for high mileage cars as long as they were not taxis. The Croma was £350 and had 170k on it when I bought it and I sold it three years later with 210k on it for £300. Did not go wrong while I had it and probably was the nicest to drive (similar to a Saab 9-5). Got my £50s worth out of it.

 

[sheddy]

Can anyone confirm the 70's story of a mini that was assembled by students in a Circle Line Tube carriage ?

 

[Arch]

Can anyone confirm the 70's story of a mini that was assembled by students in a Circle Line Tube carriage ?

Love it. I don't care if it's confirmed or not!

 

[laurence]

i've only had once car... a 1969 MGB. pretty hard act to follow, so i didn't.

 

[Smokin Joe]

My first car was a Reliant regal courtsey of only having a bike licence at the time. I taught myself to drive in it and kept it for over two years before I made the horrendous mistake of trading it in for a Morris Marina, an act of stupidity that caused me to laugh out loud when BL later went to the wall.

The Reliant was great to work on, the distributer and carb could be removed from the drivers seat, as could three of the plugs. It would also outdrag a mini thanks to the fibreglass body and lightweight aluminium engine.

 

[fossyant]

My first car was a £800 10 year old Escort Mk 2 1.3 GL - in bright red with a black roof....served me well for 18 months then some bugger knicked it off the drive mid evening..... then bought a 5 year old Escort Mk3 1.6 Ghia - that was quite quick and 'nice' inside.....

My family has had loads of mini's.... !!! My sister had a yellow one then a white and pink one called a 'Rose' !!!

 

[arranandy]

My first car was a 1978 Mini Clubman bought for £400 in 1986. It was Inca yellow with a black interior. It was a great wee car and took some amount of abuse as I thrashed 7 shades of sh!t out of it - you know what its like when your're a 17yo boy and the accelerator pedal won't go down far enough with it. I had a few close shaves in it as well including hitting a patch of black ice and ending up on a local golf course upside down. Another notable incident was coming back from a local disco on the other side of the island about 2 in the morning with 7 people in it. Ahh - happy days

 

[HLaB]

I've only had two cars; my first was a F reg VW polo (I can't remember its model but it was one of those types that looks like an estate but was actually a 3 door). It was red and nearly every time I pulled up at lights, late in the evening somebody would want to race me, the 4 gear polo could do 0-60 in a week .

 

[wafflycat]

My favourite car I (well, husband and I) ever had was an Alfa Romeo 33 1.5 Ti Veloce. Gina was a dream to drive and glorious in jet black.

 

[fossyant]

My favourite car I (well, husband and I) ever had was an Alfa Romeo 33 1.5 Ti Veloce. Gina was a dream to drive and glorious in jet black.

Then it fell to bits......... Alfa's are very emotional cars - great looks perform/handle well, but are a pig to live with......I had an Alfa 147 Selespeed as a company car when they came out.....always visiting the garage - glad it wasn't mine..... Italian cars are sh1t ! Look great but cost to keep them running.... Got a mate who has a 156 and it let's him down on occasions.....

Me.. 2 x Jap cars in the house and Shimano all the way on the bike ...heh...heh..... no trouble !! Campag...pah !