My first car back in 1970 was a
1949 Morris Minor MM bought for £15...
it just needed a new clutch and a good polish, iI bought it thinking it was blue but after a T-Cut session appeared to be dark green!
I was a learner so grabbed every opportunity to take it out accompanied by a full licence holder, literally anybody who came to the door...eventually I passed my test on April 1st 1970 and on my first trip alone the fuel pump went and was stranded in the middle of a traffic jam. Further outings were uneventful except a drive home from Southend with a blown head gasket - it made it, but sounded like a machine gun all the way along the M2. At the time I painted the hubcaps yellow and added some little flowers to make it look Hippified....well I was only 17 ...
I sold it and bought a
1964 Hillman Imp, I had problems with overheating resulting in a visit to Hemel Hempstead Hospital when the radiator blew up in my face while broken down on the MI ... The aluminium rear engine had a lot to answer for...
1967 Vauxhall Viva from a local dealer which turned out to be the most unreliable car iI have ever owned - I loved the car, I even passed my test in one, but lots of problems during the time I owned it, three crashes, numerous breakdowns and repairs, one mechanic put the clutch in the wrong way round, lousy brakes, one day in Fulham Palace Road the engine caught fire ... If I was superstitious I would swear it was jinxed, but on the plus side I had many great trips touring Devon and Cornwall in it, and when it was going right was a lovely drive.
1966 Ford Corsair V4 - couldn't resist this Corsair bought for 300GBP - beautiful ride, nice growly sounding V4 motor, very reliable but very heavy on juice.
1960'S
Morris Mini - Due to the high mileage I was covering I decided to move over to a smaller car where economy was top priority - looking back I made a foolish trade but always fancied a Mini and this one was just the job, reliable, fun to drive and economical, the starter was operated by a button on the floor.
1968 Austin Cambridge A60 - Never look a gift horse in the mouth they say, and this car was exactly that - I worked in a garage in Fulham and a local businessman who was a customer overheard me say I was looking for another car - he told me he had an old car rusting away in his back garden and would like to be shot of it. The car was in Putney so I went along to see it, and all it needed was a new battery, tyres, a good service and bodywork makeover. I got the car running and drove it back to the garage and started work. A few weeks later with plenty of elbow grease it looked like new, the amazed donor's jaw dropped to the floor when he saw it!
The car drove very well and was built like a tank but was prone to overheating and seized many miles up the M1 - the tough old engine survived to give many more miles but a great personal tragedy one Christmas forced me to use the car as an Ambulance and I have never owned a black car since...not even as a gift.
1960'S
Austin Mini Traveller - Another too good to miss offer came my way and I acquired this Mini Traveller for a few pounds, it only needed an MOT and gave me many miles good service up and down the M1 packed with gear - I replaced the rear subframe, fitted wide wheels and a skimmed 1100 head with twin S.U.'s and it took off like a little bullet.
1975 Austin Allegro - Decided to go for something contemporary and went for a much-maligned Austin Allegro, paid 1200GBP and apart from starting problems caused by the ignition coil being wired the wrong way round was a very reliable car, spent many miles up and down the M1 and touring the West Country in this, it never let me down.
1971 Reliant Regal Van - While my then wife was using the Allegro I was doing odd decorating jobs around the district in this little van, bought after I crashed my Moped one night. This is the same model made famous by Del and Rodney in later years, body made from fibre-glass, rather noisy and smelly but I never tipped it!
1973 VW Variant Estate - Another personal runabout - my first and ever only foreign car, excellent roomy estate car with the engine tucked away at the back and air-cooled but very heavy on juice, also needed to mix Redex with the petrol to keep the fuel jets clear, otherwise great.
1975 Ford Escort Mk.1 - Paid well over the odds for this financial black hole - knew something was wrong when I jacked it up and the jack carried on right up into the crumbling sills.....and a small fortune to weld and replace the brake pipes ...otherwise a great little car and did me well for many miles after that.
1979 Cortina Mk.IV - wonderful car, though sold it after I had a building accident and looked for an automatic.
1974 Triumph 2000 - My first automatic - bought for 350GBP this car was old but extremely well built and very reliable, it did me for a few years everyday use and many trips to the West Country, including Stonehenge, until I stopped running cars to work in the West End of London in various large stores, paying a small fortune in tube fares. Ended its days in the scrap yard.
1989 Vauxhall Carlton 1.8 GL - After a 15 year break and having found a job in a local College I decided to get behind the wheel again, nine years later the car has been given notice because of the advancing rusty sills - Vauxhall do not supply parts for it any more, and many other problems have consigned this reliable old girl to the scrapheap in the next few weeks. Over the years this has been the most reliable and tractable vehicle I have owned, many trips to northern England and the south-west, a few hard winters, including the current one, she started first time every time!
Shame i wish i'd kept some of those classics, they would be worth a fortune now....
what are yours?
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Topic: What did you drive before your Omega? (Read 3689 times)