Your First Car?

[Dave54]

Friend has a 105e. 1600GT crossflow on twin DCOEs . Wide steel wheels. He's spent a lot of money on it recently and it really is a nice one.

Nice! A mate's brother used to have a "Lotus Anglia" he had built. Basically a Lotus Cortina in an Anglia shell.
I can just remember going to the "opening" of the 105E Anglia at the local dealer with my dad. They were giving away promotional flat card models of the car that had to be cut out and made. Dad got that job. Quite detailed IIRC.

 

[Burnerman]

One of my Mini piloting pals had a 40 DCOE Weber fitted.......due to the length of the thing it used to poke through the speedo housing and draw its air from inside the car
The din was amazing and the windows had to be open, but the most disconcerting thing was when you thumbed the floor starter you were looking directly down the carb chokes.....and you hoped it wouldn't spit back
Bloomin' nuts
John

 

[Seafarer1966]

Did someone mention an Allegro....or should I say All-Aggro. A fine example of British nationalised industry craftsmanship. Nailed together by a brain damaged dullard let loose with a hammer and a screwdriver. Those were the days. The square steering wheel was a particularly fine feature.

Jogging my memory about some of the British Leyland 'classics' I had the misfortune to own in the past reminds me of a Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe. It was bronze metallic with a black vinyl roof that was peeling off and flapped in the wind (the interior was peach velour upholstery with various unidentifiable stains). I drove it to Glastonbury rock festival in 1986 from Derbyshire. It used almost two gallons of engine oil to get there. Plumes of smoke out of the exhaust plus more smoke inside. After a hedonistic weekend of drinking and debauchery it was time to pack my tent up and return home. Would it start? I ended up taking the registration and VIN plates off and leaving the crate there. Some grebo's from Brum very kindly gave me and my associates a lift to New Street Station in their transit from where we got the train the rest of the way home. I've often wondered what became of the Marina. I once briefly owned a Polski Fiat (my granddads mate gave it to me) that was better built than the Marina.

 

[nickso]

Steering wheel wasn't square.....it was quartic

Think they were trying to be clever but no one really got it.

My first car was a MK1 1.1 Golf L in sky blue which my mate said was Hermann Blau cos it reminded him of Hermann Goering's powder blue pimp luftwaffe uniform.

Loved that car but by christ it was a pain in the asre. I ran it dry of oil somehow and ran the big end so rebuilt the engine myself. After it went back in it wouldn't idle so I thought it was the carbs and put a weber carb on it in an attempt to release much neede HP lol. It still didn't idle and eventually i got bored of revving the tits off it at traffic lights so I sold it on.

The new owner later told me he found an earth wire missing somewhere and that sorted it....bugger. It soldiered on for many years after and the new guy replaced most of the panels but didn't paint it so it went rotten quickly and was presumably scrapped.

Just checked DVLA and she made it to Feb 2000....a month after her 20th birthday....sniff.

 

[Dave54]

Did someone mention an Allegro....or should I say All-Aggro. A fine example of British nationalised industry craftsmanship. Nailed together by a brain damaged dullard let loose with a hammer and a screwdriver. Those were the days. The square steering wheel was a particularly fine feature.

Jogging my memory about some of the British Leyland 'classics' I had the misfortune to own in the past reminds me of a Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe. It was bronze metallic with a black vinyl roof that was peeling off and flapped in the wind (the interior was peach velour upholstery with various unidentifiable stains). I drove it to Glastonbury rock festival in 1986 from Derbyshire. It used almost two gallons of engine oil to get there. Plumes of smoke out of the exhaust plus more smoke inside. After a hedonistic weekend of drinking and debauchery it was time to pack my tent up and return home. Would it start? I ended up taking the registration and VIN plates off and leaving the crate there. Some grebo's from Brum very kindly gave me and my associates a lift to New Street Station in their transit from where we got the train the rest of the way home. I've often wondered what became of the Marina. I once briefly owned a Polski Fiat (my granddads mate gave it to me) that was better built than the Marina.

The "Quartic" steering wheel I believe it was called. A mate had an Allegro new as his works car, and the first thing he did was take that off, and fit an after market round wheel. he said the original wheel made it horrible to drive.
Another mate had a new Marina 1300 in the early 80s. I drove that a few times, and although a bit underpowered, it was actually a nice little car. It was new though. . .

(ETA too late with the Quartic! )

 

[Astra99]

My first car was an Austin A30, bought for £20, sold for £22! At some time in the past it had been fitted with a 948cc engine (replacing the 803cc unit) so it accelerated really well! These cars (and the A35, and early A40 Farinas) had a hydraulic-mechanical braking system where the front brakes were hydraulic, but the rear brakes were mechanically actuated by a hydraulic cylinder half-way along the car on the driver's side, to which the handbrake connected. The only way to get a decent footbrake was to drive with the handbrake half on (to take up the slack!!!) Those were the days. No seat belts, no airbags, no (bl**dy) electronics anywhere, just a coil, set of points and a condenser to make the spark. BTW, it was flat-out at 57 mph!

 

[Burnerman]

Hell - was the Farina really like that? I thought it had conventional brakes
John

 

[Astra99]

No, John. It was the Mark 2, (late 1961 on) which had four-wheel hydraulic brakes. The Mark 1, (October 1958 on) had the same braking system (which, IIRC was also used on the post-war A40/A70 Devon/Dorset - from 1946 on) as the A30/A35.

The Mark 1 had a wavy radiator grille, the Mark Two the bars were straight. Most Mark Twos, apart from the very earliest, boasted the 1098cc engine.

 

[DaveHerns]

1959 Austin A55 Mk 2 Cambridge Farina shape in a lilac colour as used on Morris Minor Millions. Seller obviously knew I was a gullible young lad as it was only running on 3 cylinders as it had a burnt out exhaust valve. I often wish I had some of my old cars but I think I've forgotten how bad they were. The joys of having no power when your engine was cold and having to juggle with the choke....

 

[sadexpunk]

be around 1981, got knocked off my fizzy and bought a car with the insurance money. got it from a family friend/neighbour, a silver ford escort estate with the lacquer peeling, can still remember the reg, ANN 978H. no guts at all, think it was 1100cc on an estate, i was lucky if it went to 60mph i think! amazing eh? more amazing that i cant remember what i did last week

 

[DaveHerns]

The good old Ford metallic paints that fell off- silver fox and blue mink

 

[Burnerman]

Never mind the metallics......I think it was Olympic Blue solid. Apply masking tape at your peril - the primer was that good
John

 

[DaveHerns]

I had an Olympic blue Mk3 Cortina, never had any problem with the paint except rust coming through the front wings in about 3 years from new. Even Ka's and Corsas don't rust that fast.

 

[Seafarer1966]

All this talk of yesteryear Fords. Me grandad called them Dagenham rot boxes. The only 1970s or 80s Fords I ever seem to see around now and again are German made Granadas and Capris.

That's what happens when one uses melted down scrap to make body panels.

Lancia imported scrap from the Soviet Union in the 70s. Speaks for itself.

 

[Diver Fred]

MiniVan - ex-elec'y board. had a reinforced floor 'cause the factory one had tim worm. Refinished in Fiat Positano yellow with Black roof, Cooper trim interior, cartpets by cyril lord (or if you prefer 'cyril bored' - does that date me?)