Your first car!

Stained Class

Hi all.

I've an interest in classic cars & reckon some of the motors you've owned here might be coming into that category now.

Me?

I bought my first car in '93. It was an '81 Golf 1.1 Formel E. (The economy model.:() Paid £350 for it!

Crashed it into a house 6 months later!

So, what was your first?:)

Rubecula

My first car was a Morris Minor Traveller (The estate version with woodwork)

It was black and I only owned a short time before one morning I went to the car and got in without looking at it properly and then...."WAIT A MINUTE! Where's me gearbox gone?"

Yep someone had actually nicked the gearbox during the night complete with the gear stick.... leaving a hole in the floor. Fair deal though, they left the bolts behind!

I had a motorbike before that though.

Stained Class

Rubecula wrote: »

I had a motorbike before that though.

That's a good point!

I had several bikes before I could afford my own car.

That doesn't happen so much now. They're on 4 wheels now before they do their Leaving!

looksee

I bought my first car in 1968 when I was 21. It was a Daihatsu 1000 Compagno Berlina estate http://www.hijet.de/files/compagno-uk-ad-1965.pdf
It was pale blue and had 5 gears! I was very proud of it. Sadly I had only just taken my test and crashed it (turned it over several times, in the days before seat belts) within a fortnight of the test and a week of buying it.

So then I got a 13 year old Beetle (1955). It had the flip up indicators - I got some standard ones put on instead. At some stage the rear bumper had broken and been welded together so it was just a fraction too short and the boot/engine cover would not lift unless you stood on the bumper and kind of bounced and hauled on the cover at the same time . It took me nearly 6 months to discover the battery was under the rear seat. The engine was amazing though, there was so little to go wrong I don't recall ever having any problems with it. Which was just as well, it was so coated in dust and oil it was difficult to see what anything was. I had it for about 2 years then sold it on.

chucken1

My first car was a 1978 Toyota Corolla bought a week after my 1st child was born in August 1984. It was in the most beautiful shade of mustard :cool::D
..Got the garage man to drive it home,where my father(who had never driven in his life)sat in,turned the key and promptly slapped it into a wall :mad:
I drove it around for 7 or 8 years with the front caved in..it was grand sure :pac:

Beasty

Brand new Mini Metro in October 1985, costing £4,000 - a month later I was heading off to an interview and smashed it, unfortunately not quite enough to get it written off, but I was back on the train for a few weeks while it was being repaired - Oh, and I didn't get the job.

Took delivery of my 8th car last Thursday

nesbitt

My first car was kindly given to me by my Gran who could not drive it anymore due to failing health. It was a royal blue Austin Allegro with big metal bumpers. I got this in 1985 and it was naff then:D I loved this car and had just got my licence. Car saved me from being frozen to death waiting on buses to get to my work on the other side of the city. Happy motoring memories driving south along the coast road listening to my tapes in the very early morning before the traffic really started...

Car not vintage by any means and long gone but vintage memories to me.:)

magnumlady

I bought my first car in 1986, it was a Mr. Bean style mini. Every time I drove around a corner some bit of it fell off!

Rubecula

magnumlady wrote: »

I bought my first car in 1986, it was a Mr. Bean style mini. Every time I drove around a corner some bit of it fell off!

My sister's first car was like that. I remember taking her to pick it up and my car (while not that brilliant itself) was not inclined to have the wings fall off and the floor pan disintigrate on the first journey home. Good lord if she had gone over sixty she would have been spread all over the road.

So why did I find it all hysterically funny as chunks of metal went flying as she overtook me?:pac:

magnumlady

Mine seemed to be held together by fibreglass and tin foil.

Rubecula

ROFL My mum passed her test in her sixties and bought a Vauxhall Viva to learn in. It cost her and Dad £90..... and I think the seller saw them coming. Nice and comfy if you didn't mind the fact that the floor of the cabin was only cardboard painted in gloss paint to look like metal. I remember sitting in the passenger seat and feeling a cold draught in my nether regions. When I looked down I nearly had a heart attack as I saw the road rushing past my feet. But it served it's purpose as my mum passed her test on the 11th attempt. Aww bless her she never drove again cos my Dad was an awful backseat passenger who moaned left right and center despite never having passed his test at all. It upset Mum.

deman

My first car was a 1986 Ford Orion bought in '93. It was an ex demo car so it had all the modcons such as a spoiler and a factory fitted sunroof It really was a Fix Or Repair Daily car. Speedometer didn't work, water came in through the rusty floor, handbrake cable snapped and had to roll start it every morning. It looked great though.

Stained Class

nesbitt wrote: »

It was a royal blue Austin Allegro with big metal bumpers.

Car not vintage by any means and long gone but vintage memories to me.:)

They are to some people!

There's clubs in the UK for the 'All-aggro' now.

I'll tell you about my second car now, ('cos I can!:D).

An orangey brown '82 Escort 1.3L bought for £480 in '94.

Friends told me that if we were in a crash, we'd all die from suffocation......from all the filler dust!

nesbitt

Stained Class wrote: »

They are to some people!

There's clubs in the UK for the 'All-aggro' now.

OMG!

No1J

My first car was and to this day the best car I ever owned. It was a 1954 Mercedes Benz 300SL, silver with red leather interior, absolutely beautiful and my pride and joy. My father bought it for me in 1968 as a birthday present but by the end of the party some little sh1t had stuck it in his pocket and I never seen it again. Actually it was a 1984 golf bought in 1990 for £500, great little car, had it for 4 years, the only thing I bought for it were wiper blades, it drank oil but never a problem.

bonzodog2

I had a 1967 (I think) Hillman Imp in about 1979. It didn't work very well and I didn't drive it much. It cost me 15 quid. I can still remember the reg number !

aujopimur

My first was a 1957 100E, the seller brought the engine through his house in a pram, my lesson in DIY motoring.

ToxicPaddy

My first car was a 1986 mk2 Fiesta 996cc..

A pure bucket of rust only held together by the paint and a pure death trap too but I loved it.. Here are 2 x examples of how bad the rust was:

• The handbrake fell through when I went to disengage it one day and landed on the ground under the car
• Another day I was in a local car park that has a ditch around it instead of walls, I pulled too close into the ditch and when I reversed out, a few briars has caught hold of the bumper and pulled it clean off the front of the car..

It met its unfortunate end after I ran into the back of a Granada, couldnt have picked a bigger car to hit, the Granada had barely a scratch on it and my little Fiesta was totalled..

Bruthal

Beasty wrote: »

Took delivery of my 8th car last Thursday

Not bad, i still only have one.

First one was a 127.

FunkyDa2

A nine year old Fiat 850, bought in 1974, after the usual moped/scooter/motorbike ownership.

dubtom

Me and a mate went to the aid of a man who couldn't get his car started, he was bitching and moaning about how it never started for him,was always overheating,he was sick of it. I offered 50 quid and he accepted. It was an early eighties Lancia Beta,1600 double overhead cam,twin carbs with a blown exaust that made it sound like a race car. It hadn't accured to me though that I lacked a licence,the car had no tax or insurance and I couldn't afford either.
I got rid of it after a trip to Thomas st and when I pulled up at my house two tyres exploded, expensive buisness motering.

kincsem

Mini 850 for £850 second-hand in 1975.

ADDON

I bought my first car in about 1982 and it was a deep red / purple Vauxhall Viva :eek:. It was probably ten years old and cost me £425 at the time... I was 18 at the time and thought I was the bees knees. It was a huge improvement on the Honda 50 I had prior to that!!!

Jumbo156

I bought my first car in 1990. It was a 1979 Toyota Corrolla K20 with leopard Skin seat covers...It was the dogs
All parts available in the local dismantlers for little or nothing.
I kept getting pulled in by the cops, i think just to laugh at the seat covers

odds_on

My first cars were a Triumph Herald, a Morris Minor, and a Ford Corsair - back in the mid '60s - it's so long ago, I can't remember in which order they were. Of course, there was 2 wheels before that.

dhaideo

I bought my first car in 1952, it was a second hand Fiat Topilino, 500cc,cost £90, can"t remenber cost of tax & insurance, as far as I can remenber it held about 4 gals of petrol. I saw a fully restored model for sale in a car magazine lately for 6000e

muffler

Bought my first car in '77.........mk2 Ford escort. From memory I think it was a 74 model and it cost £600 at the time which was cheap. I was living in Northern Ireland when I bought it and was able to bring it out (across border) duty free a few months later under the terms of the "change of residency" regulations.

Have to say it served me well up to 1981 when some bastard stole it. Never seen or heard of it after that. It was a bit unusual as most stolen cars turn up somewhere or other but this one didn't. Im in Donegal and my driving licence which was in the car at the time was found along the side of a road in Co. Sligo a couple of days after it was stole. (I knew you could never trust the Sligonians )

But all ended well as the insurance company paid out the full book value of the car which was a bit more than it was actually worth and that money was used to buy a nice mk3 cortina and there was enough to tax and insure it for a year

force majeure

Fiat uno. I called it a junk ship but in all honesty I miss it.

Fratton Fred

My first car was a Morris Ital. I can't remember the year but it was about 6 years old when I bought it in 1987.

It was a HLS and was very posh, it even had a vinyl roof.

I loved it and it was in emmaculate condition but the 1.3litre A series engine was nowhere near powerful enough for what was a heavy old car.

big b

First car I owned was my Dads' old Humber Sceptre, when he got himself a MK3 Cortina.

First one I ever bought was a Triumph Herald, 50 quid and it lasted......oh, weeks before it fell apart.

Spread

First car (1970) was a green Healy Sprite Mark 1V. It had a 1.3 engine. Living in London and at three years old cost under £400 as far as I remember.

PrzemoF

No1J wrote: »

My first car was and to this day the best car I ever owned. It was a 1954 Mercedes Benz 300SL, silver with red leather interior, absolutely beautiful and my pride and joy. My father bought it for me in 1968 as a birthday present but by the end of the party some little sh1t had stuck it in his pocket and I never seen it again.

Like that one???? :eek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_300SL

Pictures or it never happened

OldGoat

katopyrgos

Stained Class wrote: »

Hi all.

I've an interest in classic cars & reckon some of the motors you've owned here might be coming into that category now.

Me?

I bought my first car in '93. It was an '81 Golf 1.1 Formel E. (The economy model.:() Paid £350 for it!

Crashed it into a house 6 months later!

So, what was your first?:)

I bought my first car in 1969, a Ford Anglia 1962 model. A right banger it was, still it got me on the road. The drivers door used to open if you hit a pot-hole. I used to have to keep my right little finger around the catch for the Fly- window. ( no more fly windows anymore but still an odd pothole)

visual

Mini 850 bought in in early 80's it was 11 years old back then but I loved it so much I pained it inside and out with brush and tins of paint (rust was a problem will motors back then)

steamengine

katopyrgos wrote: »

I bought my first car in 1969, a Ford Anglia 1962 model. A right banger it was, still it got me on the road. The drivers door used to open if you hit a pot-hole. I used to have to keep my right little finger around the catch for the Fly- window. ( no more fly windows anymore but still an odd pothole)

My first car too, early 70's can't remember exactly when. Lost the keys of it down Dollymount strand and had to make my way back home to find some keys to open it. In my dad's garage he had old keys lying about, a mixture of padlock and old house keys. Filled my pocket up and went back down to the beach and an old house key opened it, started it also

Poor Uncle Tom

Austin A40

But the most memorable car was called Hitlers revenge, it was a split screen VW beatle with a mind of its own, on two seperate occasions I remember it started up on it's own, once in the middle of the night and another time I was standing looking at it with a friend when he put his hand on the front wing.....:D...frightened the sh...life out of him.

muffler

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

Austin A40

But the most memorable car was called Hitlers revenge, it was a split screen VW beatle with a mind of its own, on two seperate occasions I remember it started up on it's own, once in the middle of the night and another time I was standing looking at it with a friend when he put his hand on the front wing.....:D...frightened the sh...life out of him.

Yeah, too much of this probably

Poor Uncle Tom

Probably, but what about the car......:D

Rubecula

Found this picture and I have been staring at it for ages but I can't see OldGoat in the shot anywhere.:pac:

(it is a Stanley Steamer by the way)

golden virginia

My first car had Silver Cross wheels.
The chassis was of timber.
The steering was made from the finest natural fibre rope.
it took 4 of us to push it to the top of the Hill.
The best thing, was that it had no brakes!

Stained Class

katopyrgos wrote: »

I bought my first car in 1969, a Ford Anglia 1962 model. A right banger it was, still it got me on the road. The drivers door used to open if you hit a pot-hole. I used to have to keep my right little finger around the catch for the Fly- window. ( no more fly windows anymore but still an odd pothole)

Ah yes, Fly Windows!

Perfect for flicking the ash off your fag whilst on the move.:cool:

Rubecula

Isn't strange how some of the worse wrecks on the road, gave us some of the fondest and best memories?

Not my first car, and not the best really (in mechanical and reliability terms) but most certainly the car I loved the most and remember with a tear in my eye, was my Ford Capri. Hand painted in Smoothrite Matt Black, and with a broken drivers seat, but what memories.:)

Stained Class

Rubecula wrote: »

Not my first car, and not the best really (in mechanical and reliability terms) but most certainly the car I loved the most and remember with a tear in my eye, was my Ford Capri. Hand painted in Smoothrite Matt Black, and with a broken drivers seat, but what memories.:)

Ah yes, the Capri!

Had a couple of them in my time.

Went on my honeymoon in one!

Great car with loadsa character.:D

muffler

They dont make "multi-task" cars like this any more.

EGAR

1984 I bought my first car, a 1968 VW Beetle and I wish I still had it...

Mollywolly

My first car was a 1969 Ford Escort, bought when I passed my test all the way back in 1977. It was white with red faux-leather (ahem, plastic) seats and was a total rust bucket, but I was so proud of it. Couldn't have cost me more than £100 - about four weeks wages back then :eek:

Still driving a Ford too, though obviously not the same one. I vaguely recall that it went to the big car park in the sky because the rust got so bad it couldn't be repaired.

Stained Class

Mollywolly wrote: »

My first car was a 1969 Ford Escort, bought when I passed my test all the way back in 1977. It was white with red faux-leather (ahem, plastic) seats and was a total rust bucket, but I was so proud of it. Couldn't have cost me more than £100 - about four weeks wages back then :eek:

Still driving a Ford too, though obviously not the same one. I vaguely recall that it went to the big car park in the sky because the rust got so bad it couldn't be repaired.

That was the thing about cars in those days.

An 8 year old Escort already suffering serious rust issues!:eek:

Fords weren't all that bad at the time, in comparison to other cars, such as Mazda 818s, Datsun 120ys, Fiats, Renaults & the like.

Young people buying old cars hardly think about rust these days.

I'm now running a 17 year old Mazda & rust is just not an issue with it, as with most cars of it's vintage.

btb

my first car was a 79 Renault 5 Gordini, bought it in 1985 from a friends brother, seriously fast motor back then. More sense now drive a sedate family car, but would love another one.

1012594711

The Fiat 126 seemed to take over the limelight in rear-engine Fiats. I didn't know anyone who had a Fiat 850 since moving house in 1978, there was one a few doors down upto the time I moved. I only saw nosthalgia merchandise for Fiat 500's. A few years after the last Fiat 850 Leyland launched the Mini 850. This made me forget about the Fiat 850 until I saw it on the 1960's film screened in the early 1980's on TV. I haven't seen any at vintage car shows yet, but there must be some, especially at the really extensive vintage car shows

Nekarsulm

My first car was a mini 850. Bought in 1985 for 850 euro. Bright yellow
Done all the usual things, sports steering wheel, Madadash fitted with extra guages, fitted a casette player as well.
The boot floor was mainly fibreglass. Battery once fell through the boot floor and was destroyed on the road.
Removed the bumpers, smoothed the seams and sprayed it Guards Red, then fitted a 1000 engine.
Great fun, and had it 2 years before upgraded to a Mk2 Fiesta, bought in Enniskillen. 82 CN 1.