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Your first car?


Hjdary

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I suppose this one ought to be posted in the Transport Section but ....what was your first car?

This came to mind a while back when I was at a car show with my son...he was looking at MK2 Escort and explained that my first car was a 1978 Escort just like that. It was a 1.3l red two door. I only had it a few month but in that time I managed to get six points and stick it backwards in to a neigbours wall! Oh and some git nicked it!!

Now, to me that Escort was a nice retro car....to the boy it was some sort of Edwardian banger!

On the show scene now are things that I once would have like to have owned....like Senators and Granadas...to me modern cars but alas now just classic cars.

I progressed from the MK2 to a Cortina MK5 then a Fiat Panda...back to Escorts with a MK 2 and MK 3 then my son was born and I had to grow up and bought a Cavilier (the first of three).

There has also been another two Cortina's, a Capri, a Citroen, a Galaxy and now a Mini and no end of work cars and vans.

So...what was your first?..and what happened to it??

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A 1965 MK1 Ford Cortina. I still have a thing for older cars and am the proud owner of a 1970 MGB roadster and a 1980 TR7

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One of my dad's mates at work had a TR7 and took me for a run round in it one day. I thought I was the part riding round in this wedgy wonder.

At the time they were something else...such a shame the way they ended up.

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My first car was a 1952 Ford Prefect cost me £48 which i borrowed of my Dad, I have a photo of it somewhere i must try and find it.

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Guest tsavo

A green Ford Popular of indeterminate age, famous for having it's windscreen wipers powered not with a motor, but from the engine manifold. If it rained heavily and you were in third (top) gear you could travel a good half mile before they wiped just once! Best road for the wipers? Langsett Avenue when you got a couple of sweeps a minute going uphill. Seem to remember it ended it's life in Coopers scrap yard when Coopers were still on Middlewood road. Not so happy motoring! B)B) B)

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The Wauxhall was a very sought after car some years ago ...

Wauxhall the way there

and you Wauxhall the way back.

I will log out now ;-)

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A 1969 Wolseley 16/60 which my Dad bought for me off a work mate for £150. I didn't want it at first because it was an "old man's type car" and I was only 18. I later came to love it.

It had leather seats and Walnut cappings.

I manged to swipe twin stromberg carburettors for it from a demolished MG Magnette after a bomber car race at Shady Hall Farm.

One hot summer's day the thermostat stuck closed and I had to drive around with the heating full on and the windows down to stop me & the car overheating.

It was finally written off in an accident with a motorbike.

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first car was a cortina 1600e which got stolen , followed by a hillman avenger, i am now into classic cars and have had a 72mgbgt which im selling as ive bought a gilbern invader

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Guest davekowl

My first car was a Vauxhall Viva HB. I got it in the mid 70s when it was already a bit of a wreck. It was white and rust and the the interior was a bit of a mess. Still I thought it was brill. I remember reversing out of a car park once and you had to lift the gear lever and pull it to the right. I did and finished with the gear lever in my hand and a look of horror on my face. Luckily a mate of mine was good with cars and got me out of trouble.

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My first car was a Standard Flying 9 of 1937 vintage. It was in 1961 after just passing my driving test, think I paid £10 for it. Ran it for six months and traded it in at Amberley garage down the cliffe for a 1949 Morris 6. Been driving old bangers ever since. Worse car, a 1961 DKW 1000. Best car, 1950 Allard P1 V8 flat head. Mick.

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First car was a 1993 Astra Merit, not quite as vintage as most on here, lol. But i didnt pass my driving test til i was 27 (lazy git)

£170 from an auction, sold it 6 months later for £350, bonus!

I now have a passion for Japanese metal and both my wife and I own Classic Shape (pre 2001) Imprezas ( i know i will probably get flamed for saying that on here)

Dan

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Bronze 1970 Mark 1 Ford Escort. Awesome car, right up to the point the engine blew up. Scrapped it in 1986, and bought a Fiat Strada 105 TC Arbath, what a crap car that was! Meastro, all the door handles broke off one by one, until I had to climb in through the boot!, Ugh, then a 1969 MG BGT!

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One of those "1 in a million" coincidences which keep popping up from time to time.

My first vehicles were all firms vans so I didn't buy my own 'till about 1973.

It was one of these (not this one obviously) A Consul 375.

I paid £2:10/- for it because it had a short tax and test.

I ran it for it's last legal month and was offered £10 by the local window cleaner, which I accepted.

A few weeks later I was at a party at a relatives house in Clowne. He was a copper and so a few of the other guests were on the force.

He got a phone call from one of his mates to say he was going to be late because he was dealing with an accident.

When the bloke finally turned up he said that a Consul 375 had turned over at Bramhall Lane roundabout and the driver had run off. No one else was involved and they weren't worried about catching him because they had the log book which he'd left in the car. I can't remember how it came about but we realised it was mine. They were looking for me! :o

The window cleaner had never taxed, tested or insured it.

He hadn't even changed the registration details. (Naively I didn't realise this could cause me any problems)

The coppers who were there gave me a right talking to there and then, and phoned back to the police station to "smooth it over". I didn't hear any more about it.

It has made me very meticulous about these transactions ever since.

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When does a motorcycle become a car?

I gradually progressed to cars after going through a series of motorcycles to three wheeled vehicles to cars when a growing family made it necessary.

First Motorcycle, because I was skint and needed the transport to get to work at my new job was a CZ 250 twin 2-stroke from Richardsons on Mansfield Road. It was a year old when I got it in 1978 and was in the CZ yellowstripe on brown colour scheme. Cost me £110 and lasted me a year before I moved on to something better, a brand new Honda 250N Superdream.

My first 3 wheeler, which I actually got from my younger brother who wanted a car, was a 1975 Reliant Robin estate which by chance was in Fools and horses yellow / brown. Unfortunately Del -boys' reliant was a REGAL estate, but I had this vehicle at the time when the TV programme first became really popular and so I got a lot of laughs out of it by being compared to Del boy.

First Car was a red Mk2 Vauxhall Cavilier estate, - plenty of room for the family in it, a great car, had it years and went everywhere in it. Had over 120,000 miles on it when it finally went and it certainly won me over to Vauxhall.

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I had an old Austin Devon - not sure if it was a 1948 or a 1945 reg. I paid £5 for it (cost of the road tax) registration was JUU something, so we called it Juju. The exhaust was an old can and my dad put on a lorry exhaust for me. It had leather seats and indicator arms which used to stick sometimes. The suspension was very soft so it could still be bouncing about a mile after hitting a bump in the road, and you prayed that no one stepped out in front of you "cos the brakes weren't that good. We are talking about 1965' ish here guys and MOT's hadn't been thought of, or if it had we'd not heard about it. It had a little hand pump to pump the petrol through and the choke used to stick, so you had to stop the car when it was running ok and push it in from under the bonnet. Eventually sold it for £10 after running it for many months - remembered very fondly he he although if my kids had one like that I'd be as scared as hell now :blink:

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When does a motorcycle become a car?

I suspect that's a rhetorical question but:

It's changed over the years but roughly speaking it used to be:

When it comes over a certain weight and has a reverse gear.

They were popular years ago because you could drive them legally on a motorcycle licence without L plates and you didn't need a qualified driver with you.

The Bond Mini Car was an early 3 wheeler, "Reliant Robin style" car with a "Kickstart" under the bonnet. My friends dad had one.

They were quite light, but still a bit of a job to push backwards. (To turn it round you could lift the front end and spin it through 180 on the spot)

The Robin itself had a reverse gear but to keep it in the Motorcycle category you could have reverse "blocked off".

This reverse gear rule was eventually abandoned for "I assume" common sense reasons.

Now, I think, it's simply the weight and number of wheels that counts.

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I suspect that's a rhetorical question but:

It's changed over the years but roughly speaking it used to be:

When it comes over a certain weight and has a reverse gear.

They were popular years ago because you could drive them legally on a motorcycle licence without L plates and you didn't need a qualified driver with you.

The Bond Mini Car was an early 3 wheeler, "Reliant Robin style" car with a "Kickstart" under the bonnet. My friends dad had one.

They were quite light, but still a bit of a job to push backwards. (To turn it round you could lift the front end and spin it through 180 on the spot)

The Robin itself had a reverse gear but to keep it in the Motorcycle category you could have reverse "blocked off".

This reverse gear rule was eventually abandoned for "I assume" common sense reasons.

Now, I think, it's simply the weight and number of wheels that counts.

I asked the question merely because I didn't know which of my vehicles I should have included in the topic called "my first car"

The weight limit is a kerbside weight limit of less than 410kg.

Both the 3 wheel vehicles I have owned were fitted with reverse gears, not blocked off, and I was able to drive them legally on a motorcycle licence.

At one time there was a seperate licence category for 3 wheeled vehicles (I think group C) but no one bothered with it and I think it was mainly for the Invacar, those little blue invalid cars which you could get a wheelchair in and drive if you were suffering disabilities. You could drive a 3 wheeler on a Group A licence (motor car) or a group D licence (motorcycle, with or without a side car, - of course WITH a side car a motorcycle is technically 3 wheeled). I'm not sure if you could drive one with a group B licence (motor car with automatic transmission gearbox) as 3 wheelers did not have automatic gearboxes.

I only had my Reliant Robin van for about a year and have hardly any photos of it, only this one, taken on a camping holiday tour of the south west peninsula (Devon & Cornwall) in 1984. Being a rear view it doesn't show the van features or much detail of the "car"

My other 3 wheeler was a 1984 Reliant Rialto estate which I had until family dictated we needed something bigger.

Both of these vehicles, as with all reliant vehicles, owe more of their design to the car than the motorcycle, after all Reliant briefly in the late 1970's did make a 4 wheel version of the Robin called the Kitten. The ultimate 3 wheel "car" though must be the Morgan, with its 2 wheels at the front and one at the back and that open V twin engine.

I always fancied, but never had, one of the 3 wheelers that was more definately a motorcycle than a car. The ones that German companies switched to in their post war recovery period instead of making aircraft. The Messerschmidt, the Heinkel and the BMW Issetta. The only "modern" (if I can call it that) design that comes close to these in style was the Bond Bug which had a brief existance in the early 1970's

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I always fancied, but never had, one of the 3 wheelers that was more definately a motorcycle than a car. The ones that German companies switched to in their post war recovery period instead of making aircraft. The Messerschmidt, the Heinkel and the BMW Issetta. The only "modern" (if I can call it that) design that comes close to these in style was the Bond Bug which had a brief existance in the early 1970's

I have previously posted pictures of some historic 3 wheeled vehicles here

3 Wheelers

Pictures are in post #4

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The only "modern" (if I can call it that) design that comes close to these in style was the Bond Bug which had a brief existance in the early 1970's

Bond Bug was basically a Reliant Rialto with the Sporty body. (Reliant bought out Bond in the 70's)

If I remember rightly they came in Orange but if you preferred it, you could also get one in either Orange or Orange. lol

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Bond Bug was basically a Reliant Rialto with the Sporty body. (Reliant bought out Bond in the 70's)

If I remember rightly they came in Orange but if you preferred it, you could also get one in either Orange or Orange. lol

....like this !......

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Bond Bug was basically a Reliant Rialto with the Sporty body. (Reliant bought out Bond in the 70's)

If I remember rightly they came in Orange but if you preferred it, you could also get one in either Orange or Orange. lol

Correct vox, as transit has just shown us they only ever seemed to be the one colour.

As far as I know Reliant bought out Bond in 1970 and they made the Bond Bug from 1972 to 1974.

In Reliants own range of vehicles the 3 wheeler through the 1960's and into the 70's was the REGAL

Introduced in 1974 was the ROBIN

Then in 1983 came the RIALTO

With this in mind (dates approximate but to within a year or so) the Bond Bug is more likely to have a Regal or possibly just a Robin as its base rather than the later Riolto.

Having said that, under that reinforced glass fibre bodywork they were all pretty much the same as they were working working right up to that 410kg weight limit and the chasis / engine / axles and steering would have contributed most of it.

They did modify the steering (single front wheel) on the Robin in about 1978 and recall a lot of earlier ones for modification after a series of accidents where the steering went and a publicity campaign about it by ester Rantzen on her programme "That's Life".

I once "lost" the front wheel hub cap off mine, - try telling that to anyone and they laugh at you, even some of the dealers, but without it all the grease leaks out of the front wheel bearings, - and if that got into the brake drum......

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Having previously mentioned one of Reliants 4 wheel "proper cars", the KITTEN, a 4 wheel version of the Robin, there were others.

Can anyone remember for example

the SCIMITAR (a sports car), or the FOX (a fibreglass bodied pick up truck)?

All British cars, Reliants were made at their works in Tamworth and sold in Sheffield by, amongst others RICHARDSONS on Mansfield Road (a motorcycle dealers but they sold and repaired Reliants.

Another local dealership was Woodleigh Motors at Dronfield Woodhouse, but that's just outside the City boundary.

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With this in mind (dates approximate but to within a year or so) the Bond Bug is more likely to have a Regal or possibly just a Robin as its base rather than the later Riolto.

Correct Dave - Regal it is/was.

I found this for some more info:

THE BOND BUG

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