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Post by baycityroller on Jul 9, 2011 11:42:43 GMT -1
I was looking through some old photos the other day which included my first motor cars I bought during the 60s so I thought it might be interesting for people to recall what motors they had in the 50s and 60s. I had a scooter for 12 months when I was 16 but couldn't wait to get a car and enjoy the freedom that would give.
My first car was a Vauxhall Velox which I travelled to a garage with my mum somewhere round Blackfriars after seeing the ad in the MEN. Neither of us knew anything about what to look for and although the car was an eyecatcher being yellow with a black roof and loads of chrome and white wall tyres it was a rust bucket underneath. It was also the first time I bought something on tick and had a book which I used to have to post off every month with the money.
The car lasted about 18 months before the rust got that bad the 2 rear doors had to be roped together over the back seat to stop a door flying open when I took a bend!
I had the car towed away for scrap and then got what I consider one of my favourites cars over years (with possible exception of 1990 E30 BMW with MTec bodykit I have recently sold because it became too expensive to run). The Cresta was 2-tone pink and again had loads of chrome, long front bench seat and gears on steering wheel. Sadly the car was just too expensive on petrol and I had to downgrade to a Hillman Minx, but it was a convertible and was fun to drive around but one day the main wiring loom burnt out on me while I was in Leigh and it was time for it to go.
I got another Hillman, a Super Minx, and this car served me well covering a lot of mileage especially when I lived in Sale and was travelling to my job in Chester every day.
My last car of the 60s was another Hillman, an Imp, which was fun to drive but with the engine in the rear you always had to have something heavy in the 'boot' at the front to keep control of the car.
I can also recall it took me 3 driving tests before I passed my test. One of the problems was I was doing so much mileage (a mate who had passed his test sat in the front) that I was driving like you do when you've passed your test, too fast through the gears and so on, and I'd done well over 10,000 miles before I got to rip off the L plates.
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Post by jackaitch on Jul 9, 2011 16:37:22 GMT -1
My first car was a used !950 Ford Prefect(english) three speed little car
but excellent gas mileage (thats when gas was cheap) i progressed
to a 1953 Chevrolet (looked like a gangster,s car) then I had a series
of Ford made cars...56 Meteor (colourful Black ,Yellow,and light green
with chrome everywhere) these were all used cars then I had enough
funds to buy new starting with a 1962 comet,,,1966 Ford Galaxy..then
1970 Pinto.1976 Torrino 1980Mustang...1983 Chrysler New yorker....
1998 Ford Taurus 2004 Lincoln (which is our present car) during the
1990,s I had a Datsun Pick Up & a 1993 Chevrolet Pick Up which I used for business.......never had any wheels in UK!!!Never had enough money to buy a car or scooter I relied on the Man Corp Bus
Hard to remember the cars but easy to remember the costs(spent a small fortune over the past fifty years)
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Post by crabbygit on Jul 9, 2011 17:41:04 GMT -1
My first transport was an NSU Scooter, but after falling off a few times, decided I needed 4 wheels, so I progressed to a Triumph Vitesse. Next came Singer Gazelle, then a 2 litre Ford Zephyr, which threw the big end bearings. Then a Vauxhall Cresta, followed by a HB Viva, which I wrote off when the brakes failed. I then tried an Austin 1300, A Lada Riva ( ok I have heard all the jokes !!) Then came a Seat Ibiza, Ford Sierra ( which I hated), A Rover 213, Vauxhall Corsa, and finally a Citroen Saxo. I then came to USA, bought a Ford Mustang, and now have a Chevrolet Corvette.
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Post by baycityroller on Jul 10, 2011 12:27:35 GMT -1
Some mouthwatering cars there lads...Torrino, Mustang and Corvette, cars I would have seriously liked to have driven if I'd ever lived in the States.
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Post by jackaitch on Jul 11, 2011 16:02:10 GMT -1
I know of several people who have purchased Hyundai Sonata..my grandson just got a 2012
SE Turbo model..I am seriously considering trading in a month or so...maybe when we get back
from UK
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Post by crabbygit on Jul 11, 2011 19:23:53 GMT -1
What a great car Jackaitch. My wife and I flew to Arizona and hired a Sonata. We had it for two weeks and covered the state. No trouble at all, it was comfortable, and gave us all the power needed to climb the hills. Hyundai are good value vehicles.
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Post by roofingman on Jul 16, 2011 19:50:16 GMT -1
My first car in the UK was a Standard 8...I went to my present home in Vancouver in 1965....My cars in order were-1963 Chrysler Valiant---1964 Dodge Polara 2 dr hardtop in burgundy--1957 Pontiac--1969 Ford galaxy 500 in red--1972 Blk Lincoln Continetal MK IV 2dr hardtop-7ltr....1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 in blue -500hp engine....1975 Cadillac coupe de ville 2 dr hardtop in red -8ltr engine...1987 Cadillac Brougham d'Elegance finished with a blue velvet interior-5ltr......Present car 2dr -2003 Cadillac Eldorado ETC -32valve Northstar4.6ltr engine finished in platinum white ....
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Post by Lisa on Jul 17, 2011 6:41:27 GMT -1
I learned to drive in a Mini and now my mode of transport is a Raleigh Caprice (with shopping basket, of course  ).  |
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Post by jackaitch on Jul 17, 2011 10:38:20 GMT -1
Maybe we all will be riding bicycles as our prime method of transportation....Lisa is setting the trend....I like the optional.......basket,dynamo, cape and mudguards
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Post by baycityroller on Jul 17, 2011 12:24:39 GMT -1
Some serious engine power there Roofingman, 8 litres under the bonnet!
After getting rid of my Hillman Imp in the early 70s I moved on to Ford, starting off with a Cortina estate Mark 2 followed by a gold Cortina saloon automatic, my only automatic so far but after 6 months it got nicked in Birkenhead and was found smashed into a wall in Liverpool. Amazingly I got a knock on the door from the cops 6 months later saying the tax disc had been found under the floorboards in a drugs raid on Merseyside!
I moved on to a Wolseley 1500 with low mileage for its age and finished up owning 3 others, 2 bought for next to nothing for spares and kept in the garden, while my wife drove a similar Riley 1.5 which was identical except had two carbs.
After this I bought a Sierra 2.3 (quite a rare model) which I had for quite a few years before the engine went and then went back to my boyhood and bought a six-litre Beemer, an E30 2.5is which I modified with MTec bodykit, 17 inch alloys and other parts and loved driving this. However its age and price of running it caught up with me and I sold it last year to an enthusiast in Yorkshire who owned 2 others.
I've gone all sedate now driving a Renault Twingo which is cheap to run, tax etc but we still have a sporty car in the family with my wife (and I!) driving a Fiat Punto Sports.
When my wife started working we through the years also ran a Fiat 127, Montego 1.6, Corsa 1.4 and lastly a Ford Ka.
We also have 2 bikes!
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Post by Lisa on Jul 18, 2011 12:25:59 GMT -1
;D ;D Maybe we all will be riding bicycles as our prime method of transportation....Lisa is setting the trend....I like the optional.......basket,dynamo, cape and mudguards |
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Post by cabbyjohn on Jul 19, 2011 8:05:11 GMT -1
My first car was a Ford Poplar sit up and beg car, which was ancient even when I owned it. I paid £8. for it off a neighbour and drove all over Wales and the Lake district in it without a single breakdown. When I was 20 I owned a white Volvo 1800P sports car similar to the one the Saint used to drive in the TV series. I looked very young for my age in those day and it was a rare day that I went out in it and wasn't stopped by the police asking who's car it was. So much so that I always carried my documents with me. I have lost count of the cars I have owned over the years. I have driven Rollers BMWs and Jaguars, ( All second or third hand) However my favourite cars used to be Ford Granada Ghia's, I have owned about 5 of them and I loved every one of them for comfort and speed.
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Post by baycityroller on Jul 19, 2011 8:40:30 GMT -1
One of my mates' first car was a sit up and beg Ford Cabbyjohn and remember it was fun to drive around. I agree about Granada Ghia's, it was a car I always thought about getting but never got round to owning one.
I've missed out 2 cars on my list. I had a Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 for a while and before that owned a gold coloured Datsun Cherry, a car that at the time seemed ahead of the game with things like internal boot opener and twin speed wipers and the like. Unfortunately they were rust buckets.
By the way anyone remember when chokes were last used on cars and when did 5 gears become standard instead of 4??
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Post by jackaitch on Jul 19, 2011 11:02:01 GMT -1
Hi Baycityroller...cannot remember when the automatic choke came in...I had a new Ford in 1962
that was auto.......5 speed transmissions...now most cars in US are six speed...trying to reduce
the usage of petrol!!!!(that is new cars)
In the US rental cars are usually automatic transmissions but in UK they quote for manual so as
they can charge extra for an auto....we find it much easier getting around in traffic with an auto
especially when approaching a major roundabout...when you get an opening off you go with no
concern about changing gears....
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