Your First Car And A Review Of It ?

[Evans Electric]

First vehicle at 17 was one of these , same colour .  £300

Austin A35 Van  ,  A line  950cc engine ,  4 speed gearbox (Quite smooth) rear wheel drive.  0 - 60 in half-hour .

Review:- 

Brakes ..........abyssmally  poor drum brakes .

Handbrake ........Useless.

Two seats , both can be tipped forward to access the rear of van , and on emergency braking would tip you  forward into the steering wheel.

Seat belts not invented.

Radio  ......... non existing , nowhere to fit one . 

Heater .......... fitted as extra ....  performance .. 3/10.

Cornering ..........frightening !!

About 6 steering joint / track rod end grease nipples to maintain or steering becomes very stiff. 

Security ...  1/10

To steal ... open bonnet (no lock) ..short out the only two fuses visible with silver paper...ignition comes on .. pull widow down with anything handy.. pull starter knob.... drive away . ... ignition key not required .

Worst vehicle I ever owned .         Next size up , the A55 Van I drove at work ..much bigger , bench seat , column change 1500cc  

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

My first car was an HB Vauxhall Viva that had more rust than metal. I had to build up speed and go full throttle to get up Ally Pally Hill but it would still run out of steam 3/4 of the way and slow down so i had to back off the throttle to let the fuel pump catch up.

 

[Evans Electric]

A55  Much better .

 

[ProDave]

Don't have a picture, but my first car was a 10 year old Mk 1 Ford Escort 1300 2 door.

Cost me £200. I drove it for 2 years, sold it for £200  £110K miles on the clock and apart from burning a little oil, it ran sweet (no emissions tests then so a bit of smoke when you booted it was not an issue)

Brilliant car. Only 1300cc but it was so light it was pretty nippy and even as a 18 year old was relatively cheap to insure.

It was easy to work on, but like all FORDS (fix or repair daily) needed a lot of tinkering to keep things "right"

My first car was going to have been my dad's old Ford Anglia van, but sadly at only just over 10 years old the tin work had become terminal on that, though the Anglia van was the vehicle I learned to drive in (before it finally succumbed to the tin worm) 

 

[OnOff]

I feel young in this company!

Triumph Dolomite.............didn't really have it long enough to get an impression. Was my Mums. They went to Ireland and she said if I passed my test I could drive it. Day after I passed my test I seriously pranged it! I even parked it trashed side against the house but as she stepped out of the taxi she just knew!

So bought a 1976 MK2 2.0L Capri

+'s

1 - A total fanny magnet (in my head at least)

2 - Webasto full length sunroof

3 - It went "Vrummmm" and sounded good

4 - You could "feel" the road

5 - One set of the starter motor brushes bolted in

6 - It had a big CB aerial, home made VOX for the CB, TWIN static strips, clip on reflective door protectors, a sun strip and one of those "weighted" rubbish bins that hung over the tunnel...........but nothing tacky!

-'s

7 - Lost the backside more times than I can remember

8 - The other set of brushes were a soldering job and the only iron I had had to be heated by a blow lamp

9 - Had to carry a lump of 4"x2" to welt said starter motor on garage forecourts as too lazy to do

the soldered ones

10 - Rotted pretty much as you were looking at it

11 - So many holes in the floor that if you hit a puddle it would shoot up through the passenger floor and soak the legs / skirt etc of the bird with you. Cue "Best get those wet things off!" (GOTO 1 above).  :lol:

My elderly ex Army mechanic neighbour used to scream at me "You've only got yourself and your d**k to keep!"

Still got it..............

 

[Evans Electric]

Got what ?? ....The '76 Capri ??...I liked them ....bonnet was as long as a football pitch !!

 

[kerching]

8 year old MkI E. Reg 850 mini

I put an Austin 1300 GT engine in it

Brake servo under passenger dash board

Twin 1 1/4 might have been 1 1/2 SU carbs

Mesh air filters

Twin boot mounted petrol pumps

Moved gear lever

Seam welded

Ported 12g 2(3)95 8 port head

Went like a 70s TV personality at Alton Towers!

On reflection i should really really and I mean REALLY have upgraded the brakes

Ah well, trees can grow again, and again

Later I got a 74 plate M reg 1600 Capri, starburst silver...............this was whilst at UNI. fanny Magnet? Too fricking true, not many had a car, reclining seats etc.....want a lift home dear?

Ker fecking ching!

Just finished taking the antibiotics

 

[OnOff]

Got what ?? ....The '76 Capri ??...I liked them ....bonnet was as long as a football pitch !!

Long story, got a company motor aged 21 and parked the Capri up. Didn't need to sell it and it went better than a 1.1 Astra Merit so carried on using until the tax etc ran out.  Kept meaning to do something with it and believe me it was rotten to start with. Work/life took over and 26 years later fate stepped in and I've bought another TWO! One complete (1.6 Cabaret) and a second pretty much bare shell (2.0 S), both MK3's. Plan to do one stock and the shell as a MK2 look a like to try and recapture my youth! NOT I hasten to add a re-shell!

 

[kerching]

Careful of the inner bit between the hinged edge of the doors and the window pillar/bonnet junction.

Those clever chaps at Dagenham put a piece of foam rubber in the gap as a sound deadener.

This bit rots from the inside out....when you see the brown spots of doom it is fubarred.

Be a bit aggressive taking the doors off to repair this area and it all falls on the floor!

I still have the Official Ford hinge tool and the bruises to prove it

 

[OnOff]

Careful of the inner bit between the hinged edge of the doors and the window pillar/bonnet junction.

Those clever chaps at Dagenham put a piece of foam rubber in the gap as a sound deadener.

This bit rots from the inside out....when you see the brown spots of doom it is fubarred.

Be a bit aggressive taking the doors off to repair this area and it all falls on the floor!

I still have the Official Ford hinge tool and the bruises to prove it

The A post! Yep, one of the most common rot spots!  Especially on the MK2's as they had no arch liners and the N/S just filled with crud. Another bonus with the MK2 was that the sound deadening material under the carpets etc used was basically made of a sponge like material that held water. The MK3 went and used a "bonded" deadening material. The lower rear corners behind the rear arch were filled with expanding foam, again absorbent. Blah, blah, blah............what you really want is a photo of a Capri:



:lol:

 

[kerching]

LOOK at the bumpers on THAT?

FFS Red AND Black......not so fussed about .....

 

[OnOff]

LOOK at the bumpers on THAT?

FFS Red AND Black......not so fussed about .....

There were concerns from the owner at the Duchy Capri Club that the bonnet may have become scuffed...........................stern words ensued............may have been some spanking!  :lol:

 

[ProDave]

Ah yes, the Prat Mobil.  That was my second car.  Great car to drive, but impractical.  Only handled properly with a bag of cement in the boot.

 

[kerching]

I have had a few bags in the back of mine

Just saying

 

[OnOff]

Ah yes, the Prat Mobil.  That was my second car.  Great car to drive, but impractical.  Only handled properly with a bag of cement in the boot.

More a case I think that with a light rear end and no proper rear axle location it would always bite you at "the point". The bigger (heavier) the lump up the front then the worse the effect. No point really in putting cement in the back IMO as if you roll it etc it'll end up in the back of your head! 

 

[apprentice87]

Kerching!! ha ha, the only person left that can remember "A" series head casting numbers, [apart from me!]

12G295 was a head off a twin carb 1100 thing as i remember, bigger valves than the "ordinary" 1100 head. 12G940 was a 1275 head [different bore centres on the middle two??] that came in an "11 stud" version as well, [on the cooper "s"'s]

Cams; "731" was a road going thing. "648" or "649" [opinions varied] was a much hairer thing that would make an 850 undrivable below about 4000rpm!

Your 1-1/4 SU's would have come with the head i expect, unless you had the 1-1/2 ones off a 1275 instead!!

john..

 

[revjames]

first car - Austin Allegro 1.1 in hideous lime green. LPK 64P price £525 in November 1984

Didnt have the notorious square steering wheel. But horrible in just about every other way. Didnt have it that long. I bought it from a dealer in Devon. 62K on the clock. Drove it to North wales for Christmas and the oil light came on just after leaving the M54 for the A5. went to nearby garage and put a whole gallon in. Thats 1 gallon per 200 miles..... Found a sticker on the oil filter that said 'replaced at 77000' contacted previous owner and found it had over 90K when she traded it in and had some advice from a brother and also someone in trading standards. I rang him up and told him I wanted a refund and got fobbed off. I then said, 'I have spoken to the previous owner about the mileage and spoken to the police adn trading standards and all they are waiting for is your name...' line went quiet.... 'errrr why don't you come and see me' bought a K reg Toledo for £50 off a mate at work which did me for a while... Had about 30 more since then:

Good ones

1973 Capri 1600GT

Rover 3500 SD1

Audi 80GLS

MK3 Escort 1.6 Ghia

Vauxhall Vectra

Vauxhall Insignia (current)

Bad Ones

MG Metro

Montego 1.6HL

Rover 45

Jaguar X Type Sport estate

Ford Cmax

To name a few

 

[revjames]

OK cos I'm off today and bored.... heres a file I have kept over the years with all my bikes and cars on it!

List of Vehicles owned                    
Date    make & Model    Registration number    Bought    Sold    notes
1980    Suzuki X1 50    XJC 99W    £430    £330    Stolen from outside Elim Church Holyhead - Insurance payout
1981    Suzuki GP100    BCC 108W    £530    £350    First bike, knocked off on first day
1982    Honda CB250 N-DX-B    DEY 840X    £910    £300    Wrapped around a gatepost, never the same again
1983    Honda CG125    VCC 566V    £200    £240    Didn’t have it long - swapped for the X5
1983    Suzuki GT200X5    DCC 612X    £240    £275    This was great fun
1984    Honda C50    NCC 229R    £0    £0    This was basic transport - used to be my Mums
1984    Austin Allegro 1.1    LPK 64P    £525    £525    First car - speedo found to be clocked - took it back!
1985    Triumph Toledo 1.3    OMT 433K    £50    £200    £50 - bargain!
1985    Ford escort MkIII 1.3L Est    PEL 904W    £1900    £1950    Nice car
1985    Honda CB200 Twin    SDV 343R    £50    £50    Runabout 200 twin for going to work on
1986    Austin Princess 2.0HL    UUO 400T    £800    £750    What was I thinking?
1986    Ford Escort Mk II 1.3 pop +    KDV 985V    £1100    £1300    A barn roof landed on it and trashed it!
1986    Ford Capri Mk1 1600GT    YTT 373K    £275    £300    Good car but not much room in it!
1987    Ford Cortina MkIV 1.6 est    RUO 169S    £425    £550    Good family car
1988    Rover SD1 3.5 V8 auto    YTF 774T    £750    £650    V8 auto 10mpg gas guzzler but great fun
1988    Honda XL100S    XUN 520V    £200    £200    First trail bike good for getting to work
1988    Ford Cortina Mk V 1.6L    RTW 663W    £750    £400    Good reliable car
1990    Ford Escort Mk III 1.6 Ghia    XFF 700W    £1500    £1300    This was really nice and comfortable
1991    MG Metro 1.3    PMA 268Y    £1300    £750    Again - what was I thinking - a wreck
1992    Audi 80 GLS    DRD 300V    £650    £600    Better, old but in great condition
1992    Colt Lancer 1400    RJC 91T    £0    £100    Simon's cast off - with dented door
1992    Ford Fiesta 1.1 popular    A957 SDM    £850    £600    Good little car
1993    Austin Montego 1.6HL    E561 JNV    £1400    £1000    Wrote it off on way to Scotland
1995    Talbot Horizon 1.5    BGY 90Y    £150    £0    Bargain
1995    Nissan Sunny Coupe 1.5    C849 LGE    £0    £550    Swapped it for the Nissan Coupe
1995    Vauxhall Astra 1.2    SIA 1512    £0    £0    Given to me and passed on a year later to another student
1996    Ford Cortina 2.0 Estate    OYE 27Y    £150    £0    Good runabout - passed on to a student when we emigrated
1996    Honda Accord 1.8EX    LL4693    $3,200     $1,300     I didn’t think cars went rusty in NZ. How wrong I was!
1998    Mitsubishi Eterna 2.0TDi    UC7736    $6,500     $3,800     Good car until the engine blew!
2001    Peugeot 405 2.0GR    F590 CEY    £350    £300    Bargain basement back in britain
2002    Vauxhall Vectra 1.8LS    P534 UYJ    £1800    £1300    A good car let down by rust
2003    Ford Mondeo 2.0LX    S472 TNA    £2650    £500    Good reliable car which served well
2007    Land Rover Discovery ES    P790 SWP    £3500    £2400    Loved it but too expensive to run
2008    Ford C Max Zetec 1.6Tdci    MF04 HNJ    £4400    £3,100    Good car -practical economical
2009    Yamaha XJ600    T692 FGH    £860    £925    First bike since 1989. Very pleased so far.
2010    Jaguar X type 2.0 Sport Est    BT06 MZU    £6,495    £5,500    Comfortable and economical - luxurious
2010    Rover 45 1.6 IXS    PE53 OKB    £1,900    £1,200    Typical Rover - Head gasket blew.... Uneconomical too
2011    Ford C Max Style 1.6TDCI        £5,100    £1,200    Lower spec than the other C Max but good reliable and economic
2014    Vauxhall Insignia CDTi        £5,795        . New vauxhall really nice and very economic
 

 

[Blue Duck]

My first car was a seat Ibiza 1.6glx system Porsche My Mum gave it too me It was a good little car until I crashed it

It was a minty green with system Porsche written down the side, the seats were comfortable but the interior reminded me of a 70's rover and it had a rev counter!

 

[Evans Electric]

OK cos I'm off today and bored.... heres a file I have kept over the years with all my bikes and cars on it!

List of Vehicles owned                    

Date    make & Model    Registration number    Bought    Sold    notes

1980    Suzuki X1 50    XJC 99W    £430    £330    Stolen from outside Elim Church Holyhead - Insurance payout

1981    Suzuki GP100    BCC 108W    £530    £350    First bike, knocked off on first day

1982    Honda CB250 N-DX-B    DEY 840X    £910    £300    Wrapped around a gatepost, never the same again

1983    Honda CG125    VCC 566V    £200    £240    Didn’t have it long - swapped for the X5

1983    Suzuki GT200X5    DCC 612X    £240    £275    This was great fun

1984    Honda C50    NCC 229R    £0    £0    This was basic transport - used to be my Mums

1984    Austin Allegro 1.1    LPK 64P    £525    £525    First car - speedo found to be clocked - took it back!

1985    Triumph Toledo 1.3    OMT 433K    £50    £200    £50 - bargain!

1985    Ford escort MkIII 1.3L Est    PEL 904W    £1900    £1950    Nice car

1985    Honda CB200 Twin    SDV 343R    £50    £50    Runabout 200 twin for going to work on

1986    Austin Princess 2.0HL    UUO 400T    £800    £750    What was I thinking?

1986    Ford Escort Mk II 1.3 pop +    KDV 985V    £1100    £1300    A barn roof landed on it and trashed it!

1986    Ford Capri Mk1 1600GT    YTT 373K    £275    £300    Good car but not much room in it!

1987    Ford Cortina MkIV 1.6 est    RUO 169S    £425    £550    Good family car

1988    Rover SD1 3.5 V8 auto    YTF 774T    £750    £650    V8 auto 10mpg gas guzzler but great fun

1988    Honda XL100S    XUN 520V    £200    £200    First trail bike good for getting to work

1988    Ford Cortina Mk V 1.6L    RTW 663W    £750    £400    Good reliable car

1990    Ford Escort Mk III 1.6 Ghia    XFF 700W    £1500    £1300    This was really nice and comfortable

1991    MG Metro 1.3    PMA 268Y    £1300    £750    Again - what was I thinking - a wreck

1992    Audi 80 GLS    DRD 300V    £650    £600    Better, old but in great condition

1992    Colt Lancer 1400    RJC 91T    £0    £100    Simon's cast off - with dented door

1992    Ford Fiesta 1.1 popular    A957 SDM    £850    £600    Good little car

1993    Austin Montego 1.6HL    E561 JNV    £1400    £1000    Wrote it off on way to Scotland

1995    Talbot Horizon 1.5    BGY 90Y    £150    £0    Bargain

1995    Nissan Sunny Coupe 1.5    C849 LGE    £0    £550    Swapped it for the Nissan Coupe

1995    Vauxhall Astra 1.2    SIA 1512    £0    £0    Given to me and passed on a year later to another student

1996    Ford Cortina 2.0 Estate    OYE 27Y    £150    £0    Good runabout - passed on to a student when we emigrated

1996    Honda Accord 1.8EX    LL4693    $3,200     $1,300     I didn’t think cars went rusty in NZ. How wrong I was!

1998    Mitsubishi Eterna 2.0TDi    UC7736    $6,500     $3,800     Good car until the engine blew!

2001    Peugeot 405 2.0GR    F590 CEY    £350    £300    Bargain basement back in britain

2002    Vauxhall Vectra 1.8LS    P534 UYJ    £1800    £1300    A good car let down by rust

2003    Ford Mondeo 2.0LX    S472 TNA    £2650    £500    Good reliable car which served well

2007    Land Rover Discovery ES    P790 SWP    £3500    £2400    Loved it but too expensive to run

2008    Ford C Max Zetec 1.6Tdci    MF04 HNJ    £4400    £3,100    Good car -practical economical

2009    Yamaha XJ600    T692 FGH    £860    £925    First bike since 1989. Very pleased so far.

2010    Jaguar X type 2.0 Sport Est    BT06 MZU    £6,495    £5,500    Comfortable and economical - luxurious

2010    Rover 45 1.6 IXS    PE53 OKB    £1,900    £1,200    Typical Rover - Head gasket blew.... Uneconomical too

2011    Ford C Max Style 1.6TDCI        £5,100    £1,200    Lower spec than the other C Max but good reliable and economic

2014    Vauxhall Insignia CDTi        £5,795        . New vauxhall really nice and very economic

Your Holiness .... I think you may hold the record there of vehicles owned .      ( Thought it was a dealer advertising at first glance!!)