Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[D4B]

[Bitumen Boy]

[Keith D]

The first car in our family was my uncle's late thirties Standard Flying Twelve. He got that in the very early fifties and I can remember Mum, Dad, uncle and auntie plus me and my cousin all jam packed into it and driving from London to Pagham (Sussex?) where my uncle also had a caravan!

Dad's first car was very soon afterwards. It was an ex-Western Desert Commer tilly, complete with canvas back, just like a minature army truck!
There was no back to the cab so my brother and I travelled under the canvas well wrapped in blankets! It was very similar to the prewar Hillman Minx at the front and had the same 10hp side valve engine.

That was followed by a 1937 Austin Ruby and then in 1956, the first of the mark 2 Ford Consuls.

Keith

[V8 Nutter]

I have owned a 36 and a 37 Ford V8, both with mechanical brakes. The 36 had rod brakes when they were set up properly they were quite good except on full lock the brake on the inside front wheel would sometimes come on, but that could have been because all the linkage was badly worn.

When they were adjusted properly the cable brakes on the 37 were brilliant although they did need frequent adjustment. They were a bit sexist though. It was possible to alter the pedal linkage to give a much lighter but longer pedal "More suitable for lady drivers".

[V8 Nutter]

Oops just posted on the wrong thread. A senior moment

[badhuis]

First car my father owned was a black Citroën Ami, the first one with the back window like the Ford Anglia. I remember a very long and hot drive when we went on holiday.

After that he bought a Glas 1204. A strange car, rare now, ugly like this one:

Iremember at one point that the throttle cable was stuck, the engine screaming and my father did not know what to do for a very long time it seemed. Then he switched off the engine. He hated that car because it was too fast! I think any car would feel fast after the Ami.

Then he bought a 1968 Opel Rekord 2 door station wagon. On holiday he did not see a car coming from the right and it hit the car in the back. A big dent, a local garage more or less fixed it with a big hammer and on we went!. I remember there was no need to put in a key in the ignition switch... I also remember we sometimes on a saturday, on our way to a local market in another town, we sometimes saw the magical speed of 100 km/h (60 mph), wow! The horizontal speedometer changed colour when over 50 (yellow I think) and over 100 (red).

After that we had a Peugeot 404 Familiale, 3 rows of seats, column change, very good servo brakes. I learned to drive in that car, which was scrapped when 8 years old because of severe rust.

Then a Triumph 2500 followed, which was considered a flash and fast car. We all loved it but it was a bad example - much rust when only 4 years old, and a valve went bad. I borrowed this car for many weekends knowing the next car would be a boring Japanese car.

And it was. My father was fed up with unreliability and from then on only bought Japanese (Mitsubisi Galant, Toyota Cressida, Honda Concerto, another Toyota, now a Mitsubishi - I do not know the model name, a most boring car).

[52classic]

My dad's first car - in my lifetime - was a Ford 8. A 7Y model I think, which would have made it a late pre war car. Must have bought it around 1956, from a neighbour. Never forget the Reg No. BKG34.

He soon took a job with a company car so the Ford was sold on and Morris Minor JCY33 arrived, followed by a brand new 100e in Pompadour Blue 355GHT.

Dad used to relate that during the war and in the merchant navy he bought an Austin 7 to go on leave but when he couldn't find a buyer upon his return, he decided to dismantle the car, park it in the ship's engine room and have it travel the world with him.

[Kelsham]

We lived just outside Durban and my father bought a Willys coupe probably 1939, it didn't last long before he moved on to Hudsons, we had several before moving back to England and buying a 1939 one and a half litre SS Jaguar.
My first car was a 1948 Standard 12 drophead coupe. I then bought an SS1 for a few pounds.
Sold it when I got married, I then ran an MGJ2 for a while on a shoestring.
Regards Kels.

[Bengt Axel]

I was damn nearly born in our Austin A30 - touch and go apparently if we were going to make it to the hospital in time.

First car I remember was our beloved red Triumph Herald 1200 estate bought to meet the demands of a growing family (i.e. me!) and owned from 68 to about 77. VLG 787E - where are you now?

I saw an immaculate and completely identical example at the NEC Classic Car Show a couple or three years back. I recognised every inch of it, particularly if viewed from the back seat. Happy memories.

[exbmc]

My dad used to drive a butcher's van, available to use on Sundays for trips to Skegness etc. I can remember a Bradford, and various Austin types that followed it. He eventually bought a car of his own, when i was about 13 maybe? It was a black Austin 10, 1948 vintage, and the reg was GOJ 701 if i remember right. In the type of hot weather,we are having at the moment you could wind open the windscreen for a good blow through.

[kevin2306]

I have vague recollections of an a35 van that my dad had, followed in 1968 by a wolseley 6-110 (still have that in his garage awaiting a full resto). Accompanied on family holidays in the wolseley by dads mate trevor in his singer vogue ('65 mk3) which i now own. Great memories.

Kev

[poodge]

My maternal grandfather was a chauffeur for the owner of a door and window factory.The only car I remember seeing a photo of was a late 40's chevrolet.Oddly,my father worked as a carpenter at the same factory in the 60.s.
My uncle had a Mercedes 170 in the mid 60's,when it was already well over 20 years old.He had that for years.then bought a Renault Dauphine.That pretty much rusted away in front of your eyes.After that he gave up on cars,and used a large moped instead.
My own parents didn't own a car until about 1972-3,a 1961 105E with the early small painted grille.
My brother was the 1st to be car-borne in my own family.He bought a 1964 Ford Taunus 12M(the german Cortina)around 1968.
My own 1st car was an Austin A30 after I had emigrated to new zealand in 1970.