Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

Evening all,

How did your priorities lie when choosing your old car (assuming it didn't choose you that is...!).

Were you looking for a comfy barge to serenely cruise around in (eg a Super Snipe, P5, Westminster or maybe a Viscount)? Or maybe a sporty little number, to blow out the cobwebs after a long day in the office (eg MGA, Spitfire, Spider or a Frogeye)?

Was nostalgia for a car fondly remembered, your guiding motivation, or was it something else?

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[Riley Blue]

It had to be

A) a Riley
B) fit in my garage
C) fun to drive
D) affordable

so I bought a '63 One-Point-Five - I haven't stopped smiling yet!
_________________
David

1963 Riley 1.5
1965 Riley 1.5

[peter scott]

When my mother died I decided that I wanted to spend some of her inheritance on something to enjoy. I had considered buying a 1928 Morris Oxford which was the first car that my mother had driven but then I came across a book written by Paul Skilleter "Jaguar Saloon Cars" for £4 in a remaindered book shop. Thumbing through the pages I was reminded of some of the early Jaguars that I really liked seeing when I was a child and that decided me on the car I bought in 1993 and have enjoyed ever since.

Peter
_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Keith D]

I had always wanted an open car but the cost of raising a young family and paying a mortgage off dictated a cheap vehicle.

I was at that time in the early 1970's a member of the newly formed Austin A40 Car Club of Australia. I had an A40 Devon sedan and it so was natural to gravitate to an A40 tourer. Being very familiar with this model also made the choice easy! They were quite rare even then and it took me a while to find one. I've now had it for well over 40 years so I guess it's a keeper! It's only been unlicensed for about 20 minutes in it's entire life when the registration was changed from Victoria to Western Australia.

It would be by far the best automotive buy I have made in my life.

Keith

[Bitumen Boy]

I needed something that was cheap to buy and insure, preferably tax exempt, with good parts availability and easy to work on. The Herald I found fitted the bill, but several times when working on the rear suspension I've wished that a Minor or similar had come along at the time

[Rootes75]

My Grandparents ran a village car breakers for many years but retired when I was quite young and almost everything was sold off. My brother and I used to play football in a small paddock that at one time was full of classic and vintage cars, all that remained was a Ford Pop and a Ford Anglia, both uprights. Of course, when I passed my test and started looking for a classic car I liked the idea of an Anglia or similar because of those happy memories of playing in the paddock. This was before the advent of the internet so it was still fun to scan through all the local free-ad papers etc. I found a Ford fairly local described as a Prefect so we went to look and actually found her to be a rare 2 door 7W.

Happy days.
_________________
Various Rootes Vehicles.

[Ashley]

In the seventies, when you could make a profit from anything, because inflation was rising at a scary rate, I owned a DB5 and a Silver Dawn R-R. The latter was chosen because the traffic was getting too heavy and the Aston couldn't stretch its legs. It was a one owner, low mileage car and we did thousands of miles in it before I foolishly sold it for a £700 profit. I missed it and had the chance of an S1 Continental, but it was horrible to drive after the Dawn, so I sold it for £1250 profit and decided I needed a Cloud 3. I tried a few and loathed them, horrid wallowing barges, just an awful drive and we'd started a family and decided to be responsible and have a Saab.

Years later, once the kids were more portable, and money permitted I bought a Spirit and then a Shadow and hated both, so I bit the bullet and found a Bentley MKVI, which is unquestionably the best car R-R made after the Silver Ghost. They made terrible driving cars, most dog slow as well, but the MKVI is a fast Silver Dawn and they ride as well as a DS Citroen, they handle and steer superbly, even better with stiffer roll bars and revalved shocks, they're very quiet and will cruise all day at over seventy. I've had mine since 1998 and have just sold it. I've spent vast sums of money getting it as they were new and I'v lost a fortune without considering the fuel it has used, but they are one of the best cars ever made and I'm glad I had one. we drove all over France and the U.K. In it, up to 500 miles in a day with no effort at all and both my kids were married with it. It has been a great experience, one I'll cherish.