|
|
Post by Nick RS on Sept 16, 2013 11:55:49 GMT
This thread has been hinted at previously so I’ll open it and look forward to other contributions. On a recent visit to the family seat my Dad handed me a little photo album that contained only pictures of cars. Most of them are Black & White but there are also a few of those colour ones from the 70s that don’t have good archive properties as the colours themselves start to deteriorate and take on a cast. Most of the pics are of his own father’s cars and vans and I am delighted that the first subject of this thread was in the album as I had been looking for it for ages. This thread is definitely best as 'off-topic' as I am sure that most of us will contribute with cars other than Landcrabs and Maxis (and 3 litres, Alexander). For my first entry however I stay faithfully with the product. Here it is.  Grandpa bought this 1966 car when it was about a year old from one of the Caffyns dealers on the south coast of England. Although it looks dark in the picture I believe it was Persian Blue with a Dove Grey interior. Dad tells me that when I was born he was doing serious maintenance on his own car (fathers were not encouraged to be at the maternity hospitals) so he borrowed this to visit me in hospital and most likely bring me home. Therefore this Landcrab is important to me as probably being the first car I ever rode in. The car and the houses were about the same age as each other in the picture, note how nothing is growing in the gardens yet. It wasn’t supposed to have been that reliable but a check on the DVLA records show that it lingered on until about 1982 which is not bad. Grandpa must have liked it enough to go and get this…  Don’t know as much about this one apart from it was an Automatic, brown and probably a 1969 car. There is debate as to whether it was an Austin or a Morris, though it wouldn’t surprise me if it was an Austin if the supplying dealer was the same. The small child is me. To be honest I don’t think I have any memory of this car though I am sure to have been taken out in it many times. In the end it was replaced by this Opel Rekord and that was the end of our family involvement with Landcrabs for the next 38 years  Nick |
|
|
|
Post by ahctog1 on Sept 18, 2013 21:53:26 GMT
 My MG Magnette in the late 1970's  My old A60 van and it's replacement given to me by my father when he downsized to an Austin 1300, the Oxford ended up with my elder brother and finally was scrapped with a massive mileage! |
|
|
|
Post by Penguin45 on Sept 22, 2013 23:36:21 GMT
I can just about remember Dad's Vauxhall Wyvern. We went to see the Blue Streak at Cardington (We lived in Dunstable at the time). That would have been early '60's. Then there were a couple of green Minis, followed by a blue Mini estate - PSG597H, I think. I learnt to drive in a Ford Cortina MkIII estate - metallic bronze. Clutch cable broke the day I set off with Kate Arbuthnot for a day out at Strathallan Aircraft Collection. Ho hum, what might have been.... Dad went onto an SD1 after that - first brand new car and a massive disappointment. A Montego estate followed, then to date a string of small Japanese runabouts.
My own first one was a blue Morris 1100. Nick's just been to Gaydon and they have one there. When I spotted it two years ago, it was one of those "It's back!" moments. Anyway, I crashed it - young and stupid like most of us, I suspect. Later a Citroen GS Club estate followed - loved it, rotted for fun, then the Morris 1800, a 2200 Princess, a Chevette estate, a MkV Cortina, a MkI Polo (I remember that one - the bottom fell out. I was driving at the time.)Then it was vans for work. There was a MkII Vauxhall Astra estate in there at some point as well - company car and the only new vehicle I've ever had. B610TEX - known as "Biotex", obviously.
I have some affection for almost all of them - probably based on memories of things done, rather than the driving experience. The Citroen cost me a minute every morning, waiting for the suspension to inflate. The Princess I did genuinely come to hate. The Chevette would do a ton on the speedo (Quite pointy, a Chevette). There was also briefly a Fiat 126 which Dad couldn't sell in Cornwall, so I took it back to London and sold it for him there. To this day, it's the only car I've ever spun.
Chris.
|
|
|
|
Post by ahctog1 on Sept 23, 2013 19:37:35 GMT
Couple more!..... or three even. |
|
|
|
Post by Penguin45 on Sept 29, 2013 14:28:03 GMT
Definitely one missing there, Ahctog...... The Scottish one, wink, wink.
Chris.
|
|
|
|
Post by ahctog1 on Sept 30, 2013 23:00:01 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Nick RS on Nov 7, 2013 19:59:03 GMT
Achtog, is there a story behind this one we should know about? Indy's new R600 got me going through the archives. I was lucky enough to have six of these while I was working for Rover Group back in the 90's and always enjoyed their long legged ability to cover big distances as I used them on company business as well as visiting friends up and down the country. If I recall correctly the 600 was launched with real high hopes at a time when Rover finally seemed to be getting things right. The 600 was a good looking car but I recall talk in the office at the time being that the company thought it was as good as a 3 Series and should price it against that rather than the tried and tested formula of Ford plus a bit of a premium. Thus the 600 was a bit over priced and a bit under-specced. Within a year there was stock around which is why I was allocated L305EOV  I can't tell you how chuffed I was to get this as a 25 year old. It was a proper executive car and was still new enough to attract glances on the motorways. Nightfire Red at the time was one of the best colours. It was a 620SLi which for a 94 model meant ABS brakes, cloth seats, wood on doors as well as the dash, and RDS radio, central locking and electric windows. Mine also had Aircon which was a real gift in what I remember was a warm summer. Looking at this spec today I don't think I'd add anything even now apart from digital radio. The miles piled up and after a few months it went back to be replaced by another 600, then another, and another, and another. What everyone in the team really wanted was a ti but the boss wasn't having any of it. Unluckily for him a brief period of incapacity meant that he had to be off work for about a month. That was long enough for one of my more brazen colleagues to sweet talk someone in the fleet department to allocated a batch of 620ti's with a choice of colour.  Well, what colour would the 26 year old in you have picked? I loved that ti. I didn't realise just how quick it was, dropping a gear to overtake a van almost took the front corner of the car off it moved so rapidly. I soon learned to respect it, though I never quite got used to the tramlining effect of the Pirelli P Zero tyres. After I'd had the car for a few months I got a call from Global Comms looking for a Flame Red ti for photography for an advert. They needed to do the photoshoot that week and I was the only one at Longbridge at that time with a matching car. Gladly I handed over the keys and waited for the promised copy of the picture. I never did get the picture but the memory lives on in an old newspaper cutting (Oh, and the 100th Anniversary edition of Autocar if you have a copy lying around) Andrew, You've got lots going on in your life now/soon and the very best wishes to you and yours. I do hope you manage to enjoy the Rover 600 at least half as much as I enjoyed mine Nick  |
|
|
|
Post by charlypm on Nov 9, 2013 7:31:38 GMT
This was my first British car, I bought it for my wife and she drove it until she was about 8 months pregnant with our daughter. we still have the car.  This is the second car in our stable, my wife didn't think it was safe for our daughter to ride in the back of the MGB, so we got a sports car with a proper back seat.  Then I decided to go racing and bought this!  |
|
|
|
Post by yorkie on Nov 9, 2013 18:22:47 GMT
Thought I'd try and remember all the cars I've had over the years.Strange when I forget what I was doing yesterday.
Here goes - Ford Special (1954) model. Fiat 1100D, Austin Minivan,Ford Corsair Automatic, ex GPO Morris Minor Van,
Ford Consul, Rover 105S, MGA Roadster (+ a totally rotten Coupe someone gave me but can't remember who!)
Humber Hawk, Hillman Imps (x2), Mini,Sunbeam Stiletto, Morris Minor, Alfa Romeo Gulia Ti,MGB, Citroen Dyanes x2,
Citroen Ami 8. Dutton Sierra, Dutton Melos. Austin A105 Westminster, Ford Corsair V4,Ford 100e Anglia,Renault 12
saloons and estate. VW Campervan (Bay window model)
Also, Honda, Toyota Yarises, Skoda Roomster ,currently Skoda Yeti auto.
And of course my Crab- 1973 Wolseley 6 Automatic in Black Tulip.
Used to be able to do my own nackling, but arthritis means I had to buy the car with all the work done and I'm lucky
that my local garage owner is a classic car enthusiast.
Now, where did I put my glasses?
Dave
|
|
|
|
Post by charlypm on Nov 10, 2013 16:32:42 GMT
I bought this car for my daughter to drive until we built her AA  And then you know how it goes, you buy one and a second one appears!  This is the "AA",  Austin America, or we have also called it Alyson's Austin. I have an album on that one also . |
|
|
|
Post by Penguin45 on Nov 10, 2013 18:24:20 GMT
Ha - Tommy has the same problem!
What is "AA", btw?
Chris.
|
|
|
|
Post by dave1800 on Nov 11, 2013 0:48:42 GMT
It's where I would need to go if I took on projects like yours  . David |
|
|
|
Post by charlypm on Dec 5, 2013 7:28:57 GMT
Somewhere along the way I bought this, a 1996, new and drove for close to 200K miles.  My daughter soon then decided she needed a car to take to college in California and I lost my good old Disco to her and I needed to replace it. I got this  After a few years, I realized the 2004 model year had a problem with the engine around 80K miles. They would drop a cylinder liner, or two. So I got rid of it before it was a problem and replaced it with this  Not the bus, the LR3 or Disco 3 as you may know them. |
|
|
|
Post by Penguin45 on Dec 5, 2013 20:55:53 GMT
Somehow, Charly, I was expecting giant fins, lazy V8s and acres of chrome, rather than Coventry's finest. What's the attraction to British stuff for you?
Chris.
|
|
|
|
Post by charlypm on Dec 6, 2013 7:25:06 GMT
I'm not sure why I went British. When I was a teenager, I was building hot rods with my buddies, 327 Chevy's, 302 Fords, running around in Road Runners, Challengers etc. My dad always owned Chevy's, I never remember him ever having anything else. Somewhere after high school, my girlfriend had a Spitfire and a bunch of my buddies had other sports cars, MGA's, TR3's, GT6's, MGB's and I recall one fellow had a Metro van, an old postal truck. After I got married my wife said she always wanted a TR6 and I looked into those real closely and realized it wasn't a good car for her and got the MGB, that was in 81. We then evolved into a XJ6, an E-type and then went crazy. I guess what I like about the British cars is the variety and once you start collecting parts for one, there for the most part interchangeable with the others.  |
|
. 
