Cars what I have had

[anonymous user]

In the spirit of the new, split up, autoshite I'll have a go at a thread - prepare to be bored.

 

The first car I ever drove was an Austin Somerset, which was given to my brother by a family friend, I was about twelve at the time and this probably started my liking for old Austins.

 

My first car was an Austin A35, bought when I was 16 from an uncle for £10, sadly it was a triumph of enthusiasm over ability; it never saw the road and I eventually sold it for £25 (one of the few times I have made a profit). It did however instil a lifelong liking for old Austins and A35's in particular. I've had quite a few over the years but one keeps coming back.

 

In the late 1980's I moved back to South Wales and used to see an A35 running around town, rare to see in daily use even then. One day though I saw it with a broken headlamp and dented drivers wing and thought it might be the end of the road for it, but it was repaired and I continued to see it for a while after. Around that time in amongst a trail of other unsuitable modes of transport I had acquired an Austin Gypsy, it was not a good one and either wouldn't go at all or broke down every time I used it. A friend spotted an advert for an A35 in the local paper, with a garage in Cardiff, with the words  might part-exchange and luckily I managed to do a straight swap. Sorry for the rambling introduction, but yes it was the same one. and I managed to drive it home (with only the handbrake to stop me). I got the brakes sorted and ran it around for a while.

When I first bought it, it was already on an A suffix plate, I had it changed to the current age-related plate (yes that was my hearse in the garage with it)

 

I ended up buying an A40 sports and needed the space so sold the A35. I didn't see it again for a few years until it turned up in the paper again, for sale from the person I sold it to, so I did the decent thing and bought it back. It was a non-runner at the time and I ended up storing it in a friend's lock-up. Unfortunately I had a lot on at the time and after a while felt it had out-stayed its welcome so reluctantly put it up for sale and off it went to a couple of blokes from Ebbw Vale who said they were going to do it up for classic rallying.

 

That was around year 2000 and I never saw it again until last year when I spotted a familiar registration number on ebay, by now it had got down to Kent.

(one of the ebay pics)

 

By now it had changed a bit, for a start it no longer has a roof.

 

I managed to do a deal with the owner, to avoid the bother of trying to win the auction (and probably paid over the odds) and went up on the train to drive it back. It was a bit interesting on the M25 as I wasn't really going fast enough, but I got home in one piece and even passed one vehicle on the M4 (a Series 2 Land-Rover). It's the furthest I've ever driven it and I doubt that I will do it again. Since then I have used it to trundle about locally now and again and that is probably all I ever will use it for, but it cheers me up a bit every time I drive it. This time I intend to keep it.

 

 

It does get out of the garage most weeks in the summer, even if it's just so that I can get the lawnmower from in front of it.

 

 

 

[cort16]

He's a cheeky looking little fella isn't he?

 

So what's it like getting an old car back? Is it better or worse than you remember? Did they give you any reason for chopping off the roof?

[dollywobbler]

Good story but I fear I need to know more about the Landcrab Hearse...

[rml2345]

Seems a strange candidate for a convertible conversion, doesn't it? This thread is the perfect balance to the lost Anglia estate we had a week or so ago and it's great that you got it back in the end. 

It's looking good!

[Jim Bell]

Bored?

 

They all look awesome.

 

Good post fella.

[MrDuke]

It's almost as though they really wanted a convertible, but 1) couldn't afford to buy a classic one, and 2) couldn't do a proper conversion on that one, so just took an angle-grinder to the roof and bought a big square of canvas. I guess it wouldn't be too hard, if you wanted, to get it re-skinned in metal.

 

Great post & story though, and a cute wee car. My Dad always used to rave about A30s, A35s and A40s when I was young, so I've always had a slightly detached respect for them, despite never wanting to own one.

[anonymous user]

I bought it back off the bloke who converted it; there are few that have been done over the years and the one factory A30 open top,  he wanted one, but they hardly ever come up for sale. Some have got cut down Morris Minor hood frames, mine has simple chuck it over the top piece of vinyl (but you can roll it back like a 2cv). It has got a lot of tubular strengthening welded in and is properly registered as a convertible with our friends at DVLA. I think by the time it was done he could have bought a decent Morris Minor Convertible for the money (I know that I certainly could).  It drives just as I remember it, although my nerves aren't what they were and driving standards are worse, so I have got the bits together to upgrade the brakes which will hopefully get done over the winter.

 

The hearse was another unfinished project, it had the 6 cylinder engine but didn't run when I bought it, I got a decent engine and box from a Wolseley 2200 fitted but never finished all the MOT work, I ended up selling it to someone who did this to it.

 

 

I last saw it in a local scrapyard after he ended up cooking the engine

 

 

 

[mercrocker]

Always have a soft spot for the baby Austins,  one of my first cars (actually the first  one that worked for more  than a month) was an A35, also  bought from an Uncle but for £20 in my case...Actually even that was a bit of a mistake as when he said "would you like my old car?"  I thought he still had his MO Oxford....If you only want to use the tiddler  in the summer  that canvas top is ideal and I imagine makes the car  a lot more fun to have.  A bit  like a Pigaro but proper.  

[anonymous user]

I have had several other Austins including two A35 vans

This one bought as a project ended up being given away to a friend's lad who wanted a project.

 

The next one I bought from a work colleague who dropped it off outside my lock-up

 

 

I drove it into the lock-up and left it there until the MOT ran out, I eventually got it back out, MOT'd it and sold it. You may sense a pattern forming that I buy cars as projects, spend money on them then sell them on at a loss to someone else who will get the benefit. (The sort of person that gets laughed at on ebay)

 

There are other sorts of Austin; I always wanted a Mini Moke ever since a fellow pupil used to get dropped off at school, in summer, by his trendy mother (her winter car was a Gilbern).

 

I eventually bought one in 1990, it didn't look too bad until I started poking around the floor

 

Yes there was more hole than floor, the newish rear subframe was held on mainly by the brake pipes and handbrake cable, after an awful lot of awful welding it did get back together, but by then I was fed up with it and apart from the trip to the MOT station its only trip with me was up to the Severn Bridge Services on the day I sold it.

 

[Angrydicky]

Wonderful fleet! I do like the two-tone van in particular.

 

I don't know what it is about 50's Austins, but I love them too! 

[anonymous user]

It's not all been Austins;

The recent Mk1 Fiesta purchase by Alf892 brings back happyish memories for me, my first Mk1 was nearly new, but that was a long time ago and I ended up swapping it for my brother's Mk3 Capri; however a few years ago friends acquired one off ebay as a stop-gap car - when I saw it I thought it was a very straight example. When it was no longer required it was stuck on ebay but didn't sell, I stupidly asked how much was wanted for it and ended up buying it (even though I had no need for it or anywhere to put it.

It had spent a lot of its life stored in a garage, unfortunately some of that time being scratched by bicycles and lawn-mowers, it had around 30k miles on it possibly genuine as it still had a couple of original Pirelli Cinturato tyres on it. I didn't use it a lot, spending money on tyres, brakes, alternator, battery, etc. making it nice ready for the next owner. I stored it for a while when I bought this

I'd always wanted a Bond Bug, (until I had one) although it was short lived and when I sold it, I brought the Fiesta back from storage, I think it was guilt at not using it made me sell it. Of course once it was gone and several unsuitable cars later I ended up buying another one.

This one I ended up getting paintwork done, replaced the damaged bumpers, but never actually liked it as much as the one before, so when I ended up buying another car and needing the garage for that I sold the Fiesta

I still have the TR7, but that is stored now haven't driven it for over a year

 

[anonymous user]

Before I had my first Fiesta Mk1 the first car I bought after I started work was a Triumph Spitfire

 

The previous owner had bought it new for his wife, apparently off the motor-show stand in Dublin; when I bought it, it only had 13,000 miles on it having never been driven in the dark, let alone the rain. It had several extras on it including a lined boot, extra soundproofing and electric aerial. I don't think the hard-top had ever been removed. At the time Irish imports would end up on a current registration hence although it was a few years old it ended up on an 'S' plate.

 

I ran it for a while doubling the mileage in a year but ended up selling it in favour of a Capri Mk2, that was over 30 years ago, so imagine my surprise when a couple of years back I ended up spotting it again still down in West Wales.

It's no longer Magenta, but it still survives.

 

I tend to buy the same type of car over and over again and have subsequently had another two Spitfires, even though I don't particularly like them

 

[HillmanImp]

You are SirTB! I am getting so confuzzled with this name change thing. 

 

Like me do you always accidentally sell the car appreciating in value and buy one that is only going to rot in the first 2 weeks of ownership and drop in value?

[Sigmund Fraud]

Good stuff ! It's great to see members from the early days of Autoshite (when I was just a humble lurker) returning and posting some quality content !

 

Am I right in recalling you also owning various Morgans in the past ?

[anonymous user]

I appear to make a point of buying high and selling low, or give up and sell just before it rockets in value then end up paying over the odds to buy something similar (but worse). I need to be taken on by an eccentric billionaire as a tax-loss.

 

One example of selling just too soon was my Lotus 7. I had always wanted one ever since seeing one on the opening credits of The Prisoner, however this was before the days of Westfields, Locosts, etc. so the only option was a real one. I was poor and they were not that cheap, but when I was 22 I spotted one in the Exchange and Mart that I could almost afford. (For the benefit of the youngsters, in pre-internet days you would from a few lines description ring up and talk to the vendor and try to judge whether to drive half way across the country to try to buy your next heap, it would never be on your doorstep).

 

There were several reasons why it was cheap, it had previously been raced for years before being cobbled into a road car and it had been off the road for a while, but it was cheap. By stretching my overdraft and selling my Arkley converted MG Midget I managed to scrape up the money to buy it, (If you don't know what an Arkley is google it, it looks like Noddy's car).

 

At this point although I had been down to Hampshire to look at it, I had not heard it run or driven it, the farmer owner had agreed to get it running and MOT it and fair play to him he did. I went down on the train to drive it home. I had neglected to consider one important fact, the early Lotus 7 was apparently designed to fit Colin Chapman who was 5'9", I'm over 6' and have big feet. The Lotus did not adjust so it was up to me to make myself fit it. Without shoes and without the seat pad I did manage to squeeze in and drive home with a numb bum. After that I always had to wear narrow trainers and I fitted thinner foam to the seat pad, you have to suffer for style. I only ever put the hood on once and whilst I managed to get in, I couldn't see out, or for that matter get out. (I did manage to eventually but I'm glad nobody was watching or listening).

 

(Ignore the 1971 plate it was a 1959 car that was originally raced and not registered until much later)

 

I enjoyed it while I had it, it was my only car and was mostly reliable, rather than loads of trouble usually serious. The end came when I changed jobs and had to use my car for work purposes, my employer didn't like the Lotus insisting it wasn't a real car and put pressure on me to change it. I eventually gave in and bought my first Morgan.

 

I stored the Lotus for a while in a Council lock-up, but ended up selling it in order to eat. The dealer who bought it doubled his money on it the same week.

[Lord Sterling]

Great story SirTB. The Lotus didn't last beyond 1985 according to the DVLA, but I suspect its probably stored in a barn rather turned into a bean cans.

[J-T]

It's not all been Austins;

The recent Mk1 Fiesta purchase by Alf892 brings back happyish memories for me, my first Mk1 was nearly new, but that was a long time ago and I ended up swapping it for my brother's Mk3 Capri; however a few years ago friends acquired one off ebay as a stop-gap car - when I saw it I thought it was a very straight example. When it was no longer required it was stuck on ebay but didn't sell, I stupidly asked how much was wanted for it and ended up buying it (even though I had no need for it or anywhere to put it.

f1 004.JPG

It had spent a lot of its life stored in a garage, unfortunately some of that time being scratched by bicycles and lawn-mowers, it had around 30k miles on it possibly genuine as it still had a couple of original Pirelli Cinturato tyres on it. I didn't use it a lot, spending money on tyres, brakes, alternator, battery, etc. making it nice ready for the next owner. I stored it for a while when I bought this

bug1.jpg

I'd always wanted a Bond Bug, (until I had one) although it was short lived and when I sold it, I brought the Fiesta back from storage, I think it was guilt at not using it made me sell it. Of course once it was gone and several unsuitable cars later I ended up buying another one.

001.JPG

This one I ended up getting paintwork done, replaced the damaged bumpers, but never actually liked it as much as the one before, so when I ended up buying another car and needing the garage for that I sold the Fiesta

001.JPG

I still have the TR7, but that is stored now haven't driven it for over a year

 

Was that first Fiesta a Sandpiper (special edition based on an L - I think it got lovely poo brown paint and a centre console)? It looks identical to one my Mum had around 1994/95. I remember it breaking down all the time due to crap in the fuel tank getting dragged through the system. Got nicked in Warrington never to be seen again HED 325V, god knows how I remember that.

[Doctormop]

Seem to remember a brilliant article in Jalopy magazine regarding the perils of Lotus ownership and having to purchase lots of oil at a petrol station, presume it was written by your good self.

[anonymous user]

Yes the brown Fiesta was a Sandpiper it also had two-tone seats, a sunroof and radio cassette; you could also get them with  brown and beige or brown and gold two-tone paint. I think the Lotus went abroad but the DVLA didn't get told, the article from Jalopy is scanned on here somewhere.

 

Apart from cars that I buy because I like them there are also the ones I just end up buying because they are there or I feel sorry for them, so here's a few of those.

 

 

I never intended to buy the Victor, it was just that I had gone down to Cornwall to look at a pair of A40 Devon pick-ups that a friend was looking to buy, the Victor was also for sale at the same place and it seemed rude not to buy it as well (Well it had a tow-bar and I didn't have anything with a tow-bar on it at the time). I drove it back from Cornwall ran it around a bit realised I had no real use for it so sold it.

 

 

I saw the Trabant in the local paper, according to some informed* sources they are the worst car in the world, so obviously I had to buy one at some point; I enjoyed it, but again had no use for it, so after loaning it to a mate for a while I ended up swapping it for two Citroen 2cvs. (What is more sensible than replacing one unnecessary car with two others?)

 

 

I'd seen this around town for years, a 1.8 'special'  it was owned from new by an elderly couple, the old boy died and his wife eventually gave up driving, another mate bought it and fitted new front wings (they were a bit rusty and the whole car had scrapes down the sides from the old lady's poor aim when driving). I bought it and ended up having it re-sprayed, it only had 28k miles on it and the interior was like new. Again I had no use for it I also had the Volvo and Caddy pick-up at the time. It sold on ebay and went over to Ireland. I saw it for sale a couple of years later in a "Doctor style' advert described as a time-warp, completely original car (and by then it only had 22k miles)

 

 

This Rover was lovely, a one owner car picked up from someone I know who does house clearances, it was the 2200 TC. I drove it a few times but stupidly ended up part exchanging it for this

 

 

There is no such thing as a cheap Porsche, as I soon found out. I liked it to drive, but didn't like the negative attention it attracted. When I realised that I would choose to drive the Caddy pick-up in preference, I sold it.

[anonymous user]

Not all the cars I've bought have been capable of being driven home, you've already seen the shots of the A35 van that arrived (and left) on a trailer and the Bond Bug that arrived courtesy of Shipley; not on a flat-bed as requested, but on a transporter with a hole in the middle but the tripodness was got over by judicious use of old scaffold planks.

 

In the past it was often a case of hiring a trailer and hitching up to the handy Volvo estate (I've had quite a few Volvos but few got photographed).

 

The most ill-advised tow job was when I brought the hearse home with an inadequate tow-car (not sure what the statute of limitations is on stupidity, so I won't say anything about it apart from never again)

 

 

This was the A40 Sports, brought back from Somerset using a trailer hired from one place and a Transit Crew bus from another. The crew bus had fold up side benches which was handy for fitting all the spares in. I learned to drive on a tractor towing a trailer so reversing a trailer never used to bother me (it does now, because I'm well out of practice). I managed to back it in through the vendors narrow gateway in one go, it took me a while though. (The vendor was taking the piss at the, in his opinion, time it took me; I did not laugh however when, in a much speedier move, he caught the side of his Jensen CV8 on the garage door-post) I never did much with this A40, apart from buying it a replacement chassis, as I bought an A40 Dorset Tourer instead. (The Sports got restored by someone else, it took him years but looks stunning now)

 

 

This was bought from Aled who is/was on here, it was incredibly solid, but had not been used for many years, I tinkered with it, replaced the tyres, took it for an MOT which I think it failed on play at the king-pins, I then sold it to a mate, bought it back from him, sold it back to him and he eventually sold it to another mate who still has it.

 

 

I mentioned above that I replaced the A40 Sports with a Dorset Tourer, well it wasn't this one, I sold the first one due to needing money quickly when a house move went pear-shaped. I didn't want to sell at all and it ended up going to a dealer (the only person prepared to put his hand in his pocket quickly, and I had an A70 Hereford back in part-exchange). Through the Austin Counties Car Club I was able to find out who it ended up with and made contact to say if he ever sold it to give me the chance to buy it back. He found the one you see above and offered it to me so I bought it. Hired vans are useful to fill with the spares. I did a bit more with this one, getting it running, getting a set of recovered seats, putting bits back together and starting on sorting the wiring out; then I had to move house again so it had to go. I failed to buy it back a few years ago and doubt that I shall ever find another as apart from these two I was only aware of one other in Britain and that has now gone to the USA.

 

I also brought a Scimitar SS1 back from Essex, it looked great on the surface, but was not so nice underneath (a bit like some Essex girls). I sold it on as it was, to someone with more time, skill and inclination to do the work, there was also a Volvo Amazon estate that met the same fate.

 

These days I'm unlikely to hitch up a trailer, the firm that I liked to deal with is no longer there and I no longer have anything hefty with a tow-bar as I have recently scrapped my last Volvo estate also it's now difficult to hire a tow-vehicle, Shipley has come the rescue a few times, but these days, unless it is a going concern, I do my best not to buy it in the first place.

[Angrydicky]

Excellent stuff. That Dorset tourer is certainly a rare beast, even the saloons seem virtually extinct these days due to hotrodders chopping them up in the 70's. The A40 Sports lives in Norfolk these days, and still looks amazing.

[anonymous user]

Back in the early 1990's when I sold, what was then, my last Morgan I decided that I had grown out of "sportscars" and wasn't going to buy any more. Like many of my resolutions this has been broken many times. I lasted a few years before buying a Scimitar SS1, this was the rusty one and it was too much work at the wrong time so I sold it on. It did drive beautifully on and off the trailer though. (No pics of this one)

 

The next one I wasn't going to buy was an Alfa Romeo S3 Spider, there is a garage in Cardiff that sells exotic (read expensive) cars, this wasn't their usual sort of stock, but was looking at me across a crowded forecourt. I'm still not sure why, perhaps it was the combination of black paint and tan interior, but I found myself buying it. After sorting out the insurance, taxing it and getting them to sort out the brakes I left it there for another few weeks. Fortunately a colleague had to drop his car in for repair nearby and I let him use the Alfa as a courtesy car for a few days, this at least got it off the forecourt and when he had his car back it was left in the work car-park. It stayed there for a while, I did take it home a couple of times and eventually decided to ask my brother if he would look after it for me. It stayed with him for over a year and he got a bit of use out of it, but eventually I realised I wouldn't ever use it so I got it back and sold it. It did let me down once when a spade terminal came loose from the solenoid, but I never drove it enough to experience any major Alfa foibles. The driving position was awful, mainly due to the pedal positioning resulting from the conversion to right-hand drive, but it did look pretty (apart from when I was in it). It's come up for sale on ebay a few times since, moving to Yorkshire, Scotland and most recently the West-Country this year. (I have pics of this somewhere)

 

The next one was another Scimitar, it was only up the road and I wanted to try one. I bought it, drove it home, took it to work once then let it sit until the MOT ran out. I eventually got it taken for MOT and then sold it.

It wasn't a bad car, it was just something I never felt like driving.

 

The next one was about five years ago, it was in the local paper, it was cheap and I hadn't had one before.

It had been rebuilt by someone who got ill before he had really finished it. I sorted out the charging system drove it a couple of times, I was too big for it and had trouble getting in and out so I sold it. Before I sold the Frogeye I wondered if getting something lhd might be easier to get in and out of (apart from being a bit big I have a dodgy right knee and have difficulty folding my leg in through small doors), so I bought this

It was ok but I didn't really take to it, I loaned it to a friend for a while and then sold it.

 

I did try an MX5, everyone else seems to like them, but it's not my sort of thing.

 

A couple of years ago I spotted the TR7 on retrorides and liked the look of it, went up to see it and initially decided against it, then changed my mind on the way home. We agreed a deal, I paid by bank transfer and the TR was shipped down. If the hood is down I can get in and out of it fairly easily, it's more difficult with it up. I drove it a few times on nice days, but eventually shipped it down to my brother who is looking after it for me. (It's been there for getting on for two years now, I really should make up my mind what I am going to do with it)

 

It's a really nice one with an interesting history and I would get so little for it there's not a lot of point in selling it.The reason the TR had to go down to my brother was I decided it was time to try a Morgan again. I'd always intended to get another when I retire, but as retirement is getting further away (assuming I live that long) I decided not to wait. I went to look at one and couldn't get in it (couldn't get the seat back far enough), tried another which I could so I bought it, drove it home, took it to work a few times but had one horrible trip in it in cold wet weather, had to put the hood up and had one hell of a job getting out of it. That was enough to make me sell it.

 

I won't say I'll never have another, but I'll need to try the newer ones with larger doors.

 

You may have come to the conclusion that I am an idiot who would be better off hiring things for a weekend rather than buying them, I know that I have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wilko220]

I don't know how I managed to miss this thread the first time around, but may I just say there is some exquisite chod pictured in it.

 

I also love the fact that, at one stage, you appear to have lived in a housing estate built on the top of a mountain.

[dennisthemenace]

My first ever car was a Trabant. It was terrible.. Then Fiat 124, Fiat Strada,Fiat Argenta Diesel,Ford Granada, Ford Cortina, Fiat Argenta 120i.e.,Vauxhall Cavalier,Peugeot 406 Break, Alfa 156 Sportwagon.

The Fiat Argenta 120i.e. still exist, I wanna get it on the road by next spring.

[anonymous user]

I have mentioned that I tend to repeat myself with cars and have got a bit of a thing for Volvos, probably inherited from my father who thought they were great. As they have usually been working cars rather than toys I have not really photographed them much.

My first was a 240GL estate bought from my brother when it was about five years old, it was great but I ended up swapping it for a lightweight Land Rover (I also have a thing for Land Rovers). I didn't buy another for a few years but went for another 240GL estate, this one had a four speed manual with overdrive which I preferred to the five-speed. I tend to go for the estates as I usually have a pack of dogs to cart around and used to have a side-line buying and selling collectables (or bits of tat, if you prefer).

This estate got sold when I bought an Amazon estate. It was lovely when I bought it

 

(This is it before I bought it, it was minus the spotlamps when I got it -photograph courtesy of VOC)

 

I eventually sold this to a friend on the proviso that he offered it back if he ever sold it, I did buy it back but it had been standing and took a while and a bit of money to get through the MOT. Shortly after that it got written off when parked (a B&Q delivery lorry reversed into it) It appears that it did get back on the road as it used to show as taxed, I tried to track it down but it doesn't seem to be around any more. A question on the VOC forum did produce these pics, this one showing it still with the rear end damage.

 

I bought a 164 around this time, I didn't mean to but a friend was buying some spares from someone who had it for sale, I got it home got it running but apart from cleaning it up did nothing with it before selling it on.

 

The next 240 estate was a GLT and did me well for a couple of years (you can just see its nose behind the Marina in an earlier pic in this post. There was nothing wrong with it, but I stupidly sold it after 50,000 miles in it, by which time it had 220k on it, in favour of a Discovery. I used to see it around for another couple of years so it obviously had some life left in it.

 

I did buy another Amazon estate, unseen, off ebay, it was rubbish and I gave it away for spares.

 

The next one didn't come along until about seven years ago, I wasn't looking but was offered it via a friend of a friend who was selling it (it was her late father's car). It was a one owner 240DL with every single piece of main dealer service history, down to the original brochure and a little book recording every tank of fuel. I stupidly sold it after a couple of years when I realised what it was costing me in fuel to run it (25,000 mile a year at 25mpg gets a bit expensive) I should have just kept it as I got so little for it. (It's still around).

I got Volvo pangs again about three years ago and tried to buy a nice one, another 240GLT, it looked great but never ran right and after spending a lot of time and money got no further with it. Sometimes it would be fine, but mostly would start misfiring and cutting out. I wasn't well enough to persevere so sold it for spares or repairs.

 

I didn't buy another until about eighteen months ago, another 240DL, it was rough around the edges but honest, I don't often need the carrying capacity now, but it was handy on occasion, mostly it was on loan to a friend. I had already decided that the next big bill was going to be it, so when the power steering rack went a couple of months ago I decided to scrap it. (I nearly changed my mind at the yard and regret it now.)

It looks a lot better in the photograph than it was, as I had just cleaned it, I'm already half on the look out for another, even though I don't need it.

[anonymous user]

Unfortunately I'm still having problems with attachments and copying/pasting (hence no ebay tat thread for me) I think it must be something in the settings on this pc, which hasn't been the same since the dog jumped on it and broke some keys off.

 

This will have to be done as text first and photographs after as I can't see the attachments until I post. (Some of the photos have interesting background chod so I'll leave it to you to work out how long ago it was and how old I am)

 

I have had a bit of a thing for Morgan cars over the years, yes I know loads of people don't like them, but I do; I bought my first one as a replacement for my Lotus 7, it was a very ropey two-seater and I have no pics scanned of it. I didn't get on with it a sold it in favour of a six month old Fiesta Mk2. The Fiesta lasted six months until I swapped it for another Morgan, a 1970 four-seater.

That one is still my favourite, I did over 30k miles in a year in it, it survived being crashed into by a Volvo and I still sold it for more than I paid for it (it went to Sweden).

I replaced it with another, later 4 seater which I eventually swapped for a 1937 series 1, this was not the best everyday transport and I was lucky that my brother took pity and loaned me a Cortina 2.3 which I eventually bought off him.

The Series 1 was sold and I got hold of a 1973 four seater (I used to do production car trials and did get stuck) This four seater got sold when a 1960 Drop-head coupé turned up. That got sold and replaced with a cvh engined 2 seater. I only had that for a short time before I was offered a 1968 2 seater (I'd asked the owner to give me first chance if they sold it, they did, so I did) The cvh one was a tidy one and I came out slightly ahead selling it to a Morgan dealer.

I was short of money so sold the yellow one taking a non-runner ex-race car back in p/ex. (can't find a pic of that one at the moment) I never did anything with it and sold it on buying another rough 2 seater, this one had been re-chassied and fitted with a five-speed box. That one got sold when I had a car supplied by work.

It was my last one until I bought the black one about two years ago. I've gone soft and can't get in and out easily anymore so I'm not sure if I will ever get another.

[anonymous user]

Some randoms; The Maestro van was bought off ebay in a fit of pique after I was outbid on a Marina pick-up. (I didn't keep it long)

The Cherokee was the not so nice one, it was still a 4 litre and lower mileage but never drove as nice. The Kangoo was a means to an end and I quite liked it for its basic transportness. The Gypsy was awful, it had been bodged quite badly, The Dorset was the tidy one (wish I'd kept it)

[holbeck]

Nice thread you got here. You've got a great car history. A triton green TR7 is kinda on my want list.

[anonymous user]

And this time prompted by Wuvvum's car thread I shall try to update this a bit, seven years has seen a bit of change.

The poor old A35 didn't get a lot of use, I did my usual thing of spending a load of money on new brakes just before I sold it.

I was trying to retire and wanted to go down to one car and decided a Land Rover was going to be it.

[anonymous user]

I bought the Land Rover for its simplicity, parts availability and ability to be repaired.  It wasn't long before I decided I needed a second car so bought the complete opposite, it didn't end well the electrics died on it and the garage bought it back (it was fun when it worked)