Childhood shite memories

[dollywobbler]

Feel free to add your own. The Silvia thread got me thinking and reminiscing like an old b*stard.I still remember a small tribe of me and my chums badgering the local solicitors. One had a Rover 800 fastback, the other a Peugeot 309GTi. Verily, these were the Kings of Cool and we couldn't watch them operating the electric windows enough. These days, if a group of kids ran towards a solicitor's car, he'd probably try to run you over in his haste to get away without being stabbed...Then we befriended the chap who ran the local music/DJ shop. He had one of those new Freight-Rover 300s. I can remember being astounded by the size of it!I was a member of the Boys Brigade back then. I remember how health and safety didn't mean jack shit in those days. We used to take part in parades and I remember that one year, the organisers used a Land Rover Series II long-wheelbase to drag a Ford Transit Mk1 (an early one too) with both dressed up as ships - a galleon towing a captured pirate ship. Because the Land Rover's brakes were so poor, the Transit, which hadn't run for years, used the gears as an engine brake - a complex radio set up between the two drivers seemed to work! The Transit can't have suffered too much, as I do recall it being made road-ready again at some point.Another year, we just used the Land Rover, with groups of us taking it in turns to sit on the roofrack!I was indoctrinated in shite at an early age. My Aunt had Morris Minor convertibles - really, deliciously shabby ones all covered in primer, with missing door cards half the time where they'd been Waxoyling the doors. I always had to sit behind my Aunt in case she had to stop quickly. My poor cousin learnt to her cost (scar on her forehead to prove it!) that sitting behind the collapsible passenger seat wasn't such a good idea...The Minor got laid up, but that was ok because Auntie got a Morris Oxford Series VI Traveller. This was the mid-eighties, so it was the height of shonky transport. Especially as it had fibreglass wings - that didn't fit very well. One year, on a family trip to Devon, the radiator expired. Steamy! We'd also pack the entire family (having driven down in several cars - Mk2 Cavs a-plenty) into the Oxford to potter into town for a visit to the pub. I think twelve of us was the record...These holidays were great because there was an enormous void in my car childhood as my Dad's Escort Mk1 estate got scrapped when I was about five, and it was a good couple of years before he could afford his next quality motor - a metallic brown Hillman Hunter, with overdrive and everything!Enough for now...

[Mash]

"They don't know they're born etc etc"When I was a kid all my dad had were a succession of Vespas then a 250cc MZ. He eventually got something half decent - a Honda 400N Super Dream but if we needed a car we had to borrow my grandad's or hire one. Unfortunately my grandad was crap at choosing cars and went from a Regal van to a C-reg Morris Minor (in the 80s mind), to a Mk3 Cortina that was half decent but made me car-sick, to a Lada 1200.Holidays were spent touring the Lakes in wheezy 950 Mk2 Fiesta Popular hire cars and to make matters worse when we eventually got a car in 1989 it was a 13-year old Allegro.Having said that, this car sparked off my interest in old motors and has resulted in me being part of this mad-house today!

[Albert Ross]

My Dad's cars....MG ZB Magnette in 2 tone Green.Morris 1000 2 door in black When in Bermuda a Karmann Ghia in Blue 1970?Austin 1100 in white (5 door)Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint in WhiteVolvo P1800S in RedVW K70 in WhiteWhen in Mauritius a Toyota Corolla in Red 1974/5MK3 Cortina 2000E in BronzeMk4 Cortina 1.6L in WhiteMk4 Cortina 2.0GL in BlueMk2 Granada 2.3 GL in BeigeVolvo 244 DL in MaroonOpel Senator 2.5 in WhiteVauxhall Senator 3.0 in Grey MetallicMerecedes 200 1969 in Red/Primer (I bought him this one for his birthday)vc

[shite_meister]

I'm sure all of us have great memories of shite, it may well be the main reason some of us have the cars we do. Due to my age most of my shite memories are from the mid-late eighties, I own a 1988 325i Sport which would've been a really nice bit of kit 'back in the day' as they say but I just don't remember them at the time, I can remember the E21 which was a previous generation but maybe I was into my old shite even then.Freight Rover, I remember me old man borrowed one of the massive jobbies and I went with him on a trip and the roof would make this awfull banging noise as it flexed...which it did constantly.The old man had a couple of Princesses (Princess'?) but for me as a kid it was Rovers that I liked, SD1s were like catnip to me, the old man had a series one and I was in awe when I saw a series 2 in Bolton one night. Also remember the 800 and 200 when they were current and had been in many a Montego. I do remember thinking that Rover P6s looked like a bag of shit but I bloody love them now. I've managed to have a few of the cars that I liked as a kid, had loads of SD1s but now I'm fed up with the constant battle with them, Some of the cars I wanted but haven't had is a mk1 Rover 827 Vitesse-I really loved these and still remember a British Racing Green one driving up the road in Leamington Spa, saw a minter here t'other day an' all, and a Ford Sierra 2.9 Ghia 4x4 Estate and an Escort mk3 Eclipse in that nice metallic blue they did.

[dollywobbler]

Oh I'm so with you there! A Rover 827 Vitesse fastback in bright red please! (I think it's Tony Pond's fault - if you don't know why, head for You Tube!)

[shite_meister]

Oh I'm so with you there! A Rover 827 Vitesse fastback in bright red please! (I think it's Tony Pond's fault - if you don't know why, head for You Tube!)

 

There you go!

 

Holy shit, I think I really need a Rover 827 Vitesse!

[scruff]

God - where to start.Dad was a builder and had various shitters over the years - earliest I can remember was a Mk1 Escort estate in yellow. He then got a ex Gas Board HA van in which I was transported (in my pushchair). Then came a Chevanne and a yellow Volvo estate. There was a completely shit Triumph 2500 and a even worse white Mini which must have been archaic as I can remember it going in to have the suspension pumped up. These two were replaced by a two-door Escort Mk3 estate which was written off and then changed for ex-grandparents light blue A reg Mazda 626, which got smacked by a Golf and thereafter had two brown doors on the passenger side. My grandfolks had replaced that 626 with a newer 626 coupe thing - D632 RGS I think it was. Next came a pair of Ford Cortina P100s (WWV 493Y and C731 DMJ) which were true shitters, the C reg one had a 2.3 V6 in it which when knackered was binned for the boggo 1.6 After that we had a Escort Mk3 1.6 auto Ghia in blue which was gorgeous, B260 XYH and mum had a mk2 Fiesta which wasn't so nice (and it was gold). Then came a mk1 Jetta and after that onto Land Rovers..My grandfolks had some brilliant snotters over the years. Dad's mum had a mint Granada mk1 3.0 that caught fire, I can remember them getting a brand new mk4 Escort as well before the Mazdas. On mum's side Nan had a Fiat 500, a 127 in lime green, then a russet brown Dolomite 1300 that went on for years and by the end had a fully grassfibred and brush painted nose cone. Grandad in the meantime had some kwality workhorses including an SJ410 van which was called upon to tug a 10 ton traction engine out of its shed on several occasions, he also had a Datsun Cabstar with wooden dropsides on the rear body and a 4WD Datsun pickup which I am sure was called a Supercab or something - B699 MCD - and then again onto Landies.

[shite_meister]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

 

Sorry!!!

[Station]

We weren't that rich growing up and had a succession of shite cars.From what I remember my dad had:Hillman Avenger in blue - I remember those L shaped rear lights,Ford Escort mk1 van painted in emulsion blue - he fitted a Webasto sunroof,Peugeot 104 in silver - packed in six people to go to the beach once,Fiat van in red - my mum bought a black toy cat, which my dad still has in his current car (because it looked like Postman Pat's van),Austin Ambassador - beige interior,Opel Ascona - the coolest car he had, the horn used to pull out and he stored his false teeth in here,Rover SD1 2600 - actually, this was the coolest. The doors sagged. BL shite.More recently, he has managed to spend over 1000 on cars, but we have never actually had a new car. In my youth, he has borrowed cars to take us on holidays and stuff. I respect my folks as they brought us up with nothing, and managed to keep us in food and clothes and massive xmas presents, they only ever thought about us (which was hard to imagine at the time). He once borrowed my cousin's red Capri which was nearly new. I absolutely loved it. He has recently had a Toyota Estima which was awesome, but horrific on diesel, a Fiat Ulysse which was 100% horrid, and a current Fiat Brava which I have driven once and is just not to my taste - I dislike Fiats.I want to buy my da a decent car at some point, like a Merc or something.

[scruff]

Opel Ascona! I forgot that one! Gramps had a brill green saloon, VFX 515S, a bloody superb bit of kit - I reckon he would still have it today. The clutch went and a mate of his who was in Autobahnstormers swapped it with him for a Renault 21.

[Guest Kyle]

I remember all of the cars my old bastard had from when I was crawling, onwards.from 1969 to 1979 he had...300E van with cartoon characters painted on the sides1967 Morris 1100Mini van DOA 442CWhite Mk3 Zephyr 4 with a gold tutankhamun on the bonnetVarious Mk1 Transits and Bedford CA'sVictor 101 estateAnglia saloons and vansPurple Mk2 Cooper SOpel Rekord 1900 estate TCA917J1969 Bond Equipe 2ltr convertible POC 8GMazda B1600 pick upLand Rover Safari XWP 399GWolseley 16/60Mini estate x 4Viva estate KHO 401LTransit GVP 123DAlfasud Mk1 CavalierImp vanCorsairMk1 Escort van COA 221KRenault 12 estateFrom 1980 to 1989....Triumph 2000 Mk2 Rover 2000 manual HDM 526DBedford HA CEA 517JMorris 1800 SHonda Civic Mk4 Cortina estateAvenger estate.Then he started wrecking my cars instead.

[shite_meister]

I remember all of the cars my old bastard had

[Guest Kyle]

You're lucky, you didn't have to grow up calling that kiddy fiddling bag of shite "dad"He didn't have bad taste in cars though

[seth]

I saw an 800 Vitesse today in the B&Q car park! My fondest childhood memories are of my dad's hopped up SD1 Vitesse

[Volksy]

My fossils tend to keep their cars quite a while, so didnt have that many. Dad had a shitter whilst Mum always got a new one.Dad:Sunbeam Alpine, Yellow - SoldMazda 818 Coupe, Metallic Blue - Written offCitroen GSx2, White - Ran into the ground then sent to the AuctionsAlfa Romeo Guilietta 1.8, Black - Rotted awaySeat Ibiza 1.2L, Black - Traded inSeat Ibiza 1.2XL, Metallic Blue - Traded inPeugeot 106XL, Red - Traded inHonda Jazz, Metallic Blue - Still got.Mum:Fiat 500, Navy Blue - Rotted awayMini 1000, Beige - Traded inFiat 127, Brown - Written offFiat Panda 'Comfort', Red - Traded inMums fave was the Fiat 500, she was unconsolable when it failed its MOT and the local garage said that it was so rotten there actually wasn't anything to weld to!My Dads was the Alfa which, apart from the galloping rot, he loved so much. First car I ever went over 100mph in, four up on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans, sadly both my Bro and I were so car sick on that holiday down to spain, that the car never smelt the same again!

[Station]

Did anyone have mate's whose dad had a bit of money and bought decent cars.My mate's dad had a silver Escort Ghia and it was sort of a head turner to us kids as he seemed to talk the 'Ghia' badge up like it was something awesome, and he claimed the wood trim was real.Anyway, he sold the Ghia and then bought a new mk2 Astra GTE in blue. It was stunning it really was - the thing that made me laugh was he got rid of it shortly afterwards because it was -too fast-! This is more relevant now as I have the same C20XE engine in my car and my dad has only driven it once as he says the same thing!Another mate's dad had a Mazda mk1 RX7. He wasn't known for his lavish collection of cars afterwards (Cortina, Metro, and Fiesta), but this is pretty awesome.My next door neighbour's dad had an MG Montego in that 'Rover Metallic Blue'. Was really nice inside, and a generally nice looking car. Shame you don't see them around now.

[Pete-M]

My dad was the motor trader who always tended to have nice motors, but also had his 'Autoshitey' tendencies. Had some style though...First car I remember was his yellow 3.0 GT XLR Capri 'XMB 2J" I think it was. I remember it parked in the showroom next to a 1600 GT XLR and it just loomed. I have always wanted one, and probably always will.Next early memory was being taken to the nursery in three different E type Jags over about the space of a week, and being utterly mortified even at nursery age by the last E-type being replaced by an Opel Commodore Coupé. Sad day, that.Another regular favourite of my dads was the P6 3500 Rover, he must have had 100 or so while I was a kid, the one I remember most was a Mexico brown 3500S - NFF 355K was the reg. Then there was the six months or so that he ran a BMW 2500 saloon, that was a nice thing. Silver with blue trim.There was the brand new Cortina 2000E 'Olympic' and the special order black Granada 3.0 Ghia S manual. A multitude of ex-plod Granada 3.0S and Consul GTs - I remember a holiday in Colwyn Bay on the day the Daily Star was launched, we stayed in the "Hotel 70 Degrees" and dad was bladdering the Granada all the way from Liverpool because he had the cop speedo fitted in the binnacle and was wondering just how fast a Granada could go..There were a few GSs and CXs, numerous Peugeots - normally 305s, 505s and the occasional 604.I crashed my dads P5B Coupé at the age of nine. He'd not put it in Park properly and left the engine running. Dipshit here was mooching through all the buttons and found one marked "Tool Kit".. I pressed it and the tool kit shot out and knocked it into 'R' sending me down a hill, in the passengers seat, not being able to reach the umbrella handbrake until stopped by a rather large bollard. The crash didn't hurt, but my dad didn't half give me a crack for that... I don't blame him.There was the heather pink Jag XJ6 S1 that my dad, unforgivably took a Maxi as part-ex against. I loved that Jag, the colour was suspect but the car was ace.The brown SD1 3500 he had when they first came out made me feel like my dad was King of the World, even with gold velour. The black V8-S he had later was sex on wheels.He had a phase of the finest shite for a while, a succesion of Talbot Solara 'Minx' for some reason, a brace of green 1.5 Horizons, a red S reg VX 4/90, he had a beige quartic wheeled Allegro on the day Elvis died, quite a few Peugeot 304s, a perversion towards Renault 20s and 30s (I can't wait to try the one RatDat has when its finished), a few rubber bumper MGBs and Midgets.He'd have loved this site...

[r.welfare]

My dad's had company cars for the last 30 years or so (the only car he's purchased himself since 1978 is the Accord my wife has now), but the early ones were real crud; hand-downs from more senior people before they limped off to the auction house after 3 years. I remember a run of Marina 1.3 Supers in pretty much all the colours they did, each one lasting 3 months or less, over the course of 18 months or so. After that he got a promotion and received his first brand-new car, a Morris Ital 1.3L in Royal Blue (drool). Then followed a Princess 2 1700L, a Mk1 Sierra 1.6L (with the dangly mirrors), then more Sierras, Cavaliers Mk2 and Mk3 and so on and so forth.My mum had three Ladas while I was a kid - that was not fun. 1200 Estate, brand-new Riva 1200L, then a brand-new Samara 1300. When I was old enough to drive, I convinced them to trade in for an ex-daily rental Rover Metro, thank God.

[Father Ted]

Dads first brand new car became my second motor in the form of 1300ccs of 1.3L rust on wheels.

My first car was also one of dads old ones (a h reg ADO16 also in 1300 guise).

Sadly I will be clearing out dads rather extensive range of tools shortly including some kit to pump up the hydrolastic suspension units of BLMC bilge. Still, I will get my hands on his King Dicks so there is some consolation I suppose.

 

Other childhood reminiscences are of grandparents with a succession of old shitters, Viva HA's, Renner 4's, Renner 8's Hilman Super Minx (with very weird ingition barrel set up as it kept geting nicked so in the end granddad ripped out the barrel and moved it to a pair of switches, one on the dash and one under it - flick one, power on, flick two starter spins, stop flick one off again - simples.

Possibly the fondest shitter was dads ex grandfathers delivery Bedford HA van with some windows put in the rear side pannels and a seat rescued from the scrapper bolted inthe back, fitted with child reins in place of a seatbelt - feel the Kwolity - must have a look for some pictures of that one.

[shite_meister]

Other childhood reminiscences are of grandparents with a succession of old shitters

Grandparents were always great for old shitters, my favourites were an Orange Allegro Vanden Plas they had untill the early 1990s and the other lot had a Peugeot 504 untill about ten years ago when some conning dirty twat took advantage of my Grandmother when her husband had just died and generally took the piss getting it off her then smashed it to bits weeks after I remember that both cars were exceptionally smooth and in fantastic condition probably due to low use, being garaged and well serviced.

[Alpineandy]

Around the age of 7 or 8 (69/70) I can remember coming home from school to 7 Renault 4CVs on the driveway (and along side the house) in various states of disrepair

[seth]

Around the age of 7 or 8 (69/70) I can remember coming home from school to 7 Renault 4CVs on the driveway (and along side the house) in various states of disrepair

Fab! My Grandparents were Escrot drivers on both sides of the family. Mum's dad had a 2 door Mk 2 I think and dad's dad a 4 door, also a Mk2. Mum's parents lived close by and used to cart myself and my bro around occasionally - I remember bouncing around in the back of the Escort on particularly bad roads.My dad's SD1's (first 3500SE then Vitesse) were the best cars he'd owned since selling his Mk2 Jag to buy the house when my parents wed. I've vague recollections of the Triumph 2000 estate that must have gone when I was maybe 4. That was followed by some truly rusty Datsun estate shite for a number of years though there were a couple of company Mk 2 granadas around at times too.

[michiel]

I don't really have any stories (shite memory...) but fond memories of lying sideways on the rear seat of the GS Break (less fun when the exhaust went, noisy as hell) and the 1981 2-door Carina that went sideways in the snow - whoops! (first and last rwd after a whole bunch of Citroëns). I think my dad's car history went something like:-Some Heinkel and Vespa scooters before the kids came along (my mum still has a scar from the exhaust)-Neckar Fiat 1100-Taunus 12M - both company cars, after that: -A couple of small Fiats-2CVs-2x Ami Break (I think I was born when the second one was around)-and a GS Break or 2, most of which were new and kept for about 2 years, then onto used cars:-Carina-2 D-Kadetts, one orange, one burgundy-2 VW Polos from the early 1990s(-and then back to France for the third Kangoo now, all new).I should check out the photo albums when I'm home next time, can't remember if my grandparents drove anything interesting (can't really remember the grandparents themselves actually).

[Dukestar25]

My dad changed his cars less frequently than I do now but he still had a fair few so here's the ones I can (vaguely) remember:Triumph Herald (year unknown)Ford Prefect (year unknown)Standard Ensign (ditto)Ford Cortina 1300 Deluxe (F-reg. Later given spotlights, rostyle wheels and a tune up so was more like a povvy 1600E)Ford Consul/Granada ( N-reg I think. It was definitely blue though)Triumph 2.5pi (L-reg, ex-police)Renault 20 TL (X-reg and smelled of fish)VW 'Jeans' Beetle (S-reg Fred Flintstone special )plus two Honda H100's and a 250 dream twin.

[Heep]

One of my earliest memories is of family shite...I recall in 1987 (when I was just 3 years old), my Mom had the bronze/gold 1983 Mazda 626 5-door (with funky 3-parallel-line alloys) that Dad had bought new but passed to her when he got a new '87 Accord. It was parked in the driveway one day while a friend of Mom's was over with her old Dodge Aspen, parked beside the 626. When she was going to leave, the Aspen wouldn't start, dead battery. Our neighbour was walking down the street so Mom asked if he could help, so he brought down some jumper cables and hooked the Aspen to the 626 and got it going. I still want one of those 626s...I also remember well that '87 Accord, which had flip-up headlamps (same as the ones you guys got on the Aerodeck version). My sister and I would run out into the garage every morning when he was leaving and every evening when he got home to watch the headlamps go up or down. I remember asking Dad once where the button was that flipped the lights but he said he wouldn't tell me because I'd be sitting out in the car all day, flipping them up and down and up and down (which was entirely true). It wasn't until well after he traded that car in in '91 that I realized they just flipped up automatically when you switched on the lights...Finally, I remember well the replacement for Mom's 626, which was a blue 5-door 1987 Chevrolet Sprint (a.k.a. Suzuki SA-310/Cultus/Swift), with 3-speed autobox. We called it Big Blue. I'd love to have one of these as well, but of course I'd prefer a 3-door with a manual box. Still see some of the '89+ ones around but I never see those '83-'88 ones anymore.

[Split_Pin]

My dad had company cars when I was little so they werent of interest to me then, although definetley shite now.2 Cortina MK5 estatesVolvo 340Cavalier MK2 Estate, more modern stuff thereafter.My mum did have a rather shabby green Mini Clubman estate however, S-reg. Even at 4 I remember Daddy_L filling the rusty rear door bottoms with plod. However, it was my uncles 2 cars he had during the 80's which I always loved travelling in. White Victor FE estate, blue vynl interior - GR8 for sliding on going round corners totally unrestrainedReplaced in 1987 by a R-reg red Cortina MK4 with beige vynl roof. Ex taxi, prob mega cheap /miles but he made it last till 1990, when the front suspension collapsed.My parents neighbours had some quality motors too, such as a maroon Datsun Sunny (last of the RWD ones), yellow Avenger, green Hillman Hunter (strange handbrake location!), red Toyota Celica et al.

[Guest Kyle]

Just think of the lists going up here from our kids in a few years time

[binhoker668]

My brother has been informed. Scanning (hopefully) has began again in earnest - he's he photo holder.

But otherwise, is this the right time to exhume this thread?

http://autoshite.commlm/forum/viewtopic.ph ... ght=#39019

[STUNO]

I go back a bit further tham most of you I think Fathers parents never had a carMothers parents always bought new1934 Plymouth1939 Plymouth1950 Humber Snipe1960 Snipe1963 SnipeI also have a photo of G-father on his horse before cars Fathers carsPre war a Morris 8about 1945 a Vauxhall 12/6the rest were all bought new1951 Prefect1953 Velox1955 Velox1956 Zephyr (mk2)1958 Zephyr1961 Zephyr1963 Zephyr (mk3) (badly damaged in a high speed accident but repaired written off by mother a week after we got it back from the repairers)1965 Super Minx1969 Hunter1975 Datsun 180B1979 Toyota Cressida (written off by Mother)1981 Cressida1989 Corona Liftback (Carina to you)We sold the Corona after his Death in 1991 and I often saw it parked in a nearby town. Went thrugh there yesterday and had a glance at where it was always parked and IT WAS THERE . Thats 18 years later.Also in 1951 G-father bought 2 cars in UK while on holiday, a Velox and a Jowett Javelin and brought them to NZ as personal baggage. The profit from these probably paid most of the holiday. The Javelin was used to tour Europe as well. He also came back with various Hillmans in later years!Mother had a succession of Corollas and managed to write one of those off too! She still owns the 1991 1300 hatch she got after the Corona wentbut it has been used by one of my sisters since Mother forgot how to drive and we had to take it off her for the satety of the general public and herself !

[Negative Creep]

My dad had a Sierra with a built in phone, which in the mid-late 80's was pretty damn cool. I do remember as a kid trying to use it to ring home and not understanding why my mum wasn't on the other end (having not figured out what area codes were). He also had a MG Montego which he once took to a heady 120 on the A2. Other than that it's been painfully dull as far as motors are concerned, a fact I'm tying hard to reverse!