My history of shonky motors and bad life decisions

[xkjagnz]

I have just found an old geek stick with some pics from my motoring past, I haven't go pics of everything I have owned (although I expect I can find some actual paper photos at home of some)

I came to cars fairly late as I preferred motorbikes but started off badly and sort of stayed there!

 

So First Motor was A Blue Allegro 1500 (no pic)

Followed by a Beige Cavalier 1.6 (again no pic)

Then I split from wifey and bought a 1962 Carmine Red Wolseley 16/60 (again no pic) 

and concurrently the worst Series 3 XJ6 in the universe (I also had a Morris Minor Traveller at this time)

So a pretty poor showing so far

 

Then I met my present wife and decided the 140mile round trip commute wasn't really feasible in either a 40 year old Wolseley or a JAAAAAAAAG (the Jag actually decided this for me one morning on the M27 by losing all its oil pressure and seizing!)

 

So I needed something but it had to be cheap!

In came this turd of an XR3i

Initially it was black with silver go faster stripes but my neighbour reversed into it the day I bought it and stove in the passenger door

so I peeled the rest of the stickers off as I could only get a plain black door - then boredom set in and this happened!!!

Yes that is sticky backed plastic! And that is us leaving our wedding!

Bonus though I never needed to show my ID card or car pass to get into the military base I was at!

 

I ran this pile of poo for about 2 years when one day I decided to do a coolant flush -- big mistake-- The day after OMGHGF - I limped off the motorway (M27 again) into a small town left it at the side of the road and bought a light blue MG Metro sight unseen from a newsagent window (no pic)

I was about 2 hours late home that night

6 months later the Metro died and I replaced it with a Black Ford Orion 1.6 (possibly (and sadly) the best car I had ever owned up to this point)

 

Round about this time I had a flirtation with some truly awful kitcars I had a light blue Ginetta G26 and wifey had an NCF Diamond (the one they built as a demonstrator)

This very one as previously seen on this site

 

The Ginetta shit itself on the way to Scotland as I had been posted there, the prop shaft snapped and came through the floor as I passed through Lockerbie!

 

At around this point I saw something I fancied, funds were good and SWMBO said I could get it if I got rid of the Wolseley (which was still sat in our garage)

So I got this

It is an Aristocat XK120 (Kitcar based on an xj6) these pics were taken much later when I was selling it

 

The old fella selling it had done all the hard work but it needed finishing and ground clearance issues sorted

I did drive it to work a few times but the "no roof" and the fact I only got about 10mpg out of it meant it was really a weekend faffing about car

 

Around this time I wrote off the Orion and replaced it with a Red Sierra (which lunched its cambelt and bent the valves when I lent it to the boy!)

 

So time for something new

SAABs

I had 3 but only have a picture of the last one (its in the Jag background)

A metallic poo brown 900

a metallic light blue 9000i 2.3 (which I got dirt cheap as the guy said the clutch was on its way out (turned out to just be the clutch slave cylinder seal))

and then a dark blue 9000 2.3t

mean while the wife had a Hilux Surf 2.4d

 

Then one night after drink had been taken I bought this

 

A 450 slc,the owner was getting divorced and was selling all his cars at rock bottom

 

He had done all the hard work (welding, respray etc) just needed the interior refitting and glass putting in and a bit of love, also came with most of a spare car (no shell but all the good bits)

Best bit I got it for 2300 pounds! worst bit - it was in Kent and obviously not driveable

Now I hadn't told the wife about it so it couldn't go home so I took a day off and rented a trailer and towed it to work in Gosport (HMS Sultan)

 

I have to say it wasn't a hell of a lot of fun towing it with the SAAB as it was pretty heavy and the steering was pretty light at times!

Anyway played with it at work for a couple of weeks

bought some new (to me) wheels and got it an MOT/tax and turned up at home with it

 

The first set of alloys I bought (AMGs) were too big so I found some smaller ones and by the time I had sold the originals and the big ones I was in profit

I also sold a lot of the spares from the spares car and covered the whole purchase price (back when ebay was good)

 

Any way at this point we decided to emigrate so everything was sold in a 6 week frenzy (apart from the SAAB which I left in airport parking after registering to a fake address

tbc

[xkjagnz]

Part 2

So on to New Zealand

We arrived on a Thursday after 36 hours travelling and the Navy very kindly gave us a rental car for a week (and a house for a year while we were building!)

I can't remember what it was ( a Hyundai Getz or Daihatsu shoe or something)

 

On the Saturday morning we went out for a look round and coffee and Jill said "let's pop in that car yard and see what they have and how much"

We had decided we wanted a luxobarge of some sort (Jaaaag, BMW 7 or similar)

She saw this!

9 years old S320

I was all "we can't afford that!!" turns out the owner was emigrating and just wanted the outstanding finance paid off

$27000 (about 9000 pounds at the time) Being a git I managed to wangle a new set of tyres at that price too!

 

As they say Happy Wife, Happy Life

I didn't need a car as was going to sea but on my return I bought a white Subaru Legacy 250T that promptly OMGHGF'd on me

 

So I passed it on and bought this

an absolute hoot to drive and only $2500!

A little while later we (she) decided we needed an estate (station wagon) so I bought another Subaru Legacy in Green - this one turned out to be reliable (if a bit boring)

 

After that this came up at a perfect time (we had family out and needed a 7 seater

 

 

A Mercedes 300 TE it was owned by an airline pilot, immaculate and low mileage $5000

I beat him down a bit and drove this for about 3 years until the gearbox started playing up.

Then this came up on TradeMe really disgustingly cheap

Really must wash it sometime

 

Finally we have this too

 

So there you have it , some shite, some very shite, some not so shite, I am sure I have missed some cars off of the list (I recall another cavalier and 2 montegos at some point) but there you go

 

 

 

[nacho man]

Whatrs the w8 like? always fancied a blast in one.

[spartacus]

That's not a bad showing by all accounts, 11/10 from me.

[fiatdaft]

Love the w8

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lacquer Peel]

Whatrs the Rexton like? always fancied a blast in one.

 

Edited for me.

[xkjagnz]

Whatrs the w8 like? always fancied a blast in one.

Frightening, especially when the brakes fail completely

It is very quick and has now tried to kill me on 3 occasions (all brake/wheel related)

1. A few days after service/WOF the passenger side front  inner wall was worn through by a brake pipe as the garage had failed to notice it was rubbing post service (they also didn't notice the non existent pad material and 5mm past their minimum discs! cnuts!!)

2. Brake failure (thankfully at low speed) due to burst hose (front pass side again)

3.Two broken alloys (again both pass side (are we seeing a pattern here?)) due to grand canyon sized pothole

 

Otherwise it is comfortable (tho the mrs finds the seats a bit snug) and a bit thirsty

[xkjagnz]

Edited for me.

That's the wifes car and hardly gets used, it sips diesel with an elegance usually only seen in royal palaces, for a donk it is quiet and smooth and it is ginagerous. The dog has difficulty getting in it and she's part kangaroo!

We got it cheap as we didn't trade in, the dealer was relocating, it was the demonstrator, and I like a good haggle

[STUNO]

Hilo Home Cookery !!! Bought some stuff(ing) there a few weeks ago !!!! Visiting my Nephew in that big new watery estate nearby.

Rellies in Tauranga had a Blue W8 estate until a few years ago, and there can't be a lot of them about here. What's the chance.

And I like your choice of transport too..

[xkjagnz]

Hilo Home Cookery !!! Bought some stuff(ing) there a few weeks ago !!!! Visiting my Nephew in that big new watery estate nearby.

Rellies in Tauranga had a Blue W8 estate until a few years ago, and there can't be a lot of them about here. What's the chance.

And I like your choice of transport too..

At first I was ?????? but see in the background of the S320

Silverdale (the car place is shut down now I believe) at the time we were in a Navy house in Takapuna, now live up South Head  25 k out of Helensville

As to W8 I saw 4 others in one 10 km drive on the Shore shortly after buying it (3 saloons and 1 estate (plus mine!)) so I think they all ended up in NZ!