A day out

[Bren]

On Wednesday I headed for Ambergate in Derbyshire. My other half got me a birthday present - a voucher for drive dad's car. I had an itch to scratch.

The itch was this.

I always wanted a mk 1 granada. I have only ever driven mk 3's. As well as being the oldest car I have ever driven ( it was registered a few months after I was born) it was the first time I had driven anything with an essex V6.

First impressions were how airy the cabin is thanks to lots of glass and slim pillars. The engine fired up straight away as it was warm but died after a few yards - after this it was perfect.

Select D and off you go. I was directed towards some cones and did a bit of a slalom - the large diameter but thin wheel was a bit strange at first. After this you go on a course around the industrial estate. The engine wasn't intrusive but noisy enough to let you know it was working however at no point are you travelling quickly. The brakes needed a bit of a shove but were ok.

My other half and Charlie, my youngest tagged along. My late father in law had previously owned a sahara beige 3.0 GL so for my wife it was a bit of nostalgia.

This car had the 2.5 and while not being that powerful would still be useable in modern traffic - however the lack of fuel economy would no doubt be an issue these days.

Charlie enjoyed himself.

We had some photographs taken. We also visited the museum.

The museum has a good selection of cars - over a hundred. There are plenty of cars for you to drive - stag, rolls royce, SD1 vitesse and quite a few others.

Verdict? A very enjoyable day.

And I would really like to own a mk 1 granada.

[Wibble]

Sounds like a perfect day to me. Just wish it wasn’t so far away for me. Glad you enjoyed it.

[bezzabsa]

That Red Vauxhall looks lush

[Bren]

2 minutes ago, bezzabsa said:

That Red Vauxhall looks lush

It was a 2000SL with manual box.

[Wibble]

Dad had a couple of FD Victors before his first company car, a Mk3 Cortina. Interesting they’re side by side here. His last FD was a J reg estate, 2000 SL manual in metallic green and I’m sure they had an umbrella handbrake.

[Matty]

I've been @Bren (didn't drive owt). Not that I do a lot of museums but I thought it was excellent. There was a properly knackered FB VX4/90 with a world cup Willie sticker that's  made me want one (car obvs) ever since.

[Lord Sterling]

That looked like a great day. I too have a few itches to scratch. Like an SD1 3500, A Granada-Consul similar to the one you drove and an Austin Allegro.

I'm lucky enough to own and have driven a similar car to what my Dad had, a Mk1 Rover Sterling and still own them now. Other cars though I'd like to try are a Mk2 Cavalier and a Renault 14.

[taxi paul]

Excellent day out. 😀

[High Jetter]

A good outing. We get nothing like this dahn sarf

[Popsicle]

I'm fortunate that this place is only 15 miles away, its a really nice place to visit, having not been for a while I didn't realise there was the option to drive the cars now. Cheers @Brenyou've just given me the perfect idea for Mrs P's birthday next month.

[Bren]

1 minute ago, Popsicle said:

I'm fortunate that this place is only 15 miles away, its a really nice place to visit, having not been for a while I didn't realise there was the option to drive the cars now. Cheers @Brenyou've just given me the perfect idea for Mrs P's birthday next month.

My friend was over the moon to discover you can drive a viva - he wants to book it for his dad.

[Macscrooge]

I really should visit this - it’s less than an hour away 🤷‍♂️