My Dad had...

[Craig the Princess]

The Mk2 Cav love has me remininsing over my Dad's cars growing up.

 

The car that took me home from the hospital was a red Vauxhall Chevette hatchback on a v-plate, If I can find the picture I'll scan it up. I loved that car, Dad sold it when my brother arrived as he needed a little more space and the seat caused him back problems. He replaced that with a horrible shed of a Y-red metalic green Ford Escort, a car that put him off Ford for over 20 years. It never ran properly (at 5-6 years old) and leaked like a sieve. He managed to sell that at a profit to a policeman!

 

That was replaced by a Russet Brown Triumph Dolomite (SGX 37R), I was so excited by the quarterlights that opened! It was the first car he took me with him to buy and was a lot nicer than the mini we looked at the week earlier. That served for many years (and was the first car I drove sitting on his lap doing the steering) before being stolen four times (and always recovered!) the last time it was apparently never the same and soon after engine let go when Dad was in Southampton and it was scrapped on the spot.

 

Dad had a gap of a year without a car at this point (hell for me, even living in London) before the blue Mk2 Caveller turned up. The sheepskin lined gloves and american football in the boot came free with it (great for a 10 year old) and Dad did 30,000 miles in about six years (and I did my first proper drive aged 14). It used to smoke out the town on start up and lead to notes on the windscreen. Also some cnut cut the fuel line and nicked £20 work of petrol after my Dad had filled up, AA bodged it back together and sent us on the way.

 

That was replaced by my Citroen AX before I turned 17, then my brothers Fiesta Mk3 1.1 until it died of rust around the filler neck before my brother got to drive it, then a Rover 600, Rover 400 (OMG HGF killed it) then the same Rover 600 back again..3

 

What cars made you the way you are now when you were growing up?

[Owain-328i]

My parents always had ford's when i was young, and they always bought them new, or nearly new. So my earliest car memories are in mid-late 80's Ford dealers, drooling over the 'Scorpio's' and the Sierra Ghia's, whilst they decided which mk4 Escort they were having lol. When i was a bit older they got into Volvo Estates in the 90's. But as soon as i turned 17, i went straight into 80's Fords and had 5 mk2 Fiesta's, 3 of which were XR2's

[Negative Creep]

There's a photo of me being taken home from the hospital in a mk.1 Astra estate - it was either orange or brown. Other than that a string of company cars, from what I remember:

 

A blue Sieera with a carphone, which was like something form a fricking spaceship

Astra mk.2 in white

Montego (maybe an MG) in British Racing Green

Renault 9

Fiat Uno 1.1 with tweed seats, the car I passed my test in.

Focus2.0 Ghia. He's owned that for nearly 10 years now, and in that time it's remained infuriatingly "I told you not to buy old cars, just look at mine" reliable

 

He did once show me a picture of his first car, a Corsair, wrapped around a lampost

[RedSparrow]

Oooh Ive been on about my family's car history already this evening.

 

From when I was born:

Talbot Horizon

Matra Bagheera

Berkeley

Fordson truck

Lotus Elan+2

Renault 5 x2

Renault 5 GT Turbo

Marina van

Sierra Cosworth x2

Austin Metro

Maestro van

Transit mk1 recovery

Triumph Herald

Mini Cooper mk2

Nissan Micra

Talbot Lotus Sunbeam

Rover 200

BMW 325i

Audi 80

BMW M5

Various ropey 911s

 

He has always worked in the motor trade, the first 2 were when he worked at a Rootes-Talbot dealership.

 

There are more, I will add as I remember!

[dieselnutjob]

A35 van with windows put in the back

Renault 4

Saab 95

Saab 99

Montego turbo diesel

Jeep Cherokee turbo diesel

Seat Toledo

Seat Altea XL

 

From and including the Renault 4 they all pulled caravans. I don't think many Renault 4s pulled a caravan.

From my perpective the Montego was the most comfortable to sit in the back of, and the last of his cars that had to sit in much anyway. It was a shame it rusted because it was a fantastic car in many ways.

 

As second cars he had

Beetle

Renault 4

Metro city

Seat Ibiza mk1 diesel

 

I drove the Metro a lot when I was learning and passed. I got to drive the Montego later on provided a parent was also in the car.

[RoadworkUK]

Well, In '81 I came home from Colchester Maternity Home in a '72 Vauxhall Victor FE. My sister came home in the same car two years later. My abiding memory of that car was my dad welding patches around the headlamps, using bits of old Gold Block tobacco tin.

 

In '85 he was given, for Christmas, my Grandads company car. He had just retired as an accountant with Taylor Woodrow, and they let him either keep or buy for, like, buttons, his Dove Grey Cortina 80. 2.0 GL, TLR284W. The first car I have real memories of. Especially the rumbling rear axle and noisy wipers.

 

But the car he had that gave me more memories than anything else was the Sierra. A 2.0 Ghia, it was another hand-me-down from Grandad, he replaced it with what would later become my first 800. But we got the Sierra in '89 and still had it in the family in 2000, at which point it shared the driveway with a Mondeo Ghia X V6.

 

The Sierra was the first car I spent time on "helping" dad to fix. Things like wheel bearings and bushes failed like clockwork. We had the head off, too, and I joined in grinding the valves when I was 14. This was the car I wanted to inherit. Tragically, it was about 10 years too early for that to happen. R I P A794MEW.

[Lord Sterling]

Green Marina

I've been told that I was ferried around in a Green Austin Marina as new born baby. I've never ever seen this car, my Dad, I dont think, ever took any photos of it. But he is always telling me how it broke down on him one day as he was on his way from Telford to fetch his parents from Heathrow Airport, he had my mums then teenage brother in tow aswell

 

Renault 14TL CAW995T

Next car was certainly one I remember, the Gold Renault 14TL, CAW995T. Fatha_Sterling set about with it with seat covers and neat wheel trims (Which I thought were OE-spec ones as they suited the car down to the ground)

 

Blue Mk1 Sierra

After that was a Blue A-reg mk1 Sierra. I dont remember much about this car apart from it being Blue and a Ford Sierra.

 

Mk4 White Escort Sport

This was eventually traded in for a White Mk4 Escort Sport (Sort of like a toned-down XR3i), though the parents only kept this for 2 weeks as there was apparently alot wrong with it so it was taken back to the seller.

 

Mk2 Cavalier and G-reg Fiesta

The mk2 A-reg Red Vauxhall Cavalier then made an appearence. It stayed with us for a while, until at least 1989/1990 when Fatha_Sterling traded it in for a brand-new G-reg Mk3 Fiesta (G886KAW) for my mum, however, it was mostly Fatha who used it.

 

Rover Sterling

Fatha+Motha_Sterling then went out and bought a D-reg Rover 825 Sterling D233KYG for my Dad so my mum could have the Fiesta all for herself. The D-reg Sterling was to make a huge impact on me that wouold stay with me forever and the main reason why I got majorly into Rover 800s. Before this car I had never ever been in anything so luxurious, it was so very intriguing, I was so comfortable in this car happily playing with the electric rear seats and windows I felt so lucky and privilaged to be sitting in it. You have to remember this is my first time discovering things like electric windows and leather seats. It felt so effortlessly fast and my Dad looked happy and content commandeering this luxurious comfortable jet of a car.

 

Others

After the 'rents went thier seperate ways it was pretty much back to basics. Mum still had her Fiesta, Fatha bought a Citroen C15 van in Navy Blue as his first car in Belgium.

 

Mum had a few cars after the Fiesta was stolen for the last time and crashed, she had a Greyish-Green mk1 Rover 820i, I quite like this car, it reminded me of the Sterling. Mid way through my teenage years my Mum went without a car for a long time, thenafter I retunred to Belgium having left school, she went and bought the Blue Micra Ally which she still has until this day.

 

Fatha_Sterling has had load of cars, he's hardly ever been without one, I've not seen them all spending time between here and Belgium but the highlights include: Mk3 Escort, Mk1 Honda Integra (First car I drove) mk2 Toyota Corolla, mk2 Polo, E34 BMW 525i, Mazda 626 x2 Nissan Altima (In Kuwait) and more recently the Nissan Primera. Ole Fatha_Sterling did do a spell of buyong and selling cars aswell, but none of those he bought are included.

[trigger]

In '81 I came home from Colchester Maternity .

 

Me too!, but i left in 1980, I don't know what car it was though.

 

My dad's always changed his cars, that's most likely were i get it from, Since I've been born I can remember this VX2300.

 

Me and my dad October 1983. by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

Then he bought a Gold Cortina 2.0 GLS for a short while before selling it for a blue Y reg Cortina 1.6 Crusader which had for a long while, That went for a E reg Escort 1.3 L Estate in Maritime blue which he sold a short while later

 

We then had a nearly new Sapphire 1.8 LX with the full RS bodykit which nearly killed us, the exhaust wasn't made right and didn't clear the kit so all the flumes came into the car and made us fall asleep on the way to Cambridge! That was quickly sold as mum had past her driving test so he bought this Metro on a holiday to North Wales from my Grandad's Vauxhall garage.

 

1988 Austin Metro 1.0 at Feering 1990 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

I remember us driving back along the Horseshoe pass 4 up with a weeks luggage in it back in 1990. Dad hated it so much that it was quickly sold for this Escort which we had for ages 1991-95.

 

Mum and Dad's old Ford Escort 1.3 L by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

That was sold in 1995 for this Escort LX as seen in the back ground here.

 

My old Ford Escort 1.3 Eclipse by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

He sold that in 2000 when mum and dad got divorced and used a B reg Fiesta 1.4L which he sold for £70 to a man who needed a skip before buying my uncles old D reg Sierra 1.8 Estate.

 

He then had a P reg Escort 1.8TD LX from about 2002 to 2009, he only covered 4000 miles in that time and bought this as "it was cheap".

 

Dad's 2002 Ford Maverick 3.0 V6 XLT which is for sale by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

this was sold for the Focus he has now.

 

Before this lot he had a Simca 1000 which he bought new in 1972 (he said it was rubbish), a Rover 2200 TC, a Triumph 2000 which was burnt out (along with a workshop) whilst having welding work done at a local garage, a Mini that he rolled down Colchester high street, a Anglia 105E Estate, a Mk1 Escort Twin Cam, a Hillman Avenger Tiger, a Hillman Hunter, A Morris Marina and I'm sure there's a few other's he's said that he's owned as well!.

 

And my grandad was just as bad as well, he changed his car nearly every week! It's no wonder i like cars after that lot!

[eddyramrod]

Better get a comfy chair, this may take a while!

 

First one I can remember is a Hillman Minx, which I remember grey but my mother said was blue; seems when my dad bought it, trading in his A30, I wouldn't leave the Austin and someone from the garage had to bring the Hillman home and take away the Austin after I went in the house. I would be about 2 years old at this point. I don't remember the incident at all.

After that was the first brand-new one I recall, which was a Goodwood Green Anglia van, XWM 234. He had a business, so the van made sense.

That was followed by GTE 324B, a two-door Corsair 1500, again in Goodwood Green, which was nothing but trouble.

Next up was a Zephyr 4 Mk3, DWM 95C, in Ambassador Blue. I was 6 and my favourite thing on telly was Z-Cars...!

His last new car was HWM 457F, a black cherry Cortina 1500 Super. Not a patch on the big blue Zephyr!

Meanwhile he started keeping a second car, usually a van. There was a pale blue Atlas (very briefly!), a grey Minor van, also briefly, then a Morris 1/2-ton, 802 KF. I remember a 100E Prefect, SXK 803 which I think may have come before the 1/2-ton. There was a second Anglia van too, DWM 242C, in white.

In 1967 there was a major outbreak of foot-and-mouth, which effectively stopped my dad from doing his job; he sold farm machinery, so absolutely had to visit farm after farm. Which was out of the question. When it was over he worked himself into the ground trying to get back what he'd lost, but failed, so the posh car and smart little van had to go. This is where my shite training really began, as from 9 years old I helped him with whatever maintenance he was doing on a succession of cheap old tat.

6279 KB, pale blue 100E Popular;

VKC 225, a grey Minor Traveller;

SCK 781, blue A35 van with seats and windows;

5064 TJ, black A40 (no engine, bought to take the one from the A35 but it never happened);

1108 ED, green 300E van (I still have the front number plate, it's on my wall here );

JEV 463C, Goodwood Green Mk1 Cortina, again a 1500 Super but with 2 doors this time, and a column shift! This was the first car I drove, on the beach; it came from Ginger McCain, who'd been using it to lead the racehorses on the beach. Almost certainly including Red Rum, as this was 1974.

VGR 990, another 2-door Mk1 Cortina, but pre-facelift this time, and only a 1200;

213 FUY, a grey A60. Second one I drove, on a campsite....

ATD 315A, Triumph Herald in Valencia Blue;

350 DYG, another Herald in black and white;

573 DOU, a blue Mini van with rear seat conversion;

HKB 456D, another Minivan in a fleshy-sand sort of colour.

And now we're getting well into my teens, and I started driving.... so perhaps the rest belongs in another thread.

[Tayne]

My dad doesn't like cars, he thinks that they are a waste of money.

He always looks out the front when arrive and asks "what are you driving today?" He'll then ask lots of "how much" type questions and if I answer his response is...

 

"HOW MUCH? You must be mad."

 

I just don't tell him anymore.

 

He was a mobile plant glazier for years so had company luton vans.

Apparently there was a Bedford CF, but I don't remember that, several VW LT28s (and an LT35 I think) and a smiley face Transit that needed a gearbox at 14k miles.

He managed to get the "car" from work on a few occasions.

The first was a metallic grey mk2 Sirrocco, followed by a Mk2 Golf GTi that had been converted into a van by merely putting panels inplace of the rear windows. I believe there was some trouble with HMRC over that one.

He also had a mate with an Audi Coupe (Gene Hunt shape but 2wd) in black which I remember going to Doune motor museum in.

 

Since he retired he's had this Blingo which served well up to its 10th birthday.

Reliability by Tayne, on Flickr

When it started to give trouble he bought a brand new one.

In silver.

 

 

EDIT>

The only car I remember my mum having was one of these

Polski Fiat 125 P by Chaos Creator, on Flickr

 

Obviously her Polsky-Fiat was right hand drive and on Scottish plates (I only found out recently that there had been an FSO dealer in the village I grew up in), though it had same black vynl seats and was old english white.

[TagoraSX]

1972 Hillman Hunter DL from 1974 to 1988.

1979 Chrysler Hunter Super from 1988 to 1991.

1981 Opel Ascona 1.6S 1991 to 1996.

 

All driven into the ground

[jakebullet]

My old man's a f'n idiot, so used to keep buying triumph dolomites and wondering why they rusted to nothing.

 

Later on he got a triumph acclaim, and would constantly tell people it was the best triumph ever. Can't think why.....

[Pete-M]

I couldn't begin to list the stuff my dad had. It would run into thousands.

 

First car I ever went in was an Austin A35.

 

The cars he drove when I was growing up were a pretty random selection. The ones that stick in my mind were mainly the kind of stuff I like now, Rover P6Bs, Range Rovers, Mk4 Cortinas, Jags. A Jag was a special occasion, the P6s were normally used to tow the boat (at considerably unwise speeds) when we went sailing (A Fireball, if anyone is into sailing dinghys), a Wuvvum spec BMW 2500 was around for a while, as was a CX Pallas. A couple of GSs and a GSA took up driveway room for a while, followed by a load of new Peugeot Talbot stuff. His last car was a Renault 30 TS.

 

Mum had (amongst many others) a few 1100s, early '60s Skoda Octavia, a new Mk1 Fiesta 1100 Sport, a new Peugeot 104 ZR, a couple of R5 TSs, a Renault 12 which she still says was her favourite car, a new Mk1 Golf 1300, early Toyota Celica 1600ST, Escort Mk2 van, couple of Mk1 Polos and a Nova Merit saloon.

[Tayne]

the P6s were normally used to tow the boat (at considerably unwise speeds) when we went sailing (A Fireball, if anyone is into sailing dinghys)

 

A friend of mine had a Fireball, it might have been called Norfolk and Chance.

I say might as I'm not sure which of the many dinghies was called Norfolk and Chance.

I went out with on one of those dingies, only once though as I feel that boats require a cabin as minimum equipment whereas he considers a stern to be optional.

 

Andy's 505 by Tayne, on Flickr

[Pete-M]

Dads was serial number 2302 I think, about a 1965 or so model.

 

Looked very similar to this.

 

 

I'd love one, but it's not practical at the moment. I do keep spotting them on ebay and being very tempted though.

 

Right, i'll shut up now as this thread is not about old boats.

[andrew e]

Hmmm... When I was od enough to go to school (1979) the old man had a 1972 green Marina 1.8 coupe, I remember it had a vinyl roof, which it was disclosed years later was because it had been rolled and crash repaired This was replaced by a 1980 1.7 vermillion Marina saloon about 1984, then in in 1986 my dad bought my uncles old company Granda GL in graphite grey at 3 years old for £2100. This electric seated beauty was enough to get my Dad interogated for being on the fiddle (If your a dustman, don't turn up to work in the best car in the car park!). I remember this replaced by the last of the Monza shape 1986 Carlton CDI three years later; it had low profiles and rear air shocks with a shrader valve in the boot. It was that rich deep red colour. This then got traded in 1990 for a year old Astra CD in silver back in 1990. Of course the paint fell off the roof, but it was bloody quick being an 1.8 injection!

 

Having left the council that year to go for broke, an ex-butchers 1984 Sherpa arrived (fully glassfibred inside and stinking) followed by a 5 year old 1986 dropside Sherpa straight off Sandringham that was a double battery, LSD, strengthed dunlop wheeled 260. I saw it about a few years back. Then Astra got replaced by a very early M reg mark6 Escort LX in that olive green metalic you never see any more, that Escort got replaced by a panther black 97 LX in 1998 after I sold it to my mum!

 

My mum had a pale blue Renault 6 when I was a toddler, upgrading to an orange 104 by the time I went school (which if it was raining, I was allways late because you had to pre heat the ignition with a hair dryer...) we walked if it was dry, I have no idea why we didn't just walk if it was raining! In 1983 a fabulous 1982 beige Fiesta pop replaced it, I remember them cutting a sunroof in it on the drive, I still own the "Stylistic" stripes brochure the man left behind. That went in 1988 replaced by a shite pale yellow 1986 popplus, then onto that Astra.

 

I left home 15 years ago, they have had pretty much newish gear since then.

[outlaw118]

Right, lets see what I can remember!!

First off was a Gilera 175, Pop can't remember if it had a name, but he does remember it having had dropped handlebars as an extra, purchased circa 1958/9.

Next Ford Anglia 100E, Newark Grey. Barried up by him by fitting Town and Country tyres, and painting the wheels with red lead. Nodding dog on back shelf, and a radio!

Mini 1000 next, bought brand new in 1963, tartan red. His brother bought a green one at the same time, and they cruised about looking for bitches for some time. He met Mutha Outlaw while he had this.

Austin A40 next, bought as one year old in 1968, after he'd broken the Mini. This was to be my first car journey, collecting me from Orsett Hospital in late 1969. Incidentally, he was working for Thurrock Council at the time, and had an Austin J4 van as his "company car". Which he rolled

Renault 6TL next on a K plate, 1971. Silver. Ma + Pa and Grandad Outlaw bought one each new, can't remember who had theirs first, but ours was kept til 1974, grandad kept his - "Toby" - till 1983 when he bought a Nissan Sunny GPP302Y. Bro's "hospital car in 1972.

Renault 12TL TVW278N next, bought new from CP Smith in Southend. Horrible green colour, but I'm assured by the olds that it wasn't intentional, and the "sample" looked quite a nice colour. HAd for 4 months, and Fatha rear-ended a MK 1 Escort and nearly wrote it off. Back from menders, after "loan car" was a Marina coupe (which he described later as scarily shit), "Bertha" got hit by a bus. Again fixed, but after some scaffold poles got scraped down the side it was decided that green was unlucky, and it was time to change.

Citroen GSpecial SMM347S, "Bluebell", brushed nylon seats, and the forst car Pop had ever had with a rev-counter. Incidentally, my Uncle Nigel had a Renault 15 WTP388L (?) which had a dash mounted rev-counter that I thought was THA SHIZZ. Anyway, Bluebell carries the dubious honour of being the car that sparked off my motion sickness. Was never a problem before, but I was invariably sick in the back of her. She stayed on the fleet till 1982...

Renault 18TS Estate HKL515V "Sylvia". Lovely bit of kit - so we thought - silver with blue velour interior. My first driving experience in this, in an empty car park somewhere in Devon. Unfortunately about 37 minutes after the warranty expired she broke down in a cloud of steam, and it transpired that the engine block was cracked, and had previously been repaired with silly putty or somesuch. Recon engine fitted at the cost of nigh on £1000, which was serious dough in 1983, she stayed until 1985 when the real "shite" arrived.

Austin Montego B727XVW, 18 months old 1.6L, in Oporto Red. Beige interior, and a biggist bag of shit EVAR. Broke down with alarming regularity, door seals leaked like sieves, and the car I intially learned to drive in. After numerous attempts to fix the never-ending list of issues, they were made an offer they couldn't refuse....

Austin Montego D299TWC in Moonraker blue 1.6HL. Power steering, sunroof, radio cassette. Lovely, 100% reliable, even in the hands of a newly-test-passed Outlaw118, who learnt fairly quickly that these things understeer if you take the piss. Which I did. Cost me a new tyre.....Kept for some time, as was used only occasionally as Pop had bought a 2nd car Renault 4TL RHK595K for his daily commute.

Bought in 1991(?) VW Pisshat 1.8GL, F plate in white, fully colour coded, big(ish) rims, looked the bollox. Went like a snail, and spent most of it's short life with us displaying random warning lights, which upon investigation meant nowt.

Traded in for new VW Golf J981BPU 1.8GL with optional Ronal alloys (15")metallic blue. Didn't drive this much as I had my capri by then and wasn't home much, and didn't really like it to be honest.

Chopped in for Mercedes 190E in the weird purple/brown colour (Boornite?), can't remember the registration. Automatic, slow, but when provoked could be gotten sideways.

Finally, current beast is Mercedes C250TD Estate, on a P, in red. Bought as ex-demo at 6 months old, has only just done 90k, but does illustrate how much things have moved on! Great lump, but the autobox is SOOO annoying...

 

Will try and find some photos and do the "second" car list later.....

[ProgRocker]

Since I was born in 1977 my parents had:

 

1974 Cortina 1600 XL in orangey red with RoStyle sports wheels. I remember sitting in the hard plastic child seat in the centre of the rear bench seat.

1976/77 (well it was definately R reg) Granada 2000 L in diamond white with black vinyl roof whith chrome wheel embellishers and fog lights (almost GL spec with those options)

1979 Vauxhall Royale 2800 in silver with burgandy interior and plenty of wood on the . The nicest car my parents owned. Sadly had be sold as it was too expensive to run. Big drom from a 2.8 to a 1.3 now...

1980 Talbot Horizon 1.3 LS. Horrid little blue tappetty box - hated it. This became the second car when my parents went a little more upmarket with the...

1983 MG Maestro 1600. In silver. I thought that this was a really cool car. Early R series engine, digital dashboard that wouldn't work in hot window and Nicolette McKenzie warning us to put those red seat belts on or of low oil pressure. Surprisingly quite reliable.

1981 Suzuki ST90K pick up truck. The Horizon was traded in for this. Dad used it for work while my mum used the Maestro. Sold after a few years during the 1990s recession. The first vehicle I have ever driven (on an unadopted road).

1986 Vauxhall Carlton 2200i CD in dark blue. First fuel injected car owned by parents in 1993. My 2nd favourite car my parents owned after the Royale. Once I turned 17 and passed my driving test my dad let me drive it on the Norwich Southern Bypass (A47) and I absolutely loved it!!! I was a named driver on the car in late 1996/early 1997 when I was inbetween owning car 1 and car 2. My dad sold the Carlton in late 1997. I wanted to buy it but an £800 insurance quote TPFT put an end to that.

1993 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 California in white with black bumpers. Accident damage repaired car. Dad specified to the guy repairing it that he wanted power steering fitted. Like the Horizon, a come-down in the prestige stakes after a big Vauxhall before it. Didn't bother me too much by then as I has my own car.

1997 Renault Megane Scenic 1.6e RT in burgandy. Parents wanted something that was easier to get in and out of. Reasonably good but there was an issue with the gearbox...gears didn't engage too early.

1999 Renault Scenic 1.6 16v Sport (Alize?) in green. First car they had with aircon. At least the gearbox worked in this one. Had a slightly odd burgandy interior but I actually like this car. Very comfortable and went incredibly quickly.

2005 Ford Focus C-Max 1.6 TDCi in blue. Their first diesel engined car. My dad was very diesel-phobic, as I was once but as diesel engine technology has come on, he (and I) have come around to it. Seems like a decent car but I'm very underwhelmed by the austere black and angular interior styling and flat seats. I never thought I would say it but I had preferred the previous (but leaky) Scenic Sport to this!

 

Still awake?

 

Has the cars my parents owned influenced my car buying history? Not really. I thought that the big Ford and Vauxhalls were alright but could not justify buying one.

[mk1_4dr]

Lets see if can can remember all my dads cars:

 

A white Viva HC, probably a 1300, that was terminally rotten. Dad bought it while my Grandad was away on holiday (Grandad owned garages so should have been involved in the buying process). You could watch the road whizz past through holes in the floors by all accounts....

 

Next came a Maroon Marina. Apparently quite nice for what it was, I think Dad still has the wine coloured furry seat covers that adorned the interior. Maybe I should thief them for escRot or the Honda....

 

Then a pair of Chevettes, both 1300s, both 2tone green. First one was a 3dr hatch and the second was a 4dr saloon. My only memory of either was being in the back of I *think* the saloon, both my brother and I sat on those booster seats made of polystyrene, and as we backed out of my Grandmas drive one of the front wheels fell off/the wheel bearing collapsed and us being stranded in the middle of a fairly busy road. Sketchy.

 

Next up, an '83 (Y Plate) mk1 Sierra 1600L in dark green with slatty wheeltrims. I remember this quite well, I certainly remember my bro and I being used by Dad to underseal the floorpan on the road outside home, getting absolutley blathered in it and Mum going mental.

I also remember how Dad (whos always been keen on keeping his cars/bikes/van IMMACULATE) actually polished through the paint on the bonnet resulting him having the bonnet and front wings repainted at quite some expense. I think this was the last car that Dad had his CB in, I remember going shopping in Wakefield and some little scrot tried to kick the whip aerial that was bolted to the roof gutter and bent it to buggery so Dad sacked it off.

 

Then when my sister was born (or maybe just before) they decided that we needed more space so they went out and bought an '86 Granada 2.0i Ghia Auto, in Ivory with Brown plastics and beige velour. I have many, many memories of summer holidays to the east coast in the back of that car. I can still picture being sat in the back and not being able to touch the back of Mums chair with my legs stretched out. Electric windows in the back was a big deal in 1990, and the rear cigar lighter was ace for playing gameboy on a longer journey.

 

Next came the Cavalier. This was the first that I actually chose for him. It was a '94 1.8iLS in burgandy metallic (L579 HVH). A truely great car that he kept for a number of years as it was so good. It was again, totally spotless, and looked great on imaculate GSi Slabs. For a sigle point injection, SOHC, 1800 it bloody shifted.

 

Now, next, Dad took it upon himself to source the next car.

A '98 (R plate) Mk2 Mondeo 2.0 GLX. In Purple (aubergine). I think this one had been taxi. It was showing 70k-ish but I always suspected it was maybe 40k more than that. Not that it mattered as it turned out to be another cracking motor. Fast, well equiped, quiet and not bad looking really.

 

And that brings us to his current whip, a Mk3 Mondeo 1.8LX.

Generally uninspiring, uneventful, and forgetable. Not bad, just not particulally great.

 

He's currently looking for a new(er) car, unfortunately, he's been looking at mk2 Vectras......

[scooters]

My old man's cars:

 

Triumph Herald convertible with no 1st gear

Citroën Ami 8

Citroën DS Safari

Ford Cortina MK 4 estate

Volvo 245 dl

Volvo 240 dl estate

Renner 5 Campus

Citroën BX 17 tzd turbo

Citroën BX 19 tzd estate

Citroën BX 19 tzd turbo..( 1.9 xud installed after market on warranty to replace the 1.7 which failed)

 

Then it got silly

 

Westfield 1.6 sei widebody....his daily driver

 

Panther Kallista

[HillmanImp]

Triumph Herald

Citroen Dyane

1976 Hillman Imp (LAO 127P)

1977 Chrysler Sunbeam

1979 Chrysler Sunbeam

1980 Chrysler Horizon

1982 Citroen Visa (BSW ###X)

1983 Talbot Horizon (FSW 369Y)

1988 Blue Land Rover (D701 SWL)

1988 Peugeot 309 (E318 JRV)

1992 Renault 19 (J247 EAP)

1995 Citroen Xantia (N5 RSR)

[r.welfare]

From 1977: Mk2 Cortina estate (column-shift auto) - last privately-owned car until 2003.

 

Then company bilge from '78: half a dozen Marina 1.3's (all coming up to the 3yr disposal point and hence shagged), Chrysler Avenger estate, new Marina 1700, new Ital 1.3L (on a V-plate so an early one), Princess 1700, 3 Sierras (including an '83 1.6L OMG DANGLY MIRRORS), 2 Cavaliers (Mk2 1.8GLi rocket, Mk3 1.8 carb auto slug), Audi 100E auto, 405GTX auto estate (mmm!), another Sierra, 306GLX, Vectra 1.8 estate, Audi A4 1.8T Sport (inherited, not to t'old fella's taste at all), Omega 2.0 auto (slow), Mondeo TDCi auto estate (shat it's gearbox after 125 miles).

 

A change of job then forced his hand back into private car ownership in 2003 - the Accord in my signature, bought at 3 years old with 18k on it. The old boy paid an extra grand over an identical example on the forecourt just for the Sport spec (bodykit and alloys) - only time I've seen him swayed by bells and trinkets. Passed to me in 2008 with 118k on the clock. Damned good investment all told.

 

Then a Nissan Cashcow 2.0 CVT, and now a Nissan Note 1.6 auto on retirement.

[Formula Autos]

My Dad has had a bit of a puzzling car history, fluctuating between quite good and utterly shite cars as and when the mood/his finances dictated. Sometimes he got rid of cars on the flimsiest of reasons - mainly, I think, as he had absolutely NO mechanical knowledge and/or interest. The first hint of anything sounding as if it going expensively wrong and the car was chopped in against another, or scrapped.

 

Anyhoo, the ones I can remember him having are:

 

A burgundy Marina with sticky tan vinyl interior.

 

A Cortina Mk5, in silver with a black vinyl roof. This was killed by a brewery wagon that dropped a full barrel onto it when going up a hill. Luckily it didn't come through the windscreen - I was in the back at the time, and my mother was driving.

 

The insurance cheque for the Cortina was put towards an almost new MK1 Astra 3 door, in metallic blue.

 

The Vauxhall dealer was, for some reason, quite arsey when trade-in time came (my Dad was on the point of buying a Nova saloon brand new to replace the Astra), saying that a 1200S didn't exist. It clearly did, as it was sitting outside. A rebadged Opel, perhaps?

 

Anyhoo, this led him to the local Ford dealers where they had an incredibly cheap red Maestro on an A plate (just a few months old at the time). This was snapped up by Pater, but it soon became apparent why someone had parted with it so quickly - it was epically unreliable and never ran properly. Chief culprit was the automatic choke, which was eventually replaced with a manual one, but only after we'd had virtually every demonstrator the Ford garage had as a courtesy car, whilst the mechanics puzzled over the strange workings (well, non-workings to be exact) of Austin-Rover's finest. This was a great time for me as, after the Maestro had been trailered away time and time again, we had regular use of Fiestas, Sierras, Escorts, Orions, Granadas, and even, on one occasion when the garage were seriously stuck for a courtesy car, an Opel Senator off the lot.

 

Dad then wanted a Ford (having been impressed by the courtesy cars), but the dealers were loath to trade the Maestro back in. Derisory trade-in values were offered, leading Pater to the nearest AR dealer, who offered him top whack for it against a Rover 213. Why he even entertained another AR product I'll never know, but this one worked out OK as it had a Honda engine and was really reliable. He kept it nearly five years.

 

It was then replaced by another (base model) one, just a year younger, in silver.

 

Then by a 216 Sprint (F reg), which he bought off his employers - it had been his boss's company car. This was nearly as unreliable as the Maestro, and rusty to boot. AR had had their last chance with my Dad. He never bought another Rover.

 

Next up was a Volvo 460 (H reg), in white. This was kept for about four years, and became my first car when I bought it off him.

 

Next a grey VW Vento (K reg), again kept for about 4 years. This rusted though, so was chopped in at the local SEAT dealers for a Renault 5 Campus (?!?) on an M plate.

 

This was, apparently a 'good car', but 'too small' (no shit, Sherlock), so was chopped in for an almost new SEAT Leon on an X plate.

 

Next up was a Mondiesel on an '04 plate, which I now have as my daily driver.

 

This was replaced by a SEAT Exeo ex-demonstrator ('09 plate), which he still has.

 

A bizarre, but interesting, motoring history. There were occasional second cars in amongst this lot as well, mostly old bangers of at least 15 years old - but the ones above are the main family chariots.

[Tartan58]

My Dad's car history was as follows:

 

Austin A35

BL Mini

Viva

Mk1 Escort

(then I came along and it started to go more Autoshite)

81 Renault 14

76 BMW 2002 Tii

84 Renault 11

83 BMW 320i

90 Renault 21 Auto

93 Renault 19

89 Saab 9000 Turbo

97 Saab 9000 Turbo

(then I left home and he turned into an old man)

97 Honda Civic

98 Rover 400

01 Honda Accord

 

My maternal Grandfather's car history is much more interesting, he lived the autoshite dream in the 70s and early 80s buying chod that no-one wanted for pennies driving them about for a few months before giving them a rub down with an oily rag then selling them on for a small profit. Unfortunately what was throw away chod back then would be worth a small fortune now. Among his collection he had several early Citroen DSs, Citroen Big 6, some 50s Daimlers, at least 1 Armstrong Sidley and I'm sure more besides. Unfortunately he stopped driving just after I was born at which time he had the 2002 Tii which was passed on to my dad.

[scooters]

My paternal grandfather always had big jags..MK 7s and Packards...must dig out some photos.

 

Maternal gramp had Jowlett Javelin, J4 camper and latterly a Riley RMA all self maintained in true giffer style!

[Angrydicky]

Dad started driving in 1978 on L plates in my grandma's MG 1100. He then drove her Oyster Metallic T reg Maxi (bought from Mann Egerton in High Wycombe) and her orange V reg Mini 850 until he passed his test.

 

His first car was a 1960 Morris Mini Minor, handpainted with black dulux, 269 RBL. Then:

1958 Morris Minor, YPX 959

1960 Morris Minor, 607 NPP

Then a succession of HB Vivas, NBK 526H and EUR 429G, don't know the reg of the third but it was handpainted with white dulux.

Austin A35, 640 TMP

Allegro VDP

Metro 1.3L

Fiat 900 Amigo Camper, XVB 707V

Toyota Hiace Newlander Camper, OYH 36R

MK2 Fiesta, B129 AJN

Citroen 2CV Bamboo, and a yellow one that he bought from a scrapyard for the roof.

Maestro 1.3L, which was PX'd for:

Mazda 626, B reg.

Citroen BX

Volvo 244 DL

Rover 800

Escort estate, B241 PDY (this came from my uncle in Eastbourne and was immaculate, low mileage.

Austin Ambassador, HWC 295Y

Ford Galaxy, P65 LVW

Ford Galaxy, V498 ONO

Montego 2.0 GTI estate, H567 MDA

Montego 1.6L estate, F120 MVW

Austin A40 Somerset, MAS 901

Triumph Acclaim CD, VRY 972X

Austin Seven Ruby, EVW 85

Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0, M919 FBJ

Vauxhall Cavalier 1.7TD, N87 DVS

Mercedes E220 Estate, M399 MYN

Vauxhall Victor FB, XJD 170

Austin Seven Box Saloon, JO 5451

 

Current vehicles are a Vauxhall Victor FB, Austin A35 (120 SHX) and Vauxhall Zafira (EJ54 MOF)

 

Probably loads of other as well.

[Shep Shepherd]

My dear dad isn't really one for cars, and only learned to drive in his mid-twenties, so he hasn't had very many, and in the main, they have been quite boring:

 

1972-74: Ford Anglia 123E Super, year unknown. Said to be the spitting image of the Harry Potter one. Ended up in a field after he swerved to avoid two women walking in the middle of the road in thick fog at night.

1974-1976: Morris 1300, year unknown. Dad reckons this was a complete pile of pants, so he arranged to have it stolen

1976-1980:1976 Honda Camino moped. He couldn't be bothered to own a car at this point, as he could use my grandfather's Viva any time that he wanted.

1980-1981: 1972 Vauxhall Viva HC 2-door. Owned by my late grandfather and the car which I came home from hospital in after being born. Inherited by my dad in 1980 and scrapped due to terminal rust the following year

1981-1983: 1977 Chrysler Avenger 1600 4-door. The first decent car my dad ever had. A former Sussex Police patrol car, complete with vinyl roof, zip in the headlining and black vinyl seats which got painfully hot in summer. Dad reversed into a concrete bollard at his workplace and mangled the back end beyond economical repair. Pity, as it was a good car which I have fond memories of.

1983-1990: 1981 Austin miniMetro 1.0L. An absolute abomination of a car which was rusting quite nicely by 1985 (so much for the six-year anti-rust warranty). The first (and only) car that dad ever purchased on credit, which was a bit of a mistake, as being a coal miner in the Kent Coalfield during the Miners' Strike, he was almost broke for much of 1984/85 and only managed to keep up the repayments by borrowing money from my grandmother. Somehow survived until 1992 in the hands of two other owners before the floor fell out.

1990-1996: 1988 Ford Fiesta 1.1 Festival 2: Bought with some of the redundancy money he received when the Kent Coalfield finally ceased to be, this car was a real looker at first, but had a rust hole in every panel by its sixth birthday. Killed by me by hitting a Volvo 440 with it head-on

1996-2000: 1990 Ford Fiesta 1.1 LX. A fantastic car which was worlds apart from the Festival. Managed four years of reliable service before I bought it from him, only for it to be hit by a truck and written off a few months later.

2000-2009: 1994 VW Golf Driver. Possibly my dad's best ever car purchase. Quick, reliable and nice to look at and drive. Got quite rusty in all sorts of strange places towards the end of its life, though. Weighed-in under the NuLab scrappage scheme.

2009-Date: 2009 VW 'New' Polo 1.6TDi SE three-door. One of the first ones in the country, no less. A nice-but-dull car which suits dad's driving needs perfectly. Looking to buy it off him in 2019

[scooters]

My father in law is a secret SHITTER..

 

A triumph 2000 was the sole family car until 1980 when the next company car was a Lotus Elite...surely a bloody stupid choice for reliable family transport but cool as fuck.

 

Then a plethora of xj6 s ..he was a fat cat ...

 

Then an E36 523i which he ended up giving to us...great but fragile waterpump killed it

 

His latest is a 6 year old Audio A6 in 1.8 pov spec ....he loves it..funny looking arse on it but I can see why he likes it it does exactly what it says on the tin and is remarkably free of shit that breaks. He's a secret SHITTER cos in his garage is a tin of easy start and in the boot is a bottle of Morrisons Synthetic Oil.....and I caught him touching up a dent with some halfords own labled filler...respect for the giffer....using 70s body techniques on a modern VAG...he was moaning that he couldn't find any zinc mesh and that modern colour newspapers are rubbish for filling holes as the ink reaches through the filler...quality..I remember the E36 had a chicken wire and filler based valence

[ashmicro]

My Dad's had some cracking cars over the years. His first car was a 1953 Ford Prefect, then my grandparents got him a nearly new Triumph Vitesse Herald type thing. Dad saved up quite a bit of money when he was in The RAF, and bought a 67-ish E Type 4.2. After that:

 

196? Mini Cooper S

1972 Cortina 2000 GXL 2 door. Intended for the South African market. I was brought home from RVH Belfast in that.

1974 Escort 1300 GT

1975 Escort 1.6L 2 door

1976 Escort 1.6 Sport

1977 Capri 2.0GL

1979 Capri 3000 Ghia and a 1976 Citroen GS Pallas at the same time

1980 Chevette 4 door.

1980 Capri Ghia 3000 auto. Lush. Full leather, got twatted by a truck and wrecked.

1983 MG Metro

1984 MG Metro Turbo

1986 MG Maestro 2.0i Eclipse Blue

1987 MG Maestro 2.0i Moonraker blue

1988 Rover 216S

1990 MG Montego Turbo. Very quick, my uncle tuned it

1994 Rover 220 Coupe. Beautiful.

1992 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.6

1995 Rover 620ti. Ate it's gearbox, predictably. A brilliant car.

1998 Mercedes-Benz C280 Sport

2001 W203 Mercedes-Benz C200 Kompressor

2004 Jaguar S Type 3.0V6 SE. Pure class

2006 Jaguar S Type R. Massively fast, great whine from the 'charger.

2008 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 S. On paper quicker than the S Type R, not as much fun.

 

Dad's now got a 5 litre XF. Proper, proper car. You can waft, or you can charge on like a maniac. Current Jags are absolutely brilliant. My mate John just got an XK-R and it's awesome.

[Charlie Croker]

The first car i remember my dad having was a grey Anglia LRP 889E.....i cried when it was traded in for a brand new Marina 1.3 ENV ***K in black tulip.

That was traded in around 78 for of all things a ex demo Simca 1100 in metalic green. My mum HATED it with a passion. I loved it the comfiest seats ever....BAC ***T where are you now?