My Dad had...

[Lord Sterling]

My Mum has told me a few times that my great Grandma's husband had 5 Jags at one point, one for each day of the week. I wonder if that has any impact on why I ended up with 3 Rover 800s. Probably not, 2 of them dont really work that well.

[blakey79]

I like this thread...

 

1976 VW Golf 1.6 LS 3 Door in Red OLM717R

Fantastic car my parents kept it far to long in my eyes, up until 1990 owned from 78 I think, 1 Engine, Numerous sets of new Wings, 1 Respray.

Loved and hated that car, the exhaust falling off as my Mum collected me from school, that took at least 6 months of merciful piss taking to endure. However he suceeded in making me the school hero with

Named Golfie ???

 

 

1981 Audi Coupe C In Indiana Red XKX117X

5 Cylinder engine, my dad complained that it was gutless, but it sounded soooo good, and had electric windows, I was the king at school as the less educated kids asked my dad if it was a Quattro, and like a true hero he said Yes, and proceeded to rev the engine. I loved this car even if it did look a little awkward from certain angles. Named Indie ???

 

1989 Seat Ibiza Crono 3 Door in Blue F863PLD

Had it for a year, but had an intermittant fault with the Gearbox that drove my dad mad. Named Sit

 

1986 VW Golf GTI 5 Door in White B@@@PCH

I will not forgive and forget my Pa for this, my dad had it for a week traded in the Golf Ls at the local Renault Garage in Rickmansworth, my dad loved it, and came home after the 2nd night saying he loved the car and that he'd had a race where he exceeded 110 MPH, he was 48 years of age at this time. Here's where it hurts, he traded the golf back and asked for his Golf LS back................Someone swiped the VW badge on the GTI and tried stealing it, my dad didn't want the hassle ??????? And guess what the Golf LS came back into our life again... No name given

 

1984 Volvo 360 GLT 5 Door in Grey B305JCH

Bought as a stopgap, and the first car I drove on the road of my parents, wasn't a bad car, but growing up and your parents having a Volvo wasn't cool. 1st time I drove not used to RWD, scared the bejessus out of me drove back home and managed to blow some hose of the engine, apoligised to Pa, and he said it always did that. Think this was scrapped when the gearbox went. Named Tank

 

1983 Vauxhall Astra 1.6 LS Estate in China Blue A856RBM

Wicked Car, this flew in my dads capable hands, inherited from his Dad, had Rolls Royce ( Hooper ) Seatbelts installed by my Grandad. The car was great but plauged by a dubious past, not least my Grandad at the ripe age of 83, driving it into Elstree High street's traffic lights. This was supposed to be passed down to me as my first car, but a blown engine, and terminal rot put paid to that, not a happy bunny. Named Ashtray

 

1976 Renault 14 TL 5 door in Yellow with a black stripe down the side. XVS'@@@S

Again bought as a stopgap for the pricely sum of £475 in 1993 I think, 27000 miles, rusty as fuck, embarrassing as fuck, and again a revert back to my teasing at school, commonly known as the wasp mobile due to the fetching paintwork. First car I drove, dad's can be such arses trying to teach me how to drive, clutch biting point etc, then getting in a huff when I kept stalling. Named Wasp Mobile

 

1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8 LX 5 Door in Blue - No idea of Registration

It was alright, purchased very cheap and was still giving sterling service until a year ago, just a bit crap to drive.

Named Lilo

 

And what was it with Dads cars the majority of them had pet names as well.....

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

No photos, just my own memory. My folks never took pictures of their cars, ever.

 

Dad's first car was a 1965 Austin Mini in Maroon B. Don't recall it at all-it was 1968.

 

Second was a 1967 Island blue/white roof Morris Mini Cooper Mark 1. Only very vague memories of that.

 

Third was a 1970 Mini 1275GT, NJT840J in Glacier white with red stripes. Dad tries to buy one of the last Cooper S mark 111's but there were none left. Mum liked the funky new Clubman shape so a 1 year old 1275GT it was. Dad didn't rate it much after the Cooper.

 

In 1974, an Escort Mexico arrived, NEL392M. Monza blue with white decals, Cibie Oscars etc. Mum sold her rusting 1961 Mini (with a Morris 1100 engine) and had the white GT.

The Mexico was a proper hero chariot - we went on three holidays in France in it including LeMans in 1975.

 

In summer 1977, The Escort was traded in for a 1976 Capri 2000S, VAA875R, Jade green metallic, at Grosvenor Motors in Gillingham, Dorset. I still have the Ford All Model Catalogue that my folks took on the first trip to buy the Capri. As we pulled away in the Capri, my Dad said something along the lines of 'what have I done'. The Escort was just too small though - small boot and no room for a gangly youth like me. We saw the Mexico again in Yeovil around 1981, freshly repainted and with no stripes. No, it didn't survive - was recorded as scrapped in 1989.

 

1980, and another Capri. The 2000S was okay but they were never that great and this one was rotting in the tailgate and STILL leaking oil from the headgasket after two replacements. The Ford dealer in Langport has a 1979 3000S in black, GYD153T. Recaro seats and the wider RS four spokes. The absolute bollocks, in other words. Bought it there and then, went to collect it with him the following day and we went for a bit of a cruise in it. Christ, that was a nice car. But....

 

1981, and a Princess 1700HL company car, CVH479V in Denim blue and already with 80'000 miles. The Capri was just sitting doing nothing, so was sold. The Princess was obviously not the worlds greatest drivers car after the 3000S but it did it's job. The first car I ever rode in with proper leg room.

 

1982 and Dad's working for BMW. The first company car was RCF466Y, a metallic maroon 520i. I can still picture it as it whispered up the driveway - a stunning car. After Ford and BL, the build quality was in another universe. A couple more followed and for a couple of days, a 635CSi which cost more than our (very respectable) 3 bed house.

 

A Sierra followed in 1984 after changing jobs, A708HFA, a red 2.0GL. That did monster miles until he went self employed in 1986. A used car beckoned.......

 

 

....FOO758T, a Riviera blue Escort 1300L Estate. It stayed with us until 1990. Replaced by a Metro Turbo - what a shitheap that was. Can recall the reg number. Then it was a Transit Van for years and finally, a 911 Carrera 4 which he had until shortly before he passed away last year.

 

Mum had the two Minis, then in September 1978 she bought a new Polo L, EYA606T. Replaced in 1982 by EYB340Y, a new Golf GTi. That was replaced by a 1985 Scirocco GTX, then an early Mark 3 Golf GTI (a shitheap), an Audi 80 and then a 1994 VR6. This was replaced by a Polo Diesel in 1998 and now a Tiguan.

 

I think VW owe her a pint.

[simmo]

Dad's been driving for ever and has had loads of cars:

Y type Ford

Ford Pilot

Morris J Van

CA Bedford

Ford Corsair

S type jag

Volvo 144

NSU Prinz

FX4

Land Rover SWB

LHD SD1 3.5

Cortina Mk3 Estate

Transit

Granda Mk 1 3.0 Ghia

Marina Pick up

Renault 19 from new

Another new Reno maybe a 21

Daihatsu Camper? tiny thing from new

Renault Traffic Camper from new

Talbot Horizon from new

Maestro Van

Skoda Felica saloon from new

Skoda Felica estate from new

Skoda Octavia 4x4

Probably missed a couple, he had a few 'projects' : Fordson Major, 2 x Scammell Scarabs and Vintage Airport luggage tug

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hairnet]

he was into scootaz had had various lambrettas while he was doing his apprenticeship at gec (now alstom)

 

hes not really had that many cars in 40 years.........

 

mk1 maroon cortina 66 d plate

 

70 h reg white victor saloon - think we were 3-4 at the time (i was 38 two weeks ago ARGH)

 

mum has passed her test while in ireland and we were on hols and she was let drive and stuffed into the ditch at the end of the lane where the grandparents lived

 

dont think it was too bad as uncle shay and dad must have beat feck outta it cos i dont remember any planes heading home lol

 

mk3 76 tina after that till early 80s

 

mk3 tina estate 74 - kermit green that we helped hand paint black (!) (84-85 ish)

 

remember flattening the battery regularly on holiday

 

died of rust (i was interested by then)

 

for a mk2 granada 2.3 auto gl WITH SUNROOF OMG! kept till 94 ish the sills died but he didnt want to spend the 300 quid on the sills it needed to live

 

so he bought an f plate 1.6 mongtego two tone red grey (facelift)

 

think he got bored of that cos i think its the only car hes had apart from his current thats hasnt been twatted or been infested by the oxide monster

 

e39 99 525 had since 03 - he went to collect it and the place had just got in (an hour before) an x reg diesel e39 and they only wanted 200 quid more but he wasnt having it cos he (and i) loved the colour

 

done 50k in it still only on 109k now and apart from an abs sensor - its been faultless

[Cavcraft]

First memories were of a maroon (with white roof) Hillman Huskey.

 

After that I recall the following, all company cars up to (and including) the Cavalier Mk2:

 

Early Maxi 1500 cable change in white. Still remember being really impressed with the space inside it.

 

Next, and still my favourite, was an Austin 3-litre in white, EF0 177H. I think this was originally someone higher up in the company's car first as dad said it wasn't on his 'allowed' list when new. This got hit up the arse by an ADO 16 somewhere in Devon but did sod all damage to the 3-litre.

 

Next another Maxi: OFO 9M, sort of burnt orange colour. Went a bit posh here as it was a 1750, though sadly not the elite HL twin carb jobbie.

 

This was followed by: ONB 903P, a white Mk3 Cortina 1.6L estate. I saw this years later (early 1980s) in Chester and it had been sprayed black.

 

Next up another Cortina 1.6L estate, PEM 120T this time a Mk4 in beige. Got a tiny dink in the paintwork when about three weeks old and it rusted over night. Dad wasn't impressed.

 

Followed by a Talbot Alpine 1.5GL, DHG 511W iirc. I learnt to drive in this car, a sort of wonderfully horrible green coloured thing.

 

Last company car he had (which came a close 2nd to the 3-litre to me) was a Cavalier 1.6SR hatchback, VFV 252Y, or something like that. Dad was one of the olden days 'OMG old cars will fail' types so rather daftly (with hindsight) he asked for it two weeks earlier than normal as we were going on holiday to Scotland. Sod's law dictated that had he waited he'd have had the much faster 1.8 SRi model instead.

 

Just as the time was about to run out for the Cavalier he was asked if he wanted redundancy. he refused and they asked him again a fortnight later. Refusing again they asked him once more a week later to be met with the same response. Two hours later he's in with the big sheese in the office and was told his job had gone, here's your redundancy package and a reference.

Big pisser to all the family as he loved his job (Littlewoods HQ in Liverpool), it was local enough to commute for him, decent pay and company car. It was also ace as a kid being invited up to his office and clocking all the skirt that worked with him!

[Pete-M]

 

This is the one car my dad had that I'm trying furiously to trace. It seems to have disappeared off the radar a long time ago, but that's hopefully down to plate swappage etc.

 

The other one is a Mk1 Capri 3.0 UMB 2J. I only vaguely remember it, but I do remember it as being the coolest car of evah!

[MK5 Escort]

Mum doesn't drive, so that's her out the way straight away. She did once contemplate starting driving and once had a lesson in my dad's Morris Marina back in the early 80’s. She's never sat in the driving seat of a car again...

 

My dad first started out borrowing my late Grandad’s silver Vauxhall Firenza, MXD 689K, when he was courting my mum. Plenty of stories can be told about this car, not just with my father either. Upgraded from 1159cc to 1256cc early on in it's life. It was in my late Grandad’s hands from new (he was a Vauxhall worker) until 1996. I'm also lead to believe that this was the car I came home from the hospital in when I was born. This very Firenza has featured on here a couple of times pictured in shows, so I know it's still out there somewhere...

 

My dad’s first car that he owned was a J reg Mk1 Escort 2dr in silver. Sadly, I don’t know too much about the car and neither does he now (although he does have one very old picture of it stored away somewhere). He bought it cheap from someone he knew, was in decent nick body-wise but the gearbox was on it’s way out. He recalls doing a few thousand miles in it before it died.

 

He then moved onto a dark blue S reg 1.8 Morris Marina, with contrasting blue velour interior. This is the first car that I can just about remember him having. I recall sitting on the rear armrest as a makeshift child seat. Dad quite liked it and had the largest engine of anything he’d driven until then. I remember some shopping being stolen out of the boot (easy to break into) and the battery going flat because of the light inside the boot being stuck on. He sold it to my nan’s neighbour who promptly crashed it into a low wall resulting in a new nearside front wing (unsprayed).

 

Dad then had three company cars:

 

An E -reg Toyota Carina like this but in white with blue velour again. We went on holiday to Cromer twice in this and my dad was impressed with it, having power steering and leccy everything (almost). It wasn’t brand new but nearly new. Shortly before it went back he drove it into the garage with the nearside rear door still open after I got out. Ooops...

 

A Mk5 H reg Escort 1.4LX in Radiant Red. Brand new and replaced the Carina. Had for three years and travelled the length and breadth of the country in. Never had an issue with it. A cracking car that it’s many, many happy memories have always stuck with me. According to the DVLA database it died in 2003.

 

This was replaced by a then 18 month old K reg Escort 1.4 LX in Wedgewood Blue which had already clocked up 64k in that time. It was filthy when he picked it up and I remember the dashboard had about half an inch’s worth of dust on it. Other than the horn once sticking on, again, he never had an issue with it. A Nissan Terrano backed into it in Manchester. The spare tyre dented the bonnet and the tow bar folded the bumper in the middle. The bumper was replaced and the bonnet filled and respayed.

 

This was replaced by a H reg Sierra hatchback 1.8LX in Burgundy Red which my father owned. He had it for about a year. Dodgy central locking (due to a very slightly dropping driver’s door - there was a knack of closing the door by keeping your hand under the handle and giving it a slightly upward support whilst closing it) but otherwise proved to be as faultless as both of the previous Escorts.

 

Then he moved onto a very expensive one owner K reg Mk3 Golf 1.4 CL three door in black. It proved to be a complete flop. The four speed gearbox was the least of it’s problems. Sagging door hinges, leaking aftermarket sunroof, heavy steering, faulty radio (and areal - which snapped), glovebox handles made from chocolate, early signs of corrosion in various places, breakdowns... Needless to say, this lasted for a matter of months before it was gone.

 

My dad then moved onto four brand new Vauxhalls (three of which collected on ‘new plate day’) through the friends and family scheme:

 

S reg Corsa 1.6 Sport in Arden Blue. A real wolf in sheep’s clothing as it turned out to be . Much more robust than the later Corsa’s too...

 

X reg Astra 1.6 16v Club in Star Silver. Very solidly built and decent to drive.

 

03 Vectra 1.8 Club in Black Sapphire. My dad wanted a Vectra C following on from a very successful test drive in one of the first on the road a year earlier. One of the best long distance cruisers he’s had and still maintains about the best all-rounder he’s owned.

 

55 (new shape) Zafira 2.2 SRi in Silver Lightening. Come with near enough every option including full leather and that rare panoramic glass roof. Surprisingly sluggish in my opinion but proven to be an extremely useful, solidly built load lugger.

 

He then moved onto the current model Audi A4 saloon following a pay rise. 08 plate (so one of the very first), 2.0 TDi SE in Aruba Blue. Was an ex-demonstrator and only had about 900-odd miles on it when he collected it. Had a few early niggles, more than all the Vauxhall's put together actually (he had fear’s he’d bought another dud German), but otherwise another reliable cruising machine.

 

Following unexpected redundancy back in June he had to get shut of it (otherwise he’d still have it now) and wanted to cut his costs and downsize. He moved back to Vauxhall and currently drives a 57 plate Corsa 1.2 Breeze in Flame Red. I'm not overly keen on it to be honest considering what he’s had, but he seems happy enough.

 

My dad is now 59. I don’t think I’ve missed any of his cars out...!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

 

 

 

I'm moist for this.

[simmo]

 

 

 

 

I'm moist for this.

 

I put a bit up on this on another thread a while ago. It was LHD and orginally exported to Japan where we think LHD is a sort Status thing, it was carbed but with loads of extra emission junk on it. Dad got it as a stolen recovered with the UK plates on it so no idea why it came back to the UK. From memory it was low milage and in very good condition but had a intermitent problem with hot starting.

[garycox]

My Dad's

 

Ford Cortina Mk1

Ford Anglia 105E Van

Ford Escort Mk1 Van

Ford Escort Mk1 Van

MGB GT

Ford Escort Mk2 Van

Ford Capri II GL

Ford Escort XR3i (B92 YAR)

VW Transporter Van (C32 SGY)

Austin Metro 1.3 Automatic (D485 WGX)

Vauxhall Ventora FD (WPA 506G)

Austin Metro 1.3 Automatic (C247 PGY)

Ford Escort Mk1 1300XL

Rover 420Si (R267 TKE)

Mazda Eunos

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

 

 

 

I'm moist for this.

 

I put a bit up on this on another thread a while ago. It was LHD and orginally exported to Japan where we think LHD is a sort Status thing, it was carbed but with loads of extra emission junk on it. Dad got it as a stolen recovered with the UK plates on it so no idea why it came back to the UK. From memory it was low milage and in very good condition but had a intermitent problem with hot starting.

 

 

Such a stunning car - the colour and the black/stainless wheeltrims just 'make' it. I'd suffer a 2300/2600 as well - a nice engine when they're running. The manual 2600 used to go well and was surprisingly good on fuel.

[tonedepear]

From when I was born:

 

mini_golf by Tony Lloyd, on Flickr

 

All bought brand new apart from the 2nd SAAB 9000 and the SAAB 9-3 which I now own which were both bought about a year old under duress from me!

1981 VW Golf Driver (right) (Gertie)

1981 Vauxhall Cavalier (Not sure of spec)

1986 VW Jetta 1.8 GL (Jamie)

1990 Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0i L (Carlos)

1992 SAAB 9000CS

1992 SAAB 9000CS 2.3 Turbo S (The one before the Aero came out)

1993 Mazda MX3 1.8v6

1997 SAAB 9-5 2.0t

1999 SAAB 9-5 Aero

2005 VW Gowf 2.0 TDI

2006 SAAB 9-3 TiD Tone-wagon

2011 Voxvo XC60 D5 (in the background here:)

Newest steed by Tony Lloyd, on Flickr

 

Fondest memories are the Turbo 9000 (Still to this day the only car I've ever TWOC. Don't tell him.), and the MX3 which was corking, although too small for me when we went for a week in belgium as a fmaily in it and I was wedged in the back for the whole time.

[barefoot]

Red 6 cylinder Vauxhall Velox - (that he shared with my Grandfather)

White Morris Minor Convertible

Black Morris Minor - KRC988D

Green Austin Maxi 1750HL - HRA751N

Yellow Datsun 100a - HRA167N - this was my mothers first car (which I spectacularly wrote off)

Bronze Datsun Cherry N10

Vauxhall Cavalier 1300GL

Opel Manta GTE

Vauxhall Cavalier 1600GL

 

& that was his lot, how times change.

[scruff]

My dad has had a mix of family shite and commercial chod for work.

 

Hillman Hunter

Escort Mk 2 estate

Volvo 144 estate

Bedford Chevanne

Bedford HA van

Triumph 2000

Mazda 626

Ford P100 pick up x 2 (WWV 493Y was one of them)

VW Jetta Mk 1

Escort mk 3 1.6 Ghia

Transit van ex BT (J431 VOM)

Range Rover Vogue SE (F984 DDY) - total dream come true for him

Merc Vito van

LR Defender 90 Td5

Renault Trafic van

Range Rover classic 300Tdi

[DSdriver]

I feel that boats require a cabin as minimum equipment whereas he considers a stern to be optional.

I prefer that boats have a cabin with optics above the galley, one with malt whisky and the other with navy rum. Great for fortifying the helmsman's coffee or cocoa on a cold night.

[DSdriver]

My Dad's first car was one like this:

It was very embarrassing in 1960 to be picked up from school in a car that had to be started with a cranking handle.

Next we had a Renualt Dauphine that started off on French export plates.

Then he bought a Fiat 1500 direct from Fiat headquarters in Slough (I think it was). It was an ex-management car and had a straight through exhaust and a "breathed on" engine

That lasted till after I was married and moved away.

[AnthonyG]

My dad's first car was a 1956 Austin Cambridge, bought in 1962. In 1964 he started a new job with the Central Electricity Generating Board working on the National Grid. This required a lot of driving and he replaced cars almost every year. He had a new MInx, then a Singer Vogue in 1966 , then a Humber Hawk in 1967 ( it must have been sitting in the dealers showroom at least a year), then a Volvo 142 in 1969 (he went off Rootes after Chrsler started cost cutting and it showed in their cars).

 

Then in 1971 he got a new job and a new car, a Austin 1800, which is the first car I remember. Things calmed down with a more office based job, and cars were kept for longer:

1975 Peugeot 504, bought in 1977.

1981 Volvo 240 DL

1986 Saab 900 GL

1987 Volvo 240 GL estate (he didn't get on with the Saab)

1988 BMW 318 , bought in 1992.

 

Then in 1995 they moved to West Wales and bought a smallholding. Mum continued to have 'normal' cars, and Dad moved to 4wds for carting sh*t about:

 

1980 Land Rover SWB truck cab

1988 Daihatsu Fourtrak van

1996 Daihatsu Fourtrak Independent TDX (my aunt still has this, its on a third set of sills )

and in 2007, a 2003 Freelander TD4, which despite all predictions of doom from know-it-alls, has been fine.

 

He'll replace it with a current shape one sometime, but the current ones only done 55K so hopefully will be going on for a while.

[Guest]

Folks have had mostly boring stuff. My collection of shit is far more interesting IMHO.

 

Dad - As far as I can remember

 

Ford Escort Mk 1 Van

Datsun Cherry

Datsun 180B Bluebird

Vauxhall Cavalier Mk 2 (in applejack green with a similarly coloured interior)

Ford Sierra Estate (E821 HCW, the first car I can remember him owning - he picked me up from nursery in it).

Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 (H962 EBA, the car that was a complete dog in the first two weeks of its life and then never went wrong after that).

Renault Laguna RT

Renault Espace Mk2

Renault Scenic RXE 2.0

Renault Espace Mk3 (T850 MNE)

Audi A6 Avant (Y958 XXX)

BMW 525d Saloon (E60)

BMW 525d Estate (E60)

BMW 520d Estate (newest chassis code - current car)

 

Mum - MOAR chod

 

1967 VW Beetle 1200 (still being used and in the family)

Ford Fiesta Mk2 (B852 CTW, long dead)

Ford Fiesta Mk3 (H783 BND, epic shed from new and long dead)

Fiat Punto 55 (M608 XDM, beige interior and very dead).

Ford Ka 3 (S255 TBA, the first car I bought that was actually road legal)

Renault Megane Cabriolet (dull)

Peugeot 206 CC (MT52 UUP, shit shit leakage)

Audi A1 TDi (current car and sehr dull).

[DSdriver]

Looking through the lists you realise that most dads have improved their lot in life.

I was considering this from my son's point of view: when he was one year old I had a 1967 Citroen ID Safari, 38 years later I now drive a 1970 Citroen DS Safari. Not much change there.

Do you think I lack ambition?

[STUNO]

dad's list, all bought new.

 

1951 ford prefect . mother liked it over the velox that dad wanted, but she must have had a rethink because

1952 velox

1955 velox

1956 zephyr mk 2 ( the ist I ever saw, so must have been a very early one)

1958 mk 2

1961 mk 2

1963 mk 3 TWO major accidents later it was replaced by

1969 hunter

1975 datsun 180b ( the invasion has started!)

1979 toyota cressida written off by mother and replaced next day by

1982 cressida (dead 1990 but was in very good condition when traded for

1990 toyota corona liftback, traded by mother in 1992 after his death for a 92 corolla 1300 hatch which was sold only 12 months ago by my sister.

have just done a check on the corona and it appears to be dead now, passed a w.o.f(mot) on 15.11.10 at 268791 km's but has not been taxed since 22.12.10, so may have been an untimely death about then.