🚗 Car History 🚘

My Uncle's Cars Humber Hawk STJ 642 and Hillman Minx EEK 306

I remember going to Devon in the Humber before there were motorways. And you got a detailed route map from the AA. I also trapped my fingers in the door. I remember it was green with brown leather seats. The Hillman was in a two- tone blue and white

Renault Dauphine XVM 191

The first car my parents ever bought. Think it was a darker blue, though. I was only allowed to back it out of the garage. Rear engined. After that beauty, how could they go on to buy a Viva?

Vauxhall Viva HA

The family car than I learned to drive and took my test in. Was the second car after a Renault Dauphine. Rotten car, nice memories.

Morris 1000 Traveller (1961, Rose Taupe) 29 XTF

Bought second hand from local ford dealer for 49 GBP, who had got it in PX from my uncle's brother.
Lasted me all of my student days, and was very reliable. Serviced it myself, You could do that sort of thing in those days. 948cc OHV engine. Was modern enough not to have a split windscreen.
Wikipedia article

Ford Escort GT Mk I (1969, Blue) PTF 968 G

Came from a dealer, it was their chief mechanic's car. Was nice to drive and cheap to look after. Fitted a heated rear window myself.
Once spun it in the ice and snow on the motorway. But everyone was going at a snail's pace or not at all.
Motor-Car.net article

Mini Clubman (1972 Black Tulip) WNB 321 L

This shows the differences to a normal mini at that time, a different front and internal door hinges. Mechanically the difference was zero. My Mini had mustard-yellow leatherette seats (ochre) which were slightly better than the standard mini seats, - an unbeatable colour combination with the purple bodywork! And the dashboard was also better. The wheel arches were not flared. The tiny wheels, and it ran best on Dunlop SP41 tyres which over the 100Km a day I drove soon needed replacing, as did the front wheel bearings. The 1275GT model looked fairly similar.
Wheels Alive article

Alfasud SE (1975 Rosso) KYU 219 P

Turned into a colander with all the rust. The camshaft drive belts and tensioners were exposed! They corroded, one side of the flat four seized up. Valves hit pistons on 2 cylinders. Surprisingly I changed the bent valves and the camshaft tensioners and belts and all was well again. Then the heating packed up and even the garage was flummoxed. I could only get rid of it in PX for another Sud
The first series of 'Suds were not hatchbacks, even though that was the trend at the time, and despite looking as though they might be. Best small family car to drive. Ever. ARonline

Alfasud 5-dr Super (1982 Black)

Sorry, right model, wrong colour. Didn't bloody learn, first car I ever bought new. Many of the original faults had been corrected. Hatchback.
ARonline

Moskvich 471 Estate (Beige)

sold a family car and the buyer wanted me to take this in PX, sold it a month later for a profit to somebody who liked them! Sailed agriculturally round corners.
Motor-Car.net article

Citroen Dyane 6

had to put this in. Was really my wife's car. I did some servicing, the garage the rest. The mechanic hated it, nothing was easily accessible.
The air-cooled 602cc engine had its own special sound, but it could manage 70mph. It also taught me a lot about anticipatory driving. Once it got up to speed, you could ride along very comfortably indeed on the stripy seats. And going round corners, it really leaned over, shocking other road users. But if you lost that speed, or drove too aggressively, that got you nowhere fast.
Amazing carrying capacity. Managed a 2-seater boxed sofa-bed with the roof open.Roomy also for people. I'd have one again!

Ford Escort XR3i (1984 Silver) A 925 MBA

the one with the tea tray on the back. Fast, cheap to run, dead-ish steering, not half the fun of the Alfasods (sic).
Classics World on YouTube

BMW 318i(1986, Baltic Blue) B-AH 189

Nice car once I had it fixed properly, didn't need any parts after that apart from spark plugs, which it ate for breakfast.