A silver E-reg 1L Mini Metro left in my grandma’s will to me and my younger brother. Actually went ok, you could fit a couple of bikes in the back, or lug four idiots and their stuff to a festival and back and only have to stop to cool the engine down occasionally. It only broke down once, but very memorably, when the wiring loom caught fire in the fast lane of the M1 filling the car with black smoke and nearly killing me, that was fun.

Still, I looked after that car carefully for two years before I left for university. Then my brother smashed it through a drystone wall and wrote it off, the little git.

MK1 Mini, then a MK2 Mini that was completely spaceframed with a 1480 full steel motor and twin 40DCOES and a one off hand ground cam.
Spitfire MK4, Avenger Tiger then a Marina 1800TC, then an ex-factory Hillman Imp with god knows what engine in it – had to get it serviced by an very old guy in a shed in Meriden who used to work in the R&D dept at BL as no-one else knew what the hell it was! That went to the same guy that bought the MK2 Mini (both are still going now and that was 1988!)
124, Montego Turbo, then a MK1 Mini that had been raced/rallied with full provenance which I was offered an obscene amount for so got a 5 Turbo that had been “played with”.
Nothing “hot” since coming back from spain though. Although there will be either a 135i or a MK6 R sitting in the driveway soon…

Full beast/pimp mode.

Ain’t she gorgeous!

Best thing was at the time my old man had an any car/any driver policy so it cost my nothing to insure, 2.3 5 cylinder awesomeness!!

Mini Clubman in bright orange with full length canvas sunroof.
Was probably rubbish but everyone loves their first bit of freedom on the road don’t they?

One of these beasts.

Silver with an orange velour interior.

Mk1 Polo Coupe

Always thought it looked like biut like a Golf GTi but without the insurance problems in the mid 90s. Obviously also without the performance.

My first car was a golf gti mk3 8 valve.

One of these bad boys.

Amazing to see just how much glass those 70s/80s cars had, compared to the massive a-pillars modern cars have!

Mk 1.5 Focus diesel estate. Well, I was almost 30 when I got it. Sold it on when the clutch slave went but it was ace.

1990 Citroen AX GT Sportif in black. Well several shades of black from the many repairs it had over there years.

Lasted 6 months then was replaced with a mint 92 AX GTi in white, I miss that car (with rose tinted glasses no doubt).

One of these, it was also my first company car.. G reg, if you can remember that far back.

A s*** one, that needed nearly all the brakes replacing, plus one safety recall, plus at least one warranty repair, plus lambda sensor replacement, plus… all before the first MOT.

More commonly known as a Peugeot 306 1.4

Did have use of a Massey Ferguson before that, but I call that a company car.

That’s a MK2 Graham.

S Reg Allegro Estate in ’88.

Brakes failed going down the Mound in Edinburgh – that woke me up!

850cc mini RYS222W (says something that I can remember that 23 Years on when I can’t remember many later ones).

Went round corners like it was on rails but showed its limitations on climbing trips. I remember going up onto Rannoch Moor in 1st gear with 4 of us in it bound for Ben Nevis.

Good memories.

My first car was a knackered mini. Got it when I was 14 as a “project”. It never rand and was ignominiously scrapped a few years later

First working car was red mk2 VW Golf 1.3 (4 speed!) loved that car.

Replaced it with a golf driver when I could afford the insurance.

One of these in shitty brown. Affectionally know as the Scud.

A slightly different colour one of these, minus the thingy on the roof.

NPL 15D (33 years ago 🙂 )

1965 mini van which in 1971 got my brother and I, two slalom canoes and camping gear to Italy and back via the Simplon Pass and Grand St Bernard’s Pass. To keep the engine cool on the passes we raised the bonnet six inches and this was just enough to stop the engine boiling.

Not mine, but just like this…

Made me think that – what 18 year old would drive a car as old as they are these days??!

An Austin 1100. Can’t recall the year, mid 60s I think.

First ‘legal car’ after passing my test on my 17th birthday was a talbot solara (similar to below), given to me by my gran but i only had it 3 weeks as i bought a tatty 1275gt mini from my workplace back in 1989 (apprentice mechanic at a rover dealer).

The very first car i owned (not legal at age 14) was a mk2 escort mexico that i got free from a neighbour as he stove the entire rear end in after crashing it driving back from the pub drunk, there was not a straight panel left on it, we lived in Dalavich on the shores of loch awe (deepest/darkest argyll) and i used it to hoon about the miles n’ miles of forest roads but it was quite a handful as the entire car was rather twisted and the propshaft used to bounce off the transmission tunnel. Cracking fun though, especially on the forest roads.

Made me think that – what 18 year old would drive a car as old as they are these days??!

Noticed that myself too and not in a ‘different in my day’ thing. Sure, there are a few driving older cars, but sooo many are all pootling about in either ‘£5k loan’ cars or (leased?) new cars.

Dunno why.

1968 Mini traveler , 850cc I think . Complete with moss in the sliding window channels . I paid £50.00 with nearly a years mot and sold it for scrap when the mot ran out – for £50.00 🙂

Ford Anglia.
Reg number 1377 AT
Flat as Olive oils chest.

Mk1 Ford Escort 1.3l. It had a metal steering wheel that got really really hot in the sun 😯

When that died I bought a Hillman Imp California. 🙂

Nova merit 1.3 🙂 lasted a surprisingly long time

Something very similar to this. 3.5 litres of Buick petrol drinking goodness.

A handpainted escort Mk1 Van 🙂

Mini. Pre reg number suffix. 1100 engine, 165\70\10 tyres on white 8 spokes. No arch extensions so it was always filthy. Dark green with white roof apart from the biggest folding sun roof ever. Dash had a plastic rally type fascia with extended switches and some duplicated for passenger.

I had something pretty much identical to this, complete with rust and welded sills. Fiesta 1.1 Popular. Almost 20 years ago now and I still have a deeply ingrained hatred for Fords because of that car, yet still secretly yearn for an XR2.

I also had a mk2. 87 1.1 L. Unlike the pop it had the higher spec dash. Banged some pepperpot on, xr2 spoiler. Thought it was the tits.

Didn’t get my first car until I was 34ish, still got it 8 years later. Volvo V40.

Had company cars / drove parents, wifes car before that. Learnt to drive in mums Mini 1000 registration AXI 8010.

SJM910S

That was my first car, A Triumph Spitfire 1500 with Overdrive.

It was great fun , but also the most efficient producer of rust known to man.

Still miss it though 🙁

Looked like this, but with rust, lots of rust!

But unlike you butcher I love Ford’s. Currently driving a Mondeo and a fiesta St.

A Triumph Spitfire 1500 with Overdrive

I has one in Blue, 1275cc IIRC. Good fun but built out of paper mache