I got given the "workshop" mini pickup when i passed my test at the age of 17 and 3hrs of age and told to look after it or they would kick the shit out of me, I was an apprentice at a Rover garage back in 1989 and the mini was a little belter as it had constantly been tweaked and worked on over the years by the mechanics, 1360cc A series engine with twin su carbs onto a straight through side exiting exhaust and uprated discs from a MG metro - i think they took pity on me as i only got paid £29.50 for 6 days work thanks to the YTS system but i had been working on cars n' engines for years thanks to my upbringing so i was doing the same mechanical work as everyone else in the garage and i was always keen to learn from everyone else as they all had masses of experience, some in motorsport, some in clubman rallying so i would be the first to offer to help out with anything going.
A cracking little car that was so fast off the line and through the corners, as long as you kept the power on it could corner pretty much as well as anything else on the road. I learned how to correct lift off oversteer and how to prevent it.........fill the rear bed with a couple of sand bags and do all the braking before hand then power on and turn in.
Two years later at the age of 19 i had bought a rear ended Lancia Delta HF Integrale from one of our customers as the insurance company had written it off due to the expense of repair, i spent the entire summer repairing it in the bodyshop and rebuilding it from the ground up, it cost me a fair bit but i had been left the money so it was worth it. 21 years old and driving a rosso monza lhd 220bhp 4wd monster........sadly it only lasted 11 months before i had to sell it due to the running costs and insurance costs. Quite possibly the most stupid decision i've made in my life as it was utterly sublime to drive and i'll never be able to afford another one.
I remember the MG Montego turbo, more torque steer than steering wheel steer. And turbo laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!
Had a couple of bangers from the age of about 14 to learn about engines and mess around in the fields and on the farm tracks where I grew up. First was a '65 Morris Minor - lovely car, surprisingly fun to drive, and very comfy inside. Picked up for £50 from a mate of my Dads. Intended to be first proper car when I passed my test but sadly needed too much work....would be worth a fair bit now. Got swapped for a '73 Cortina estate in bright yellow with a brown vinyl roof which was known as the flying banana and was truly vile. Again expired well before I passed my test.
First proper car of my own was another Cavalier - a silver 1987 1.6L handed down from my Dad. Really nothing special now but as above, loved that car - comfy, loads of room and could be hustled along pretty well. Not been a fan of anything they've done since though.
Car I loved the most (apart from my current T4) and the one I most regret selling on was my Red '92 Golf Mk II Driver. Just such a solid car, with bags of character and also great to drive. My father in law took it off our hands with 190K on the clock when we "upgraded" to a Mk IV (which I never really got on with), only for it to get nicked and totalled a couple of months later...I almost cried. Would have another tomorrow if I could afford it.
Lancia Delta HF Integrale.....sigh.... My dream car. Any colour will be fine.
Mate's Dad had a Montego Turbo
I used to service them in the rover garage i worked at, along with the maestro turbo which was a hoot to drive in a straight line as long as you could cope with the horrendous torque steer as they would tramline at the slightest provocation, when the turbo spooled up you had to have two hands on the wheel otherwise you'd be in the ditch.
Fancy pants electronic dash as well, but that was crap as i used to get the job of changing them on a monthly basis coz the lcd displays leaked or just stopped working for no reason.
Only two Montegos on the whole of eBay... but ones a belter;
[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1985-MG-MONTEGO-TURBO-Very-Rare-moonraker-blue-/281107151546?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item41734ababa ]eBay dreamin'[/url]
Forgot how good looking a car it was, in a 'giveafiveyearoldacrayonandtellhimtodrawacar' kinda way...
Somafunk and Samuri, I had a pick up with a 1400cc engine, ten inch wheels and S discs. It had adjustable suspension cones too. It was four wheel driftable on dry roads not surprisingly it would eat tyres.
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My highlights have to be the Mini, the cavalier and the Mk2 gti. All great cars.
Mind you, the lada was fun in a perverse sort of way.
Dads Sierra 4X4 estate, all the toys, 2.8 V6, first car I drove after passing at 17, brilliant fun, way too quick for someone who just passed, but it cornered like it was on rails.
The problem was it kept getting stolen.... and recovered.
18yrs old and givena Maestro 2.0 efi to drive round Scotland as a company car for the summer. God I hammered that car!
Mind you, the lada was fun in a perverse sort of way.
Folks had a couple of Rivas. I loved them as a kid.. felt like you were driving around in a tank. Always fancied a Niva after hiring a soft top one on holiday in Greece.
Just for the MK2 Golf fanboyz on the thread 😀 , here's mine...go on...buy one for yourself and tell the wife it's an investment as they will only go up in value year on year. Mine is currently valued at £6K and going up by £500 a year as long as i keep it in good condition but it has been rebuilt from the ground up at a cost of £4k+, 1960cc ABT tuned 16v engine conversion, quaiffe diff etc 192bhp 965kg, 0-100mph time through first 3 gears is....... quite fast enough 😉
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Driven like it should be i get 18 mpg, but to be honest i drive it with the utmost care and consideration for the car and maximum mpg which i have got up to 36.3 mpg apart from the odd 2nd gear overtaking manoeuvre when i stretch it a bit to the 7500rpm redline which is admittingly is bouncing the speed limit.
<drool>
Nice golf. Those cars handle very well too.
Ah Molgrips, the Nissan Stanza, we had a second hand one that did sterling service for five years. Mrs. S actually cried when we left it at the garage, as we traded up to a Bluebird.
Those cars handle very well too.
Especially with eibach roll bars/eibach springs, bilstein b12 shocks, fully polybushed and quickrack wi a lsd diff thrown in for good measure along with everything running gear wise replaced for original VW items (anything else and i wouldn't have trusted it under load) - a mk6 golf gti rapidly disappears in the rear view mirror 😆
Go on folks, for the price of a 2nd hand ford focus or mondeo you could drive something that actually makes you smile and it will gain in value every year so it's an investment really.
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A very nice place to sit but i admit it is rather noisy due to a 4 branch miltek manifold and 2.5" Jetex exhaust, but what a noise........ especially through the clyde tunnel as it pops and farts on the overrun.
Not an especially fast car or exotic in the slightest but i like it for what it is, a decent daily driver.
I miss the noise my Mk1 Golf Gti made, especially the pops and bangs on the over run. 60mph in 2nd, happy days 🙂
bearnecessities - Member
Mate's Dad had a Montego Turbo
Wow. Just wow!
That's what I said 0-60.
I assume you're taking the p1ss, but it was the fastest accelerating family car at the time, you probably aren't old enough to comment in context to the time.
samuri - Member
I'm sorry. I don't believe any Montego was put together well enough to withstand the strain a turbo would put on it.Doing some research reveals it had a 0-60 time of 7.3 seconds. That damn fast!
I think that was the opinion at the time, but it was sh1t hot acceleration (at the time) until it fell apart, which was quite often. It was a wow car for a very short time
I remember the MG Montego turbo, more torque steer than steering wheel steer. And turbo laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!
I never drove it, but it was the first car I sat in on a 0-60 drag race and was pined in the seat with g-force (I assume that's what it was). However, I recall within 6 months from new, it broke down on us twice.
I miss my last car, daft as it sounds an 05 citroen C2 VTR, had the car from new, 7 and a half years had to trade it for something grown up. I miss those paddles and xbox style driving, tempted to buy it back from the dealer!
One of my favourite cars that I never owned was the Fiat Strada two litre twin cam, rusted quicker than a Lancia but made a lovely noise..
I had a mk2 Golf GTI Big bumper version (1990) about 8 years ago, I miss that, but I don't miss it breaking every 5 minutes... was getting a bit long in the tooth by the time I owned it.
And agreed, they handled great, although the brakes were diabolical!
This tread is bringing back some memories.
I had a citiroen ax gt that me and a mate went halves on. We left it in the garage and someone nicked it and took it round the local BMX track 😯 absolutely wrecked it.
Car I regret most losing was a Mk 4 escort estate that we had about 11 years and in that time it had a new engine then mum gave it to me to put through an MOT and it failed on loads of welding.
I stripped it to a shell and welded it all up, had it painted and dark yellow and put a RS turbo engine in it. Did it fly. Only thing that stopped it was a Punto pulling out in front of me and I went straight into the side of it..
The bonnet folded over, the engine dropped so I couldn't move it and the girl who was with me asked " as it damaged our car ? " as I climbed out the window Bo and Luke style 🙄 she was eye candy to say the least.......
Words can not express how much I loved this car.
A 1988 740 GLE, it carried my wife and first child from Northwestern Canada to Winnipeg, to Montreal, to New York, to Vermont, Toronto, and back again. It never missed a beat, and when it did need repairs, I was always able to get my own parts and do them in the driveway.
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I would get another in a heartbeat.
A 1988 740 GLE, it carried my wife and first child from Northwestern Canada to Winnipeg, to Montreal, to New York, to Vermont, Toronto, and back again.
It's probably still running. Engines designed to power starships, those things; 100k is run-in mileage.
Indeed. I sold it to a friend with 320k on the clock, and he was still using it to drive between Saskatoon and Toronto with his family once a year two years after that.
I've had some quick cars over the years, even some concours level stuff. But in keeping with the everyday car theme the one I miss the the most is an old VW Vento.
It was a 30'odd thousand miler I bought from an local old boy. It was burgundy with an un marked biscuit interior. It was entirely ordinary with a chasm for a boot.
I sold it to buy an Escort RS turbo...
Have had a few cars I miss, original Cooper S, 1956 Landie, couple of my Spridgets, 2.8i Capri, a Senator (what a great car!) but in keeping with the original request - the everyday car was a. Citroen Xantia estate.
We bought it very cheaply with 42k on the clock to have a 'leave at the railway station overnight' car, thinking a few months at the most. Then kept it for 14 years and 240k miles with us. Never broke down, never had much done to it, carried tons of kit (self-levelling), seemingly did high 30s mpg,very comfy, once wound up carried momentum very well, great four wheel drifter on roundabouts! Never rusted (galvanised), went through snow, across ploughed fields, happily did mild to medium ish green lanes. Eventually sort of became all used up and worn out, drove to the breakers with 280k on the clock (they gave me £150) and cycled home - we all miss it : /
Rip Thunderbird 4!
Why the hell I sold my 54 plate civic type r I'll never know, it was SO much fun to drive. In the 4 yrs/40k I had it not one problem with it.
2nd best car I had was a vauxhall chevette hsr replica (don't laugh) standard as in piss poor 1.3 engine but with spax adjustable suspension. Bloody hell it could handle, always remember "racing" in my misspent youth with my mate who had a Renault 5gt turbo on some back roads and he said he struggled to keep up with me.
I had a B reg Mitsubishi colt 1.5l with a 3 speed auto box. It was as dull as dish water but as reliable as time its self. The thing just kept going. It carried all manner of bikes and tents over the years and never missed a beat. Loved that car and only got shot of it because the B pillar rotted through beyond repair.
I had a mk2 XR2 before that. Very fast for a shopping car and had loads of teenage fun in it. This ended up like most hot hatches of its day, upside down. 😯
I still have a 306 estate that is knocking 14 years old now. TBH it is definitely feeling every one of its 150000 miles but it never misses a beat and is going fully loaded with bikes and kit to France in a couple of months. I will be sorry to see this one go as like the Mitsubishi it has been a faithful companion on many an adventure.
loving this thread... as a 70's child... the 80's provided some notorious cars...
MG Metro Turbo...
Renault Fuego, think there was a turbo variant
Ford fiesta XR variant with pepper pot alloys
Ford Sierra XR4 (i + sapphire + cosworth) again some models with pepper pots
After passing my test was lucky to have as my wheels an Audi 80 LS 1975 plate (cadiz orange) then went to a Mars red 1977 Audi 80 GLS replaced by a Triumph Herald 1360 convertible... happy days
My mum had a Vauxhall Viva E Coupe, like a Firenza without the droop snoot and all the body add ons and souped up powerplant.
Loved that car, used to polish it for extra pocket money.
I had a 1991 "H" Mazda 323F 1.8GT, which was fantastic. I don't think it had a rev limit. I still regret selling that car! 😆
I had a 1991 "H" Mazda 323F
A Ford Fiesta, then? (-:
Mk II Golf and a couple of Mk II Sciroccos... Three, actually. One 1600 and two 1800s. My 1800 Passat's going to be missed when I have to replace it.,
My mum had a Vauxhall Viva E Coupe, like a Firenza without the droop snoot and all the body add ons and souped up powerplant.
My Dad had one of these, till I put it through a phone box 10 days after passing my test. Sorry Dad.
Vw Polo g40 only had it 3 months and wrote it off 🙁
It's not an old car, and I doubt it will last as long as most of the cars on this thread....
But, our Freelander 2 has got us to that many places in Oz where guys in jacked up Landcruisers gawp and wonder whether it was airlifted in, I suspect I'll miss it for the adventures it gives us to places where pretty much no other 'softroader' has ever been.
Back to old cars, I always wondered what happened to my first car - a MkV Escort TDI that was a lot faster than it looked. Wasn't that reliable, but took lots of people and bikes like a rocket round snowdonia, and being my first car, that freedom it gave is memorable.
Insert a joyful but unreliable 306 that a motorway pileup put out of its misery, and a MkIII Mondeo I was very happy to see eBay retain its reputation for selling shit cars with when some poor sod took it off my hands for 2K, then you get me to my last UK car - my MkIV Golf GTI. It wasn't particularly fast by GTI standards, but it was the best car I've owned. I did 40,000 in it from 60-100k without a fault (quite a novelty for my cars), and it got through the snow of January 2010 far better than any low-slung, wide-tyred car had a right to. If I'd known how much they're worth over here, I'd have shipped it, 100K 10 years old and all to Oz. I sold it for 1300 pounds after we'd driven down to London to emigrate, and found out quite rapidly that similar would be $13000 here in Oz 😯
VW Scirocco GTii, red with black sports trim. I still want that car back...
I still regularly see my dads old T reg (1978) Volvo 244 which he sold about 30 years ago. Coincidentally it now lives on the road around the corner from my brother and is in daily use as far as I'm aware.
I learnt to drive in a Morris traveller, it was a really cool little car. The one I really miss though is my old Renault Clio 16v, really fun car. It was like driving a go kart.
B reg (prefix) Uno 70s. A hoot to drive fast. It did 5 months of Felixstowe to Cardiff without missing a beat. The first car I bought after getting married.
The MK2 Scirocco was good fun too. 1.8 mechanical injection engine with Jetex exhaust and K&N Filter were all I did under the bonnet. The suspension though went down 25mm and poly-bushes all round with a lower leg brace at the front. On a back road it was loads of fun. Only room for a transverse hunchback in the rear though so it went when the children got too big for their seats.
Replaced by MK2 Golf GTI which was excellent fun for 10 years. Still don't know why I sold it!
Mk II Golf GTIs are nice but mine was just a CL. Bought in 98 a lhd french car for 500 quid from a dealer in Brum - went everywhere in it, to the alps to scotland summer and winter and never missed a beat. Was looking a bit tired when i sold it in 2004 for 400 quid but still going great. I would buy it back tommorow if i could find!Only sold it because boss at new job said it would be smart enough for visiting clients.
That's what I said 0-60. I assume you're taking the p1ss, but it was the fastest accelerating family car at the time, you probably aren't old enough to comment in context to the time.
You assumed wrong.....and I am.
Passed my test in my grand dads Herald so that car has some nostalgia attached to it. I was an apprentice in a Triumph, Rover, Daimler, Land Rover and Jaguar dealership at the time.
Dad had a Triumph 1300 which I put 36,000mls on in my first year driving 🙄 That was a really nice car.
1st car I owned when I was 20 was a Hilman Imp Californian ie an Imp estate/hatchback. That car took us to the only F1 GP I have been to at Silverstone. We spent the weekend camping and had the luxury of a telly which came in handy.
It turned very wet and there were a few crashes. When the race was stopped to clear away the debris we retired to the car, plugged in the telly, turned the windows down a bit and got the best of both worlds. Warm, dry, watching and listening to turbo cars racing in the ping rain!! Sold at 90,000mls.
This was followed by a few do-er uppers which got moved on in a regular basis making a few ££££ as you do 😆
I then rescued a '68 Cooper from a mate who had started to ba****dise it for an auto test car!! Took about a year to strip and restore. Magic motor.
This was replaced for a kiddy carrier ......... An Allegro, square steering wheel model. This car doubled up as my road rally car and those who sneered at it changed their minds when they couldn't catch us!!! This car was bought from a mate who was working out of his granddads home garage, he now owns one of the largest Mazda, Kia, Jeep, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and other dealerships in S. Scotland and N.England.....
A few ordinary VWs followed and then we got a Mk2 Jetta 1.8TX which is close to being our best car. Had it for 7yrs and 150k.
The best car barr the Cooper and Jetta was our last car '07 Touran, 2.0Tdi, 5yrs and 65k. Just did everything, bike carrier, load Luger, people carrie, wheel spinning fun against boy racers. Probably going to miss that motor a wee bit more than the others because of its versatility 😥
That car has been replaced by a Kia Sorrento for caravan towing and people carrying purposes but is not quite as flexible as the Touran in some ways.
everyday cars missed well
Mk1 Golf driver.........built to last forever, we used as a dog car mtn biking and sold it to a builder who ran it till two years ago, so many electrical problems at one point taking fuse out to start and stop the wipers....intresting but all sorted when we cleered the leaves out of the tray under the bonnet!
MK2 Golfs GTI....several version. best with big bumper sunroof and bore exhaust.......oh so much fun
Current car Lupo TDI 02 ......silly silly fun, does 80 miles round work trip along Aroad/B road and motorway and is just great, makes me smile as i park admist the Range rovers, Merc ML and audis. Drives like a go kart or a nice car sublime.
