My first car

[PHXPhlyer]

!962 Mercury Comet 4 door which was passed down to me when my dad decided his mother was fit to drive.
As I was 15 and had a learner's permit (one could drive provided a licensed driver occupied a front seat),
I could go anywhere I wanted provided I first took my grandmother to several grocery stores so she could buy canned goods on sale.
It was built like a tank, unlike newer cars, and did its part after a driver misjudged my approaching speed, approx. 60 MPH and tried to cross ahead of me. I hit him at speed in his left front quarterpanel.
Put me in the hospital for three days with fractured cheek from the steering wheel, bruised/cracked ribs, don't know which as they didn't x-ray, and a cracked kneecap, which was only diagnosed weeks later.
The cracked kneecap ended my high school baseball career.

PP

[Dushan]

First car I drove regularly, bought by my parents so I had transportation to go to school, was a 1963 2-door Rambler Ambassador.
The first car I bought was a 1965 Ford Econoline van. This was in 1975 and the thing was rusting before your eyes. Got it all spiffed up with shag carpet and wood paneling in the back. Even a round bubble window. And, of course, it had a CB radio.
The first new car I bought was a 1978 Honda Civic. A few year later it was converted into a rally car. Rolled it twice in two different rallies and it still went strong. The first time I rolled it, we put it back on the road with help from a farmer and we’re only 7 minutes late at the next check point. We still won the rally.

[Groundgripper]

(Mainly) 1933 Austin Seven bought off a fellow student at Bristol University for £50. Commuted between Bristol and North London and very quickly learned about the lack of effective braking from about 60mph. quickly found out about practial engineering when the crankshaft broke and I had to replace it in a snowy January in the outside back yard of another student's lodgings while studying for my finals. Paerents finally got fed up with the puddle of oil outside their front door (posh bit of Harrow, but at the bottom of the hill) so sold it to restorer for £25. Replaced with a new Austin Mini when I graduated.

GG.

[Rossian]

.....Was a Wolsey 1500, staid for a Flying Off, but newly wed that was the choice. It's the only car number plate I remember YZ1120, n'orn irish it was.
When it ran a big end I actually repaired outside the farm cottage we were living in by lying underneath (no jack) removed the sump, and pulled the offending piston down and out. A local garage helped by getting and fitting the new bearing shell and lending me a torque wrench to do it up again. When they heard how I was trying to fix it they said to bring it in by (if you get it going) and they would look over my "workmanship". They did and approved.
It ran well for another 3 years and took me and our "stuff" all the way to Kinloss where it expired shortly thereafter. I have no recollection of what happened to it. Did I ever ask why it ran a big end in the first place? Course I didn't.

The Ancient Mariner

[Malvernian]

As mentioned in other thread, my first car was 1959 Austin A40, BDB 877? ISTR. Cost £75 in1969, previous owner was Newboulds Bakery, presumable a salesmans car. Had supposedly 67000 miles on the clock when I bought it, but suspected later the clock had "lost" about 20000 somewhere. BMC Gold Seal engine and gearbox, hydro-mechanical rear brakes, one central cylinder through a linkage to rear wheels...never very effective. It had slide down windows that vibrated down when driving, so had to jam then closed with half a clothes peg.
Had to often hand crank it, and invariably threw the starting handle on the front passenger seat when it started. One evening, in the days of mini skirts, I saw a girl that I knew and was a bit keen on, stopped to give her a lift, she got in and sat on the starting handle....end of what could have been a beautiful friendship

[G-CPTN]

I had a Rootes Audax Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA.
Engine big-end and main bearings 'went'.
I laid underneath it and removed the crankshaft, which 'fell' onto me and winded me.
It took me a while to recover sufficiently to extricate myself from the predicament.
My then girlfriend (later my wife) claimed that it had lions on the roof-lining.

[Smeagol]

My then girlfriend (later my wife) claimed that it had lions on the roof-lining.

We must be told how she was so interested in the roof lining, and what she was doing at the time to be looking in that direction!

Or maybe we will just guess.

[Boac]

Ideally a lady should have other things to distract her

[G-CPTN]

I was feeling amorous with an earlier girlfriend, and I suggested that she should get into the back (of my estate car).
She declined, saying that she wanted to stay in the front with me . . .

[1DC]

Not sure if I've mentioned this before. When I was at nautical school studying for my Masters ticket their was a case in the local paper about a chap being sentenced for raping a girl in a Ford Popular. The bloke said it was with consent and the girl said she was taken by force. The chaps in class on this particular boring friday afternoon were discussing whether you could have sex in a ford popular without the consent of both parties and we couldn't reach agreement. The following Monday one of the chaps came into school and declared that sex without consent was possible in a ford pop, he had gone home for the weekend and discussed it with his wife. They went and rented a ford pop and tried it, to make sure they did it more than once!!

[ExSp33db1rd]

On moving to NZ initially bought a cheap car advertised privately. On the test drive all seemed well except that "something" didn't seem right ? I queried the relative low mileage, around 80,000 but the owner gave an acceptable explanation and we bought it. The odometer showed "Blank" 81234, and when I reached 100 K the odo. moved to 200 K !!! I then realised what had bothered me during the test drive, i.e. new cars don't come with "blank" odometers, they come with 6 O's ! e.g. 000000. The bastard had painted out the first 1. I knew where he lived and accused him of this, and he denied it, claiming that it must have been a previous owner, but the record showed that the car had changed hands at mileage intervals that were consistent with the times involved, until comparing his !

We bought another car.

[llondel]

I had al All-aggro for my first car. Did about 400 miles on a pint of oil, I could lay down smokescreens hundreds of yards long. It had a square steering wheel, too. Changed car within a year.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

My first four wheeler

16042244208_d98d200352-3316848245.jpg (66.91 KiB) Viewed 228 times

I was not the only one on the squadron without a driving licence.

Because some bean counter had removed the requirement for Officers to know how to drive (to save the expense of training them),
we all had to be provided with a driver when we were Station Duty Officer. MT fumed every time.

I eventually got the Service to pay because, in one's final year of service, the education allowance could be used for almost any course, and just covered my civilian driving lessons and test.
I did this in order to drive the aircrew minibus for 5 Sqn on a final detachment to Cyprus.
I did not actually own a car until age 33.

[John Hill]

I was somewhat amused some decades ago when we visited a certain consulate in London, UK. They offered to have someone drive us in the 'big car' to Brize Norton and it had to be the 'big car' as there were three of us plus the transport officer and a driver. We needed the driver as the transport officer did not have a driving licence!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

My driving instructor informed me that my examiner was well disposed towards service personnel, and I would be bound to pass if I could find some way of dropping the hint.
The first question I was asked was
"On approaching the vehicle, what is the first thing you check for?"
My immediate and instinctive response was
"Bombs!"
Mission accomplished (The IRA were still active).
The test was in Boston, Lincs, the only test centre that didn't test hill starts, since there were no hills.

[llondel]

My driving instructor informed me that my examiner was well disposed towards service personnel, and I would be bound to pass if I could find some way of dropping the hint.
The first question I was asked was
"On approaching the vehicle, what is the first thing you check for?"
My immediate and instinctive response was
"Bombs!"
Mission accomplished (The IRA were still active).
The test was in Boston, Lincs, the only test centre that didn't test hill starts, since there were no hills.

You were lucky. I did my test in Bath, where my reverse round the corner required a hill start in reverse up the hill to the corner, then be careful with the brake because round the corner was downhill. Then it was a hill start back up to the corner (junction), then another hill start turning right out of that junction, and yet another hill start at the top of the road (which I stalled the first attempt). I did pass though.

[Pinky the pilot]

My first Car was a brand new TA22 1974 Toyota Celica with the 1600 OHV engine. That engine lasted nearly 10 years and was replaced by a used 1600 DOHC engine which did about 80,000km before being completely rebuilt with 3/4 racing Camshafts. Suspension had previously been upgraded to a Race/Rally setup and I was running the widest tyres that could be fitted legally.

Virtually no power below 3,800rpm then........ Would rev to 8,000RPM quite easily in second and third gear. Ran the engine on either Premium Unleaded or better still, Avgas! As it still had the standard dual throat twin Solex carbies, it ran out of puff aaround 6,500rpm in top gear. Always wanted to get a hold of some 40DCOE Webbers but never got around to it.

The car was finally retired about 10 years ago and is now in long term restoration/storage at a local Crash Repairer. When finally completed it will have yet another Engine, a 3TGTEU. (1800cc DOHC, two spark plugs per cylinder Fuel Injected turbo)

Have no intentions of ever selling it! Had one of the best... er... 'experiences' in that Car one night!!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I have lived in Bath twice, Llondel, so you have my understanding and sympathy!

[Smeagol]

Like Fox3, I learned to fly before I had a driving licence...but my steed was rather more mundane, a Piper PA28.

[PHXPhlyer]

Like Fox3, I learned to fly before I had a driving licence...but my steed was rather more mundane, a Piper PA28.

D#1 is also a member of your club.
PA28 as well.

PP