Topic

Came across this topic in another forum which has produced some interesting replies!

I'll start...

An Austin A30, 1954 and eleven years old at the time. It was fitted with 'traficators', those orange arrow things that worked occasionally, nobody could see, and ignored in any event. Hours of oiling and testing during the morning had them working flawlessly - until the test that afternoon when inevitably they failed. I had to ask the examiner to lean forward so that I could thump the inside of the LH pillar in the approved fashion, and 'clonk'. One traficator, and to my mind part way to a fail.

Next the gearbox. If you've ever driven an old A30 you'll know that if you don't get it just right with the long wand of a gear lever sometimes the elderly gearbox just gets lost between 2nd and 3rd and you have to stop and sort it out. Yes, predictably halfway through the test. Flap arm in approved slowing down hand signal, thump LH traficator, stop, waggle lever, find some gears and finally head back to the test centre convinced of a fail.

Usual questions about the highway code and then:

'Do you have much trouble with that 2nd to 3rd change?!
'Only occasionally'
'Just wondered. My wife has one of these and I can never get that change right...'

PASSED!

I took lessons in my instructors Datsun Cherry with practice in my Dads Lada.
I failed the test in the Cherry but passed the retake in the Lada.

Ford fiesta...and here is the creepy thing...my driving test instructor had exactly the same name as my Dad...so I had lessons with both, my dad learnt me how to drive realistically, his namesake taught me to drive properly! Passed first time after a really bad lesson beforehand where my instructor said I would never pass if I drove this bad!

Sundance

I took my test in a 1937 Standard 8 tourer.
It was a 2 seater with hood, side screens & wooden floorboards, which let the water in when it rained. It had also been hand painted bright yellow!
I was booked in for the last test before lunch & I think the tester was ready for his as the test only took 20 mins., which I passed.

1977 @ Colchester in one of these.

Passed my test in a renault 11....it was the driving instructors car..fountain school of motoring.....Albert Jones was his name..The renault had a chunky steering wheel ...rare on anything else I'd driven.passed first time.

I was taking extra lessons with my dad in his mk2 escort which he gave me after the test.

And I had bought a mk1 escort while I was still learning...so had some lessons in that aswell.

Test examiners name was Mr Nelson and I took my test in stafford,staffordshire.
On our way home from the test the instructor drove back...he was driving fast...he explained he could just be in time to give somebody a lesson...has we got to my home town in stone there was a roundabout next to a cemetery. ..I thought he was going to put us in that cemetary as we swerved narrowly missing the kerb.

Well I was taking courses and pass my test in one of these:



Passed from first time, and tester examined all skill I needed to have at that time as I was pretty young then, taking courses from the first moment it was allowed by law.

After that I was using my dad's Lada, and since then I drove all sort of cars, ending in Rover cars.

Jaguar XJ12

Took on my driving instructor because he had a new mini Cooper (1990) and I had a 1974 mini 1000 waiting for me to drive legally.

Had one lesson in it till it got stolen and written off.

Did my subsequent lessons in a Fiat punto right up to my test when he turned up in a Ford escort! !!

I hour to learn the escorts blind spots and reference points and trying to deal with the carpet that kept falling down behind the clutch pedal making gear changes challenging!

Come test time it never happened again.

Passed!

I'd had a Ford Manglia from age 16 that I'd been tinkering with so when I got my provisional I press ganged parents, bros etc into accompanying me with L's. I was a motorbikist also so had basic road craft. Thinking that a yellow Anglia with dubious reliability might not be best for the test I booked two driving lessons with a local school, then a lesson and test time.

Passed first time, 1974, in a HC Viva. Luxury compared to the Manglia: the indicators self cancelled, it didn't jump out of third gear and you only needed one hand to shut the door. Etc.....

1993 in an old Hillman Imp cracking little motor, still miss it to this day

1970 in a pale blue Mini Countryman - complete with real wood trim on the outside.