Topic

This will sort out the oldies amongst us: not a classic of the era but a current model.
This is mine: first car I remember riding in with my Dad.

Humber Hawk Series V. Ours was actually blue over grey, reg TPT 518. Now rare to see at classic shows. I recall bench seats and column change.....

Replaced by our first newbie in 1965: MK 3 Zodiac, just like this one...

American styling, chrome dials... And black vinyl bench seats. Ideal on a hot day for a kid in short trousers....

My first memories of a car my dad owned was a mini van..we has kids went on holiday in it...all 3 of us and 2 cousins in the back...we saw most of the view getting there through the back windows...nothing more than a blanket to sit on....I used to steer the mini has I was sitting on my father's knee down a local farm track.That oval dash is still in my thoughts has we raced down the v banks at night..me urging my dad to go faster has I watched the speedo needle rise...the smell of petrol and the air vent in the roof..thought I'd get a mini van one day but crikey have you seen the price of them now.

The mini van was a good van but it was my mum who made my dad swap it has she wanted us kids to be able to look out the windows has we travelled...you cant play eye spy in the back of a van.
The mini was replaced when I was about 8 years old for a triumph 1300.the mini had sliding windows and the triumph had wind down windows and wooden dash...we thought we were posh....this was a time in the 1970s when not every household had a car...there was probably a handful of car owners in our area...These days maybe 2 cars per household....triumph bull nose below.

First car I remember was a 1303 Beetle. Orange.



It was replaced by a Fiat Ritmo. Orange.

My Dad had a black Austin A70 ( NUL 448 ), that eventually fell apart. Before that, I can remember a Vauxhall saloon but I have no idea what model it was. I can remember it had the curved flutes (if that is the right term) along the bonnet and, a small boot with a lid that opened at the top.
After the Austin he got a Bedford van ( RJD 16 ) with seats, windows etc so it was like a big estate car and, it had an amber sunroof.
This was great because you could drive along with the sliding doors open and, not a seat belt in sight.

My Dad had a 1937 Flying Standard 12, which was stored in the garage for the period of WW2.
Our first holiday after the war was to Morthoe in Devon & we drove overnight to get there. [Don't know why]

My first automotive memory is of Dad's 59 Fairlane 500, as I was a baby, I don't remember much, but being fasinated by the taillights.
In fact it's my earlist memory......I was born a petrol head (my first word was "car")



I better remember his next car, a Studebaker Hawk GT, white, red interior and chrome wire wheels like this one



The first car I properly remember is his next car, a 67 Ford Falcon GT


I remember the sound of the 289 cu" (4.7litre) V8 bellowing at 100MPH ((@160kmh) on family trips to the country!
Such velocities were legal then, now you'd be publicly hung draw and quarted for even thiking of it!

I also remember both of my Grandfathers cars, Ron had a gold/white EJ Holden Premier like this one


Though it wasn't is such good condition,it was a bit battered and beaten, by all accounts he wasn't much of a driver. I don't remember seeing him drive.

The other, Sid had a Vauxhall Crester


My uncle Reg (his son) had a Cresta too. One had a Pa series the other had a PB series, one was white/pink the other was white/yellow.......I don't remember which was which, or who had what.
Both were awful drivers, had more than a few hair raisng rides with them! although not in the Vauxhalls the earliest "thrill" rides I recall with either of these two was much later in the Holdens that replaced the Vauxhalls
a dirty blue/grey HD Holden Special for Uncle Reg

And a silver/white roof HR Holden Permier for Sid, which he won in a raffle

The earliest memory of Dad's work vehicles is a EH Holden ute,

followed by a HK Hoden ute

followed by a XA Ford Falcon GS V8 Panelvan in metalic purple with gold stripes

Couldn't find a pic of a met purple gs van, it was a fairly rare combination, even in the 70's

The first motor that I can remember my Dad having was a Vauxhall Victor 101, same colour as the one in the photo, think he got it from the local car auctions for something like £15, this was about 1970ish. Fond memories of getting a thump on the head for shoving stones up the exhaust pipe, and barfing up over the back of his head while attempting to cross the Kirkstone pass in the Lake district.
This was soon followed by an Austin 1800.
Sundance

SundanceUK wrote: wrote:

......and barfing up over the back of his head while attempting to cross the Kirkstone pass in the Lake district.

My son has a similar memory of the Kirkstone but over his sister, we were talking about last weekend nearly 20 years later, strangely he doesn't blame my driving.

This is stirring some memories! Re. Cobber's reminiscences, we Brits often forget about impressive Aussie V8 iron, having always associated such cars with the Yanks via Dinky toys and films of the time.

I also recall my first case of car envy. Whilst we had the Humber, which I loved for its curved lines; like a kids drawing of a car I guess, our neighbours the Burkes owned a Consul Capri, the polar opposite of the Humber....


I was sometimes allowed to accompany Mrs Burke ( unusual but not unique for a lady to drive then) to the shops.

Sue's first dad car was...

Followed quickly by...

My parents best friends owned a sectional building company. Quite well orf. The company runabout was a Fordson E83W (I know now....., it was called Old Bertha, so I thought then it was a Fordson Bertha....)

It was what we'd today call a shed, tatty inside and out with all sorts of crap littering the cab. When my Mum went for morning coffee, as ladies did back then, I was allowed to sit in and pretend to drive it if it was at the house. My first experience of excessive steering wheel play....


The first car I remember them having was a PA Cresta, all wraparound glass, chrome and wings, then when business picked up I guess...

MK X Jaaaaag. Brand spanker. For a car mad 8 year old.... Absolute heaven. It was I believe the widest production car to date. Juuuust fitted between their gate posts.