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Austin 7 |
When I was 15 I really wanted a car...any car. My car of choice would have been an A model Ford sedan or coupe, preferably with two doors. By 1958 I had saved up enough pocket money and deposits on bottles. Also supplying newspaper to the local Fish Shop helped ! My first car was an real antique, but at the time I bought it (for 15 pounds) I didn't realise that.. It was a minute 1926 Austin 7 in very worn condition but with everything working. It had a fabric two-door sedan body by Gordon England of the UK. The side valve 4 cylinder motor was 750cc and had a two bearing crankshaft. Ignition was by magneto and the gearbox had an external grate. It probably was a bit classy when new because most of the Austin 7s that I had encountered as a kid were two door roadsters with very mangy canvas.It worked and it almost was capable of running in a straight line. I was happy with this.. It didn't travel very far because it used to shear Woodruff keys regularly. I became quite adept at producing these when needed. The Austin was never going to impress anybody and the bodywork was never going to be repaired by me, even though I would have liked to. I sold it to a schoolmate for what I paid for it. I heard later that he took the motor out of it for a boat and buried the chassis somewhere.
By 1959 I was working in a service station and managed to save some money. Taken in by the the sheer
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I got a real job in a factory. I had an apprenticeship in engineering. I had (some) money. I needed and wanted a Holden. I got one. It was a 1948 FX-215 Holden - one of the first 150 built. I found that out because the button lock for the back doors was placed at the back of the door -thereby making it almost impossible to lock the car from the driver's seat. This design fault was rectified on Holden #151 apparently.
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FX-215 Holden |
My next car was an 1961 FB Holden Ute
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for which I traded in my excellent 1948 Holden.
Not a smart move. It had been doctored with rust proofing over cardboard on the sub-floor. Sure it looked new but I didn't like driving it over bumps.
Falcon |
So I bought a 1961 Falcon Ute which was painted pink (!) and hailed from Captain's Flat in the country. The car sales sprayed it black for a price It looked good, it rode well and it covered a lot of miles. I also fitted it out with a little known luxury... a heater.
Somewhere out in the west of the state the drain plug in the gearbox worked loose and the car limped back to Sydney where I became keen to dispose of it to an enthusiast
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Morris J-Van |
What seemed to be the obvious next vehicle
was a 1948ish Morris J-Van, ex NRMA, ex bread delivery van. It lived up to expectations which I must admit weren't that high. It got fitted out with a double bed in the back and did actually get past the city limits on a few occasions. An eccentric vehicle like this does grow on you and we certainly did miss it when it got sold.
It had been an eyebrow-raiser everywhere we went and was "interesting" to drive, especially over and down mountain roads.
A sporting Fiat 1100 four door sedan
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Fiat 1100 |
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Re-locating to England we sought out the obligatory
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Ford Anglia |
On our return to Sydney, there was only one real choice:- a 1963 EJ Holden sedan. Great car to travel distances but later to reveal rust in parts of the sub-frame just after we popped in a husky exchange motor. It was excellent to drive in and for us so roomy. We were very sad to sell this one off.
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EJ Holden |
What we needed was another large vehicle to go camping so we ended up with a 1970 Chrysler Valiant
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1970 Chrysler Valiant |
At the time we bought it (at auction) larger vehicles were being dumped because of jumping petrol prices. This was the ideal wagon for camping holidays. 6 cylinder and about 4.4 litre -it ate up the miles and, being a manual it wasn't so bad on fuel. There was room for everything and about this time we lugged a small caravan (ie trailer) hundreds of kilometres south to Berridale to become our snow accomodation. This arrangement worked well for several years and meant we were ready to pack our skis whenever the snow forecast wss good. The Val ran trouble-free for seven years but by then was showing its age.
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Toyota Land Cruiser |
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Chrysler 360 |
Next up was an emergency purchase of another Mazda 1500 way past its use-by date. We needed a car fast and we had spent all our spare money on the Chrysler. It worked (sort of) and I was amazed when some joker purchased this wreck off us because he was even more desperate for any transport.
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Mazda 808 |
Valiant time had rolled around again and this time we were lucky to come across another gem. a 1974 Valiant sedan. Reliable and comfortable it ate up country miles and being another manual, was remarkably economical. It gave us seven years of reliable motoring. It was our choice for the regular run to the snow
Volkswagen Golfs had always caught my eye so I had no trouble acquiring a 1974 Golf sedan which proved to be quite a serious performer in the city and on country roads. The cylinder head had work done as I later found out and although the car had had a hard life it fairly thundered on the open road. Furthermore it was a thorough delight to drive. It had a short life but a merry one. Once the cylinder head needed replacing it became very tame and was no longer fun to drive.
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Daihatsu 3 cylinder |
Bev had decided it was Toyota time again so the first Toyota Corolla Hatch came into the scene. It left the scene shortly after when ploughed into by a 4 wheel drive. A great loss..
The next was a 1986 Toyota Corolla Sedan which is still delivering product to this day without a hiccup. Absolute dependability is a valuable asset in my books. Build quality is impressive. Age is impresive.
The next to come was another Toyota Coroilla Hatch which was also destined for an unlucky fate. Whilst parked on a near deserted suburban , it was driven into by an 88 year old who had better things to do than concentrate where he was driving. Another great loss.
The Last in the current crop is a 1995 Toyota Corolla Hatch which is proving just as reliable and comfortable as all previous Corollas. As i write it is providing sterling service.
On the question of what car I would REALLY like to drive there is an obvious answer! My current choice of vehicle is dependent upon which car available is (a) Affordable (b) Reliable and (c) What I need to do the job. What I would choose to drive for the sheer fun of it is a 3 wheeler Morgan with a vee twin engine.
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Early Morgan Vee Twin |
I saw just one of these on the highway when I was a kid in the fifties and wanted to drive one ever since
I would expect it to be a mix of the staidness and comfort of a sedan and the roaring fun of a motorcycle!
Well they have just brought a new version with a thunderous American 2 litre vee twin. It looks sensational! Its performance looks impressive too as can be seen on the clips from You Tube
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Today's Vee-Twin Morgan |
If anyone has one they would like to lend me for the day I would be forever appreciative !!! Please leave your phone/mobile number or just your email thanx.
Visit My Photos https://picasaweb.google.com/trizzybit
Visit My Photos https://picasaweb.google.com/trizzybit