My 120Y Datsun was tidy when I got it but the tin worm didn't take long to eat it.
What was your first car?
- Thread starter RichardM
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Same here. I had the coupe just like this one, loved that car but it disintegrated into a pile of rust very quickly. This was my 2nd car, first was a Mk.1 Ford Escort which also rusted to bits.
After that I bought new, a Ford XR2.....which also rusted to bits!
My first car well i say car very lightly, Reliant Regal 700cc which i bought for £30-00 i then taught myself to drive using my provisional bike lisence, had it for 6 months booked a lesson instructor said right i will book your test 4 lessons later i passed my test in the afternoon i took my bike test and passed that, i then bought an escort van which was a blast, best car i have drove was my sons corsa vxr took him round some very nice back roads he was white as a ghost and banned me from using it
My son recently had a Juke nismo 1.6 turbo and they are super quick
I had a Regal van then a Robin car but as you say calling them a car was stretching it.
My very first car was a MK1 Ford Fiesta 1300 Supersport.
Bought it for the rs 4 spokes alone looked the part in bright red.
Sold it for 3 times what I paid for it when my mates at college seen it they begged to buy it.
Replaced with a Vauxhall Nova SR biggest mistake I ever made
Redemption came a few years later pug 106 xsi 1.4 the best car I ever had
Bought it for the rs 4 spokes alone looked the part in bright red.
Sold it for 3 times what I paid for it when my mates at college seen it they begged to buy it.
Replaced with a Vauxhall Nova SR biggest mistake I ever made
Redemption came a few years later pug 106 xsi 1.4 the best car I ever had
I had a Nova but it was a bog standard one i wish i still had it.
Similar to this but not GTE -
Yep that shape mine started as 1.3SR was gutless did not stop and rolled about the road compared to the supersport. Became a challenge as I was an engineering apprentice and had a father who built an raced cars. That little Nova became a sleeper had most of the running gear from Astra and Caviler.
Looked bog standard with steel wheels etc but they were 15in rather than 13in to clear the bigger brakes.
Got bored 3 years later and sold it, found it in a scrap yard a year later rolled and destroyed the bigger steel wheels caught my eyes thought that just like mine then looked what was left under the bonnet and yep almost certain it was my old one
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Mine was a W reg MK3 Escort 1.3L. Metallic Gold. Cut and shut. Reg: BSF 475W.
Got me all over the country and had a blast in it with mates. Used to leak water and have an inch of water sloshing around the floor when it was raining hard. Stank of curry when it dried out.
Went to replace the worn engine mounts and the whole front end sprung about 6 inches to one side since the front was out of alignment and kept in line by the engine. Had to use a 2 ton bottle jack to bend the front of the car over as much as I could then 'modify' the last engine mount arm to align with the engine mount. Complete death trap but I didn't give a toss. just drove its little wheels off. Never let me down. Amazed it passed MOT's.
One mate had a MK2 1.3l escort, sold it for a MK2 Fiesta XR2 and we were all insanely jealous. Another had a MK 1.3l Astra, which was by far the fastest of our first cars, which he sold for an Audi Couple with the 5 cylinder engine (2.2 L I think). I sold mine for a Cavalier SRi (1.8L) with Recaro bucket seats into which I fitted a kick ass audio system. Felt like an F1 car to me at the time. Sold it when I went off to Uni then had a plethora of really boring crap cars until I got a 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo (was 15 years old to me at the time) which was the best car I've ever had. Fricking brilliant thing. regret selling it. Couldn't afford to buy it back now assuming it is still in the condition it was when I sold it.
Got me all over the country and had a blast in it with mates. Used to leak water and have an inch of water sloshing around the floor when it was raining hard. Stank of curry when it dried out.
Went to replace the worn engine mounts and the whole front end sprung about 6 inches to one side since the front was out of alignment and kept in line by the engine. Had to use a 2 ton bottle jack to bend the front of the car over as much as I could then 'modify' the last engine mount arm to align with the engine mount. Complete death trap but I didn't give a toss. just drove its little wheels off. Never let me down. Amazed it passed MOT's.
One mate had a MK2 1.3l escort, sold it for a MK2 Fiesta XR2 and we were all insanely jealous. Another had a MK 1.3l Astra, which was by far the fastest of our first cars, which he sold for an Audi Couple with the 5 cylinder engine (2.2 L I think). I sold mine for a Cavalier SRi (1.8L) with Recaro bucket seats into which I fitted a kick ass audio system. Felt like an F1 car to me at the time. Sold it when I went off to Uni then had a plethora of really boring crap cars until I got a 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo (was 15 years old to me at the time) which was the best car I've ever had. Fricking brilliant thing. regret selling it. Couldn't afford to buy it back now assuming it is still in the condition it was when I sold it.
I don't remember but if definitely had a hole on it
Not mine obvs, but here's my daughter's first car. It arrived as if by magic last week as a mega 17th birthday surprise to girl-childs absolute shock and delight!
My first car was a puke yellow ford escort 1.3 GL MK3 from 1983. What an utter shed and the engine seized after 3 months.
My first car was a puke yellow ford escort 1.3 GL MK3 from 1983. What an utter shed and the engine seized after 3 months.
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Every Cortina I owned had water in the spare wheel well fortunately they had metal discs like small removable things like jar lids in the floor which you could drill holes in to let it out.
will lives up to the name Fix Or Repair Daily haha
for the record i have Focus my 4th one so not bashing fords I love em
Wasn't it great when we could fix our own cars because they had no computers.
1st car would have been a 1.6 Cortina Mk2, but some git stole it day before I was due to buy it. So ended up with this understated little number, mine was K reg but just about identical in every way with about 70K on the clock from memory. In many ways a terrible car, but fabulous engine - until it spat out all the coolant. Still loved it to bits.
On the 'wasn't it great when...' Chippy, I'd agree to some extent, but truth is that modern cars are much more reliable so need much less home mechanic to keep them going.
Over 12-18 months, Marina had a choke that wouldn't always stay on when you needed it- so always carry a matchbox - an intermittent misfire eventually traced to a hairline crack in the ignition coil (after replacing everything else), a fine mist from a leaky water pump that doused the electrics just enough to create a new misfire and the issue of twin carbs that were a sod to balance just right. Also, at 10 years old, most of the panels had extra ventilation holes. On the upside, lift up the bonnet you could see everything and had plenty of room to work in and, with a bit of help from my mechanic brother, could tackle most jobs.
By contrast, last 4 cars spanning about 25 years all had modern new fangled electronic stuff and a huge plastic panel where the engine used to be - I assume there is some magic device underneath the plastic that does the oily stuff. Current car has had nothing but regular services for 10 years and now on ~100K, no rust.
If you had read any of the big Corsa forums recently you wouldn't say that the majority of breakdowns are due to sensors which the old cars never had, i agree the old cars needed far more regular maintenance and failure to keep on top of them would make them unreliable but i wouldn't say modern cars are far more reliable.
If you had read any of the big Corsa forums recently you wouldn't say that the majority of breakdowns are due to sensors which the old cars never had, i agree the old cars needed far more regular maintenance and failure to keep on top of them would make them unreliable but i wouldn't say modern cars are far more reliable.
yep learned that the hard way few years back bought a very low mileage Astra, last of the 2.0 cdti, died on the drive home.
later found out was a sensor fault on the exhaust, if it went too high shut the engine off and could not be hard wired, only way was to reset with a scan tool, or let it go stone cold and never get it too hot Vauxhall tech said i must have been ragging it, far from in 60 mph in 6th on the M74.
£250 for a sensor or recommend replace the pair and wiring plus fitting £1250.
Engine was sound pulled like a train but traded it in once the fault was reset was open with dealer who said its fine its common fault if we can't replicate in the workshop it will be on the forecourt.
Got back in my 120k focus and kept it for a 2 more years with no issue
Beer Elzibub
Active Member
Viva HC for me. 1971 (I think) but bought by me for £250 in 1983. Part-X'd it four years later for £350 which means I can say I made a profit but was really just the dealer not hurting my feelings.
On a good day it looked a bit like this, although mine had four doors and a touch more rust.
