Your First CAR !!??

[cs.dk]

My first was a Peugeot 205 1,9 GTi with turbo.. Actually this one; https://www.bilgalleri.dk/galleri/369-peugeot_205_gti_1_9_t

I later fitted it with a Megasquirt injection system.

[tom66]

My first car was a 2005 Peugeot 206 2.0 HDi diesel.



(mine was in Diablo Red, a little darker than this)

It was not a bad car. It was later replaced with a 2008 Ford Focus 1.8L petrol, which I can confidently say was the worst car I ever had the displeasure of owning, and it cost me almost £600 in 6 months in repair work. In a stroke of luck I suppose, someone smashed into me on the motorway.  They decided not to stop, but I caught their licence plate on my dash cam and their insurance company paid for my car, which was written off. It was probably the kindest thing to do to that car.

Now I own a 2015 VW Golf GTE plugin hybrid.



It's a really, really good car.  I just fear that it will be expensive if something goes wrong.  So much technology.

[OE2WHP]

Had a Volskwagen Kaefer back then: Funny car. Air condition availlable only in winter and heating only in summer.

[vk6zgo]

DAF 66 1300 Marathon, with the famous variomatic drive.
I've done some cool mods to it but sold it 16 or 17 years ago.
The current owner restored it in near original condition and currently has it up for sale:

https://www.marktplaats.nl/a/auto-s/oldtimers/m1470153983-daf-66-1300-marathon.html?c=1cbcb1b540183caf56dfb1454bb6cfe2&previousPage=lr

I've pondered to buy it back, but I have bought a more practical car today. 

My dad bought one of these when we lived in England, in bright yellow.

I remember getting a lift from Fawley into Souhampton city, in a yellow  DAF  in1971.

It was LHD, & when the driver, who was Canadian, pulled out around a double decker bus to see if
it was clear to pass, it was alarming for the front seat passenger, to say the least!! 

[GreyWoolfe]

First car was a 1970 Datsun 510 4 door in lemon yellow. Manual choke and the butterfly loved to freeze closed in the winter.  Slid on wet surface into a tall curb and literally tore the driver side front wheel off.  When it was pulled off the curb by the tow truck, the wheel hung parallel to the ground.  First new car was a 1979 Chevy Nova 2 door with the straight 6.  Base model with radio delete but did have AC for all of $5400 US.  Loved that car and ended up selling it to my dad at just over a year old when the company I went to work for gave me a company car that I could use for personal use.  In 1984, he gave it to his sister on Long Island and it was in use until it rusted apart. 

[Halcyon]

is it really a good idea to post something like this, that is so commonly used as a security question ?

If you're silly enough to actually answer this security question honestly, then it's no longer a security question.

All the answers to my security questions are complete gibberish (complete with symbols) which I store in a secure location that no one else has access to. No, I don't recall the answers off the top of my head, but I don't need to. I just look them up if/when required.

[VK5RC]

A very old Humber Hawk, it had the Auto trans, but the band for 2nd (3 speed - dry plate clutch for 3rd) was buggered, so you had 2 real gears. It died after my father ran it into a tree when the brakes failed, he was ok but the tree wasn't!

[GlennSprigg]

Great replies. It's good that we remember this stuff. Back when we were excited & proud
of our first acquisitions!!  Back when money was probably tight. Had respect for things then.

I know modern cars are complex, but back then you could climb under the bonnet/hood to
work on those old simplistic engines, and I hate the throw-away attitude today. These days
they just tell you to replace the engine. I know mechanics can be expensive, but if you know
what you are doing, yourself, and it's just 'your' hours, you can save many thousands!!!
Bearings, rings, a head-kit... what ever...  $300-$400 instead of $5000+  Give it a go!!!   

[Gyro]

A very old Humber Hawk, it had the Auto trans, but the band for 2nd (3 speed - dry plate clutch for 3rd) was buggered, so you had 2 real gears. It died after my father ran it into a tree when the brakes failed, he was ok but the tree wasn't!

He was lucky!  When it comes to trees, the result is usually the other way round.

[GlennSprigg]

A very old Humber Hawk, it had the Auto trans, but the band for 2nd (3 speed - dry plate clutch for 3rd) was buggered, so you had 2 real gears. It died after my father ran it into a tree when the brakes failed, he was ok but the tree wasn't!

He was lucky!  When it comes to trees, the result is usually the other way round.

Re: VK5RC...  Auto trans are another thing where many people get ripped off. 'Usually' the only
real problem is needing a flush out, and/or replacing a broken $5 spring/plastic-valve, adjusting
the bands. Most places again say that you need a new trans!!!  90% of the time, that's bullshit.

Re: Gyro...  Back in those days, cars were stronger, and had real bumper bars etc. I know that
today, they are made to 'collapse' to absorb energy, but usually resulting in a right-off.

[james_s]

The two times I dealt with a flaky auto trans it was a good excuse to yank the stupid thing out and replace it with a proper manual gearbox. I loath slushboxes, they suck all the enjoyment out of driving and turn the coolest car into a major bore.

[Gyro]

Re: Gyro...  Back in those days, cars were stronger, and had real bumper bars etc. I know that
today, they are made to 'collapse' to absorb energy, but usually resulting in a right-off.

I was referring to the survival of the driver, not the vehicle. No matter how strong the bumper bars, or how good the crumple zones, trees are extremely solid and normally don't budge. You are pretty lucky to walk away from a head-on with a tree at any significant speed.

[james_s]

Unfortunately these days the entire front and rear ends of cars are sacrificial structures, it's stupid IMO. A properly designed car should have a sturdy bumper mounted on gas shocks with crumple zones integrated into the unibody behind that. This way the bumper can do its job, absorbing the impact from minor collisions and protecting the expensive painted panels, lights, sensors and other parts while the crumple zone is there to make the ultimate sacrifice only when it is really needed, in a severe collision. Volvo got it right in the 80s-90s, I had numerous cars rear end me and bounce off but when I eventually got creamed by a tanker semi the crumple zone performed as designed. Most modern cars will get you a repair bill in the thousands of dollars for a minor bump.

[blackbird]

My first car: A white Renault 19 Diesel, 3 doors. Manufactured in '92. Bought it in February '97

Quite a basic but comfortable car. Had it for about two years after which I replaced it with a Rover.

[boffin]

DAF 66 1300 Marathon, with the famous variomatic drive.
I've done some cool mods to it but sold it 16 or 17 years ago.
The current owner restored it in near original condition and currently has it up for sale:

https://www.marktplaats.nl/a/auto-s/oldtimers/m1470153983-daf-66-1300-marathon.html?c=1cbcb1b540183caf56dfb1454bb6cfe2&previousPage=lr

I've pondered to buy it back, but I have bought a more practical car today. 

My dad bought one of these when we lived in England, in bright yellow.

I remember getting a lift from Fawley into Souhampton city, in a yellow  DAF  in1971.

It was LHD, & when the driver, who was Canadian, pulled out around a double decker bus to see if
it was clear to pass, it was alarming for the front seat passenger, to say the least!! 

Well, the yellow, Fawley and Canadian driver all would match my father's car; however ours was RHD, and we didn't have it, nor live in the area until late '75.
But if you saw one on the B3054 in the mid-late 70s, that was probably dad or mum.

[GlennSprigg]

Well, the yellow, Fawley and Canadian driver all would match my father's car; however ours was RHD, and we didn't have it, nor live in the area until late '75.
But if you saw one on the B3054 in the mid-late 70s, that was probably dad or mum.

I remember some muso mates of ours years ago, "The Laws" from Canada....
http://thelawsmusic.com/bio
Back home, while touring, his missus would drive, (LHD), and he would sit on the right, and practice
with his guitar all the time, with the guitar neck pointing to the left towards his missus....
He told me that when touring Australia, (RHD), he would have to sit on the left, but couldn't
practice playing, without the neck sticking out the window !!!   
Very talented players/singers. Used to love playing sessions with them...

[vk6zgo]

My own first car was a 1936 Chevrolet " Standard" sedan, with the locally made Holden body, featuring "suicide" front doors, & a flat back rather than the "bustle" type boot (trunk) of the US model.
It was off the road more than it was on.

My next car, which you might as well call it my first "real" car was an EH Holden "Station Sedan".
It was great, took me all over the place for 10 years.
For the few times it was off the road, I bought a few "cheapies from time to time, one of which was the same model Morris Minor as the OP's one.

[Doom-the-Squirrel]

My first car was a 2000 Saturn SL2.

Did a lot of repair to it, such as intake manifold coolant connection, rear brake cylinders, water pump, AC system.

When the transmission lost reverse and skipped gears, it was time to get rid of it, mostly because the repair was more than the car was worth.

Now I have a 2012 Honda Civic LX.

[Brumby]

My first car was a 1966 Mini - very much like this one - with red upholstery.



Don't ask me why - but I can still remember the engine number: 9YATAH90300.  Is that weird?

[Doom-the-Squirrel]

Very good memory!

I imagine you've done a lot of work to the engine?

[nctnico]

A 1994 Toyota Corolla diesel. I did do a some work on it (partly due to the fact it turned out to have been hit in the rear and partly due to me getting into an accident wrecking the front).

At 340k km the engine developed a problem with -I think- the crank shaft bearings so that was the end of it. I bought it very cheap from the liquidator after my employer went bankcrupt.

[Brumby]

Very good memory!

I imagine you've done a lot of work to the engine?

Actually - not much at all.  In fact, I think I only ever changed the spark plugs and the points.


Oh ... and the distributor cap (but I realised afterwards that may not have been necessary).  The HT is right at the front of the engine and simply getting some water spray up in front could really suck the energy away from the spark plugs.

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

In my Mini I had to replace these very often: https://www.minimania.com/part/GCD101/Austin-Mini-Yoke-Type-U-joint-Rubber-With-U-Bolts-And-Nuts


Edit:
These are much better https://www.minimania.com/part/QL5000/Driveshaft-Couplings-U-joints-For-Yoke-Axle-Similar-To-Quinton-Hazel-Roller-Type a pity they didn't exist yet back then!

[Ice-Tea]

A 1.5D Citroen Saxo like this one.


None of that Turbo or HDi rubbish. Just plain old diesel. You could floor it, go for a cup of coffee and be back in time for the first hint of acceleration.

[Zero999]

Is it weird to have never owned a car? Been enjoying Melbourne's temperate weather, living the motorbike life ...

Me too. I've never owned a car. My sister and I used to sort of share a car, but really she used to drive it more and she was the named owner.

Nowadays, I just pedal cycle short journeys. I have a motorcycle but only use it when I have to travel more than five or so miles, which isn't often.