# What was your dads motor ?



## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

So, following on from the Top Gear thread and a brilliant first episode last night of the new series, it got me thinking about what car sums up your dad...

Mine was Citroen, he had a few and they were all great, but the one that sticks in my mind was the big CX...

It had the rotating drums for speedo and rev counter :thumb: Oh and my favourite a twin horn - quick press "beep", long press air horns kicked in - as a young lad, awesome  

Please post yours up :thumb:


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Although my dad had a few cars in his time, the one that sticks out for me because it was the first car I remember:

Mk2 Ford Granada 2.8 Ghia X. Metallic Green with Cream Leather interior. 

This was followed by a Sierra XR 4x4 which got Stolen.

Edit: What is funny, is I love old Fords. I detest anything newer from the Blue oval after that period. Bizarre I know but it must be due to fond memories of my Dad.


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## muzzer (Feb 13, 2011)

My dad had loads, a black Audi 80 auto was a favourite but if there was one particular car that you could point to and say that was dad, would be a Mk3 Cortina. He had at least 4 i think and the last one was a dark blue that ended up with rotten wings - a Mk3 'tina common fault - and he replaced them with fibreglass wings but never painted them.


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## Tykebike (Mar 27, 2016)

Shanks' Pony


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

Assorted sierras, and cavaliers. Also a maxi, and a countryman. His favourite was a 405.


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## Vossman (Aug 5, 2010)

My dad had an assortment of cars, before he passed he had owned a few Volvo estates obviously for his caravan  but before those I remember a 
Mk1 Cortina estate, 
Datsun Sunny, 
Mk1 Escort, 
Mk1 Granada Estate
Humber Hawk
Mercedes 220s
60's Chevy day van
Loads of old 50's motors that I can't remember the names of but had running boards on them.
In the 60's it was my memory that he seemed to have a different car every week.


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## SteveW (Feb 21, 2006)

I thought last night's Top Gear was one of the best episodes I've ever seen. Really well put together and lovely to see them getting emotional about their Dad's cars!

My dad was a Ford man when I was a nipper. He had a Mk1 1300L Escort for my first 11 years, that he had bought from new. He replaced that with a Mk4 Cortina 1.6L Estate that was nothing but trouble, but that didn't put him off - he bought a Mk5 1.6 Crusader to replace the Mk4.

I inherited that Mk5 when I started to drive in 1989 because he was offered a lease car from work. I think I got the better deal. He got a 1.6 Montego :lol:


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## minimadmotorman (Mar 18, 2012)

The car my dad had the longest which I always think as "Dad's Car" was a Silver MK2 760GLE Volvo (he had it nearly 20 years), however he had no end of cars whilst I was growing up as he had a taxi company so usually we had new cars before they went onto being taxis.

Stand outs I can remember (which weren't taxi's) are: Gold Opel Manta, White Citreon CX Pallas, Green MK1 Granada & a Gold SRI 130 MK2 Cavalier

Mum always had a little Renault like a 5 or a Clio then a 205 etc.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

My dad had loads of random cars when I was younger. The one that sticks in my mind most was the Volvo 240. We seemed to have that a long time and I can remember going on family holidays to Butlins with it. 

I also remember it had a sunroof. My sister and I used to stand up on the back seats and hang out of it. Health and safety really didn't exist back then. :lol:


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## Coops (Apr 26, 2008)

My dad worked in the motor trade (truck and then car) so had plenty of different cars, from MG Montego Turbo, to Jaguar S-Type, Lexus IS-F, and a V8 Range Rover, but I'll pick out just two:

Morris Ital - I remember it had an LPG conversion which was pretty unique back in the 1970/80s. We used to go out on a Sunday afternoon to fill it up at LFE Services, that was the only place which stocked LPG. Dad always used to get some sweets as a treat for the journey back.

Land Rover Freelander - nothing special in this, it was green with cream leather interior, but it was the last car he bought before he passed away. I can still remember the Land Rover salesman driving it away.................


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

Like others ^^^, a selection of mundane family saloons but he went out one day and came home with one of these [without saying he was going to change the car] - a Sunbeam Talbot convertible, in this metallic green colour.










EDIT: Can't get pic to show, just the URL


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Vauxhall Viva HC 2 of for donkeys years and then a Ford Escort. That was it during my 18yrs living at home! He only changed one of the Vivas because I got it once I could drive. Always had older cars because he was a mechanic so they never got changed, much to my mum's annoyance:lol:

He would also spend all his time repairing others cars but never his own unless it needed it. If a window winder fell off it was no problem as there were 3 others that opened. Yet if a friend living 20miles away rang one night to say their window winder had fallen off he'd be straight over there to fix it. :lol:


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## AnthonyUK (Jul 25, 2018)

My Dad was a mechanic and delivery driver for HR Owen so would roll up in all sorts of exotica. He delivered a good few of the Jensen Interceptors in the South.

Side note - of all the crazy cars he took me in, the most memorable for speed was a Dolomite Sprint :car:

The first cars I remember clearly was a couple of Rover P6s which he had during the 70's - OML 742E was one of them.
In the 80's he a Cortina mk3 estate that took us to Southern France and back. 
He then moved onto a 2.8GL Granada, a Renault Fuego, Alpha Beta and then a Range Rover which was more of a demonstrator as he was doing petrol to Perkins diesel conversions.


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

You must all be younger than me

Rover P6 3.5 V8 Auto in Almond (yellow to most) is the car that I remember most. 

Before that a Ford Zodiac Mk4 in British Racing Green.

Last car was a Rover 825 Auto.


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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

For me, it would have been either a red W reg Rover SD1 3500 SE or its successor, a silver Y Reg Volvo 244 GLT. 

Before the SD1 he had a brown Rover P6 2000 TC on the road and another 2200SC in the garage. Prior to that there was a blue Ford Granada Ghia 3.0 and before that a white Beetle.

The Rover was entirely as the history books tell it. Brilliant engine and gearbox, looked awesome, but the rest of it was not well built! All electric windows failed, the rear shocks were problematic, it leaked and the brakes weren't up to the performance. The Volvo was very well built, had excellent brakes, was mostly reliable but it did suffer pretty badly from rust and a couple of electrical relay issues. This was the first car I had after passing my test. A good education.

The Rover was an incredible tow car, the Volvo, not at the same standard.

After the Volvo came a Rover 827 Si with a great engine but so-so rest of car. I drove that too, until I went to Uni. 

Then he became a cheat and I haven’t spoken to him unless absolutely necessary.


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

Seat Malaga - complete with System Porsche sticker?! lol


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

I can remember every one of my dads cars from when I was born in 1979 until he passed in 2010.
Mark 3 Ford Cortina 2000e in dark gold with a vinyl roof.
Mark IV Ford Cortina 1.6 gl in Brown
Mark V Ford Cortina 2.0gl light blue with rear window louvres, rubber boot spoiler and CB.
Black Mark 2 Vauxhall Carlton 1.8 
1988 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.8 gli red hatchback
1990 Vauxhall Cavalier SRI in maroon hatchback
1994 Vauxhall Cavalier Sri 16v in white saloon 
2001 Vauxhall Vectra 2.2 CDI in maroon hatchback
2004 Vauxhall vectra 3.0 cdti in dark blue hatchback.


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## transtek (Mar 2, 2007)

Triumph Herald
Triumph 1300
Fiesta MKI 950
Austin Metro
Fiesta MKIV Ghia
Ford Fusion

Nothing exciting at all! (and showing my age I think!)


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

My Dad was a Sales Manager at both a Renault & Ford main dealer spending more time with Ford

He had the 1st Renault 12 in the Uk on the road even before launch day
The badges were covered with masking tape so know one new what it was :lol:
He also had one of the 1st Mk2 Capri's too - remember the reg of that one - TXG 2M

I remember the more (well I would wouldn't I lol) sporty ones as a teenager
V6 Capri's, RS2000's, XR3's (the non injected ones)


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## bellguy (Feb 4, 2021)

My dad's were a Ford Consul Capri about 62, then a FORD Corsair I THINK V6, then a Rover P6, after that not sure , I loved the P6 for some reason, think it was the then quiet and smooth ride compared to his previous cars lol.
Tinkered like hell with them all lol
He also like motorcycles and I remember him getting a bollocking off my mum for stripping a carburettor on the table while she was out but got caught just before the final assembly:lol:


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Messerschmidt KR200
Citroén 2CV
Renault 4
Toyota Corolla 
Volvo 164
Toyota Crown (my favourite) 
When retired Toyota Carina.


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## HEADPHONES (Jan 1, 2008)

Dad had an orangey red Austin Allegro estate.
Black vinyl seats that would burn the skin off your thighs in the summer when us kids wore shorts.
No sun roof or back windows so suffocation during the summer whilst sat in the back while your thighs got pan fried on the seats.
Those were the days when dad would drive me and my friends to the seaside in the summer hols.
5 on the back seat.
4 or five in the rear loading area and still have other parents trying to convince him there's space to squeeze their extra kids in:lol:


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

HEADPHONES said:


> Dad had an orangey red Austin Allegro estate.
> Black vinyl seats that would burn the skin off your thighs in the summer when us kids wore shorts.
> No sun roof or back windows so suffocation during the summer whilst sat in the back while your thighs got pan fried on the seats.
> Those were the days when dad would drive me and my friends to the seaside in the summer hols.
> ...


My childhood right there. The heat in those seats was just incredible. :lol:


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## 306chris (Jan 27, 2007)

We didn't have a car growing up. 

My dad had a Honda C90 for going back and to work. God I used to hate going shopping with my mum every Saturday and having to lug it all back. 

I was the first to learn to drive in our family, back in 98 I had a 81 fiesta pop. 

My dads first car was a white 1.8 mk3 cavalier. my mum then learnt to drive and she had a T plate 306 meridian D Turbo. On an unusual note 1 passed first time, so did my mum and dad and then my brother all passed first time. 

My eldest will probably remember my 306 xs. 

My lad remembers me having 100's of cars, I was a trade plater while was at primary school and I brought a different car/van home every night for about 4 years.


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## bigcarpchaser (May 6, 2008)

Matchless 650 with a double tandem style sidecar lol he never did learn to drive a car bless him.
His Mrs had a Triumph 2.5 PI
My mum had a Hillman Minx 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

My Nan had 1 car her entire driving life, she passed her test when she was 41 years old and went out and bought a brand new 1972, L reg (first time around) Hillman Avenger 1500 super. That was gold with a vinyl roof, finally was sold to a banger racer in 2009 only had 40,000 miles on it. I remember them (baby poo) greenish brown vinyl seats, no head rests, The horizontal speedo, it never even had a radio in it. Don’t think it ever went over 45mph in its life.


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## baxlin (Oct 8, 2007)

Pre-war Standard 8, through various lower range Fords, to an early Avenger GT (the first car I drove at over 100mph), to an import Fiat 124SS, (it had ‘messy stuff off a shovel’ performance for its day). He finished up with an automatic Golf. Ugh. A stroke at 89 stopped his driving.


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Not Top Gear related as I cannot stand the current Show but I spotted this Thread so though I would join in.

The first memory I have of my Dads Cars was in the late 80's, He had a Red MK2 Vauxhall Cavalier SRI with Brown Recaro's.

Think he replaced that with a E21 BMW 323I, Small Bumper Mk2 Golf GTI 8 Valve, Peugeot 309 GTI, E30 BMW 325i Sport.

Then he stopped buying Sports Cars and had some rather dull Cars for a number of Years until he did a Full Restoration on a White 1980 Triumph Dolomite Sprint which I have fond memories of watching and helping him with in the late 90's when I was a Teenager. He showed it at the NEC Classic Car Show around the Year 1999/2000 and then sadly due to a Divorce he moved away and sold the Dolomite Sprint for what was at the time a record £7000 as it was One of the best examples in the UK at the time.

He is now in his late 50's and I think he is having a mid life as after a very long break from Performance Cars he has recently gone out and bought 65 Plate BMW M5 F10...The 4.4 V8 Bi-Turbo one


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

From memory so will probably miss a few.. (some shared with my mum as he had a Van for work)

Started out with Hillman Imp
Ford Escort mk1 and 2
Golf Mk1
Mini City
Metro Van
MG Metro 1300
Morris Ital??? Van (had the engine swapped for a 1800TC)
Talbot Samba
Ford Orion
Suzuki Supercarry Van
2x Ford Escort Vans
2x Rover 800's
Citroen Berlingo Van
Volkswagen Golf Mk V GT
Seat Arona


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

That's fantastic with the photos^^^ lovely effort thank you.


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Top effort Christian. Many thanks.


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

Thanks, Not sure what the Brown Ford is :lol: before my time


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## rob267 (Nov 27, 2015)

Christian6984 said:


> Thanks, Not sure what the Brown Ford is  before my time


Its a cortina. 

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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

rob267 said:


> Its a cortina.
> 
> Sent from my SM-A405FN using Tapatalk


You look at the Orion then see the Cortina and it makes you (me anyway) think how much better proportioned the Cortina was. Orion looks like some kid has just drawn a boot onto the end of an Escort.

MG Metro still looks quite fresh imo. Any thoughts?


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Windows look massive on the Metro; presumably exc visibility.


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Only 67 MG Metro's licensed Q3 2020 but 305 SORNd. Only 2 Turbo's, 7 SORNd.


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Rakti said:


> You must all be younger than me
> 
> Rover P6 3.5 V8 Auto in Almond (yellow to most) is the car that I remember most.
> 
> ...


Correction: Zodiac Mk3. The Mk4 was The Sweeney car.

Just looked and there's a lot more of these still in existence than there are Rover P6's.


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

Rakti said:


> You look at the Orion then see the Cortina and it makes you (me anyway) think how much better proportioned the Cortina was. Orion looks like some kid has just drawn a boot onto the end of an Escort.
> 
> MG Metro still looks quite fresh imo. Any thoughts?


Probably my favourite. Ironically it got sold because of me, second born and wanted a bigger car so went to be replaced by the Orion :wall:. Quite rare with the Hella Spot lights in the grille from what my Dad tells me


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

My dad was a Datsun fan when I was little. Summer days, on the black vinyl seats was something that never leaves you. He was an advanced driver, and boy could he steer. Anyhoo, the ones I remember:
Datsun 160J
Datsun 120y (CIL 629)
Datsun Sunny (CIL 5904)
Nissan Cherry Jubilee (EIL 1687)
Nissan Sunny (GIL 1829)
Theres one missing here, and I've drawn a blank oddly. 
Toyota Corolla (RIL 2930)
Renault Scenic (UIL xxxx)
Ford Cmax Ghia 
Ford Cmax Zetec Auto
Vauxhall Meriva auto (with the suicide doors) 

One of my fondest memories is of dad and me going to lift my Granda every weekend in the Nissan Cherry, while listening to Dire Straits, So Far Away......

Cooks

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## bellguy (Feb 4, 2021)

I have to be honest, not ONE of the old cars would I ever want or do I like and never will 
Words can not describe what i feel about them :lol:

It's good that some do I suppose but when on the rare occasion someone wants us to actually work on one I make sure I am NOT in work for the duration 

Absolutely NO disrespect in any way, just my own total aversion to them and I can't help it lol


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## Gas head (May 28, 2010)

father learn to drive in a lincoln zephyr imported from the usa just before the 2nd ww by my grandfather apparently it was a huge vehicle unusually its a v12 motor, moved on to daimler double six, a fiat 130, ending up with metros and fiesta towards the end of his driving career as the bigger cars must have had a dent in each panel.


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## sharrkey (Sep 11, 2017)

Strange the only 2 cars I can remember was Sierra Ghia & Mini Clubman estate, can remember us going on holiday from NI to Butlins in Scotland in the mini lol
My memory just ain’t what it used to be, I blame all the partying & Kelly’s Portrush for that lol Ahh the good old Rave days


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

bellguy said:


> I have to be honest, not ONE of the old cars would I ever want or do I like and never will
> Words can not describe what i feel about them :lol:
> 
> It's good that some do I suppose but when on the rare occasion someone wants us to actually work on one I make sure I am NOT in work for the duration
> ...


A lot of them where so easy to work on, miles of space around the engine (except Peugeot and the Mini), basic electrics, and with a hammer and an adjustable spanner you could take them apart and put them together in a few hours.
Also the pleasure of tuning them after a service, with the tappets set, the points and sparkplugs replaced and adjusted, ignition timing corrected and the carburettor tuned, they would come out the workshop running as sweet as could be and half the bhp recovered.
Everything was basic, easy to understand and easy to fix.


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Caledoniandream said:


> A lot of them where so easy to work on, miles of space around the engine (except Peugeot and the Mini), basic electrics, and with a hammer and an adjustable spanner you could take them apart and put them together in a few hours.
> Also the pleasure of tuning them after a service, with the tappets set, the points and sparkplugs replaced and adjusted, ignition timing corrected and the carburettor tuned, they would come out the workshop running as sweet as could be and half the bhp recovered.
> Everything was basic, easy to understand and easy to fix.


Yeah, but that in-tune feeling only lasted for 3k miles. Then its get the dissie cap off and clean those contact points and re-set the dwell angle!


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## bellguy (Feb 4, 2021)

Caledoniandream said:


> A lot of them where so easy to work on, miles of space around the engine (except Peugeot and the Mini), basic electrics, and with a hammer and an adjustable spanner you could take them apart and put them together in a few hours.
> Also the pleasure of tuning them after a service, with the tappets set, the points and sparkplugs replaced and adjusted, ignition timing corrected and the carburettor tuned, they would come out the workshop running as sweet as could be and half the bhp recovered.
> Everything was basic, easy to understand and easy to fix.


I agree with some of it, I worked on the old bangers of yesteryear in the late 70s onwards and saw how poorly built they were, god knows how BL got away with hawking such sh#%e they called cars.
Most of Dagenhams Dustbins were no better , but hey, it's all in the past and for me is where they will stay.
My dad is 94 this year and loved his old cars, gave him many hours of fixing, driving, fixing, driving and fixing his cars lol, even he didn't appreciate the issues and bodywork problems of yesteryear.


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## Ctreanor13 (May 1, 2019)

The last car I remember dad having (before I started driving) was a grey Ford Orion (L664OMU) that he used to let me change the gears in driving round London. It made the trip over to Ireland and after getting the exhaust welded, someone in a transit ran up the **** of him and wrote it off, 100m from home. From there it went to a Peugeot Expert which I absolutely loved!


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## Bulkhead (Oct 17, 2007)

Having a dad who worked for BL, my childhood was blighted by the worst abominations to ever grace the roads. We had a succession of old and rusty Triumphs, Maxis, a Marina and a Princess. It eventually got better with a couple of Cortinas and Accords. By then though, the damage was done!


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## bellguy (Feb 4, 2021)

Bulkhead said:


> Having a dad who worked for BL, my childhood was blighted by the worst abominations to ever grace the roads. We had a succession of old and rusty Triumphs, Maxis, a Marina and a Princess. It eventually got better with a couple of Cortinas and Accords. By then though, the damage was done!


Ouch, It was bad enough having to repair such trash on a daily basis lol, being in my 60s and in the industry all my life I have seen some absolute garbage us Brits called cars :lol:
On a plus side IF it's a plus, some of today's iterations aren't much better, not many mind you lol.


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## slobbox (Jul 14, 2019)

My Dad had several cars over the years he used to buy cheap keep them running for 2-3 years then repeat but the two he always kept were A black 1940s Daimler DB18 ritz saloon. He was always going to restore it but never got around to it, he would start it on the odd occasion but that was about it. the other was a Rover P6 3500 in white with a black interior, I loved that car.


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

Bulkhead said:


> Having a dad who worked for BL, my childhood was blighted by the worst abominations to ever grace the roads. We had a succession of old and rusty Triumphs, Maxis, a Marina and a Princess. It eventually got better with a couple of Cortinas and Accords. By then though, the damage was done!


:lol:

Funnily enough, I know this Thread is about Dad's Cars but I was and still am very close to my Uncle and as I was growing up remember him having some shocking BL Cars.

3 x Marinas, One of them an Ital
1 x Triumph Dolomite 1500

He took One of the Marina's through an Automated Car Wash in the early 90's not long after buying it and when he came out of the other side it had ripped both front wings clean off 

The Dolomite had a combination of Newspaper, Axminster Carpet & Filler for Wheel Arches.

Whenever I see him we get on about his old Cars and he has me in stitches every time when he tells the stories about his battles trying to keep the Marina's on the Road.


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## Henry_b (Jan 30, 2018)

My Dad has had quite a few cars over 35yrs of driving unfortunately he can't remember all 40cars lol :doublesho :lol:

He does remember his first car which was a Brown Vauxhall Viva! :devil:

After that he had a few Fords escorts mainly however he did have a sierra that he bought new, however just 20mi into his first trip having bought it a truck drove over the bonnet and flattened it 

He also was quite fond of Volvos

1 1982 Volvo 240 gl - brown
2 1987 Volvo 740gl - Blue 
3 1988 Volvo 740GLE - Red 
4 1998 Volvo V70 2.0 - Blue

And Land Rovers!

1- 1967 Series IIA 2.25 diesel - Yellow/cream
2- 1968 Series IIA 2.25 Petrol safari 12 seater! - blue
3- 1974 Range Rover classic 3.5 - Tuscon blue!
4 - 1989 Range rover classic 2.4 Diesel - alaskan blue

And quite a few more but those are the ones he remembers best!

For me it was one from the list above and another which he hated!

His Range Rover classic 2dr 3.9 which he had for a number of years VGH17M piccy here!










It had a stainless exhaust on it and with the V8 you could hear it coming from a mile away the ride was good fun too it was super soft and would pitch and roll like you couldn't believe I remember once he was going down a lane in it at quite a speed and me and my sisters were in the back "no seatbelts" sliding around ohh it was so much fun 
Thinking back it was what got me in to cars, mainly the noise!

It had a non standard 3.9 V8 in it cam'd up with an offenhauser manifold and holley carb it was deceptively quick too, and would steam past cars like they were standing still.

:doublesho :lol:

Next up was this Silver Shadow he bought in 2003 for the summer it was fitted with some cool gadgets..










Its best feature was its R12 Aircon which in the summer, the A/C would get so cold condensation on the chrome air vents would freeze  :lol:

The cabin would feel like a freezer in no time, a cool or weird story "depending on how look at it"  was I used to get quite car sick and the RR was the only car that I was ok with because sat in the middle with all the vents pointed at me I'd freeze :lol:

can't really have a bad stomach if your eyes and nose are frozen :thumb:

What a car it was.

However the 6mpg around town and 11 on a run was ruinous he at one point was spending £40 a day in fuel for it! :devil:

Oh and when he used to drop off my sister at school the kids there would say "The king/queen of england has arrived lol only for my dad to step out i'll never forget that :lol:

fond memories though! :car: :thumb:

I'd say my old Dad is the reason I got in to cars, we used to spends days fixing them, him teaching me all there was to know about them!


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## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Henry_b's last sentence sums up my childhood perfectly too. 

"I'd say my old Dad is the reason I got in to cars, we used to spends days fixing them, him teaching me all there was to know about them!"

Dad had an assortment of cars before I was born, all of which were probably rust boxes or worth exceptionally high amounts of money now (although thats probably common for most of us!).

The first car I can remember (he had 2) was a beautiful Burgandy Ford Mondeo V6. Used to love him flooring it and this was back when engines actually made noise. Used to cruise down to spain with a caravan in tow and stop every few hundred miles for fuel as it would guzzle with all the weight.

Then he had a Volvo T5 in silver. I remember all the strange looking buttons inside as it was a big step up from the Mondeo. I always knew it was fast but it took years for me to realise why. 5 Cylinder Turbo. He used to chop anyone and everyone in it. I remember a specific moment in time where some boy racer tried to overtake him and we left him for dust. Laughed about that for weeks after. How nostalgic! Poor lad probably browned himself as my dads thinning hair line always made him look like a copper and they used those T5's religiously!


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## BrummyPete (Jun 10, 2010)

When I was born Dad had a beige Ital and a brown marina, him working at Rover for the first 18 years of my life resulted in their first brand new car, a Metro G38 HOV, then after Rover bought out the K series engine he bought a 214si G153 LKY, after that was a selection of 200, 400, 25 and 45 cars apart from a BRG Montego 2.0 SLXI which was my favourite


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

Had a good chat with my son about this last night.

He actually though my Dads Triumph 2000s, Mk 3 Cortina and Austin Princesses/Ambassadors were cool, he now has an XJ Jaaag.

I thought my Dads Rover P6 so so cool I restored and ran it for 8 years !

To my son, his abiding memory of my car is my 944Turbo which was my daily from when he was born in to being semi-retired now. Its a bit cooler than my Dads Sierrra...

What a great idea on TG that was.


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## vsideboy (Sep 1, 2006)

Agree, it was a good first episode, even text my dad to get him to watch it.

From memory he had:-

Red Triumph Spitfire
Blue Fiesta
Blue Sierra Sapphire
(At this point I was learning to drive, so just as I was about to pass my test he got rid of it and bought a..)
Bright Yellow Metro GTA
(So that was the first car I drove after passing my test haha)
Then he got rid of that because it was too thirsty
Can't remember what was after that but since then he's had
Land Rover 90
Land Rover Free Lander
Ford Kuga


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Some fantastic motors and memories :thumb:

Remembered my mother having a Simca years ago, came with a 2 speaker radio


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Andyblue said:


> Some fantastic motors and memories :thumb:
> 
> Remembered my mother having a Simca years ago, came with a 2 speaker radio


Oh yes, in those days you were lucky if you got a passenger door mirror, never mind a radio. I bet youngsters would think I was joking if I told them that!


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Andyblue said:


> Some fantastic motors and memories :thumb:
> 
> Remembered my mother having a Simca years ago, came with a 2 speaker radio


That has triggered a few memories.

My Dad's Datsun Cherry had a radio and separate cassette player!

My Aunt's Mk1 XR2, had a radio cassette player with two speakers. One speaker played the radio, the other was for the cassettes. Madness. Lol

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Rakti said:


> Oh yes, in those days you were lucky if you got a passenger door mirror, never mind a radio. I bet youngsters would think I was joking if it told them that!


You've just made me remember that about only having drivers side wing mirror...:thumb:


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

My dads was an Opel Record Estate


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Cookies said:


> That has triggered a few memories.
> 
> My Dad's Datsun Cherry had a radio and separate cassette player!
> 
> ...


One of my parents car had an 8 track (I think that's what they were called)...


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Rear Wash Wipe was also something you didn't always get, though all my cars since my 1982 Astra 1.3 had one. 75bhp and 100mph (saw 108 on the clock) from a 1.3 was high spec at the time. Just seen a website feature on them. Go on I'll treat you;

https://www.aronline.co.uk/opinion/unsung-heroes-vauxhall-astra-mk1/

Mine was the blue one 3 pages down. To me, the design looks surprsingly good for 40yrs old.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Rakti said:


> Rear Wash Wipe was also something you didn't always get, though all my cars since my 1982 Astra 1.3 had one. 75bhp and 100mph (saw 108 on the clock) from a 1.3 was high spec at the time. Just seen a website feature on them. Go on I'll treat you;
> 
> https://www.aronline.co.uk/opinion/unsung-heroes-vauxhall-astra-mk1/
> 
> Mine was the blue one 3 pages down. To me, the design looks surprsingly good for 40yrs old.


I remember the CX only having 1 huge front wiper blade and that was it...


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## vsideboy (Sep 1, 2006)

Dad watched that episode of Top Gear, said that he thought Paddy's fiesta was a lot faster than he remembers his own being haha.

Now I understand all the sunday drivers pottering along at 30 everywhere, they're not aware their cars go over 30 because they cars never used to!


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Andyblue said:


> One of my parents car had an 8 track (I think that's what they were called)...


8-track was fantastic, came standard in my Pontiac and the sound quality was (for that time sublime) also it wouldn't create spaghetti like compact cassette would do if they stuck.

Remember that many of the people born after 2000 never seen a compact cassette used in anger, probably never seen mini-disc and AM radio.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Rover 800 (D-reg). He always loved it but it was really unreliable, even from new. I think the timing chain snapped at one point and the engine lunched itself.

Just Iike this actually: https://not2grand.co.uk/n2g-projects/project-alan/say-hello-to-project-alan/


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## ken m sport (Aug 5, 2007)

My dad had a very poor selection of cars then completely surprised me one day...

Mini Cooper
Austin allegro 
Fait Uno 
Ford Escort
Daihatsu Charade 
Seat Ibiza (mk 1 - designed by Porsche on the side 😂)
Escort eclipse
Rover 25


Then completely out of the blue turned up one day with a brand new Escort Rs2000 Mkv.


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## DTB (Dec 20, 2017)

It's hard to remember them all, but many were crap:

Willys jeep
Mini Cooper
Woosley of some sort
At least 2 Austin Maxis
Austin Princess
NSU (I think that was some commie era car)
Fiat 136
2 variations of Citroen CX
A Citroen BX
Series 2 Landrover
Series 3 Landrover
Dahatsu Sportrack
Rover 2300
Rover V8
Rover 25
Austin A35

There were others but I can't recall what they were.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Caledoniandream said:


> 8-track was fantastic, came standard in my Pontiac and the sound quality was (for that time sublime) also it wouldn't create spaghetti like compact cassette would do if they stuck.
> 
> Remember that many of the people born after 2000 never seen a compact cassette used in anger, probably never seen mini-disc and AM radio.


Oh yes and having a hexagonal pencil in the car, just in case you needed to wind the tape back in


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## GeeWhizRS (Nov 1, 2019)

A few I recall were:
Volvo 240GL 🥴
Daimler 4.2 (Class magic carpet ride)
Merc G Wagon 2.8 petrol (drank it)
Mitsubishi Tredia Turbo (overdrive loveliness)
Renault Savanna estate (someone put a hose pipe in the sunroof and filled it)
BMW 320iSE (was mint, in colour and condition)
MR2 (moment of madness)
Golf GTi Diesel (remapped)
Now, BMW 120d & VW 2.4 tdi Motorhome (faster than it looks)


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## ridders66 (May 24, 2019)

Starbuck88 said:


> Although my dad had a few cars in his time, the one that sticks out for me because it was the first car I remember:
> 
> Mk2 Ford Granada 2.8 Ghia X. Metallic Green with Cream Leather interior.
> 
> ...


Bit of a funny story regarding a Sierra. A bloke I know bought a brand new Sierra Cosworth which was sent to Turbo Technics, another mate loved to copy him, so he did exactly the same. He drove it home, jumped out of it then called the other mate to tell him that he had one too. Thing is, he didn't put the handbrake on in his rush to brag, the brand new Cosworth very gracefully rolled backwards down the hill into his large ornamental pond.


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## Ennoch (Jan 31, 2006)

My first car memory was throwing up in the back of my dad's A reg Fiat Uno as a very small child. I was really upset at leaving my grandparents after visiting for a two week holiday. I could only have been two or three but it's still very vivid! I don't think my dad was too impressed. 

That was then followed by a G plated Vauxhall Cavalier as a company car, and then a new J plated Fiat Tipo 1.4 which still had carbs and a choke. In 1991 this must have been one of the last carb'd cars sold in the UK new. As a consequence I really have a thing for Italian cars, have owned a fair few and would love a Tipo Sedicivalvole to restore. 

This was then followed by a Vauxhall Frontera Glacier 2.4 petrol in Glacier Green. The motoring press hated these but I thought it was the best thing ever as a kid. It could go off road and was great for big outdoorsy trips to the north of Scotland, well before it became trendy amongst the ******gram generation (my family's from up that way anyway). 

That went when he changed company and got a Cavalier GSI 2000 (the 2WD one) for a bit as a pool car before his ordered Mondeo Mk2 2.0i arrived. After three years this was then swapped for another Frontera, this time a Mk2 W reg in Satin Red. Another petrol which struggled to beat 20mpg! A further company change brought a swap to a pool car 1.8 K series Freelander in metallic hearing aid beige. It might have been favoured in the press over the Frontera, it may have been the top spec HSE but it was an absolute turd. Hideous PVC leather seats rather than the comfy Vauxhall velour (I still think leather is utterly crap as a seat covering), an engine that blew two head gaskets, utterly woeful off road and on slushy snow and pretty uncomfy compared to the Vauxhall. Except Land Rovers were trendy and Vauxhalls weren't...

With the next company change he bought a 2002 Honda CRV new just as they had been released but as this coincided with me turning 18 and doing less as a family I didn't spend as much time in that car, although I now own it and it has it's own thread on here. 

Of all the cars the Tipo, Mondeo and original Frontera are the ones I look back on with fond memories. I'd actually quite like to have a Frontera and Tipo sat there as modern classics but a) I have no space, b) no time and c) there aren't any left!


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## marcusp13 (Aug 21, 2014)

My dad currently has a 335D and before that had a Leon FR. however the vehicle I always remember from when I was younger was a horribly bright blue escort van that he used for work and (if I was unlucky enough) pick me up from school in. I used to despise that van and hated whenever he used to pick me up.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Ennoch said:


> My first car memory was throwing up in the back of my dad's A reg Fiat Uno as a very small child. I was really upset at leaving my grandparents after visiting for a two week holiday. I could only have been two or three but it's still very vivid! I don't think my dad was too impressed. !


One of my first cars was a Fiat Uno, loved it :thumb:


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## Blue Al (Sep 13, 2015)

Transit Van, tinted windows 

Was always full of balaclavas....:driver:


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

Found a few more photos today of my dads cars, my mum got a machine to upload slides to the computer. The picture of the imp was blurry to start with sorry, the really old car was my grandad's, and obviously the race car at Silverstone wasn't his unless there's something he's not telling me :lol:


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Oh wow, they look amazing motors and memories there :thumb:


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Here's a few pics of cars in my family history.

Prob have more, so as soon as I find them, I'll post.












































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## Berylburton (Sep 14, 2013)

I remember an Austin A40 a Triumph 2000, a Cortina mk2 and a mk3.


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