Favourite car your dad had
Discussion
A lovely thread.
How many PH's here are a) dads and are now b) sort-of-not-really-but-maybe-just-a-little-bit thinking about how their car choices will be remembered by your youngest?
Coincidentally only last week I was trying to picture whether picking my daughter up from school in '68 Dodge Charger would make me untouchably cool or a massive embarrassment. She's only 3 but it will take me the next 12 years to save up for one.
How many PH's here are a) dads and are now b) sort-of-not-really-but-maybe-just-a-little-bit thinking about how their car choices will be remembered by your youngest?
Coincidentally only last week I was trying to picture whether picking my daughter up from school in '68 Dodge Charger would make me untouchably cool or a massive embarrassment. She's only 3 but it will take me the next 12 years to save up for one.
My dad's favourite car by a country mile was his Aston Martin DB6, in white with red leather. It was an auto if I recall, and not the Vantage but the standard V8. Lovely sound, and the cockpit was beautiful classic Aston. This isn't the actual car, but same colour and model:
He used to take my brother and I to school in it sometimes, and we used to lie to our friends about how it had all these secret 007 buttons in the dash for the gadgets. The real crime was that as small kids (we must have been about 6-8 years old) we loved going to school via this back road that wasn't tarmac, all pot holes and gravel etc, as we loved the dust trail we left behind, and going over the bumps. Dad didn't seem to mind.
|http://thumbsnap.com/vSfjdLXv[/url]
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Sadly the car has long gone from our family, as our fortunes changed some years later and the Aston had to go. I have a photo somewhere, and will post it when I can find it - with mum in poker-dot white trousers with huge flares. Great memories.
What an amazing thread, thanks for posting OP! Makes me conscious of my own kids, now 6 and 9, and what memories they will have of our Porsche 993... clearly not in the same league, but a lovely car and it also has small back seats for the kids. I must plan some trips this summer, for me as well as for them, and maybe they too will one day look back with a twinkle in their eyes. I hope so.
If anyone has an old C-reg white Aston Martin DB6 that once belonged to William Board, bought from Duncan Hamilton's old showroom in Bagshot Square, then I would dearly love to hear from you!
He used to take my brother and I to school in it sometimes, and we used to lie to our friends about how it had all these secret 007 buttons in the dash for the gadgets. The real crime was that as small kids (we must have been about 6-8 years old) we loved going to school via this back road that wasn't tarmac, all pot holes and gravel etc, as we loved the dust trail we left behind, and going over the bumps. Dad didn't seem to mind.
|http://thumbsnap.com/vSfjdLXv[/url][url]Sadly the car has long gone from our family, as our fortunes changed some years later and the Aston had to go. I have a photo somewhere, and will post it when I can find it - with mum in poker-dot white trousers with huge flares. Great memories.
What an amazing thread, thanks for posting OP! Makes me conscious of my own kids, now 6 and 9, and what memories they will have of our Porsche 993... clearly not in the same league, but a lovely car and it also has small back seats for the kids. I must plan some trips this summer, for me as well as for them, and maybe they too will one day look back with a twinkle in their eyes. I hope so.
If anyone has an old C-reg white Aston Martin DB6 that once belonged to William Board, bought from Duncan Hamilton's old showroom in Bagshot Square, then I would dearly love to hear from you!
Edited by Outliar on Wednesday 25th March 15:53
Edited by Outliar on Wednesday 25th March 15:57
Edited by Outliar on Wednesday 25th March 16:13
Edited by Outliar on Wednesday 25th March 16:14
Steve_F said:
graham22 said:
It was a Detroit engined one of these that got him banned from driving (when lorries could break the 60mph limit).
Come on, got to say how quick he was going when he got caught! Epic effort anywayI used to go away with Dad in the lorry during school holidays, it would pull 80 quite easy but bear in mind this had only 300hp, aren't some of the new Volvos and Scanias 700hp+?
The Detroit Diesels didn't have much engine braking so it was going through brakes fortnightly until a Jake Brake was fitted. They were the first of the fast trucks, the old ERFs never used to maintain such speed, that explains why the trailer wheel bearing caught fire once.
I used to go in the truck with my Dad as a youngster as well. As you mentioned two stroke diesels I'm guessing your Dad had a Bedford TM? I remember them being the fastest trucks back then
graham22 said:
It wasn't so much the speed but the fact he got caught twice in the same area in a very short period of time - this was before the points system - we went to court with him too, Mum had to drive home.
I used to go away with Dad in the lorry during school holidays, it would pull 80 quite easy but bear in mind this had only 300hp, aren't some of the new Volvos and Scanias 700hp+?
The Detroit Diesels didn't have much engine braking so it was going through brakes fortnightly until a Jake Brake was fitted. They were the first of the fast trucks, the old ERFs never used to maintain such speed, that explains why the trailer wheel bearing caught fire once.
I used to go away with Dad in the lorry during school holidays, it would pull 80 quite easy but bear in mind this had only 300hp, aren't some of the new Volvos and Scanias 700hp+?
The Detroit Diesels didn't have much engine braking so it was going through brakes fortnightly until a Jake Brake was fitted. They were the first of the fast trucks, the old ERFs never used to maintain such speed, that explains why the trailer wheel bearing caught fire once.
Wow, what a great response! Thanks for all of your stories, I've enjoyed reading all of them.
Although I most fondly remember the Aerodeck, I had plenty of memorable experiences in his older motors too. In his Accord he took my brother and I to Sellafield Visitors Centre along all sorts of single-track roads that went up, down and sideways, sometimes having to stop to open gates to continue the journey. As well as the excitement from all of the g-forces going on from my seat in the back, we must've got through the entire Simply Red discography, which I'm sure he still listens to nearly 20 years later in his MX-5! That and Dark Side of the Moon... Those albums are permanently etched into my consciousness from so many journeys listening to the same songs.
Before the Accord there was the Sierra. That's the car he had when my car lust took hold, and I had a couple of toy racing Sierras, one with black and red Texaco livery. I had an innate love of the Sierra but was too young to understand why, I just did. In that car, which he was really quite fond of, I managed to launch the contents of my Mars drink by giving it a serious shake without realising the lid was not screwed on tightly. Dad was not at all amused.
Then there was the time I was near the car while it was parked up on the drive and noticed a lot of water had beaded on the bonnet, so I 'cleaned' it using a few leaves I found. Dad was not at all amused by that, either. Probably not as bad as what a mate did, though - he 'polished' his dad's new Celica with a brick!
While the Sierra was in action my mum had a bright red E reg 2CV, that got attention wherever it went.
I never had the pleasure of meeting my granddad but he seemed to be big on VWs, owning a string of brightly coloured Beetles. In his early driving career my dad was a Mini man and played about with them a bit.
I hope when the time comes for me to buy a car for family duties I'll at least get something that makes nice noises and is memorable - but I suppose the best memories aren't so much of the cars themselves but what you got up to in them.
Although I most fondly remember the Aerodeck, I had plenty of memorable experiences in his older motors too. In his Accord he took my brother and I to Sellafield Visitors Centre along all sorts of single-track roads that went up, down and sideways, sometimes having to stop to open gates to continue the journey. As well as the excitement from all of the g-forces going on from my seat in the back, we must've got through the entire Simply Red discography, which I'm sure he still listens to nearly 20 years later in his MX-5! That and Dark Side of the Moon... Those albums are permanently etched into my consciousness from so many journeys listening to the same songs.
Before the Accord there was the Sierra. That's the car he had when my car lust took hold, and I had a couple of toy racing Sierras, one with black and red Texaco livery. I had an innate love of the Sierra but was too young to understand why, I just did. In that car, which he was really quite fond of, I managed to launch the contents of my Mars drink by giving it a serious shake without realising the lid was not screwed on tightly. Dad was not at all amused.
Then there was the time I was near the car while it was parked up on the drive and noticed a lot of water had beaded on the bonnet, so I 'cleaned' it using a few leaves I found. Dad was not at all amused by that, either. Probably not as bad as what a mate did, though - he 'polished' his dad's new Celica with a brick!
While the Sierra was in action my mum had a bright red E reg 2CV, that got attention wherever it went.
I never had the pleasure of meeting my granddad but he seemed to be big on VWs, owning a string of brightly coloured Beetles. In his early driving career my dad was a Mini man and played about with them a bit.
I hope when the time comes for me to buy a car for family duties I'll at least get something that makes nice noises and is memorable - but I suppose the best memories aren't so much of the cars themselves but what you got up to in them.
Have to say some of the answers in this thread make me feel old!
My favourite at the time (honestly) was the Renault 4 van as we could stand in the back with our heads poking out of the flap above the tailgate - so much fun! Sadly he wrote it off by sliding into the back of my mum's R4 car on the way to work - embarrassing at the time as both cars were covered by a single policy (not dodgy I should add!)
Looking back the MG Maestro 2.0i was good. It had replaced the Montego version of the same which in turn had replaced a 998 Mini. The Montego was cool as it was an 88 car and had the turbo front spoiler. Little things...
Earlier cars included a couple of Marina's (1.8 Coupe and 1.7 Estate), and a Holbay engined Hillman Hunter GT. I have vague memories of a Humber Hawk but that was an old car even then! Probably the most radical was the tuned metallic blue 1275 Mini with bucket seats and an 850 Mini FDR - it topped out at about 80 but went like stink off the line (relative to my personal benchmarks of previously mentioned Renault 4s and a Fiat Panda).
All happy memories - thanks for the topic!
My favourite at the time (honestly) was the Renault 4 van as we could stand in the back with our heads poking out of the flap above the tailgate - so much fun! Sadly he wrote it off by sliding into the back of my mum's R4 car on the way to work - embarrassing at the time as both cars were covered by a single policy (not dodgy I should add!)
Looking back the MG Maestro 2.0i was good. It had replaced the Montego version of the same which in turn had replaced a 998 Mini. The Montego was cool as it was an 88 car and had the turbo front spoiler. Little things...
Earlier cars included a couple of Marina's (1.8 Coupe and 1.7 Estate), and a Holbay engined Hillman Hunter GT. I have vague memories of a Humber Hawk but that was an old car even then! Probably the most radical was the tuned metallic blue 1275 Mini with bucket seats and an 850 Mini FDR - it topped out at about 80 but went like stink off the line (relative to my personal benchmarks of previously mentioned Renault 4s and a Fiat Panda).
All happy memories - thanks for the topic!
This is a Suntor Marina. We had two. KUN949P in White like this one.?but being a British Leyland car it went wrong so we were given KUN 855P a green one.
In a 1970s world where every other car in our culled sac was a Marina of some sort, this was head and shoulders above the rest in my six year old mind.
It had a sink, gas cooker and a bed in the roof for me to sleep in when we went on holidays.
My friends lived coming for trips with us and when there was a local election where a family friend was standing, it got plastered with posters and had a megaphone on it.
What's more it once appeared on Bationwide when my Dad (he was a journalist) was interviewed about something he was doing.
Torrcsrs which did the conversion was based at Gt Tortington in Devin, and the guys wre mates in my Dad. I used to
Go to the factory to see them being converted out if Msrina vans which arrived stripped out from BL with just a drivers seat.
They cut the roof off and made windows. I recall they also did Sherpa campers Toyotas and made hatch back Princess conversions before the Ambassador.
Edited by wildcat45 on Wednesday 25th March 19:26
[footnote]Edited by wildcat45 on Wednesday 25th March 19:28[/footnote
It won't Lagos the pic I have tried to upload
Edited by wildcat45 on Wednesday 25th March 19:29
Mr E said:
OutOfSync said:
I think we have a winner ...
And a loser.My dad had two of these. At the same time...
One was red. One was two tone brown.
1985 Porsche 944 2.5 Lux, Guards Red.
Did'nt bother telling my mum he was buying it, just come home with it one night, came into the house and asked her whose car that was outside.
Once she twigged what was going it kicked off royally, I ran upstairs because I had been in on it all along..
Did'nt bother telling my mum he was buying it, just come home with it one night, came into the house and asked her whose car that was outside.
Once she twigged what was going it kicked off royally, I ran upstairs because I had been in on it all along..
Chiaroni said:
1985 Porsche 944 2.5 Lux, Guards Red.
Did'nt bother telling my mum he was buying it, just come home with it one night, came into the house and asked her whose car that was outside.
Once she twigged what was going it kicked off royally, I ran upstairs because I had been in on it all along..
Did'nt bother telling my mum he was buying it, just come home with it one night, came into the house and asked her whose car that was outside.
Once she twigged what was going it kicked off royally, I ran upstairs because I had been in on it all along..
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