What's your favourite/most memorable car 'moment'?
Discussion
It was a long, long time ago.
Four of us clubbed together to buy an old (even at that time) P6 Rover 2000TC. Our average age was seventeen and three-quarters and I was going on my first holiday without my parents, and, we were going to The Continent, as it was commonly referred to then.
Being sensible we thought it best to get our local back-shed mechanic to give it a service before we were off, however, the cost to replace both back brakes (complete!) seemed prohibitive against our meagre budget and said mechanic simply clamped-up the rear rubber hydraulic hoses thereby allowing zero fluid to reach the knackered units. Fair enough, after all, we always had the cable operated handbrake to sort things out if we found ourselves in need of extra emergency assistance. The rotating front seat passenger was never to let go of the handbrake lever, ever, just in case.
Collectively we had read the AA book of the car (and brought it with us, along with various Whitworth spanners) so figured that we could cope with most things that happenstance might throw our way, and off from Glasgow we set.
Unbelievably we reached Paris two day later, too expensive were the beers within touching distance of the Eiffel tower, so we headed for Belgium’s coastal campsites (those ten days were another story, but we’ll stick to motoring).
We figured that we’d put aside our petrol money to get home with and basically just drink and shag ourselves to death (not OURSELVES, obv) and leave an extra £20 for emergencies, just in case. As you do, at seventeen and three quarters.
Well…
Rolling off the Ro-Ro on the return journey the heavens opened, which coincided perfectly with the windscreen wiper motor committing Hara-Kiri. (Hint, they cost more than £20. even then!) So, remember quarter-lights??
Disconnect the drive from the motor to leave wiper blades flopping aimlessly and re-connect to string which was fed through said quarter-lights to back seat passengers. It never stopped raining for 400 miles and we literally rotated driver / handbrake man / wiper men every two hours.
The start of adulthood never felt better. What a holiday!
Distraxi said:
Positive driving experience: Back in the 90s, driving home late one night through rural Bedfordshire in my ratty Fiat X1/9 with the top off. Winter, snow covered fields, and a big storm coming up from behind me: the stars and moon were out in front of me but snow was falling where I was. The view of the snow in the moonlight and headlamps, the feel of toasty feet and freezing ears (X1/9s have an amazing heater), and the sound of everything muffled except that lovely little 4-pot singing to itself: just magic. It's still my happy place 30 years later.
Negative driving experience: Young, stupid, and immortal, driving over a mountain at night with a couple of mates in my Hillman Avenger. Pass a car towing a horse trailer on a very short straight with a few hundred metres drop to the side. Never should have gone for it, but as I say, young, stupid and immortal. Get past him OK, pull in sharply as I'm running out of straight, but he's on main beams and his nose is in the air due to the trailer. So I'm completely blinded by light in the mirrors and I can't see the turn at all, leaving me a choice of going straight on, hitting the wall, and hopefully not bouncing over the edge, or taking the corner blind and praying I remember where it went and don't just drive off the cliff. I hit the anchors, went straight on, and thankfully stopped with the headlights about 6 inches from the wall. But the sensation of "oh my God, I'm going to die, I'm going to take my mates with me, and it's all my own stupid fault!" has stayed with me forever. I'd like to say it made me a more cautious driver, but see "young, stupid, and immortal" above: caution took a few more years to develop.
Passenger experience: In a mate's Superformance Cobra doing the Targa Tour (non-competitive and speed-limited add on to Targa NZ for non-caged cars - same stages, closed roads, following a pace car to keep speeds under control). We, and a couple of R35 GTRs, had "accidentally" dropped a long way behind the pace car and were now "having" to hurry to catch up, and my mate was determined not to lose the GTRs. Lets just say that the only way a Cobra - even a 550hp one - keeps up with a Gojira on a windy road is through some VERY committed driving. In a car with no roof, no cage, no driver aids, and no crash structure. I've never come so close to s
tting myself in my life. We kept up with them though.
Spectator experience: Leaving a Rally NZ stage after spectating. Narrow road, cars parked all down one side, spectators wandering all over the fields. Steady stream of traffic moving at 20 km/h or so. Hear a whining noise behind me and turn round expecting to see a lost rally car in the queue. Instead it's a fully laden Commodore reversing up the road in the queue of traffic. About 20m after he passes me, the driver spots a gap in the parked cars with no pedestrians in it, drops the tail into the gap, and slides it through a perfect J turn, leaving himself driving the right way without even losing his place in the queue. No idea who the guy was, but it was the best display of masterclass car control and casual confidence (or maybe foolhardiness and blind luck) I've ever seen. Couldn't have been more than a foot or two of spare space, and the potential for it to go horribly wrong in front of a large and unforgiving crowd - not to mention his passengers - was immense. Despite not being an actual race moment, this 2 second memory sticks with me like nothing I've seen at a rally before or since.
I took a test drive in a knackered one a gazillion years ago and the heater matrix spat a hose. Just as I was NEEDING to brake for a SERIOUS right hander at WAY too fast. Options were calculated in miliseconds - scalded ankles or crumped car. Negative driving experience: Young, stupid, and immortal, driving over a mountain at night with a couple of mates in my Hillman Avenger. Pass a car towing a horse trailer on a very short straight with a few hundred metres drop to the side. Never should have gone for it, but as I say, young, stupid and immortal. Get past him OK, pull in sharply as I'm running out of straight, but he's on main beams and his nose is in the air due to the trailer. So I'm completely blinded by light in the mirrors and I can't see the turn at all, leaving me a choice of going straight on, hitting the wall, and hopefully not bouncing over the edge, or taking the corner blind and praying I remember where it went and don't just drive off the cliff. I hit the anchors, went straight on, and thankfully stopped with the headlights about 6 inches from the wall. But the sensation of "oh my God, I'm going to die, I'm going to take my mates with me, and it's all my own stupid fault!" has stayed with me forever. I'd like to say it made me a more cautious driver, but see "young, stupid, and immortal" above: caution took a few more years to develop.
Passenger experience: In a mate's Superformance Cobra doing the Targa Tour (non-competitive and speed-limited add on to Targa NZ for non-caged cars - same stages, closed roads, following a pace car to keep speeds under control). We, and a couple of R35 GTRs, had "accidentally" dropped a long way behind the pace car and were now "having" to hurry to catch up, and my mate was determined not to lose the GTRs. Lets just say that the only way a Cobra - even a 550hp one - keeps up with a Gojira on a windy road is through some VERY committed driving. In a car with no roof, no cage, no driver aids, and no crash structure. I've never come so close to s
tting myself in my life. We kept up with them though.Spectator experience: Leaving a Rally NZ stage after spectating. Narrow road, cars parked all down one side, spectators wandering all over the fields. Steady stream of traffic moving at 20 km/h or so. Hear a whining noise behind me and turn round expecting to see a lost rally car in the queue. Instead it's a fully laden Commodore reversing up the road in the queue of traffic. About 20m after he passes me, the driver spots a gap in the parked cars with no pedestrians in it, drops the tail into the gap, and slides it through a perfect J turn, leaving himself driving the right way without even losing his place in the queue. No idea who the guy was, but it was the best display of masterclass car control and casual confidence (or maybe foolhardiness and blind luck) I've ever seen. Couldn't have been more than a foot or two of spare space, and the potential for it to go horribly wrong in front of a large and unforgiving crowd - not to mention his passengers - was immense. Despite not being an actual race moment, this 2 second memory sticks with me like nothing I've seen at a rally before or since.
Car lost. (Fun wee car though!)
That sounds epic tumble dryer!
Wiping the smiles off all my friends faces on the local dual carriage way with my Suzuki Ignis Sport - meanwhile they was in their much newer (brand new) Fiestas. The car actually won SOTW - I was proud.
www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-features-sheds/she...
I still miss her to this day, a cammed Clio 182, Mazda 3 MPS and MG ZS180 has tried to fill the gap, however none as fun as the little Iggy.
Travelling down the A38 at a substantial speed in a Rover 45 having replaced the brake pads myself the day before with units that costed me £2.50 off ebay.
Another time was hooning my first car (a Skoda Felicia 1.3) in the snow, now that I think of it I was either foolish or brave, the things I did in that car.
Close runners up would be getting caught "dogging" in a Yaris and almost loosing my license in a Saab 9-3 Aero.
Wiping the smiles off all my friends faces on the local dual carriage way with my Suzuki Ignis Sport - meanwhile they was in their much newer (brand new) Fiestas. The car actually won SOTW - I was proud.
www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-features-sheds/she...
I still miss her to this day, a cammed Clio 182, Mazda 3 MPS and MG ZS180 has tried to fill the gap, however none as fun as the little Iggy.
Travelling down the A38 at a substantial speed in a Rover 45 having replaced the brake pads myself the day before with units that costed me £2.50 off ebay.
Another time was hooning my first car (a Skoda Felicia 1.3) in the snow, now that I think of it I was either foolish or brave, the things I did in that car.
Close runners up would be getting caught "dogging" in a Yaris and almost loosing my license in a Saab 9-3 Aero.
Just last year. Driving up the Grimsel Pass in Switzerland passed some slower moving traffic low down and had a clear drive to the top. The music was on and just as I came out of one of the tunnels Matt Munroe "Days like these" came on by random for my own Italian job* moment. Beautiful road! I repeated the track until I got to the top then sat for 30mins thinking how great a moment it was.
- without the bulldozer in the final tunnel
Going through a pass in Argentina on Ruta 41 that was only open to traffic going on way for 2 hours and then traffic going the other way for two hours, listening to Cinematic Orchestra in a hired Volkswagen 'Gol'. Sunset, followed by amazing starscape (it was way up in the Andes). That night we stayed in a delightful, but very modest hotell which turned-out to be owned by a former F1 driver. After travelling from Salta to Mendoza on unsurfaced roads, even my non-driving wife commented 'the car's not right anymore is it?' No car, not even a 4 x 4, would be right after 8 days of drifting on dirt roads through the Andes.
Also, getting buzzed by an F15 in the Californian desert in a Chrysler Sebring convertible on a dead- straight deserted road near Death Valley. However the Chrysler wasn't half as much fun as the Volkswagen...
Also, getting buzzed by an F15 in the Californian desert in a Chrysler Sebring convertible on a dead- straight deserted road near Death Valley. However the Chrysler wasn't half as much fun as the Volkswagen...
Going to ford show at silverstone with my nephew on the m40 a sapphire cosworth came past with the passanger filming as they went past, nephew says there laughing, I dropped a gear and left them and he said uncle Gary there not laughing now. My classic Impreza was running 507/470 at the time. Looked on YouTube at the time but couldn't find any videos 😄
Going to ford show at silverstone with my nephew on the m40 a sapphire cosworth came past with the passanger filming as they went past, nephew says there laughing, I dropped a gear and left them and he said uncle Gary there not laughing now. My classic Impreza was running 507/470 at the time. Looked on YouTube at the time but couldn't find any videos 😄
Edited by scoobygaz1 on Saturday 1st April 21:52
Getting chased out of Slamannan most nights. Its a small village just outside Falkirk. I was unpopular with the locals . At the time i owned a white Mg Metro Turbo , the local gangsta lol had a signal yellow Ford Escort mk2 Sport , he was fast but i managed to get down the road in time.
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