What was/is your dads coolest car?
Discussion
Since we seem to be now listing all the best cars our dad's had, I'll extend my list thus:
Lotus Cortina
Capri 3.0S (the 'faecal flash')
Lancia Beta 2000 Coupe (nice rorty induction note on that)
Rover SD1 3500 V8 (130mph on the Autobahn in 1980 with 4 adults, 1 teen, and 3 kids in the boot myself included
)
Daimler Sovereign with Wolfrace Wheels. Oh dear.
Lotus Europa S2
Lotus Esprit S3. (In James Bond white. With slats. At the time the film came out. I loved that car.)
Toyota Supra 3.0 (we like to forget about that one)
[a few boring cars due to financial downturn]
TVR 400SE
Porsche Carrera C4 (964)
Prodrive Impreza Turbo Wagon (1995 - one of the first)
Impreza WRX STi v4 (grey import)
Audi 4.2V8 RS4 (current car)
I've been pretty privileged to have grown up with nice cars and my dad's enthusiasm and skill at driving have obviously molded me into the PetrolHead that I am today. Thanks dad.
Lotus Cortina
Capri 3.0S (the 'faecal flash')
Lancia Beta 2000 Coupe (nice rorty induction note on that)
Rover SD1 3500 V8 (130mph on the Autobahn in 1980 with 4 adults, 1 teen, and 3 kids in the boot myself included
)Daimler Sovereign with Wolfrace Wheels. Oh dear.
Lotus Europa S2
Lotus Esprit S3. (In James Bond white. With slats. At the time the film came out. I loved that car.)
Toyota Supra 3.0 (we like to forget about that one)
[a few boring cars due to financial downturn]
TVR 400SE
Porsche Carrera C4 (964)
Prodrive Impreza Turbo Wagon (1995 - one of the first)
Impreza WRX STi v4 (grey import)
Audi 4.2V8 RS4 (current car)
I've been pretty privileged to have grown up with nice cars and my dad's enthusiasm and skill at driving have obviously molded me into the PetrolHead that I am today. Thanks dad.
Actually I should name some others...
Morris Minor split screen (still got it, first car, needs restoring!)
Bubble Car (I think it was an Isetta)
Porsche engined Beach Buggy
Rover SD1 (he had this at 21!?!)
Daimler 4.2 Soveriegn (looked like a hearse but was stunning!)
Jaguar XJ40 3.6 (better car than most here would give credit)
Eight years ago dad went on a search for an Xk8... which soon turned to a search for an XJS as it was cheaper/ similar to drive according to his usual Jag mechanics, then he thought that if he was to go for a sports car it should be a manual and at some point a TVR became a possibility - so he started looking for a V8S...
Ended up with a TVR Cerbera 4.5 and has now kept it longer than any car previously except the Minor! Its here to stay.
Dad
Morris Minor split screen (still got it, first car, needs restoring!)
Bubble Car (I think it was an Isetta)
Porsche engined Beach Buggy
Rover SD1 (he had this at 21!?!)
Daimler 4.2 Soveriegn (looked like a hearse but was stunning!)
Jaguar XJ40 3.6 (better car than most here would give credit)
Eight years ago dad went on a search for an Xk8... which soon turned to a search for an XJS as it was cheaper/ similar to drive according to his usual Jag mechanics, then he thought that if he was to go for a sports car it should be a manual and at some point a TVR became a possibility - so he started looking for a V8S...
Ended up with a TVR Cerbera 4.5 and has now kept it longer than any car previously except the Minor! Its here to stay.
Dad Before I came along he had a lovely dark blue 1959 Mercedes 220S.
Like this:
After my brother & I came along he had a raft of boring saloons before I persuaded him to get a 205 1.9 GTi, he's loved his hot hatches ever since and currently has a Clio 182 Trophy and a Megane 230F1R26 - which given his age (over 65) is a pretty cool pair of motors IMO.
Like this:
After my brother & I came along he had a raft of boring saloons before I persuaded him to get a 205 1.9 GTi, he's loved his hot hatches ever since and currently has a Clio 182 Trophy and a Megane 230F1R26 - which given his age (over 65) is a pretty cool pair of motors IMO.
Earliest car I remember my dad owning was an Opel ascona, orange interior, I thought it was great!
Then there followed a mk5 Cortina, fetching paint scheme of rust over black lol....
After that there was the natural progression to a sierra, which had a wee joystick for selecting which speakers had sound! High tech when you are 10!!! It also had buttons for winding the windows down! it was the future!
That made way for a grotty brown 205, only a 1.1 too. I had just started at the posh school in town, and insisted on being left off round the corner....so he always made sure he left me off right outside the door lol
That was traded in against a renault 19 16v, which I thought was quite fast then
And that traded place with a rover 214i.
Then a newer shape 414si, on its 3rd head gasket...
And now a focus. "best handling car ive ever owned" says he.....far better car than you would expect.
His history with bikes was more exciting, but that died off when he got married and before I was born....
Then there followed a mk5 Cortina, fetching paint scheme of rust over black lol....
After that there was the natural progression to a sierra, which had a wee joystick for selecting which speakers had sound! High tech when you are 10!!! It also had buttons for winding the windows down! it was the future!
That made way for a grotty brown 205, only a 1.1 too. I had just started at the posh school in town, and insisted on being left off round the corner....so he always made sure he left me off right outside the door lol
That was traded in against a renault 19 16v, which I thought was quite fast then
And that traded place with a rover 214i.
Then a newer shape 414si, on its 3rd head gasket...
And now a focus. "best handling car ive ever owned" says he.....far better car than you would expect.
His history with bikes was more exciting, but that died off when he got married and before I was born....
Triumph Herald
Triumph Spitfire
Triumph Spitfire, met & married Mum (proper Mini Cooper), sold Cooper - don't need 2 cars when he is at Sea
Mum pregnant, sold Spitfire (couldn't get out of it
) Triumph Dolomite
Triumph Dolomite
(Notice a pattern here?)
(Triumph no longer producing cars)
Nissan Micra (original) Wanted an MG Maestro but didn't like the attitude of the salesman
Nissan Micra (just before new shape)
Peugeot 206
Triumph Spitfire
Triumph Spitfire, met & married Mum (proper Mini Cooper), sold Cooper - don't need 2 cars when he is at Sea
Mum pregnant, sold Spitfire (couldn't get out of it
) Triumph DolomiteTriumph Dolomite
(Notice a pattern here?)
(Triumph no longer producing cars)
Nissan Micra (original) Wanted an MG Maestro but didn't like the attitude of the salesman
Nissan Micra (just before new shape)
Peugeot 206
JonRB said:
Munter said:
JonRB said:
My dad's Capri was a 3.0S with a black vinyl roof and black vinyl seats. My sister and I used to get burnt on the seats in the summer and used to complain that the smell of the hot vinyl seats made us feel sick.
First car my dad did an indicated 125mph in, he told me.
It was a kind of yucky brown and colleagues used to refer to it as "the faecal flash".
Is it just me. Or are a lot of us saying members of our family had a Capri. Was the Capri the car that got a lot of us thinking "Umm fast mota'" when we were young that's led to us lusting over the front engine RWD car of our dreams....the MX5!First car my dad did an indicated 125mph in, he told me.
It was a kind of yucky brown and colleagues used to refer to it as "the faecal flash".
Or possibly something more like the TVRs. But you get my point. Was the Capri one of those critical moments in our up bringing that turned us into who we are...Anyway his other cool vehicles were a 1945 Willys Jeep and a 196? Austin Champ complete with water proof Rolls Royce engine.
By the way JonRB , I also have a Chimaera 500 - spooky.
Original Mini Cooper 998
Ford Escort Van
Ford Fiesta 1.1 L
Ford Cortina 1.6L x 2
Ford Escort 1.3GL
Vauxhall Cavalier 1.8 Li
Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0i GL
Vauxhall Carlton 2.0Li
Vauxhall Carlton 2.0i GL
Seat Alhambra 2.0Tdi
Mini Cooper - to recapture his youth...??
Then he had a stroke... and mum took over driving duties and she's upgraded to a brand new
Mini Cooper S
Oddly out of all those my best memories are of the 1.8Li Cavalier.. stonking engine in its day... he never let(s) me drive the Mini Cooper (s)...
Ford Escort Van
Ford Fiesta 1.1 L
Ford Cortina 1.6L x 2
Ford Escort 1.3GL
Vauxhall Cavalier 1.8 Li
Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0i GL
Vauxhall Carlton 2.0Li
Vauxhall Carlton 2.0i GL
Seat Alhambra 2.0Tdi
Mini Cooper - to recapture his youth...??
Then he had a stroke... and mum took over driving duties and she's upgraded to a brand new
Mini Cooper S
Oddly out of all those my best memories are of the 1.8Li Cavalier.. stonking engine in its day... he never let(s) me drive the Mini Cooper (s)...
Lord Benjamin said:
Coolest car my dad has owned.
After (thankfully) moving on from BL products, my Dad went all Jean Reno (I suspect before even Jean Reno went all Jean Reno) and started buying Renault's. He had a (fairly) decent start with a Renault 12, and then dropped the ball a bit with one of these...
...before progressing to the 30. After that he lost the plot completely and started what was, and still is (other than a 1992 5351 SE that coincided nicely with my 17th birthday), a long association with Volvo. Having said that, in spite of his transgression the front seats of a his old N plate 3.0 960 CD are still the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in.
That picture brings back memories... we had a Ren 18 GTS Mark 2 ?... I thought it was the coolest car in the world, it didnt look bad, it was silver but the big winner was that it had electric windows and central locking which were a first for us.After (thankfully) moving on from BL products, my Dad went all Jean Reno (I suspect before even Jean Reno went all Jean Reno) and started buying Renault's. He had a (fairly) decent start with a Renault 12, and then dropped the ball a bit with one of these...
...before progressing to the 30. After that he lost the plot completely and started what was, and still is (other than a 1992 5351 SE that coincided nicely with my 17th birthday), a long association with Volvo. Having said that, in spite of his transgression the front seats of a his old N plate 3.0 960 CD are still the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in.
My old mans car history is somewhat ropey...
In my memory I can remember
Vauxhall Viva
Another Vauxhall Viva
Vauxhall VX4/90
Hilman Avenger
Vauxhall Chevette estate (ex MOD, all black)
Vauxhall Chevette Hatch
Metro City
Renault 18
Metro Advantage (his first ever new car)
Suzuki Swift 1.0
Ford Fiesta 1.8d
Rover 400
Vauxhall Astra Estate
I had the coolest Dad...
Whilst others were being dropped off in Cortinas etc
He dealt in Yanks so I'd be dropped off in Mustangs, Corvettes, Trans Ams, Dodge Chargers...
Much cooler than WAY more expensive cars.
Although side pipes burn your legs when wearing shorts !
Whilst others were being dropped off in Cortinas etc
He dealt in Yanks so I'd be dropped off in Mustangs, Corvettes, Trans Ams, Dodge Chargers...
Much cooler than WAY more expensive cars.
Although side pipes burn your legs when wearing shorts !
Edited by redgriff500 on Wednesday 31st October 18:53
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