Land Rover, K10 Micra, Celica Supra
Discussion
The car gene has been with me for quite a while now. Growing up, dad had a few quirky pieces of kit:
So, your average 11 year old enjoys playing on their bike or go kart. I fancied something a bit bigger, so a year or so later after a lot of messing around and learning the basics on old farm machinery, I bought myself this:
Completely original, no welding has ever been done, and runs sweet as a nut. I learnt a lot with it, mainly powerslides on snow and mud of course. The 5 year wait for a driving licence seemed like decades, it simply couldn't come soon enough. Over time I realised getting my old truck on the road as a first car probably wouldn't be the most practical thing in the world. The insurance was a shock for starters, 2.25 litre= speed, apparently. The asthmatic heater, 55mph flat out and 15-20mpg wasn't adding up. A trip to the seaside would only be viable if you were Ray Mears.
The next project of sorts was this Beetle. I've never been a VW fan but I picked this up for a steal.
It became fairly obvious it was far more of a rustbucket than expected, so I quickly moved this on.
By a stroke of luck, my uncle put me in touch with the daughter of an elderly gentleman who had passed away. His car was in the garage, and if I had it out of there by the coming Saturday, it was mine.
I couldn't have asked for a tidier car. Garaged from new and cared for like a baby. This has been a great little wagon since passing my test. Cheap insurance, hugely simple to fix and in 2 years' ownership I've spent around 50 quid on it. As it turns out they make quite good vans, and can even tow rakes around horse paddocks.
Late last year, the kiss of death strikes again. Dad is a sales rep (a sales rep with a tank, I know), so through his work he meets plenty of people. He always visited a shop owned by an elderly couple who talked about this Celica Supra they had in their garage. Owned from new, serviced at Toyota on the dot. One day I was fancying something else, as you do, and it occurred to me I'd never followed up on the Supra any more. Dad got in touch, a deal was agreed, and we set off with a trailer, a battery, jump leads, and some petrol.
I'd been warned about the colour, so I was preparing myself for the very worst of the 80s. It was even better than expected.
They apologized for it 'being dusty', and handed over a huge wad of receipts and history. It's a fantastic car, all the comforts and luxuries you would expect from a modern car, the air con is far better than our new Mondeo. Probably full of nasty chemicals they wouldn't allow now, but at least it works.
That's about it for now, who knows what the next acquisition will be. I'm hoping for a Triumph Spitfire or possibly even an MX-5, weirdly.
So, your average 11 year old enjoys playing on their bike or go kart. I fancied something a bit bigger, so a year or so later after a lot of messing around and learning the basics on old farm machinery, I bought myself this:
Completely original, no welding has ever been done, and runs sweet as a nut. I learnt a lot with it, mainly powerslides on snow and mud of course. The 5 year wait for a driving licence seemed like decades, it simply couldn't come soon enough. Over time I realised getting my old truck on the road as a first car probably wouldn't be the most practical thing in the world. The insurance was a shock for starters, 2.25 litre= speed, apparently. The asthmatic heater, 55mph flat out and 15-20mpg wasn't adding up. A trip to the seaside would only be viable if you were Ray Mears.
The next project of sorts was this Beetle. I've never been a VW fan but I picked this up for a steal.
It became fairly obvious it was far more of a rustbucket than expected, so I quickly moved this on.
By a stroke of luck, my uncle put me in touch with the daughter of an elderly gentleman who had passed away. His car was in the garage, and if I had it out of there by the coming Saturday, it was mine.
I couldn't have asked for a tidier car. Garaged from new and cared for like a baby. This has been a great little wagon since passing my test. Cheap insurance, hugely simple to fix and in 2 years' ownership I've spent around 50 quid on it. As it turns out they make quite good vans, and can even tow rakes around horse paddocks.
Late last year, the kiss of death strikes again. Dad is a sales rep (a sales rep with a tank, I know), so through his work he meets plenty of people. He always visited a shop owned by an elderly couple who talked about this Celica Supra they had in their garage. Owned from new, serviced at Toyota on the dot. One day I was fancying something else, as you do, and it occurred to me I'd never followed up on the Supra any more. Dad got in touch, a deal was agreed, and we set off with a trailer, a battery, jump leads, and some petrol.
I'd been warned about the colour, so I was preparing myself for the very worst of the 80s. It was even better than expected.
They apologized for it 'being dusty', and handed over a huge wad of receipts and history. It's a fantastic car, all the comforts and luxuries you would expect from a modern car, the air con is far better than our new Mondeo. Probably full of nasty chemicals they wouldn't allow now, but at least it works.
That's about it for now, who knows what the next acquisition will be. I'm hoping for a Triumph Spitfire or possibly even an MX-5, weirdly.
Thanks chaps, the Beetle I bought from a chap who had it stored at a VW garage in Tunbridge Wells. It was originally a 1973 car registered in Switzerland, then the owner moved over here in 1980 so it was re-registered on a V plate. It had a 'new' engine at 105,000km and was a great starter. You could leave it for weeks and it would fire up first turn of the key, even on a lazy battery.
The Supra is quite a machine. I was astonished when the garage door opened quite how tidy it actually was. There was an insurance record I found from 2005 when the elderly owner had insured it for the grand sum of nearly £400, and between MOTs that year the car covered 32 miles! I know by modern standards it's not what you'd call sporty, the suspension is bargetastic in corners, but on song she does make quite a howl. When you think in context it would've blown most stuff on UK roads into the weeds back then, I often get people coming up to me at shows saying how it was the car they always wanted as a teenager. There's not many left in the UK now, around 60 are still on the road.
The Supra is quite a machine. I was astonished when the garage door opened quite how tidy it actually was. There was an insurance record I found from 2005 when the elderly owner had insured it for the grand sum of nearly £400, and between MOTs that year the car covered 32 miles! I know by modern standards it's not what you'd call sporty, the suspension is bargetastic in corners, but on song she does make quite a howl. When you think in context it would've blown most stuff on UK roads into the weeds back then, I often get people coming up to me at shows saying how it was the car they always wanted as a teenager. There's not many left in the UK now, around 60 are still on the road.
Dr G said:
Toyota is very cool indeed!
Your dad doesn't live in Iver does he? There's a chap just round the corner with all manner of militaria parked up in his front garden...
Nope we're in Bedfordshire, there's plenty of us military nuts hidden away in all corners of the country! A friend of a friend gave us a DVD recently of him driving his Russian T55 main battle tank down the M62 and then running over a Triumph 2000 when he reached the new storage location, classic stuff Your dad doesn't live in Iver does he? There's a chap just round the corner with all manner of militaria parked up in his front garden...
Wizardskills said:
Nice collection you have there. I think I saw your Celica Supra at the Flitwick car show last weekend?
That is indeed the one mate, she was looking rough! Covered in flies and dirt but it's all clean as a whistle now for the Old Warden classic and performance show this weekend, should be good
LewG said:
That is indeed the one mate, she was looking rough! Covered in flies and dirt but it's all clean as a whistle now for the Old Warden classic and performance show this weekend, should be good
Haha thought it was. My car (The GT6) was just down for yours. I did have a good nose round your car as I have always liked the Celica Supra.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff