My First Car £10 A35 Estate!
Discussion
My first was a mk IV Hillman Minx for a £10 note it had rotten wings and a shagged clutch slave cylinder . I tinkered with it for a couple of months while I enjoyed free parking in my neighbours garage. They moved so the car had to go as I didn't have a licence. Next was a Mk V Minx estate for £15 .light grey with a red interior. That got fitted with a Holbay H120 engine and rostyle wheels . It lasted until I tried jumping Barford bridge and the spring hangers came through the boot . The Mk2 Zodiac in pale yellow that came next was super expensive at £25 the optional oil filler that fired off on cold start up was really annoying.
Like many of my generation the cheap bangers of my early driving years are all collectable these days .
I did a list of all the road legal cars that I have owned and it totaled over 100 and except for a few of the later ones they would all be worth many times what they cost when I owned them .
Like many of my generation the cheap bangers of my early driving years are all collectable these days .
I did a list of all the road legal cars that I have owned and it totaled over 100 and except for a few of the later ones they would all be worth many times what they cost when I owned them .
sideways man said:
My first was a £50 Mark 1 escort. Two new wings and a 1600 engine to replace the smokey 1100, I thought I was chocolate. Still kept the drum brakes all round, as I didn’t care about stopping back then 
Sold it for £100.......
My second was an Escort which was a major learning curve both in engineering and driving!Sold it for £100.......
In 1974 they were selling the last of the Mexico bodyshells in grey primer for £295 so I bought one. At the same time a burnt out Gilbern Invader arrived at our local scrapyard. It looked a real mess as the glass fibre had melted over the engine and gearbox after a big fire.
I bought them for £25, which was a bit of a risk as I was not sure what was underneath.
The fire had melted the carb but not hurt the manifold. New gaskets and electrics and seals but the engine and gearbox were basically ok as the car had only done five thousand miles. The Laycock overdrive had survived as well.
Not being much over twenty at the time my father wisely demanded that I put a full roll cage in it.
I think I fitted a Weber 40 DFI5 carb and a Piper Cam plus a Cortina Estate Salisbury axle with 3.09 diff. located with Panhard rod and radius arms. So slightly wider track at the rear.
Finished it off with RS front brakes and suspension with stronger springs and I have to say it went very well and I kept it for ten years. It became a little rusty and I took out the mechanicals and put them in a Dutton which I still have
In another move I shall always regret I gave the quite sound Mexico shell with roll cage to a grass track racer.........!!!!
Edited by Vanin on Friday 17th May 07:58
Vanin said:
1969, I was fifteen and wanted something to drive around the farm.
Wish I had looked after it and not had a demolition Derby with my brother in his Morris Isis, also £10!
Here I am wondering how to fix several things with no knowledge of much mechanical!
I thought you were on a mobile phone in that picture …… then thought again Wish I had looked after it and not had a demolition Derby with my brother in his Morris Isis, also £10!
Here I am wondering how to fix several things with no knowledge of much mechanical!
Memories.
My first car bought for £100. An 1956 A30 van with windows ,or if you wanted to be posh an A30 Countryman. Note the aftermarket white side stripe and the indicators mounted on the roof.
Autocar tested the saloon at the time and managed to squeeze a heady 62 mph from the 803cc.
The 0 -50 (not 60) time was 29 seconds.
As a contrast my current car is 650 HP and hits 60 mph in a little over 3 seconds.
scs1 said:
Memories.
My first car bought for £100. An 1956 A30 van with windows ,or if you wanted to be posh an A30 Countryman. Note the aftermarket white side stripe and the indicators mounted on the roof.
Autocar tested the saloon at the time and managed to squeeze a heady 62 mph from the 803cc.
The 0 -50 (not 60) time was 29 seconds.
As a contrast my current car is 650 HP and hits 60 mph in a little over 3 seconds.
sideways man said:
That sounds like a great escort. How many times did you spin it?
I spun mine LOADs till I learnt how to stop it trying to kill me
It had great handling and I never had even a buttock clenching moment with it. It may just be that the wide rear track somehow kept it in line together with the panhard rod and radius arms. It was only on 185 radials which seemed wide at the timeI spun mine LOADs till I learnt how to stop it trying to kill me
Was yours a 3 litre V6 as well? The other point is that I had a tall 3.09 diff which may have helped put the torque down more gently.
I had a few duels over the ten years, but nothing overtook me.
scs1 said:
I think my A30 started life as a van and was converted at some stage.
The official countryman I believe had two separate side windows like the ones in the original post.
I think that I still have the old green log book somewhere which I presume will tell the story of if it is original or converted from a van.The official countryman I believe had two separate side windows like the ones in the original post.
i
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Last one I promise. My father's old Ariel 500.
His father bought it for him to travel from Norfolk to Cornwall where he was stationed in the war flying Warwicks and Wellingtons on Coastal Command at Davidstowe.
He told me that he picked it up from King's Lynn and stalled it a few miles further on. It would not kick start so he tried to do a running start which did not end well as both he and the bike ended up in a shallow ditch.
Freezing cold weather at the time, he managed to haul it out and did start it. He was going well a few miles further on when there was a loud bang and a very hot feeling on his leg as the exhaust pipe came off at the manifold and ended up clattering down the road. He went back to pick it up but his hands were so cold he did not feel his finger burning until it was too late.
A sharp learning curve into the world of biking!
His father bought it for him to travel from Norfolk to Cornwall where he was stationed in the war flying Warwicks and Wellingtons on Coastal Command at Davidstowe.
He told me that he picked it up from King's Lynn and stalled it a few miles further on. It would not kick start so he tried to do a running start which did not end well as both he and the bike ended up in a shallow ditch.
Freezing cold weather at the time, he managed to haul it out and did start it. He was going well a few miles further on when there was a loud bang and a very hot feeling on his leg as the exhaust pipe came off at the manifold and ended up clattering down the road. He went back to pick it up but his hands were so cold he did not feel his finger burning until it was too late.
A sharp learning curve into the world of biking!
Vanin said:
Found it! So it was a van but there is no record of the conversion It had seven owners in ten years. 
You had to pay the purchase tax due if you fitted Windows to the rear of the driver's seat. I think it tapered according to the age of the van at conversion. Perhaps it got "overlooked".Just think. If everyone had treasured their early vehicles instead of putting them through hedges etc they would still be worth damn all as there would be no scarcity value!
Shame about all those discarded registrations though......
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