Hi everyone... I bet you always liked your cars, however crappy they were .

This idea came while I was in another thread, writing about people trying to bait me into a red light race with ridiculously slow cars.

I bet most of you started out with small slow cars, and that they seemed pretty fast at the time. I bet you made them do impossible stunts, that make you shiver whenever you think your kinds might do the same thing one day. I bet you loved to push that 40hp Suzuki Swift to it's limit, being happy everytime a Clio backed down, or a Cosworth blew your doors away.

So, the question is: What cars did you own, and how do you remember them... Memories, feelings, etc . Mon and dad's car counts, as long as you drove it more or less regularly...

I go first:

1. My mom had a Citroen BX 1.4 (Around 70bhp, I think)... I'll never forget the time I was going to School, with a friend that had an Alfa 33 1.5, and as soon as we park, he comes out saying: WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING ON 3 WHEELS ON THAT LAST TURN ??????????????? Great car, and it seemed fast at the time. That engine miraculously survived it's constant weekend trashing.

2. My mom bought a Citroen XM Turbo Diesel. A whooping 110 bhp. It felt great to have all that torque at low revs. That one impressed me for a shorter while, and it started to feel too heavy to be fun. I still remember (not without a shiver) the time it's back-end tried to race me coming out of a turn, with almost new front tires, not so new back tires, and 5 people inside. It's a scary thought today, such a slugish and heavy car completely sideways... Still, I grabed it, and screamed yeahhhhhhhhhhhh on the way out... (This was dumb, right ?)

3. I worked for months to buy an Alfa 33 1.7 Quadrifoglio (118 bhp). Fell in love with the one mentioned in point 1, and just had to have 1. That car was very hard to keep on the road everytime I acelerated. Had to constantly fight the steering wheel to keep it straight under aceleration. Very tyering, but loved the feeling. Remember once running a BMW 635 CSI in the middle of traffic coming into a town I didn't know, and the guy was all over my ar$$, but didn't manage to go pass. Imagine how that felt to a 20 something year old kid .

4. An ex-girlfriend smashed the red alfa (Don't even have a picture of her (the car, I mean) ) into a tree. I was very worried about her, since she had gone to hospital (the girlfriend, I mean) and the police could say nothing of her condition, but when I got there, she was crying, and all she could say was: I'll pay for the car... I'm sorry... I'll pay for the car... . At that time, the car didn't really matter, but she did pay it, and I bought a 33 1.7 16v (137 bhp). Now this was a brilliant beast. Not a lot of people could keep up with it, and it made 60.000 miles in my hands withought a hickup. all I had to do to it was change tires, oil, and regular maintenance. And for 2 years, I had a student job as a delivery boy, using the ALFA for that... (I guess I just couldn't add at the time ).

5. By then, I had been dreaming about a Scooby for 3-4 years. When I saw a great deal on a Legacy turbo (200 bhp), I took it and sold the ALfa (That hurt!). Great fun vehicle. Now i'm playing with big people, but since I'm older, I've started to be more responsible, and have more fun, racing less with other people... I love the way the back-end just goes whenever you get of the throttle on a roundabout. This car is huge, but it still handles great. I wasn't lucky though... I came to portugal, and the car had a breakdown... Since it was never officially imported to Portugal, the importer has no parts. It takes ages for anything to get here, and when it does, it's still not solving the problem (portuguese amateurship isn't helping much).

6. So, knowing it's gonna be a while for it to be repaired, I but a 15 year old 1.2 Corsa (40 bhp ???), just to get me to work and back. And guess what ? I think I'll keep it for 2 months, and sell it at the same price when I get the Legacy back....

7. But time passes on, and 9 months later I still see no sign of the Legacy's recovery. By then I feel like a bulldog on a yogurt diet for 4 months. I blow a fuse, and go to the nearest Subaru dealer. Guess what ? I ordered a WRX Sport Wagon ... Yessssss After 6 years dreaming, I finally make it. Now i've had this for 6 days, but it's doubtless the best car I've ever owned ! And probably ever will. I don't beleive in buying new cars~(because they lose so much value), and I think this was the first and last... Still, what better than making a dream com true...

So, powerwise, I got from:

70, 110, 118, 137, 200, 40 ? , 218, when will it stop ?

Cheers, and hope you all have as many good memories as I have. Loved every one of my cars (Yes, even the Corsa) and will keep it up. Point being most of you are just nuts about cars (any cars), and just keep racing for more and better, but feel happy and have fun with whatever you've got !!! Am I right ?

Rui

 

Too true ,I had a Fiesta mk2 ,grapite grey,turbo technics conversion,later I added a full SS exhaust then water injection with a variable boost control all done through John at MV turbos ,,,,,200plus hp through the front wheels!serious fun, could wheel spin in 5th gear,and the torque steer,wow!!!
Took a lot of scalps with that car,cossies etc etc.
Often wonder what happend to it ,I had it for 5 yrs from new and it only had 26k miles on the clock immaculate!
Then I got married and had kids ,it had to go.Bought an Audi,boreingnow onto an RB5.

 

I've had 3 mk1 fiestas, a mk2 escort 1600 sport and I'm now on a mk3 fiesta si.

like you I've loved all my cars, you can convince yourself they're quick when really they're not!

Bob, saving for a Scoob, grand total so far, minus £10,000 bugger!

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by BOB.T:
<B>I've had 3 mk1 fiestas, a mk2 escort 1600 sport and I'm now on a mk3 fiesta si.

like you I've loved all my cars, you can convince yourself they're quick when really they're not!

Bob, saving for a Scoob, grand total so far, minus £10,000 bugger![/quote]

 

1982.....my boyfriend-now-husband gave me his 1300cc Mk1 Escort van. Ooohh the hours I had spent boxing out the back and lovingly fitting deep-buttoned chocolate brown velvet panelling, carefully contrasting the beige **** (!) pile carpeting........ the hours on applying the white pinstripes over the black stripe separating the white-over red colour scheme. Recaro seats, natch, blinking LED lights to complement the ICE (really cool graphic equaliser, bass speakers in the rear which made the MDF rumble). Also, for some reason, LEDs linked to the wipers for which I could choose one of 14 speeds! darkened tear-drop windows let into the back, massive air scoop spolier on the front (well at least there no speed bumps in those days!). Thankfully by the time I got it we had divested it of the mammoth side pipes, which advertised it's arrival at two miles' distance but reduced power so much we virtually went backwards. How I used to love it as we revved at the lights, I always LET the other car win, of course. Yes, I DID go to every Custom Car show and read the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

The husband? he moved on to a gorgeous 1968 Elan+2 and I spent many jolly hours lovingly re-covering and fitting side panels and head lining..........

A year later and onto the phallic 'I'm as good as the boys' 2litre S Capri which I wrapped around a carpark pillar under the misapprehension I was braking...as I floored the accelerator.


Aaaah them were the days


SS

 

Had some great fun in 88 in a MG Metro turbo, till I blew up the diff in the snow

David

 

Ooh! great game!

Capri 1.6LS!!!! Red with chrome wheels and HUGE wide tyres Still one of my favourites! I loved the tail happy handling and thought it was a real sports car!

Granada 2.0 Ghia. I swear I learnt more about car control around the deserted industrial estates of Northamptonshire in that, than I have in anything else!!!

Cavalier SRi - GREAT car... FWD, but quick (or seemed it at the time), great seats, absolutely loved that car.

XR4i. Still one of the most fun cars I've ever owned. In fact, I genuinely believe it is the roundabouts in that car that have stood me in good stead for the sideways world record

mondeo actually a very good car, but only for the mileage I was doing.

a few other crapolas then onto proper cars

aaahh.. I loved them all though

 

Nice one Simon, i also had a 1.6LS crapi in Red, 2.8i alloys,Peco exhaust, even took it round Knockhill! those were the days...

Colin

 

Ah, nostalgia!
Well, a picture tells a thousand words (or something like that... )
Here's my first car, a cav sri.



I bought it in 1991 (I was 18) for £1600, insured it in my dad's name - as you do! - did 50000 miles in it (amongst other things *ahem* ) , wrote it off, bought it back off the insurance as salvage, got a mate who was a panel beater to put a new front end on it, and sold it (early 1994) for £1200!! *sniff* ... I loved that car...
Methinks I may have lost slightly more money on my scoob...

 

Cool Thread.

mums car: New (At the time!!) Volvo 480 Turbo, I couldn't get the insurance!! I was totally gutted, it used to make my hair stand on end when she put her foot down.

1st owned car - £400 fiesta. Hated it, it broke down on me twice, so I bought a...

2nd owned Car - 6 month old Vauxhall Astra GSi 16v (Mk3)
Loved that car, and believed (stupidly) that it was really quick! Still, I hd 3 completely trouble-fre years with it, the only thing that went wrong was the aerial mast (£30!!) It got nicked :-(

3rd Car - BMW 730i - dull motorway mile-muncher, but great noise. effortless drive.

4th Car - BMW 530i touring SE - nice noise, smooth as a smooth thing.... but dull.

5th Car 1995 BMW M5, bought it 18 months old. Superb in every way, except getting into track-days was proving to be just too expensive using a whole set of tyres/brakes in a single day! Ultimate everyday/motorway/going on holiday with lugage/trackday all-rounder.

6 & 7th Car: Caterham Super 7 Superlight, and a Nissan Sunny for wet/take the train days ;-)


Paul

 

First car 1972 FORD FALCON XAGT coupe, similar to Mad Max's car in the movie MAD MAX. Sorry not you Mad Max.
It had a 300hp 5.8litre V8 as standard.
Engine got rebuilt to 560hp.
Suspension and brakes and wheels were also done to suit.
Ice included
Kenwood cd and stacker, Alpine crossover, Rockford Fosgate power 1000 amp. (I had 1 of the 3 imported to OZ.) MB QUART mids & tweeters back and front, and 2 12'inch Rockford fosgate subs. This weighed 100 kg and the car 1700kg Ice included.
After 12 years ownership car gets written off.

Second car,
Holden Commodore 1988 HSV, VL GROUP A (Walkinshaw) designed by Tom Walkinshaw (TWR}of UK. Only 750 made, collectors item. Mine was number 070 with number plate HSV 070 Bi Centenary plates which was in 1988. I have this plate on the rear windscreen of my scooby here in Greece so that Aussies recognise me.
It had a 5.0 litre V8 standard. This car was left in genuine condition no mods at all as it was a collectors item.
It had 246bhp standard and weighed about 1400kg. Ice was standard items.
Car was sold before I moved to Greece. Got what I bought it for as it was immac, in showroom nick.

Third car and still own it as every day car is a KIA SHUMA also known as MENTOR 5 DOOR.
1.5 litre engine 90hp standard.
No mods.
Ice includes, Alpine cd & stacker, Earthquake crossover, Soundstream amp powering MB QUART mids & tweetwers front & rear, Hifonics Boltar amp powering 2 12'inch Cerwin Wega subs.

Fourth car and still own as a weekend cruiser,
Subaru Impreza, MY00 UK Euro spec turbo.
Mods include, STI v5 body kit genuine items only in WRC blue. (Always wanted to buy an STI but was disappointed that there were none available here in Greece, as we had them in Oz and I had driven them).
It has an APS cold air induction kit, 5 Ziggen exhaust midsection and backbox, "meow" catless mid, Blitz bov, Blitz dsbc boost controller running 1.2 bar boost in winter and 1.1-1.15 bar in summer and a Blitz turbo timer.
Knocklink is on its way and organising a trip to the UK later on in the year with scooby to get a Unichip at Powerstation.
No Ice yet as I'm still trying to decide if I should fit the Rockford setup I had in the big Ford. Too much weight being the main factor against.

WREXY

 

Way to go!!

1. Dutton Phaeton mk.3 kit car, powered (loosely) by Ford Escort mechanicals. Closest thing I could get to my dream Caterham as a student for 1500 pounds (and how much over the next four years??). Fed from breakers' yards all over London. Brakes weren't so good but I could get wheelspin changing down from 3rd to 2nd. 0-60 was probably barely under 10s but felt like 6. Before the days of speed cameras, I'd stay at my girlfriend's until 2am then make it back Putney-Hounslow in some psychotic time, I think I managed 12 minutes once. Lost the back end once in the dry (MUST be mad) trying to overtake an Audi GT round a roundabout. Leaked like a sieve in the wet, I didn't drink so often had four or even five up coming back from the pub (3 on the back holding the rollbar)... ah, memories! Sold it to a German with more money than sense who wanted to take it back and put a V6 in it so he could play with trucks on autobahns!!!
2. 205GTI 1.6. Loved it, lost the front end once overtaking someone and not realising that a 90-degree bend was coming up straight afterwards. Not sure if I deserved to live, but I caught it somehow.
3. Another 205 1.6 - sold the previous one to go to Russia, came back and bought another 2 yrs later. Someone must have shortened the throttle cable, it would accelerate just by breathing on it.
4. Impreza Terzo, faster and nine times more expensive than anything I have ever owned, performance was great, living with it less so, as I was so terrified of the cost, and was pissed off that the back seat wouldn't fold!!

And if I'm allowed to add my company vehicles:
Bedford 7.5tonne refrigerated truck, do NOT fall asleep at the wheel of one of these when going down a contraflow in the M25 - more stories from 6mths driving that than in my other 10 yrs: and
Land Rover Defender 2.25 LWB, good when racing antelope accross the steppes of Mongolia, not so good getting stuck halfway across a river when the Camel Trophy planners are laughing at you from the other side of the bank with their V8! Still, I towed THEM out of the next river!!

What a thread! Nice one Rui!

BJH

 

Hi,

Nice thread... serves to remind me that I no longer kiss the tarmac when I arrive at a destination without being delivered by the AA! .

Car 1 - Fiat 500 in Navy blue Price £15 . Rescued from a scrappie, and fixed a stripped thread on the exhaust manifold. I really loved this car - so much character and brilliant as a town car. Got looked at when ever I went anywhere in it, and could park it end on to the kerb . Part of the amusement was the look on people's faces as I unfolded all 6'7 of myself from this tiny car. My mum wrote it off one day - the tiny drum brakes couldn't stop her with the extra weight of a couple of bags of cement in the rear - she ran into the back of a Range Rover which sufferred absolutely no damage at all .

Car 2 - Renault 4TL Age 18 Price £70. Erm... Joint purchase with my sister, and a bit of a mistake it has to be said. It was an absolute rust heap, to put it mildly. I repainted it in Dulux weathershield, and added a skull and crossbones to the bonnet. Problems? broken starter motor (I got quite good at push starting it on my own), complete brake failure and a consequent near death experience, the sliding window in the driver's door kept falling out onto my lap. Most amusingly of all, the first time I used the cigarette lighter it appeared to be broken as it didn't pop out again. I parked the car up and returned two hours later to find that it had melted it's way out of the dashboard and was hanging from it's wires burning furiously, . I think I should have let it burn out .

Car 3 - 1982 Vauxhall Astra 1.3 estate Price £free. A family hand me down - this car had been rebuilt twice after being completely totalled by other family members. Absolutely pathetic brakes and handling. It could top a ton (about 15,000rpm in fourth) so it wasn't all bad. I got rid of this because I got sick of being constantly asked to help my friends move house.

Car 4 - 1986 Renault 5GT Turbo, Price £2000. Now we're getting somewhere... Absolutely fantastic fun when it was working, especially after engine rebuild and 160bhp engine conversion, and suspension and brake upgrades. Great steering feel and real mid-range wallop. This was more than offset by heart-breakingly poor reliability and stupendous running costs.. every garage visit seemed to cost £500 upwards. It was also vandalised several times, and eventually stolen.

Car 5 - MY98 UK Impreza. Quite a bit better than the rest. Very reliable, and I love it for all of the reasons which we are all familiar with. The trouble is where do I go from here?.

Cheers,

Alex

 

My mother had a minivan which was an absolute monster - a typically badly sorted performance upgrade. The engine had been well breathed on (1/2 race cam and single huge 2" SU carb) and it had fat little wheels at the front which really gripped.

But

The gearbox was standard (close ratio would have been nice)

The seats were standard (slide on - slide off)

The engine had not been balanced properly and the engine mountings were exceedingly stiff.

At about 80 mph on the motorway the vibration was so strong that the front doors were flapping about 2" away from the car and all ones fillings gradually worked loose (or at least it felt like it)

Roundabouts were its special trick - In second gear the full effects of the engine's torque and power could be felt. It was like the scoob except that you had to hang on to the steering wheel (otherwise you ended up in the passenger seat) which made steering a challenge to say the least.

And, oh yes, the throttle had a habit of sticking open!

Brakes - what brakes?

But it was FUN FUN FUN and I was YOUNG YOUNG YOUNG

JD

(I also owned a Citroen ID19 but that was fun in quite another way!)

(bliddy spolling mistokes)


[This message has been edited by JayDee (edited 22 May 2001).]

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mad Max:
<B>
So, powerwise, I got from:

70, 110, 118, 137, 200, 40 ? , 218, when will it stop ?

[/quote]

I've been wondering about this. Think about how much extra cash you would have if you could live with a 306 Eco thingy that returns 60 MPG and costs 80 quid every 20000 miles for servicing. Then think how little fun you would have. TVR Speed 12 anyone?

 

Well,
My first car was a little red pug 205 gr, all 75 bhp out of its 1.4ltr engine, it was the bees knees at the time (was only 22) and it lasted me a couple of years, great car, cheap running costs and a sensible buy for me first one.
The second was a 1992 renault 19 rn 1.4, bought that one brand new, another sensible car as the insurance was a killer so i wanted practicallity, oh well 1 year later and................
A 1993 renault 19 16v
Ooooops, there goes the practicallity and in comes the sports cars
Apart from the sunroof rattling this car was one of the best handling and responsive cars ive ever driven, the steering was weighted so well and it gave all the right responses back, the grip was brilliant too, its a shame that i sold her in 1997, after 4 yrs of enjoyment and 48k on the clock.... but she was well serviced and got me into fully synth oils!
And to think that id only gone down to the peugeot garage to see what the competition was like...... there were 2 very nice pug 306 gti-s in, it took the sales guy a while to come out as i wanted a look inside but when he said take it for a test drive i did.... oh well by the time id come back id bought the car! he wasnt your usual type, "go on floor it and see what she will do" type sales guy, he told me to warm her up so i was thinking that it must have had a slightly eaiser life than most, but ahhhh what a car had her for 2.5 hrs before some git who was uninsured and disqualified drove through a red light i was totally gutted but thank god it wasnt the renault i was in, the pretensioners and airbag did help in this case. (unfortuately it was rebuilt and after 7 and a half weeks i got her back) wasnt quite the same thou
9 months after buying my first 306 GTI i traded her in for a new version, i kept this one in one peice thou and the aircon was lovely, felt better than the phase one (was a phase 2)
There have been a couple of in betweens too, use to run 2 cars cos of work, the first one i bought was a pug 309 gti, was a good runner and didnt have TOO many problems but someone should have told me about those bearings in the rear beam ouch that was expensive to sort
Oh got another renault to fit in too, after selling the pug i wanted something cheaper to run, my mate still has the car and is doing him well for an 89F, it had 55k on the clock when i sold it 2 yrs back (forced to by company van.... yipeeeeeee!!!! )
Then i got the scoob i just keep on smiling now, except for the @$%{* who scrapped the front bumper last week and drove off

Tony

 

Aaah, Vauxhall Chevette... X reg. "**** out action" I don't think!

Wonderful car, my first, so will eternally live on in my eyes.

Much better than the heap of poo Fiat Regatta that followed it...

Got shot of that and bought an Fiesta 1.4 Ghia. This was basically the mule that hulked around a huge chunk of ICE... Yes, I had a kenwood sticker in it

Got a real job and part-exed it for a Renault 19 16v with leather that I fell in love with at first sight. It was truly a knackered car. 5 owners in 4 years, rattles from the exhaust, dodgy electrics, knackered gearbox, knackered rear callipers, but really very nice to drive. Meaty steering, nippy enough when the revs were above 4,000 rpm. but it was a nail, and cost me 2 grand in servicing for a year, and still wasn't right...

Next, 1.4 Vauxhall astra Cesaro as I wanted something cheap to run. Cost me 40 quid to service for a year, including new front discs. Cheap, wife liked it. Looked good with triple coat metallic paint, very slow.

Renault Clio 1.8 RSI. Wonderful car, loved it to bits. When looking to change, I drove a Puma, Audi A3 1.8T and a few other things, and preferred it every time to the competition.

Then I test drove the scoob. Got back into the Clio and realised how bad the steering, brakes and acceleration were.

Chevette leaves the biggest impression, and I loved them all thoroughly other than the Fiat Regatta. Should never have bothered with that.

Nick.
Aaah, memories...

 

My first car, at the age of 18 was a 1.0 red nissan micra. Was my mums car, she gave it to me. Was a great little car, not quick, but a laff. Had fun driving around in it. Got pushed into back of truck by a fiesta, who's excuse was that he drove busses all day and thus 'forgot' about the nose on his car, yeah right, nothing to do with you not looking and your brakes being crap!

Second car was Vauxhall Corsa 1.2i merit e-drive (5 gears!) - was rainbow blue (no, <B>not</B> purple ) great little car, my first purchased car. Cost me about grand in 1992, was ex-demo, so one of the first ones. certainly first rainbow blue one in my town, hence all the weird stares! Great little car, not quick, but reliable. Got half decent head unit and cd changer fitted to it, which went on to live in my next car (see below). Some idiot pulled across a line of traffic infront of me, causing me to t-bone him, which ended the little corsa's life.

Third car was a Citroen Saxo VTS - Amazon Green, 96 p reg, 1.6l 16v 120bhp. Ahhh, my first 'performance' car. When I first got the corsa I wanted to upgrate to a GSI, because I thought they were tops, then the tigra came along and I wanted one of them, but they were a bit girly, then I saw the VTS. Why the VTS? Well, my mate was looking for new car and we dropped into local citroen garage and he was interested in the VTR, as it was quick, plus free insurance, which is a bonus to us young pups. I like it, but I'm of the idea that I'd be settling for second best. So I saw a nice used, one owner VTS in amazon green, and got it. Think it cost 13 grand, or 11 grand, can't remember now. Was worth every penny. Signed the docs on the sunday morning that the world learnt of Princess Di's death, so was kinda spooky to be buying a car when someone famous has just died in a car.
Anyway, got it the next week, drove it for about a day and then jetted of to USA for a two week holiday, came back, fitted the stereo (from corsa) whilst Princess Di's funeral was going on (was not popular with the neighbours I can tell you)
It was a fantastic little car, very small inside, as anyone who knows me can testify, I'm fairly large (6ft 4in, 15 stone). Was great though. Went quick. Partner and I needed something bigger, as kids were getting bigger, so I decided to sell the little VTS (sniff, sniff) Frist car I actually managed to sell, rather than see written off! wow!

Next car was a (shhhh, don't tell anyone ) Ford Mondeo ST24, 2.5l 24v V6, 168bhp. foor door saloon, no RSA bodykit, 16 inch chrome effect wheels from GhiaX though, and boot spoiler. Finished in Pepper Red (burgandy I guess). Great car, loved the luxury, and the space. Went pretty well as well. Cost 15 thousand, was 98 S reg. Should have got a scooby (dutch import) but could not be without car during the waiting period, plus did not have the 17 for one (but you paid 15l for the mondeo? yeah I *know* )
Was cool car, Suzy liked it as she got the stero from the VTS in her civic, and it's now in her volvo.
Went pretty well. But the scooby bug had got me and I wanted one, plus we wanted to get a dog, which won't fit an a saloon, so an estate was needed, (hmm, wagon! )
only bummer is losing loads of money in selling the mondeo (bought at 15, sold at 9.2k you do the math it's too painful for me )
thus it leads on to...

My current car.
The Blackbeast
MY94 WRX Wagon
Black
L Reg
Mean
Nasty
Great car
Love the 'beast, great car, fast, quick, practile, dog fits in, kids fit in, I fit in, suzy fits in (too well in the drivers seat for my liking if I'm honest about it (joke SQ, it's a joke ))
Brillaint car, my first scooby and won't be my last
My first 'modified' motor as well, must say that most mods were done in japan, so not my fault, though they do seem to be good ones.
hmm, jap import + mods = horrendous insurance yup, you could be right, unless you know the right people

Anyway, that's about it. If you want more info or a rehash of the above then check out the

 

Top idea. Not had heaps of cars but here goes......

1st Car - This was my dads 309 1.6GL (red), used to drive it loads, down the beach, whilst at college, you all know the score . Always thought it went like a rocket coz it would easily burn all my mates of the lights in their 1.1 Fiesta's and Nova's etc. Plus it had fantastic brakes for a "normal" car. Then had enough of driving the oldies motor and bought a....

2nd Car - My first car I bought, an A-reg (old shape) Renault 5 GTL 1.1 (red). A bag of crap but I still loved it. Cost me £750 and then double that to get it roadworthy I owned it for just over a year, insurance was £620 tpft. First car I modded, put in a crap roadstar stereo and naff boss sound or similar sub box and some nasty shelf speakers, thought it was the best. The little bugger would rev and rev and never blow up!!! Then after just over a year got totally fed up with the naff suspension and the rolling round the corners so decided I had to buy a "sporty" car......

3rd Car - Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 (cherry red)was £3695 on a '88 F and 79k. I always wanted one of these. An absolute stormer and I still love these cars to bits today (oh if I could only find a low mileage minter sorrento green or miami blue special edition with full leather and abs and pas I'd buy it, to go alongside the scoob of course). I couldn't believe how fast this thing went and how well it handled. Wanted to keep it coz I saw a top gear episode saying they would be classics in the future, sadly a bloke pulled out in front of me Got it repaired and then a few months later a girl in a Corsa pulled in front of me at some lights and that was bye bye time, the roof was buckled. Had my mum and two of her friends in the car too and that really knackered us all up. I was sooooo gutted going down to see it the next day to rip out all my stereo, which was much better than in the R5!!!! Got £2500 for her 3 years later from the ins co, quite chuffed really!! By this time there was only one possible car that could replace my trusty 205, the press loved them and one many occasions billed it as THE best hot hatch available.....

4th Car - A Peugeot 306GTi6 (sigma blue, enough of the red cars!!) on a 97 P with 30k and 11,995. I stretched myself to buy this car and it was absolutely brilliant, unbelievable handling, wickedly fast for what it was and superb brakes. Bloody cam belt snapped on it the day after I bought it (just over a year old and 30k). The dealer then had it for 2 weeks sorting it as there were no parts in the country and then got it back, no cost to me . Then had 2 years of cracking fun in it, really got the modifying bug with it and put on an alloy dash, gearknob, pedals, lowered the suspension (went like it was on rails after that) put on the phase 2 style rear lights, headlight eyebrows and blue oval side repeaters. Then in August last year a stupid woman (flame suit on ) drove into the back of me in rush hour queued traffic. I watched her in the mirror, looking down in her footwell and not at the road and she hit me into the car in front, and then that one into the one in front!! Mine was the only car that could drive away coz the radiator busted. Got it fixed (and colour coded bumpers into the deal - cheers repairers ) and respray front and rear which hid all the stone chips!!!!! Trouble is the car was never the same afterwards and started to have real running probs with it. Althought the last piccies I have of it, it looked bloody great I went along to another dealer, and test drove a car and just *had* to buy it (although the trade in on my 306 was just £6500 after 2.5 years, ouch)........

5th Car - SCOOBY!!! This was March this year, the car was a UK MY99 Turbo on a T plate with 32k in Green Mica. I'd looked into importing a new WRX but having seen one in the dealer I just couldn't go through with it and bought the old shape. Couldn't believe how fast it went and how well it handled, it was sold before the test drive finished!!!! I also needed to get rid of the 306 before the service was due in 1000 miles and this came along at just the right time. And here we are up to date - thank god for that, I'm getting RSI!!! (not the clio ) The modifying bug has started already and the missus certainly don't help, she positively encourages me I've popped on a Magnex Backbox, will upgrade the brakes when they need doing and looking at all the Scooby tuners think I could easily spend 4k on mods - easy boy!!!!

Thats all folkes!!

 

I knew I should have made bets about this... I'd be rich by now

[This message has been edited by Mad Max (edited 22 May 2001).]

 

1st car was a Morris Marina (only the older amoung you will prob remember these)a great car, bought it for £80 in an auction, ran it for 3 years and was slightly sad when it eventualy gave up.

Next vaux cavaliers 1 and 2

Then on to company cars

1. Pug 305 diesel

2. Pug 305 diesel (1.9) non turbo but quite quick, pug oil burners have fab engines and will take as much stick as u can give em.

3. back to a cavalier (oil burner again) and glad to see the back of it. 1.7 engine and about as quick as a snail with a broken leg!

Next- mazda 626 1st jap car, had this for 3 years the only thing that went wrong was i had to replace some tyres!

Now vectra sri (getting better) two & half years in to contract hire.

FEB 2002 SCOOBY Sti - can't wait.............

 

My first drive was a '90 Civic 1.4l which I bough in '98. It was love at first sight. A red shiny hatchback with some nice 15' Borbet's and bucket seats. It was pretty lightweight and with it's 90bhp It could outdrive almost every other 1.4l car I knew. It sounded great thanks to the K&N and the Supersprint exhaust. I got it lowered and with a sporty wheel and gearknob it was pretty racy for a young guy like me. I had it for 2 years. I loved it more than anything in the world. I always told my friends I wanted a Scooby. Even before I had my drivers license. First I was just dreaming out loud like every youngster, I'm sure most of my friends didn't believe me.
The only reason I would ever sell my Civic was that I would find a 2nd hand scooby. I didn't want a little step higher, I wanted the real deal, the full 211bhp, and I wanted it immediately!
I found one 1 year ago at the age of 20.
A MY98 black beast with the most beautiful alloys on the world... 17' OZ supertourismo's...
I was a dream come true...
I still remember the first time I drove it: my legs where shaking when he dealer and me switched seats. It was an unbelievable feeling.
I wish I still had that magic, scary feeling when I drive it now.
As it's my everyday car it's become a habit and I hate that!
Sometimes I tend to forge what a scooby is all about until I drive in a 'normal' car like my dad's 90bhp 406 diesel.

I still love my civic, but is gone now, It was sold 2 weeks after I got my scoob.
I love the scoob much more, it's a passion, but sometimes I wish I still got my cheap-to-run toycar...
The only thing that my scooby misses is that awesome smell my civic had... I don't know what did it, was it he dual carb? he K&N? or the Supersprint? It may sound weird but it just smelled great. Every time I stopped for a red light the smell of a racetrack would follow.
I haven't seen the Honda since , but if I ever see it parked somewhere, I always keep a spare key in my wallet for it.

I doubt if I would still like it that much if I would have a drive in it now, now that I know what 'real' performance cars are like.

 

1) (Age 17) Mum's old red Fiat Panda 45. Y reg, and she'd had it from new, so it was actually quite exciting to be given the only car we'd had for about 10 years. Group 1 insurance was handy too. As you might expect, its bodywork hadn't survived too well, and every time I slammed the door more little bits of rust dropped off and rattled down inside the doors. It was mechanically sound, though, and with 45 bhp it was safe to play in. Replaced the back shelf with MDF and filled it with speakers; at 350W the ICE was a significant extra load on the engine! Finally ditched it when I got sick of paying to have the chassis welded back together every year.

2) Rover 216S, G reg, black. About 85 bhp and 4 doors this time, so not quite so embarrassing 5-up! No PAS, so lovingly referred to as the multi-gym on wheels. I bought a lot of tools during the time I had this car Ditched this one as soon as I could afford to - weekends shouldn't _all_ be spent with a spanner in one hand and an unidentifiable widget in the other.

3) Nissan 100NX, L reg, grey. 102 bhp, yippee! Nice little Targa-top and not too many around. Discovered the wonders of fuel injection and power steering and vowed never to go back. This car broke down 20 miles from the garage the day I bought it (faulty new clutch), and proceeded to require new tyres and an exhaust within the first few weeks. Service items aside, though, it was boringly reliable, but I was starting to crave something a bit quicker...

4) Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000, MY00, 4 dr, DBM, 215bhp (plus PPP this time next week!). Unlike most people, it seems, I had no particular desire for a Scooby - in fact I'd spent the previous 6 months lusting after a Mitsubishi FTO, which I still think is a fabulous looking car. Shame about the spine-jarring ride, abysmal visibility and surprisingly gutless 200bhp V6! Also tried a Totota Celica GT (very dull, couldnt't find a GT-Four) and Nissan 200SX (nice but too much turbo lag and too heavy). Then I tried a MY96 Impreza, gave it a bootful in 2nd and almost lost bladder control - sold!

20000 miles later I'm sure I did the right thing, although with hindsight I should have saved some cash by importing. But Intermoto (rip) did a great job of getting me one at short notice, and after that test drive I was ready to pay to shorten the wait. I've got the mod bug now, so I now have PIAA lights, clear indicators, STI pedals and mats, and the PPP goes on next week. A set of 17" wheels and I'll be happy for another 20k miles, then it could be STI VII time. I'm looking forward to finding out!

Andy.

 

Being an old grey hair I won't bore you with the full monty but I bet I can beat most on variety!! Can I include £5 moped to get me to school?
Learnt to drive in field and Morris Minor van. Moved onto serious stuff with Minivan - grey very sexy! First speeding ticket - supposed to do 40 in van not 50.
Then into old 2CVs. 0 to 60 in 2 Counties.
Few MGBs - still remember being pulled by cop (I was going a bit fast late in London) who asked me how many mirrors I had in the car - I said 3 thinking that there might be something wrong with this and he replied - "well I suggest you use of of them next time, sonny"! Then to live in States with share of 'vette and huge Buick Riviera.
Boring stuff through the years (except 1966 S Type Jag' sold for £350 and would be worth £12,000 now).
BUT a couple of years back I came across a 1948 Daimler DE36. I don't expect anybody on this board knows what that is but it weighed nearly 3 tons, was powered by straight 8 5.4 litres and originally built as a hearse. My pal chopped the top off, painted her red and white, and made her into an open top 10 seater. Had some great trips in her. Pre-select gearbox was a bit of a nightmare at times. Comprehensive Insurance £58 per annum. Then to SS100 Jaguar replica 'cos I think they look great. So that's my claim to variety 2CV to Straight 8 Daimler. What next - perhaps I should have kept the hearse, just in case.... David

 

1) (G) Nova 1.4SR - black

2) (L) Peugeot 405 1.6GLi - white

3) (H) BMW 318is - silver

4) (R) Prodrive Scoob

Order of preference: (4); (1); (3); (2).

 

Remembering the good old time...isnt it Rui?

Well lets go

1) Renault 11 (12 years old) ; bout 45hp
It was the car of my gilfriend...I will still remember my first handbreak...I also remember driving one full year in Brussel without licence...Rui and I were already crazy oor genetic material
This one almost killed me : steering broke on a bridge...
I never went back in

2) First owned car : I was still student at the time : Alfa Romeo 75 Twinspark ; 150 cv ; 1120 Kg : Simply the best car ever produced...even if I would gladly kill the engineer who made the gearbox...I needed an appointment to gear up from 1 "top rev" to 2... It was the happiest driving days of my life (on 4 wheels I mean)... Rui got his Alfa 33 16v...the performance were exactly equal...and the drivers as mad as the other! Race at every light ; oversteering at every corner ; killing our tires in a few weeks!How didnt we finish in jail? Cops are blind!

3. Then Rui went away...snif and the 75 broke on a motorway ..;driving at 110 Km/h...no more oil...too bad, i just filled it a few days before! Dark days...
Bought a 33 1.3 970 Kg; 90cv ...225.000Km when bought...298.000km when sold...same price It was sure a good number.

4. I started to work...and received each time a car : 306 Hdi, Audi A3 Tdi ...no comment ...Not cars, just tools to go from A to B. period.

5. I created my own small company, and bought a small 206...and then Rui bought an Imp... I couldnt stand not to be able to keep up...Even if there are more than 3000Km between us So I bought a bike : CBR 600...incredible!

Now what will Rui buy to compete? A F16?