Do you remember your first car?

[Lacessit]

My first car was a GM product, secondhand 1948 FX Holden. A shrunken version of the American Chevrolet, adapted for Australian conditions. One could call it a drunken version as well, it wallowed on any rough surface like a ship in a storm. Steering was recirculating ball, somewhat more vague than rack and pinion. Coil springs front, leaf springs rear. Legend has it racing drivers would corner on the door handles. Terminal understeer.

 

The brakes were genuinely awful. Drums all round, prone to overheating. No ABS. No power brakes or power steering either.

 

The straight six 2.2 litre engine produced 45 KW, a laughable figure these days. The tolerances between piston and cylinder wall were so generous the pistons could be heard slapping on a cold start. No oil pump, splash feed from the sump. It was common knowledge the engine burned a pint of oil every 500 miles. Top speed 80 mph.

 

Generator, not alternator for recharging the 6 volt battery. The low power headlights were changed from low to high beam with a small foot pedal.

 

Gear change was a steering column shift, no synchromesh on first. Air conditioning was via window quarter-panels, the only form of heating was via the firewall separating the engine from the driver.

 

I retrofitted seat belts, a windscreen demister, and turn indicators.

 

The Holden's most positive feature was a bench seat which could be laid back for sexual adventures. This was back in the day when people lived with their parents until they bought a house of their own, and self-appointed morals police were at the front desk of every hotel and motel, demanding proof of marriage. The best alternative was a car, and bucket seats with floor gear shifts required extreme athleticism.

 

I sold the Holden to the brother of a work colleague. He rolled it on a trip to South Australia, got out with a grazed cheek, thanks to the seat belt.

 

I would say with its complete lack of safety features, most people from today's generations trying to drive the FX would end up killing themselves in a very short time.

 

In hindsight, I think the Holden taught me valuable lessons in terms of defensive driving, and also driving within my limitations.

 

What are your memories of your first car?

 

 

[PomPolo]

Very good question, mine was a Datsun Cherry and ironically I lost my cherry in it 🙂

[novacova]

The first was a ‘60 Plymouth slant six Valiant bought for $25 in Aiea/Waimalu off someone being deployed to Vietnam. Buying cars at or near military bases and barracks back in those days were a dime a dozen 

[Real Name Hidden]

My first car was a 1983 1/2 Porsche 944.  Fun to drive but it broke down frequently and cost a fortune to repair.

[Will B Good]

Austin A35.....went like a rocket.....NOT

[VR333]

 

1984 Honda City two seater, similar to the pic but mine was dark blue. Two-seater because that way Honda paid less tax to import them into Australia. You could add rear seats later yourself, but being a small car, many people like me didn't bother. Somehow I did Melbourne Adelaide return a couple of times, so noisy inside. Drove it for two years before moving up to a Corolla Seca. 

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Austin A35.....went like a rocket.....NOT

IIRC the top speed was 70 mph.

 

AFAIK we never got the A35 in Australia, only the A30 and A40.

 

It was succeeded by the Morris/Austin 1100, which was quite revolutionary with the hydraulic suspension.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

IIRC the top speed was 70 mph.

 

AFAIK we never got the A35 in Australia, only the A30 and A40.

 

It was succeeded by the Morris/Austin 1100, which was quite revolutionary with the hydraulic suspension.

Yes......my dad bought the Morris 1100.......seemed like a Rolls Royce at the time....555

[Yagoda]

1967 Volvo 122S

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, VR333 said:

 

1984 Honda City two seater, similar to the pic but mine was dark blue. Two-seater because that way Honda paid less tax to import them into Australia. You could add rear seats later yourself, but being a small car, many people like me didn't bother. Somehow I did Melbourne Adelaide return a couple of times, so noisy inside. Drove it for two years before moving up to a Corolla Seca. 

 

 

 

I bought a new Honda Civic in 1974, the first car I had with aircon. Brilliant small car for its time.

 

The kerb mass was 800 kg. Today, it is 1300 kg.

[Lacessit]

11 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

1967 Volvo 122S

IIRC that was the time when Volvos were considered to be indestructible.

 

I still remember the ad where they stacked 8? 9? Volvos on top of the other, to prove the strength of the safety cage.

[Yagoda]

6 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

IIRC that was the time when Volvos were considered to be indestructible.

Adjusting the dual carbs was a biatch.

[Lacessit]

20 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Yes......my dad bought the Morris 1100.......seemed like a Rolls Royce at the time....555

While I have never owned one, I did like the pregnant pastie look of the Standard Vanguard.

 

Come to think of it, I have never owned a British make, although all the Brits in Australia seemed to stick with them.

[Will B Good]

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

While I have never owned one, I did like the pregnant pastie look of the Standard Vanguard.

 

Come to think of it, I have never owned a British make, although all the Brits in Australia seemed to stick with them.

 

Wise or lucky in those times?

 

Quality is on a whole new level now.....as it is world wide I guess.

[KhunLA]

First purchased 1975 (20 yrs old) ...

 

 

Second purchased 1976 ...

1950 Buick Special

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

6 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

First purchased 1975 (20 yrs old) ...

 

 

Second purchased 1976 ...

1950 Buick Special

 

 

 

Oh dear. That spear to the front on the VW, which also functioned as a steering column, could be lethal even with seat belts.

 

No doubt the Buick was luxurious, my father owned a Studebaker of similar vintage.

 

Did you ever bother to check the fuel consumption?

[Rimmer]

A 20 year old 1944 four door black Vauxhall sedan, I paid 25 pounds for it, steering had two inches of play in it and all four shock absorbers were gone, but it just kept on going.....

 

Upgraded to an AH Sprite when I got a bit more money

[KhunLA]

13 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Oh dear. That spear to the front on the VW, which also functioned as a steering column, could be lethal even with seat belts.

 

No doubt the Buick was luxurious, my father owned a Studebaker of similar vintage.

 

Did you ever bother to check the fuel consumption?

VW definitely a death trap if in a serious crash.

 

No ... fuel consumption was never a consideration when buying vehicles.  A couple cars had really bad fuel consumption, but were comfy or fast.

 

Caddy, Firebird, even the F-150 were crap on fuel consumption, I think.  Also owned Mazda 323 & Maxima, so a wee bit better.  Honda 750 & 900 cc, so much better.

 

If weather was good, did a lot of cycling, and just enjoyable, nothing to do with economics.

[Lacessit]

14 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

Wise or lucky in those times?

 

Quality is on a whole new level now.....as it is world wide I guess.

The Japanese rose to pre-eminence w.r.to vehicle quality after inviting an American statistician, W. Edwards Deming, to Japan. Automotive history might be very different if his own countrymen had listened to him.

 

Nowadays, it's the Koreans who are making seriously good vehicles. And the Chinese are coming.

 

The Germans have mostly sold on cachet and snob value, IMO sometimes not supported by quality of vehicle and support services. The Mercedes logo is called the three-pointed suppository for a reason.

 

Last year, my son bought a Hyundai Kona N. Its performance is quite scary in N mode.

[Lacessit]

5 minutes ago, Rimmer said:

A 20 year old 1944 four door black Vauxhall sedan, I paid 25 pounds for it, steering had two inches of play in it and all four shock absorbers were gone, but it just kept on going.....

 

Upgraded to an AH Sprite when I got a bit more money

Ah, the bugeye Sprite. I remember dicing with one. I was OK in the straight, he slaughtered me on the curves.

[NanLaew]

48 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Adjusting the dual carbs was a biatch.

 

Ah yes, twin Strombergs.

[proton]

2012 TOYOTA VOIS, don't like cars never wanted one, to me they are no more interesting than a washing machine. Bought one for the Mrs.

[Moonlover]

Oh yes, I remember my Renault 6 well. It lugged me, the family, my diving kit and our camping gear all over Cyprus for 3 wonderful years.

 

[mudcat]

Sure, after the Navy I in 1968 I bought my father's 1963 Volkswagen Beatle.  Bending down to pick up an apple from my lunch that had rolled into the passenger side footwell I crossed the road, through a split-rail wood fence to 'V' in the front and then between two small trees to squish in all four fenders.  What would have been called a total if I had insurance to cover new driver stupidity.

 

With my dad's help bought an even earlier Beatle without an engine and performed a engine swap on the street in front of my apartment.

[billd766]

My first car was a 1939 Standard Flying 8, reg no GHU 41, just like the one in the photo. I think it cost me about 10 quid in 1962 when I was 18, carefree and stupid.

 

I sort of ignored the basics such as road tax, insurance and driving licence.

 

I parked it one day in front of a Mk 5 Jaguar and carefully managed to rip the O/S/R wing off by catching it in the steel front bumper of the Jaguar. The Jaguar was completely unmarked.

[gargamon]

24 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

The Japanese rose to pre-eminence w.r.to vehicle quality after inviting an American statistician, W. Edwards Deming, to Japan. Automotive history might be very different if his own countrymen had listened to him.

Back in the 60s and 70s in the USA the life span of the typical US car was about 50k miles. The Japanese moved in with their higher quality vehicles and the US had to improve their quality to keep up. So they lobbied the govt to tax foreign cars to make their cars more appealing. Of course they just raised their prices to match the tarrif increases, and make more profit.

 

My first car was one of those square Datsuns, 510? Great little car. Next was a Celica, wonderful. All the American cars I've owned have been junk by comparison. I wouldn't even visit a US car dealership if I was in the market.

[OneMoreFarang]

Ford Consul.

One advantage of that car was that it is big. So, I learned driving with a big car. And for that reason, I had to drive precisely.

After that, other smaller cars felt like a go-cart. 

 

The picture is from the internet, not my car.

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

1964 Ford Falcon 4 door with 170 cid 6 and three-on-the-tree.

 

Subsequent cars of my youth included a 1961 Austin Healey Sprite, 1967 VW Beetle and a 1969 Datsun 2000 Roadster.

[transam]

1959 VW with a 1961 engine, a non-runner, for 25 quid. Changed the plugs, job done.

Had some fun in that, but sadly I had to sell it because I got banned from driving via my Honda 250 SS.......😢

VW looked like this....

 

https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1558361060-0e0c4abdbf33?fm=jpg&q=60&w=3000&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D

 

Whilst banned, I bought an old 1959 mini, that's another story......😜

[Lacessit]

35 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Back in the 60s and 70s in the USA the life span of the typical US car was about 50k miles. The Japanese moved in with their higher quality vehicles and the US had to improve their quality to keep up. So they lobbied the govt to tax foreign cars to make their cars more appealing. Of course they just raised their prices to match the tarrif increases, and make more profit.

 

My first car was one of those square Datsuns, 510? Great little car. Next was a Celica, wonderful. All the American cars I've owned have been junk by comparison. I wouldn't even visit a US car dealership if I was in the market.

Apart from other quality considerations, American cars became rust buckets anywhere salt was used on the roads to clear snow. OTOH, the Japanese worked on assembly designs, substrates and passivation treatments to increase corrosion resistance.

 

I can remember being shocked on my first visit to the US by the number of vehicles with rusted out door panels and fenders. In Australia, they would have been put off the road.

 

My 19 year old Vios does not have one speck of underbody rust. Admittedly it is in a fairly mild environment, but that's still an impressive achievement.