As I'm sort of awake in the middle of the night & saw this I thought I'd
inject some variation with a UK list (even though I'm now in the middle of
COOOOLD Chicago!
My list of cars is slightly shorter that most I've seen here & I can't
remember the ages of some, but thought I'd tell the whole sorry tale so I'm
afraid the story is a bit longer. Please feel free to take the mickey out of
some of my choices - and mishaps!
Aged 17, nearly bought an MGBGT - till I found out how much the insurance
would cost me. Got practical & got an old van.
Ford Escort Van
- Had windows & a rear seat fitted - never could lock that one & the engine
block froze up on me the first day of snow we had - which also happened to
be the day it was stuffed to the gills to move apartments. The van stayed
where it was till it thawed. (That's when I learnt to check my anti-freeze)
1967 Austin 1100
- Only cost me 40 GBP & was great, even transporting a BSA motor bike 300
miles. Died after I got it stuck in a ford and the poor beast started to
rust too badly. Couldn't afford to repair it so I saw it off to the
scrappy's with tears in my eyes and a tenner in my hand. (That's when I
learnt not to drive thru rivers or fords)
1977 Morris Marina 1800
- Dad's car but I had the use of it for a year - did my first & only ton in
it. I was young & foolish. Not a lucky car, first a woman hit me trying to
cut across in front of me - then a month later a bus hit me side on trying
to overtake me while I was turning right (in the UK remember). Dad was
pleased to get it back - once it was repaired! (That's when I learnt how
it's 'them out there' to be worried about, not necessarily my own driving
skills)
Morris Marina 1300
- Cheap, didn't survive being rearended by another car. Other car suffered
cracked number plate, Marina's body shell was completely twisted out of
true, all rear lights smashed & the boot (trunk) jammed shut. (That's when I
learnt how to remove a back seat to retrieve my luggage)
Ford Escort 1300 automatic
- bought with the insurance money from the Marina! Nice little car. (That's
when I learnt why the gearstick looked strange - then how easy it is to
drive an automatic)
Brief interlude in New Jersey driving various cars including a Chevy (please
don't ask me what kind) and a Cadillac Eldorado.
1974 Triumph Spitfire Mk IV
- At last I could afford to buy what I wanted, I was 25 so the insurance
costs went down too. Loved it! Bright (non-Spitfire) yellow, black vinyl
covered hardtop & hood for the summer. Boy did I feel good driving it.
Unfortunately after 4 years I wimped out of driving it to work for
nightshift, and home before dawn in the winter, scraping the ice off the
*inside* of the windscreen. (That's when I learnt to work on an engine,
liked the built in rubber seat - sorry, I thought that's why the wheels were
put where they are, and the bonnet & engine placed 'just so'!)
1976 Volvo automatic
- Thought I'd be sensible & get a reliable car - big mistake. This one was
variomatic, not hydraulic - sounded like a dodgem car. It had also had a
fire in the electrics & some 'kind person' had replaced the wiring loom
himself - every wire was black! (That's when I learnt the value of an expert
inspection prior to purchase!)
1979 Ford Escort 1300 automatic
- Apart from the Spits, the best car I had. Always reliable, never let me
down, immaculate till I lent it to a friend to visit a wildlife park - and
the baboons decided to strip the vinyl roof covering from it! Actually sold
it for the same as I paid, 3 years later. (That's when I learnt how
difficult it is to match metallic paint - courtesy of the vandal who put a
scratch all along it & a boyfriend who was a paint sprayer & sneaked it into
the workshop for me one night!)
1968 Triumph Spitfire Mk III
- My Baby Blue!!! As seen on Joe's Spitfire Database last October, Jeff
McNeal's site & the new Triumph Spitfire magazine, (thanks, guys) just so I
don't forget what she looks like while I'm 4000 miles away. It's cost me a
fortune but is now set for a good few years more when it comes out of
storage. Rarely let me down and looked good at various UK shows last year.
It may not be a concours car but it's had plenty of TLC & looks good & runs
well. (That's when I confirmed my love of Spitfires & discovered the
camaraderie of other Spitphiles)
And currently - a multitude of Chicago cabs. I think I'll leave it to the
cabbies to do the driving in this town, I don't think my nerves could take
it!
Guess that's more than you all wanted to know, but it kept me busy thru a
bout of insomnia!!!
Take care folks
Suzie
Bruce wrote:
>
> ON ANOTHER LIST EVERYONE LISTED ALL THE CARS THEY OWN
> I THINK ITS A GOOD IDEA SO ILL GO FIRST
>
> 59 BUGEYE
> 62 SPRITE
> 66 SPITFIRE
> 66 SPITFIRE YES I HAVE TWO
> 65 SPRITE (PARTS)
> 98 FORD F150 V8
> 99 DODGE CARAVAN (WIFES CAR)
>
> BRUCE CINCINNATI
>
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