WHAT did you FIRST drive

1974 Morris Marina 1.8 reg NIR 832, Dave!

It was a Lethal, would get into a speed wobble for no reason. I solved that by fitting a BMC 1.5 Diesel engine into it out of a BMC Van.

Mine was a Reliant 3-wheeler as I could drive it on a motorcycle licence. It was pre-war and abandoned but Dad rebuilt the engine for me. Scary, but
only 6 months to a car licence.

My first car was a 1978 mk1 VW golf. Paid £375 for it and it was a non runner (blown head gasket) so my dad towed me home with his Humber sceptre estate.
It was the first car engine I ever stripped and rebuilt too (with my dad's help).

1983 Datsun bluebird BLT 950Y 1.8gl in shiny gold, working in uk at the time and gave £300 for it,
Had it for over a year and what a learning curve,
Twords the end the clutch was nearly gone, starter was on the way out, both back brake cylinders were leaking, and handbrake cable snapped,
So it was a case of if ya got it going you had a job to stop it,
And a bit like FC I'm glad that car cannot talk and I got the crusher in Galway metals many years ago, still have the old yellow number plate in the shed hanging from the roof rafter,

1972 Minivan XZ 7843 grey with green roof bought for £250 just got the van taxed and insured . One evening coming home from work in the snow with only two tracks to drive on with so much snow and ice on the roadway the hard packed ice between my wheels on the roadway tore a large hole in the floor where my feet sat at the pedals. When I went to work the next morning on the building site where i was serving my time as an apprentice electrician, one of my mates a bricklayer gave me a hand to repair the damage by putting a cement floor in it ."No CT1 then" Believe it or not it was still there when I sold it for a Ford Anglia 1200 a year after. Those were the days ,no MOT, and no Sense and very often very little money after a weekend but enjoyed every minute of it .

1969 VW Beetle ,paid £450 for it and £200 to insure happy days

1977 Toyota corolla 20 sr. Twin carbs........an absaloute rocket. Loved hammering the GXL cortinas and the souled up minis.

Nah..........it was falling apart with rust,couldn't carry the spare in case it fell through the boot. Was bought in the north as they didn't do that model in the south. I know that it was on the never never and that was literally how it was,car was long gone before it was paid for .
But such larks with it

touring on the blackbird this time last year i stayed in a town near Zagreb and locals brought me to the Citroen 2cv bar - there was a whole engine block on the bar and they pulled a perfect pint through it !- and no it wasnt a pint of oil !

My first car was a Citroen GSA special, tan colored. The hydropneumatic suspension! Still makes me smile.
The ignition switch went on her and I had to by pass it so it was like hot-wiring her every time I needed to start! The the alternator went on her - jasus the whole front of her had to come off head lights an all to replace it!

I left the world of cars after her and bought a brand new Kawasaki GPZ 500!

Great days! Ah

1.8 Morris Marina HWU 971N

Swapped my motorbike for it.

Hand painted in green.....paint kept it together for years

My first car bought bought while I was living in England was a Red 1966 VW Beetle. Bought it in 1972 for £340 and sold it a year later for £325. We toured all over England and Scotland in it. Fantastic car very reliable. I replaced a clutch cable and that was about it.

Only complaint about it was the 6V volt electrics. The 1966 VW Beatle was the last year VW used 6 volt electrics - The lights were terrible. Mostly I was using it in built up areas with street lighting so the car lights were not a problem but the few times that I took it into the deepest rural countryside it was a bit of a nightmare to to any night time driving.

Despite that I loved it and we did a lot of miles in it including my first camping trip.

Having read this bought back the memory of my brothers car (12 years older than me)
It was a bright yellow Mk11 Ford Consul CONVERTIBLE that he bought when he came out of the Army

His big regret was that he didn't keep the number my guess is it would fetch a million now
Number was

WIN 123

David

My first car was a Yellow Datsun 100A,i think it cost me about £375.
Mechanically it was a great we car but typically of japanese the body had a rust problem but i got a few years driving out of it.

Ford Anglia that my dad gave me. I eventually sold it to a mate for £50. I used to borrow it from him and didn’t need a key to open it or start it. Anything that fitted into the locks would do either

My first car was a Ford 8 with a 3 speed gearbox and it jumped out of 2nd so you put your left foot up against the lever to hold it in. The brakes were terrible and in the winter you had to put your trousers in your socks as the wind whistled up between the pedals. The lights were 6 volt slightly better than candles but it was all mine ,no HP and it got me to work and back.

Now I know what spooked my horse !

Nilrac, I’ve never broken anything in a 2CV yet. I did my best at one stage to roll a 2CV in a field and I couldn’t.

Learned in my Dad's 105E Anglia.
My first car was a Hillman Imp, which brought me a good few trophies for night navigation rallies and forestry stage rallies.

Looking back on some of these post's I wasn't the only one who started on three wheels !!!
Mine was a Red hardtop Meadows Friskey powered by a 250 Villiers engine. Chain driven to the back wheel.
As bikes don't have a reverse gear the engine had two set's of points which allowed it to run backways.
3 point turns weren't handy as the engine had to be stopped, the ignition switch pushed in and the engine started in reverse.
Was very cold in the winter. No heater but great craic to drive in the snow !!
I was told when I bought it that only 3 came to Ireland. Unfortunately I don't have any photos that I can get the Reg No off.
Thought some of my friends or family would have a photo but no luck yet.

http://www.meadowsfrisky.co.uk/page2.htm


From: John Meadows <john.meadows1898@btinternet.com>
Sent: 26 February 2016 19:49
To: wjstewart60@hotmail.com
Subject: Meadows Frisky

Hello William
Thank you from visiting the Meadows Frisky Web site, I hope you enjoyed it and it brought back some memories for you.

I will shortly be updating it to report on the 41st National Microcar Rally 2015 which this year was hosted by the Frisky Register and also to include in the People section a long overdue profile on Raymond Flower who was “The father of the Frisky”

If you look up the “National Microcar Rally 2015” on You Tube you will find a couple of videos one covering all the micros at the rally and the other recording the record line up of Friskys achieved there.

There are only about 75 Friskys known to survive and they are spread all over the world , USA, Germany, Australia, Netherlands Thailand being very collectable. Unfortunately I don‘t have any records regarding Friskys sold in Ireland and the Frisky effectively went out of production in 1960 some five years before you had yours but there is a Family Three Mk2 under restoration in County Durham.
Do you have any photos of yours, was it three or four wheels soft top or hard top? If you could come up with any more info I will check to see if it has survived.
Regards
John
Couple of photos of my Frisky Coupe I restored last year