What was your first/worst car? Post pics and tell us about it

[b1]

In another thread I tracked a trip a mate and I attempted in a 1974 Mazda Bongo van

Many comments arose about that particular vehicle but also many other sad old rides.

So post up pics of your first or worst car, tell us about it and why you remember it.

Mine was a Morris Major Elite. No idea of the year. It was 1100cc from memory and rusty as hell. Even the chassis had almost rusted thru.

A mate took off the muffler and our parents hated it. I was in year 12 at school and it cost me $200, so plenty of good times 

Had a sports steering wheel and was hand painted by local artisans

When it ran out of rego a guy bought it to put on his neighbors lawn to p/ss him off.

[rags]

B1 Looking at the photo it is most likely at your high school. That building style looks like what I knew as a donut building as it had a courtyard in the middle. I spent many years with NSW public works, working on schools through out Sydney and that was a style built in late 60s early 70s.

[b1]

spot on, school discos were held in the centre of that block     good times

[KingBilly]

First car was a $400 Hillman Super Minx.  Had standard accessories which made my mates in Aussie crapboxes green with envy.  Radio, heater, front disc brakes  . Painted it with my Mum's Hoover which came with a spray gun attachment (it was older than the Hillman  ).  Looked just like an old Pommie wagon with a crap paint job, haha.  Always wondered why I couldn't pull any chics  . Mate in his P76 was the bigest chic magnet  . Did me for almost two years until I saved up for new Corolla.  Sorry no pics, they are all in storage.

KB

[stabicraft]

My first car was a hand me down 1958 Morris Minor 1000
That is a 1000 cc 4 cylinder pommy car.

Top speed 70 KLM HR by the speedo that had a special converter to take it from MPH to KLM/Hr.

 I used to fill up the oil and check the petrol.
And I bought my tires from the wreckers, mounted on the rims, because it was cheaper.
The auxiliary crank starter came in handy several times when the starter jammed, that was until I found a well placed hit with a ball pein hammer fixed it.
I loved that car, but was happy to get rid of it.

My worst car was, typically, a FORD.
A ford AU falcon, it was my company car.
This dog of a car broke down so often I named it Gladesville hospital.
It was only 2 hours old when the fun started, the tappit cover gasket started spewing oil all over the exhaust manifold creating a smoke screen.
Within a week the rear brakes collapsed, they said it was bad springs.
Suspension rubbers, electrical faults, seats falling apart, steering problems, fuel problems, computer problems even window leaks that filled the rear of the car with water.
the final straw, just three months after I was given it, was when the water pump died 100 klm from Deniliquin.
I left it with them and hired a car to come home.

Never saw that car again.
I was given a toyota after that and had no issues for the next three years.

Turned me off FORDs for life.

[trinityalyce]

...A Daewoo Lanos. Beat that for "worst first car ever".

At least it ran. There's that.

[Bigfish]

EH Holden.  Put brand new tyres on and drove it for a total of 7klms before smashing into a tree and writing it off (and very nearly myself)...cost $120  .

[Wukkers]

My first was an FX Holden in 1967.  Brought it from a mate who had started to do things to it.  The body and chassis had been raced.  The front was lowered 4" but the rear was standard until we leveled it.  The brake drums were drilled and finned and the seller told me it had an FB grey motor and EH gears in the FX box.  It was painted flat grey with house paint and done with a brush.  Had a really good exhaust note and we searched the local tip to find the valve springs from a Vauxhall which served as inner springs on mine.  Also had Pirelli radials which was a big deal in those days.

[edz]

^^^Yeah I know its an FJ  BUT still cool   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmXN_lVjz_E  ^^ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZykX5tma05M   

[speewa158]

69 HB Torana  White in color blue inside .Purchased in 76  No heater , radio, creature comforts but it had seat belts . Paid $500 at auction as is . Had it roadied for another $200  but it had 54Kmiles on the clock , 2 years later it had 175Kmiles on the clock . Traded for a another HB then another Then l went up market to an Exfleet 77LX  Torana . Power House  . lt had a 179 with 3 on the tree , but it had an AM radio & 1 speaker  . l was in HEAVEN
                                         

[03GV]

69 HB Torana  White in color blue inside .Purchased in 76  No heater , radio, creature comforts but it had seat belts . Paid $500 at auction as is . Had it roadied for another $200  but it had 54Kmiles on the clock , 2 years later it had 175Kmiles on the clock . Traded for a another HB then another Then l went up market to an Exfleet 77LX  Torana . Power House  . lt had a 179 with 3 on the tree , but it had an AM radio & 1 speaker  . l was in HEAVEN
                                         

No way, was about to post . That my first was a 68 HB torana for $500. My stepdad got it as something to work on as a fixer upper to get some idea on cars. Had it for about 5 years.

[edz]

First car was an Olympic blue 1970 Cortina 440 1600, 4 on the column with jelly bean mags,, Bought from a local panel beaters son for $700,  Sporting a nice shiny enamel paint job covering a few Kgs of bog [ And as it turned out, a lot of rust ] ..
85 mph flat out racing through the local cane fields on the skinny twisty one lane gravel roads day and night, Honing my Rally driving skills without a fear that I would end up upside down in the cane drains that ran alongside them, I never did but came very close a few times though. 
Flogged that car for nearly a year then sold it to my sister for what I payed for it, then a few months later it shattered  two pistons .  
Thats when I got into Ford Escorts ..
Not mine, never ever got any pics of it or my first Escort . Imagine this one in a light blue .

[kylarama]

First car started life as a 70 HG Kingswood wagon with a 161, 3 on the tree and drums all round.

Finished with a 186, Trimatic (shifted with a Gemini T bar, before putting a column shift in), disc brakes, black HK Premier interior, HK GTS dash, HK Kingswood grille, tinted windows and white wall tyres.

Not to mention a cheap baked enamel  paint job that hid a reasonable amount (lots!!) of rust...

It was the cruise car of choice for my mates and many a camping trip with 6 of us crammed in.

Sold it to a female English backpacker 18 months later.



My favorite turned into a nightmare.

XD Fairmont 302 V8. Bog stock when I got it and it drove like a dream. Dumped it, 2.5 inch system and a set of genuine Bathurst Globes off an XC Cobra.

Then I T boned a car at a roundabout (not my fault).  Insurance paid me out and instead of parting out the wreck and walking away. Against my better judgement I had it repaired, by a panel shop that shouldn't have been a panel shop.

I was on first name basis with the towie after that and it never drove the same.


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[Rumpig]

I had a Morris 1500 as my first car....like Stabicrafts Morris it used bucket loads of oil, probably couldn't see real well if you were driving on the road behind me I'd guess...lol.  I did that vehicle up on weekends in my uncles backyard, he gave it to me for free (probably glad to get rid of the heap of crap). The thing used to jump out of 2nd gear if you backed off the accelerator, so you needed to hold it in gear as you drove along. I sold it to a guy I knew after his car was stolen and torched for it's insurance (long story, but insurance knew it was an inside job), told the guy don't drive it like you drive your old car or it'll blow up...he blew the engine within a week of owning it...lol
I don't have any pics of any of my earlier vehicles, after that was an RX4, and a WB ute...then I moved onto 4wd's from there

[terravista]

My first car was also a Morris Major, but I think they had a 1500 engine.
It was around 8 years old when I got it and I swapped a 1924 BSA bike for it. For what it was, it did a fine job so can't qualify as the worst.
I have had over 40 vehicles and they were all capable so I would be hard pressed to pick a worst from them.

[Fizzie]

A Mini!

Mid-70's Mini S, 1l (998cc!) engine, 4 speed manual - I got it in I think 1978, & let me tell you - my s@#$ didn't stink

Absolutely loaded with mod cons - NOT! Can't remember, but it might have had a radio?

Kept it about 6 years, then sold it to a mate, who kept it going for quite a while after that - all 3 of his kids learned to drive in it!

Got to admit that I wouldn't mind still having it today!

Not mine, but this was it

[Swannie]

Mums friend had a Datsun 120y that had run out of rego. Me at 15 said I'll take it for free drive that thing to school for 12 mths with mate all chipping in for fuel. One day the fuel light came on has no money and was outside a wreckers, pulled in and they gave me $100. Walked home stopped at maccas bought a Big Mac meal, continued to walk home and on the way bought a slab of VB and bottle of southern comfort I was pretty happy with my self 😂
Swannie

[moeite]

First car was a 1961 Hillman Minx. Thrashed it unmercifully for about 3 years and couldn't kill it.
On a good day the brakes provided gentle retardation at best. The steering was VERY vague and sloppy with a tendency to grab half way around left corners. It didn't use much petrol but made up for that in oil. I used to buy tins of Bars Leak 6 at a time. The body was unique in that it seemed to be made exclusively from some sort of metal oxide and bog. LOTS of bog. Eventually gave it away when I got a Mini Cooper (997 cc and went like stink).
The guy I gave the old Hillman to restored it from the ground up and recently it sold at auction for nearly $80,000..... HE called me to gloat.

As an aside. NEVER look at carsales.com with a list of all of your old cars in hand. I reckon that anyone over 60 would be worth millions if they kept and restored all the old clunkers.

[edz]

A Mini

I swear that I have never been so scared  [ I realy thought my numbers had come up ] or gone as fast around a very tight 90* corner on a hill [ felt the back end lift the inside rear then the left front started, If we wernt on two wheels we were very close ] , In any other car  than in an early  hotted up Mini Cooper .

[db]

First, 1973 HQ Kingswood, gold in colour. 202, 3 on the tree, bench seat sagging on the drivers side. A mate and I replaced the column shift with a speco floor shift, I got some bucket seats from a friend for nix (XB falcon seats mind you). A cheap stereo and had a ball. Sold it to a friend after 2 years and bought an RS2000 escort (it had issues).

Favourite car was the EH Sedan for $800. Power drum brakes, an all or nothing proposition. Distinctly remember locked up and skidding all the way through the Toorak Rd intersection with the (then) south eastern arterial road. Some great road trips, fun times...

[loanrangie]

EH Holden.  Put brand new tyres on and drove it for a total of 7klms before smashing into a tree and writing it off (and very nearly myself)...cost $120  .

Mine too, 179 and hydramatic auto. Paid $75 for it from Yarra Glen and drove it home with no reg and me being only 16.
 Then bough a HR that had disc brakes and 3 spd floor shift for $200 and drove that home (still only 16 ) at night,  no reg and no exhaust from manifold back it had a 186 and was originally an X2 before the good stuff was removed.

[Jeepers Creepers]

1st Car.

At age 15 in 1975, I bought an FC Holden Sedan for a $100.00 (this was only a 17 year old car then.)

Two tone grey, in really good condition, no rust, mint paint, mint interior.
But the previous owner had pulled the motor and box and sold it off to do a red motor conversion before running out of doh.
A mate of my brothers, had just done a red motor swap on his EJ Panel Van and I scored a Repco Sports Motor (Grey motor or Sideplate motor) and gearbox for $15.00. (Remember them, back when Repco actually did stuff like that at their workshop in James street the Valley)

Small cam, bit of head work and in really good nick and low miles and get this, for $10.00 extra, I got the twin Stromberg's and extractors as well. 

We fitted it all up, put 6" steelies and radials on it and registered it. (Reg. # OOT.999) I remember it had to have a RWC and I think from memory, they'd not long been brought in, as we had to take the car to Ampol Camp Hill, just down from the cop shop to have it done.

I was still 1.5 years away from a drivers license, so it was sold off about 3 or 4 months later for $450.00 and i made a tidy little profit.

Wish I still had that one or even a photo would be nice.

I hope its still out there somewhere, but most likely land fill these days.

Based on todays prices and what things are selling for, in the same condition it was sold in, it would be a $25,000 to $30,000 car now.

[shanegtr]

Are we only counting cars that where driven on the road?  Had a couple of bush bashers before I got my licence.
My parents brought a business that come with a (I think it was an 84 from memory) Ford econovan that they so kindly let me use untill I brought my own wheels. It had dual rear wheels and all, 4 speed column shift (the missus couldnt drive it ). Was a piece of crap, but being young it had its positives - could sleep in the back which was handy for the copious numbers of parties a young fella goes to, could cart a heap of my mates and it didnt break down.
After about a year and a half I decided to buy my own car  - 72 LJ Torana Coupe. Still have the Torana now - although its in the long process of getting fixed up (youngest kid starts kindy next year so should start having a bit more free time to get into it)

[Pete79]

First car;
1982 Canary Yellow Toyota Corona.
Just like this one (but without the spotties)


It had the 'Starfire' motor which was a 4 cylinder based of the Holden 179 red motor. And even with the crappy auto on it we could still manage a neat little burnout at the school gates in the afternoons. 
Unbeknownst to me I bought it off a guy who apparently dealt a bit of dope here and there.
It took a while for every single copper in our little town to pull me over and give me the 30 questions, but eventually they realized they weren't going to get their big bust with that car any more and found someone else to harass.

The poor old Corona finished it days doing laps around the motorbike tracks on the local tidal mud flats only 1km from home.
The rear quarter eventually rusted right through and after the whole boot section nearly fell off over a small jump it was finally dropped off to the wreckers for $100 cash...

Worst car;
I'm on car number 12 at the moment and hands down worst car I've owned (in terms of pissing me off the most) was the VE Berlina International wagon with the 6 speed auto and 3 liter engine.
From memory driving on the highway with cruise control set on exactly 100, only me in the car and no gear it averaged something like 15 or 16L/100km.

The auto gear box nearly killed me many times.
Pull out to pass on the highway and the computer did these calulations; ""Oh you want to go faster? - I'll grab 5th - no 4th - Hmmmm might need 2nd - opps too low lets try 4th - ahh stuff it 5th will do."
To merge in Sydney traffic you'd have to pick your gap about 2 or 3 cars behind you to give the computer time to put you in the right gear so you could match speed and make it into the other lane safely.

Then to really top it off, the poorly designed head would completely block up with soot had to have all the carbon cleaned out of it 3 times.
Apparently a very common issue in the 3L engines. After the 3rd head clean the recommendation from the service tech was to go out on the highway, put it in second gear and flog the crap out of it for a few kms. Yeah, awesome work GM..... 

Worst car ever and I'll never buy another holden/GM because of that thing.
If the engineers are so stupid to release those things onto the public they shouldn't ever expect to see my money again.

[Mace]

First, same as this, including the Venezualen Blinds:

Had a soft spot for Mopars ever since.