Back in the 70s, I drove a Healey 3000 for an hour or so.
Agricultural, gruff, gutsy and shook like stink. All the refinement of a Kubota.
Always did fancy an MGBGTV8, though...
My first Mini was a 1959 Morris.
Bought it as a body for £15 in 1969. It was plum red, and was sitting on four small oil drums in a front garden in Lymm, Cheshire.
Discovered it was a very early one, with a chassis number of 600-and-something. Factory started numbering at 101, so this made it one of the first 500, which were built of a different steel . . . which didn't rust, and never did!
Became my first rebuild special, ending up resprayed black, as an 1100TC and later auto, with P6 front seats and servo brakes. All huge fun, and was our transport for most of the 70s, along with a Rover P5.
September 1959 was when I started out at Grammar School in Ealing, getting there by Trolleybus.
CitroJim wrote: 26 Oct 2018, 09:13
My first Mini (and first car) was a 1964 Austin in Old English White
I can even remember the registration: EPL605B
A very special car to me
Did it have hydrolastic suspension? Your PL registration was a Surrey one and they started Issuing the EPL reg with a B plate in October 1964 so I reckon EPL605B would be late 1964, and more likely than not to be hydrolastic!
and just for gratuitous picture's sake 1964 also saw the new model Austin 1800 arrive
I still enjoy the fact that the Invacar has a similarly reverse raked rear windscreen to the Anglia.
First time I saw a Morris badged Mini it really did confuse me, never occurred to me that such a thing existed until I found one at a show.
Seem to have been quite a few nice motors popping up in auctions lately. Need to start noting them down!
I really did have to sit on my hands to stop me bidding on an early Metro that I saw not long back...it went for well over a grand though so out of my league really.
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
Zelandeth wrote: 27 Oct 2018, 22:26
I really did have to sit on my hands to stop me bidding on an early Metro that I saw not long back...it went for well over a grand though so out of my league really.
Gosh! Was that an MG or just a standard 'cooking' Metro?
Jim
Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
white exec wrote: 26 Oct 2018, 08:01
My first Mini was a 1959 Morris.
Bought it as a body for £15 in 1969. It was plum red, and was sitting on four small oil drums in a front garden in Lymm, Cheshire.
Discovered it was a very early one, with a chassis number of 600-and-something. Factory started numbering at 101, so this made it one of the first 500, which were built of a different steel . . . which didn't rust, and never did!
Became my first rebuild special, ending up resprayed black, as an 1100TC and later auto, with P6 front seats and servo brakes. All huge fun, and was our transport for most of the 70s, along with a Rover P5.
There must be some old photo's of it Chris which are diggable-out.
Our '59 Mini had Moulton rubber suspension, and a later '70 Mini 1000 had Hydrolastic. Don't think the H. really suited the short wheelbase, and the ride was not as leech-like as the rubber. It did work well on the 1100/1300s we had, but those were never driven as sportily as 105WMM.