Past Vehicles
Renault 4
My first car think I paid about £120. Excellent practical little thing that rolled alarmingly around corners, but never let go. Drove it flat out everywhere until eventually a big end came out of the sump.
Volkswagen Transporter
My worst buy of all time. Purchased for £20, used more oil than petrol, sold for £15, all in the same week.
Standard 8
Paid £25 for this, but you had to hold it in third gear to stop it jumping out. Had it a year or so, put the back-bench seat out of the scrapped Renault in the front, and made it recline, made an excellent bed!
Picked up a gas flowed head and twin SU carbs for it from a breaker, didn’t really make it any faster, but I thought it did. Added a second fuel tank (from the Renault) to increase range (like I really needed to!), it had twin fillers like a Jaguar, and probably held more fuel. Great fun asking for £5 of petrol at a filling station, no cars took that much to fill them up then. Cut some off the front springs to drop the suspension. Eventually the gearbox lost 1st and 2nd gears as well, so had to stop and turn around to go up steep hills in reverse gear. Fitted another gearbox then. Once had a chicken in there for a week, picked it up from the farm on the Monday, went with me everywhere, we ate it on the Sunday.
Eventually rolled it on some black ice one winter night whilst driving along singing ‘Johnny remember me’.
Peugeot 403 Estate PPD ??? 1959
1970 - 1972
Bought this from my brother-in-law for £150, pretty rusty in places, but had some new front wings fitted, but not painted. Really nice vehicle, 1500cc, column change three speed with overdrive. At one point it needed a new water pump, but I couldn’t afford one, so kept buying repair kits to keep the old one going. Eventually got it resprayed by my Uncle, and fitted some ‘go faster’ spotlights to the front, it looked really smart. Gave it a de-coke (had to do that every 20,000 miles then) and cleaned up the ports, which really gave it some (comparative) performance, capable of over 90 mph. Think there were only a hundred of these in the UK, the previous Peugeot 203 as far as I know being the first to be imported.
Peugeot at this time were still family owned and were a quality product with some innovative features. All the external trim was stainless steel, the engines had cross flow cylinder heads, five studs on the wheels, many nice touches such as the petrol filler hidden behind one of the rear lights.
Drove this from Dover to Torquay on Honeymoon 16th January 1971, one dark Saturday night, a 260-mile trip. At that time there was very little traffic at night, virtually no motorways, and not many by-passes. We came across a pretty new Daimler V8 250 as we passed Guildford, and took turns leapfrogging each other, as we enjoyed some pretty spirited driving on an empty A30 heading westwards. I think it was Salisbury we both went wrong and ended up in the market square at midnight trying to find the road out. The Daimler stopped for fuel, and we pulled up on the roadside waiting for him to continue our joint adventure. He pulled up some time later, and we had a very brief chat, establishing he too was heading for Torquay. The 403 was a rare beast, and he enquired about the engine size. He was somewhat amazed it was only a four pot 1500cc. He told how he had only just got to the stage of being able to buy his dream Daimler and was somewhat disappointed his V8 2500cc machine ‘was at times having trouble keeping up with you’.
Renault Estafette Van
This was lying around redundant on my sister’s farm, and I think I paid £20 for it. It was a blue and rust colour and was brimming with idiosyncratic French features. Hammock seats, front wheel drive, the van floor was only about 12” above the ground, with a side sliding door. Transit size, but much more, something with soul. The problem was the rust, one panel was so bad I had to get hold of a metre square sheet of steel and pop rivet it in place.
It served well for a while; it would go anywhere and had an incredible turning circle of virtually its own length. 1100cc but with very low gears, 5000 rpm in top produced just 50 mph on the speedo.
Bristol 401 1951 OHT 526
1972 - 1976
The Bristol was one of those boyhood dreams, any Bristol was individual, something to admire but never own. It was in the Haslemere paper, in the garage adverts, in small print on the new Audi dealers’ bit, Bristol 401 £150. We went to see it; she was beautiful, an old girl full of charm. The dealer had taken it in part exchange against a new Reliant Scimitar GTE, and just wanted to get his money back. We were given the previous owners address just up the road so we could find out the history. There started a close friendship of many years, and the Bristol became mine.
It was a machine of beauty. The post-war 400 was based on the pre-war BMW 328, but the 401 had evolved into the first real Bristol. Made by the Bristol Aeroplane Company at the rate of three a week, a tradition still surviving today, as the last vestige of British automotive manufacture.
The 401 was full of aircraft heritage, from the aerodynamic testing in a wind tunnel to produce the Cd of 0.36, the flush door buttons, the aircraft joystick steering wheel, the aluminium body, petrol filler flush with the body, remote boot release. Engineering was cutting edge, with a 2 litre straight six having a cross flow head, triple solex carbs, and a single cam arrangement giving the operation of twin overhead cams. Little touches like the clutch on first gear enabling you to freewheel in traffic, the foot pump in the driver’s footwall that lubricated the whole front suspension with just one press. And most of all the body design, just a smooth elegant shape that was still a comfortable four-seater.
Eventually sold her to a scrap metal merchant who came down from Birmingham, who wanted one to go with his brand new 411.
Ford Corsair V4 GT 1966
1972 – 1974
This was the time when the Cortina 1600E and Corsair 2000E were the sporting cars for the elite masses. The V4 GT was much the same as the 2000E underneath, but being older was more affordable, in its day a very desirable car.
Vauxhall Cresta PB
1974 – 1975
Buying our first house meant buying a cheaper car, and the Cresta PB was around the £100 mark in those days. Very American, with soft suspension, bench seats and column change. I think it was around a 2.6 litre straight six under the bonnet, which gave it respectable performance.
Morris Minor Traveller
A budget buy as a second car, bags of character, reliable, easy to drive and 40mpg, this was a popular choice.
Fiat 124
Purchased off my brother-in-law, this was an unexpected surprise to drive. Looking very boxy and plain and with just 1200cc, it was a real Italian buzz to drive, and would red line with ease in every gear, topping out at 90 mph. Big grin factor when you were in the mood.
Ford Cortina Estate
Another second vehicle bought off my father, the engine was in fact pretty knackered and burnt oil and was sold on pretty quickly. Mundane and uninvolving to drive.
Minivan
Useful little van bought for work, quickly outgrown.
Bedford CF Van
Nice looking van, but not a good buy, having had a hard life.
Honda Z 1972
Whizzy little early foray by Honda into the car market. The guy who had bought the Scimitar had bought it for his wife as it was the same colour and shape, just half sized. 600cc motorcycle engine at the front propelled the lightweight body at frantic speeds. Excellent fun.
Austin Maxi
One for work and family use, the Maxi was the first of a breed in having adaptable seats and a hatchback, together with a 5-speed gearbox. 1500cc and unexciting to drive, it was still a desirable car for its qualities.
Simca 1100 Van
Actually, quite fun to drive, just floor the throttle everywhere. Practical little vehicle, quite endearing.
MGC Roadster 1968
I found this in a garage on a house I was re-wiring in Guildford. It was British Racing Green and languishing unused. It transpired that the chap I was working for had just moved to the area and had been given a company car as part of his inducement to take up his new job, so the MGC was sadly to be sold. Despite my needing the cash from the re-wire, I think I knocked £400 off the bill in a (long) moment of weakness and took the MG as part payment (although a very big part!).
The MGC was slated by the motoring press at its launch, but in fact was much better in retrospect. It did under steer given its 3 litre straight six sat under the bonnet, but it also went very well. It was a matter of pointing it, flooring the throttle, and hanging on. I recall on one occasion reflecting whilst hitting a ton in third gear, that I still had three gears left to go, counting the two overdrives – I never did get on a road long enough to open it up properly.
One of my most entertaining moments happened whilst driving this. I was giving it some welly through Farnborough, you know, second gear stuff, shooting past everything that came up in front. I came up behind someone driving much the same, but in something less memorable. We hit some traffic lights, then a right-angle bend, then a long very wide straight through the middle of Farnborough (Alexander Road), with just one roundabout halfway along. Come the straight this guy floored his throttle and shot off, maybe thinking I was in an MGB. I pulled out to overtake as I floored mine; the front did its usual slight lift, and the rev counter shot through second gear as I went past him. I suppose I must have been doing close on 60 or 70 and was just flicking into third gear as I saw him on my right-hand side. I was sat there feeling very good with all hell let loose around me as my machine blasted past this guy in his car, who was giving it all he had, but still looked like he was going backwards. Then I looked out my right hand window, and just saw this blur coming by – it was a Porsche 911, there was a short guy dressed in a camel hair coat in the driver’s seat, and whilst peering out the windscreen through the steering wheel, had this slight contented smile on his face. Out of nowhere this Germanic monster was doing exactly to me what I was doing to this poor chap on my nearside, hurtling up this 30-mph residential road three abreast. Flooring it in third I hung on to the rear end of the Porsche, hitting 90 before braking for the roundabout, the pair of us going through it nose to tail, before full throttle again on the final straight, eventually hitting heavy traffic and going our own ways. Classic stuff!
Triumph Spitfire Mk2
This was fun. Fitted 5.5” J wheels which totally cured the problematic swinging rear suspension problem and with a high rack it just went around corners. Used it for work which involved trips across the country.
Ford Corsair V4 GT Crayford Convertible Auto
Think I got this somewhere like Croydon, guy wanted about £450 and I got it for £300.
Very rare and good fun, great for posing with the roof down but you did get blown away. Gearbox went on the way on holiday to Great Yarmouth, found a guy to re-build it in the week we were there, drove it home perfect.
Morris Minor Traveller
The Corsair caught fire with a petrol leak in the Vee so bought this as a stop gap while it was repaired. Not very quick but it did 40 mpg. Lots of idiosyncrasy’s – it would jump out of top gear so I tied some elastic to the gear-lever, the drivers window would drop on its own, the driver’s seat would slide back, and the driver’s door would open on its own. If you forgot to release the elastic and change gear it would spring back into top, and the sudden jolt would cause all the other effects to happen at once!
Fiat 125
A Q car I had always desired, this had bags of Italian flair hidden inside its boxy body and was quite quick for its time.
Hillman Avenger Estate
A bland box with nothing going for it, except it cost nothing as it was a company car. Full private use in those days with no tax.
Ford Cortina Mk4 1980 (new company car)
Quite desirable despite its 1300cc engine and base specification.
Chrysler Sunbeam
This was a desirable car on paper with an extremely good specification but was absolutely horrible to drive.
Citroen Ami 8
A friend of mine owned the local garage, and always seemed to have a collection of cars lying around. At the time, we needed cheap transport, he had kept the Ami as the owner couldn’t pay, or didn’t want to pay, for some work carried out on it. So, I think I paid him £20 for it. No keys, no paperwork, armed with a hammer and screwdriver I got the ignition lock to turn. She burst into life, and we had transport. We left the screwdriver in the glove box, and never bothered about the fact we couldn’t lock the doors.
I remember going on the motorway, it was memorable. Most 2CV’s were 400cc, Diane’s and Ami’s were 600cc, but my monster truck was 800cc! Good for cruising at 80 mph. Now those of you who know what an Ami looks like will know what I mean, those who don’t, just imagine driving one of those yellow plastic ducks! It was just the look on the faces of the people we overtook.
Mini 850
This was another garage rescue for little money. It had been lightly rolled on its side with some scuffing on the gutter. A little TLC had it looking almost presentable, well, good enough to sell on.
Fiat 125S
The Fiat 125 was one of those cars I always fancied, a true wolf in sheep’s clothing, and the 125S even more so. It provided saloon car comfort, coupled with a screamer of an engine that just loved revs.
Minivan
As I recall this was another scrapper that I got going and sold. It broke down fairly quickly, quick enough for the buyer to walk back and moan, but it was cheap and sold as seen!
Rover SD1 V8
This is one of my all-time favourite vehicles, and the start of my love affair with V8 engines. Just effortless performance in armchair comfort from a British manufacturer, with just an air of affluence, for very little money.
A memorable 20-mile trip one night in pouring rain on the A31, late as usual, constantly topping out at 110mph, no drama. A run up the M3 with 150mph on the (very optimistic) speedo, equally no drama.
Not the most reliable but a very cossetting and capable vehicle.
I had a lighthouse job in Wales one day, the early morning trip up the M4 with three digits on the speedo was sublime. The helicopter rides to my final destination were exceptional as always, but I remember thinking the return trip home in the SD1 seemed pretty tame after that.
Volkswagen Scirocco
Another garage deal I couldn’t refuse, it was ok, but I thought the golf better. I sold it one weekend, used it for work on the Monday and blew the engine, it was collected by the delighted new owner the next weekend with a totally different engine fitted!
Alfa Romeo Alfasud
Another one of those ‘we put it in the garage and don’t know what to do with it’ cars. It had languished and rusted, as every Alfasud did. About 1250cc, I think a Ti badge, green with sports seats, it looked the part. Rust everywhere, I paid £70, and then found £70 worth of garden stuff in the boot when I got it home. Had a good service with my mechanic at the time, who knew Alfa’s inside out. Set up the inboard brakes, sorted the flat four boxer engine, came back sweet as.
Run it for 6 months and 20,000 miles without any faults, but the rust was getting the better of it with the front struts threatening to break through the bonnet, so I sold it for spares for £50.
The most fun I think of any car, certainly as good as the early Golf GTi’s, although nowhere as quick. That was probably the appeal; you could drive it flat out all the time and throw it at any corner at any speed and just keep the throttle on the floor. Local bikers will know the road across Ash ranges; well this little machine would leave any bike for dead through these bends.
Alfa Romeo GTV
A sort of progression really after the Alfasud. From recollection a 2 litre with the gearbox in the back axle to give balance, but this gave a sloppy gearchange. A lovely looking vehicle without the unsightly cladding on the later versions. It looked good in red once I had dealt with the inevitable brown bits, which were everywhere. Sounded awesome, but somehow, despite being fun, was never quite as good as it looked.
Ford Escort XR3i 1983 B100 JPL (new)
1983 – 1985
We liked the XR3i. At the time the Golf Gti and XR3 were the kings of the new ‘Hot Hatch’ breed. Residuals were strong and it made sense buying new for a change. The XR3 had just gained fuel injection and become the XR3i, and I think at around £7,200 with the obligatory alloy wheels and pair of front spots fitted, was affordable. It really was the bee’s knees, Mercury Grey with a red coach-line, grey bucket seats with red piping, matching door panels. It was a beast by today’s standards though, no power steering, no ABS, no traction, no A/C.
Pretty quick though, I had my speed verified by the Police twice on the M3. Once was at 110mph, ‘we had been sat there ages, you were the best we’ve seen all morning’, and the other at 98mph ‘we clocked that when you were coming around that corner, what I’d like to know is what you were doing on the straight bits’.
One late night run out of London I noticed some blue lights in the distance behind and slowed down a bit at Richmond, whereby the Police car behind caught up with me and pulled me over. ‘We have been trying to catch you since we saw you going over the Hammersmith flyover’. Whoops!
Did 46,000 miles in 18 months before I sold it.
Ford Granada 3.0 Ghia
Not a good buy. We needed a bigger vehicle for a summer holiday, and I bought it in haste. Had faded red paintwork and a noisy tappet that seemed incurable. Was fine for the holiday but it went soon after.
Bedford CF Camper (fitted with VX490 engine & auto box)
A bit of fun really, a bit tired and not that cheap, but camper vans never are. Pretty austere to drive so I got my mechanic to source a bigger engine, he found a Victor VX490 with an auto box that fitted the bill. Lovely to drive after that despite some resonance from the necessarily welded prop shaft. Certainly not economical but sounded lovely and pretty powerful, with performance that, whilst not exciting, was unexpected in a Camper. Towed our caravan to Wales a treat but sold soon after.
Rover SD1 V8
A bargain basement buy after the XR3i which had to go as I was off work with a slipped disc. Lovely thing that broke down everywhere.
Ford Fiesta Van
A brief buy for a specific purpose, not much to add really!
Vauxhall Cavalier (company car)
A new job meant a new car, it was ok for a freebie, but the 1600cc was pretty uninspiring.
Triumph Toledo
One for the wife, it was only something like 45000 miles, but quite old and very rusty. Got it looking presentable and it did her for a good few years.
Ford Cortina Estate 1980 (new company car)
I managed to wrangle an upgrade from work, this looked lovely in I think Mercury Grey and was the bee’s knees for a company car at the time.
Vauxhall Cavalier Sri
Went back self-employed so bought this from a friend. It was a blue grey with all the Sri trimmings and looked stunning. Unfortunately, the steering was heavy, as was the clutch, which made it hard work on the London commute. As with most mainstream cars at the time, it looked much better than it was.
Volkswagen Golf Gti Mk 2
This was one of those cars that put a big grin on your face as soon as you drove it. It replaced the Toledo and was the wife’s transport. I took it to work once instead of my Citroen, it was great fun but extremely tiring as you felt you had to drive fast everywhere. She took it to a hockey match in Cardiff and came home without it. It was discovered a year later on a farm in North Wales together with over a hundred other stolen cars.
Peugeot 505 Gti Family Estate
We were fed up with our three daughters constantly bickering on the back seat of our cars when we went anywhere. ‘Its my turn to sit next the window’ ‘get your elbows out of me’ ‘she hit me, it’s not fair’, the list was endless. So, the Peugeot 8-seater seemed the solution, and to some degree it was. The bickering changed. ‘I want to sit in the back’ was the new phrase.
It was a horrible Beige colour with naff upholstery, but it was the quicker Gti model and it was enormous inside. Despite its size it handled with aplomb and would top out at 110 mph. I fondly remember thoroughly enjoying a trip along torturous mountain roads in Spain, not something you would normally associate with a small bus.
Sadly, it was otherwise the Wife’s car, and she wanted something more economic for the mile drive to work.
Citroen BX Estate
With a stroke of genius Citroen bought out a mainstream idiosyncratic vehicle. It had all the Citroen quirks, most of which were extremely useful in an estate car. The hydropneumatics suspension kept it level regardless of load, power steering was high geared, tailgate was plastic so lightweight, and it was an appealing prospect alongside the usual boring boxes. It was built as ‘adequate’ as the salesman so rightly put it, lightweight but fit for purpose, but was a nightmare to try to keep running after 75,000 miles.
Volkswagen Golf Gti Mk 3
It did not seem as instantly appealing as the Mk 2 and we did not keep it long.
Fiat Uno
Not an especially good buy, never reliable, but a very well-designed little car for the wife. With a touch of that Italian flair to drive.
BMW 320i
BMW were very upmarket at this time and out of reach of the average driver. Prices were dropping and I think I bagged this one for £8000. I knew nothing about them, it was poverty spec for a 2 litre, but it was a BMW.
Ford Granada Scorpio 2.8 Auto
I always had a soft spot for the big Fords and Vauxhalls, and the Scorpio was a particularly appealing package. It was big, comfy, fairly quick, handled adequately and quite economical for its size. Despite its old underpinnings it had all come together as much more than the sum of its parts, and most importantly, it felt good to drive.
I fondly remember getting in on a frosty morning and turning on the heated seats, rear window, mirrors and windscreen and watching it miraculously all readying itself for driving off within minutes.
Sadly, the gearbox eventually went and the repair under warranty was a shoddy one and it was not the same after that.
BMW 325i Auto
I sometimes went back to a cheap vehicle, and this was one of them, £600, I think. It had 100,000 miles on the clock and was suffering from a cracked exhaust manifold but was otherwise ok. Gave it a good service and replaced the manifold and run it for 6 months and 20,000 miles without one problem. For some reason it had a wonderful crackle to the exhaust and was a bit of a magnet for getting stopped, although not illegal. Sometimes the best fun comes from the cheapest vehicles.
Citroen BX Estate Txi
I liked these so I bought another one, a slightly quicker one this time. Gave sterling service for work.
Saab 9000i 2.3 Turbo Auto
This was a 1987 version so an early auto Turbo, and turbos and automatic gearboxes were not a good match at that time. The turbo came in around 2-3000 rpm, with very little below that, and of course you could not slip the clutch to get it on song on a standing start with the auto gearbox.
I remember one particular traffic light start. I floored the throttle to get away quick and very little happened, except I saw this little old lady in her Metro streaking ahead of me. I pressed the throttle harder in embarrassment with little effect. Then suddenly at about 30 mph the front wheels started scrabbling and all hell let loose as the turbo came on song and we hurtled forward. I think 0-30 was around 8 seconds and 30-60 about 2 seconds.
It was a real marmite car, I loved 75% of it and loathed 25%. Apart from the gearbox problem, it had a habit of cutting out, always in the fast lane (where I lived!), but always came back again without any reason found – disconcerting at best. The performance was erratic and seemingly weather dependant. The front wheel drive was by Saabs own admission incapable of putting the power down on the road, and hard throttle meant a fight to stop it tramping on bends. And it had five radiators, never a problem, but such complication was always a worry.
The good bits include overtaking a line of twelve cars on a long two lane straight once with total ease, hitting 120 by the time we passed the last one, and seeing the rigid frame of my passenger clinging on to everything with a horrified look etched on his face. A memorable run with a Porsche down the M40 and across country on a damp night, the evening air seemingly bringing the turbo alive, the big Saab easily matching the Porsche on this occasion and opening the bonnet when home to be amazed at the white-hot glow from the turbo.
The build quality was impressive, from the most comfortable seats in the world, to the solid piece of ¾” ply they used for the parcel shelf. Two trip computers and excellent ergonomics compliment the touch of Scandinavian flair.
But 6 months was long enough.
BMW 325i Touring Auto
I got the hang of BMW’s with this one. It was still poverty spec by todays standards, but I found this SE in metallic grey, leather, auto and A/C, it was a bit of a hen’s tooth. And the dealer took the Saab in part ex without even looking at it, the gearbox had started playing up. I paid £10,000 in total with 70k on the clock and got £5000 in part ex two and a half years later with 175,000 on it.
It got well serviced with a lot of preventative maintenance and went through pads and discs but required little else and was totally reliable. Longest I had ever kept a car, it handled better than the saloons but still pretty twitchy on the limit, did around 27 mpg with London work and was, even now, pretty quick.
Honda Transalp 650
I had always wanted a motor bike, but my parents had forbidden it, so I went straight into cars. But the desire remained and was rekindled in middle age. I bought a Honda CB125 which won’t be listed here but having passed my test the world of fast machines was mine. However, as much as I liked the looks of the racing machines, I was always one for alternatives, hence the Transalp appealed, the sort of Land Rover of motorcycles.
I purchased it without much knowledge, only to discover I needed to be stood on a kerb just to manage to get on it, it was so high. I wobbled around for a bit but soon got the hang of it, the acceleration seemed awesome and 80 mph was as fast as I wanted to go sat so high up. I always came home with a big grin. It was one of those bikes rightly held in high regard by everyone.
Ford Granada Scorpio Cosworth 24V Auto
A little appreciated Q car, Cosworth racing had taken a standard Scorpio and breathed on it. Very discrete, you had to open the bonnet to reveal the Cosworth 24v heads. There were other little touches as well, such as the extra centre sun visor to cover the centre section missed by Ford. It was quietly quick, but my first foray towards seeing 150mph on the clock caused a misfire. This remained and was a great annoyance as it only occurred in top gear at high revs, so you had to be doing 90 before it happened. The dealer refused to drive it that fast, so I tried it on a rolling road, but never cured it. It remained a performance car with an irritating flat spot that ruined the fun and it was soon sold.
Honda VFR 750 1987
Bought this off a good friend as a natural progression after the Transalp, which I still rode. Lovely condition and a pretty classic sports bike. Trouble was it hurt my arthritic wrists at low speed, and I sold both bikes on moving up to Suffolk.
Volkswagen Sharan VR6 Auto
This was a strange beast, but one that appealed, a fast people carrier. The VR6 engine gave it sprightly performance, the handling was adequate, the 23 mpg not good, but it wafted along nicely with the obligatory air and leather. Plus, it was big with plenty of room for my work stuff.
I drove it back out of London one day very late for an appointment at home, one of the few occasions it got drove hard. It was really surreal, sat high in an MPV, doing 130 mph down the A3.
Sadly, the gearbox wasn’t up to the task of transmitting the power to move the weight, and after the second rebuild I sold it.
Land Rover Discovery 300TDi
Having moved to Birchams Farm it seemed appropriate to get a 4x4, and I had always liked the 300Tdi Discovery. It was from a local trader, a mid spec in Turquoise. It rambled along ok but was a handful after the wafting ability of the Sharan. It fitted in nicely at home and was a joy in London, but pretty useless on the motorway, its lack of top end performance frustrating. Flat out downhill was only 90 and if anything got in your way it took ages to re-gain speed.
It was a bully in London traffic though, anyone foolish enough to cut me up often ended up with a gentle tap, it was pretty unbreakable. The mechanics, however, were not quite so robust, with little niggles and big problems like the head gasket blowing.
Toyota Celica Auto
This was another cheapie, £350 if I recall. I gave it a full service and had a couple of jobs done making the cost £1000, but then run it for about a year without problem. It was quite fun to drive if not overly exciting, very reliable, and it didn’t matter too much about taking care of it. London driving was a bit Mad Max in those days, and it was good for that. I remember one guy pushed me from behind in traffic as he objected to me letting someone in, so I just put it in reverse and did the same to him. I remember seeing in my mirror as I drove away his front skirt was on the ground in front of his car. Happy days.
Range Rover 3.5 V8
The first of many Range Rovers, pretty much all V8’s. It had a MOT, but the body resembled a string vest and it wallowed like a boat, but I was hooked. It was just for pottering around at home, and I did fill some of the bigger holes and treated the worst of the rust. Unsurprisingly it failed the next MOT and had to have a new rear crossmember fitted, but it was poorly done, and the tailgate never fitted properly after that, so it had to go.
BMW 730i SE Auto
These are my first choice for a long-distance cruiser, being an excellent blend of comfort, handling, performance and equipment.
This was metallic graphite grey and fitted with the straight six 3.0 litre 188 bhp engine, coupled with 4 speed electronic triple mode automatic transmission. BMW designed the second generation 7 series from scratch, spending £600 million to produce the definitive executive express in the E32 model. With almost perfectly balanced weight distribution the handling is superb, the interior sumptuous, the engineering first class. This is a continent cruiser that makes you want to cancel the airline tickets and drive to Spain just for the pleasure of it. It will eat a 200-mile trip and leave you disappointed that you have arrived so soon!
Standard on the 7 series are some nice touches missing from lesser BMW’s. The first aid kit under the passengers seat, the heated windscreen under the wiper blades, the flick of the door handle turning on the interior lights and lock heater, the nine interior lights that stay on whilst you need them, the two boot lights, the two stage windscreen washers, the infinitely variable intermittent wiper timer, the wipers that stop when you do, you discover new things as you live with the car. And of course, there are the traditional BMW traits, the superb auto gearbox with sport and manual options, the two stage kick down on the accelerator, the deadlocks, the almost perfect ergonomics.
It had a tick from the tappets which I eventually had rebuilt at great cost only to find the tap was not the tappets and remained. I sold it shortly after that.
Honda Shuttle SE
This was an eminently practical vehicle, large inside, a folding into the floor third seat, nice to drive, quick and economical enough and totally reliable. Don’t think it ever had more than oil changes, pads and discs. Had this about 2 years and eventually sold it within the family.
Honda Deauville 650
The dullsville was pretty much that. It had been lovingly cared for by the previous owner and I liked the look of it, but I disliked the high first gear and never really got along with it.
Discovery 200Tdi
This was a project, it had nothing going for it apart from the price of just a couple of hundred pounds. It was doggy, dirty, rusty and neglected, but underneath was still an interesting vehicle with its Conran interior. But it was never a keeper, it was a bit of fun sorting it out, it then moved on.
Range Rover Vogue 3.5 V8 Auto 1985 C930 LGJ
This was in some ways the best version of the original Range Rover. It had the simplistically lacking in the more complicated later versions but had everything missing from the earlier basic two door. No leather on this one but four doors, A/C and auto. Everything was sort of better in real life, the rear seats didn’t have headrests so you could see much easier when reversing, it wasn’t undersealed from new so didn’t rust from trapped moisture in the weld seams underneath, it was more appealing from having less. The original Buick 3.5 V8 was probably the better engine in lots of ways and it even sounded better than the 3.9 units.
I had it a few years, my son-in-law enjoyed it for a year or two, then I had it back and stored it for the restoration that never happened. Eventually I sold it on eBay, a guy came over from Holland and drove it home pleased as punch.
BMW 730i SE Auto
The seven series itch needed scratching so another one was acquired. I had a job in Northampton for a few months and those 125-mile trips up there on a Sunday night were a joy, I truly never wanted to arrive. It had a problem with the climate in that once turned on you sometimes couldn’t turn the heat down – it required a stop and reboot by turning off the ignition, then it would reset itself. Other than that eccentricity it was marvellous.
Discovery ES V8 N938 WVP
This was a lovely thing with a glorious soundtrack. We ran it for a while in the forlorn hope we could live with the dire fuel consumption, but we couldn’t long term, so we moved it on.
Honda CRV 1998 R701 JNO
My partner had a Freelander she loved but could ill afford the constant bills for things going wrong. I persuaded her a Honda would put an end to that, which it did. We had it several years, nothing went wrong except for a tinkling noise from the Cat which we lived with. We fitted A/T tyres and with a system better than the usual 4-wheel drive it was surprisingly capable. It never endeared itself like the Land Rover but was a very efficient tool.
Honda Legend 3.5 V6 Auto
This was one of those hidden gems. It was cheap as chips but a very luxurious way to travel. The 3.5 V6 petrol was perfect and totally inaudible and motionless at idle, you really had to check the rev counter to see if you had started it.
I bought it unseen from Scotland, mileage was around 70k, think it went on eBay for about £2500. It was a steal, plus the seller gave me £500 back because the cambelt had not been changed and he had originally thought it had. He had used it to commute from Scotland to Cambridge and didn’t have breakdown cover as he ‘didn’t need it’.
It wasn’t good over road imperfections and wasn’t especially keen on corners, but the 70 to 100 acceleration when other cars eventually move over on the motorway was addictive.
My work had changed in that I now commuted a few days a week, mostly at that time to Tonbridge working evenings. The Legend was perfect for the 260-mile round trip and always a pleasure. There was one stretch of the top of the M11 if I was going to Cambridge where she always got some welly well into three digits in the early hours.
Ford Explorer 4.0 V6
This was a lovely beast, great engine and gearbox, useful rear hatch, really nice to drive. However, despite massive production figures getting the right version of spares was difficult, and the rear leaf springs get tiring on undulating surfaces. Typical American in that it was steel frame everywhere and no attention to utilising space – big outside but no storage inside. When I sold it on eBay it was the easiest sale ever, the guy turned up, gave me the cash, jumped in it and drove away – took all of 2 minutes.
Defender 90 200TDi Pick-up 1991 J841 BVF
This came from an agricultural auction with just one farmer owner, started but smoked, no MOT. We loaded it on a trailer with another ton of assorted purchases and got it home. I didn’t really know what to do with it! The smoke was down to an injector so easily cured. I put it on eBay and a guy in wales bought it for off-roading, and I made a few hundred pounds in the process.
Toyota Landcruiser VX 4.7
This was the ultimate 4x4, 4.7 V8 petrol, 7 seats, built like a tank. It went well enough and wasn’t too bad on fuel, but had a chequered past, so didn’t stay long.
Range Rover Vogue SE 3.9 V8 Auto 1991 J205 WOB
Another eBay bargain, it was an executor sale, a bit rough in places, but the right colour and spec, with leather and air. After I got it, I realised there was no key for the locking wheel-nuts and I could hardly ask the previous owner. Run it for quite a while, then laid it up with hopes of restoring it, but eventually sold it complete with rust after it had sat around a while.
BMW 540i V8 Auto Touring
Had a few months work in Uxbridge on a computer suite so got this for the weekly commute. Glorious engine with a lovely soundtrack and it was pretty quick, had a bit of fun with an M5 on one occasion. Electronics had the occasional wobbly and it was a bit twitchy at 130 unless it was a smooth road, but it was Q car fun.
Toyota Hilux Pick-up
This was for the farm, a do it all unbreakable machine. It was cheap off eBay and collected from the Cambridge area, I remember the drive home, it was totally unstable above 50. My mechanic sorted lots of things and I tidied the body and we used it for a couple of years. Everyone tended to get out of your way. Eventually sold it and pretty much got all my money back.
Defender 200TDi 110 1991 J433 EAH
This was a rescue, no MOT, not used for a while, we drove it home from some far-flung place near Ipswich. Derinda hated it, but I sat in it contentedly savouring the aroma of old dogs and finding old crisp packets in hidden away places. It was a Land Rover thing. I sorted the rust and got most of it the same colour, and after a while sold it to a young chap who wanted to go touring in North Africa.
Discovery 300 V8 Auto N238 ARW
Air Raid Warden was a nice vehicle, turquoise, it was the variant with the Land Rover wallpaper, the trim designation I no longer recall. It drank petrol but sounded lovely but broke down every time we went anywhere. I fitted raised springs to give it a lift for off-roading and completely spoilt what handling it had, lost interest after that and sold it at a loss.
Defender 300TDi 110 1998 R980 EGS
Monty or Eggs as he was sometimes known, was an immaculate old chap. He was a very dark grey and had the extremely rare air conditioning. No corrosion anywhere, he had been undersealed early in his life, and came to me via a retired Scout master. We even took him to the Peak district touring.
It was a relaxing drive as his settled speed was about 65 mph so there was no need to monitor speed cameras, the handling was ok, and he was pleasant to drive.
Unfortunately, his condition was against him in that we had to be so careful off-road not to scratch him.
He was the embodiment of that unique Defender thing of love / hate. I would have another in a heartbeat, there is so much appeal in the simplistic meccano build and the basic mechanicals giving that air of invincibility. But the hates are many, the lack of so much we take for granted such as central locking, electric windows, heating and reliability. Even the afterthought air conditioning only worked on your feet, not the windows. And the to-do list is never ending.
But residuals are rock solid. I paid and sold him for £8000 after 18 months use.
Discovery 300Tdi Auto
This was a scrapper I paid a few hundred for, the intention being I would put the auto gearbox into the Defender, something I longed to accomplish. This never happened and my mechanic was so impressed with it he eventually bought it off me for what I had paid and used it for a while.
Range Rover Vogue 3.9 V8 1991 J74 OAC
This was in nice condition, it even still had the under cowls fitted, first time I knew they had them. It was only the cloth interior but went well enough. The front inner wings were shot but I managed to patch these acceptably.
Range Rover P38 V8 auto 1997
I liked the P38 and had debated long and hard about the wisdom of getting one. Eventually I gave in to the desire and bid for one on eBay. It was the smaller engine and a more basic spec, so cloth seats but auto and air, the thinking being less to go wrong. It was a reasonable mileage and a good history with just one family but was a bit grubby coming from a farm. I think I only paid about £2.5k.
It went nicely and was a great way to travel but suffered from the battery going flat by the alarm being constantly woken by picking up other systems. I sourced and fitted an improved module to sort this.
Then the suspension pump packed up. I bought a new pattern one which didn’t work, then got sent a replacement which didn’t work either. Eventually I bought a re-con kit and repaired the old pump myself.
After six months of ownership it had only managed to be usable for three months, so it was sold.
Citroen Relay Panel Van 2002
2008 - 2010
What can I say, it was a white van? Derinda thought we had definitely joined the local gypsy community driving this, she even offered to get me a trilby and jack Russell to go with it!
But it was a useful tool, bigger than the normal Transit, and not bad to drive. Being French the design flair is evident in the excellent cabin, cubbies everywhere, a clipboard on the dash, a laptop base built into the middle seat. Sadly, it also had the French build, and required regular maintenance to keep it up together. The cable gearchange left much to be desired. Excellent for moving furniture, building materials, in fact anything. Easily took a pallet. Very low floor height.
It gradually got slower and slower, eventually traced to the cat being virtually blocked – it went well after that but had outgrown its use and was sold.
Suzuki SV650 2001
2008-2010
One of my favourite ever toys, and my favourite bike, something that does 0-60 in around 5 seconds is sure to put a smile on your face! Downside was getting time to get dressed up and getting out on it, together with a sunny Sunday, but once out you never wanted to come home again. We have some excellent roads around here, and often not too busy. Excellent bike, novice friendly, no vices, enough power for me to never use it all, and a nice sound. I eventually sold it due to lack of time to ride it.
MGB GT 1972
2008-2010
It was Derinda’s fault, I was just watching it end on eBay and she said, ‘put a bid on it’. I did and won it!
What followed was a memorable trip back from deepest Lincolnshire one dark and rainy night. It only had one headlight, and a row of unlit identical dash switches that meant I kept turning the lights off instead of the wipers on. It was almost impossible to see the road, and it had a misfire. Truly a taste of retro classic motoring.
It was very 1970’s in orange, had had a recent body rebuild and re-spray, together with an interior re-trim. The suspension had some work since I bought it, and some new springs were still required on the rear. Engine was pretty lumpy but got better with tuning. Otherwise I just pottered with some TLC, it was pretty much up together, a very useable classic, but certainly nowhere near perfect condition.
MGF 1997
2009-2010
Well Derinda wanted an Audi TT, and I was unimpressed with the handling of the MGB, which led me down a long road that ended with this MGF. An eBay find, it had full history with 46,000 miles on the clock, the right colour in British Racing Green with black leather interior, the optional power steering and ABS, and came with the desirable hardtop for winter use. At a fifth of the price of the cheapest thrashed out TT, it was irresistible.
Initial outcome from driving it back home and giving it some welly on one of my favourite roads was a big grin, the mid engine layout and 50/50 balance gave it awesome handling.
Great fun, but of limited practical use, eventually passed on to another mid-life teenager to enjoy her.
Defender 300TDi 110 1998
Well I went to a Tractor show and came home with a Defender, as you do. It was average nick, Epsom green, slightly overpriced, but irresistible. All the usual Marmite features. I loved it and loathed it for a while before parting company.
Lexus RX300 SE 2001
Full review under recent vehicles
Land Rover Discovery ES EDC 300Tdi 1997
Full review under recent vehicles
Updated under ‘Vehicles’ and ‘Disco’ February 2011
Toyota Previa GX Auto 1997
Full review under recent vehicles
Toyota Landcruiser Colorado VX 1998
Full review under recent vehicles
BMW E65 735i Auto 2002
Full review under recent vehicles
Moto Guzzi Breva
I wanted another bike, but something different, and the Breva fitted the bill. It was immaculate, I only rode it a few times in as many years, but with a worsening back condition it became impossible to leg my leg over it, and with Vertigo difficult to balance. A dealer bought it and I made a nice profit.
Lexus RX300 SEL
Full review under recent vehicles
Toyota Landcruiser Colorado VX 1998
A full account of the second Landcruiser is listed under 4x4 Vehicles.
Toyota Previa CDX VVTi 2001 Auto
I bought this one Christmas for Tess, our now geriatric German Shepherd. She was having trouble getting up into the higher vehicles and I always thought the Previa an attractive proposition, akin to the Shuttle. She loved it, trotted in the side door, we folded the two rearmost seats down and removed the middle back seat, so she could walk around as she wanted. It was acceptably quick, economical for its size, extremely comfortable and nice to drive. It suffered the rear A/C pipes corroding, about the only problem these had, so I had these blanked and just ran the front A/C. Usual Toyota reliability, a much-underrated vehicle.
Volvo T5 Auto Estate
As much as I liked the Previa, it got tiring on long journeys, it was not something that liked to be hustled. I fancied the Saab 9-5 Aero estate as a cheap Q car but stumbled on a T5 locally. It was a bit tired bodily and not the top spec, but it went well enough. I decided not to bid on it, but then the winner defaulted, and I got offered it for £750. It was 2001 with just over 100,000 miles. It seemed worth a punt. I sorted a couple of known problems – steering update and one injector, detailed the paintwork and it did us well.
The grin factor with these quite rare T5 versions is immense. I could potter around in one of the most comfortable drivers seats ever made in the guise of an old man driving an old man’s car, perfect Sunday afternoon transport. But a press of the right pedal at any speed will transform you into a total hooligan and propel you instantly into insane speeds with handling to match. Many drivers of much more exotic vehicles have had the thought ‘that old Volvo isn’t coming past me’, only to find that actually it can, and it did, and where did it go?
With a 0-60 around 7 seconds, 0-100 around 18 seconds and a top speed over 150mph, it is easy to see why these were so popular as police pursuit cars.
Discovery 3 HSE Auto 2005
A full account of this is listed under 4x4 Vehicles.
My first car think I paid about £120. Excellent practical little thing that rolled alarmingly around corners, but never let go. Drove it flat out everywhere until eventually a big end came out of the sump.
Volkswagen Transporter
My worst buy of all time. Purchased for £20, used more oil than petrol, sold for £15, all in the same week.
Standard 8
Paid £25 for this, but you had to hold it in third gear to stop it jumping out. Had it a year or so, put the back-bench seat out of the scrapped Renault in the front, and made it recline, made an excellent bed!
Picked up a gas flowed head and twin SU carbs for it from a breaker, didn’t really make it any faster, but I thought it did. Added a second fuel tank (from the Renault) to increase range (like I really needed to!), it had twin fillers like a Jaguar, and probably held more fuel. Great fun asking for £5 of petrol at a filling station, no cars took that much to fill them up then. Cut some off the front springs to drop the suspension. Eventually the gearbox lost 1st and 2nd gears as well, so had to stop and turn around to go up steep hills in reverse gear. Fitted another gearbox then. Once had a chicken in there for a week, picked it up from the farm on the Monday, went with me everywhere, we ate it on the Sunday.
Eventually rolled it on some black ice one winter night whilst driving along singing ‘Johnny remember me’.
Peugeot 403 Estate PPD ??? 1959
1970 - 1972
Bought this from my brother-in-law for £150, pretty rusty in places, but had some new front wings fitted, but not painted. Really nice vehicle, 1500cc, column change three speed with overdrive. At one point it needed a new water pump, but I couldn’t afford one, so kept buying repair kits to keep the old one going. Eventually got it resprayed by my Uncle, and fitted some ‘go faster’ spotlights to the front, it looked really smart. Gave it a de-coke (had to do that every 20,000 miles then) and cleaned up the ports, which really gave it some (comparative) performance, capable of over 90 mph. Think there were only a hundred of these in the UK, the previous Peugeot 203 as far as I know being the first to be imported.
Peugeot at this time were still family owned and were a quality product with some innovative features. All the external trim was stainless steel, the engines had cross flow cylinder heads, five studs on the wheels, many nice touches such as the petrol filler hidden behind one of the rear lights.
Drove this from Dover to Torquay on Honeymoon 16th January 1971, one dark Saturday night, a 260-mile trip. At that time there was very little traffic at night, virtually no motorways, and not many by-passes. We came across a pretty new Daimler V8 250 as we passed Guildford, and took turns leapfrogging each other, as we enjoyed some pretty spirited driving on an empty A30 heading westwards. I think it was Salisbury we both went wrong and ended up in the market square at midnight trying to find the road out. The Daimler stopped for fuel, and we pulled up on the roadside waiting for him to continue our joint adventure. He pulled up some time later, and we had a very brief chat, establishing he too was heading for Torquay. The 403 was a rare beast, and he enquired about the engine size. He was somewhat amazed it was only a four pot 1500cc. He told how he had only just got to the stage of being able to buy his dream Daimler and was somewhat disappointed his V8 2500cc machine ‘was at times having trouble keeping up with you’.
Renault Estafette Van
This was lying around redundant on my sister’s farm, and I think I paid £20 for it. It was a blue and rust colour and was brimming with idiosyncratic French features. Hammock seats, front wheel drive, the van floor was only about 12” above the ground, with a side sliding door. Transit size, but much more, something with soul. The problem was the rust, one panel was so bad I had to get hold of a metre square sheet of steel and pop rivet it in place.
It served well for a while; it would go anywhere and had an incredible turning circle of virtually its own length. 1100cc but with very low gears, 5000 rpm in top produced just 50 mph on the speedo.
Bristol 401 1951 OHT 526
1972 - 1976
The Bristol was one of those boyhood dreams, any Bristol was individual, something to admire but never own. It was in the Haslemere paper, in the garage adverts, in small print on the new Audi dealers’ bit, Bristol 401 £150. We went to see it; she was beautiful, an old girl full of charm. The dealer had taken it in part exchange against a new Reliant Scimitar GTE, and just wanted to get his money back. We were given the previous owners address just up the road so we could find out the history. There started a close friendship of many years, and the Bristol became mine.
It was a machine of beauty. The post-war 400 was based on the pre-war BMW 328, but the 401 had evolved into the first real Bristol. Made by the Bristol Aeroplane Company at the rate of three a week, a tradition still surviving today, as the last vestige of British automotive manufacture.
The 401 was full of aircraft heritage, from the aerodynamic testing in a wind tunnel to produce the Cd of 0.36, the flush door buttons, the aircraft joystick steering wheel, the aluminium body, petrol filler flush with the body, remote boot release. Engineering was cutting edge, with a 2 litre straight six having a cross flow head, triple solex carbs, and a single cam arrangement giving the operation of twin overhead cams. Little touches like the clutch on first gear enabling you to freewheel in traffic, the foot pump in the driver’s footwall that lubricated the whole front suspension with just one press. And most of all the body design, just a smooth elegant shape that was still a comfortable four-seater.
Eventually sold her to a scrap metal merchant who came down from Birmingham, who wanted one to go with his brand new 411.
Ford Corsair V4 GT 1966
1972 – 1974
This was the time when the Cortina 1600E and Corsair 2000E were the sporting cars for the elite masses. The V4 GT was much the same as the 2000E underneath, but being older was more affordable, in its day a very desirable car.
Vauxhall Cresta PB
1974 – 1975
Buying our first house meant buying a cheaper car, and the Cresta PB was around the £100 mark in those days. Very American, with soft suspension, bench seats and column change. I think it was around a 2.6 litre straight six under the bonnet, which gave it respectable performance.
Morris Minor Traveller
A budget buy as a second car, bags of character, reliable, easy to drive and 40mpg, this was a popular choice.
Fiat 124
Purchased off my brother-in-law, this was an unexpected surprise to drive. Looking very boxy and plain and with just 1200cc, it was a real Italian buzz to drive, and would red line with ease in every gear, topping out at 90 mph. Big grin factor when you were in the mood.
Ford Cortina Estate
Another second vehicle bought off my father, the engine was in fact pretty knackered and burnt oil and was sold on pretty quickly. Mundane and uninvolving to drive.
Minivan
Useful little van bought for work, quickly outgrown.
Bedford CF Van
Nice looking van, but not a good buy, having had a hard life.
Honda Z 1972
Whizzy little early foray by Honda into the car market. The guy who had bought the Scimitar had bought it for his wife as it was the same colour and shape, just half sized. 600cc motorcycle engine at the front propelled the lightweight body at frantic speeds. Excellent fun.
Austin Maxi
One for work and family use, the Maxi was the first of a breed in having adaptable seats and a hatchback, together with a 5-speed gearbox. 1500cc and unexciting to drive, it was still a desirable car for its qualities.
Simca 1100 Van
Actually, quite fun to drive, just floor the throttle everywhere. Practical little vehicle, quite endearing.
MGC Roadster 1968
I found this in a garage on a house I was re-wiring in Guildford. It was British Racing Green and languishing unused. It transpired that the chap I was working for had just moved to the area and had been given a company car as part of his inducement to take up his new job, so the MGC was sadly to be sold. Despite my needing the cash from the re-wire, I think I knocked £400 off the bill in a (long) moment of weakness and took the MG as part payment (although a very big part!).
The MGC was slated by the motoring press at its launch, but in fact was much better in retrospect. It did under steer given its 3 litre straight six sat under the bonnet, but it also went very well. It was a matter of pointing it, flooring the throttle, and hanging on. I recall on one occasion reflecting whilst hitting a ton in third gear, that I still had three gears left to go, counting the two overdrives – I never did get on a road long enough to open it up properly.
One of my most entertaining moments happened whilst driving this. I was giving it some welly through Farnborough, you know, second gear stuff, shooting past everything that came up in front. I came up behind someone driving much the same, but in something less memorable. We hit some traffic lights, then a right-angle bend, then a long very wide straight through the middle of Farnborough (Alexander Road), with just one roundabout halfway along. Come the straight this guy floored his throttle and shot off, maybe thinking I was in an MGB. I pulled out to overtake as I floored mine; the front did its usual slight lift, and the rev counter shot through second gear as I went past him. I suppose I must have been doing close on 60 or 70 and was just flicking into third gear as I saw him on my right-hand side. I was sat there feeling very good with all hell let loose around me as my machine blasted past this guy in his car, who was giving it all he had, but still looked like he was going backwards. Then I looked out my right hand window, and just saw this blur coming by – it was a Porsche 911, there was a short guy dressed in a camel hair coat in the driver’s seat, and whilst peering out the windscreen through the steering wheel, had this slight contented smile on his face. Out of nowhere this Germanic monster was doing exactly to me what I was doing to this poor chap on my nearside, hurtling up this 30-mph residential road three abreast. Flooring it in third I hung on to the rear end of the Porsche, hitting 90 before braking for the roundabout, the pair of us going through it nose to tail, before full throttle again on the final straight, eventually hitting heavy traffic and going our own ways. Classic stuff!
Triumph Spitfire Mk2
This was fun. Fitted 5.5” J wheels which totally cured the problematic swinging rear suspension problem and with a high rack it just went around corners. Used it for work which involved trips across the country.
Ford Corsair V4 GT Crayford Convertible Auto
Think I got this somewhere like Croydon, guy wanted about £450 and I got it for £300.
Very rare and good fun, great for posing with the roof down but you did get blown away. Gearbox went on the way on holiday to Great Yarmouth, found a guy to re-build it in the week we were there, drove it home perfect.
Morris Minor Traveller
The Corsair caught fire with a petrol leak in the Vee so bought this as a stop gap while it was repaired. Not very quick but it did 40 mpg. Lots of idiosyncrasy’s – it would jump out of top gear so I tied some elastic to the gear-lever, the drivers window would drop on its own, the driver’s seat would slide back, and the driver’s door would open on its own. If you forgot to release the elastic and change gear it would spring back into top, and the sudden jolt would cause all the other effects to happen at once!
Fiat 125
A Q car I had always desired, this had bags of Italian flair hidden inside its boxy body and was quite quick for its time.
Hillman Avenger Estate
A bland box with nothing going for it, except it cost nothing as it was a company car. Full private use in those days with no tax.
Ford Cortina Mk4 1980 (new company car)
Quite desirable despite its 1300cc engine and base specification.
Chrysler Sunbeam
This was a desirable car on paper with an extremely good specification but was absolutely horrible to drive.
Citroen Ami 8
A friend of mine owned the local garage, and always seemed to have a collection of cars lying around. At the time, we needed cheap transport, he had kept the Ami as the owner couldn’t pay, or didn’t want to pay, for some work carried out on it. So, I think I paid him £20 for it. No keys, no paperwork, armed with a hammer and screwdriver I got the ignition lock to turn. She burst into life, and we had transport. We left the screwdriver in the glove box, and never bothered about the fact we couldn’t lock the doors.
I remember going on the motorway, it was memorable. Most 2CV’s were 400cc, Diane’s and Ami’s were 600cc, but my monster truck was 800cc! Good for cruising at 80 mph. Now those of you who know what an Ami looks like will know what I mean, those who don’t, just imagine driving one of those yellow plastic ducks! It was just the look on the faces of the people we overtook.
Mini 850
This was another garage rescue for little money. It had been lightly rolled on its side with some scuffing on the gutter. A little TLC had it looking almost presentable, well, good enough to sell on.
Fiat 125S
The Fiat 125 was one of those cars I always fancied, a true wolf in sheep’s clothing, and the 125S even more so. It provided saloon car comfort, coupled with a screamer of an engine that just loved revs.
Minivan
As I recall this was another scrapper that I got going and sold. It broke down fairly quickly, quick enough for the buyer to walk back and moan, but it was cheap and sold as seen!
Rover SD1 V8
This is one of my all-time favourite vehicles, and the start of my love affair with V8 engines. Just effortless performance in armchair comfort from a British manufacturer, with just an air of affluence, for very little money.
A memorable 20-mile trip one night in pouring rain on the A31, late as usual, constantly topping out at 110mph, no drama. A run up the M3 with 150mph on the (very optimistic) speedo, equally no drama.
Not the most reliable but a very cossetting and capable vehicle.
I had a lighthouse job in Wales one day, the early morning trip up the M4 with three digits on the speedo was sublime. The helicopter rides to my final destination were exceptional as always, but I remember thinking the return trip home in the SD1 seemed pretty tame after that.
Volkswagen Scirocco
Another garage deal I couldn’t refuse, it was ok, but I thought the golf better. I sold it one weekend, used it for work on the Monday and blew the engine, it was collected by the delighted new owner the next weekend with a totally different engine fitted!
Alfa Romeo Alfasud
Another one of those ‘we put it in the garage and don’t know what to do with it’ cars. It had languished and rusted, as every Alfasud did. About 1250cc, I think a Ti badge, green with sports seats, it looked the part. Rust everywhere, I paid £70, and then found £70 worth of garden stuff in the boot when I got it home. Had a good service with my mechanic at the time, who knew Alfa’s inside out. Set up the inboard brakes, sorted the flat four boxer engine, came back sweet as.
Run it for 6 months and 20,000 miles without any faults, but the rust was getting the better of it with the front struts threatening to break through the bonnet, so I sold it for spares for £50.
The most fun I think of any car, certainly as good as the early Golf GTi’s, although nowhere as quick. That was probably the appeal; you could drive it flat out all the time and throw it at any corner at any speed and just keep the throttle on the floor. Local bikers will know the road across Ash ranges; well this little machine would leave any bike for dead through these bends.
Alfa Romeo GTV
A sort of progression really after the Alfasud. From recollection a 2 litre with the gearbox in the back axle to give balance, but this gave a sloppy gearchange. A lovely looking vehicle without the unsightly cladding on the later versions. It looked good in red once I had dealt with the inevitable brown bits, which were everywhere. Sounded awesome, but somehow, despite being fun, was never quite as good as it looked.
Ford Escort XR3i 1983 B100 JPL (new)
1983 – 1985
We liked the XR3i. At the time the Golf Gti and XR3 were the kings of the new ‘Hot Hatch’ breed. Residuals were strong and it made sense buying new for a change. The XR3 had just gained fuel injection and become the XR3i, and I think at around £7,200 with the obligatory alloy wheels and pair of front spots fitted, was affordable. It really was the bee’s knees, Mercury Grey with a red coach-line, grey bucket seats with red piping, matching door panels. It was a beast by today’s standards though, no power steering, no ABS, no traction, no A/C.
Pretty quick though, I had my speed verified by the Police twice on the M3. Once was at 110mph, ‘we had been sat there ages, you were the best we’ve seen all morning’, and the other at 98mph ‘we clocked that when you were coming around that corner, what I’d like to know is what you were doing on the straight bits’.
One late night run out of London I noticed some blue lights in the distance behind and slowed down a bit at Richmond, whereby the Police car behind caught up with me and pulled me over. ‘We have been trying to catch you since we saw you going over the Hammersmith flyover’. Whoops!
Did 46,000 miles in 18 months before I sold it.
Ford Granada 3.0 Ghia
Not a good buy. We needed a bigger vehicle for a summer holiday, and I bought it in haste. Had faded red paintwork and a noisy tappet that seemed incurable. Was fine for the holiday but it went soon after.
Bedford CF Camper (fitted with VX490 engine & auto box)
A bit of fun really, a bit tired and not that cheap, but camper vans never are. Pretty austere to drive so I got my mechanic to source a bigger engine, he found a Victor VX490 with an auto box that fitted the bill. Lovely to drive after that despite some resonance from the necessarily welded prop shaft. Certainly not economical but sounded lovely and pretty powerful, with performance that, whilst not exciting, was unexpected in a Camper. Towed our caravan to Wales a treat but sold soon after.
Rover SD1 V8
A bargain basement buy after the XR3i which had to go as I was off work with a slipped disc. Lovely thing that broke down everywhere.
Ford Fiesta Van
A brief buy for a specific purpose, not much to add really!
Vauxhall Cavalier (company car)
A new job meant a new car, it was ok for a freebie, but the 1600cc was pretty uninspiring.
Triumph Toledo
One for the wife, it was only something like 45000 miles, but quite old and very rusty. Got it looking presentable and it did her for a good few years.
Ford Cortina Estate 1980 (new company car)
I managed to wrangle an upgrade from work, this looked lovely in I think Mercury Grey and was the bee’s knees for a company car at the time.
Vauxhall Cavalier Sri
Went back self-employed so bought this from a friend. It was a blue grey with all the Sri trimmings and looked stunning. Unfortunately, the steering was heavy, as was the clutch, which made it hard work on the London commute. As with most mainstream cars at the time, it looked much better than it was.
Volkswagen Golf Gti Mk 2
This was one of those cars that put a big grin on your face as soon as you drove it. It replaced the Toledo and was the wife’s transport. I took it to work once instead of my Citroen, it was great fun but extremely tiring as you felt you had to drive fast everywhere. She took it to a hockey match in Cardiff and came home without it. It was discovered a year later on a farm in North Wales together with over a hundred other stolen cars.
Peugeot 505 Gti Family Estate
We were fed up with our three daughters constantly bickering on the back seat of our cars when we went anywhere. ‘Its my turn to sit next the window’ ‘get your elbows out of me’ ‘she hit me, it’s not fair’, the list was endless. So, the Peugeot 8-seater seemed the solution, and to some degree it was. The bickering changed. ‘I want to sit in the back’ was the new phrase.
It was a horrible Beige colour with naff upholstery, but it was the quicker Gti model and it was enormous inside. Despite its size it handled with aplomb and would top out at 110 mph. I fondly remember thoroughly enjoying a trip along torturous mountain roads in Spain, not something you would normally associate with a small bus.
Sadly, it was otherwise the Wife’s car, and she wanted something more economic for the mile drive to work.
Citroen BX Estate
With a stroke of genius Citroen bought out a mainstream idiosyncratic vehicle. It had all the Citroen quirks, most of which were extremely useful in an estate car. The hydropneumatics suspension kept it level regardless of load, power steering was high geared, tailgate was plastic so lightweight, and it was an appealing prospect alongside the usual boring boxes. It was built as ‘adequate’ as the salesman so rightly put it, lightweight but fit for purpose, but was a nightmare to try to keep running after 75,000 miles.
Volkswagen Golf Gti Mk 3
It did not seem as instantly appealing as the Mk 2 and we did not keep it long.
Fiat Uno
Not an especially good buy, never reliable, but a very well-designed little car for the wife. With a touch of that Italian flair to drive.
BMW 320i
BMW were very upmarket at this time and out of reach of the average driver. Prices were dropping and I think I bagged this one for £8000. I knew nothing about them, it was poverty spec for a 2 litre, but it was a BMW.
Ford Granada Scorpio 2.8 Auto
I always had a soft spot for the big Fords and Vauxhalls, and the Scorpio was a particularly appealing package. It was big, comfy, fairly quick, handled adequately and quite economical for its size. Despite its old underpinnings it had all come together as much more than the sum of its parts, and most importantly, it felt good to drive.
I fondly remember getting in on a frosty morning and turning on the heated seats, rear window, mirrors and windscreen and watching it miraculously all readying itself for driving off within minutes.
Sadly, the gearbox eventually went and the repair under warranty was a shoddy one and it was not the same after that.
BMW 325i Auto
I sometimes went back to a cheap vehicle, and this was one of them, £600, I think. It had 100,000 miles on the clock and was suffering from a cracked exhaust manifold but was otherwise ok. Gave it a good service and replaced the manifold and run it for 6 months and 20,000 miles without one problem. For some reason it had a wonderful crackle to the exhaust and was a bit of a magnet for getting stopped, although not illegal. Sometimes the best fun comes from the cheapest vehicles.
Citroen BX Estate Txi
I liked these so I bought another one, a slightly quicker one this time. Gave sterling service for work.
Saab 9000i 2.3 Turbo Auto
This was a 1987 version so an early auto Turbo, and turbos and automatic gearboxes were not a good match at that time. The turbo came in around 2-3000 rpm, with very little below that, and of course you could not slip the clutch to get it on song on a standing start with the auto gearbox.
I remember one particular traffic light start. I floored the throttle to get away quick and very little happened, except I saw this little old lady in her Metro streaking ahead of me. I pressed the throttle harder in embarrassment with little effect. Then suddenly at about 30 mph the front wheels started scrabbling and all hell let loose as the turbo came on song and we hurtled forward. I think 0-30 was around 8 seconds and 30-60 about 2 seconds.
It was a real marmite car, I loved 75% of it and loathed 25%. Apart from the gearbox problem, it had a habit of cutting out, always in the fast lane (where I lived!), but always came back again without any reason found – disconcerting at best. The performance was erratic and seemingly weather dependant. The front wheel drive was by Saabs own admission incapable of putting the power down on the road, and hard throttle meant a fight to stop it tramping on bends. And it had five radiators, never a problem, but such complication was always a worry.
The good bits include overtaking a line of twelve cars on a long two lane straight once with total ease, hitting 120 by the time we passed the last one, and seeing the rigid frame of my passenger clinging on to everything with a horrified look etched on his face. A memorable run with a Porsche down the M40 and across country on a damp night, the evening air seemingly bringing the turbo alive, the big Saab easily matching the Porsche on this occasion and opening the bonnet when home to be amazed at the white-hot glow from the turbo.
The build quality was impressive, from the most comfortable seats in the world, to the solid piece of ¾” ply they used for the parcel shelf. Two trip computers and excellent ergonomics compliment the touch of Scandinavian flair.
But 6 months was long enough.
BMW 325i Touring Auto
I got the hang of BMW’s with this one. It was still poverty spec by todays standards, but I found this SE in metallic grey, leather, auto and A/C, it was a bit of a hen’s tooth. And the dealer took the Saab in part ex without even looking at it, the gearbox had started playing up. I paid £10,000 in total with 70k on the clock and got £5000 in part ex two and a half years later with 175,000 on it.
It got well serviced with a lot of preventative maintenance and went through pads and discs but required little else and was totally reliable. Longest I had ever kept a car, it handled better than the saloons but still pretty twitchy on the limit, did around 27 mpg with London work and was, even now, pretty quick.
Honda Transalp 650
I had always wanted a motor bike, but my parents had forbidden it, so I went straight into cars. But the desire remained and was rekindled in middle age. I bought a Honda CB125 which won’t be listed here but having passed my test the world of fast machines was mine. However, as much as I liked the looks of the racing machines, I was always one for alternatives, hence the Transalp appealed, the sort of Land Rover of motorcycles.
I purchased it without much knowledge, only to discover I needed to be stood on a kerb just to manage to get on it, it was so high. I wobbled around for a bit but soon got the hang of it, the acceleration seemed awesome and 80 mph was as fast as I wanted to go sat so high up. I always came home with a big grin. It was one of those bikes rightly held in high regard by everyone.
Ford Granada Scorpio Cosworth 24V Auto
A little appreciated Q car, Cosworth racing had taken a standard Scorpio and breathed on it. Very discrete, you had to open the bonnet to reveal the Cosworth 24v heads. There were other little touches as well, such as the extra centre sun visor to cover the centre section missed by Ford. It was quietly quick, but my first foray towards seeing 150mph on the clock caused a misfire. This remained and was a great annoyance as it only occurred in top gear at high revs, so you had to be doing 90 before it happened. The dealer refused to drive it that fast, so I tried it on a rolling road, but never cured it. It remained a performance car with an irritating flat spot that ruined the fun and it was soon sold.
Honda VFR 750 1987
Bought this off a good friend as a natural progression after the Transalp, which I still rode. Lovely condition and a pretty classic sports bike. Trouble was it hurt my arthritic wrists at low speed, and I sold both bikes on moving up to Suffolk.
Volkswagen Sharan VR6 Auto
This was a strange beast, but one that appealed, a fast people carrier. The VR6 engine gave it sprightly performance, the handling was adequate, the 23 mpg not good, but it wafted along nicely with the obligatory air and leather. Plus, it was big with plenty of room for my work stuff.
I drove it back out of London one day very late for an appointment at home, one of the few occasions it got drove hard. It was really surreal, sat high in an MPV, doing 130 mph down the A3.
Sadly, the gearbox wasn’t up to the task of transmitting the power to move the weight, and after the second rebuild I sold it.
Land Rover Discovery 300TDi
Having moved to Birchams Farm it seemed appropriate to get a 4x4, and I had always liked the 300Tdi Discovery. It was from a local trader, a mid spec in Turquoise. It rambled along ok but was a handful after the wafting ability of the Sharan. It fitted in nicely at home and was a joy in London, but pretty useless on the motorway, its lack of top end performance frustrating. Flat out downhill was only 90 and if anything got in your way it took ages to re-gain speed.
It was a bully in London traffic though, anyone foolish enough to cut me up often ended up with a gentle tap, it was pretty unbreakable. The mechanics, however, were not quite so robust, with little niggles and big problems like the head gasket blowing.
Toyota Celica Auto
This was another cheapie, £350 if I recall. I gave it a full service and had a couple of jobs done making the cost £1000, but then run it for about a year without problem. It was quite fun to drive if not overly exciting, very reliable, and it didn’t matter too much about taking care of it. London driving was a bit Mad Max in those days, and it was good for that. I remember one guy pushed me from behind in traffic as he objected to me letting someone in, so I just put it in reverse and did the same to him. I remember seeing in my mirror as I drove away his front skirt was on the ground in front of his car. Happy days.
Range Rover 3.5 V8
The first of many Range Rovers, pretty much all V8’s. It had a MOT, but the body resembled a string vest and it wallowed like a boat, but I was hooked. It was just for pottering around at home, and I did fill some of the bigger holes and treated the worst of the rust. Unsurprisingly it failed the next MOT and had to have a new rear crossmember fitted, but it was poorly done, and the tailgate never fitted properly after that, so it had to go.
BMW 730i SE Auto
These are my first choice for a long-distance cruiser, being an excellent blend of comfort, handling, performance and equipment.
This was metallic graphite grey and fitted with the straight six 3.0 litre 188 bhp engine, coupled with 4 speed electronic triple mode automatic transmission. BMW designed the second generation 7 series from scratch, spending £600 million to produce the definitive executive express in the E32 model. With almost perfectly balanced weight distribution the handling is superb, the interior sumptuous, the engineering first class. This is a continent cruiser that makes you want to cancel the airline tickets and drive to Spain just for the pleasure of it. It will eat a 200-mile trip and leave you disappointed that you have arrived so soon!
Standard on the 7 series are some nice touches missing from lesser BMW’s. The first aid kit under the passengers seat, the heated windscreen under the wiper blades, the flick of the door handle turning on the interior lights and lock heater, the nine interior lights that stay on whilst you need them, the two boot lights, the two stage windscreen washers, the infinitely variable intermittent wiper timer, the wipers that stop when you do, you discover new things as you live with the car. And of course, there are the traditional BMW traits, the superb auto gearbox with sport and manual options, the two stage kick down on the accelerator, the deadlocks, the almost perfect ergonomics.
It had a tick from the tappets which I eventually had rebuilt at great cost only to find the tap was not the tappets and remained. I sold it shortly after that.
Honda Shuttle SE
This was an eminently practical vehicle, large inside, a folding into the floor third seat, nice to drive, quick and economical enough and totally reliable. Don’t think it ever had more than oil changes, pads and discs. Had this about 2 years and eventually sold it within the family.
Honda Deauville 650
The dullsville was pretty much that. It had been lovingly cared for by the previous owner and I liked the look of it, but I disliked the high first gear and never really got along with it.
Discovery 200Tdi
This was a project, it had nothing going for it apart from the price of just a couple of hundred pounds. It was doggy, dirty, rusty and neglected, but underneath was still an interesting vehicle with its Conran interior. But it was never a keeper, it was a bit of fun sorting it out, it then moved on.
Range Rover Vogue 3.5 V8 Auto 1985 C930 LGJ
This was in some ways the best version of the original Range Rover. It had the simplistically lacking in the more complicated later versions but had everything missing from the earlier basic two door. No leather on this one but four doors, A/C and auto. Everything was sort of better in real life, the rear seats didn’t have headrests so you could see much easier when reversing, it wasn’t undersealed from new so didn’t rust from trapped moisture in the weld seams underneath, it was more appealing from having less. The original Buick 3.5 V8 was probably the better engine in lots of ways and it even sounded better than the 3.9 units.
I had it a few years, my son-in-law enjoyed it for a year or two, then I had it back and stored it for the restoration that never happened. Eventually I sold it on eBay, a guy came over from Holland and drove it home pleased as punch.
BMW 730i SE Auto
The seven series itch needed scratching so another one was acquired. I had a job in Northampton for a few months and those 125-mile trips up there on a Sunday night were a joy, I truly never wanted to arrive. It had a problem with the climate in that once turned on you sometimes couldn’t turn the heat down – it required a stop and reboot by turning off the ignition, then it would reset itself. Other than that eccentricity it was marvellous.
Discovery ES V8 N938 WVP
This was a lovely thing with a glorious soundtrack. We ran it for a while in the forlorn hope we could live with the dire fuel consumption, but we couldn’t long term, so we moved it on.
Honda CRV 1998 R701 JNO
My partner had a Freelander she loved but could ill afford the constant bills for things going wrong. I persuaded her a Honda would put an end to that, which it did. We had it several years, nothing went wrong except for a tinkling noise from the Cat which we lived with. We fitted A/T tyres and with a system better than the usual 4-wheel drive it was surprisingly capable. It never endeared itself like the Land Rover but was a very efficient tool.
Honda Legend 3.5 V6 Auto
This was one of those hidden gems. It was cheap as chips but a very luxurious way to travel. The 3.5 V6 petrol was perfect and totally inaudible and motionless at idle, you really had to check the rev counter to see if you had started it.
I bought it unseen from Scotland, mileage was around 70k, think it went on eBay for about £2500. It was a steal, plus the seller gave me £500 back because the cambelt had not been changed and he had originally thought it had. He had used it to commute from Scotland to Cambridge and didn’t have breakdown cover as he ‘didn’t need it’.
It wasn’t good over road imperfections and wasn’t especially keen on corners, but the 70 to 100 acceleration when other cars eventually move over on the motorway was addictive.
My work had changed in that I now commuted a few days a week, mostly at that time to Tonbridge working evenings. The Legend was perfect for the 260-mile round trip and always a pleasure. There was one stretch of the top of the M11 if I was going to Cambridge where she always got some welly well into three digits in the early hours.
Ford Explorer 4.0 V6
This was a lovely beast, great engine and gearbox, useful rear hatch, really nice to drive. However, despite massive production figures getting the right version of spares was difficult, and the rear leaf springs get tiring on undulating surfaces. Typical American in that it was steel frame everywhere and no attention to utilising space – big outside but no storage inside. When I sold it on eBay it was the easiest sale ever, the guy turned up, gave me the cash, jumped in it and drove away – took all of 2 minutes.
Defender 90 200TDi Pick-up 1991 J841 BVF
This came from an agricultural auction with just one farmer owner, started but smoked, no MOT. We loaded it on a trailer with another ton of assorted purchases and got it home. I didn’t really know what to do with it! The smoke was down to an injector so easily cured. I put it on eBay and a guy in wales bought it for off-roading, and I made a few hundred pounds in the process.
Toyota Landcruiser VX 4.7
This was the ultimate 4x4, 4.7 V8 petrol, 7 seats, built like a tank. It went well enough and wasn’t too bad on fuel, but had a chequered past, so didn’t stay long.
Range Rover Vogue SE 3.9 V8 Auto 1991 J205 WOB
Another eBay bargain, it was an executor sale, a bit rough in places, but the right colour and spec, with leather and air. After I got it, I realised there was no key for the locking wheel-nuts and I could hardly ask the previous owner. Run it for quite a while, then laid it up with hopes of restoring it, but eventually sold it complete with rust after it had sat around a while.
BMW 540i V8 Auto Touring
Had a few months work in Uxbridge on a computer suite so got this for the weekly commute. Glorious engine with a lovely soundtrack and it was pretty quick, had a bit of fun with an M5 on one occasion. Electronics had the occasional wobbly and it was a bit twitchy at 130 unless it was a smooth road, but it was Q car fun.
Toyota Hilux Pick-up
This was for the farm, a do it all unbreakable machine. It was cheap off eBay and collected from the Cambridge area, I remember the drive home, it was totally unstable above 50. My mechanic sorted lots of things and I tidied the body and we used it for a couple of years. Everyone tended to get out of your way. Eventually sold it and pretty much got all my money back.
Defender 200TDi 110 1991 J433 EAH
This was a rescue, no MOT, not used for a while, we drove it home from some far-flung place near Ipswich. Derinda hated it, but I sat in it contentedly savouring the aroma of old dogs and finding old crisp packets in hidden away places. It was a Land Rover thing. I sorted the rust and got most of it the same colour, and after a while sold it to a young chap who wanted to go touring in North Africa.
Discovery 300 V8 Auto N238 ARW
Air Raid Warden was a nice vehicle, turquoise, it was the variant with the Land Rover wallpaper, the trim designation I no longer recall. It drank petrol but sounded lovely but broke down every time we went anywhere. I fitted raised springs to give it a lift for off-roading and completely spoilt what handling it had, lost interest after that and sold it at a loss.
Defender 300TDi 110 1998 R980 EGS
Monty or Eggs as he was sometimes known, was an immaculate old chap. He was a very dark grey and had the extremely rare air conditioning. No corrosion anywhere, he had been undersealed early in his life, and came to me via a retired Scout master. We even took him to the Peak district touring.
It was a relaxing drive as his settled speed was about 65 mph so there was no need to monitor speed cameras, the handling was ok, and he was pleasant to drive.
Unfortunately, his condition was against him in that we had to be so careful off-road not to scratch him.
He was the embodiment of that unique Defender thing of love / hate. I would have another in a heartbeat, there is so much appeal in the simplistic meccano build and the basic mechanicals giving that air of invincibility. But the hates are many, the lack of so much we take for granted such as central locking, electric windows, heating and reliability. Even the afterthought air conditioning only worked on your feet, not the windows. And the to-do list is never ending.
But residuals are rock solid. I paid and sold him for £8000 after 18 months use.
Discovery 300Tdi Auto
This was a scrapper I paid a few hundred for, the intention being I would put the auto gearbox into the Defender, something I longed to accomplish. This never happened and my mechanic was so impressed with it he eventually bought it off me for what I had paid and used it for a while.
Range Rover Vogue 3.9 V8 1991 J74 OAC
This was in nice condition, it even still had the under cowls fitted, first time I knew they had them. It was only the cloth interior but went well enough. The front inner wings were shot but I managed to patch these acceptably.
Range Rover P38 V8 auto 1997
I liked the P38 and had debated long and hard about the wisdom of getting one. Eventually I gave in to the desire and bid for one on eBay. It was the smaller engine and a more basic spec, so cloth seats but auto and air, the thinking being less to go wrong. It was a reasonable mileage and a good history with just one family but was a bit grubby coming from a farm. I think I only paid about £2.5k.
It went nicely and was a great way to travel but suffered from the battery going flat by the alarm being constantly woken by picking up other systems. I sourced and fitted an improved module to sort this.
Then the suspension pump packed up. I bought a new pattern one which didn’t work, then got sent a replacement which didn’t work either. Eventually I bought a re-con kit and repaired the old pump myself.
After six months of ownership it had only managed to be usable for three months, so it was sold.
Citroen Relay Panel Van 2002
2008 - 2010
What can I say, it was a white van? Derinda thought we had definitely joined the local gypsy community driving this, she even offered to get me a trilby and jack Russell to go with it!
But it was a useful tool, bigger than the normal Transit, and not bad to drive. Being French the design flair is evident in the excellent cabin, cubbies everywhere, a clipboard on the dash, a laptop base built into the middle seat. Sadly, it also had the French build, and required regular maintenance to keep it up together. The cable gearchange left much to be desired. Excellent for moving furniture, building materials, in fact anything. Easily took a pallet. Very low floor height.
It gradually got slower and slower, eventually traced to the cat being virtually blocked – it went well after that but had outgrown its use and was sold.
Suzuki SV650 2001
2008-2010
One of my favourite ever toys, and my favourite bike, something that does 0-60 in around 5 seconds is sure to put a smile on your face! Downside was getting time to get dressed up and getting out on it, together with a sunny Sunday, but once out you never wanted to come home again. We have some excellent roads around here, and often not too busy. Excellent bike, novice friendly, no vices, enough power for me to never use it all, and a nice sound. I eventually sold it due to lack of time to ride it.
MGB GT 1972
2008-2010
It was Derinda’s fault, I was just watching it end on eBay and she said, ‘put a bid on it’. I did and won it!
What followed was a memorable trip back from deepest Lincolnshire one dark and rainy night. It only had one headlight, and a row of unlit identical dash switches that meant I kept turning the lights off instead of the wipers on. It was almost impossible to see the road, and it had a misfire. Truly a taste of retro classic motoring.
It was very 1970’s in orange, had had a recent body rebuild and re-spray, together with an interior re-trim. The suspension had some work since I bought it, and some new springs were still required on the rear. Engine was pretty lumpy but got better with tuning. Otherwise I just pottered with some TLC, it was pretty much up together, a very useable classic, but certainly nowhere near perfect condition.
MGF 1997
2009-2010
Well Derinda wanted an Audi TT, and I was unimpressed with the handling of the MGB, which led me down a long road that ended with this MGF. An eBay find, it had full history with 46,000 miles on the clock, the right colour in British Racing Green with black leather interior, the optional power steering and ABS, and came with the desirable hardtop for winter use. At a fifth of the price of the cheapest thrashed out TT, it was irresistible.
Initial outcome from driving it back home and giving it some welly on one of my favourite roads was a big grin, the mid engine layout and 50/50 balance gave it awesome handling.
Great fun, but of limited practical use, eventually passed on to another mid-life teenager to enjoy her.
Defender 300TDi 110 1998
Well I went to a Tractor show and came home with a Defender, as you do. It was average nick, Epsom green, slightly overpriced, but irresistible. All the usual Marmite features. I loved it and loathed it for a while before parting company.
Lexus RX300 SE 2001
Full review under recent vehicles
Land Rover Discovery ES EDC 300Tdi 1997
Full review under recent vehicles
Updated under ‘Vehicles’ and ‘Disco’ February 2011
Toyota Previa GX Auto 1997
Full review under recent vehicles
Toyota Landcruiser Colorado VX 1998
Full review under recent vehicles
BMW E65 735i Auto 2002
Full review under recent vehicles
Moto Guzzi Breva
I wanted another bike, but something different, and the Breva fitted the bill. It was immaculate, I only rode it a few times in as many years, but with a worsening back condition it became impossible to leg my leg over it, and with Vertigo difficult to balance. A dealer bought it and I made a nice profit.
Lexus RX300 SEL
Full review under recent vehicles
Toyota Landcruiser Colorado VX 1998
A full account of the second Landcruiser is listed under 4x4 Vehicles.
Toyota Previa CDX VVTi 2001 Auto
I bought this one Christmas for Tess, our now geriatric German Shepherd. She was having trouble getting up into the higher vehicles and I always thought the Previa an attractive proposition, akin to the Shuttle. She loved it, trotted in the side door, we folded the two rearmost seats down and removed the middle back seat, so she could walk around as she wanted. It was acceptably quick, economical for its size, extremely comfortable and nice to drive. It suffered the rear A/C pipes corroding, about the only problem these had, so I had these blanked and just ran the front A/C. Usual Toyota reliability, a much-underrated vehicle.
Volvo T5 Auto Estate
As much as I liked the Previa, it got tiring on long journeys, it was not something that liked to be hustled. I fancied the Saab 9-5 Aero estate as a cheap Q car but stumbled on a T5 locally. It was a bit tired bodily and not the top spec, but it went well enough. I decided not to bid on it, but then the winner defaulted, and I got offered it for £750. It was 2001 with just over 100,000 miles. It seemed worth a punt. I sorted a couple of known problems – steering update and one injector, detailed the paintwork and it did us well.
The grin factor with these quite rare T5 versions is immense. I could potter around in one of the most comfortable drivers seats ever made in the guise of an old man driving an old man’s car, perfect Sunday afternoon transport. But a press of the right pedal at any speed will transform you into a total hooligan and propel you instantly into insane speeds with handling to match. Many drivers of much more exotic vehicles have had the thought ‘that old Volvo isn’t coming past me’, only to find that actually it can, and it did, and where did it go?
With a 0-60 around 7 seconds, 0-100 around 18 seconds and a top speed over 150mph, it is easy to see why these were so popular as police pursuit cars.
Discovery 3 HSE Auto 2005
A full account of this is listed under 4x4 Vehicles.