My First Car Was . . . ?
January 28th 2009 03:24
In essence - I guess the car itself (while a classic and no doubt an outstanding investment - even if I were to sell it tomorrow) is a filip to tapping in on a little history, sharing it with family and friends - and of course sharing the restoration of a legacy and what it has to offer with my dad.
And while it certainly isn't my first car - it will no doubt be a very special one.
That said - the honour roll of Mr Nice Guy cars is as long as it is embarrassing. And while until very recently I'd never had the privilege of owning a brand new 'motor' - it was always with a certain amount of pride that each weekend the four wheelled stallion of the day was cleaned, had its fluid levels checked and generally afforded a caring home.
It is with a mix of excitement and trepidation then - that as a 17-year-old I journeyed along the slippery path of car ownership along with all its conveniences, delights and pitfalls when on a rainy day in June - I dipped into my savings and purchased . . . . . . . . . (drum roll please)...................... ....................... a 1972 Datsun 180B!
Yes - and albeit a less than classic chocolate brown with a biege vinyl roof - it did have a radio/cassette player, mag wheels and a rear window louvre - very sporty indeed!
Sure it leaked a little when it rained and occassionally found wanting up hills - but it was MY car - and one dad and I spent weekends on before I was allowed to drive it - fish oiling door sills, tinkering with welsh plugs, re covering dash boards, touching up paintwork - generally ensuring that for my $1750 outlay (a motsa at the time) that I had something that was not only a good looking piece of motoring (in its day) but was every bit as safe.
Of course those weekends spent in the garage with dad taught me a few things - and not only about cars . . . .
I'm seriously looking forward to taking delivery of my newest first car . . . there's still alot of history that is yet to be uncovered . . . and some that is still yet to be made.
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Comment by Damo
Great car and reliable.
Then came the Datsun 200B. Which had 20 more mistakes than the 180B. Utter Utter Crap in a tin can.
Comment by Cheryl J
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All was good until I was driving one day and was overtaken by a wheel...it was mine
Aaaah those were the days!
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Not sure about the merits or otherwise of the 200B - but given I was on the hunt for burnt orange 180 - and ended up with a chocolate brown chick magnet - I'm hardly in a position to cast judgement.
She did have a good cassette player in her though.
Cheers
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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What a great story!
A girl I worked with once had a Morrie!
Her brothers looked after the car completely - and she had no idea other than how to open and shut the door - turn on the ignition and drive it.
One day as I left work - I noticed she had stopped for fuel at my regular - but also noted she had her bonnet up - when I also noticed an attendent running out toward her.
Turns out - she had no idea where to put the fuel - so managed to pop the bonnet - found a 'hole' which seemed to fit the bowser nozzle and stuck it in - thing was - it was the radiator . . . lucky she didn't try starting the thing.
Thanks for sharing - always a pleasure
Comment by Bookgirl
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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I guess you and Mr Bean must be the world's greatest advocates for the humble - but enduring Mini.
Sure the 'new' ones are pretty - but just don't have the same character really huh!
It was always nice to peer out and see someone else's door handles from the driver's side window too.
Engineering masterpiece - it's a shame she finally had to meet her maker.
Thanks for stopping by . . .
Comment by Morgan Bell
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im only on my second car now . . .
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Must be something about chocolate/brown cars that only the good looking and modest ones ever get to source
Are you driving a Hummer these days?
LYW
Comment by Damo
I also owned a 180B for a while.
Burnt orange.
Not a babe magnet at all.
It blew and sucked at the same time.
"Top up the fuel and fill her up with oil."
I doubled the value of the car by putting petrol in the tank.
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Thought you said it wasn't a babe magnet . . .
- oh you were talking about the car for a minute there weren't you
Do'h
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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And I bet she looks just as good as this . . .
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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You do change your undies alot - and Calvin Klein's not your standard Bonds Hipsters either . . .
Nice little cache of horse flesh you've managed to lay claim to . . . sure beats the 180B.
Comment by alt_ed
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My Mum once left her car on the side of the road (opposite a petrol station) for 3 days because it ran out of fuel... when Dad asked why she didn't fill it up she said "because it didn't run out of fuel AT the service station". It was a hunk of junk Sigma though, so no great loss.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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similar to this
but minus the mags and bodykit
and heaps more dings and scrapes
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Comment by Lilla
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My first didnt have LPG but was a trusty, rusty Renault 12 ... God knows what year... probably pre-war *laughs*
It was white.
Comment by Jeannine Baird
Clean Green Neen
I had loved Celicas till I was in Year 11, but then I fell in love with Morris Minors.
Your text goes here
We had one as our wedding car. One day, I hope to own one, but I hope I never get overtaken by it's own wheels! Still, it's stories like that that add to the charm and nostalgia of a first car. The Blue Poo frequently ran out of petrol, because I was frequently broke. Eventually I invested in a jerry can and syphon, and NRMA membership, as a pre-emptive strike. It was once stolen, but I didn't realise for half a day, because the thieves had dumped another blue '81 Corolla up the road from where I had parked, before taking mine. Big, tough guys... going around on a powder-blue, 1.3L-engined Toyota Corolla stealing spree.
Comment by Janet Collins
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It was semi-automatic which meant that it had gears but no clutch. No-one seems to have ever heard of this beauty but you had to push the gear stick down before you put it into gear and yes, passengers often looked a little horrified when the car jumped a bit each time you changed gears!
The best thing was I could drive anywhere on very little petrol. I only sold it to go travelling. It was fantastic and very low maintenance. Pity that VWs are so expensive now.
And for the Morris, my brother had a Morris 1100 and when it gave out remained in my father's garage for years with the intention of renewing it. Many years later it was taken to the scrap yard!
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Hang on - I owned a Sigma - a bronzy/browny thing - which seemed like a good idea at the time - and of course the right price.
That little yarn about your mum and her's is a gem though . . .
Thank goodness the family car wasn't a Maserati
Stay well
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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A car (and girl) with character - godda love that . . .
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Our best man (and still best mate) had a little boxy Renault (don't ask me which model) as his first car. Cost him $700 from memory - proud as punch he was too when he first brought it to school as a senior.
Ran off three cyclinders, blinkers didn't work, windows only wound down about an inch before they got stuck and she leaked (errr marked its terriorty) oil like a baby in nappies - but boy did we have some fun in it.
Besides - it could've been worse - it could have been an Alfa.
Nice . . .
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Is this co-incidence city or what?
That same mate who had the Renault (see my reply to Lilla) eventually sold the little boxy Renault and bought a white 81 Corolla for $7000.
He was the first of all of us to own a next to new car.
Boy - given we were all probably earning basically nothing back then - we thought he'd struck it rich.
Aqua/blue interior - windows that actually wound down and air conditioning - mind you the car lost any semblance of power when it was turned on - but hey - at the time it certainly beat my 77 Sigma.
Cheers
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Another 'mate' story coming up.
A school and sporting friend (who we caught up again with a couple of weeks ago having made the trek up from Albury to see us) also owned an old 64 VW beetle.
At the time he was studying to become a doctor and needed cheap transport to get to and from Uni.
His game plan was to impress the ladies by telling them he was a doctor and drove a German car - both in essence true.
Needless to say his luck was usually very short lived - til he discovered a girl with a sense of humour.
Thanks for stopping by
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Check this out...
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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I think most Aussie men would salivate at the thought of having a Mustang as a car - let alone a first car.
And yes - you're right - there's alot you find out about people from their comments - silence may be golden but it's not nearly as interesting
Cheers
Comment by Jeannine Baird
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I had a boyfriend with a Morris 1100. The ones driving Celicas, or Datsun 260zx's, or any other appendage type cars, and hanging out in Maccas carparks, were slime-bags, and he was not. The Morrie was quirky, grungy and cool, like his roll-your-owns. There was a late night show on Channel 9 with Clive Robertson, with a fellow who would review classic cars each Friday night. Sometime during this era he reviewed the Minor, and the love affair began. The other relationship died, like a seized motor. And the Blue Poo's non-renewable rego due to rust damage expired when I was on my honeymoon. The next car was an '80 Gemini automatic, which I loathed. Soon after we bought an ex-demo Mazda 121 "Bubble", which I called Morrie, which my husband now drives to work as it is more eco-friendly than the "family" Subie Forester I scoot around in to school, work and Ballet. Hubby's a Camry sort of guy. Safe, sensible, economical and totally reliable, with no pretensions. I've tried to convince him to buy Morries, or a pop-top Kombi Campervan, but his commonsense prevails over the romance of owning a cool, classic car.
Comment by Jeannine Baird
Clean Green Neen
I had a boyfriend with a Morris 1100. The ones driving Celicas, or Datsun 260zx's, or any other appendage type cars, and hanging out in Maccas carparks, were slime-bags, and he was not. The Morrie was quirky, grungy and cool, like his roll-your-owns. There was a late night show on Channel 9 with Clive (?) someone... grumpy old man on ABC Classic FM, with a fellow who would review classic cars each week on a Friday night. Sometime during this era he reviewed the Minor, and the love affair began. The other relationship died, like a seized motor. And the Blue Poo's non-renewable rego due to rust damage expired when I was on my honeymoon. The next car was an '80 Gemini automatic, which I loathed. Soon after we bought an ex-demo Mazda 121 "Bubble", which I called Morrie, which my husband now drives to work as it is more eco-friendly than the "family" Subie Forester I scoot around in to school and work. Hubby's a Camry sort of guy. Safe, sensible, economical and totally reliable, with no pretensions. I've tried to convince him to buy Morries, or a pop-top Kombi Campervan, but his commonsense prevails over the romance of owning a cool, classic car.
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Trying to get my daughter to consider a little bubble 121 - but claims only old people and drivers from Asia have a penchant for them . . .
Perhaps I should start talking up the Morrie?
Cheers
PS: Always thought the same about 240 and 260Z drivers - similarly 280 ZX drivers and 300 Z owners.
Comment by Janet Collins
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See Jeannine and I know a good thing when we’re on to it. By the way, MNG, I didn’t think you would be old enough to have a daughter old enough to drive!
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Will do.
BTW - I was only 6 when I had my first daughter.
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Comment by Mrs M
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Constantly broke down and I think NRMA Roadside introduced limited call outs because of me.
One late Sunday night (more like Monday morning) the clutch cable broke on King St Newtown. NRMA guy kindly drove my car (somehow) back to my mechanics garage in Strathfield while I drove the NRMA truck.
Mr M was with me (not dating at the time though) and he had to ring his parents at 2am to come and get him. They were not impressed. I think that night has stuck with them.
Clutch cable only cost $25 to fix. They were the days.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Boy Mr M must've been really stuck on you . . .
Mind you - these days I'm a little more like your colt - doesn't move nearly as fast as I used to and struggle up hills