Others

I’ve owned a lot of vehicles over the years. Being poor but needing to be mobile, “bangernomics” meant buying cheap and buying often…

Here’s some of them.

My first car. A 1974 Toyota 1000. Lasted me for many years

My first car. A 1974 Toyota 1000. Lasted me for many years

Mini. Bought for £50 in Plymouth. Started to restore it, but found it was totally rotten with newspaper stuffed into the roof corners as a base for filler. Was towed to a scrap yard

Mini. Bought for £50 in Plymouth. Started to restore it, but found it was totally rotten with newspaper stuffed into the roof corners as a base for filler. Was towed to a scrap yard

JBA Falcon. A striking kit car designed to be similar to a 1930s Jaguar SS. Used a Cortina’s running gear, so a 2 litre Pinto 4-cylinder and rear wheel drive. Fun car and always turned heads

JBA Falcon. A striking kit car designed to be similar to a 1930s Jaguar SS. Used a Cortina’s running gear, so a 2 litre Pinto 4-cylinder and rear wheel drive. Fun car and always turned heads

Mitsubishi Colt GLX. Fantastic car. Powerful, totally reliable but often abused. Sold after work provided a van

Mitsubishi Colt GLX. Fantastic car. Powerful, totally reliable but often abused. Sold after work provided a van

2005 Volvo V50. Great car to drive, effortless motorway cruiser. Sadly became unreliable and local garage had a hard time fixing it.

2005 Volvo V50. Great car to drive, effortless motorway cruiser. Sadly became unreliable and local garage had a hard time fixing it.

Keep Grand Cherokee. Terrible car. 4.6l straight six that was neither powerful nor economical. I believe these were built in Spain and the quality was very low. Big panel gaps, lots of rattles. When I sold it, the rear brake hose burst during the test drive and I was forced to drop the price even lower

Keep Grand Cherokee. Terrible car. 4.6l straight six that was neither powerful nor economical. I believe these were built in Spain and the quality was very low. Big panel gaps, lots of rattles. When I sold it, the rear brake hose burst during the test drive and I was forced to drop the price even lower

Vauxhall Corsa. My mum’s car, who sold it to me for a pound. Was ultra reliable and took me to Jersey. Given to my wife who also loved it. Died from a head gasket failure. If that was now, I’d certainly have tried to repair it myself

Vauxhall Corsa. My mum’s car, who sold it to me for a pound. Was ultra reliable and took me to Jersey. Given to my wife who also loved it. Died from a head gasket failure. If that was now, I’d certainly have tried to repair it myself

Vauxhall Frontera. Not strictly mine, but a company car for my wife who preferred driving my Mercedes. Good car. Towed a horsebox for a charity, and also went off roading in the snow to check on their horses. Did like to set its alarm off when anyone even looked at it, though.

Vauxhall Frontera. Not strictly mine, but a company car for my wife who preferred driving my Mercedes. Good car. Towed a horsebox for a charity, and also went off roading in the snow to check on their horses. Did like to set its alarm off when anyone even looked at it, though.

VW Gold Mk 2. The car I took my driving test in. (Damage not caused by me!)

VW Gold Mk 2. The car I took my driving test in. (Damage not caused by me!)

The same cars’ sad end. Apparently there’d been a smell of petrol during the few days before it caught itself on fire

The same cars’ sad end. Apparently there’d been a smell of petrol during the few days before it caught itself on fire

Datsun 180b. Yeah, I raced bangers around 1990 at Newton Abbot. Only finished two races and never won, but still a fun year

Datsun 180b. Yeah, I raced bangers around 1990 at Newton Abbot. Only finished two races and never won, but still a fun year