My car history
Discussion
Ok, so I think it's about time to take a trip down memory lane and revisit all the cars that I've had to date. There have been ups and downs but most of them are a bit left field...
To start with, after a year or so of messing around in my long suffering mother's 205 then Clio the time was right to but my first car. But what? I wanted something a bit different but had little in the way of funds. So I bougt a 1970 Triumph Herald 13/60 Convertable. It was structurally sound but a bit scruffy and had barely been driven for years. I was at Uni in Dundee at the time so perhaps wasn't the most practical car for the 450 mile trip from home but it did remarkably well and always put a smile on my face.
My next car came along by accident. A relative was selling her mk2 Golf GTI and I really did need something more practical than the triumph. I loved this Golf. It was in great condition despite it's age and I kept it for years. It felt absolutely indestructable and was so easy to red line in 5th! I eventually sold it with 180,000 miles and running perfectly.
By this stage I had finished Uni and could afford something more up to date. I had always loved the shape of Alfa 145s and found this beautiful 1998 2.0 cloverleaf. It was so different to the Golf! Faster and much less mechanical to drive but not necessarily in a bad way, just more modern I guess. The engine sounded amazing too. I kept this for a few years and changed the wheels to OZ superturismos. Apart from a fuel pump, it was totally reliable. I will definately get another Alfa one day.
The Alfa was great but I wanted something to tinker with and missed having something old so I bought this lovely 1965 Volvo 122S (Amazon). It was in beautiful original condition and had never been restored. It still felt really 'tight' in a way old cars rarely do. I didn't really use it much and sold it soon after the purchase of my next car as I couldn't justify having three cars.
Enter the DeLorean! Since watching the Back to the Future films as a kid I have wanted a DeLorean. When I saw this one advertised I couldn't resist. It was one of the last ones built and had recently been brought back into the UK from the US. It was in pretty good condition really but like many DeLoreans suffered from underuse. That soon changed. I used this car regularly during the summers that I had it and drove it to the south of France twice. I gradually upgraded various parts on it in the time that I had it and it was a really sound car. The attention that driving a DeLorean brings is unreal - more even than a Lambo I think. To drive it was nothing special, not particularly fast, but it was a comfortable cruiser. Returning to University forced me to sell it eventually but I will definately but another one day.
University again meant selling my beloved Alfa too. I replace it with another 1980s curio, a Volvo 480. Mine was a last of the line 1996 2.0 Celebration model. It was loaded with kit and comfortable but uninspiring to drive. Once the novelty of the pop up lights had worn off I got bored pretty quickly.
I hankered after a summer car when the DeLorean was gone and have always liked Fiat Barchettas so I bought this 2000 model. What a great car! Beautiful to look at. Great to drive - like a well sorted hot hatch. I kept this for four years, quickly got rid of the Volvo and used this all year round. Drove 3000 miles around Europe, as far as Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic in two weeks in it and it didn't complain once. So much cooler than an MX-5 too! I sold it only because I wanted a change and still miss it a lot...
On to my current car that I've had for a year. A 1999 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 Orvis. Great in every way except fuel consumption but I'm not doing many miles at the moment so that's ok. I've lifted the suspension by 3" and put on 31" All Terrain tyres. A really good, underrated car.
So, that's it so far. Thanks for looking and comments are welcome!
To start with, after a year or so of messing around in my long suffering mother's 205 then Clio the time was right to but my first car. But what? I wanted something a bit different but had little in the way of funds. So I bougt a 1970 Triumph Herald 13/60 Convertable. It was structurally sound but a bit scruffy and had barely been driven for years. I was at Uni in Dundee at the time so perhaps wasn't the most practical car for the 450 mile trip from home but it did remarkably well and always put a smile on my face.
My next car came along by accident. A relative was selling her mk2 Golf GTI and I really did need something more practical than the triumph. I loved this Golf. It was in great condition despite it's age and I kept it for years. It felt absolutely indestructable and was so easy to red line in 5th! I eventually sold it with 180,000 miles and running perfectly.
By this stage I had finished Uni and could afford something more up to date. I had always loved the shape of Alfa 145s and found this beautiful 1998 2.0 cloverleaf. It was so different to the Golf! Faster and much less mechanical to drive but not necessarily in a bad way, just more modern I guess. The engine sounded amazing too. I kept this for a few years and changed the wheels to OZ superturismos. Apart from a fuel pump, it was totally reliable. I will definately get another Alfa one day.
The Alfa was great but I wanted something to tinker with and missed having something old so I bought this lovely 1965 Volvo 122S (Amazon). It was in beautiful original condition and had never been restored. It still felt really 'tight' in a way old cars rarely do. I didn't really use it much and sold it soon after the purchase of my next car as I couldn't justify having three cars.
Enter the DeLorean! Since watching the Back to the Future films as a kid I have wanted a DeLorean. When I saw this one advertised I couldn't resist. It was one of the last ones built and had recently been brought back into the UK from the US. It was in pretty good condition really but like many DeLoreans suffered from underuse. That soon changed. I used this car regularly during the summers that I had it and drove it to the south of France twice. I gradually upgraded various parts on it in the time that I had it and it was a really sound car. The attention that driving a DeLorean brings is unreal - more even than a Lambo I think. To drive it was nothing special, not particularly fast, but it was a comfortable cruiser. Returning to University forced me to sell it eventually but I will definately but another one day.
University again meant selling my beloved Alfa too. I replace it with another 1980s curio, a Volvo 480. Mine was a last of the line 1996 2.0 Celebration model. It was loaded with kit and comfortable but uninspiring to drive. Once the novelty of the pop up lights had worn off I got bored pretty quickly.
I hankered after a summer car when the DeLorean was gone and have always liked Fiat Barchettas so I bought this 2000 model. What a great car! Beautiful to look at. Great to drive - like a well sorted hot hatch. I kept this for four years, quickly got rid of the Volvo and used this all year round. Drove 3000 miles around Europe, as far as Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic in two weeks in it and it didn't complain once. So much cooler than an MX-5 too! I sold it only because I wanted a change and still miss it a lot...
On to my current car that I've had for a year. A 1999 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 Orvis. Great in every way except fuel consumption but I'm not doing many miles at the moment so that's ok. I've lifted the suspension by 3" and put on 31" All Terrain tyres. A really good, underrated car.
So, that's it so far. Thanks for looking and comments are welcome!
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