MX5 8ARY. What a picture! Reminds me of a David Essex in the movie Silver Dream Racer.
Far too many embarrassing pictures of me in the past to risk saying any more.
Yes, that is a CB250N Superdream.
They were a nice bike. I always liked the style of the comstar wheels that Honda used. It’s really nice to have these pics to look back on.
Barrie
VW Polo - 1st car, lasted 2 months before crashing it !
VW Polo - I had a cars worth of spares, why not buy another!
Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6L - Boring but much more power & space than the Polo and cheaper to insure.
Ford Fiesta XR2i Mk2 - Loved this car, wish I had it today
Vauxhall Astra SRi
Ford Mondeo V6 - FUN !!!
Mazda 6 - Too cheap to ignore when the Mondeo died.
Mercedes C Coupe AMG Sport+ - My first new car, great to own but the bill are huge! I have no regrets.
KIA Sportage KX4 - Because the wife & I have a caravan!
Mazda MX5 Mk2.5 1.8 sport (LSD) - Great motor, and changed my intentions. Originally bought to scratch a kit car itch, but the MX got under my skin and I love it. (just a play thing)
On order, KIA Sportage KX3 to replace my current KX4 and a KIA Rio for the wife.
As far as I can remember from 53 years of driving
Morris minor x 3
Hillman minx Californian
Ford prefect 107e
Hillman Imp
Renault dauphine gordini
Mini x 2
Commer camper conversion
Mini van
Mini
Frog eye sprite
Renault 16
Mk1 escort
Mk1 escort estate x 2
Mk2 Cortina
Mk3 Cortina
Renault 18 estate
Citroen BX
Toyota corolla
Datsun estate thingy
Renault 5 turbo
Vauxhall Astra GTE 16 valve
Vauxhall senator 24 valve
Rover Mk ? horrible (a bit broke that year)
Ford puma 1.7
Mk1 MX5 for 11 years; longest I ever kept a car.
Mk3 MX5
Ha ha! I’m sure we all have a few embarrassing photo’s lurking somewhere! Looking back at it now, the motorbike looks quite big. Actually, and more the point, I’m short so the bike appears bigger than it actually was!
I must have been aged about 25 in that photo. I am still equally as good looking though, and fortunately the years have been extremely kind to me
Barry
So here’s my lot!
(Passed test in 1975):
1 1962 Triumph Herald
2 1966 Triumph Vitesse 1600 convertible
3 1965 MG Midget Mk2
4 1971 MG Midget Mk3
5 1972 Toyota Celica
6 1979 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 1.5ti
7 1980 VW Polo
8 1984 VW Golf C
9 1958 Austin Healey 100/6
10 1991 Mazda MX-5
11 1981 Fiat X1/9 1500
11 1987 VW Golf GTi 16v
12 1987 Audi 100CD Avant
13 1990 VW Passat Estate
14 1996 MGF
15 1997 Ford Mondeo Estate
16 1971 MG Midget Mk3
17 2004 VW Passat Estate 130TDi
18 1996 Mazda MX-5
19 2000 Mazda MX-5 Icon
20 1999 MGF
21 2006 VW Golf TDi
22 2004 MINI Cooper S
23 2005 VW Passat Estate 130TDi
24 1996 Mazda Eunos
25 1993 Honda Beat
26 2005 Mazda MX-5 Icon
27 2010 SEAT Exeo ST Estate
28 1994 Mazda Eunos
Hmm, a couple of themes running through mine I think - a penchant for cheap, fun, open two-seaters, and a blind, unswerving brand loyalty to VAG. Greatest Love/Hate relationship - the 'Sud and the X1/9. Both Italian. Funny that.
Reading through this thread I realise how few cars I’ve personally owned. Having had company cars from twenty one my list reads;
Anglia 105E
Escort Mk2 1600
Fiat Panda 1200 (Hoot of a car I once drove from South Wales to Sunderland and back. Nearly crippled me ??)
NC MX5
On the bike front:
JAP 500 Speedway bike.
Weslake 500 Speedway bike.
Jeff.
1 Austin Cambridge blue and cream
2 Austin 1300 Gt cream
3 ford 1600E gold
4 ford carpi 200 Gt red
5 mini 1275 red and white
6 ford sapphire 200 gl
7 ford Sierra Cosworth black
8 ford escort Cosworth
9 tiger super cat with 2000 pinto light blue
10 tiger Avon 2.1 zetec yellow
11 mazda mk1 black
12 eunos 1.6 silver
Plus to many run arounds to remember
1987 Cavalier Club Special (All white with white grey yellow stripped seats !)
1995 New MX5 Mk1 BRG (Replaced Cavalier…borrowed money from my dad)
1999 New Toyota Yaris (2nd Car ….as now married)
2001 New Honda HRV (Replaced MX5 …as now with children)
1998 MX5 Mk1 1.6i Red (Became 3rd Car! ….as missed it too much)
2011 New Toyota Urban Cruiser (Replaced HRV)
2009 Toyota IQ (Replaced Yaris)
2011 MX5 Mk3.5 2.0 Roadster Coupe Silver (Replaced red mx5)
1990 Mx5 MK1 1.6 SE BRG (Replaced silver mx5 due to head room)
2011 New MX5 Mk3.5 1.8i Venture White (Replaced SE Mx5 …got £3250 discount …they must have needed 1 more sale to get a bonus!. Though now wished I had kept it now ….as I still think of it as the best mx5 !)
1997 Mk1 1.8i BRG (Replaced Venture Mx5 ….sold the Venture to Webuyanycar at a profit !..they quoted an incorrect value….which after a few emails they honoured !)
2013 New Beetle Convertible (Replaced Urban cruiser)
Next… MX5 TBC ….(due to replace BRG mx5 which has now been sold…also at a profit. I had bought it privately just before mk1 prices started to raise)
Favourite ….first MX5 ….many happy memories (I was still youngish !)
……still very impressed by the IQ which we have now had for 5+ years (can carry 4 adults and turn around in the width of a road)…though may have to go when the next mx5 arrives !
Various motorbikes, British and Jap, culminating in a BSA Rocket Gold Star, which (like an idiot) I sold for peanuts in 1966 to buy…
- Ford Anglia 105E (girlfriend fed up of getting frozen and wet on bike…shudda ditched GF, not bike!)
- A-H Sprite (Just a bit too small and seriously gutless)
- MGB (Great when it worked, which wasn’t often)
- Half a Jag XK150 (which was very nice and shudda kept…unlike GF)
- Co-owned an E-Type (which was a ball of rust under the paint and only fit for scrap) alongside…
- Ford Cortina GT estate (not many of them made, and good car till someone wrote it (and nearly me) off.)
- Triumph GT6 Mk 2 (very nice - ex Triumph development car with SAH conversion, o’drive etc…)
- Hillman Imp as daily drive - (cheap as chips, even with a new water pump every year!)
- Citroen GS -( Amazing ride and surprisingly quick if you kept the elastic wound up)
- Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV LHD - (Went like stink till the body fell apart)
- M-Benz 230 LHD (smooth cruiser - grosser kaufmann-mobil - not my style)
- Ford Cortina V6 - (thirsty beyond measure)
- Numerous development cars property of Uncle Henry, including various RS models and Cosworths - NICE!)
- Austin Montego (co. car; not bad actually)
- Renault Espace (good family bus and long-distance cruiser)
- Ford Granada (co. car)
- Renault Laguna Estate (nice seats and went surprisingly well)
- Ford Mondeo Estate (POS - worst car I ever owned)
- Renault Scenic 2.0 (Nice!)
- Renault Laguna (Co. car -OK)
- MX5 NA (Fun car, but already rusty and not really worth saving then.)
- Volvo V50 Estate (2nd worst car I ever had)
- Nissan X-Trail (co. car but liked it so much I kept it when I retired)
- Vauxhall Astra Estate 2.0D (good car but bland)
- LR Freelander 2 (very practical daily driver)
26 MX5 NC 2.0 sport (My reward for beating cancer - shudda bought one years ago!)
Some of the above overlap, and I’ve left off the missus’s shopping trolleys.
I guess my MX5 is really my 2nd youth’s 4-wheeled motorbike.
Aldi
OK here goes
Passed test 1987
Vauxhall viva 2 months later engine exploded
1981 ford escort 1.3 4 door
1.6 mk3 ford capri wrote off by a pissed up old fart
1.6 mk2 ford capri stripped and rebuilt using the parts from the mk3 except for ford racing engine and 2 litre sport running gear it held its own against my mates 2.8 wrote off by speeding driver while stationary at a junction
1.3 metro only thing I could get insurance on as it turns out the above driver wasn’t insured
Suzuki sj413 jeep I had so much fun in that car
Suzuki vitara my first brand new car not as good off Rd as the sj but swmbo loved it
Ford Sierra 1.8 made redundant vitara had to go
1996 rav4 bought it 11months old still have it today and only 93k on the clock
1994 mitsubishi pajero got it for peanuts 11 years ago just passed it’s mot with no adviseries mind you with less than 80k on the clock it better lol
1991 eunos roadster 1.6 auto fell in love with the five about 10 years ago after test driving a customers I had just fixed a misfire on bought mine 3 years ago as a spur of a moment decision and the addiction began
Oh and I’ve had a succession of company cars and vans since 1996 current van is a Renault traffic
aaaaaaaaah the memories
Ford Anglia 105E Maroon 7457BY - why does one always remember the reg no of the first car?
Ford consul classic 2 tone
Wolsely 1500 Yuk
Mini Cooper 997 Green/white 100mph! in the 1970’s and no 70 limit!!!
Mini Cooper 998 Red/Black
Austin Mini Grey
Ford Escort GT Blue Sideways a lot
Hillman Minx Yuk
Renault 4 biege
Fiat 128 Blue Brilliant revvy engine - no grip on corners written off on Sierra coming other way on bend
Fiat 127 Blue
Renault 14 Green
Citroen Visa Red
Citroen BX Diesel Grey
Citroen 2CV Blue Cornering on the doorhandles!!!
Vauxhall Astra 1.8 SRi Much underestimated - are there any left?
Peugeot 405 1.9 TD White
Vauxhall Vectra White
VW Golf Mk1 White
Citroen ZX Volcane TDi White 1.9 TDi with light body - low slung and leech like cornering 50 to 70 beats an XR3i
VW Golf Mk4 TDi Silver Accelerated better than GTi
VW Golf Mk4 GTi Black smoother with better top end
Honda CR-V Oyster
Citroen C5 Diesel Silver
Mazda MX5 NB Silver Got there eventually - sold to sister
VW Polo Mk5 TDi DarkGretMet Still waiting for VW to fix the cheat
Mazda MX5 NBFL Silver bought from sister in law
Rover 95 (1962)- lovely straight 6 engine.starter handle and shepherd crook handbrake
Ford Cortina Mk 2
Vauxhall Astra
Saab 900 turbo
Saab 900 turbo
Saab 9000 Carlsson
Fiat Panda (lovely roll top sunroof)
rover Metro 1.2 - very basic but brilliant in the snow
Renaught Espace - Rolls Royce ride but very unreliable
Toyota Previa mk2 Henna red (bizarrely one of my very favourites. Huge versatlity and space,great engine,no rust, very good handling for size and fantastic reliability and 45 mpg.nicely run in after 115,000 miles). Currently I am in the French Alps having just done the 720 mile drive to Briancon in the Previa with family- removed the 2 back seats to swallow our huge luggage load
VW Golf GTD - extremely accomplished and very fast but driving experience a bit detached
Fiat Panda- taught my 2 teenage daughter to drive in this- brilliant learners car and very low insurance group.My 18 yr old daughter very sad to see it go but delighted to now be sharing the MX5 with me - she finds it very easy to drive.
Mk1 Eunos 1995 since October 2016 - Have just about got it sorted as I want it now and undoubtedly the most fun to drive of all the cars if a bit noisy and unrefined. Just waiting to get the heated seats wired up.
Too many to list after 50 years but some nice owns and borrows
1 first car Mk1 Ford consul lasted about 3 weeks ! 50 years ago
2 mk 2 1275 CooperS lots of fun well tweaked!!
3 2 litre Marcos gt lots of good memories I LOST AN EYE FOR THIS!But great for the birds !!
4 1600 Orion Ghia with a few bits of bling and a piper cam ,Ashley exhaust , uprated brakes etc loved it
5 2.1 litre Robin Hood kit car 13 years of fun inc 3 Le Mans trips , No caterham but lots of go and stop
6 3 Ltre mk 1 escort V6 real hooning car [ borrowed]
7 present – mk1 mx5 import again bit of personalising
DS3 turbo diesel possibly the best every day car I/We have had
Other borrows Big Merc pullman 5 ltre v8, Production prototype Biota kit car , Fiat 130 coupe V6 early Porsche 911, Ferrari Daytona some of these were only short distance [ bosses cars]
Perhaps a job in the motor trade wasn’t so bad !
Nothing exotic or that interesting. Never been into bikes either!
| Years owned | Vehicle |
| 1990 - 1991 | 1978 VW Polo |
| 1991 - 1991 | 1984 Fiat Uno |
| 1991 - 1992 | 1982 Peugeot 305 |
| 1992 - 1994 | 1985 Vauxhall Astra |
| 1994 - 1996 | 1987 Citroen BX |
| 1996 - 1998 | 1988 Citroen BX GTi |
| 1998 - 1999 | 1994 Fiat Uno |
| 1998 - 1999 | 1996 Rover 200 |
| 1999 - 2002 | 1999 Peugeot 306 |
| 2002 - 2003 | 2002 Citroen Xsara |
| 2003 - 2005 | 2003 Land Rover Freelander TD4 |
| 2005 - 2005 | 2004 Fiat Punto |
| 2005 - 2007 | 2001 Peugeot 406 |
| 2005 - 2007 | 1966 Triumph Vitesse 2 Litre |
| 2007 - 2010 | 2004 Ford Focus |
| 2007 - 2008 | 1972 Triumph Stag |
| 2010 - 2016 | 2010 Kia Cee'd Ecodynamics |
| 2013 - 2016 | 2006 Mazda MX5 |
| 2014 - 2016 | 2002 Citroen C5 |
| 2016 - | 2016 Peugeot 308 |
| 2016 - | 1995 Eunos Roadster S-Special |
Lotus Elise S1
Lotus Elise S2 135 Sport
Porsche 928S
Porsche 996 Carrera 4
Alfa Romeo GTV Cup
SLK55 AMG
VW Polo G40
Honda Civic 1.4 (tried to be sensible and it lasted about 2 months)
Range Rover HSE
Now have a 3 car garage with a Subaru Forester STi, Jeep Patriot and the 1996 NA MX5 1.8
Lambretta Li150
Morris Mini 1000
Hillman Avenger Auto
Ford Cortina Mk4
Ford Fiesta Bonus (from new)
Ford Escort Mk4
Ford Fiesta LX
Honda Prelude (Japanese import, went to Dublin to get. There were 5s there which I somehow overlooked. Shame)
Renault Clio
Clio & Fiesta LX (same one as previous)
Renault Laguna
Laguna & Mk2 MX5
Ford Focus & MX5
Mid-80’s to 1990
- Chrysler Sunbeam - learnt to drive in this. Horrific gear change and had the power of a lawnmower. Adding go faster stripes did nothing to improve performance....
- Vauxhall Astra Mk1 1.3L
- Ford Escort 1.4 - the Exxon Valdez had a smaller turning circle and lighter steering than this
- Vauxhall Astra 1.3L (again)
- Vauxhall Nova 1.1L - possibly one of the most fun cars I've had to drive
- Mazda 929 Estate - survived being in the middle of a 3 car high speed crash. I drove away with crumpled bumpers and broken tail light, the car behind was totalled
- Vauxhall Astra 1.3L - yeah I know, I still hadn't learnt.
- Vauxhall Vectra 1.6L estate - great car for our dogs, not so much for us
- BMW 318i Touring - bought with cloth interior but later had it reupholstered in leather. Classy!
- BMW 320i - loved this car and to this day regret selling it when I was offered a company car
- Honda CRV - company car. Actually more fun to drive than it first appeared and very practical
- BMW 525d - had this for 10 years and it drove better at the end than when I bought it, but other issues forced sale.
- MGB GT - bought as a rust bucket, then completely restored. Kept for 7 years. Shed a tear when I sold it.
- MG Midget 1500 - another restoration project. Bright yellow with BRG interior! Great little car but did my back in on long drives so it had to go.
- Mazda MX5 NB 1.6L - my first MX5 and still the best looking MX5 in my opinion
- Mercedes C250 CDi - bought to replace the BMW. Still have it but probably use it less than the MX5!
- Mazda MX5 NC3.5 20th anniversary edition - had this and the NB together for a few months before selling the NB at the beginning of this year.
1960 Mini 850 Blue Cost £30. I sprayed the bonnet and boot silver and put tape on the headlights for the rally look. Reg RGS169
1966 Mk2 Cooper 1275S Tartan Red and heavily modified, bored to 1340cc, twin 1.5" SUs, 731 cam, EN40B crank. Sold for £160 and a bottle of gin.
1970 Ford Cortina 1600E Originally gold but had been sprayed black. Nice car but rust was a major problem
1972 Opel Manta 1.9SR Green and pretty rare, most of my pals around that time were driving Fords or Vauxhalls.
1972 Ford Escort Mk1 Mexico White with black flashes, really fun car to drive.
1978 Ford Escort Mk11 RS2000 White with black vinyl roof. Had wanted one for ages so it was a present to myself after graduating.
1984 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi White, first injected car and fitted with excellent Recaro seats. Unfortunately stolen.
1984 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi Metallic blue, heavily alarmed after losing my first one.
1986 Ford Escort M111 RS Turbo White (only colour available), of all my cars it’s one I still miss today. Worth serious money now.
1990 Vauxhall Cavalier GSi2000 White, well equipped inside and looked smart with the standard body kit.
1998 Ford Mondeo ST24 Black, again looked well with the standard body kit. Smooth V6 and totally reliable.
1999 Subaru Impreza Turbo Silver, leather interior and sunroof which were rare. Stainless exhaust and decatted which made a lovely sound.
2003 BMW M3 Black, always wanted one and it’s a keeper. So much fun to drive.
2003 Mazda MX5 2.5 Sport Silver, hard top and only 50k miles. It’s also a keeper.