Welcome Sam… and your dad, Nathan.
As a young boy i was always interested in cars… i could name every car we saw on the road and evèn knew where they were from and their age by studying registration plates… if it was a foreign i even knew the country symbol (ie we had GB, now UK). I was something if a car nerd!!
Although my parents encouraged me sadly… they never did buy me a car, at 12 years old… lucky you Sam.
The good thing I reckon, you’ll be a great driver and a sympathetic owner… and will look forward to meeting you at future shows. Well done, keep up the good work and enthusiasm.
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Phil,
Depending on when you were a “young boy”, it was easier, because there were less car makes and models. Certainly, I recall the change between sit up and beg style and the flatter Fords in the 50s. And there were very few foreign made cars in England in those days – certainly none from Japan. You could tell where the cars were from by the last two letters of the three letter part, but the year numbers only came in 1963 with “A” registrations: before that, you had to go by the car model.
In Germany and Austria the letters still tell you the city where the car is registered, and, of course, in France, the département number.
David
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Hi David… I’m 67 and the era I’m talking of was the 1960’s… interesting times when cars didn’t all look the same… but a lot of ‘badge engineering’ going on… ie lots of similar looking variants… ie Wolsey, Riley, MG… etc all with the same bodyshell.
My point was to applaud young Sam for his appreciation of the MX5’s.
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Phil,
I didnt mean to disagree with you. Sam is to be commended for his interest, though at his age I doubt that he will have the opportunity of becoming a “petrolhead” for very long! It sure beats being an expert on video games and mobile phones.
David
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Hopefully when the world goes electric there’s still a place for car enthusiasts to keep and enjoy their Petrol cars. Fingers crossed.
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Don’t worry David… no offence taken… and i would agree with you… the demise of the petrolhead… a victim of global warming you could say… 
… i can see David Attenborough doing a series on it 
I’m trying to encourage my grandchildren… i have one who’s into F1, he’s 14… so not all lost yet!
Take care! 
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Of course, one can run internal combustion engines on other things than petrol; but I do imagine that within Sam’s lifetime (which will extend far beyond mine!) petrol will be so difficult to get and so expensive that the literal meaning of the word “petrolhead” will become near extinct. That said, I am sure that self driving, which is what it is all about, will continue, despite Mr. Musk’s ambitions.
David
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Nothing (hopefully) to stop doing shows and track/ one-make jaunt days either.
Who can say?
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S & N, Top Down, and top gear all the way - Enjoy
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What a lovely story. Wish my sons shared my passion for cars. Welcome to, by far, the best car club community. Enjoy!
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I seem to remember seeing an item on TV where they were teaching under-age kids to drive, on the basis that they will be safer when they finally get onto the roads proper. If you can find a scheme like that, he’d be ready to go when he turns 17.
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A long time a’go when my boys where young. We took them to an old aiir field so they could drive our BX. At the time it was £5,00 for half a day. It was good as there was not a lot they could hit ,
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We have a half day session we need to book for Sam and his sister for one of the driving days for under 17’s.
Think it’s driving clio’s or similar on an airfield between cones etc.
Whatever it is, if it has wheels he’ll enjoy it. Lol
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Brill Reward for All His Efforts Nathan 
[My Oldest Friend Learnt to Drive a Tractor & Trailer Many Years Before He Was Road Legal]
Sounds Like a Lot of Fun Amongst the Serious Stuff 
MSV also run their YoungDrive courses at a few of their tracks. I’ve certainly seen it at Oulton Park which is local to me.
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That’s not quite right. Before 1963 each registration town or city had a a group of one or two letters assigned. For instance EH, HJ and NO were assigned to Southend On Sea. Example plate was VHJ 123 or if only 2 letters NO 1234.
The town mayor’s limo was HJ1 of course.
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Love your enthusiasm Sam for the MX5 and I can tell you I have driven ever type of car lorry bus etc but I was so impressed the first time I drove the Mazda MX5 So I wish you well with your MX5
I am not sure what you are saying is not quite right. The two letters for Bury, Lancs, where I lived from 1953 to 1960, when I moved to London, were EN.
But I remember seeing AEN, BEN while I still lived there. At this point, I am not sure when they came in however, but it must have been in the 1950s!
Best,
David
Yes.
All you ever wanted to know (and an awful lot more) about UK vehicle registration numbers is on this wiki page
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