1977 Skoda Estelle 120L (passed driving test in this in '81)

1982 Skoda Estelle 120LE (some joker smashed into it, whilst parked outside girlfriend's house, never happy with it after that)

1984 Skoda Estelle 120LS (went all over in this. Engine rebuilt at 40,000 miles, valve stem seals worn out, LOL. kept till 68,000 on clock)

1990 Skoda Rapide 136 (hopelessly impractical)

1990 Suzuki Swift 1.3 GLX (Bought second hand. Lovely car)

1994 Suzuki Swift 1.3 GLX (Another nice car. Bought a Freedom caravan and it really struggled to tow it)

1996 VW Polo 1.6 CL (Pulled the 'van nicely. Build quality dire)

2000 Skoda Fabia 1.9 TDI (came to my senses once again, LOL. Pulled the 'van like a dream)

2006 Skoda Roomster 3 1.9 TDI (this has been a truly fantastic car, will be sorry to see her go)

2011 Skoda Yeti 170CR Elegance (pending. September, all being well)

1961 austin 7 (mini)-written off.

1958 morris minor-scrapped.

1964 austin 1100.

1965 mini cooper S (tuned).-fabulous.

1958 austin healey 100/6.(put a 3.4 jag xk in it.)

1968 BMW 2002.(vandalised.)

1968 mgb.

1968 Vanden plas 1300.

1970 Opel commodore coupe.

1975 Audi 80 GT.

1972 MG midget.

1975 BMW1502.

1980 BMW525.

1987 Peugeot 205 diesel.(200,000miles commuting.)

1989 Volvo 740 turbo.(great Q car sadly written off.)

199? rover sterling type.(Cr+p.)

1994 Ford sierra ghia.(the shortest period i've ever owned a car....also cr+p)

1995 Ford Granada ghia (gutless.)

1994 Vauxhall senator 3.0CD.(nightmare digital dashboard!)

1988 BMW 325SE (Fond memories)

2000 Ford focus(fantastic handling with cr+p engine)

2001 Ford focus TDCI.(much better.)

1989 Mercedes 190e 2.6(very under rated.)

2002 Bmw 330d{shady history so dealer swopped for......)

2001 Bmw525d(had a very smokey chip.)

2003 nissan xtraildci .(competent but agricultural engine.)

2003 Mercedes 320cdi E class(dull)

2000 Toyota rav4( great little car but a bit small.)

EDIT: missed out in there is a 1979 MGB.(one of the last ever built and probably the only car I ever sold for profit)

1980 Honda civic(great first family car.)

1979 Honda accord(pipe and slippers not supplied)

1998 BMW 528SE manual( THE ONE I WISH I'D NEVER SOLD!!!!!)

2001 BMW 530SE(Had become an electronic nightmare in only 3 years!)

ALSO: several unfinished projects-1967 E-type 2+2,1973 BMW 2002Tii and a Porsche 944 which I did finish to my financial ruin...

These are only the ones I can remember at the moment, but I'm sure there are many I've conveniently forgotten.....:wonder:

Here goes:

Ford Anglia 1200 Super

Hillman Imp

Renault 6TL

Mini 850

Peugeot 504TI

Peugeot 106

Peugeot 304

Austin Metro

Fiat 127

Fiat Uno 55

Fiat Panda x 2 (1 written off)

MGB GT

Citroen 2CV x 2

VW Derby (first Polo with a boot)

Volco 340 x 2

Renault 21 Savanna x2

Rover Maestro Diesel x 2

Skoda 120Y

Skoda Felicia

Skoda Felicia Estate

Skoda Fabia 1.4 Elegance Estate

Skoda Fabia 1.9 Tdi Elegance Estate

BMW 316 Estate

Honda FRV

Skoda Roomster 1.9 Tdi

Daewoo Matiz x 2

Mini One

VW Passat 2.0 Tdi

Merecedes SLK230

Smart Passuion Turbo

Mercedes A170 auto - currently owned

Skoda Yeti 140 Tdi Elegance - currently owned

Mazda 1.8S - currently owned (relaced H-D XR1200)

And now the bikes:

Honda SS50

Yamaha XS250

Yamaha DT250

Honda CB250

Yamaha RD350

MZ ETZ250

MZ 660 Skorpion

Honda CB500

Honda 250 scooter

Piaggio Skipper 125

Piaggio Hexagon 250

Honda Varadero

Piaggio XEVO 125

Piaggio XEVO 400

Aprilia Atlantic 500

Triumph Bonneville Scrambler

Ducati Monster 600

Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster

Harley Davidson XR1200

Ego Helio Electric Scooter

This is the first time I've done this. The list is horrific if you tried to put a cost to it. But I am a petrol/diesel head.

Not really going to identify a favourite as the best has usually been the one I woned at the time.

Thr Peugeot 504 stands out, as does the MZ Skorpion.

John

Ah, another 'Imp man' I had three finishing off with the Sport. They were much maligned but I loved mine, it helped that I worked at a dealer and went on factory training courses and was able to become very familiar with their little ways!

I put my cars on the other thread, so the best of them.......

On a cool summers evening with the roof down driving down country lanes, my 1968 Triumph Spitfire Mk3.

A 1980 Lancia Beta 2.0 HPE for handling and the lovely TC engine.

A BMW 535d M Sport for performance. I had to have a 530d after that remapped..... But the ride of the 535d was the worst of any car I have driven. Ever.

Most comfortable car, 1998 523i Touring.

Most economical car, Octavia 2.0PD L&K DSG Estate.

Best long distance car, by a (long) way, Elsie the Helipad.

Ford Escort 1.1

Ford Orion 1.6 Ghia

Ford Fiesta 1.8 zetec XR2i 16v

Ford Escort GTi

Ford Focus ST170

Renault 5 (whilst I was waiting for my next car)

Ford Focus RS

Cars from our employer scheme:

Audi A3 S-Line 210bhp

Various VW's Inc Polo, Golf etc

Skoda Octavia VRS Estate x2

Skoda Yeti 4x4 x2

Lol

Including a couple of company cars, my list is as follows:

Mini 1000

Ford Escort Mk II

Ford Fiesta Mk II

Peugeot 205 GTi

Peugeot 106 Diesel

Citroen BX Diesel

Peugeot 306 Diesel

Peugeot 306 XSi

Peugeot 106 GTi

Ford Puma

Skoda Fabia Estate (1.9 TDI)

BMW 120D

and a Yeti 1.2 on its way!

The most fun to date has to be the 205 GTi

Austin 1100 (first car after passing my test). It fell to bits after a while, but it was my first car so have fond memories.

Ford Escort 1100.

Ford Escort 1300E (lovely rare car - now a collector's piece). I would give my right arm to get another.

Triumph TR7 1800cc (utter utter rubbish - my biggest car buying mistake)

Volkswagen Golf C (1100) My first brand new car - after the TR7 I was craving reliability.

Ford Sierra 1800 GL (2nd hand with dubious mileage).

Vauxhall Astra 1600 - 2nd brand new car, ultra reliable, 5 years and only failure was a single bulb).

Rover 420 GSI 16V (leaked oil like it was going out of fashion)

Mercerdes A160 AvantGarde - oh dear.

Volkswagen Passat SE 20V 1.8T - lovely comfortable car.

Volkswagen EOS 2.0 FSI Sport - great in the sun, a nightmare when it was raining or cold.

Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI CR170 Elegance. Hopefully will see me through to retirement and beyond.

This is quite scary because it makes me realise how many cars I've have had in just 30 years (although not as many as some on this thread!)

Highlights:

VW CAMPER VAN (original shape) Passed my test in it.

2CV SUCH FUN!

BMW MINI ONE one of the first

VW SHARAN All the car you could want and won in a competition. Just sold to help pay for the Yeti

CURRENT FABIA 100bhp - and feels like the fastest car i've had...until the YETI ARRIVES IN AUGUST!!!!

Oh well, here goes:

Puch Maxi moped

CZ 175

Jawa 350

Mini Estate complete with rotten wood.

Morris 1300

Morris Marina 1300 Saloon

Austin Maxi 1750HL twin carb model

Skoda Rapid 1.3

Nissan Prairie (Co car)

Several Ford Escorts (Co car)

Skoda Favorit 1.3 Estate

Skoda Felicia hatchback

Land Rover Series 3 LWB Station Wagon

Rover 218

Rover 418

LR Freelander L series diesel

LR Freelander Td4

Dewi the YETI!!

1971 Hillman imp DL

1974 Morris Marina 1.3

1978 Mini Clubman Estate 1100

1978 Mk1 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 L ( which I had for 14 trouble free years )

1988 Ford Orion 1.4 LX

1993 Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 1.8 LS

1996 Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 2.0 GLS

2001 Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Sxi

2004 Skoda Octavia 1.8 vRS

2010 Skoda Yeti 1.8 TSI Elegance

Have also had the following second car/runabouts

1992 Vauxhall Nova 1.2L

1992 Vauxhall Nova 1.2 Spin

1993 Vauxhall Nova 1.2 Swing

1985 Austin Metro 1.3 Vanden Plas

2003 Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Elegance

2008 Suzuki Swift 1.5 GLX

Favourites: Octavia vRS, but really liking the Yeti I've only had for 3 weeks

Been looking for other stuff and came across the attached pic of the Marlin, posted just for interest!!

Ah, another 'Imp man' I had three finishing off with the Sport. They were much maligned but I loved mine, it helped that I worked at a dealer and went on factory training courses and was able to become very familiar with their little ways!

Regarding my Imp - Harvest Gold I think was the colour. Problem, apart from corrosion was the gearbox, I had three. I always thought it WA way better than the ubiquitous Mini.

Little story behind it was that this was my first decent car. I originally went to look at a Fiat 500 (J Reg).

Unfortunately, my Dad (an HGV mechanic) didn't think it looked like a real car and because the Imp was a Hillman (respected manufacturer at the time) "encouraged" me to buy it.

I wonder which would have been he better car?

John

Regarding my Imp - Harvest Gold I think was the colour. Problem, apart from corrosion was the gearbox, I had three. I always thought it WA way better than the ubiquitous Mini.

Little story behind it was that this was my first decent car. I originally went to look at a Fiat 500 (J Reg).

Unfortunately, my Dad (an HGV mechanic) didn't think it looked like a real car and because the Imp was a Hillman (respected manufacturer at the time) "encouraged" me to buy it.

I wonder which would have been he better car?

John

My Chammy variant as previously was one of the very late negative camber jobs bit of a death trap but with the change to Emmerybits to acquire slight postive camber and the addition of 25kg of bagged sand to the boot(front of car) improved the handling out of all recognition!

Another minor problem was a slightly porous head arond the middle head bolt, various lotions and potions were tried non as successsfull as Barrs leaks - called for a plastic container with a gallon of water to be permanently carried.

It regularly travelled from Rochdale to Cheltenham at M/way speeds.

With the mod a brilliant car of its day, must agree streets ahead of the Minis etc - obviously a tribute to its racing heritage a la Coventry Climax!

Here we go then.... my road car history.... 39 years:

1959 Morris Minor 1000 (Bought S/H in 1972 as my first car and driven daily as I restored it. Oh why did I sell it for £100?)

1974 Mini Clubman (started as a 998cc, finished as a heavily breathed on 1293cc by the time we parted company)

1977 Fiat 127 1050cc (great engine, awful car that started dismantling itself from day 1)

1980 Ford Fiesta 1.3GL (Mk1)

1984 Ford Fiesta XR2 (Mk2) (Great fun, cornered like a roller skate on rails)

1987 Ford Escort XR3i (Mk3) (For the time, an incredible car with a CVH engine that was actually a good one. Kept it for 9 years)

1996 Ford Escort RS2000 4x4 Mk6 - (went out to buy a battery in 1998, came home with this, the last of the RS Escorts - still have it, dry stored/SORN'd)

2010 Skoda Yeti 1.8TSi Elegance - (My best car to date - the great all-rounder, a brilliant motorsport course car)

* Bought as second cars for "commuting":

*Ford Fiesta 1.1L (Mk1)(bought S/H in 1989 for commuting into an area of M/cr where I wouldn't have dared park the XR3i)

*Ford Fiesta 1.1 Popular + (Mk2)(bought S/H in 1991 - to replace the 1.1)

*1993 Peugeot 106 XR 1.2 Diesel (Highly rated in the press, but it proved the press don't always get it right, and nor did Peugeot!)

*2002 Ford Fiesta 1.25 Freestyle - (Great for AutoSolos. Bog standard, its performance surprised all who saw it, totally reliable, shouldn't have sold it)

That's not many cars for nearly 40 years of motoring is it? Every one was in virtually showroom condition when sold, but they all worked hard whilst I owned them.

Edited 18 July, 201114 yr by speedsport

My Chammy variant as previously was one of the very late negative camber jobs bit of a death trap but with the change to Emmerybits to acquire slight postive camber and the addition of 25kg of bagged sand to the boot(front of car) improved the handling out of all recognition!

Another minor problem was a slightly porous head arond the middle head bolt, various lotions and potions were tried non as successsfull as Barrs leaks - called for a plastic container with a gallon of water to be permanently carried.

It regularly travelled from Rochdale to Cheltenham at M/way speeds.

With the mod a brilliant car of its day, must agree streets ahead of the Minis etc - obviously a tribute to its racing heritage a la Coventry Climax!

The last Imp I owned back in 1970 was the Sunbeam version with the twin strombergs etc, I added Team Hartwell lowered springs all round which gave it masses of negative camber on the front and Vauxhall Viva 5" x 12 rims with Michelin zx radials I also had the Hartwell 4 branch manifold and silencer (with a tailpipe like a curved drainpie which sounded great!) and pancake air filters. The car handled brilliantly and I regularly had it revving at 8000rpm + (I was told by a course instructer at Chrysler the bottom end was safe to 10000 and hoped he was right!). Anyway the dreaded head gasket problem and marriage brought me to my senses and a Hillman Avenger.

The last Imp I owned back in 1970 was the Sunbeam version with the twin strombergs etc, I added Team Hartwell lowered springs all round which gave it masses of negative camber on the front and Vauxhall Viva 5" x 12 rims with Michelin zx radials I also had the Hartwell 4 branch manifold and silencer (with a tailpipe like a curved drainpie which sounded great!) and pancake air filters. The car handled brilliantly and I regularly had it revving at 8000rpm + (I was told by a course instructer at Chrysler the bottom end was safe to 10000 and hoped he was right!). Anyway the dreaded head gasket problem and marriage brought me to my senses and a Hillman Avenger.

obviously got me negative and positive the wrong way round - apologies!!!

obviously got me negative and positive the wrong way round - apologies!!!

The Imp was the car that taught me which was which! The Mk 1 had terrible positive camber I imagine the thinking was that once you had a full tank of fuel and a bit of luggage it would straighten up, this didn't happen! The result was that with the skinny 4" wide rims with I think (memory hazy!) 5.20 or 5.50 x 12 cross ply tyres the car didn't handle very well at all and tended to travel straight on in corners particularly when road wet! (very light steering though)The Mk 2 had different front suspension pivot brackets which greatly improved matters

Often thought about buying one to restore in my spare time but seems the rust bug has virtually destroyed most of them and I don't want too big a project!

The Imp was the car that taught me which was which! The Mk 1 had terrible positive camber I imagine the thinking was that once you had a full tank of fuel and a bit of luggage it would straighten up, this didn't happen! The result was that with the skinny 4" wide rims with I think (memory hazy!) 5.20 or 5.50 x 12 cross ply tyres the car didn't handle very well at all and tended to travel straight on in corners particularly when road wet! (very light steering though)The Mk 2 had different front suspension pivot brackets which greatly improved matters

Often thought about buying one to restore in my spare time but seems the rust bug has virtually destroyed most of them and I don't want too big a project!

Mk 2 must have been '67 / 68 ish mods carried out '69!!

Mk 2 must have been '67 / 68 ish mods carried out '69!!

Yeah about that time, my 68 Super Imp had the mod, kept that one for a year before upgrading to the Sunbeam.

My Clan Crusader had the Hartwell 998 Imp engine and it was a little cracker. No understeer issues but heroic oversteer available at the lift of the foot from accelerator.Or further depression of same.

If I remember correctly the Ginetta G15 also used this engine and that was a bit of a goer too! The weirdest use was in the Bond 875 three wheeler which I think used the low compression van engine and went like s*** off a shiny shovel, never drove one but would think it was lethal

The Imp was the car that taught me which was which! The Mk 1 had terrible positive camber I imagine the thinking was that once you had a full tank of fuel and a bit of luggage it would straighten up, this didn't happen! The result was that with the skinny 4" wide rims with I think (memory hazy!) 5.20 or 5.50 x 12 cross ply tyres the car didn't handle very well at all and tended to travel straight on in corners particularly when road wet! (very light steering though)The Mk 2 had different front suspension pivot brackets which greatly improved matters

Often thought about buying one to restore in my spare time but seems the rust bug has virtually destroyed most of them and I don't want too big a project!

A company I worked for had a fleet of Hillman Huskys which were basically Imps with a flat rear end and a full tailgate. An unofficial company "mod" was to carry a 1CWT sack of cement in the front!

My own Singer Chamois had the front suspension mod with Pirelli Cinturatos on wide rims and a Weber 40DCOE(?). Went like a bat out of hell and I could lift the front inside wheel over curbs on corners. Great fun but it had serious problems stopping.

It also had fantastic traction in snow and I greatly enjoyed passing most other 2WD and some 4WD vehicles on the rare occasions we had snow.

I can also remember seeing Peter Harper rallycrossing one to great effect.

Not bad for a wartime fire pump derivitive.

Fred