Thursday, 5 May 2016

My Obsession with cars

My Obsession with Cars 

It all started a long time ago when I was just 20. I bought my first car, a Triumph Herald 1200 for £220 on a loan, the first of many a loan like some sort of demented ball and chain.

It was 1973 when I first drove my Triumph away from a back street garage in Portsmouth. I felt liberated and it was the beginning of a long and exciting career of owning cars. I loved cars right from the beginning and I could not wait to drive. To feel the adventure, the independence that a car could give you. It was amazing and exciting all at once.

I was in the Royal Navy at the time and after work when the ship was in port, I would often go and just sit in my car for hours on end imagining all the great times I would have driving it especially at weekends when I could drive the 240 miles home to see my parents.

The only problem was is that I had not yet passed my driving test so I could not drive without someone who had a full license. At first I had a few driving lessons in cars such as the Triumph Toledo and I did quite well but they were often interrupted by going back to sea.

I was finding it too expensive for driving lessons even though they were only £3 per hour at this time so once more I got my friend to help me out but things did not go smoothly and what actually happened is here in an excerpt from my autobiography "Running For Home":


"I began taking more driving lessons but was making slow progress. I began to think about buying a car and started to look around the second-hand car showrooms. I thought I’d found the ideal car for me. It was a bright red MG Midget, a tiny sports car that I liked, only problem was, it was not insurable as I was too young. Finally I came across a Triumph Herald in dark blue. I knew this to be a good car as of course my dad had previously had one and I bought it with a loan of £220, the first of many, many loans to bug me for the rest of my life like some sort of possessed ball and chain.
At first I could only park it in a large car park outside since a dockyard pass was required and these were in short supply. I put my name on the waiting list. Depending on where the ship was berthed, it could be quite a long walk. I appreciated this car so much that I would often go and just sit in it for hours, dreaming of all the driving I would do in the future.
‘L’ plates were purchased and I would get a fellow crew-member to give me driving lessons. These did not always go well and things came to a head when my mate decided to get out of the car and storm off. I had a decision to make. How was I to get the car back? I could not just leave it in the middle of the road. By this time I’d got a dockyard pass so I decided to drive back. The only snag was that the dockyard police were on the gate as usual but I thought I’d chance it and come clean if they stopped me. As I approached the main gate they immediately stopped me but after a brief explanation I was allowed to continue back to the ship.
 After this I hatched a cunning plan. I removed my ‘L’ plates and decided to risk driving about on a provisional license. In those days, unless you were stopped, it was very unlikely that you would be caught. I did this for several weeks without any problems apart from stalling the engine once in traffic and nearly bumping the car in front. In time my confidence grew and grew and my driving improved to the extent that I knew I could pass a test. I was really keen to pass and I spent hours poring over the Highway Code until I knew it backwards. I booked my test.
The day of the test arrived. It was April 1974. I drove alone to the test centre, intent on taking the test in my own car. On parking the car just down from the test centre, I had a quick look around before furtively sticking the ‘L’ plates back on. I went into the test centre and my examiner came forward. He asked me if I was taking the test in the schools car or my own.
On approaching my car I said that my friend with the full license had gone into the pub. The test went really well as I’d gained a lot of confidence in my own car. I didn’t get much wrong in the theory either though in 1974 a car test was ludicrously easy to pass in comparison to the present day.
At the end of the test the examiner happily informed me that I had passed. I happily informed him that I would now go and get my mate and walked towards an imaginary pub. As soon as he was out of site I quickly tore off the ‘L’ plates and gleefully drove away. I felt elated". 
And so began the long road ahead and the many cars I enjoyed from then on. Some were good and some were not but each had its own character and with all of them I felt that same tingling sense of adventure and anticipation when I set off on yet another journey.

Actually, I became much too obsessed with cars and I have to admit that for my relative financial situation in life, I spent far too much on cars. Having said that, I strangely don't really regret any of it.
It was my passion and I loved driving and I did it while I could and nothing can ever take that away from me.

There was a darker side to my obsession with cars though and it was this; the main reason I aspired to bigger and faster cars was that I thought that I would be admired and respected. I was insecure and imagined that I would gain recognition for what I had achieved. The car had become a status symbol. As embarrassing as it seems now, it was true. My Father would always say; "you'll get over it" but at the time I did not understand what he meant.

The list of cars I have owned is quite long although by no means a record. In the main the cars were second hand and in many cases, quite ordinary so I take some consolation that I was not in the main, completely obsessed.

Here is a list of the cars I have had the privilege to own over forty years:

Triumph Herald
Riley Kestral
Triumph 2000 MK2
Datsun Sunny
Triumph 2000 MK2
Granada Mk2
Fiat 132
Triumph 2500 PI
Fiat 127
Mini 850
Morris Minor
Rover 2600 SD1
Lada Estate
Rover SD1 3500 Vanden Plas V8
Lada 1200 saloon
Volvo 340
Rover 800
Mercedes 190E
MG ZR 120
Rover 820 Vitesse
Mercedes E class estate
Mitsubishi Carisma
Of all these cars, the best one has been the last on the list and the one I have kept the longest. It has been an amazing car and one of only three I have had from new. I have owned it for over nine years and it has the same battery, the same exhaust, the same spark plugs and clutch and all the original bulbs! The only things I have changed on it are the brakes, the tyres, wiper blades, the cam belt and one brake pipe. It has passed every MOT except one where the brake pipe was concerned. I have only had it serviced once but change the oil every year and I have only changed the air filter once which did not seem to significantly improve fuel consumption.
So there it is, my history so far in motoring. The only accident I ever had was when a motorcyclist rode in front of me as I accelerated across a junction off a green light. It was a classic roll over the bonnet crash but he was largely unhurt but his bike was in bits.
My son threatens to be just like me and has had three cars in 5 years and is due to get another soon although his latest will be a sensible Smart car with incredible economy, a massive contrast to his last car; an MG ZS 2.5 V6. I can't say a thing because its me all over.
Oh, and I also have a long career in Motorcycling but that's another story! 

If you want to read the rest of the book and see just what I got up to in my life, then please click on the link here: http://goo.gl/SZhD6Z

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