If Only I Could Have It Back.

[Khandro]

Watching "The Great Train Robbery" last night I nearly cried to see Jim Broadbent's (DCS Tommy Butler's) car, It was exactly the car I had in the mid-sixties; a black 2.4 Mark 1 Jaguar, there were lots of shots inside too and it was a dead-ringer, all red leather and walnut with that gorgeous fascia for instruments, in fact I began to wonder if it wasn't mine. I couldn't quite see the steering wheel, mine had a feature unheard of today; 'overdrive', a short stalk under the steering wheel which when you flicked it as you were bowling along in top, it gave you an extra higher gear. If only I had it now.
Does anyone feel similarly nostalgic for a car they once owned?

[tonyav]

Yes, I would love to know if any of my early cars still survive to, baza.

[tonyav]

Hillman also used that 1725 engine in the Hillman Avenger Tiger so I believe, tuned by Holbay, methyl.

[shoota]

Another motor I remember with great affection was an Austin Cambridge 1800 auto, it was big enough to live in, the boot was big enough for a granny annex and it was as swift as you needed.

[tonyav]

Was it one of those with the handbrake lever on the wrong side !, shoota.

[shoota]

Yes T, there was no gap between the seats which was handy when courting....

[tonyav]

Yep, you couldn't beat those old front bench seats, shoota.

[baza]

Ford Consul column change bench seat .......

[tonyav]

Yes, baza, my dad had a MK 2 Consul convertible when I was a kid, loved that car. My brother and I used to want him to put the roof down no matter what the weather was like lol.

[tonyav]

LOL, all cars used to have built in rust in those days, methyl. Two or three year old cars with ill matching paint on the doors, wings, bonnet and boot due to rot or rust.

[FredPuli43]

The car I learned to drive on was a Reliant three wheeler, later models being called the Robin. It had an old Austin 7 engine, improved by Reliant by fitting a down draught carburettor (such refinement !). It was a great car if you didn't put anything above about 2lbs in the boot; any more weight there made for exciting handling !

First car I remember my family having was a pre-war Buick, complete with designer holes in the bodywork. My favourite was a 1954 Bentley, which came complete with make-up mirrors, separately lit, and a powder compact and lipstick holder. It also had fold down, glass-topped, walnut picnic tables, fitted to the backs of the front seats. Interior was all walnut and leather. Mechanically it was interesting. The steering column had levers to adjust the fuel mixture and also the ride. Even though the Bentley was sporty, the handbook was in terms that suggested that one's chauffeur alone would read it or drive the car; well, it was made by Rolls Royce !

[shoota]

We had a Bentley Continental like that Fred, loved those picnic tables....

[shoota]

http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/bentley/s1-salooncontinental/