We seem to take for granted things like leccy windows, air con etc. but remember the days when we had none of these things?.........
My 1982 Vauxhall Cavalier (the front wheel drive one) was a pitiful 'L' model and never even came with a door mirror on the passenger side - you needed a 'GL' for that
All my cars had keep-fit windows and no central locking from 1987 till about 1996 and 'power steering' what's that?
What do you remember and what things were really wierd too?
Cars in my care:
2021 Kia Spottage 1.6 Pez Turbo Dual Clutch Gearbox Trickery
2013 Renner Twingo - donkey work
My first Poxhall Viva had non-servo brakes, drums all round, no PAS, heated rear window, leaf spring rear suspension, front suspension via a single transverse leaf spring, windy windows, etc. etc. etc.
ICE was something that formed inside in cold weather.
2002 HDi 2.2 Exec Estate, (2008-12) (wonderful)
2003 HDi 2.2 6-speed Exec Estate (2012-19) (also a gem)
2009 Citroen C5 2.0 HDi VTR+ Estate (godawful heap)
2008 BMW E91 330i touring (great fun - murdered by a reversing SUV)
2007 BMW E91 325i touring (slower smoother quieter)
My first car was a Triumph herald 1966, then I had a '62 Commer van, followed by a Wolseley, then a '62 mini, most of them barely had a floor, never mind extras
That's excellent they were sodding awfull cars weren't they? but charming too
I remember my sister buying her first car - a Poxhall Chevette .......upon investigating the cause of a wet carpet in the first week we uncovered 2 copies of the a Local newspaper tucked under there to soak up the water from the rotten floor then we discovered the papers were only dated last week
Cars in my care:
2021 Kia Spottage 1.6 Pez Turbo Dual Clutch Gearbox Trickery
2013 Renner Twingo - donkey work
Rubber mats instead of carpets...hole for radio blanked off...black plastic vinyl seats (barbeque sauce anyone?)...esp braking system (I better hit the brakes in case I need to use them in a minute or two)...steering with a quarter turn play...0-60 never...tepid draught coming from the heater...
Them was the days
They had to fit spring assistors to the front of ours 'cos, overloaded, they could roll onto their noses under heavy braking (seriously!) Handling was described as a "tea trolley on ice". They were basically a Hillman Minx/Hunter with a grossly de-tuned engine (amazingly small Solex carb) and daft over-sized body. The "bonnet" was the middle seat, handbrake to the front wheels drums all round of course. One trick was turning the ignition off while it was on the move, then back on again so it back-fired, occasionally blowing the silencer apart.
My mum was 'gifted' a Talbot Horizon by her brother... t'was an LE model which he claimed stood for 'Lacks Everything'. As opposed to the LS, I suppose, which only lacked some things.
Then of course there was my much loved 106 XN. No power windows, no central locking and of course the wonderful substitution of a clock where the tachometer ought to have been. I imagine the XN stood for Xtras? Nope...
steve_earwig wrote:One trick was turning the ignition off while it was on the move, then back on again so it back-fired, occasionally blowing the silencer apart.
My mate did that on his 3.0 Capri, only he thought he'd 'pepp it up' a bit and gave it some gas whilst shut down.......upon re-ignition it blew both exhausts off
Cars in my care:
2021 Kia Spottage 1.6 Pez Turbo Dual Clutch Gearbox Trickery
2013 Renner Twingo - donkey work
i had a 1983 escort with power windows and central locking, but no aircon, or PAS.
the car before that one was a 1994 106 which had nothing, at all
after that was a 1994 civic with electric everything, but still no aircon.
my 1994 rover is a similar spec.
so you can imagine how high brow my 1997 2.1 exec feels, lol.
Passed my driving test in one of those Vivas.
then we discovered the papers were only dated last week 
