What a great thread, so many common themes. Here's my tale:
it starts with my dad, who had Rovers for as long as I can remember. During my childhood in the '70s dad's driving was memorable, he was the only dad in my school who seemed to enjoy driving, and who drove FAST. Riding in dad's Rover was an experience like no other. I would read and re-read the Ladybird Book of Motorcars while eating my tea. I was lucky enough to receive the number 10 Meccano set for my 10th birthday and replicating cars and in particular their clutches, gearboxes, differentials, suspensions etc occupied vast swathes of the next few years. From age 11 I took a weekly subscription to Motor magazine, and shortly after that in 1976 on the top shelf of the newsagents I stumbled across an edition of CAR magazine. CAR magazine was probably the single most pivotal event in my personal car journey. The writing, the photography, the supercars, all turned my mechanical fascination into something much deeper, satisfying, exotic, topped off by the ruthlessly honest and hysterically funny The Good, the bad and the Ugly. Soon I was allowed to make the annual pilgrimage to the early motor shows at the NEC where I could see my idols in the flesh. At age 16 I rebuilt every part of a rusty mini that became my personal transport as soon as I passed my test a few weeks after my 17th birthday. The rest is history, but cars are definitely in my blood !
Last edited by lord-richfield; 21/10/14 11:57 PM.
