Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms When did you first realise that you were a car nut

This thought has crossed my mind as a result of various recent threads, including toy cars and driving skills and so on.

Growing up, the only access I had to cars was either my friends at school (Vauxhall Cresta/Vauxhall Wyvern/Morris Minor), or my mother's friends (Jowett Javelin/Austin A40/Austin A35 van/Ford Prefect (sidevalve)/Wolseley 1500), plus that unforgettable trip in a Lagonda Rapide.

My interest up to being 17 was WW2 aircraft, although I collected the usual Dinky/Corgi/Spot On and Matchbox cars for many years (and none are left except a matchbox Ford Anglia).

I only started to look at cars when I sent for my provisional licence (April 1970). My initial learning was Wolseley 1500, but the driving school had two Vauxhall Viva HBs.
What then began was consuming magazines, at first donated by adult friends, but then taking Motor, Autocar, Autosport and MotorSport magazines. My first British GP was 1971 and that really cemented my car nut credentials. And that's how its been ever since. I wouldn't change a thing. Except if I had had any money at that time I would have had a Lotus Elan, a TR6, and a TVR 300M, one after the other in any order.

This (The post WW2 period) has been the golden age of motoring.

Although we always had a car, my father needed it for his business, my father had no interest at all in them.

Mine was from an early age with a red Mobo pedal car.
An Austin J4? would have been nicer!

As a child my reward of choice (eg tooth extraction) always a model car.
Initially Matchbox then Dinky and my favourite was Corgi.
As a teenager went to Motor Shows, both in Glasgow and London (Earls Court and Olympia) in mid 60 to early 70s. It was at the 69 Earls Court Motor Show that I saw and sat in the Morgan Plus 8.

I had a paper round and I had a weekly order of Motor magasine when I was still at school and I would often top up reading with Practical Motorist.
Although I had a push bike, I could not wait to learn to drive and get my licence.
I have always had an interest in driving.
Early years of car ownership, I would do all my own maintenance; clutch changes, brake cylinder rubber changes, ball joints, dynamo polarity changes, steering column bearing changes, universal joint changes, replaced petrol tank
And much more. After 3 or 4 years I realised two things, 1, having old bangers were costing a fortune to maintain and 2 I could earn more by working overtime and paying someone to service my car.

Dave,
I have been a car nut as long as I can rember. My dear 90 year old Mother, confirms! Started wt Dinky Toys that my father would buy for my brother and I. Was the kid that knew what brand cars where, nose agaist the window to see how fast the car could go, etc. At age 5 I hurt my thumb as it got stuck in the window as I was exploring my uncles Jaguar. When a bit older I started to design cars.
I saw my first Morgan at age 10, it was a black 4/4 4str. At the time I was frustrated that I did not know what car it was and decided that that would be my car later in life. In 1997 this dream came true, my first Morgan.
The interest in Cars sparked my interest in technical matters, further helped by growing up during the Apollo Moon project. Technical interest drove scientific interest and ultimately to obtaing a PhD in physics. So, yes, being a car nut early in life has serious consequences in life.
Kind Resgards,
BertR

Well for me i was very young. In fact I was born over a garage as my father worked for Moorland Cars in Southall in the 50's. They built some Formula Junior race cars designed by Les Redmond I think. I recall fiddling around in there on Saturday mornings while he worked. We had numerous cars at home after that when he became a salesman, not owned by him of course but some lovely stuff DB Astons, Jaguars, MG's I can remember being parked at home in the 60's.
After that I like others collected Corgi's, had a Scalextric set and generally spent as much time in the garage as I could. In my teens I built a 2 seater powered by a Triumph 6cyl eng I bought as a complete GT6 for £15!
Had a TR6 when I was 19, an MGA, MGB, and drooled over a Mogan Plus 8 I saw at a London Motor Show in what must have been 69' or 70?
Always worked on my own cars as at 15 I went to work at a small garage as a mechanic in Sunningdale, Berks. Some great cars , drove as many as I could and loved every moment of working there. In those days it was BMC A and B series, minis, a 40, minors, oxfords, rover 90's , Armstrong Siddeley, Jaguars of all sorts.. Great times. We also did work for Duncan Hamiltons , some real exotica and I was really lucky to be able to be driving Ferrarr'i's , GT40s , C types etc when I hadn't even reached 20 yrs of age. So in the blood as they say and I'm still fiddling around many years later!

Father and mother were both petrol heads but didn't earn much in the early days, father always maintained his cars so from a very early age would hand tools to him and by the time I was moving from short to long trousers was carrying out some elements of service / repair under his watchful eyes. Before the war mother could change a thrust bearing and clutch plate faster than father because she had more nimble hands! He had a BSA Scout and she had an Austin Ruby, before the war both were grammar school science teachers so were relatively well paid

Granddad was a car nut, from 1919 onwards....
Dad was a car nut, always had something interesting, changed every 2 to 3 years.

Was there any hope for me? Had a bike from 16, but as soon as I passed my test the bike went.
From 1970 to Date...

Ford Prefects (2)
Ford Cortina 2 door
Hillman Hunter
Hillman Imp (2)
Alfa Sud (3)
Alfa 33
Alfa 146
Mercedes E200 Estate
Mercedes 190 2.6 Sportline
Audi TT
Mercedes CLK
Mercedes SLK300
Mercedes E350 Sport Coupe
Morgan Roadster

Also some company cars, including Hillman Avenger, Vauxhall Caviler, Peugot 405, Mercedes E 200

Well I remember sitting on the bench seat in my father Rover 75 when I was about 4 and he such a toy steering wheel to the dash so I could pretend I was driving. A few years later I sat in his lap and steered it around a car park with his help. At 6 years my parents found me walking around a Primrose yellow E-type parked on Richmond hill. All I then saved up for was Dinky and Corgi cars. At age 8 my parents brought a Mini from a local garage and on a trailer in the back of the garage was a genuine Ford GT40 which I think was Paul Getti's, I then saved up for a Scalectrix one, and started following Le Mans. My first car was a Mini and I stripped and sprayed it, then a Vauxhall Viva, then a mk1 Escort which I tuned and customised, and traded in for a Mini Cooper which I took the engine out of twice at the age of 19 and it ended up 1100cc and produced 95bhp on a rolling road and then I just kept going playing with cars.

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 !

I am however, not a car nut!

I am very sensible........

More a wind in the scalp nut than car nut.

For me it's more about the feeling than the mechanicals.

I thought for you, and DW, that it was also about the neoprene?