• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

The family car

Share this page

Dad's 73 Dodge Dart. Failed the first time I took the driver's test, but I found that most boys failed the first time no matter what they did, and the girls passed no matter what was done. Guy who tended to do the tests, this was a small town environment, eventually got kicked out when it was noticed that +90% of guys had to take the test twice and yet almost no girls did. Really annoying as a teen back then.
 
The Old Man's 1961 Lincoln Continental... docking the Queen Mary would've been easier. Second go was with mom's 1961 Falcon three-speed manual. No problems at all. (y);)
 
It does Tom. It rode like a dream especially after driving something I could afford, like Chevy's or fords. :jester:
 
The first car I drove, was probably the 65 Wildcat my dad had, but it might have been the 64 Electra. It was definitely a Buick, though. What I really learned to drive in was the 66 Travelall and 68 C1200 Internationals my dad had. I bought my L series a year or so before I got my license, but I didn't take my drivers test in it (it doesn't have a rear view mirror to check for the test), so I drove my mom's 88 or maybe 87 Altima. The Altima made the driver's test so easy after driving the larger IHs and GMs for a few years. Here's is my L series in my backyard this morning:

20241022_071836.jpg
 
Walter - those are real trucks!
 
Thanks Tom. I grew up in an IH family, so...

20241021_150854.jpg



Having three decades of IH represented in the backyard is normal.
 
Think my first drive was my dad’s 1923 Citroen clover leaf. In a local stately home park where he flew radio controlled model aeroplanes.
He had a 7ft wingspan tiger moth that sat across the width on the car with the undercarriage in the single rear seat recess with dad holding the plane down so it didn’t take off !! Circa 1976 so I was about 12.
 
My 1934 Ford convertible. Mechanical brakes, rust holes covered up with scotch tape! and painted over. Paid $150 and sold it for $125. Actually it was my dad's 1948 Chrysler New Yorker. I took it out of the garage when I was 15 and couldn't get it back in. Hung it up on the garage door. Neighbor came over, said he would get it into the garage on one condition - that I not drive it again until I got my license. And I didn't,
 
First family car I could drive was a '76 VW Rabbit. With a "crash bar" for your knees instead of a lap belt and the shoulder belt connect to the door frame - confused the heck out of first timers but in reality was really simple just sit down and close the door.
 
I think, when I was a little tyke, we had a small Fiat sedan, but I don't have much memory of it. The first car I clearly remember was when dad bought a new 1963 Mercury Comet. It was dark green with a white hard top.
 
Back
Top