What was the very first car or motorcyle you ever drove/rode?

[wildebus]

First scooter, 2nd hand 1966 Lambretta J125 [only 3 speed], bought for £50 and parked in Garry Davies's Dad's prize winning front rose garden 10 minutes later - Mr Davies Snr was not happy, but he was accustomed to Gary's lunatic riding and associated anti-social behaviour so he didn't ask for compensation.

First car was ex-North Sea Gas Conversion Project Bedford Viva HB 8cwt Van, KRV 343F with 68,500 on the clock; due to a joint 'oversight' by Dad and fiancee's father who worked together in the Fleet Workshop, the £45 purchase price included 5 new tyres, new exhaust and full service. Dad got Cyril, a coachbuilder contact, to do a decent respray for £15 cash, and the insurance was £54, Third Party, Fire & Theft via Miss Joyce Sadler, of Sadler & Co - 3 x 1/4ly instalments of £18.35 including a 1 guinea [discounted] admin fee because I worked in 'her Bank' - she was a gem!

Steve

Steve, as you are a stickler for accurate info, I feel obliged to correct something above ...

The Bedford Viva HB Van would actually have been an HA model. (and not a 'Viva' named either I think when it was a Bedford van rather than a Vauxhall car). The Bedford HA continued long after the Viva HA transitioned to the Viva HB and the Viva HC, and I believe (going from memory, not internet searches ), the Bedford HA only bit the dust when the Vauxhall HC was replaced by the Vauxhall Chevette and Bedford made a van version of that (possibly called the Chevan, but that might have just been a nickname?).

A Viva being the car I grew up with and then the first car I drove, owned (and crashed), I was a bit of a Vauxhall Fanboy
(and now, full circle, I own a Vauxhall again and it is one of the best cars I have had despite also being nowhere near the most luxurious, spacious, expensive or fastest)

 

[marchie]

My first car was originally my Dads, Morris 1100 automatic. I still remember driving home from uni one time when there was a heatwave and needing the heater full on with max fan to stop it overheating

View attachment 78149

Passed my Test in a manual Austin 1100 via BSM [British School of Motoring]. Alan, the Instructor said, 'On your Test for the hill start, leave the handbrake on and press the accelerator until the bonnet begins to rise, then release the handbrake; you will never roll back ...' There was a single Green Shield stamp stuck at the base of the rear screen that was used as a sighting mechanism for the reverse around a corner manoeuvre ...

Steve

 

[wildebus]

Passed my Test in a manual Austin 1100 via BSM [British School of Motoring]. Alan, the Instructor said, 'On your Test for the hill start, leave the handbrake on and press the accelerator until the bonnet begins to rise, then release the handbrake; you will never roll back ...' There was a single Green Shield stamp stuck at the base of the rear screen that was used as a sighting mechanism for the reverse around a corner manoeuvre ...

Steve

I remember my driving instructor saying about putting something in the back window for the revrsing manoeurve
Another hint I remember which was good is to have the rear view mirror slightly misaligned so you had to move your head a bit to see - idea being that the examiner would be able to physically see you checking the mirror.

 

[marchie]

Steve, as you are a stickler for accurate info, I feel obliged to correct something above ...

The Bedford Viva HB Van would actually have been an HA model. (and not a 'Viva' named either I think when it was a Bedford van rather than a Vauxhall car). The Bedford HA continued long after the Viva HA transitioned to the Viva HB and the Viva HC, and I believe (going from memory, not internet searches ), the Bedford HA only bit the dust when the Vauxhall HC was replaced by the Vauxhall Chevette and Bedford made a van version of that (possibly called the Chevan, but that might have just been a nickname?).

A Viva being the car I grew up with and then the first car I drove, owned (and crashed), I was a bit of a Vauxhall Fanboy (and now, full circle, I own a Vauxhall again and it is one of the best cars I have had despite also being nowhere near the most luxurious, spacious, expensive or fastest)

There was a 6cwt version [painted bumpers, whereas the 8cwt had chrome versions] and my recollection was that they were HA & HB respectively. The engine was the 1159cc over square version, with a 4 speed box; part ex-ed the Van at just over 81,500 miles for £140 against a 1971 Vauxhall Viva DL Mark 2 JDH 873J that was priced at £825, but Roger Haynes, son of the MD, inflated the price to permit the higher P/Ex, son that it appeared to the Bank [my employer] that I had enough deposit to qualify for a Staff Car Loan ... Borrowed £550 from the Bank at £16pm over 3 years and Dad took out £200 HP from Lombard North Central at £7.56pm x 36 months, payable by me in cash at teatime on 23rd of each month [staff payday], so that Mum could pay the instalment via the payment book the next business day at the Bank. Always a way around the Rules & Regs of bureaucracy ...

Steve

 

[Pudsey Bear]

First scooter, 2nd hand 1966 Lambretta J125 [only 3 speed], bought for £50 and parked in Garry Davies's Dad's prize winning front rose garden 10 minutes later - Mr Davies Snr was not happy, but he was accustomed to Gary's lunatic riding and associated anti-social behaviour so he didn't ask for compensation.

First car was ex-North Sea Gas Conversion Project Bedford Viva HB 8cwt Van, KRV 343F with 68,500 on the clock; due to a joint 'oversight' by Dad and fiancee's father who worked together in the Fleet Workshop, the £45 purchase price included 5 new tyres, new exhaust and full service. Dad got Cyril, a coachbuilder contact, to do a decent respray for £15 cash, and the insurance was £54, Third Party, Fire & Theft via Miss Joyce Sadler, of Sadler & Co - 3 x 1/4ly instalments of £18.35 including a 1 guinea [discounted] admin fee because I worked in 'her Bank' - she was a gem!

Steve

Is that all? We need to know more in-depth details Steve.

 

[wildebus]

There was a 6cwt version [painted bumpers, whereas the 8cwt had chrome versions] and my recollection was that they were HA & HB respectively. The engine was the 1159cc over square version, with a 4 speed box; part ex-ed the Van at just over 81,500 miles for £140 against a 1971 Vauxhall Viva DL Mark 2 JDH 873J that was priced at £825, but Roger Haynes, son of the MD, inflated the price to permit the higher P/Ex, son that it appeared to the Bank [my employer] that I had enough deposit to qualify for a Staff Car Loan ... Borrowed £550 from the Bank at £16pm over 3 years and Dad took out £200 HP from Lombard North Central at £7.56pm x 36 months, payable by me in cash at teatime on 23rd of each month [staff payday], so that Mum could pay the instalment via the payment book the next business day at the Bank. Always a way around the Rules & Regs of bureaucracy ...

Steve

I'm sticking with my HA only as far as Viva-derived vans

On Internet searching ... Wikipedia says

"The HA continued on in production for nearly twenty years, until 1983. It was first supplanted by the short lived Vauxhall Chevette-based Bedford Chevanne 1976; the Chevanne was in turn replaced by the Opel-based Bedford Astravan / Bedford Astramax in September 1982. The HA continued to be available for another year as a simple, low-cost alternative with maximum interior space. ​

Despite the fact that the Vauxhall Viva upon which it was based had gone through two further model generations, the bodywork of the HA van stayed the same until its eventual discontinuation in 1983, although it did receive some of the technical upgrades from the newer HB and HC Vivas."​

And the Bedford version of the Chevette was indeed a 'Chevanne'

Again, going by Wikipedia

"It was originally available in 6 cwt and heavier duty 8 cwt models (payloads of 670 or 900 lb; 300 or 410 kg), with the chassis codes HAE and HAV respectively. Gross vehicle weights were 2,400 and 2,615 lb (1,090 and 1,185 kg) respectively. The 8 cwt had a heavier rear axle, bigger tyres, and a sixth leaf in the rear springs. The 8 cwt was generally better equipped, offering a number of chromed trim parts (bumpers, mirrors, etcetera) and slightly plusher interior fittings"​

So the 8cwt was a bit 'posher' and did have a different look with the chrome, but still stuck with the HA body.

It seems like there was also a converter of Bedford HAs that added rear seats and windows to make a Bedford HA Estate Car, which seems odd where there would be a Viva HB and then Viva HC Estate cars available 'off the shelf'?
For me the HA and HB cars were instantly recognisably different, not least by the introduction of the avantgarde Rectangular headlights on the HB that all the latest cars were sporting in the late 60's

The Vauxhall I always fancied at the time was the Vauxhall Firenza, which was a coupé style Viva HC with twin round lightlights, so similar styling to the Capri MkIII. I've always also been a sucker for a car with a bit of a shark nose or pointy bit in the middle at the front, like you see on that Firenza below.

 

[wildebus]

Here is a little task for people ....
What is the chance of reliving that youthful experience and having another drive in the same model of the very first car you drove?

check out https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/ and put in the model. It is not a brilliant database as it breaks down the models too much I think, but still interesting.

It looks like there are only 26 Registered Viva 1159cc cars left

 

[Steveandjulie]

My first bike was a puch maxi pedal start moped I got off one of my dad's mates and used it off road as wasn't 16. First bike when I was 16 was a Yamaha fsie 1974 model so was unrestricted and I put a micron exhaust on it was pretty quick and annoyed the neighbours with the noisy exhaust.then put 65cc barrel and piston kit on it and then it was quick . My first car was a Hillman hunter as it was cheap

 

[Geek]

My first motorbike (of my own, rather than shared) was a Vickers Victoria moped with girder front forks. I have seen one like it in a museum once.
My first car was a Trojan van, but sadly it didn't run. It just sat in the field next to our house and I sat in the seat and imagined driving it.

 

[wildebus]

The cheap Hillman Hunter comment just made me think ... I may not have been right about a Vauxhall Viva being the first car I drove!
I certainly drove it (and crashed it) before I had passed my test, but I may have driven both a Hillman Avenger and a Renault (12 I think?) before the Viva?
When I was on Rathlin, all the cars on the island were a cheap as could be as they were all MOT Failures due to no testing required, so the residents used to just buy the fails and get them brought over. And as no driving licence required either, I used to drive around the island in either the Avenger which had no exhaust system and was missing 1st and 3rd gears, or in the Renault, which had no reverse gear.

 

[Molly 3]

A freind has got a 3 wheel honda , with hinged rear wheels with only a few hundred miles on the clock , some carburettor bits missing, no idea of the age and model ,

 

[Molly 3]

You were a lucky chap, getting to drive a brand new car as your first


The first car I drove was my mums Vauxhall Viva HB Estate DL (Deluxe - I think Deluxe because it had a heater?).

It was a 1969 model in White with a 1159cc engine and would have been identical in looks to the one in the photos below when new. Of course, it wasn't new and being a 1960's Vauxhall it was very rusty and had no inner front wings left (I think we replaced the front outer wings? Oh and it had to have a new short engine fitted) and had to replace the bonnet as the hinge stays rusted away, so it ended up a two tone - white from A pillar back and grey primer at the front.
View attachment 78125
View attachment 78124
When we went out on trips as a family, I used to end up sitting in the boot space (health and safety? in the 70's? I don't think so!).

This car also became the first car I ever owned as after I passed my test she gave it to me and my sister gave me a years car insurance (she worked at a brokers so got some kind of good deal )
It was actually a decent enough car to drive and I kept until I bought a old 1966 Triumph Spitfire 4 Mk II from someone at college.
My mum on the other hand replaced it with a LHD Ford Capri Mk II from my Greek Cousin in Germany who she for some reason trusted and ended up with an Orange Cut&Shut . A weird choice of car to buy for a granny, but there you go!


PS. As I type this, all I hear outside are blooming noisy rally cars! Jim Clark weekend I believe

Viva HB was a super little car, but was a shame they were such a rot box .