Ariel.Club Forum

Austin Healey Sprite Mk3; some of you younger ones on here might have to ask your dad what the hell it is.

I did 24,000 miles in the 11 months I had it, which isn't bad for a student. I loved that car, and as a result have had convertibles as often as possible ever since.

I drove to my first music festival in it, at the Bath and West Showground, before the M5 was complete and the weekend, with groups such as Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, John Mayall and Led Zeppelin, cost me £2.50.

Again regarding the groups, some of you may need to ask your dads. 

[quote="PaulP"]
groups such as Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, John Mayall and Led Zeppelin
[/quote]

Most importantly which of the groups was best?  Have seen Floyd live so know how good they are but the other 3 would have been great to see (maybe the 'Mothers of Invention'? would have been a bit off the wall for me), Led Zeppelin are one of my favourites and Bluesbreakers were/are pretty cool too....

Such a shame we don't get do's like that at the Bath and West these days    Although I suppose Glastonbury is a pretty good consolation prize 

1986 Citroen C15D, spare from my Dad's company, I learned to drive in it and kept driving it afterwards, until it failed an  MoT, then languished on the drive for several years...



*Edit* I feel I should point out that the red overalls and rig boots were not my everyday clothing at the time; I entered a few Uni motor club Autotests in it (keeping a spare set of wheels and tyres for the purpose) and this photo was taken on one such occasion!

Around the same time as the van failed its MoT, my Dad got a new car and sold me his old one... 1992 Saab CD (9000 with a boot) 2.3 non-turbo auto  It died after I rolled it on a Uni motor club scatter! 

http://www.bodnet.com/car/

Luckily  His *previous* car (1988(?) Saab 9000 hatchback, 2l) (which had worked its way down the company through various drivers) was about to be sold off.... That one lasted until too many things needed replacing at once - the clutch worked fine (for me), but the actual difference between 'engaged' and 'disengaged' was a fraction of an inch of pedal movement! So anyone else who tried to drive it just stalled it (including me sometimes, most memorably on a busy junction whilst driving to get a new battery fitted  . The engine mountings were shot which meant the engine moved around enough that the exhaust leaked and made me feel verrrry sleeeeepy while driving it 

That was followed by my sister's cast-off car, the worst I'd ever driven, F-reg 1 litre Nova. Nothing *specifically* bad about it, just added up to a wholly unpleasant driving experience. 

Since then I've had 'reasonably' sensible cars; 4 litre Jeep Cherokee, 4.6 litre V8 MG ZT-T, Atom, MGF...


Bod

Hi Tom

This is a list of the groups playing, although if I remember correctly The Moody Blues, who were to be the main group, never turned up, and Led Zeppelin finished the show.

It's a Beautiful Day stood out, mainly because of the girls playing the violins. But I was fortunate to be right at the front when Led Zeppelin were on at the end and they were impressive. Although as I'd spent ten shillings on some LSD, it was all a bit surreal. As was the drive back to Blackpool, when I had the wipers on trying to get the cats eyes off my windscreen. Oh to be young and foolish.

Santana, The Flock, Led Zeppelin, Hot Tuna, Country Joe McDonald, Colosseum, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Moody Blues, Dr. John, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, Canned Heat, It's a Beautiful Day, Steppenwolf, Johnny Winter, John Mayall with Peter Green, Pink Floyd, Pentangle, Fairport Convention, and Keef Hartley.

[quote="PaulP"]
Hi Tom

This is a list of the groups playing, although if I remember correctly The Moody Blues, who were to be the main group, never turned up, and Led Zeppelin finished the show.

It's a Beautiful Day stood out, mainly because of the girls playing the violins. But I was fortunate to be right at the front when Led Zeppelin were on at the end and they were impressive. Although as I'd spent ten shillings on some LSD, it was all a bit surreal. As was the drive back to Blackpool, when I had the wipers on trying to get the cats eyes off my windscreen. Oh to be young and foolish.

Santana, The Flock, Led Zeppelin, Hot Tuna, Country Joe McDonald, Colosseum, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Moody Blues, Dr. John, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, Canned Heat, It's a Beautiful Day, Steppenwolf, Johnny Winter, John Mayall with Peter Green, Pink Floyd, Pentangle, Fairport Convention, and Keef Hartley.
[/quote]

Brilliant Paul - happy days.  Country Joe and the Fish too, another of my favourites!  Bit of a contrast from the last Glasto I attended with Kylie et al - load of rubbish!

Not sure I'd want to drive anywhere on LSD, let alone from Shepton Mallet to Blackpool    As you say; oh to be young and foolish.  We'd never get away with it these days.....

Now imagine driving an Atom on acid   

Now imagine driving an Atom on acid 

Tom - Donny will be on soon to oblige ... 

Acid-  that's so late 80s lol.

Hey man, we used to refer to it as acid in the 60s, and we thought we were cool.

Unlike kids today, who use LIKE in every sentence and RANDOM in every other sentence. 

Just dug these photos out of my 1st car.  I got bored with the metallic green finish   I think I must have wanted a tank really

[img width=411 height=600]http://www.pixalo.com/gallery/data/518/medium/cars2.jpg[/img]

I then watched "The Blues Brother" & really wanted that cop car , so I delved in parents garage & found some wood gloss paint & a roller  & voila   Even cut centre out of bumper & bent ends up as bull bars 

[img width=439 height=600]http://www.pixalo.com/gallery/data/518/cars1.jpg[/img]

To say my father was not amused, was an understatement

Oh last shot was an Elite I bought a few months later ..... only kept it 6 weeks though due to insurance costs 

Hmm - Brave man for posting those !

I think it's fair to say that as well as your taste in cars, your eye for taking a good photo has also improved 

crackin shots of the cortina.......... made me chuckle

i wish i had been organised enough when i was younger to take some pics of the heaps i used to rattle around in

My first car was an Orange Austin Mini 1000 with wide weller steel wheels painted red  was stolen 6 weeks after

Renault 19 16v, second was a Golf GTI G60

I was poor though......a lowly spanner just out of college on 63 quid a week.....

My mate had a Renault 5 Gordini  - my o my that was quick for its time. Think my mate was embezzling at the time

63SQUID! That's almost double my starting salary.

1100 Escort estate with a 1300 engine transplant. Bought it off my sister's mechanic boyfriend. It did me proud until the enevitable Capri arrived.