Rodders blog 11/01/08
Rodders remembers the first car he travelled in...
My wife asked me today why exactly I’m ‘so into old bangers’. My hackles rose briefly before I remembered that this probably says more about the condition of some of the, well, old bangers I’ve driven around in rather than their actual pedigree! I can’t believe I’m the only man in England to have studiously ignored papier-mache sills while handing over hard-won readies for a much longed-for but ultimately knackered classic. Why do we do it?
It all started for me with the first car I can remember travelling in, my Dad’s freewheelin’ Rover 90. A valve-operated wireless dominated the fascia by virtue of its very presence, and I can vividly remember playing chase round and round the suicide doors and over the red leather bench seats. It stayed with us for many years, until I reached double figures myself in fact, even though by then it had long expired and been forlornly awaiting the inevitable ignominy of the hi-ab’s hoist down at the bottom of our garden.
The fact that as a petrol-mad boy I was able to drive 205 FHU not only anywhere in the world, but also within our own solar system – and, indeed, through outer space and on to the edge of the universe itself - was not lost on my parents, who presumably appreciated a bit of peace and quiet from time to time as I lolloped off down the garden with space helmet and raygun (bamboo pole) in hand.
As I got a little older, though, the emphasis shifted from toys to tools. Even though the clutch had gone, thanks to the P4’s crankhandle starter I was inspired to learn to set valve clearances, adjust its ancient SU, change the oil & filters and much more by the time its time was finally up, which gave me a bloody useful grounding in what’s possible with an just an adjustable spanner and some feeler gauges to hand.
But why are classic cars so much more attractive to me? It’s not just ease of maintenance, though this is an undeniably useful factor in classic motoring. I just couldn’t pin a simple answer down that easily; for me the factors and variables are myriad and complex. Nostalgia? Is it a particular shape or style? Some people don’t mind whether their ‘coke bottle’ styling comes with a blue oval or a Luton griffin, but would run a mile from any variant produced either side of their fave!
Fair enough, I’d actually prefer an evil-handling mkIII Cortina to a MkII any day, but my own favourite is the MkI, which ceased production in 1966 – seven whole years before I was born. So how can I be nostalgic about something that was already two – or even three – restyles old by the time I noticed it properly for the first time?
Smells are just as tricky; having worked in the wine trade, my nose has learned a trick or two about distinguishing different-but-similar aromas, but surely most of us know that cracking Triumph varnish smells different to cracking Rover varnish. The vinyl in my Scimitar smells different to the vinyl in my friend’s Vitesse. But, whilst being so evocative of so many things, not many deals have been made “because it smells nice“… have they?!
The further I went into the conversation, the bigger a hole I realised I was digging for myself. In the end, as I was about to snap, “Look, I just bloody do, alright?” inspiration came in the form of a food analogy - a subject that’s close to both our hearts! It’s like this. Some people are happy dining out at Mickey D’s every day of their lives, some people never set foot in the place. The former are N-reg Nissan Sunny drivers, whose sole contribution to the world of serene and stylish motoring is the addition of a nice sticker or two in the rear screen.
But if you know even a little about cooking, you’re more likely to belong the latter group. Even when you eat out – especially so, in fact – you become more and more demanding as your knowledge and tastes broaden. Your victuals must look right, must smell right, must have the right taste and texture in your mouth. Someone else might think it’s cat sick, and everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but the further down the road of the gourmand you travel, the more exacting your criteria will be next time you eat…
…or buy a(nother) classic car!
Posted: 9:36am, 11 January 2008
Words: Rodders
