Liz Cawley blog 14/01/08
New Blogger Liz Cawley tells us about the cars she likes.
My first car was bought for me as a 21st birthday present and was a rather un-attractive pooh-brown Talbot Sunbeam. Quite how Talbot had the audacity to call a car of such colour a ‘Sunbeam’ I really don’t know – even if the name came first which I’m sure it did – why make a brown one?
Oh yes – I do know really; this being an early 80’s car – the colour brown was literally clinging onto everything from the 70’s. Still, can’t complain – it only cost £50 from a car-park outside a local banger auction and it got us all the way to the French alps before the big end went and we used it as a temporary bedroom for a week. Eeeeh, those were the days when you could get a brace of cars with some tax, Mot and half a tank of petrol for a hundred quid.
Since then I’ve had my ups and downs of car ownership; three minis (also one brown one) which I ran into the ground, a chuffin’ Scirocco that never did a single journey without something going wrong – usually in the fast lane while over-taking a fat lorry and I’m now deeply in love with my current steed – A V8 250 Daimler (1968).
The minis got me a degree by getting me to University for three years. I can’t say they never let me down – the sheer fact that the dizzy is in the wrong place and hates wet spray meant that several journeys to Sheffield on the motorway were troublesome. But these cars can get away with being a bit sensitive because they make up for it in so many other ways. If I were to say that I got 106 mph out of my last (1275-engined) mini I would be arrested as this is very against the law - so I won’t. Speeding is a heinous crime.
In actual fact speed isn’t my favourite thing. Although this year I started doing vintage hill-climbs in a 1921 GN special, which has a 3.3L ford engine – I’ve found that I am a bit of a pussy when it comes to putting my right foot to the floor. However, wheel-spins, skids and slides are something I’m becoming rather fond of. Auto tests in a rear-wheel drive car on rough ground are such a laugh. What’s even funnier is that I do them in my other half’s Mark V Cortina (Brown) and usually beat him!
I have to admit to really liking the Cortina. Having grown up in the 70’s/80’s I was kind of brought up on them. My Dad had an estate and I remember thinking that, ‘when I grow up – I’m going to have a Cortina’. It’s a bit scary that that’s become a reality, but I also remember wanting a TR7! Thankfully for me, that hasn’t come true.
Recently both the Cortina and Daimler have been ruthlessly subjected to attempted theft. Remarkably, whoever it was did not succeed, but still managed to make a bloody mess of the dash in the Daimler and steering column in the Cortina – have these people no sympathy for these fabulous motors?
And so it is that we usually have some little projects on the go with the cars – I’ve also got a 1930 Ford model ‘A’ saloon which has its moments of neediness. I totally enjoy driving my cars and I love to see other old motors being driven on the road. There’s a real need to keep all these classics going – they’re more fun, look better than most modern cars and I definitely don’t want to be sucked into a brave new world of homogeny.
Posted: 4:31pm, 14 January 2008
Words: Liz Cawley
Images: Longstone Tyres
