Oh my, let me see, forgive me if order isn't quite right and these are just some high (*) and lowlights (^) (
bold still here) :
The entire contents of Bentley Motor Museum, East Sussex. I got to dust them anyway (aged 12, eighteeen mile round trip on bike, twice a weekend).
Fordson Standard tractor: made from bits and cost me £60 My first 'vehicle', I was 14.
Austin A35 (I was 16 and never drove it on the road).
1971 Mini Clubman (beige with brown vinyl roof, I repainted it royal blue and dyed the roof black). Loved that thing. Got hit up the rear by a pickup. Pickup was totally unscathed, Mini's boot had shortened by about five inches. Game over.
1980 Alfa Sud 1.5 five door. Bought rotten at eight years old: so rot the front strut towers had partly ripped out so bonnet wouldn't close. Gave up.
1983 Alfa Sun Green Cloverleaf Ti: not a spot of rust (Fiat group must have worked through the Russian steel by then). High miles back then: 130K Epic car. One of the few I should have kept.*
MK1 Scirocco * Got hit up the back by a post office van. They paid full value, gave me the car which I pulled (aged 18 at the time) and ran for ages afterwards.
MK2 Scirocco (nowhere near as good as the first one).
E21 320 manual (bought as a write off and p'ex'ed above MK2 Scirroco for it).
1966 Triumph TR4 (arrived LHD and very bent, departed RHD and pretty straight and with overdrive).* Did straight swap with above 320 to buy this as a wreck.
1984 Astra estate in brown. It was really cheap. ^
1970's Volvo 240 Estate (see above, in fact it might have been free).^
Polo breadvan five speed: actually a really good car. Fabricated a towbar for it and used it to tow Guzzi's around.
1992 Polo Gti
1980 E21 320 auto
Triumph Herald
E21 323i (why did I sell?).*
Lada Estate (newest car I ever owned, paid £150 for it, was barely five years old and had a dented nose: pulled it out with aid of above 323i).^
1984 Montego no idea why.^
1985 Montego (arrived with stripped flywheel ring gear and tracking literally 1/2 inch out. Did a tyre every other tank of fuel until I DIY'ed the tracking straight. As above, but even less idea why. Cheap probably.^
1968 (?) Triumph TR250 Was so rotten we had to steer all four wheels off the trailer. Used a ducting Co. to make me new chassis sections.
1995 Suzuki Cappuccino: epic little car, just wonderful.*
Another Triumph TR4 (BRG, Surrey top, overdrive, wires: the Big Three).
1993 BMW E36 325TD Saloon
1995 BMW E36 325TDS Touring
Saab 9000i Turbo. Bought for £235. Did a track-day at Goodwood with it, sold it the day after for £275. Ahh, happy days. Dreadful car though.
1998 BMW E36 323i Touring*
2000 BMW E46 330i Touring (dubbed 'The Ultimate Parking Machine' at launch due to over-assisted steering, some owners threatened to reject the cars when new as had test driven the predecessor E46 328i. As consequence some cars were retrofitted with heavier steering. Not a highlight at all.^
2002 BMW E46 325i Touring.^
2005 BMW 320d Touring (noisy, course diesel that pulled well but shook its steering wheel at idle). Plus ate swirl flap screws!^
2005 Subaru Outback 2.5 manual* 230,000 miles, drove as new: literally. Still see it around locally.
2007 Subaru Outback 2.5 manual. Half the miles, half as good.
2005 Subaru Legacy 2.0RE Sports Tourer* 185,000 miles this time: lovely, lovely car to drive *
1934 Triumph Gloria Sports Saloon.*
1934(?) Wolseley Hornet Special in lots and lots of bits, which is how it left as well. Why did I sell?.
Lots of Guzzis: Ladola, Airone, Stornello, Airone, Imola 350, S3, MK1 Le Mans round taillight.*
1973 Porsche 911T 2.4(arrived LHD widebody faux Kramer rep, left RHD narrow body). The car that started me off in the world of 911's. It's still around.
1972 Porsche 911E 2.4* Brilliant car: bought from dealer for £3500 as a breaker. Turned out to have a new engine in it. It went back on the road and I still see it at the shows.
1977 Porsche Carrera 3.0 I sold it, and the buyer had me convert the shell into accurate 3.0RS Spec. Will have full race spec throughout.
1998 Porsche 911 996 3.4 Carrera 2
Forester S Turbo*
2009 Panda 100hp
2002 Smart City Cabrio*
2003 Smart Roadster Coupe
2006 Panda 100hp* Gets a star because unlike the 2009, it had high miles for one of these (135K) and drove brilliantly, far better than the other one.
2002 Defender SWB TD5 SX in metallic black. Both the coolest and most useless vehicle I've ever owned. Sold it and because of Defender fever at the time, the positive price difference bought my car trailer. And the Terracan with refurb costs. And a set of ratchet straps. And a pair of ramps. That was the best thing about that Defender: it bought a lot of stuff! Also, it had man owners and came to me via Oxfordshire. Turned out to be my old Boss's car when new which he used to tow his large speedboat. Fifteen years later it ended up with me, five miles from its first home.
2009 Volvo XC70 D5
2014 Volvo V70 D4 (VEA engine: very impressive, 8 speed auto, ditto). As above car, foul build quality. Volvo badge, Mondeo platform: all the quality of a Mondeo with the prices and handling of a Volvo. XC70 the same. Still liked them though.
A2's: AUA, TDi75,
TDi 75,
FSi x2
TT 180.^
1933 Austin Trophy Sports x2 - being built now, when I get the time (below).
2001 Passat B5.5 Sport TDi 130 Estate*
2003 Terracan 4x4* Fabulous old school body on frame proper 4x4. Does 1500 miles a year, but when you need it, you really need it.
I keep remembering cars and adding them on. I should point out, these are personal cars that were registered to me and don't include the ones I've either traded myself or (obviously) ones I've bought / sold as a employee of various dealerships.
