My first car was...

[Alex Clouter]

a Renault 5TL in sea green with dash gear change and a mono push button radio cassette.

Had it for 30,000 miles taking it on many camping trips across Europe then went to the extreme and got a 5 GT Turbo!

[Ken Malone]

Riley Elf (Mini variant - called Clunky for obvious reasons)

[Dick Winchester]

A Morris 8 !!! I and two 6th form school mates bought it for the princely sum of £20 from a local scrappy before he stuck it in the crusher. We managed to get it going and ran it for a whole three months before we decided that to make it go faster we should mill 20 thou of the head...(Side valve so the head was very basic).. It then went like a bomb for about 50 miles before throwing a piston...

You have to learn somehow

We ended up selling it on to a enthusiast for £30... Only one of two cars I've ever made a profit on !!!

[Ian Linden]

A green Mini 998cc. (Not this one; I know it's LHD - I just wanted a green pic)

I put a ported and gas-flowed head on it, a straight-through silencer and a Weber twin-choke downdraft carburettor.

Went quite well. Was known (by others) as the Kamikaze Mini. Can't think why. (Well, there was a hedge....)

Got a story about it. The threaded shank for the gear knob broke off when I was (of all places) in Brussels. So I went into the main BMC dealer and asked for a new gearshift lever. The storeman said "As you're English, I suppose you want one that bends to the right". "Gosh", said I, "that's a point, no good having one which goes to the left. Oh dear" or words to that effect. "Pas de problem, M'sieur - voila" he replied as he produced a RHD gearlever !!!

[Lisa Balsom]

A grey moggy 1000 called Bertha the b***h, a name she deserved on cold mornings.
Ended up trading it in for an early Vauxhall Corsa, so not much improvement there then.

[Brendan Molony]

Fiat 127 Sport in orange just like this...



Looks like I was not the only one who fitted a set of spotlights on the front of one (mine had a nice set of Cibie Oscars).

Quicker than a Mini 1275GT and had a decent size boot too

Rust In Peace

[Philip Gifford]

Mine was a white MG 1300 basicly an upgraded Austin 1300 but it did go well and had an 8 track which I listened to for aound 6 months on the drive untill I was old enough to take my test.

[Allan Williams]

Hi Everybody!

It seems no-one had anything remotely Cappuccino-ish. Mine was a Kei Car!

A 1972 Daihatsu Max 360. 357cc's of raw 2 stroke power! The economy was fantastic.

I actually happen to own another one of these now, it's hiding away in my fathers garage waiting for re-assembly. Mine original is in the picture below.



Allan

[Richard Cox]

Mine was a Mk 2 Blue Ford fiesta 1.1. Brilliant car and went very well, even had a 5 speed box! Drove it again about 6 months ago and still was very fun to drive, but lots of rust and has been scrapped since. Bought a VW golf 1.4 then and then the Capp!

Rich

(edit: typo)

[John Honniball]

A Suzuki SC100 "Whizzkid" in Fantasy Black. I have a few old photos of it here:

http://www.gifford.co.uk/~coredump/sc100.htm

It rusted rather badly and failed the MOT in 1997, whereupon I got a Lanica Y10. That rusted REALLY badly, so my next motor was a VW Polo. Way too dull, of course, so then I went back to Suzuki for a Cappuccino in 2003.

I still have the SC100 and want to get it restored some day soon.

[Tracy Hickman]

A 1971 Iberian Red VW Beetle called Jessica (AHA632J was her reg)!

It took me several years and attempts to pass my driving test, and the VW belonged to one of my neighbours but was put up for sale the week I finally passed my test - obviously meant to be!

After 12 happy years together she moved on to a new owner and I moved on to a Cappo - hopefully she's still around somewhere:)

[David Regan]

A Renault 5 Campus in Alpine white!

Fast little thing, but with a poor manual choke!

[Karl Taylor]

A White Hillman Imp - I went through 3 engines in 6 months. It was quick but handled like a dog on lino!

[Marc Sims]

Mine was an 82 Audi Coupe quattro 2.2ltr i5 engine in tornado red. 0-50 was quicker than a Capp the first gear was so short I used to suprise motorbikes with the launches at traffic lights.

[Martin Johnson]

I started out in style! A dark metallic red Fiat X1/9. Great car, tricky when it rained (although I blame the cheapo tyres I inherited from the previous owner for some of the early slithery escapades...) and had real electrical problems but great fun for a while. Eventually I was hit by a bulider's van and had to write it off. Had a Lancia Y10 Turbo for a short while after that but it rusted away to nothing in a few months and then it was Cappuccino time! (Must be an Italian thing - my wife & I also have an Alfa 147 now as 'sensible' transport...)

[John R Walters]

My first car was a Fiat Toplino, in light blue. I paid £5 for it in 1963 when I was attending college in Southampton, and it came complete with spare engine and gearbox. I can’t remember now how old it was but, I sold it 1 year later for £5, complete with spare engine and gearbox!!!!

The original engine was so ‘shagged ‘that on one particular hill that I used, any passengers being carried had to get out. Its battery was also in a similar condition. I once had the misfortune to stall at a set of traffic lights late one night, and was given a push start by a ‘Plod’ on his beat!! A lucky escape, seeing that I had neither licence nor insurance!

It was great fun, arriving at college, on a fine day, with the roof rolled back and two other friends from the same digs standing up in the back. It was only a 2 seater!!! Oh happy days! (We weren’t exactly model students but, there again Marine Engineers have never been role models.


www.quepo.com/queposite/fiat/fito500his/fito5oohis.html

[John R Walters]

Not my first car, but in 1975, we were living in Jos, in Northern Nigeria and I bought my wife, Hazel a small Daihatsu just like the one that Allan Williams has posted above.

Ours was obviously the ‘Posh’ model for it had exactly the same body shape, but had 4 doors, reclining front seats, radio of course (what Japanese car ever came without a radio no matter what the size), wind up windows (tinted of course) all round, had a small boot just big enough for a case of lager, and was painted a lovely Apple green colour, therefore was always known as the Apple!.

My youngest son and daughter learnt to drive in it as well, ‘cos it was so easy to drive with its 3 cylinder, 360cc, two stroke engine. It would do 70MPH on the speedo after a long run up, which was quite enough thank you. At that speed it gave you the feeling that, if you put your arm out of the window you might get lift off on that side, as it was so light!!!!

We sold it when we left 6 years later, for what we bought it for, having spent nothing on it apart from regular service costs, and given the conditions in Northern Nigeria that is quite remarkable as it was not just used on tarred roads, and at an altitude of 5000 odd feet!!!!

Hazel and the children still have fond memories of the ‘Apple’

I have lots of pics but they are all in boxes following our move to Spain – with our Cap. I hasten to add.



Again, Oh happy days

Sorry to bore, but that was my first experience of Jap. and K-cars which I still enjoy today, for our other cars are also Japanese.

[Nicholas Logothetis]

Hi

My first car was a SUZUKI Jimny (aka as the SIERRA in Australia), 1985 hardtop model. Since then I have owned 3 Sierra's, 1 Wagon R, 1 Vitara wagon and now the Cappuccino. The family car is a Jeep Cherokee, however this maybe replaced by a SUZUKI

Nick

[Gemma Viles]

My first car was a Cherry Turbo, I only sold it last month after 9 years of ownership......it will be greatly missed