YEARS OWNED
|
MODEL YEAR
|
COMMENTS
|
PHOTO
|
1969
|
1952 Morris Minor Series MM 2 door
sedan (green) |
This car used to belong to my
brother in law Tim Swifte who taught me to drive in it before I even
had a learners licence. It had the 918cc side valve Morris engine
and
was one of the first highlight sedans. The instrument panel was in
the
dash directly in front of the driver. I sold this to buy a green
Mini,
and the bloke I sold it to busted the gearbox in no time at all.
This
car had been bought new by Tim Swifte's uncle, who then sold it to
Tim's brother David Swifte, who then sold it to Tim, who then sold
it
to my father who let my sister Robin drive it for a year before he
gave
it to me.
|
|
| never |
circa 1971 BLIMP (Buggered
Lowered Imp) |
This is what you can do with a
Hillman Imp. My mate Vic Burley owned the Imp, and after he pranged
it
one day he decided to turn it into a sports car. This involved many
of
the UTas Engineeing students in lots of fish and chips and hard
work.
The frame is made of welded steel square tube, while the body is
fiberglass. The photo was taken in 1975 while I was in Tassie on my
honeymoon. Last heard of, the car was on King Island. |
 |
1970 - 1972
|
1959 Morris 850 2 door sedan (green)
|
This was a magnificent little
car. It was an early imported English Mini with sliding windows and
rubber block suspension. I fitted Michelin ZX radial tyres, and boy!
-
compared to the crossply retreads on the old Morris Minor, it just
flew
round corners. Of course, with only 850cc it was completely gutless,
but still great fun to drive. I remember passing an FJ Holden on the
inside while going round one of the Brooker Highway roundabouts. I
let
Tim Swifte have a drive one day, and at 20mph = 30kph he thought he
was
exceeding the speed limit!!
|
|
1972
|
1954? Morris Minor Series II 2
door convertible sedan (green?) |
This had the 850cc engine, and
it was my first sports car - i.e. it had a folding roof!! The clutch
slipped like mad, and the floor under the driver's seat was so rusty
that the spring hanger banged on the seat frame.You could take 5
engineering students (very slowly of course!) to the beach on a
sunny
day with the roof down. I only owned this for about 3 months, and I
still wish I hadn't sold it.
|
|
1973 - 1973
|
Sunbeam Alpine Series III 2
seater sports car with a removable fiberglass hardtop (white) |
This had a blocked oil filter
(because some klutz had fitted an oil cooler in the line) and a
Hillman
Minx column change gearbox. The overdrive was missing, but it was a
fun
car to drive. I blew up 3 engines before the squashed oil pipe was
located. It also impressed the girls. I owned this for about a year,
and sold it to an Alpine enthusiast I met on the Sydney Harbour
Bridge.
I believe it has since been fully restored.
|
|
1974 - 1978
|
1974 Morris Mini Moke (green, 1098cc,
13" wheels) |
This was painted "Hairy Lime",
and I spent all of $1865.00 to buy it new, along with the detachable
side curtains - these were extras! By this stage I had moved to
Sydney,
and met Kerry, and so I drove it incessantly all over Sydney and
NSW.
We brought it to Tasmania on our honeymoon, and just had a great
time
in it. My Mum knitted me two red balaclavas so Kerry and I looked a
matched pair. I sold this in about 1978 when I needed the money for
a
new front fence and decided I didn't really need two cars.
|
|
1975 - 1998
|
1972 Peugeot 504 4 door saloon
(white) |
This was my mother's car which I
inherited after she died. With the 2 litre engine and automatic
transmission, it was a 90mph engine in a 120mph body. With 14"
wheels,
fully independent suspension with 8" travel and four wheel disk
brakes
it was just magnificent to drive in the country. Kerry eventually
learnt to drive it when she was expecting Alexander in 1979. We
brought
it with us when we moved to Tasmania, and I finally sold it after it
had done about 200000 miles and was terminally overheating.
|
|
1980 - 1985
|
1959 Morris Minor 1000 4 door sedan
(white, then "no glow" grey) |
When Alexander was born, I
realised I needed another car, because Kerry was going to use
the white 504. So I bought this 1961 Morris Minor 1000, and then
joined
the Morris Minor Car Club of NSW (I'm still a member!!). There were
so
many things wrong with this car that I decided I would just drive it
and fix things as they broke. For the first year it was nearly one
thing
a week (but in one memorable week, all 3 radiator hoses broke, one
after the other - thanks for the loan of the lunchbox, Lloyd!!!!)
but
for the next four years I had a very reliable
car. I only sold it when we moved to Tasmania in 1985.
|
|
| 1988 - 2003 |
1988 Mitsubishi Starwagon
(white) |
This great white van with
electric door locks and an electric sunroof
was the means of carting the family (2 adults, 4 kids + 2 extras
sometimes) all over Tasmania and south eastern Australia. I sold it
to
Alexander for a good price (for him, not me!!) when I bought the
Traveller, so I get to borrow it back on occasions.
|
|
| 1996 - present |
1961 Morris Minor 1000 4 door
sedan
(white with a rusty right hand rear mudguard) |
I bought this one when Alexander
had just turned 16. He and I fixed it
up, and now all four children (Alexander, Christopher, Phillipa and
Victoria) have learnt to drive in it. Most of the mechanics have
been
done up, it has a reconditioned motor with a Morris 1100 head and
1.5"
Mini carby, as well as Morris Major drums on the front
and
Morris
major wheels on the rear. |
|
| 1997 - present |
1953 Morris Minor Series MM 2 door
sedan (yellow) |
This is future restoration
project which has been gathering dust since
I bought the Traveller. It is handy for spare parts for the other
Minors. The body is the same as my first Minor - 2 door sedan with
highlight headlights (in the mudguards not the grill) and the
instruments (speedo, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge) in front of the
driver.
Now that this car is in the shed at the shack, I looked at it one
day and realised that it still had the original compliance plate. So
I copied out the details, and sent them off to the British Motor
Industry Heritage Trust and purchased a heritage certificate.
Turns out that this car is a 1953 model,one of the first produced
after the Austin Motor Company and Morris Motors formed the British
Motor Corporation (BMC) in mid April 1952. For more information see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Motor_Corporation#Morris
It was originally fitted with an 803 cc Austin OHV engine, but still
has the Morris running gear (wheels held on by bolts instead of
studs). I haven't investigated the gearbox yet, but it has the long
throw lever like my 1952 Series MM.
|
|
| 1998 - 2006 |
1976 Leyland Mini Clubman
(green) |
This had a bored out 1275cc
motor, and was a great little town car. It
looks daggy (it lived on the street, so I didn't worry about it),
and
just like my first Mini, it had rubber block suspension - but went a
hell of a lot faster. It finally succumbed to a cracked crankshaft
and
low oil pressure, so the car was scrapped, but I am sure the motor
will
eventually live another day. |
|
| 1998 - 2002 |
1986 Peugeot 504 Automatic 4
door
sedan (blue) |
This 504 replaced my Mum's white
one. The body was quite good, but the
engine was never much good. I eventually sold it after it developed
terminal overheating. |
|
2002 - present
|
1982 Peugeot 505 GL Automatic 4 door
sedan (white) |
This one cost $1300, and went
well for 3 years. The electric windows
and door locks were very unreliable, and eventually it blew the head
gasket - terminally. I sold it the wreckers for $200 and then got
$250
back on the rego. |
|
| 2003 - present |
1963 Morris Minor 1000 Traveller
(white) |
2003
This is an imported English car
and has the original 1098cc engine and the baulk rink syncro ribbed
case gearbox (i.e the one where the syncro works!). I bought this
fully
restored (or so I thought at the time). The body is
very good, but the wood rot is progressing. It has had a few
mechanical
problems, but I am working on these.
For further details on my Traveller, checkout my Traveller page |
|
2005 - present
|
1975 Green Peugeot 504
GTI (fuel
injected) fitted with 5 speed 505 gearbox |
I
paid only $900 for this
beauty, and with the $450 I got for the white 505 (see above) which
preceeded it, the net cost was less than $500. I said at the
time that if it went for a year I would
be laughing all the way to the bank!!!
After 3 and a half years of excellent motoring, including a trip
from
Hobart to Sydney via Bass Strait, as well as several trips to the
Hunter Valley, this car was retired in October 2008.
I got $750 for it in total, including cashing in the rego and the
insurance refund, so it was definitely cheap motoring, as I didn't
spend much on maintainence at all.
The motor and gearbox have gone to a Peugeot enthusiast in Sydney,
and the body will go to Egypt to be recycled as a taxi.
|
|
2007
|
Mazda 121 hatchback
|
This
car was generously loaned to Kerry and I by Hal and Peta Colebatch,
who
had the misfortune of needing to spend the Australian winter in
France!!!. We found it to be a pleasant, practical car.
|
|
| 2008 |
Renault Kangoo |
For the third time only, David has bought a brand new car.
This one was chosen for practicality - it is slab sided, the
windscreen
is not laid down as much as on most cars, it is small on the outside
and very large on the inside. I can fit two bicycles in it with ease
and without dismantling them at all. It only has two seats, so we
have
two options:
- hire a larger car when needed
- get a removeable rear seat installed
With 6 doors, electric windows and mirrors, central locking, air
conditioning and a proactive 4 speed automatic gearbox, it is
very pleasant to drive and very economical. |
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