| Author | Message | ||
     Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 473 Registered: 2-2013 |
To keep on the right side of the Moderator and to be fair, I have moved this query to here. Why are we interested in cars? Not all men are interested in cars. Some men are not interested in cars at all. Before any of you scallywags start casting comments like I am being sexist here let me just say I wear such a notion not only with honor but also because females on this forum are rarer than Camargues and Unicorns. I have even met men who hate cars but are mechanics. Well I myself absolutely detest the trash that is made these days and seeing the ugly things on the road is to me nothing less than a total blasphemy on most cars made 50s to mid 70s. I think the owners of such cars should be compelled to pay an "ugly tax" for the right to drive them on the road. Compared to the beauty of a Shadow or an E-Type Jaguar there is some Asian trash that is so eye wateringly ugly that I am certain there was at one time a contest with huge obscene prize money (or even the use of torture)to see who could make the most pug dog ugly design that would sell. Omar says he thinks its the Dinky Matchbox and Corgi toys some of us had and that perhaps we should mount a class action against those manufacturers for giving us a hobby/interest that can cost more than a heroin habit. I have witnessed crazier arguments succeed in courts then again human craziness is what the courts deal in mostly. Omar might have something here. I can remember seeing this Aston Martin in a toy shop window in Sydney as a kid and some how "arranging the money" for it. It was expensive but I had to have it and at 10 years old nothing else mattered. I got the money then walked the 6 miles back to the shop only to find out it was a holiday and the shop was shut. It was an enormous disappointment but I was not deterred. I was back there the very next day with the loot and I can still remember the rush of chemical ecstasy I felt when the car was passed over the counter almost 50 years ago when I was a profession street criminal. It was the real James Bond model with the bullet proof shield that jumped up behind the rear window. It's probably worth a few dollars these days but when I had it I knew I was King Billy. But I am not quite sure that I am completely comfortable with Omar's reasons here as I also used to be nuts about skateboards but I have no interest in them today and also I used to be crazy about chocolate but I hardly touch the stuff today. Yes so I thought I would put this question up and see what all the fellow jet setters and bankers think as to why they have an interest in cars. Anyone who announces something like " I have an interest in cars because my beautiful wife forced me into this hobby/interest and I have it only to please her " will be mercilessly hunted down internationally and have their favourite pet eaten. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 474 Registered: 2-2013 |
Ah David T I see - genetically you were programmed to be a car lover. Very interesting and perhaps that means there is not one reason to become a car lover but perhaps several different avenues to this intriguing caper | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 933 Registered: 1-2008 |
There's hardly been a time since 1970 when I haven't owned a car or two (and/or a motorbike or two), but I have to admit that the first time I saw a Shadow 1 in the flesh I thought "F**k me: It's a bloody Cortina!". Fortunately my opinions have mellowed over the years and I'm now the proud owner of a money pit called ... a Shadow 1. I'd still prefer a Cloud 3! | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2015 Registered: 4-2003 |
I started at the age of 4 in 1952 with a red pedal car [possibly Cyclops but cannot be certain as my reading skills were not as good as they became later on!!!] I used to pedal this around a track I carved in the lawn around my parent's house in Lismore until I wore the rubber off the tyres and grew bigger so I could no longer fit into the car. Around this time I had two other favourite toys a Matchbox model of a London double decker bus and a tinplate replica of a Sydney tram that I wish I still had today as they are very collectible and mine rusted away from being left out in the rain [this probably explains my lifetime obsession with cars and railways/tramways especially steam railway locomotives, road engines and steam trucks]. Our first family car was a FJ Holden in 1954 which was traded in 1960 for the then-new Ford Falcon XK that was delivered on the day the Falcon was released and which then proceeded to fall to pieces in 18 months on the heavily corrugated dirt roads in the far west of NSW before we were transferred to Gloucester. The local Ford dealer in Gloucester took pity on my father not long after we arrived and arranged an impossible-to-refuse trade-in offer on a new 1962 XL Falcon that I later acquired in 1969 as my 21st birthday present [most likely to hide the car from the locals before it gave Ford a bad reputation] - I suspect Ford had an under-the-counter scheme for dealers to get the early production cars off the road as they were the original US design which did not cope with Australian conditions and urgent local modifications were made to try and fix these weaknesses which were then further developed and incorporated in the heavily modified XL model. In 1971 having just graduated from University and in a well-paid full time job earning the grand sum of $69 per week as a graduate, I purchased a brand-new XY GS 351cid 4 speed manual Falcon with all the Falcon GT upgrade options for the extortionate price of $4200 - I put over 300,000 miles on this car in 7 years and had to part with it when I was forced to take a company 6 cylinder Cortina as part of a cost-cutting programme to eliminate having to pay car allowances to staff using their cars for company business [I still think this reason was a furphy and the real reason was jealousy from senior executives who did not get company cars and saw less senior staff on car allowances driving top-of-the-range cars that were replaced with new cars every 3 to 4 years]. As my technical advisory position in Sydney brought me into contact with the motor sport fraternity building and maintaining race cars, I was "a pig in ......" and my experiences are worthy of a book in its own right especially fixing the rear drive shaft problems for a champion drag racer and Pete Geoghegan's Holden Monaro Improved Production sports car [the Chev engine in this car developed so much torque the half shafts would twist and subsequently break each time the car started a race] - I was able to use the experience of the dragster drive shafts to suggest design changes to the spline configuration of the drive shafts plus a change to a tool steel that had exceptional strength and impact resistance when appropriately heat treated [AISI H11 for those interested in such things]. Since those halcyon days, a number of vehicles of various brands and configurations have transported me - some more memorable than others however the 1973 Corniche DRH14434 was and still remains one of my favourite cars alongside the XY 351. Both these cars had big V8's and I suspect this is one of the reasons I have fond memories of them. Still a car nut today and always will be until I am "pushing up daisies" - however, there is a strong possibility a Tesla or alternative all-electric car will be acquired as soon as circumstances permit........ | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 145 Registered: 4-2016 |
Great thread Vlad. My brother is 7 years older than me and started as an apprentice mechanic aged 15. However, since he was even younger he had always tinkered with dads cars and mowers which I happily assisted. Dad always had the bonnet up or the wheels off his cars. The earliest one I remember was the Salmon pink & white Holden FC Special Sedan. I almost bought one before I got the Shadow I. Glad I didn't, but I would still like one. I remember as a kid on weekends, taking a sheet of paper out to the kerb and listening to cars as they approached and went past with my eyes closed. I would then write down what I thought it was then look to see if I was right. I used to score around 90% correct I seem to remember. This practice continues today with aircraft, and I have an even higher hit rate. My favourite toy when a kid was any matchbox car, and my Thunderbird 2. I still have a half dozen boxed MB cars in my bookcase. I need a Shadow one now LOL As per David, I am sure it was pre programed, Even though I grew up around cars, I still love looking at and drooling over cars. My son & I attend coffee & cars at Penrith Panthers which is on this coming Sunday (the second Sunday of every month) He drives the Shadow which he calls his 300hp arm chair. I drive my 24hp 1925 Chevrolet Superior K Touring car. So my son & I spend the day drooling over everyone elses cars once a month  | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 147 Registered: 4-2016 |
Gents Here is my remaining matchbox cars from when I was a kid.  | ||
| Omar M. Shams Grand Master Username: omar Post Number: 613 Registered: 4-2009 |
I am so embarrassed to show you my cars. That is because none of them have their boxes and I have gone over the top buying up all the ones that i wanted and could never have - plus all the ones that i destroyed in imaginary accidents. I have 3 display cabinets full of them - so no photos from me. Every one of your cars means something to me Patrick. For example the Greyhound bus: this model never had any takers. The shop was always full of them because who knew what one of them was? nobody ever saw a bus that had an upper deck - must have been a rubbish model for an 8 year old boy in Dubai. Consequently they stayed on the shelf forever until the shop had to virtually give them away. I then bought one and all I did with it was crash it head on with other cars. It was particularly strong in this application!!! That was when I would use the Dodge BP recovery truck to tow it away. Then there is the whole BP range of vehicles...... and my dad worked for BP.... so there were often brand new models of these cars on a shelf I could'nt reach at home...... Every car had a story for me.... | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 148 Registered: 4-2016 |
Hi Omar, Me to, every one has a story. Thanks for reminding me of this. I remember the day I went to the local TAB (to place bets on horse races) on the Saturday morning. As dad went into the TAB I went to the newsagency next door. That is when I saw the SRN6 hovercraft, and Oh man I was head over heels. I ran back to the TAB to plead with my father for the 49 cents this wonderful machine cost. I had to wash dads car and mow the lawn first, then the following Saturday he got it for me. For some reason I kept a lot of the boxes where other kids would purchase the cars, and discard the boxes immediately in the bin outside the newsagent. Have you seen what prices empty original match box car boxes can pull! lol Here is a better shot of the hovercraft.  I have to admit, my bus is quite battered as well. That's funny we mistreated the same models  My dad bought the BP tow truck one morning on his way to work which he had never done before. I must have been good that week. The green Ford GT is one of my favourites. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2020 Registered: 4-2003 |
Went digging in my archives as promised for the machining stainless steel information [which I have found and will put a copy in the Forum after I scan it into a PDF file] and found the following which relate to this topic: 1. My first car which was probably a Cyclops pedal car - I am 4 years old. Our house was built 10 feet [3 metres] above the ground as Lismore is prone to regular flooding, the vertical slats were intended to let the water through and keep the flood debris out of the under floor space:  2. Horse-drawn delivery carts for the milkman [no bottles then, the milk was transferred from a milk can straight from the farm into your billy can or jug depending on quantity] and baker [the baker's cart also had a charcoal warming oven with hot pies - sometimes when I had behaved myself, my mother would treat me to a pie off the cart] were still used in Lismore and I demanded my own cart to pull around as the horse. Note my other daily driver in the background:  3. This was my first real car given to me as my 21st birthday present by my parents - the 170cid 6 cylinder engine and 2 speed automatic transmission were highly regarded at the time however my desire for a manual car had to wait until I purchased my next car which I ordered to my wishes:  | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 151 Registered: 4-2016 |
David, What awesome images. How proud are you behind the wheel of the pedal car. I never had one, and always looked with envy at the other kids that had them. The cart with fresh pies sounds awesome. Thanks very much woollies & coles for destroying that much loved profession, the fresh home delivered goods. Now all we get is rubbish food grown in China, fertilised with human excrement. The Falcon looks great. Don't mind the shape of those early models, but I feel XP went a bit backwards unfortunately. | ||
| Chris Gillings Frequent User Username: chrisg Post Number: 89 Registered: 4-2001 |
I grew up in the RR movement, my parents being founder members of the RROCA, so we always had interesting and unusual cars. I also had lots of toy cars as a kid and re-acquired many iconic ones in my thirties. You can see pictures of some of them here. (I have acquired quite a few more since creating those pages over ten years ago.) | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 154 Registered: 4-2016 |
Hi Chris, You have some awesome things you have collected mate. Amazing low shots of FAB1 you have done. Shadow 2 is quite rare I understand Well done. I thought I had a varied collection of things. PS: Im the guy who was speaking to you last ABD at the kings school about the White Star Line & it's owners, of which I have a good collection of things. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 483 Registered: 2-2013 |
David that Falcon was the first car I ever owned and drove on the road. I bought it in 1973 not going for $50. Mine was a manual. It was green and full of rust. I removed the cylinder head overhauled it and one night fired it up. I backed it out and blasted it up the steep road absolutely whipping it in second gear when a policeman stepped out with his torch. Like a loon I steered around him and he threw his torch at the car which disintergrated. I smashed the Falcon into top gear and had it sideways smoking around the first corner I could tackle then another quick right onto the dirt and stopped before I tipped it down a steep embankment into the bush. I sat there hoping Mr Plod would not notice me - but he did. Speeding 57 mph in a 35 mph area, unroadworthy (4 bald tyres) unregistered, unlicenced, and failing to stop. Mr. Plod was not very happy with me that night and I got a slight roughing up. The poor copper had thought I had tried to run him down !! Queensland police in those days could be a pretty nasty bunch and often were. Silly thing to do really but have you ever met a sensible 17 year old ! So some jolly excitement even before I got my licence. Girls, cars and motorcycles was about the extent of my thinking in those days ! | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 161 Registered: 4-2016 |
Great story Vlad. Did you keep the Falcon for long mate? | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2028 Registered: 4-2003 |
Vladimir, I did make some enhancements after I acquired it as I did a lot of trips between Sydney, Newcastle and Inverell. I made the following changes which were all I could afford being a financially poor student running the car on the pay I received for vacation work at Comsteel: 1. Fitted Armstrong heavy duty Roadholder shock absorbers. 2. Fitted Michelin ZX Radial Ply Tyres. 3. Fitted Quartz Iodine bulbs in the headlights. The rest of the car was standard Falcon - the biggest improvement came from the shock absorbers and radial ply tyres. I would have liked to get rid of the 5 1/2 turns lock-to-lock steering that Ford used to give light steering but made life difficult drifting around corners on country dirt roads as you also experienced - I had to wait for the XY which had a much faster steering ratio and could be drifted beautifully with the power oversteer from the 351 V8, manual transmission and limited slip differential combining to give absolute control - I loved that car and it loved me. Pity marriage and family intervened later in its life. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 484 Registered: 2-2013 |
No Patrick I didn't because even though it would do 57 miles per hour in second gear the rings in the engine were stuffed and it used to really chew the oil. But look at the price of them now ! I moved on to an EK station wagon, manual as well and put a mattress and curtains in it. Those wagons came with a fold down seat. I thrashed that side plate grey engine mercilessly and blew up countless gearboxes being a lunatic. I soon got finance for a HQ Holden Panel Van which was almost new. Naturally in went the curtains and the mattress - simply for sleeping purposes as I was a Christian ! Like hell I was ! The car was decked out with satin sheets and I was King Billy of the obtain date and reverse park at the drive-in caper. I lost count of the number of axles and diffs I blew up being an idiot but I was not the only one. In those times if you didn't leave the service station smoking sideways you were considered very square or very gay. The place was nick named Drag City and the cops bought a pink Torana XUI for the purpose of baiting and then chasing street drag racers. It was a pretty wild time when the bikers would just ride up to a little Queensland country town walk straight into the Police Station grab the cops and lock them up in their own cells and then drink the pub dry. I was lucky enough to be apprenticed at a place that handled the majority of left to right hand conversions in the state so now and again I would get hold of a Pontiac Trans Am 455V8 or a Mustang Mach One with a 428 V8 4 speed manual and really light the place right up. I also flogged the crap out of a genuine Falcon XY GTHO which I used to turn up often for the customer who was a maniac like me. Additionally, I gave a Porsche 911 a good seeing to. No wonder I don't trust my cars with other mechanics ! You really knew you were alive then. | ||
| Jonas TRACHSEL Frequent User Username: jonas_trachsel Post Number: 86 Registered: 2-2005 |
I think my affection for everything motorcars started even before I can remember. My parents told me that my first words I uttered as a baby were "daddy, daddy, car". At kindergarten age I cut every picture I could lay my hands on of any car from newspapers and made my own car exhibition by arranging these cutouts on the floor by marque and model. Often only the threatening brush of mom ended these exhibits and I had to hurry up to safeguard my treasures. I knew that in dad's company they hat subscribed to the "Automobile Revue", a weekly newspaper. Dad didn't care to bring it home for me, so I went digging in the waste paper big-bag to "fish" such priceless treasures. Later on I copied these pictures with carbon paper into an album and colored them with crayon. Then I started to beg for sales catalogs at our local garage and mailed coupons I cut from the Automobil Revue asking for information documentation. This came to an end when a sales representative called at our front door with a demonstrator, saying I had asked for information.... At age 10 our family moved from a rented flat in a farm house to our own new house. I was ordered to bundle my car papers for the waste paper collection. My heart bled when I was supervised at the execution of this order, but I managed to hide some of the most cherished catalogs in the rafters of the barn, where I retrieved them some time later. I still have these catalogs after some sixty years.... When I passed the exams for secondary school at the end of fourth grade I was rewarded by my dad with a day at the Geneva Motor Show in 1955. That was about the greatest present imaginable for me. From about seventh grade my dad allowed me and my younger brother to service the company Volkswagen buses on free Saturdays. We even started to repair bruises and dents on these maltreated builder's shuttles. Many a new VW bus was repainted in our company's color scheme, but not in a quality worthy of a Rolls Royce I fear. At age 15 my brother and I spotted a 1932 Ford Model B phaeton, destined to be broken up for the axles to make a farm wagon. We managed to scrape together the required CHF 250 from our pocket money to rescue this wonderful car. It needed little to make it run, and driven it was in our company's yard. When I was 20 and started my studies away from home I urgently needed an everyday car. Again the command came to get rid of that old banger to make room for something sensible. With a heavy heart we sold this our first antique car, but as a recompense dad bought us each a brand new Mini Cooper. Many a hairy story could be told from the wild years with this Mini. After the Mini came a Volvo Amazon 123 GT that I uprated with a police tuning pack I managed to extract thanks to our company connections with the Volvo truck main dealership. It is during this time my 20/25 HP started its life with me, but that is a story I will tell you at an other occasion..... Jonas | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2032 Registered: 4-2003 |
Chris and Patrick, Given your interest in the White Star Shipping Line, the following publication might be of interest to you both:   Unfortunately, this book appears to be out-of-print as it is not shown on the Haynes website. | ||
| Patrick Lockyer. Grand Master Username: pat_lockyer Post Number: 990 Registered: 9-2004 |
Still on sale at Amazon! https://www.amazon.co.uk/RMS-Titanic-Manual-1909-1912-Workshop/dp/1844256626/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462565514&sr=8-1&keywords=haynes+titanic | ||
| Benoit Leus Prolific User Username: benoitleus Post Number: 251 Registered: 6-2009 |
For me the interest (or even passion) for cars is quite simple to explain : it must be something in my genes as I was born with it and so I can't be held responsible. According to my mother my first words were "brrrmmm, brrrmmm" and according to my wife they will also be my last. As a child I only played with toy cars (Lego was used to build garages) some of which I still have, although nowhere as in good shape as Patrick's collection. What I still have today though, is my collection of car brochures. As a kid in the 70's and 80's I harassed every car salesman in the area asking for brochures. Also, I wrote to obscure manufacterers all over the world, begging for a brochure. Luckily, my collection has survived the ravages of time and I still own them all (over 3.000 brochures), including a very nice, glossy 80's brochure from Hooper featuring among others the not so nice Empress II. Benoit | ||
| Omar M. Shams Grand Master Username: omar Post Number: 631 Registered: 4-2009 |
Dear Benoit, By any chance would you have a brochure for the Moon Leopard that was made in the 1980s? I would love to get my hands on a copy (if not the real thing). Thanks Omar | ||
| Benoit Leus Prolific User Username: benoitleus Post Number: 252 Registered: 6-2009 |
Omar, unfortunately I have absolutely nothing on the Moon Leopard. To be honest I had not even heard of the car before you mentioning you own one. I used to be in contact with 2 brochure collectors (one in Holland, one in France) both of whom had tens of thousands of brochures. I'll see if I can find their contact details and maybe they can be of help. Benoit | ||
| michael vass Prolific User Username: mikebentleyturbo2 Post Number: 165 Registered: 7-2015 |
Hi Omar You mean this moon leopard? Strange looking beast. From your picture I believe? Mike  | ||
| Benoit Leus Prolific User Username: benoitleus Post Number: 253 Registered: 6-2009 |
Omar, I found a picture of what the brochure (press pack ?) should look like. Benoit  | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 173 Registered: 4-2016 |
Great story about the modified Falcon David. We all did the best mods we could afford to do to our cars, and for what you were doing, they were great mods. I could only ever afford retreads for my first car which was a Holden HD Premier. I drive that car to Newcastle a few times as well. My son has a 2013 Holden Commodore SV6. He keeps nagging me to spend money on his car, and I keep telling him it's not as easy as it used to be with old cars. Cars today are engineered better than ever. I told him about an article I read recently where a guy spent about $3k on his late model car and it actually went worse. New cars can be like that. But unfortunately he has it in his blood, and he just wants to modify cars, but on a limited budget. It's tough. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 174 Registered: 4-2016 |
OMG Vlad. I'm surprised your not in goal or pushing up Daisy's mate. You could write a book on your exploits. I've been reading your stuff and the wife keeps asking what I am LOL at. My brother had. HD wagon, and it was the first car I ever saw with a mattress in the back. Of course at the time I never knew why he loved it so much. Then he went to a HQ van just like you did. I had a HX Holden van at one stage as well. I finally knew why he liked vans  | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 175 Registered: 4-2016 |
Thanks David and Pat. I already have that book in my White Star collection. It's a good read. Any other suggestions? I've been and stood at the grave of TH Ismay, and his son J Bruce Ismay. TH founded the White Star Line, and of course JB Ismay was the Director of the WSL who escaped from the Titanic on that morning of April 15 1912. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 176 Registered: 4-2016 |
Benoit. Thank you for your kind words about my few remaining matchbox cars. But I'm sure your amazing brochure collection is stunning. Great story about your first and last words. I work for Volvo Trucks, and I have a number of young kids just like you were (I did exactly the same as you, but limited my collection to Mercedes Benz) who write letters, send emails or even call from overseas wanting brochures on our range of Australian built trucks. I make sure I send each and every one exactly what they need, as I remember how tough it could be when I was young obtaining brochures. On the other hand , I met some wonderful dealer staff that were very welcoming to a young kid looking for brochures. Now, I argue with our Marketing division to keep printing hard copy brochures, as of course they would rather the dealers email these out, or print the odd one or two, when a customer wants one. We even have a bloody mobile phone app where the customer doesn't even need to come to, or contact a dealer at all. It's all a bit wrong in my eyes. | ||
| Omar M. Shams Grand Master Username: omar Post Number: 634 Registered: 4-2009 |
Dear Benoit, OMG OMG OMG YES!!!!! I have been after a copy of this brochure for years. Any idea where I can get one? Thanks so much for finding the info for me. Omar | ||
| Patrick Ryan Prolific User Username: patrick_r Post Number: 180 Registered: 4-2016 |
Gents. This looks like a good addition to my collection?? I haven't bought a matchbox car for years, since my young bloke was a kid. But he liked the more weird hot rod type Hot Wheels cars. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MATCHBOX-LESNEY-24-ROLLS-ROYCE-SILVER-SHADOW-VNM-W-ORIGINAL-BLUE-NEW-MODEL-BOX-/291755747228?hash=item43edff679c:g:xJMAAOSw1DtXKlZg | ||
| Benoit Leus Prolific User Username: benoitleus Post Number: 254 Registered: 6-2009 |
Omar, I do not want to give you false hope. It's a picture I found on the internet. However, I heard there would be a Moon Leopard in France and the brochure picture might be his. I am now trying to find out where it could be and have been given a possible contact. I also got a mail from one of the leading brochure collectors in Europe who sadly doesn't have the Moon Leopard brochure in his collection. Benoit | ||
| Omar M. Shams Grand Master Username: omar Post Number: 636 Registered: 4-2009 |
Many Thnaks Benoit Omar |
