I've just found an old photo of mine:
Cute, isn't it?
It was a 1983 Mini City, with a few minor modifications - truly horrendous seat covers, a tinny stereo, a sunroof and those spotlights, which were a massive improvement on standard Mini lights. I bought it for £650 two weeks after my seventeenth birthday, and did most of my driving practice between lessons in it.
Then I used it for my driving test. The clutch was a bit fierce and the brakes pulled to the left a bit, which made the emergency stop interesting. The fact that when I showed the examiner which was my car he said, 'Ooh a Mini! I love Minis! I used to have a 1965 Cooper S with twin carbs and blah blah blah' probably helped me get through the test. He was a big bloke, and I did manage to grab his knee when I went to change gear on one occasion. I think he was too rapt in his memories of his own Mini to notice, although I did have to ask him to stop talking and let me concentrate at one point... But he passed me, so all was well.
Our old dog loved it. He used to ride in the front footwell when I took him for a walk on the old railway line (which is where the pic was taken). He loved the speedometer, which was in the middle, where he could see it. He used to try and catch the needle. By the time we'd gone a few miles, I couldn't read the speedo because it was all misted up with labrador breath and covered in doggy nose-prints.
After I'd owned it nine months I flogged it because the rear subframe was starting to go, and anyway I wanted something a bit faster. I wish I hadn't sold it now: it was rusting, but the engine was still willing and everything worked. It was a far better car than the two I subsequently owned. I wonder how long it lasted after I got rid of it...
What was yours?
<excuse all the edits: I'm getting all sentimental about it, having found the photo>
Cute, isn't it?
It was a 1983 Mini City, with a few minor modifications - truly horrendous seat covers, a tinny stereo, a sunroof and those spotlights, which were a massive improvement on standard Mini lights. I bought it for £650 two weeks after my seventeenth birthday, and did most of my driving practice between lessons in it.
Then I used it for my driving test. The clutch was a bit fierce and the brakes pulled to the left a bit, which made the emergency stop interesting. The fact that when I showed the examiner which was my car he said, 'Ooh a Mini! I love Minis! I used to have a 1965 Cooper S with twin carbs and blah blah blah' probably helped me get through the test. He was a big bloke, and I did manage to grab his knee when I went to change gear on one occasion. I think he was too rapt in his memories of his own Mini to notice, although I did have to ask him to stop talking and let me concentrate at one point... But he passed me, so all was well.
Our old dog loved it. He used to ride in the front footwell when I took him for a walk on the old railway line (which is where the pic was taken). He loved the speedometer, which was in the middle, where he could see it. He used to try and catch the needle. By the time we'd gone a few miles, I couldn't read the speedo because it was all misted up with labrador breath and covered in doggy nose-prints.
After I'd owned it nine months I flogged it because the rear subframe was starting to go, and anyway I wanted something a bit faster. I wish I hadn't sold it now: it was rusting, but the engine was still willing and everything worked. It was a far better car than the two I subsequently owned. I wonder how long it lasted after I got rid of it...
What was yours?
<excuse all the edits: I'm getting all sentimental about it, having found the photo>
