This page will relate some of my own experiences with cars - If you have experiences you'd like to share, please submit them via the Comments link below.
My First Car: The Vanguard
The first car I ever owned was a 1952 Standard Vanguard. I was 18, and this was my pride and joy. It was a four-cylinder car, and was to have a big "bearing" (there's a pun here) on my future knowlege of car-mechanics.
Being a typical young male, I was always eager to show my friends what my car could do.
I lived in Geelong, and around 100Km away were Ballarat and Melbourne, which I would sometimes visit in an evening or weekend with my friend, Darcy, who didn't have a car. I admit to being a bit "lead-footed"!
One day we set out for Geelong, and were travelling nicely on a clear road, at maybe a bit over the speed limit of 60MPH, when the engine started making strange rattling noises. I slowed down, but they continued, gradually getting worse until suddenly there was a loud BANG, and steam and smoke billowed out of the motor.
Since I had very little cash, I decided to try to fix it myself, with Darcy's help, as he claimed to have a good knowledge of car engines (I had very little!).
We had it towed to my garage and dismantled the motor, and discovered that the "big-end" of one of the "connecting rods" (they connect the pistons to the crankshaft) had come adrift, and been pushed through the side of the engine block, creating a hole about the size of an apple! The pistons themselves were ok, but the con-rod was badly damaged and the crankshaft where the con-rod had been connected was also damaged.
We took the damaged parts to a local garage and was told that the crankshaft would need to be re-ground, the con-rod replaced and new piston rings and bearings fitted. A patch could be welded over the hole in the block. All of this was duly done by the garage mechanic over the next week and I took the parts home to assemble, with Darcy's help.
It took us about two weeks to do this, as it turned out Darcy was "a bit unfamiliar with" (read "had never seen") the inside of a motor before, and we had not laid out the parts very well to help with re-assembly.
Finally, it was all back together, barring a few "spare bits" that didn't seem to be needed, and we fitted it back into the car and attempted to start it.
It refused to start, so we ended up towing it to the garage, where the mechanic examined it, then disappeared into his office for a few minutes. We heard hysterical laughter from the office, before he came out and explained solemnly that "a few things" were not where they should be.
He made the few necessary adjustments, and got the car running again.
This was my introduction to motor mechanics.
The FB
A few years later, I bought a 1960 Holden FB station wagon, which I kept for about 10 years of my early adult life in Dandenong, Victoria.
One of my friends Arno (later my brother-in-law), and I rather fancied ourselves as hunters, having shot a few rabbits. We had dreams of going "up north" to North-Western Australia to shoot crocodiles, making a fortune from the skins which were very valuable at the time.
The dream never eventuated, but we made several trips in the FB to Hay, New South wales to shoot kangaroos and, hopefully, wild pigs, which were also in the area. As we only had .22 single-shot rifles, this was a bit ambitious.
But we were keen, and managed to shoot a few kangaroos, as well as rabbits and foxes. But the pigs were very elusive, and over the four trips we made there, we only ever saw one pig.
We were out hunting and came to a water-hole, and as we approached we saw a pig at the edge drinking. We crept closer, and both fired. One or both of the bullets struck the pig, but pig-skin is very tough, and it only made him angry.
He turned, spotted us and charged up the embankment towards us, and as we only had single-shot rifles we had no time to get a second shot, so we bolted.
As we ran, I managed to get another bullet into the rifle, and turned and took a pot-shot at the pig. We were both amazed to see the pig drop to the ground, dead.My shooting skill level was, and is, quite low, so I think Someone was looking out for us that day!
The Fastback
After I was married in 1970, my wife and I decided it was time to upgrade our transport, and opted for a Volkswagen Fastback, a sporty-looking car that we felt was stylish enough and had the performance we wanted.
This is the only car in which I've travelled at 100mph - but that was on a downhill section of astraight, clear country road with a tail wind - 'nuff said!
The Camry Hybrid
Now we are in our later-years, we were looking for something that would be safe, reliable and trouble-free, and as Toyota has a reputation for all of these, we decided to go for one of these.
Also high on our agenda, because of the current cost of petrol, was fuel economy, and we felt that hybrid (electric and petrol) would best fill this requirement. As it was early in the new year, we went for a used vehicle from the previous year.
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