Once upon a time I was a penniless student. I had no licence to drive and no car to drive if I did.
My Dad told me he would buy me a car but he gave me two conditions that I would need to meet before he would be handing over the keys.
First, I needed to get myself a job, I would be responsible for the petrol, services, insurances and tyres.
I also had to prove to him that I could change a tyre. On my own. This was so that if I needed to change a wheel in the middle of nowhere I could do it.
I ticked both of these boxes and became the proud new owner of a 1980 Datsun 200B. It was baby blue on the outside and baby poo on the inside. It had air conditioning. I was thrilled.
I wish I had a photo of me and the Datsun, I know somewhere there is one of me sitting on the car, spiral perm giving me the 2 minute noodle look of the early 90s. But someone else must have it, I can't find it.
Here is an image of cream coloured one from the interwebs - mine was fancier, it was baby blue!
I was living at uni, about 450km from my parents house. One morning the car just wouldn't start. I called Dad. He suggested that as he was 450km away it was kind of hard to help me fix it. I dragged the phone outside so he could hear the sound when I tried to start the car (no mobile in 1994 for me).
Sound's like you are out of petrol he said. I thought the same but as I had only just filled up, I told him it couldn't be that.
Albert the Datsun was left sitting out the front of my share house til the weekend when my Dad made the trip down to help me. He knew a little trick, if you blow into the petrol tank you can hear the petrol.
Unless there is none there.
If it is bone dry you just hear the wind blowing. Opps! When I said I had just filled up, I did of course mean the usual $10 worth that I managed to usually get by on for the week, being a poor student, I never had much fuel in the tank.
A couple of months later when the Diff (no idea what that bit is) broke, Dad and I went to the wreckers and got a new one, it was while he was replacing it on my old car that he tripped over the dog and broke his arm! This was also just a couple of weeks before he was to walk my sister down the aisle for her wedding day.
About six months later, when I got myself a real graduates job, the Datsun went to car heaven. I think my Dad was the happiest person to see that car go.
What was your first car? Did it break someone's arm?
My mum drove a baby blue Datsun when I was really small. She was called, "Betsy Bottom Bluebell". I think I named her after a doll in a Little Golden Book, although I can't imagine why anyone would call a doll that! I can remember putting $20 in my car once and feeling quite the big spender! I wonder how far $10 gets you these days?!
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a VW beetle - convertible. I loved it. I still miss it 16 years later. I remember when $5-10 of super would last the week. I'm not sure I'd get much further than the end of the street on $10 worth of petrol these days.
ReplyDeleteLove it. I had a giggle over the air-conditioner comment too - I think that was what excited me most about my little Mitsubishi Colt - it had air-conditioning!!!
ReplyDeleteI had to do the same test - changing a tyre! Thankfully, still to this day, I haven't ever had to change a tyre on my own.
ReplyDeleteHilarious .
ReplyDeleteHaha I totally forgot my 2nd car had to have air cond and it did by George !
No but I wrote off my Mum's car a Cortina that they had just finished fixing all weekend and fitting out with power steering I think !
Lucky she loved me.
I could go miles on $10 too.
LEGEND - I had to learn to change a tyre, only had to do it once, then I knew blogs who I asked nicely to do for me. I lived ages from my parents but the best thing was that when I went home to visit from uni, about 300km I could fill the car up from the farm tanks on my way home.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that your first car was a Datsun Claire :-)
ReplyDeleteA lot of people seem to have had a Datsun as their first car. No broken bones from my first car.
ReplyDeleteFirst cars are really such memories. Remembering mine is like looking back to a million years, when in fact it's just only less than ten years ago. Haha! Of course right now, looking back to those days I wonder why did I choose that car and how could I have made it work better. Oh well. Thanks for sharing this topic. Made me reminiscent for a while.
ReplyDeleteMike Hull @ GEM Car Parts Direct