Tony's Bikes & Cars

No, this NSU Quickly wasn't actually one of my bikes. It was my dad's daily commuter back in the 50's. But I used it to "learn how to ride a motorbike." Riding was restricted to up and down the garden path, but I rode it as often as I could - for a couple of years! It had two gears with a hand-change on the  handlebars

It could be started by using the pedals as kick-starts. But it could also be "bump-started" of course. One day I bump-started it backwards down the garden path

When I dropped the clutch again to set off up the path I was surprised to find myself being propelled backwards into the porch, because the engine was actually running backwards!

1958 - BSA Bantam (1)

My first bike looked exactly like this 1957 BSA Bantam. It had a 150cc engine which rattled - a lot! It cost me £58 and was very under-powered. But I thought it was great when I began riding it on a deserted WW2 airfield at the age of 14. When I was old enough I used it to get to work on. I also passed my driving test on it

The bike was also used for weekend camping trips and, having a pillion seat, I often took a pal with me - poor bike!

On one occasion the bike was struggling up a Derbyshire hill (Matlock to Riber Castle) and without asking, the passenger, Terry, just hopped-off and walked. As the hill got even steeper I had to get off and walk beside the bike too!

1959 - Triumph Tiger Cub (2)

My second bike was a Triumph Tiger Cub. It was only 200cc, but it was a 4-stroke and the sound it made was much more pleasing than the rattles the Bantam made. It went really well for a small bike too, and like the previous bike, it was used for getting to work and for weekend camping trips

I skidded on a patch of ice one winters night and "dropped-it. The handlebars put a dent in the  petrol tank so I fitted a leather tank-cover to hide it - which was cheaper than getting the tank fixed

The tank cover was too big for the Cub's tank so it was padded with chunks of foam rubber - which made the bike look bigger and better (to me at least!)

1960 - Royal Enfield Crusader Sports (3)

The Royal Enfield Crusader Sports was my first brand new vehicle and the £208 it cost  seemed like a fortune at the time. All Crusader Sports came in this same beautiful colour scheme - polychromatic burgundy, black and lots of chrome. But the "red" paint was so thinly-applied that it showed signs of wear from the very first outing!

I loved the looks and the sound this bike made. But it was also practical too. It could keep up with bikes twice it's capacity up to around 60mph. But once over 60 the big bikes left me in their dust

I had a "big" crash on this machine, which put me off bikes for a while - and which put me and my pillion passenger in hospital for a while too

1962 - BSA A10 Super Road Rocket (4)

After a spell on public transport, followed by some cycling, I eventually got-over my crash nerves. I paid £160 for a used BSA A10 Super Road Rocket, which was almost the same colour as the Crusader. I still like this particular colour and chromelook, even now!

Although the engine was more than twice the capacity of the Crusader, the A10 didn't feel  all that much more powerful. It made a lovely noise and cruised effortlessly. It also made dropping a gear for hills a thing of the past too. Nice bike. I would have liked to have kept this one, but it wasn't an option as I needed the cash of my next vehicle

1963 - Mini Van (5)

I progressed to four wheels the day after getting soaked to the skin on my bike. I was stuck in traffic at the time in town in winter and was soaked despite wearing waterproofs(!). The Austin/Morris Minivan was an immediate attraction when it appeared on the scene, and I just "had to have one." But I had to wait until they came onto the second-hand market

Mine was owned by a florist for the 10 months before I bought it for £225 - a real bargain

A pal and I went on a camping holiday in it during one summer, travelling more than 2,500 miles in two weeks. We took-in St Tropez, Monte Carlo, Pisa and Milan, amongst other places

1964 - MG Midget (6)

Realising that four wheels were more agreeable than two wheels, and looking for something which would be more fun to drive than the Minivan, I next bought an MG Midget for £550. The Midget was 6 months old and as good as new when I got it (it was still good as new  when I sold it too). It was great to drive - and just as great to look at - well I thought so at the time

I enjoyed using this car for cruising around the town almost as much as I did when driving it around the local, and lovely , Derbyshire countryside. I had the hood down as often as possible and discovered the heating was so good that I could stay warm well into winter with the top off

A couple of original pix from 1965 - now looking a little the worse for wear (as are the people in the pic now: self and wife)

1965 - Lambretta SX200 (7)

Getting engaged, and needing some extra cash to buy a house in the near future, coincided with missing being on two wheels(!) so I sold the Midget . . . . and bought a much cheaper mode of transport, a  Lambretta 200 SX

Bought new it cost a little over £220. I enjoyed scootering so much that I joined a local scooter club and went on day trips and treasure hunts with them

The scooter shows and competitions up and down the country, and the monthly club nights at a local pub, were great fun. But Audrey wasn't happy with scootering (not even after I'd fitted a "Bambini" sidecar for her), so it had to go

1966 - Ford Anglia (105E) (8)

The Anglia cost £200 and was less than 1000cc, and although "adequate" for the daily commute it lacked the power of even the mini van. I replaced the carb for a Stromberg unit, which didn't make a lot of difference

But it was a reliable car and fairly economical too. And it got us around the country without us having to get wet, so we were happy with it

 It was particularly good in the snow with "Town & Country" tyres fitted to the rear drive-wheels, and with a couple of bags of sand in the boot

1968 - Morris 1100 (9)

This was our first car with automatic gearbox - and was bought at a knock-down price because the seller was having difficulty selling it - auto's were not popular at this time

The gear-lever had a choice of eight positions, which was a bit of a surprise as I'd thought autos were supposed to be "simpler" than normal boxes. The stick could be moved manually through each of the four forward gears, neutral and reverse, then there was park and auto

It turned-out to be quite good to drive and I enjoyed not having to operate a clutch pedal

The car had to go when we decided to live overseas. We decided to advertise it a couple of months before we were due to leave the UK because it of it being an auto - we expected to have difficulty selling it. But Audrey sold it on the very first day to a neighbour. So I started going to work on the bus . . . . but not having a car for a couple of months, especially as our son was about to appear on the scene, turned-out not to be a good thing, so I advertised for a "banger" which we could then leave at a scrap yard the day before we left the UK

1971 - Austin Devon (10)

We bought the 1950 Austin Devon "banger" for £15 - and it was in fantastic condition. It still had its original tyres and everything on it worked fine - including the original sun roof

 The previous owner had kept it  in an old dry stable, covered by a dust sheet and, as it was winter, with an oil lamp burning to keep it warm and dry, for almost the whole of its 21 years!

He wouldn't even take it out of the stable for me to get a better look at when I went to view it as it was snowing and "It doesn't come out of there unless it's dry!" I n order to check it out I had to return a couple of days later, when the snow had gone and the roads had dried-off

The car looked great . . . . it had a depth of shine, from years of polishing, that I'd never even seen before

It had three previous owners, but two of them were this same chap. He bought the car new, and after owning it for a few years, had been pestered into selling it to a workmate at the local pit where he worked. His workmate "Didn't look after it properly,"  so after a lot more "pestering" the original owner bought the car back and returned it to it's warm, dry, stable. There were only 7,000 miles on the clock when I bought it and I was told that it had never been used for commuting, only for a drive in the countryside on a Sunday - unless it rained, "I never take it out in the rain - and if it starts raining when I'm driving I turn-round and take it back home"

I sold this car the first time I drove it to work when a work-mate said he'd give me £20 for it on my last day in the UK . . . which saved me wondering what I'd do with it, when I should start advertising it, etc. But during the intervening period the car was the centre of attention wherever we went, and we were often offered much more than we sold it for. One guy who stopped us to ask about it while we were in town said he just had to have it. He offered us £400. But I'd given my word to Martin, so he got it for £20

1972 - Vauxhall 2000 (11)

We bought this one when we lived in Singapore. We liked the effortless driving its 2000cc engine gave us, and its air-conditioner was a really welcome "extra," making driving a real pleasure in the tropical climate

We had it re-sprayed from dark- to light-blue after it was vandalised during a "bout of unrest" in the car park at the company who's production department I managed at the time

1973 - Ford Fairmont (12)

I had this car imported into Brunei, where I worked at the time, from Singapore. It was an auto and had a 5,000cc engine. At 13 miles to the gallon it wasn't exactly economical, but my company payed the fuel bills so of course this didn't matter

1974 - Mini (Audrey's car - 13)

This was Audrey's run-about during the time we lived in Brunei

1975 - Citroen GS Pallas (14)

Having moved back to the UK, we bought this as our family car. It was only 1220cc, but it was a good driver. Unfortunately it 'rusted-through' in the rear footwell area before it was 18-months-old. We part-exchanged it for the Colt in 1978

1976 - Renault 4 (Audrey's Car - 15)

Audrey hated this 'very practical' and economical car, so we didn't have it very long. It was given-away to a friend and Audrey bought the Renault 5 to replace it

1977 - Renault 5 (Audrey's car 16)

1978 - Colt Lancer (17)

We kept this car for almost 20 years. After serving as our family car for five years, first Audrey, then Tara, and then Sean, all made use of it during subsequent years

1979 - 1937 BSA Y13 (18) My 'hobby bike'

1980 - Kawasaki 200 (19)

Bought in order to make getting to work easier during busy traffic, I also enjoyed riding it for pleasure too - and biking waterproofs were actually waterproof' by this time, so riding in wet weather was no-longer the problem it was in my earlier biking days

1984 - Ford Sierra (20)

1987 - Vauxhall Belmont (21)

1995 - Ford Escort Mexico (22)

1998 - Ford Escort Club (23)

2002 - Vauxhall Astra (24)

2005 - Vauxhall Astra Club Easytronic (25)

2008 - Vauxhall Zafira Life Easytronic (25)

One day I "will" finish this page!

Whiteley Web