I Guess It Was All Dave's Brothers Fault

Dave was the same age as me. We would often walk to school and spend time playing football on the field near our homes.

We must have been about 6 and Dave's big brother had a gleaming red Triumph Spitfire. One summer day he stopped by the field and gave us a lift home, probably a distance of all of about 150 yards. Me and Dave sat side by side squashed up laughing, trying to peer over the dash out of the windscreen. I was by the door and could just see out of the side window.

My most vivid memory is that it was so low down, as if your bum was just above the tarmac. That short journey was like no other car journey I had experienced and had me hooked on buying a two seater.

Another neighbour had an MGB GT which I also used to admire but I reckon it was that red Spitfire from the late 60's which lead me to buy my MGF last year. It only took 40 years, still better late than never.

BTW Mark (mowog73) has a nice Spitfire, there's a photo of it in his album

Funnily enough, my first trip in a convertible was in a Spitfire too. A mate who I went to college with had a highly modded mk4.
It had monster arches and huge wheels and was seventeen shades of silver. I wanted one so badly!

what a strange world we live in my first experiance was in a spitfire mate from work had one back in the mid 80s i was to young to drive but loved getting a lift home in the summer

As I posted elsewhere, my love affair was confirmed by running around in my cousin's mk2 Cortina Crayford convertible. Black with gold detailing and Tan soft top. Happy days! :yesnod:

Must be an age thing - my first sportscar experience was when I was 17 and playing in a band that used to do the 'social club' circuit (bloody hell - that was money for old rope :thumbsup: )

The lead guitarist was 5 years older than me and also had a Spitfire. :yesnod:

I forgot all about that until now but that must have been when the seeds were planted - it only took 36 years to come to fruition. :lol:

My only claim to fame was that i had a rich friend who had a beautiful Red Jaguar XK150S which he allowed me to borrow often, only problem was that it did around 10 miles to the gallon and cost a Kings Ransom to fill it up. what an awesome car, went like the wind and was a superb bird puller (dont tell the wife, oops she was one of them) I also lived in Surbiton, Surrey which was the home of the Cooper Car Company owned by John Cooper and had drivers such as Innes Ireland, Bruce McLaren, Jack Brabham, racing his cars. i actually bought a Renault Dauphine from one of Bruce McLaren's test drivers, who happened to live two houses away from me, he was sharing with other McLaren drivers and Mike Hailwood.
My Mother rented out the top part of our house and one of the tennants had an original Triumph Roadster (like Beregerac) in RED, i used to ride in that a lot. :thumbsup:

It wasn't a Triumph Spitfire, but as you can see my first ever car was a convertible....

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! :yesnod: :lol:

Birks! That is a fantastic picture!

When I was 18 I had my first full time job, and had been thinking of buying a Volkswagen "Sun Bug", which was a Beetle in bright early 70's colours with blacked out trim. I rode the bus into work in Vancouver and passed by a small BL dealer, Grand Prix Motors.
In the window was an MGB Roadster in Citron (A very cool for the 70's lemon-lime colour) I looked at that car every day as I went by and gradually fell in love with it...then one day I got off the bus and bought it! (With lots of help from my good ol' Dad!) That was the end of the Sun Bug and the start of a life long obsession with MGs.

Birks - that looks like a Ford Corsair, my first car was a non descript red peddle car that I got in August 1966 (to take my mind off having a baby sister.

At about the same time my parents inhereted a convertable Truiph Hearld which they traded in along with their own hard top hearld for the 2.0 V4 Ford Corsair they had for 12 years.

I don't actually remember the Hearld being convertable so my first memory of sitting in one was when I was 16 or 17 when the TR7 convertable was released, a mate (Mark Drapper, haven't seen him since I was 18!) and I went and sat in one in the local showroom one luchtime at college.

I did get to drive some Audi and Golf Cabs when I work at the local VW/Audi dealer way back at the end of the 90's.

The first one I really enjoyed is outside the house.

My first ride in a soft top was a BRG mgb in about 1969/70ish.
It was my Dads and we used it as a 'Family' car for a couple of years. Surprising how much you could get in and on it. Here is a pic of it on a trip to Wales fully loaded....there is a boot rack under all that! Me on the left and my brother and Mum to the right ... Dad was obviously taking the picture.

Often wonder if AYB 600B is still on the road somewhere. I think 'B' would be 1964 which would be a year younger than me.

Can't remember any other ride in a convertible until we were all old enough to have our own cars and Dad bought the one below in 1983. He sadly passed away in 1984 so didnt have chance to enjoy it much. I inherited it, which was my first foray into MG ownership.

Where did they pack you and your brother?