Girl buys an antique car--A charming and hopeful video

[John_S_in_Penna]

For anyone who needs a bit of an uplift:

 

Here is a video from Youtube:  An English girl bought

an antique car at an auction.  Maybe she's 20.  It's

probably her first. 

 

Skip the preliminaries and begin around 3:30.  Watch

for just a few minutes.  You can experience her thrill

as she goes to retrieve it after the auction, sits inside it,

and figures out all the buttons and controls.

 

Even a side-vent window, and drinking-cup depressions

in the glove-box door, are unfamiliar novelties, fun

discoveries, to a girl of her age.

 

A young adult, a female, with her friends.  Remember

your own enthusiasm with your first old car.  Think of

all the fun that awaits her in the hobby!

 

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[28 Chrysler]

I think she is 16 maybe 18 and sure is giggly.

[CarNucopia]

That's a great video. Thanks for sharing.

[1912Staver]

Not to rain on anyones parade , but those front drive Austin 1100's and upmarket Vanden plas sedans were amongst the worst British cars of the 1960's. About the only thing worse was the larger 1800 "land crab ". I pity the poor young lady. Hope she does not get turned off on vintage cars in general from the ownership of this lemon.

 I am a pretty dedicated British car guy , but I wouldn't take one of those things if it was given to me.

Edited August 30, 2023 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[JamesR]

4 minutes ago, 1912Staver said:

Hope she does not get turned off on vintage cars in general

Maybe she'll drive it sparingly so that it won't get many miles. That's a good way to make troublesome old cars more trouble free. I had a few old British motorcycles that were problems, but then I just got one that was a great running and reliable bike...as long as I didn't put too many miles on it. I wish her the best.

 

 

[avgwarhawk]

Or maybe the car will serve her well!!!  Glad to see the excitement and enthusiasm!  Most certainly she'll join a club and get more assistance with the vehicle than she could ask for. 

[1912Staver]

With most old British bikes { except the cheap lightweights } the main problem is usually who worked on it last. Generally well engineered machines. Take it apart , check everything , renew as necessary and carefully re- assemble. Usually great from that point on for a long time.

 Austin 1100's and varients were turkey's from the start. Give me a Morris Minor any day. Even a A40 Farina. 

[6T-FinSeeker]

 

Contagious enthusiasm. Her positive outlook will serve her well in life.

Thanks for sharing, John!

 

[1912Staver]

5 minutes ago, avgwarhawk said:

Or maybe the car will serve her well!!!  Glad to see the excitement and enthusiasm!  Most certainly she'll join a club and get more assistance with the vehicle than she could ask for. 

My high School girl friend had one as a first car in 1974. It was a fright then. And it was a low mile, one owner car before her ownership. We always used my MGB  when we went anywhere together. Poor suspension, and a dreadfull gearbox . Not to mention a haven for tin worms. 

[DrumBob]

I liked her enthusiasm, but was more impressed by what looked like a Messerschmitt mini car in the garage. 

[John_S_in_Penna]

49 minutes ago, avgwarhawk said:

Or maybe the car will serve her well!!!  Glad to see the excitement and enthusiasm!  Most certainly she'll join a club and get more assistance with the vehicle than she could ask for. 

I commented through Youtube and said much of

what you said, Chris.  I emphasized joining a club.

She kindly wrote back with thanks for the encouragement.

[John_S_in_Penna]

5 hours ago, 28 Chrysler said:

I think she is 16 maybe 18 and sure is giggly.

The bounce in her step, the laughter, the sheer joy:

They are humbling lessons to me.  May we always

appreciate the good qualities the hobby has to offer,

and share it with other newcomers who can appreciate

it in the same way.

[californiamilleghia]

I hope she has good luck with it and lots of fun , 

 

She sure was excited

[B Jake Moran]

Nice video. Thanks   One good reason for You Tube.  

[Lahti35]

Great vid, her enthusiasm in infectious!

 

I see stuff like this and it makes me realize how much of a skeptical, suspicious, grizzled, old car coot I've become over the years... 😆😁

Edited August 30, 2023 by Lahti35 (see edit history)

[8E45E]

12 hours ago, 1912Staver said:

Not to rain on anyones parade , but those front drive Austin 1100's and upmarket Vanden plas sedans were amongst the worst British cars of the 1960's. About the only thing worse was the larger 1800 "land crab ". I pity the poor young lady. Hope she does not get turned off on vintage cars in general from the ownership of this lemon.

 I am a pretty dedicated British car guy , but I wouldn't take one of those things if it was given to me.

There were two elements that made them 'bad', and not really the fault of the cars themselves.

 

First, labor unrest was just starting to unravel in the U.K. and it showed up in the product.  (I can attest to this, a customer was showing me his brand new Austin 1800, and remarked about all the glue drops and other residue on the trunk floor done on the assembly line and not cleaned up prior to shipping)  The dealers had lots of warranty claims for shoddy workmanship starting in the late 1960's on BMC/BL products.

 

Second, they were not truly engineered with the North American market in mind.  Poor heaters in the cold prairie winters, and lack of power on the mountain upgrades were their main complaints at the time.  

 

Craig

[28 Chrysler]

The car has made it this far so most of the problems should be sorted out by now. I don't think she'll be hard on the car except for maybe the 4 corners.

[1912Staver]

1 hour ago, 28 Chrysler said:

The car has made it this far so most of the problems should be sorted out by now. I don't think she'll be hard on the car except for maybe the 4 corners.

 

1 hour ago, 28 Chrysler said:

 

Hope springs eternal I guess. But I don't think anyone has ever really "sorted out " one of these turkey's. 

 

Lotus Europa's were the same sort of situation. But the concept had enough going for it that clever people spent decades coming up with ingenious " fixes " for all the built in shortcomings.  In the end the best fix for a Europa meant throwing away everything but the body and fitting a " Spyder " or  " Banks " aftermarket chassis. Both superbly engineered if pricy . And fitting a Toyota 4age powerplant. Then fact lived up to the fantasy.

 

1100's and their kin are no Lotus. Really who would bother to do anything to one except perhaps maintenance.

Edited August 30, 2023 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[JamesR]

15 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

The bounce in her step, the laughter, the sheer joy:

They are humbling lessons to me.  May we always

appreciate the good qualities the hobby has to offer,

and share it with other newcomers who can appreciate

it in the same way.

 

That's a great perspective, John. THANKS. I was humbled (as you say) the other day when I met a young man who had an old car very similar to one of mine. We talked a bit about our cars, and I noticed that that he was disabled physically, which I didn't pay much attention to at first. However, as we talked it became apparent to me that his relatively minor disability kept him from being able to do most of the work on his car. He mentioned a local shop that did most of his work...and, as we know, having other people do the work on your antique car can be very expensive. His car certainly wasn't show perfect, but at that point it was very impressive to me in other ways. I suddenly felt kind of ashamed for complaining all the time about my lack of repair equipment or lack of experience and ability with automotive things. This younger guy was doing what he could to keep his 60 year old car running and reliable and it was a reminder that we are ALL doing what we can to the best of our abilities. And we do it because we love the cars.

Edited August 30, 2023 by JamesR (see edit history)

[californiamilleghia]

That car was sold in the USA as an Austin America in 1969 -70 or so , 

It   was basically an MG 1100 , but ours got a 1275cc motor .

the Austin America did not have the fancy front grill like the one in the video.

 

They did have big soft front seats

[playswithbrass]

I had the Canadian version. It was a great car. She will have so much fun with it. It does look in top notch condition.

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 8/29/2023 at 9:11 PM, 6T-FinSeeker said:

Contagious enthusiasm. Her positive outlook will serve her well in life.

I've now seen her website and a few more of her

Youtube videos.  She writes that she loves antiques,

having acquired that love from her parents.  She

appreciates old steam trains too, and films them.

She's Matilda Walden, and her brother is an auto mechanic.

 

Not long after she got Princess, she and her family took

the antique car for a long drive in the country.  She

proudly took an old picnic kit to use for a roadside picnic.

 

With the same bounding enthusiasm, she took her car

to its first antique car show, on the grounds of an English castle.

At 9:30 in the video below, a man from the show interviews her.

She was delighted at receiving her first dash plaque.

 

Our hobby isn't about money, prestige, possession.  To my

mind, she exemplifies the higher qualities--the simpler ones--

which we can all appreciate.  Do you remember your own first show?

 

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

Interesting features of that English car show:

 

---The interviewer goes around, interviewing participants,

so everyone can hear about the cars over the loudspeaker.

 

---Evidently, cars take turns driving through the "ring" or "arena."

Perhaps that is in front of the manor house, as in a Concours.

 

It appears to be quite a large show, and it's in a picturesque setting.

"I absolutely adore her," she tells the interviewer of her first car,

which she has named Princess.

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)