Guess I'll get thrown off the list for my contribution (and upset Mr. Mace
as well) - but it was a Herald 12/50.
Only reason I bought it was because it was cheap - and new. It had been a
cancelled order for UK delivery and had then sat at the factory for over a
year waiting for some poor s*d to make it the stuff of which dreams are
made. I was the poor s*d
I can't say it was unreliable, in fact the contrary. It was just incredibly
uncomfortable and noisy but this was due to its spec for Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe) 7:1 head, uprated cam and dizzy, heavy duty springs, heavy duty
shocks, 5.60 (8 ply!!!!!) crossply tyres, tropical cooling system and an
engine skid plate. I caned that car to death because it made me angry and
the more I caned it the better it went. It shook out several tooth fillings,
gave me blisters in places I daren't mention and left me partly deafened
after a long drive.
In the end, my mum took it over as her car and I treated myself to a very
superior and vastly more likeable Herald 13/60. She didn't really like the
12/50 either but for different reasons - and within the year it got
totalled. Ma was traversing a crossroads and got broadsided by an MGBGT that
took the passenger's door up to the handbrake. Ma suffered two black eyes
and a chipped front tooth and the egg custard tart that was in the boot at
the time - went into confined orbit. I never knew egg custard could go so
far or apply itself as comprehensively to the inside of a trunk as that
example- so lovingly made by my grandmother. Anyway, we all went out that
night and toasted the death of the Herald.
Perhaps I've been lucky but I've never had an *unreliable* car. I've had
three that I hated with a passionate loathing - the Herald 12/50 aforesaid,
a 1725 Hillman Hunter and a 1.8 Morris Marina but the last two were wished
on me by my employers to enable me to traverse the country at their whim. I
tried desperately hard to smash them mechaically but entirely failed to do
this - so I suppose they were anything but the "worst" cars I've ever owned.
They were probably quite good ........................................
Cheers, Jonmac
PS I've now actually grown to like the Rootes/Chrysler Arrow range of the
1970's from which my Hunter was bred, but those that have survived are very
few and far between. I still loathe Marinas even more than I ever did.
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