Gary Lewis Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 Yes I have only ever heard good things about the Miatas. It is the sports car the British wish they could have built. In the mid 70's I worked as a courier in the UK driving a mini between the two London airports. Loved thrashing that little car around the roundabouts and down the winding English roads. At that time in the UK people thought they enjoyed frequently tinkering with their vehicles, then the Japanese showed them they could just enjoy driving them. Surely not between Heathrow and Gatwick? Not too many winding roads, unless you didn't take the motorways. Maybe Stanstead? Anyway, I loved my Miata. It was as reliable as a rock and so much FUN! Watched a few episodes of The Larkins last night and saw a cool Healy, probably a 100. I know they take fiddling with as a college friend had one. As for the Mini, when we lived there in the late 80's I thought I wanted one but after testing a few, as well as a 2CV or two, I realized that I didn't have the time to work on them, and they needed it. But not long after moving back the Miata came out and I had to have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic55kel Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 Surely not between Heathrow and Gatwick? Not too many winding roads, unless you didn't take the motorways. Maybe Stanstead? Anyway, I loved my Miata. It was as reliable as a rock and so much FUN! Watched a few episodes of The Larkins last night and saw a cool Healy, probably a 100. I know they take fiddling with as a college friend had one. As for the Mini, when we lived there in the late 80's I thought I wanted one but after testing a few, as well as a 2CV or two, I realized that I didn't have the time to work on them, and they needed it. But not long after moving back the Miata came out and I had to have one. Yes Heathrow and Gatwick were my main centres of operation. The M25 motorway was still in its early stages then and I don't remember ever using a motorway on that job. I was mainly taking packages to and from the airports to other destinations: Crawley, Dorking, Tunbridge Wells etc. Yes English cars in that time period required lots of attention. My mini hated the rain and I always had a can of ignition spray in the car. The distributor was on the front of the engine behind an open grill and guaranteed to get wet in the rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 Yes Heathrow and Gatwick were my main centres of operation. The M25 motorway was still in its early stages then and I don't remember ever using a motorway on that job. I was mainly taking packages to and from the airports to other destinations: Crawley, Dorking, Tunbridge Wells etc. Yes English cars in that time period required lots of attention. My mini hated the rain and I always had a can of ignition spray in the car. The distributor was on the front of the engine behind an open grill and guaranteed to get wet in the rain. When we lived there Heathrow was huge, and they've since added Terminal 5. I used it a lot back in the day, but after moving away I tended to avoid it if I could as I needed a few miles under my belt with a hire car to get my drive-on-the-left bearings again, so I liked flying into Gatwick better. Besides, my client was in Hastings so I got used to the A roads down that way - including through Tunbridge Wells As for English cars, my Yank boss took me aside early on while we were there and, knowing that I was mechanically inclined, suggested that I buy a Jaguar. They were cheap as they frequently needed the laying-on of hands. But since he worked me late each day and we wanted to explore the country on the weekends I didn't follow his lead. And I'm glad I didn't. Instead we bought a Nissan Prairie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic55kel Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 When we lived there Heathrow was huge, and they've since added Terminal 5. I used it a lot back in the day, but after moving away I tended to avoid it if I could as I needed a few miles under my belt with a hire car to get my drive-on-the-left bearings again, so I liked flying into Gatwick better. Besides, my client was in Hastings so I got used to the A roads down that way - including through Tunbridge Wells As for English cars, my Yank boss took me aside early on while we were there and, knowing that I was mechanically inclined, suggested that I buy a Jaguar. They were cheap as they frequently needed the laying-on of hands. But since he worked me late each day and we wanted to explore the country on the weekends I didn't follow his lead. And I'm glad I didn't. Instead we bought a Nissan Prairie. Not buying an old Jag was probably a good idea, although they sure were gorgeous cars. I remember as a kid of 6 or 7 burning down the newly opened M1 in my Uncles 3.8 Mark II. We hit 120 mph indicated with 7 of us in the car, 3 adults and 4 kids, no seat belts of course. Legal back then, wonder what the fine would be today! It always took me a couple of days to transition to driving on the opposite side of the road every time I changed continent. Below is how I remember the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Not buying an old Jag was probably a good idea, although they sure were gorgeous cars. I remember as a kid of 6 or 7 burning down the newly opened M1 in my Uncles 3.8 Mark II. We hit 120 mph indicated with 7 of us in the car, 3 adults and 4 kids, no seat belts of course. Legal back then, wonder what the fine would be today! It always took me a couple of days to transition to driving on the opposite side of the road every time I changed continent. Below is how I remember the car. Nice car! Great story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Not buying an old Jag was probably a good idea, although they sure were gorgeous cars. I remember as a kid of 6 or 7 burning down the newly opened M1 in my Uncles 3.8 Mark II. We hit 120 mph indicated with 7 of us in the car, 3 adults and 4 kids, no seat belts of course. Legal back then, wonder what the fine would be today! It always took me a couple of days to transition to driving on the opposite side of the road every time I changed continent. Below is how I remember the car. Beautiful car! And yes, it took me a couple of days of driving to get back in the swing of things. But it was worse when coming back home. Apparently you let your guard down when "home" and think you know it. I found myself on the wrong side of the road the first time I drove back in the States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 Beautiful car! And yes, it took me a couple of days of driving to get back in the swing of things. But it was worse when coming back home. Apparently you let your guard down when "home" and think you know it. I found myself on the wrong side of the road the first time I drove back in the States. This miata is certainly not underpowered! In fact it quite a handfull. We like to build a little crazy now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 This miata is certainly not underpowered! In fact it quite a handfull. We like to build a little crazy now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 phone not responding:nabble_poo-23_orig: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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