Back in the day what car would you buy

[98TLS]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

You know Cav,the Hillman Imp and Triumph Herald would be tied for the title of worst excuse for a motor car ever put on this earth

Be possibly a 3 way tie,my old mum had a mud brown Marina Coupe,orrible excuse for a car.

[mondeomatureguy]

Hey 98 TLS,
you talked about a Leyland Marina!


My late Dad worked for Leyland Australia at Zetland in Sydney. When the Leyland Austin Kimberley was released they had the Press at the factory taking pictures .


One bloke who worked at Leyland went up to the press and said " Don't buy a Austin Kimberley mate because there Crap"!

[Tonz]

I was in the paint shop, and my job, (Seriously no joke) was that every car coming down the line had a little tin canister (similar to what 35mm film came in) hanging from their left headlight frame, Id unscrew that pull out a strip of paper run it through a tickertape and this would tell me what colour tag to hang on the front. I remember (gawd this is '71) 22 = red.

well few weeks before royal easter show this strange looking thing came through and NO TAG or CANNISTER shoit shock horror...phoned the emergancy number and quickly told its not supposed to be there till later in week...bug ger to late to pull off the line you throw a number on it, so I threw 17 royal blue.
and there a few weeks later along with the Marina was the Morris Kimberley . what a funny place that was.

[mondeomatureguy]

Hi Tonz,
Did you work at Leyland Australia?

[Tonz]

yeah mate, started around march '71 and there about 3 months, fair go, running around flicking numbers on cars, could do a run in 20 minutes then go outside for 30, trouble was spray booths had heaters and I was in between 6 of the sods pumping gawd knows what and outside was around 15* bliddy frrezing it was.

[Cav]

Ford Twin Spinner

[5thFordWA]

Originally Posted by mick taylor

I was thinking about back in the 1960's what new car would I of bought and why.
.................................................. ................................................. it was a toss up with that or a HG Holden 186 ute and he asked me what I thought was the one that I liked best, I said the Valiant and he bought it.
.................................................. .................................................. .......................................
1967 XR Fairmont V8 auto
1968 XT GT T Bar auto, because of the C 4 auto is magic.
.................................................. .................................................. .........................................

So I would say what was the best car to drive flat out doing distance of 400KM say and you can enjoy it, getting to destination not warn out and eager to party on as tho you just came in from next door. that's the thing that points to a real drivers car is it not.

Good memories, like you, I tried to get my Dad to trade the EJ wagon on a new AP6 Valiant and he was interested but couldn't afford to change.

Then I was an apprentice mechanic in a Ford dealer 1967 - 1970. The used car boys got me into a rough/cheap traded XR 289 V8 Auto sedan in Jan 1971, tidied it up and that was a great car. Crossed the Nullarbor 4 times in the 4 years I owned it, sold it to a mate, it did a lot of miles. The car you wish you had kept at the back of the garage.

As a Ford mechanic, I did like the XT GT range, nicely balanced with more than adequate power from the 302 (5 litre) V8, the XW 351 were great, but clunky heavy things IMO.

But my dream car at the time was a Fiat 124 Sports Coupe, they were a nice machine. I believe they were a bit rust-prone (understatement!)

Cheers.

[MrZ]

Would have to be an automatic, V8 (6-cyl cars were far too underpowered back in those days). Would need to have air conditioning, power steering, and preferably power windows... this would limit options somewhat.

Seeing as I have a Mustang currently, I'm somewhat biased and would say that my first choice would be a Mustang (1964-1966). I'd be willing to sacrifice some of the creature comforts.

Second choice, maybe a Mercedes W108, which I think was one of the best looking cars of that time period.

I really don't like 1960s cars, though. The American cars had become ridiculously oversized, and the Japanese cars were a joke at the time. The 1950s had some amazing cars, and I liked the chunkiness of the 1970s era, but the 60s were just a mess when it came to car design (Mustang excluded of course). I'm glad that I didn't live in that era.

[Cav]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Would have to be an automatic, V8 (6-cyl cars were far too underpowered back in those days). Would need to have air conditioning, power steering, and preferably power windows... this would limit options somewhat.

Seeing as I have a Mustang currently, I'm somewhat biased and would say that my first choice would be a Mustang (1964-1966). I'd be willing to sacrifice some of the creature comforts.

Second choice, maybe a Mercedes W108, which I think was one of the best looking cars of that time period.

I really don't like 1960s cars, though. The American cars had become ridiculously oversized, and the Japanese cars were a joke at the time. The 1950s had some amazing cars, and I liked the chunkiness of the 1970s era, but the 60s were just a mess when it came to car design (Mustang excluded of course). I'm glad that I didn't live in that era.

Well in the 60s my car was a Ford Zephyr ute that I was paying off at about $10 a month.

Other cars my mates had were - FJ Holden (I could pinch it by putting a 2 cent coin on the ignition terminals just behind the dash where the key went), AP5 Valiant (he worked at the abattoirs and got plenty of overtime, when he went to trade up he owed more on the car than the trade in value, it went like stink though) EJ Holden (his payments were 4 times more than mine, nice car) FC Holden (rust holes in the floor - we were going to a neighbouring town when the temperature warning light came on, we were doing 70mph. He simply turned off the ignition and in his reckoning the water circulated without getting any hotter but when he turned the ignition back on I could see flames and sparkes through the floor holes)

BTW, there were no accessories in these cars except maybe a radio. Lots of people didn't like heaters - they reckon they put you to sleep, but driving while drunk was still OK then.

At the servo you could get paper pads that were impregnated with stuff to stop the inside of the windscreen fogging up. Great for the drive in.

No power steering, you soon learned not to try and turn the wheel until the car starts moving - something I still practice today to take the strain off the power steering system.

No automatics, just three on the tree with no synchro in first. A mate showed me how to change gears in his FJ without the clutch, just jiggle the revs. It did grind a bit though.

The headlight dimmer switch was a button thingy on the floor between the clutch and brake pedals.

When those new fangled radial tyres came out there was a fair bit of impact harshness coming through the cabin and the improved handling flung you about the cabin because the car cornered betterer.

The roads did not have a speed limit, most people drove at 60mph though, except when you were racing your mates in your clapped out rusty 6 cylinder crap mobile with rust holes in the floor sliding around bends on ya skinny cross ply tyres. The cars seemed to perform better when you had a few schooners under ya belt.

Yeah for the 60s, the era when there was a cull system for idiots, known as the road toll.



Believe it or not but many people resented the seat belt laws that came in in the late 60s. They could recount stories where blokes were thrown out of cars and survived while the car itself was wrecked. Seat belts would be a killer especially if the car caught fire and you couldn't get out or be thrown out.

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by Cav

Well in the 60s my car was a Ford Zephyr ute that I was paying off at about $10 a month.

EJ Holden (his payments were 4 times more than mine, nice car)

Strange thing to remember, the repayments on a car 50 years ago! Just out of interest, what was the interest rate on the financing back in those days?

I have to admit though, the 1960s was a good time in that you could fit 7 people in a car (3 in front and 4 in back, I'd imagine), with relative ease: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...ateTo|||sortby
In this article, a Chevy Impala crashed and 3 out of the 7 died (over 50% survival rate - not too shabby!).
Imagine trying that today - no way could you get 7 adults in any sedan today, it's just physically impossible.

[Cav]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Strange thing to remember, the repayments on a car 50 years ago! Just out of interest, what was the interest rate on the financing back in those days?

I have to admit though, the 1960s was a good time in that you could fit 7 people in a car (3 in front and 4 in back, I'd imagine), with relative ease: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...ateTo|||sortby
In this article, a Chevy Impala crashed and 3 out of the 7 died (over 50% survival rate - not too shabby!).
Imagine trying that today - no way could you get 7 adults in any sedan today, it's just physically impossible.

Dunno about the interest rate, I got the ute from the local Ford dealer using their credit, so it wouldn't be low.

When you are young you know nothing so nothing worries you. Just as long as you can afford the repayments nothing else matters. The Zephyr had a timing case seal leak and I just kept topping up the oil. That saved on servicing.

BTW I did pile a few girls in the ute one night, in the Zephyr ute there is a parcel shelf near the back window with one girl was lying there. I got pulled over by the cops, I was overloaded, plus I had had a few beers. The cop stuck his head in the window and said, "You can't be in control of that vehicle with all those people in there!"

The cops took down my details but I never heard any more about it, probably because I told them I was going into the Army in a week's time.

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by Cav

Dunno about the interest rate, I got the ute from the local Ford dealer using their credit, so it wouldn't be low.

You remember the exact monthly payment, but not the interest rate? It should be fairly easy to work out, if you know the cost of the vehicle.

Anyway, seeing as I wasn't around in the 60s, I can only speak for my parents: my father's first car was in 1961, when he turned 18 - it was a new MG (probably an MG A I'm guessing). My mother, who is American, turned 18 in 1968 and her first car was a Plymouth Barracuda, but she only had it for a few years because she married and moved to Australia in 1972. I wish she'd brought the car with her over here - was that an option in those days?

[lra]

Originally Posted by Cav

Well in the 60s my car was a Ford Zephyr ute that I was paying off at about $10 a month.

My first car in 1965 was a ’57 Mk2 Zepyhr sedan that I paid 250 pounds ($500) for, an interest free loan from my parents that I repaid pretty quickly from my $60 pfn gross wages, from which also had to pay them $15 pfn ‘rent and keep’.
In 1967, I joined the RAAF, and was instantly rich, getting $60 pfn net, with no ‘rent and keep’ payments. ( had to pay for pay for frequent haircuts )
1968, I bought a new HK Kingswood ($3,200) on hire purchase, no idea what the % rate was, I didn’t think about that, I either could, or could, not afford the repayments, which were just over $200 per month.
This was traded in 1974 for a new Torana ($3,400) which I kept for 12 months and traded for $3,600 on a Kingswood wagon, such were the effects of ‘inflation’.
Interest rates during that period were not that much of a concern. Inflation was the problem then, if you wanted something, it was no use saving for it, because the cost outstripped your capacity to pay. Hence, buy something on HP, and initially the payments hurt, but lessened quickly as wages increased. Huge interest rates did not become a problem until the 1990s.

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by lra

My first car in 1965 was a ’57 Mk2 Zepyhr sedan that I paid 250 pounds ($500) for, an interest free loan from my parents that I repaid pretty quickly from my $60 pfn gross wages, from which also had to pay them $15 pfn ‘rent and keep’.
In 1967, I joined the RAAF, and was instantly rich, getting $60 pfn net, with no ‘rent and keep’ payments. ( had to pay for pay for frequent haircuts )
1968, I bought a new HK Kingswood ($3,200) on hire purchase, no idea what the % rate was, I didn’t think about that, I either could, or could, not afford the repayments, which were just over $200 per month.

Hmm, $60 a fortnight in 1967, adjusted for inflation, would be $762 today (or $20,000 a year). That's peanuts, how could you live on that? A 1957 car in 1965 would have also been prehistoric, as most cars were scrapped after 10 years in those days. Funny how today an 8-year-old car is considered relatively young still.

As for paying $200 a month on a $3200 car - yikes! What was the term? Using a reverse interest calculator tells us that:

If term is:

18 months - 15% interest
24 months - 42% interest
36 months - 63% interest

I am going to take an educated guess and go with 18 months?

[Fed]

I got my first pay packet at the end of 1967 (1st Year App Elect) $16.35 P/W nett.
I got my first car at the end of 1967, a clapped out 1959 FC Holden.

Very true about car longevity, by the end of the '60s most of the '50s cars were gone.

[roddy1960]

Great thread ... I have favourites from the sixties that I'd buy in a heartbeat if money was no object ..Any XR to XW Falcon for a start or an HR Holden (still like them) Uncle Col had a white HR Premier with red interior and the full wheel covers and the louvre...Oh yeah . I'll stick to when I first started driving though .

In the late 1970's as I was getting my licence I lusted over a Rally Pack Escort which was totally out of the question , not least due to my parents thinking a bit too fast , and money of course but ended up buying a Escort L in 1980.Not a fire breather by any means especially choked 1.6 litre by ADR27 but she had 2 doors like the Rally Pack. Also around at the time was the Sigma , Holden Gemini (a mate had a bright yellow station wagon) that I liked .

All the rage if memory serves for many of us young un's the best part of 40 years ago was the Toyota Corolla.. I never found them of any interest whatsoever and still don't.

Back at our Car Show on the June Long Weekend there was a well loved black Ford Escort RS 2000 there . It attracted a fair bit of attention in among the much more vaunted cars and apparently went pretty close to getting the Peoples Choice Award ..The Rally Pack Escort I would have loved had the short bumpers , driving lights , lairy stripes on some , short throw gearshift and a beefier suspension...Damn..I still want one ...

[lra]

Mr Z ….. sorry, made an error on the dates, not 1968, April '69. Been looking at some of my personal history, recruit and trainee days over, I was getting $118 pfn gross.
Have a look here for housing interest rates ……... https://www.loansense.com.au/historical-rates.html
High interest rates were all through the 80s as well as the 90s.
As you seem to be good with maths ….. $200 per month is $2,400 per year, which is not much less than the cost of the car. With HP you could pick whatever term/payment suited your ability to pay.
Strange, I can remember, or easily find the cost of cars and income, but dates are a problem for me.

Here is a calculator that you can fiddle with ……. https://www.canstar.com.au/calculato...nt-calculator/

[DJR-351]

Don't think there is a Aussie Ford/Holden/Valiant from the 60's and 70's that i wouldn't be happy to own, including pre 60's Holdens, all are welcome at my place.......

[Fed]

I reckon the BMC factory at Zetland had a shortage of 2" SU Carbies, they were all on Holdens.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by lra

Interest rates during that period were not that much of a concern. Inflation was the problem then, if you wanted something, it was no use saving for it, because the cost outstripped your capacity to pay. Hence, buy something on HP, and initially the payments hurt, but lessened quickly as wages increased.

^^^^^^^^Exactly....
Gear was far easier to pay off back then, because as you say. each year the Payments became a smaller proportion of your Wage.. Unlike Today..

[marty351]

The cops took down my details but I never heard any more about it, probably because I told them I was going into the Army in a week's time.[/QUOTE]

Cav's army photo.....

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Fed

I reckon the BMC factory at Zetland had a shortage of 2" SU Carbies, they were all on Holdens.

2 in would bog down a Holden 6 both grey and red, 1 3/4in was the norm with triples.
I ran triples on a 202 (208) it wouldn't run right until I installed a pressure switch and turned the fuel down to 1/2 pound. Normal mechanical 6 pack fuel pump of the day would supply around 4-5 pounds.

[mick taylor]

Originally Posted by Fed

I got my first pay packet at the end of 1967 (1st Year App Elect) $16.35 P/W nett.
I got my first car at the end of 1967, a clapped out 1959 FC Holden.

Very true about car longevity, by the end of the '60s most of the '50s cars were gone.

That's true and I believe it to be that the newer model cars were advancing at a rate so that the older cars were out of date and no one really wanted them and the resale must of dropped of sharply.

As to Ira was on about, I thought the inflation rate was low back in the 50's and 60's and it's only from the mid 70's and early 80's that Inflation was out of control.
I remember Builders in the early 80's where Builders had new cars every year on HP they were real happy with the resale but the new car was huge jump in price and then when the inflation rate went down they were complaining about the resale and I said listen stupid the fact is about the same regardless if you bother to work it all out, so get over it. but they could not get their head around it because they were use to it and as such got in a habit of such in loosing the plot.

My brother once had a HQ Holden in the 70's and then in the 1990's I think it was that I pointed out to him the price that a HQ could fetch and he said in amazement but they were not even that when new, he could not get his head around it.
I said inflation you fool ! it's not worth more than what it was new truly at all, as it's true value was not worth more in reality.

Many people were that dumb with inflation, I remember working for a tradesman who never put his prices up really over 1975 to 1985 but he once could afford to have new cars and then ended up driving around in old rubbish and still worked 7 days a week and a top quality tradesman by far but could not understand the value of money had changed, he was still living in the 60's in the 80's but would boast like all tradesmen do, that they were doing so well down the pub and I am like well show me your car you idiot ! and I will tell you how good that you are doing. not to mention how all of them always tried to diddle their workers pay and claimed not to be able to afford to pay their entitlements. that was QLD.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by marty351

Cav's army photo.....

It's the right era, 'cept Gomer Pyle never went to Vietnam like Cav.

[roKWiz]

I base trade work on their workmanship and not what car they drive.

Only got to look at all the Hollywood Harolds out there today in the flash cars.

[GasoLane]

1967 Saab 96 V4

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

1967 Saab 96 V4

What happened to all the SAABs, there is a hoarder here in Chiltern with a backyard full of 70s 80s SAAABs, maybe a nice P1800 Volvo.

[mick taylor]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

2 in would bog down a Holden 6 both grey and red, 1 3/4in was the norm with triples.
I ran triples on a 202 (208) it wouldn't run right until I installed a pressure switch and turned the fuel down to 1/2 pound. Normal mechanical 6 pack fuel pump of the day would supply around 4-5 pounds.

My Father in law had a FB Grey motor with twin strombergs on it, I remember him saying that the body's were sleaved down from the std Grey throttle body's.

And my mate with the worked 202 had the 149 carby and throttle body's just like the X2 came with, stock fuel pump was fine. I remember once he put the pump in under the cam and she broke it off but had another pump in the shed. we had just rebuilt the engine because the block had split across the welch plugs when they make that much power spinning to 7000rpm.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

What happened to all the SAABs, there is a hoarder here in Chiltern with a backyard full of 70s 80s SAAABs, maybe a nice P1800 Volvo.

Has he got a Blue one with 1970 Ampol trial stickers still on it?

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

Has he got a Blue one with 1970 Ampol trial stickers still on it?

There[s quite a few faded black or faded silver ones, must go by and have another look. Up at Beechworth there are some more I noticed Friday. Must be relo's.