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The Open Road #3

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Jack again with his usual Wednesday guest post – –

Before the episode when the Spitfire almost killed me, I had a couple of Minis. One was a van version and the other was the regular sedan.

The Mini was a brilliant and very innovative design – the first (I think) front wheel drive car with a transverse engine. The designer simply took an existing small engine, turned it sideways and stuck the transmission underneath. But it did have problems!

Although the design was good the workmanship wasn’t. They leaked in the rain, they were prone to rust and the doors didn’t fit well. Because of the transverse engine, the radiator grille was behind the wheel well, but it had to look like other cars, so it had a completely unnecessary grille on the front. Because of the orientation of the engine that open grille was right in front of the spark plugs, so driving behind another vehicle in the rain – – –

Most folk blanked off the front with cardboard or plywood or metal.

But having said all that, they were fun cars and took me all over Scotland. They were light and agile, with good acceleration and felt very safe with their wheels right out on all four corners. Although small they were surprisingly roomy inside.

I remember one occasion when I had the brakes serviced and one of them hadn’t had the fluid valve closed completely. I was heading from Fife across to Edinburgh via the recently opened Forth road bridge, which had toll booths back then. It was as I approached the booth that the brakes gave out. I sailed through, turned and came back through the booth on the other side and finally managed to halt at the first one by grabbing the parking brake! The booth attendant was highly amused – I was red faced – –

Hey, Ho for the Open Road #2

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Jack manages to just get over the line again – – –

I have spent the last few days, as everyone does at this time of year, failing to start my push lawnmower. It reminded me of something!

When I was just five or six years old my dad bought his first car – a 2nd (or maybe 3rd) hand 1936 Hillman Minx and on damp cold mornings it would often prove difficult to start. That’s when he had to ‘ca the haunle’ (use the starting handle). If you look carefully at the picture you can see an opening just above the front bumper, at the bottom of the grille. He would insert the handle through that and it engaged with the engine. If the battery was low, then that’s how folk started most cars back then!

I’m sure you can imagine how dispiriting that could be on a cold wet morning. If the engine was flooded with gas then it could backfire and could easily break your thumb if you weren’t holding the handle correctly!

But very few people we knew then in the late 1940s had cars so we were lucky. I remember many excursions to local beauty spots and beaches, although we often had stop along the way for Dad to tinker with the Minx – it was well named – –

He needed a vehicle for his work as a self-employed painter and decorator, and he moved on to more reliable transport over the succeeding years, but I have fond memories of that first one.