WorcesterVista.com

Cars I have owned in Worcester with inherent problems.

I was taught to drive in a 1930’s Austin 10 Lichfield, this was a real brute to keep on the road due to worn steering and suspension, another slight problem was a slipping clutch, due to an oil leak from the rear main bearing, this could be alleviated by introducing a quantity of fullers earth into the clutch housing, but this had a limited effect.
Driving any other car after this was easy.

My first car in the fifties was a Ford Popular, it had a side valve engine with a three speed gearbox.
Cars in those days did not have much in the way of luxury; in fact to say they were Spartan would be an understatement.
The engine was a bit of an oil burner that is it required a pint of oil to every gallon of petrol. One day after slamming the driver’s door I was astonished to find the side window had broken from the shock.
Driving the car was a bit of an experience, the three speed box combined with a low powered engine made climbing steep hills interesting, usually changing into bottom with the engine revving hard for the ascent. Descending could be just as hairaising as the rod-operated brakes were very inefficient.

The next vehicle to come into my possession was a1950 Austin A40 van, this had an overhead valve engine, which gave it extra performance.
Another feature of this vehicle was a column gearchange; although this was a bit imprecise at times.
The old van had a leaky fabric roof, driving in the rain was an experience, an umbrella would be utilised to improve comfort.
Most memorable was the worn front shock absorbers; road holding was not the A40’s strongest characteristic.

A Morris Minor was acquired next and proved to be a reliable car, apart from metal maggots (rust) attacking the underside.
A problem with the petrol pump gave a bit of agro but a new set of petrol pump points soon put this right, and restored reliability.
On driving to work one day the front suspension decided to collapse due to a worn lower trunnion, (a common complaint with Moggies) this immobilised the car and also blocked the main road for a time.

During the sixties I owned a Triumph Herald, although this car had independent suspension all-round, with a tight tuning circle, the ride could not be described as comfortable.
The rear wheels leant out alarmingly when the vehicle was unloaded.
The main problems with the car concerned the suspension; bushes, trunnions and other parts required regular attention.
As it had a separate chassis, rust quickly appeared on the outriggers and side rails.
A good feature with this model was that the whole bonnet and front of the car lifted up to almost completely expose engine, making access easy.

In 1994 a Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 was acquired the Corsa was well equipped, comfortable, and had excellent brakes, but handling was not very good and lacked power steering
The Spanish made car had low build quality, and badly fitting doors led to windows rattling on all but the smoothest of roads. Economy was not exceptional and performance average.
The front tyres wore out fairly quickly due to misalignment, despite frequent checks being made.
At time of selling car at around thirty thousand miles, we had replaced exhaust tail box twice and had four new tyres.
The cylinder head was showing signs of seepage at the joint and clutch was on the way out.
I would recommend Express Factors, Northbrook Close Gregory Mill Street Worcester, for any parts you may require, they are able to source and supply any part for any car. Tel. no. 01905 616611