First Car - Mk2 Escort, 1.1, OMJ624P

This was my first ever car, I bought it when I was 16 back in 1988.

2nd Car - Mk2 Escort, 1.1

This car was only purchased for spares, I managed to get the rear spoiler and a few other bits before the council decided to have it towed away.  I was very young and naive and when the council told me I couldn't get it back I just accepted it.  Shame as I really wanted the wheels!

3rd Car - Vauxhall Chevette, 1.3

This car was just used for a few months while OMJ was off the road with a cracked cylinder head.  I exchanged it a few month later for car 4.

4th Car - Morris Marina, 1.8

Again, this was used for a few months while OMJ rusted in a car park behind my house.  I eventually crashed it outside a pub.  It was written off.

After this, I got OMJ fixed and back on the road.

5th Car - Mk1 Escort, 1.3

This car may have looked ok but underneath was bad.  The strut tops were mostly gone and I wanted the 1.3 engine for OMJ.  This car was trashed and scrapped.

6th Car - Mk2 Escort, 1.3

I can't remember quite where this car came from, it was used for a few days before being used for parts.  I think this 1.3 engine was fitted to OMJ.   The 1.3 from the Mk1 a few months earlier got a bit worn out.

7th Car - Mk2 Escort Van, 1.3

Someone offered me this for £50 and I couldn't resist.  It was used for a week or two before I realised it was falling to bits.  It was used for spares and scrapped.  The heavy duty gearbox was put in OMJ for a while.

8th Car - Mk2 Escort, 1.3

This escort was found in a scrap yard, a friend drove it home and we stripped it for spares.  The gearbox and rear shocks went into OMJ.  Someone had previously bolted 2 triple leaf springs together on each side at the back. 

9th Car - Mk2 Escort, 1.3, HRO527V

This car wasn't used for spares, I just wanted 2 cars for a while.   It was a 1.3 automatic but I changed it to a manual.  This was probably one of the most complex jobs I have done, and I don't think I did it right.

After a few years I got a new job that came with a company car.  I didn't need 3 cars so I sold this one to my girlfriend, that way I didn't really get rid of it.  However I split up with her and although I was offered the car back I didn't have it.

I really wish I did get it back, I would love to have this car again.   It was in very good condition underneath and always passed the MOT's.

10th Car - Citroen BX, 1.9 Turbo Diesel

My first company car, it was a few years old and the company only kept it for about a year after I started working there.

This photo isn't of the actual car.  Mine was the same, but I never got round to getting a photo of it.

11th Car - Peugeot 406, 1.9 Turbo Diesel

My first brand new company car, it was on a 3 year lease and so went back after the 3 years was up.

12th Car - Ford Puma, 1.7

My next company car, a bit unconventional for a company car but it was really good fun to drive.  Again, this was on a 3 year lease.

13th Car - Mk2 Escort Ghia, 1.6

This one was bought in Enfield for £70 for the sole purpose of getting the 1.6 engine for OMJ.  I managed to get plenty of other spares from it, all for OMJ.

This photo isn't the exact car but it's close enough, I never took a photo of the actual car.  It was a beige 4 door Ghia with a brown vinyl roof.

14th Car - Mk2 Escort Ghia, 1.6

This was a completely original car and it was in very good condition.   I had originally bought it for the 1.6 engine, the one from the previous car had developed a fault with the pistons and it was easier for me to swap the engine out rather than fix it.

Since the car was in stunning condition, I got it MOT'd and insured, used it for a few months and then sold it to someone who would look after it.

I wouldn't mind having this car back either.

15th Car - Mk2 Escort, 1.6

This rust bucket was purchased for the 1.6 engine instead of the previous Ghia, the engine went into OMJ.  From this photo it doesn't look too bad, but it was a heap.  I completely stripped it down to a bare shell.  Some bits I have kept, others I sold.

16th Car - MG ZR 160, 1.8

This was my fourth company car.  It has been purchased this time so rather than being on a 3 year lease I got to keep hold of it a bit longer.  I ended up keeping it for just over 4 years but I left the company and had to give it back.  Such a shame.  This was a good, fun car and still a bit unconventional.

There is nothing worse for a company car than to get a Ford Mondeo or a Vauxhall Vectra.

17th Car - Mk2 Escort, 1.3 GL, WAY153S

I picked this car up from London basically to save it from the scrap yard, a friend from the SEOC put me onto someone who just wanted to get rid of it and was even thinking of scrapping it.

After getting it home I had a good look over it, so far it seems to be in good condition for its age.  I did a lot of work to get this car looking good both inside and out, however I still ended up selling it.

18th Car - Mk2 Escort, 1.6 L, LFR362T

I bought this car for £30 after the owner approached me and offered it.  It was a wreck, the bodywork was well passed saving, and the engine smoked badly from the oil filler cap.

I had planned to break this car, but in the end I sold it complete for £100 but only after I swapped the wheels for some steel ones.

19th Car - Mk3 Capri, 1.6 Laser, C267NEW

I bought this car for £150 with 8 months MOT left on it.

Not really sure why I bought this as I already had 2 escorts and a company car.  I think it was just to own a Capri for a few months and I got to play with a Pinto for the first time.

It had some issues with the engine and auto choke, and I think I had better plans for the alloy wheels, I ended up using them for my Mk2 GL.

20th Car - Mk2 RS2000 Custom, LLK32V

I just couldn't resist buying this car  :)

21st Car - Mk2 Fiesta Festival 1.1 - E616FOO

I was a bit fed up of having white dog hairs in either the escorts or the MG, plus having a dog in a car starts to make it smell, so I bought this as a run-around.  It gets used to pickup Jake twice a week and to take him places, plus now it is ideal to carry my bike in.

22nd Car - Mk5 Fiesta Finesse 1.3 - W169WBH

 

After leaving my job and handing back my company car I needed something else.   So I sold my old Fiesta bought this Mk5 Fiesta.  It seems like a nice enough car, very much like the Puma.  It's cheap to run and insure so that will be a bonus for now.
 
Finally decided to let this one go after about 11 years.  It failed the pre-MOT on a lot of rust and some other bits.  I was going to get it scrapped but in the end I gave it to a young lad came a long way to get it.  Hopefully he'll be able to do it up and enjoy it.
It was on 197,000 miles too.

23rd Car - Mk2 Escort GL, 1.3

Once again this car was bought with the intention of stripping it for parts.  It was very rough externally (but it doesn't show in these photos), but it turned out to be in quite good condition.  Therefore breaking it didn't seem a good idea after all, and I ended up selling it whole.  Shame really as I could have done with getting the spare parts from it. 

As you can see from the photo above, the new owner has given this car
a whole new look and a new life, at least this one was saved.

24th Car - Nissan 100nx - 1.6 Automatic

Yes, I really did buy a Nissan!
I'd been having thinking of getting a cheap automatic car for the daily drive to London, especially to help with all the traffic jams and queues.  I'd been looking for a while when this came up on eBay.
I got this with a view of using it for 6 months or so over winter.
The 'T'-Bar roof is really cool, and the car itself is actually in really good condition with not
much wrong with it.
***now sold to a Nissan 100nx enthusiast***

25th Car - Mk2 Renault Clio 1.2

This was my girlfriends car, but after the bonnet popped open while she was driving (a common Clio fault) the insurance wrote it off.  Since it was in very good condition, low mileage and as she had owned it from new I decided to buy it back and repair it.  This will be a work car and will replace the Nissan, the Clio has a much better mpg!
 
This was a brilliant car, smooth, comfortable, reliable, a tad dull though, so I ended up swapping it for the car shown below... 

26th Car - Mk5 Fiesta Zetec-S 1.6

I swapped this for the Clio.  This car is much more 'me'.
 
Finally sold this after many years of fun with it, the clutch was almost gone and the bodywork was getting really rough.  Hopefully the new owners can bring it back to its former glory and enjoy it.

27th Car - Toyota Celica 1.8

Not entirely sure why I bought this, except because it was there!

The red Fiesta Zetec is on SORN while I use this car...

28th Car - Ford Escort Mk6 1.6

Didn't really need this car, it just kinda happened!

The only modification to this is a nicer set of alloys.

This means I've got 6 cars now.

29th Car - Toyota Hilux Mk3 2.4 Diesel

I spent a lot of time finding a decent one of these
and spent a lot of money buying one. 
I've wanted one of these for as long as I can remember.
My 4yr old son loves it too.

30th Car - Fiesta Flight 1.3

I missed my old Fiesta Finesse so much I that bought this
one as a direct replacement.

So far I've replaced the original alloys with these Softlines,
I've added white dash dials with rev counter and temp guage
and fitted after-market remote central locking.