1966 Hillman Minx

Huh - a what??!!??  Well,  my Dolomite was in the shop *so* often,  it was starting to get hard bumming rides to work,  so I decided I needed something that could just get me to and from work while the Dolomite was in the shop.  I picked up this wonder for 100 pounds and sold it again about three months later for 105 pounds.  The only car I've ever made a profit on.  Well  almost, but not quite.

The only problem was that the day after I bought it,  while the Dolomite was still in the shop, the clutch went out on the Hillman.  Luckily it was only the master cylinder, but still the result was two cars in the shop and still trying my friends' patience by bumming rides to and from work.  Still, at least I got the Hillman back (and running) sooner than the Dolomite.

Driving the car was *too* exciting at times and I could have had a nasty incident on one occasion. The mishap was caused as a result of the previous owner ripping the radio out of the dash and leaving all the wires hanging loose.  As I was cornering a little too fast,  the live wire swung over and came into contact with a piece of metal on the dash and the car rapidly filled up with dark, noxious smoke.  I couldn't even see the windshield,  let alone through the windshield, but I managed to pull over and turn off the engine and after a while the smoke cleared.  I ripped the offending wire out and continued my journey, uneventfully.

Actually,  once the clutch and wiring were fixed the Hillman was a joy.  One day I was blasting up the A1 near where I lived, when I looked down at the speedo to discover I was doing over 90.  I'll admit to being petrified once I realized how fast that wreck was going and slowed up.  I never did discover how fast it would go, flat out.