Photo Archive
You can see a small selection of my digital photo album at Flickr.
My Fourth Car: Volkswagen Polo Saloon C 1.0 1986
Formerly known as the ‘Classic’, this is my second booted-Polo, and the same mark, though slightly different than my first. Obviously the lack of “Viper Stripes” makes it look a bit plainer, but it's a lot cleaner than the first. Since 1983, the Polo gained round front lights rather than square ones.
Less writing on there than my first, since it‘s only a basic model. The blue sticker on the back showing it has been serviced by John Austin Motors was also on my first! The web address I added for advertising purposes! Notice the slight dent in the bumper.
When I saw it for the first time, it immediately struck me how clean it is… it‘s in far better condition than my first one, but then it has only had one owner. The tyres are 165/65 on 13" steel rims, which are the widest and lowest Volkswagen supplied with the Saloon (and the Coupe S standard).
Like my first Polo, it has a Golf GTI steering wheel, but unlike my first, this one I had to get from a scrap yard myself! Visually it is lacking, with no stereo (but original cover), no door compartments or centre column, no floor mats (yet).
My Third Car: Ford Escort LX 1.6i 1994
I really like this first pic of the Escort. I had just cleaned the car, and it came up sparkling. Later the front would be ruined, with a large dent in it from hitting a telegraph pole.
Look under the right rear lights and you’ll see the 16 valve logo! Older models would have had ‘1.6i’ next to the ‘ESCORT LX’ above the left rear lights. The car would later have ‘www.progcovers.com’ at the top of the back window.
You can see my phone magnet on the left of the dash board. It was a very comfortable car, and had lots of space for tapes which was useful. Security of having an airbag too. It didn’t actually go off in the crash — I had shaved enough speed off luckily.
My Second Car: Ford Fiesta Popular Plus 1.1 1990
You can just about make out the damage on the driver side front wing — a crack through the bumper is easy enough to make out. The windscreen wipers would always come to rest in this position! After using them I would have to push them down so I could see!
I thought I would be able to say it looks almost alright from the back, but I’ve spotted two things. There’s a slight dent above the number plate, and the left wing mirror is missing! I’ll take this opportunity to say that all damage to this car was there when I got it!
More damage inside the car! Driver side window handle broken, Ford badge removed from steering wheel, and the driver seat is ruined. The car did come with floor mats, but they kept sliding around, becoming dangerous, so I took them out.
My First Car: Volkswagen Polo Classic C Formel E 1.1 1983
I always wondered what it looked like in the rear view to see this [Dodge Viper wannabe-look-alike] storming towards you! Look on the grill to see the sports badge addition.
The stripes really suited the car I thought, and especially, imo, from the back of the car. The spoiler came standard with the Formel E, as did a neat feature to gauge how much fuel was being used.
Looking through the back window, you can see the rear seat head rests. The seats came from a later model of the Polo. When I first got it, I would always remind people about the head rests as it improved the otherwise probably poor safety standard (because of its age).
Looking good for 18 years old! I was always proud of the fact I was using a Golf GTI steering wheel, with its four [working] horns. It was a very nice wheel. There’s a Dodge Viper model next to the dash board in deference to the stripes, and a Polo packet in the centre column!