My first ever vehicle, a 50 cc moped.  It probably looked daft a 6ft 3” chap on such a tiny machine but I loved it as at last I could go where I wanted to and in the time I had it traveled thousands of miles.  Granted it wasn’t the fastest of machines but it beat cycling.  It was eventually sold on as my parents bought me a bike for my 21st. If you look carefully at this photo you can see our old cat on the seat.

For my 21st my parent’s gave me a Suzuki TS50 “sports” moped and as this thing had gears I could reach 44 mph down hill.  (wow).  The beauty of this bike though was that it was a large trials bike and so I could go anywhere.  I once drove 9 miles  to work riding through 3ft of snow in parts to find out that people living a mile away hadn’t turned up due to the snow. This bike was sold on when I finished building my Honda CM125

The Honda Custom 125 had been my dream bike for years and when I first moved into a council maisonette I saw it in the car park unused.  I traced down the owner, who is now a great friend, and bought the bike off him in 1987. I then carried it up three flights of stairs and then upstairs again into my spare bedroom where it sat for two years until I had restored it and had a huge hole in the crank case welded up.  I then had to take it all apart, carry it back down stairs and rebuild it outside and it fired up second time.  I then took my Motorcycle test on this bike in June 1990 and eventually sold it on to get a bigger bike as the crank made strange noises.  That said it was still in the area and on the road until 2008.

I purchased this bike from an advert in the newspaper and it needed some work but it was still useable.  I then spent a month restoring the bike and the week after I finished it was stolen from my parent’s back garden.  As I was now thinking of going to university full time my mum suggested that I bought a Reliant Robin with the insurance money.

Taking my mum’s advice when the insurance from my bike arrived I searched the local newspapers for a Reliant Robin and this one turned up for £350.  I went down with my dad and after having a look at it purchased it. Having never driven a car before I spent about 10 minutes figuring out how to drive it before I got home. The day after the crank shaft snapped and I had to rebuild the engine. This was the 3-wheeler spark that eventually led to this web site.  Whilst I was at university the car was written off when a woman in a blue Vauxhall Astra drove straight into the back of it whilst I was stationary at traffic lights.

It was whilst I had my first Reliant Robin that I purchased a MOT failure.  I drove it until the existing MOT expired (about 4 days worth) and as it needed so much work my brother and I decided to make a 3-wheeled pick-up truck and so we started to attack it with a saw.  Unfortunately the chassis was rotten and soon after we lost the use of the garage it was stored in so it had to go.

With the insurance from my Robin and part of my student loan I bought a Reliant Rialto from Webster’s in Stoke-on-Trent for £875 which was an absolute fortune given my finances at the time.  The car saw me graduate from university and survived just past it until it was sold a couple of years later when I passed my driving test.

After passing my driving test my I searched the local newspaper for cars and eventually bought a Vauxhall Cavalier Estate which was my first 4-wheeler, and compared with the Reliant went like a rocket and felt the size of a house. Being an Estate made it an ideal choice as round about the same time I purchased a house and so the car was a great removal and delivery van.  I then sold this as things were constantly going wrong with it and it started to cost me a fortune to maintain.

I saw this car in a garage and liked it so much that I bought it on HP.  (Big mistake) The car itself was great and sounded a lot sportier inside than it actually was. Leg room however was a bit short; it wasn’t until a year after I sold it that I found out the HP company were still taking payments for it from my account.  Luckily they refunded me the whole lot. It was whilst I had this car that I saw a Rover 620 and fell in love with it.  This car then went in part exchange for one.

From the second I saw this car I really liked it, it was roomy, sporty and very very comfortable on long journeys as I could just about stretch my legs out.  I had no plans to sell this car but fete did and the car was written off when a lady in a green Ford Focus drove straight into the back of it whilst I was stationary in a queue on the M42.

Looking identical to my old car this vehicle was purchased as a replacement to my written off 620 SLi - The only difference was that the engine had an extra 300 cc and the car had wider tyres and a tow bar. (As I transferred the old number plate to this car it confused my insurance company no end).  Sadly it was no where near the condition of my old 620 and had very high mileage and so I part exchanged it before it started to break down.

After years of wanting a “3-wheelers.com” vehicle, I eventually got a Reliant Regal Supervan III. I had not planned to do a full restoration but the car needed it and so ended up having one.  The restoration was completed in 2005 with the vehicle being taxed and MOT’d in the same year for the first time since 1979. The engine was uprated from 700cc to 850cc in 2006.  Sadly the car was destroyed by fire on May 25th 2008.

Wanting to upgrade the engine in my Regal from a 700 cc to 850 cc engine I came across this Rialto that had a couple of months MOT and Tax on it. The vehicle was used as a runabout until the engine was removed, placed into the Regal and the Rialto body sold on.

I have always dreamed of owning a Jaguar and so thinking, “You only live once” decided it was time to go and buy one. I part exchanged my old Rover 623 towards the car though that was only worth a new set of Jaguar mats!  With 4-wheel drive, a full leather and walnut interior and a host of gadgets it was a car I loved although after 12 years of ownership, which seemed a life time, the car served me well but sadly in April 2017 went to Jaguar Heaven as it developed a number of issues and in the end just became uneconomical to repair.

After having a Reliant Robin as my first car I always fancied another one as the Mk 1 model has a cheeky charm about it that no other Reliant has. Imagine my surprise to actually end up with a Reliant Robin that I first saw 15 years earlier and used to park my Reliant next to it at Reliant rallies. Sadly due to the lack of a decent garage space, I had to let it go in October 2008.

I have always fancied another motorbike for cruising around on so was most happy when my brother bought a larger motorbike and gave me his Honda Superdream 250.  Sadly due to the lack of a decent garage space, I had to let it go in December 2008.

With the death of previous Reliant Regal Supervan (Ole Blue) in May 2008, one week later Terry O’Keefe donated his Reliant Regal (Snoopy), a “luxury” 21E version that he tells me will do 90 mph. The vehicle has been unused since 1988 though has been stored in a garage and so will need light restoration. Sadly due to the lack of a decent garage space, I had to let it go in December 2008.

As soon as I saw this vehicle for sale on ebay, I just couldn’t resist and had to make a bid especially as this is one of about eight Mk VI vans that are still known to exist and it is believed four of those are in museums.  Mechanically the car (Lucie) has been a rolling 3 year restoration by the previous owner and just needs painting and a few jobs doing to finish it off. This was the first Reliant I owned with a side-valve engine though sold it in July 2013 as the arrival of our son in 2011 meant that less time was spent on it and it was not a vehicle we could all go out in.

Following the Jaguar that stuck to my side for 12 years, its passing lead to a much more economical family car, a Vauxhall Astra 1.6 (Design). It took a while to mourn the end of the Jaguar and the sudden drop in power was a shock.  The Astra however soon started to come into its own with a surprising range of creature comforts and half leather seats. That said, it is my wallet smiling the most as in addition to other savings a full tank of fuel cost £10 less than the Jaguar and last 3 weeks longer..