Actor FRANK KELLY looks back to his Morris Minor days
What was your first car and why did you buy it?
My first car was a side-valve Morris Minor. It ran on three cylinders only, until I managed to make it run on four some months before its death. When it ran on all four, I realised the joy that I had been missing. It was quite soundless.
Was the car new or second-hand?
Second-hand . . . probably fifth-hand.
Did you learn to drive in it? I knew how to drive - I learned in the family Vauxhall.
What did you know about cars when you bought it? I knew a bit. I was interested in engines.
What advice did you get when you were looking for a car? I looked for none, and got none.
What did you pay for it? £110.
What impact did running a car have on your pocket?
It was cheaper than all the public transport before marriage and suddenly we didn't have to constantly go to cinemas and coffee shops and pubs to be together.
Was it hard to get insurance? No.
How reliable was it? It stalled constantly in traffic. I had to slip the clutch every few minutes when it would cut out and I became so adept at this I didn't even notice that I was doing it until Michael Bogdanov, the theatre director, then a mere stripling student, was crippled with laughter at the sight, and I felt distinctly hurt. The brakes were a problem. Before setting out for the day, I'd remove the back wheels and adjust the ratchet on each hub, back three notches, and forward one. This would give me a few hours braking.
How did it change your life? My now wife and I could just go for walks in the mountains - this cut down social expenses considerably.
What was the longest trip you ever took? To Cork. It seemed like a great expedition.
What was your best memory in the car? One time, coming down from the leadmines tower in the Dublin Mountains, I felt a distinct failure in the brakes as I approached an oncoming car with two nuns aboard. There was no choice but to see it through, and I passed within a millimetre of them, with two wheels in the grassy ditch, as they made the Sign of the Cross with complete synchronisation.
Your worst memory? When I wrote the car off against a bollard.
How long did you keep the car? About three years.
Did you sell it on for a better deal? No!