Earliest Farina memory?

[exlkrs]

What's yours? Mine is my late father's first company car. As the Manager of a dealership who's perk was to use the parts van or Breakdown Land rover in the late fifties, he was told he could register a new Mk1 A40 for his own use. Red with a Black roof, 111 SLG was one of my earliest memories of motor cars, which have subsequently dominated my life!

[Mike Hodgson]

I started my apprenticeship with an Austin distributors in Bournemouth
a few months before the A40 was launched and to be honest I can hardly remember anything about it due to being a newby everything was alien to me for the first few months and trying to "find my feet" was of more importance and in those days showroom and workshop did not mix.12 months on and I do remember the Mini ( or Austin7 as it was initially called ) launch and all the Austins that followed .
A move back to Bristol and I transferred to Henlys (Bristol) Ltd
Brought most models from factory to workplace ,Brum. was a doddle but Cowley not so, too many security checks .
My least favourite drive was from Cowley to Shrubbery garage in Weston S. Mare to deliver a Mini van with no heater during the1963 freeze up.

[austina40sam]

Thanks for sharing you too. I really enjoy reading them

[Dave the rave]

My earliest would be of my dad's Mk2 Countryman, 625 ENX. I remember the black dash, and that's about all. It was useful though, when, after re-arranging the front end of my Midget in about 1981, I borrowed it to collect 2 front wings and a front panel/valence unit. Whole lot's a bolty bolty jobby on a Midget. Being a Countryman whole lot went in t'back easily.
He either part-exxed it or sold it. Bought, ( or part-exxed ), a Metro, in my opinion the A40 Countryman being the genuine BMC/Austin Rover forerunner to said Metro.

The first memory of my own '67 Mk2 A40 Saloon is going to Southampton and back in a day, ( to see Coventry City get banjaxed 5-0 ! , while the home supporters sang "and we've still got Charlie in reserve ", they'd just signed Charlie George form Arsenal ).
AND.... it's brakes being near enough non-existent while rolling back on a very steep hillside "road" in the Lake District. Hardknot Pass I think. A somewhat large drop awaited just a few feet behind where I stopped......

And I can't even remember what colour it was