Memories
This 1961 Austin A60 was my first vehicle and cost me a princely sum of $120.00 when I was a 17 year old apprentice. The old Austin served me well for three and a half years and took my mates and I on many trips up and down the east coast of NSW surfing, always looking for the perfect wave. She had a 4 cylinder 1600cc engine with a four speed column shift and was not without its dramas. Over the years I went through three motor rebuilds and had to replace the gear linkages when the plastic brackets broke leaving me to drive 30 miles home in first gear. The Austin started off with the classic two tone pinkish/lilac and dark grey colour scheme when I first got it however over the years and many rust repairs to the bodywork there were a lot of patches of black making it look more like an exercise in abstract painting. I kept the old girl going until 1972 when I traded it in on a brand new Datsun 1200 sedan and was pleased to see that after three + years I got $175 back as a trade in. In spite of its little quirks like the doors sometime flying open when u drove around the corner to fast and the bonnet once coming open when I was driving across the old Hexham Bridge, I have many fond memories of the old Austin, she was my freedom machine and without her I would not have got to visit all the best beaches and ridden the amazing surf on offer. I am now 65 years old and have owned a number vehicles over my motoring life but my first vehicle is still the one I remember the most.
