My Dad's Car : Nostalgic cars of our childhood

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We’re joined by James Blaze this week who has found himself the custodian of his late father’s car collection. 

The story starts with Citroen 2CVs and moves through a Peugeot 505 estate that he welded seat belt brackets into and toured around Europe. 

His father became interested in motor trials and picked Skodas as his weapon of choice, before getting introduced to Porsches, firstly with a 924, then a Turbo before a run of 968s, including several Clubsport models. 

We first saw James on Jonny Smiths Late Brake Show - watch the video here. 

https://youtu.be/w_Y1i1qWo1M?si=A-8aGQzSl7g0La3_

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

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We're joined by Charlotte Vowden, Motoring journalist, automotive adventurer and presenter. 

Her story with cars hasn't always been a passion. It starts with her Grandads Mk3 Escort, and how he would pick her up from school and 'save her' from the bullies who would throw footballs at her head as she made her way to the gate. 

The car was nothing special, except it really was special. 

Her Dad was a mobile mechanic, so was busy working a lot of the time, but his skills have really come into their own in more recent years as Charlotte inherited an MGA roadster from her other Grandfather, and she's been on a number of life affirming roadtrips since taking over the ownership. 

From driving the length of the UK on sustainable fuel, to mimic the 1000 mile test from days gone by, to driving to Nordcapp, the furthest accessible point north, in Norway.

Please do follow what Charlotte gets up to on Instagram, where you'll also find photos from her car based adventures.

Charlie V (@charlottevowden) • Instagram photos and videos

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

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We're joined by Steve Clyde from Gyeon UK this week. His earliest car memory is a gold Peugeot 504 Estate, and taking 8 or 9 family members down to Cornwall for holidays.

After Vauxhall Chevette followed, which was his first experience of his Dad in a rear wheel drive car. He’d previously owned a Mk2 and Mk10 Jaguar before kids came along. 

His brother is older than him, and he recalls him taking him to a family photography session is his Capri, a drifting around a corner only to be spotted by his parents waiting outside the studio. His Mum was shocked, his Dad secretly proud!

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

We are joined by Greg and Adam, owners of Viking Covers, our proud sponsor for Season 7 of the Podcast. 

We've never recorded as a 4 before, but we think it came out pretty well - although it does make the editing a bit harder!! 

Adam recalls his parent's hearing aid beige Mk2 Escort - and strangely enough, he owns one very similar now, except his has a Cosworth lump and over 400bhp!! 

Sadly his Mums Escort was stolen while he was at a kids party, and never recovered.

It was replaced by a Peugeot 205. He did have a mate who's Dad had a 3 door Cosworth - so he and his friends used to go to classic Ford events. 

Greg tells us his Dad used to have Audi RS6s, which prompted him to buy one for himself a few years back - however, reliability wasn't its strong point, and he's chopped it in for a ex-British Gas Caddy van and an EV! 

His Uncle had a blue Jaguar E-Type, which they used to take to classic car shows. 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and thanks again to Greg and Adam for supporting what we do.

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

To mark this momentous achievement in the life of the podcast, Andy steps into the guest hot seat and is interviewed by Jon and co-host Paul Harding (previous star of S4E4).

This episode will also be published the day after Andy's 43rd Birthday and 3 years and 3 days since the first episode was aired.  

Enjoy tales of engine swapped Vauxhall Cavaliers, a mechanic with an underground workshop and a collection of Porsche race cars. Caravan Holidays, Vauxhall Astras, a super rare Toyota 1000 run around, Honda Accord, Datsun Cherry, VW Golf, Toyota Corolla, Citroen BX (wahey!) Citroen AX, Jaguar E-Type, Datsun Fairlady, Alfa Romeo Spider, the list goes on...

We hope you enjoy this chat, and discover a bit more about why Andy started the podcast in the first place.  

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

We're joined by Gracie Haddon, from the StarterMotor Charity, an organization that helps young people to create careers in the classic automotive 'ecosystem'. 

We chat about Gracie's upbringing - her Dad's work as a writer of Classic Vehicle books, and how they would travel around Europe, with a photographer, to meet and document owners of rare and cherished vehicles. 

Family holidays were taken in a Jeep Cherokee, and spent in an Airstream Caravan kept just outside of Horsham.

She was meant to visit JayKay from Jamiroquai's house for the book, but sadly he had to cancel. She has since met him though. 

We speak about her shared Austin Healey Sprite that she owns with her Dad, but she really wants a Triumph Herald, because of a lady they met on their travels who owned one.

Gracie encourages us to visit both Bicester Motion, and the coveted Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional, which we have only heard great things about.

We really hope you enjoy this one, and please look up StarterMotor both to support their vision, but also as an information source for the young people in your life. 

Homepage - Startermotor

Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional | Hagerty UK

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

We recorded this live at the NEC Classic Motor Show, in the back of a Land Rover Campervan! Our guest is the founder and CEO of Iconic Auctioneers - the massive auction at the show, Nick Whale.

Nick's Dad was a Car Dealer, so its safe to say cars are in his blood. His Dad imported a Camaro when he was young, and then as a the CEO of a successful chain of car dealerships, would buy a brand new Rolls Royce each year, and did this for many years on the bounce.

Sadly, his fellow classmates at boarding school took his Dad's flash car as a reason to pick on him. 

Nick recalls being a VIP guest at the Vauxhall Firenza launch - he got to meet Gerry Marshall, and later became good friends with him and now owns an ex-Gerry Marshall Firenza road car. 

We chat about auctions of course, motorsport and Nick's love of racing, and also the enthusiasm some of his kids are showing for cars too. 

A great episode, which we thoroughly enjoyed recording  - we hope you enjoy it too. 

Please  check out Iconic Auctioneers here if you are searching for a top quality, best in class classic car. 

Iconic Auctioneers | Classic Car & Motorcycle Auction House

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

Jon shares Christmas Holiday tales from his trip to France and Andy shares 20 or so clips recorded at Madeira Drive, Boxing Day Classic Car Meet.

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

We're joined by long time listener of the podcast Andrew Robinson. We first spoke at the NEC in 2024, when he gave us a taster of his car story, but we finally scheduled some time to do the full episode properly, and what a fascinating set of vehicles he recalls. 

A 30's Rolls Royce, a classic Alfa Coupe, BMW 6 series, Mum's 2002, and his late brothers' Beach Buggy. 

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

Barney was the first of our live interviews at the 2025 Classic Car Show at the NEC.

As Andy's boss, he's known Barney for 18 years, but this is the first time he had interviewed him. 

We start things off with a bucket and a gritty sponge, with him helping to clean his Dad's yellow Mk1 Escort Mexico. We stay in that car for drives to the South of France, including knocking the exhaust off on the ferry with some frequency. 

There was a teacher at Barney's school with an RS500 Cosworth, and a sixth former with a Beetle. 

Naturally, as the CEO of Heritage Parts Centre, we spoke about how Barney got into VWs - it was the Bug Jam coverage on TV, which he saw at school that set the spark inside him. 

Elsewhere, there's mention of his Nans interest in British sportscars, and how she almost got a Morgan, but by the time her name came up on the waiting list, she was too old to get in and out of it!

Find out more about Heritage Parts Centre here: www.heritagepartscentre.com or follow Barney online at www.instagram.com/barneyceo

We're pleased to say the guys from Viking Covers are staying on as Sponsor for My Dad's Car. 

If you are looking to keep the dust, dirt and weather off your cherished car go check them out at www.vikingcovers.co.uk

Support the show

We’d love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media.

www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcast

www.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcast

www.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscar

If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee’ which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. 

Get in touch with us direct - [email protected]