My dad used to supply Vauxhall with the plastic to produce the bumpers etc. The white is caused by the amount of chalk that's in the mix, the trims were produced by a different company to bumpers hence why one has faded.! His other claim to fame is the Ford Sierra steering wheel and the original Micra dashboards.!
I passed my Test in October 1993. I used a Red Vauxhall Nova 2 door saloon. I always remember the steering wheel being offset to the pedals, slightly the wheel was to the left. I narrowly passed on my third test. I was at a Fourway stop, and I flashed the car opposite to give him way. At the end of my test the examiner explained that flashing the lights was not in the Highway Code. To give me a chance he gave me 20 Highway Code questions, I got them all correct so he passed me. I told him afterwards that I have been Reading the Highway Code since I Was 10 It was my favourite book that I would borrow from the library. He was quite impressed. My first car was a £200 Geranium Red Citroen 2cv6 with rectangle headlights.
This is my era! Learnt to drive in 1996. (before theory tests). Learned in a late Vauxhall Nova, 4 lessons, then a 20 minute exam. Drove around a local housing estate, with an emergency stop and a reverse around a corner as my mandatory manoeuvres. Had to identify 6 signs from a small book. Passed immediately, with an automatic entitlement to 7.5 tonners, 16 seat (I think) minibus, trailers etc etc a mere 6 weeks after my 17th birthday. Then jumped in my Mk 1 Fiesta, which was bought for £200 - and would probably be worth 10 times that now! Simpler times.
I grew up France and got my driving license around 1990. The driving school used Peugeot 205 diesels. They were great for learning as the diesel engine was basically impossible to stall and the gearbox was very precise, at least compared to my dad's FIAT Tipo's!
Thanks for a nice video, i passed my test in 1992 in a Volvo 440. Got to do the reversing round a corner, hill start and paralell parking, As far as i know the test here in Sweden still contains these moments.
I learned to drive (July '97 to Sept '97) in a 306 diesel, great car to learn in with a very forgiving clutch! My examiner was Mr. Taylor, known locally as Failure Taylor and he made me do a 3 point turn outside my instructor's house!!
Passed my test in 1994 in a K reg Ford escort 1.8d LX. No turbo, and no power steering - so extremely heavy. I then went straight into my parents 1981 mini 1000 which felt like something from the stone age by comparison, but I look back at memories of it with huge affection!
A black Corsa B with BSM. (Bring Some Money, as we used to call them as opposed to the correct British School of Motoring)11 lessons, passed first time and booked two motorway lessons after I passed, which I'd recommend for all new drivers. It's amazing what people forget when using motorways!
I done my dashboard about two years ago with that product and it still looks like I done it yesterday. As for your lights if you can separate the glass I used Aluminum Foil Tape if you're carefull it comes out really good.
The driving instructor lessons I had were in a K10 Micra. It was a great little car, quite fun to drive looking back. I think the instructor had it for a long time as this was in about 1996. I passed first time in it too. I did most of my actual learning in a MK1 Mondeo though. Also a nice car. On my test in the Micra I got lucky as I got reverse around a corner and despite not being able to see said corner managed it well enough to pass.
If test taken in a van was always a right hand corner so one could see by looking backwards out the window or sliding door open in a Bedford CA or BMC J as sliding window too small for ones head, closing it before continuing forwards. One had to reverse further back along the road so as to get back onto the correct side to exit the road at the junction.
I passed my test in 1996 in a 1995 Nissan Sunny two door, in November, a dog ran in front of me an test, which resulted in a textbook emergency stop. Passed first time
I started my driving with BSM in a Metro and ending up passing in a Toyota Corolla, the Corolla so much better to drive but enjoyed every bit of learning to drive ended up passing in 97, but I was a pleb when I was young was driving from 81, so don't do what I did get your Driving Licence when your young is my advice it was the Best thing my life when I passed.🚗👍
Learned to drive in a maroon/brown 1989 base model diesel Fiesta. My instructor was an old school friends dad, so always felt a bit weird driving their family car! ABS, power steering, air con, electric windows and any meaningful acceleration were all things absent from that particular Ford effort...😂 Always amused me too that he had L and R stickers on the dashboard incase the pupil didn't know left and right!
I learnt to drive and passed my test in a 98/99 BSM Corsa 12v 1L 3 Cyl engine. Had 3 different driving instructors, the first two I didn’t get on that well, then was matched up with a lovely bloke called John who was former major in the army and had retired from running a major car dealership in the south east and took up driving instructing as a hobby! As for the car, it was remarkably comfortable for somebody over 6’3”, the engine had a such a narrow power band which meant you had to be in the right gear all the time, not such a bad thing. Reversing around corners was a doddle as long as you kept the kerb stones in view in the certain spot of the rear window. I’d love to drive another one, just for a trip down memory lane.
I learned to drive in a Corse back in 1994 and failed my test in it too !! Then went on to pass a month later in my then own Austin Maxi which is still around and attended the NEC for the first time this year
Driving lessons in a Brown MK1 Austin Metro, with a match stick in the rear window rubber which you lined up with the pavement to help reverse around corners
I learned to drive in a Nissan Micra in the late 90s. Same driving instructor still teaching at that time who my Mum learned to drive with all those years ago.
Cute little car really and well deserves a new set of lamps. I have a similar greying problem with my Seicento S, I use "Wet 'N Black" by Turtlewax I think and it brings the bumpers up really well but they eventually go grey again in a few weeks.
You could take the wheel arch trims off, give them a light scuff (so as not to remove the texture but just give it a light key) and then prime and paint them with black plastic paint. Did this with the plastic indicator / fog light surrounds on my Audi Coupe after repairing them and they came out surprisingly well.
Nice thought, but these clips are a nightmare. One way construction. You'd definitely break either trim or clips (or both). Black plastic paint is very useful stuff though.
@@sebastian0107 good point. I have no idea how easy to obtain the clips would be now. I suppose it might be possible to paint them on the car with very careful masking.
@@markf4720 Masking will do the job. The clips are universal and dirt cheap, but still very hard not to break parts, while fist-hammering them back on.
I learned to drive in a Corsa B in 1998/99. I had a 1985 Mk II Golf as my first car, and it was quite an adjustment going between those as a learner driver with big heavy steering and a heavy (slightly worn out) clutch in the old Golf to the lighter and easier to drive BSM Corsa for the lessons.
Owatrol is great, they do a spray in that inhibitor..i used it on a sump, it can handle the temperature and dries to quite a shiny hard finish..sealed nicely👍 also use a little drop as a pouring option in solvent paint (gloss and satinwood) for a superb finish!
I learnt to drive in 4 diffrent cars, two K11 Micra's and 2 Corsa C's with the second Corsa only being a few days old when i Passed my test with BSM in 2001. There was up until a few years ago a driving school teaching pupils to drive in a 80's Nissan Sunny! Top job on the Corsa Ian and Carly as you mentioned i am a huge fan of Polytrol on the Smart, think i just top it up each time i give the car a clean if I go to a Meet or Show. The only downside is the initial outlay but as you say use it sparelingly and it goes a long long way.
In 1993, when I was learning to drive, my driving instructor had a 1991 Nissan Micra K10 1.2 GS. I loved that car so much that 28 years later I had to get my own K10.
Not in the nineties but passed in 2002 in a w reg Corsa b 1.7 diesel,very nice cars,I did briefly have a w reg Corsa b 1.0 GLS about ten years ago great cars.
I passed my test in a red 5 door Corsa B in 1998. It was a diesel so moving away and doing 3 point turns was easy as I could manoeuvre the car on idle.
I learnt to drive in my late Grandad’s 1995 Corsa B, chauffeured my parents everywhere in it with L plates on. I have a Corsa B again now. My driving instructor’s car was a new ‘03 K13 Micra - the engine mounts failed whilst I was trying to do a hill start. Lesson ended after about 10 mins
The white paint has come up a treat. Great result with the bumpers. Maybe try the heat gun first on the arches and then complete with the restorer. That's what I did with my brown PVC drainpipes!
Well, started driving lessons in late 1989, passed in 1990, white Vauxhall Nova saloon 1.1- try finding one now! Paper clip in rear window for a reference reversing! Seems a life time ago.
My driving lessons were in a bright red Nissan Micra Super (K10). Wasn’t allowed to take it over 50 mph on the dual carriage way. “50 is a nice speed” he’d always say. He always had some techniques for reversing around a corner (lining the mirror up with the curb) but that never seemed to work for me. Fun times.
I'd paint the wheel arch plastic black, because it stands out a bit too much,but it's amazing what some products and elbow grease can achieve.i think it would be a great first car for little miss hubnut,and she can even show it off at festivals being a 27 year old car.
Nice job! Looks lovely! Corsa B's in this shape are very hard to find. In the Netherlands they already sell for 1.500,- up to 2.000,- in this condition. I hope this one finds a caring new owner!
6:52 There is fantastic fluid for sale made by Simonys, it is absolutely perfect for the plastic that that turned white under influence of the sun! I have bought a bottle for a neighbour with the same model Opel Corsa, his bumpers were almost white on the horizontal parts and light gray for the rest. After using that stuff they looked as new!
I had exactly the same model as this (R-reg too) but in red as my first car, and with the 1 litre 3 cylinder - sounded like a sewing machine. The classic Vauxhall red never lasted after T-cutting and eventually became pink again. Gave up with the black trim after a while as I just couldn’t get it stay😅. Loved this car and did many miles, up and back to uni, 500 mile round trip. Sunroof was useful to be able to stick my head out at 6’ 4”😂
I learnt to drive in the late 90's in a 1.4 Citroën ZX. My instructor was a burly Scottish chap who taught me one thing, "you have to get up to speed as quick as possible on slip roads", which lead to him grabbing G the gear stick to stop me changing up a couple of times. That poor ZX didn't half scream on occasions! I also failed my first test because I was too tentative reversing round a junction. A junction that was 100 yards from a school just before chucking out time!!
I have used buzzwelds chassis guard on plastics. (I'm pretty sure this is like Lanoguard - but a cheaper price). Had some faded plastic on the rear bumper of my C1. Used it in June, and it still looks good. As it's lanolin based does not harm plastics.
Just realised the first car I owned was R reg only that was a 1977 Simca 1100 Estate, I learnt to drive in a 1973 Morris Marina 1.3L. (Passed in 1982) I realise that makes me "Old" Good luck to LittleMissHubNut whatever she gets to drive, I think it was on this weeks OTOSOT Smith & Sniff podcast where someone said its better for young people to have old sheddy cars as they learn a lot more about how they work.
I did my driving lessons and test in a Leyland Sherpa minibus. It was 1979 and I was on my mechanics apprenticeship, part of the course being a requirement to learn and pass my driving test. As well as vauxhall cars, our dealership also serviced and repaired bedford trucks so we were sent to a local hgv driving school and the smallest vehicle they had was this sherpa minibus. The thinking behind it was that if we transferred to the hgv side having passed our driving test in the sherpa it was not such a big step up to learning to drive hgv's. It also means I have grandad rights to drive up to 7.5 ton non hgv trucks if I want to.
I had a Holden Combo Van with similar faded bumpers and wheel arches, i found Bumper Grey spray paint worked much better than any wipe on stuff. Really easy to mask and paint.
I learned in the early 90's (passed my test in '93) - started off driving tractors and Land Rovers on farms some years earlier, so had a bit of experience by the time I actually hit the road with my instructor (Simon); first drive was in a Micra K10 where let me drive around country roads whilst he observed.. at the end, he commented that I drove "like an old hand" because I changed down through the gearbox and didn't block change, going on to book my test ASAP (that was 10 weeks later, due to a waiting list at the test centre); the day before my test, Simon took delivery of a brand new Peugeot 106 XND and the first time I drove it was an hour before my test. Worse still, on the day of my test, the examiner that I was supposed to get was off sick and had been replaced by a guy (Mr Britt) who was locally renowned as a bit of a ball buster. Because he had been called in on what should have been his day off, he was also grumpy. My instructor was convinced I was going to fail purely on the basis of that (although he only told me this after the test thankfully); I thought I had made an error fairly early on in the test, so knowing who was examining me, I basically gave up and thought I may as well just enjoy driving this brand new car and get to know it as I was likely to be driving it a few more times before my next test.... I passed, and never drove it again. Other useless facts - I passed my PCV test having been instructed by a guy called... Simon! I passed in an MCW Metrobus. Sadly, due to illness, I had to let that part of my licence lapse. Like Ian, I remember reversing round a corner and 3-point turns; being in a country area, attention was also paid to hill starts and how you used engine braking. On the bus test, we had cadence braking (something that ended quite soon after, as everything following had ABS)
Driving lessons, well I know it's not the 90's but I passed my test in a 2014 Corsa D honestly absolutely loved that car. Personally I think an ideal first car would be a MK1 focus preferably the little 1.4 so forgiving & easy to look after I ended up buying a bit of a dog though buyer error on my part
I've been a driving instructor since 1982, military then civilian. Wouldn't it be interesting if one of my pupils were to comment on this lol. 1st car I taught in was an Army Mk2 Ford Escort
I learned to drive with the AA driving school in 1996, in a Rover 100. The 1.1i engine felt quite pokey compared to my first car, a Austin Metro 1.0 City!
I remember when my dad's Corsa B (the four-door version of this one) was being traded in, and the dealer knocked off a lot of the offer price because the white paint was pock-marked from having been pelted by grit in the winter from being parked on the road, so it had a bad case of rusty chicken pox resulting in it needing a respray regardless of whether it was up for sale or not, probably would have been a good idea for my dad to have gotten that fixed though before selling in favour of the Hyundai Lantra (no 'e' yet!) estate that replaced it... :P
Arches probably covered in years of car wax, try the groundnut oil ,it breaks it down .. edit to add remember owatrol is for oil based paints, cant use acrylic over it . I learned in a nova saloon, and a fiesta diesel in around 89/90
I drove my mum around twice a week in a 1969 Vauxhall viva 1.1SL, I had 4 lessons with a driving instructor in a 1979 ford fiesta mk1 .. she had me driving for 10 mins using only hand signals, took me onto a 3 lane A road and told me to drive at 70mph, and when it was wet she taught me Candice braking, my first emergency stop in the wet resulted in me facing 90 deg from my original direction.. she was a rally driver in her youth.. I passed in 1981..
My driving lessons were in 1989 in a 1989 Nissan Sunny saloon. The instructor told me I wasn't a racing driver 🙄. I passed first time. A decade later, my flying instructor told me I wasn't a fighter pilot. I'm still both (in my head) 😂
You are right about safety concerns and for younger drivers. I run a 93 Corsa like this without any extras and do pay strong attention to everything on the road. It’s not going to fare well in a bump. The ncap rating is for the airbag version and also if you watch the video it’s not much better than the Metro or 106, the cabin and pillars have major intrusion. That said I love driving it and great to see this one clean up!
Your, (both Mr and Miss HubNut) participation in the Sophies Legacy 24 hour event was very much excellent and widely appreciated. Respect, deserved. Many thanks. The Corsa project currently underway. Wishing you success in every way. Sending much love.
Nice result! Strange that the plastic parts of the wheel arches age so differently then the bumpers! I passed my test in 1993 in a 1992 red Seat Toledo 2.0 GT it was freezing cold ! After passing my test, we got outside and it had starting to rain ! All roads were covered in ice 😱 ! Luckily for me not during the test! My instructor drove us home ! Very Nice car , and you hardly see them any more! 👍🏻👍🏻 🆙 like always 🫶
I passed my driving test in Crawley on my third attempt in October 1991 after taking lessons for six months with the British School of Motoring. They were using Rover Metros in red, white, or blue at the time and changing cars every few months, so I had the chance to drive each colour. These 1.1L models had a choke, but they also had a five-speed gearbox. They were great learner cars and made manoeuvrers like reversing around a corner easy, even without power steering. In the test, there was a choice of three manoeuvrers: reversing around a corner, a three-point turn, and the newly introduced parallel park. The instructor would select two of these. I was fortunate that on my test day, I only had to do the three-point turn and reverse around the corner-both of which I could handle without any problems. I was still struggling with parallel parking and still dislike it today! At that time, there was no theory test apart from three or so questions on the highway code at the end of the driving test. I remember getting one wrong when the instructor asked what vehicle used a green flashing light. I couldn't remember it was for a doctor, but I listed all the other coloured flashing lights, and he was satisfied with that. My instructor was a great guy, always friendly and willing to demonstrate things. Even on my first lesson, he had me driving around town and onto the dual carriageway. He was quite impressed when I demonstrated changing gear from third to fifth on my first lesson, as the road speed was good enough. He also liked that I naturally went down the gears when slowing down, but I believe that's not taught today, if how a good friend of mine drives is anything to go by. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, but he was also teaching my mum to drive at that time. Sadly, she never managed to pass her test. Going backwards was something she struggled with, and after two failed tests, she gave up. Our instructor always said she was capable, but her nerves got the better of her. Looking back, I think she would have been better off learning to drive an automatic car, so she didn't have to worry about clutch control. However, automatic cars were rare back then, so it never crossed her mind to try that. Once I had hours of driving with the instructor done, I did go out with my father as well. I had a Mini 850 ready to be first car, so if we were visiting grandparents at the weekend, we would go out in that and I’d drive with the L plates on the get more experience, but on journeys I was familiar with. It all seemed to go well, with no arguments. I remember finding the experience of learning to drive pretty entertaining and exciting, but these days with so much more traffic around, it must be much a harder thing to do.
i had 2 instructers -1st was elderley gent who had 1.1 metro that i drove on lessons but he had habit going sleep on 2hr lessons - 2nd was in rover 216 h reg i think now that was a nice car to drive
That's basically n-butylacetaat. It actually reacts with the plastic surface. Owatrol gives a nice protection-layer. I'd use both for a long lasting result.
I can recommend Owatrol Oil as a rust inhibitor. I had an issue with wheelnuts going rusty on the Super National, so I coated one of the wheels nuts with it, and it stopped the rust coming through! I've used it liberally on the current Bristol RE projects chassis. Owatrol Oil is also brilliant as a paint conditioner, which is very useful when you coach paint (i.e. using brushes) vehicles.
I passed my car test in a brand new 1975 Orange Honda Civic. I passed class A HGV licence in 1990 in a little mining town in Western Australia. That consisted of a couple of laps of the town; being careful to stop at both stop signs, followed by reversing around a corner and ending up with the trailer reasonably straight. The test took about ten minutes, and I passed. I was able to convert this to a Class 1 licence when I returned to the UK.
Passed in 1994 in an Escort mk4 second time. The first time the thermostat went on the way to the test centre. A hasty stop at a garage to remove the offending thermostat didn't help my nerves!
I learned drive in the 1980's. My high school had a group of white over light blue vinyl 1982-3 Chevy Impala sedans for driver's training. We got to drive full sized American sedans around a town started by the Spanish in the early 1700's. One way streets, too narrow for bikes, a bunch of high schoolers trying to miss other cars, pedestrians, bikes on roads designed for horses. Fun times.
The wheel trims are fake MK4 Astra Club/LS 8v from about 2002...so nerdy here! So good to see this B getting some love. Always liked the Corsa B and C....Corsa D looks like an awkward bugs bunny.
I passed in 93 and the car I learned to drive and passed in was a Nissan Sunny J plater. I did have an Austin Maestro sat at home waiting for me for when I passed which felt quite agricultural compared to the Sunny as there was a 10 year difference between the two. The Maestro was registered in 83 so was a Y reg.
For a clicking door check strap on a Vauxhall, there is a trick where you undo it and turn it upside down. It worked a treat on my Signum! There are many videos on YT.
1993 : A diesel Nissan Sentra saloon if I remember well. With George, a 50-something retired bus driver from a recommended driving school. He picked me up by the office in central Dublin at 5.30pm. As I approached the car, he moved into the passenger seat. I knew the theory of how to drive a manual car, but had never done it. And so off we went with me driving in rush hour traffic through the worst junction in Dublin, and out into the suburbs. He had a couple of golden rules/ sayings : 1) Always let buses pull out 2) "You'd drive a bus through there !" if I was unsure if the gap was wide enough to go through 3) "Always be Noddy at junctions and when reversing. I want to see you looking left, and right, and behind 4) Touching the kerb is like killing a pedestrian. When the hour was finished, the next client was always this young nutter who drove like he was a get away driver. Talk about driving on the brakes. We'd drive back into the centre with George using the dual controls to keep us all alive. When I was competent to drive but still hadn't bought a car, I did 2 or 3 more lessons for the enjoyment of driving in the summer sunshine and a good chat with George. Then the 1987 1.1Popuar Plus Fiesta came along. I thought I'd keep it for year and buy something better, but I loved it so much I had it for 7 years, and only changed it as my sister's 1988 Volvo 343DL was going a begging.
I passed my test in 1990. My instructor was a real character. Ivan Hoyle was his name, and he'd previously been a copper. He taught a lot of the kids in the small town I lived in. One day we were in my Mum's Fiesta (non dual control) as his Metro was poorly. I was trying to get on to a very busy roundabout near the prison in Canterbury. He kept saying "That was a gap"... "You could have gone then"... etc. This went on for a while until I finally went for it. "Noooo!" he shouted and pulled the handbrake on. Which actually stopped the car fairly fast. He later said that if the handbrake hadn't worked his plan B was to go for the door handle and bail out.
I saw a advert on Facebook marketplace the other day from (strangely) Temu showing a what once was this generation Vauxhall Combo van but with slightly different front end and details under a different brand name. I didn't realise they still made vehicles on the old Opel/Vauxhall Corsa platform.
I learned to drive in 1990/1991 in an Opel Corsa A 1.3 N with Irmscher bodykit and running on LPG 😅 I quite liked it apart from the steering wheel not being in the centre of the driver's seat
Learned to drive in Red 2 door Corsa B back in 2006. There was no power steering, and the clutch bite was at the end, as you were just about to take your foot off the pedal compared to modern cars. Did I mention it was in the Polish winter in a hilly city? Great time of the year to learn to drive.
Those arches are notorious for being faded, so much so it’s unusual to see them unfaded. When I had a Corsa B, I tried to freshen up the exterior plastics and used baby oil. It worked albeit temporarily but it was more of an experiment than an attempt to beautify.
Ian, I would suggest sending some of that Owatrol rust remedy inside the front edge of the bonnet to stop it rusting out entirely in the future. I learned to drive in 1990 in two Austin Metro 1300 5-doors in black and a burgundy/brown 1.0 3-door.
My dad used to supply Vauxhall with the plastic to produce the bumpers etc.
The white is caused by the amount of chalk that's in the mix, the trims were produced by a different company to bumpers hence why one has faded.!
His other claim to fame is the Ford Sierra steering wheel and the original Micra dashboards.!
Polymers. They came round our school in the 80's extolling the virtues. Even then I could see the benefits and downfalls.
I passed my Test in October 1993. I used a Red Vauxhall Nova 2 door saloon. I always remember the steering wheel being offset to the pedals, slightly the wheel was to the left. I narrowly passed on my third test. I was at a Fourway stop, and I flashed the car opposite to give him way. At the end of my test the examiner explained that flashing the lights was not in the Highway Code. To give me a chance he gave me 20 Highway Code questions, I got them all correct so he passed me. I told him afterwards that I have been Reading the Highway Code since I Was 10 It was my favourite book that I would borrow from the library. He was quite impressed. My first car was a £200 Geranium Red Citroen 2cv6 with rectangle headlights.
This is my era! Learnt to drive in 1996. (before theory tests). Learned in a late Vauxhall Nova, 4 lessons, then a 20 minute exam. Drove around a local housing estate, with an emergency stop and a reverse around a corner as my mandatory manoeuvres. Had to identify 6 signs from a small book. Passed immediately, with an automatic entitlement to 7.5 tonners, 16 seat (I think) minibus, trailers etc etc a mere 6 weeks after my 17th birthday. Then jumped in my Mk 1 Fiesta, which was bought for £200 - and would probably be worth 10 times that now! Simpler times.
I grew up France and got my driving license around 1990. The driving school used Peugeot 205 diesels. They were great for learning as the diesel engine was basically impossible to stall and the gearbox was very precise, at least compared to my dad's FIAT Tipo's!
Blackboard paint on plastic trim makes them back to as new , quick and easy 😮
Thanks for a nice video, i passed my test in 1992 in a Volvo 440. Got to do the reversing round a corner, hill start and paralell parking, As far as i know the test here in Sweden still contains these moments.
I learned to drive (July '97 to Sept '97) in a 306 diesel, great car to learn in with a very forgiving clutch! My examiner was Mr. Taylor, known locally as Failure Taylor and he made me do a 3 point turn outside my instructor's house!!
Passed my test in 1994 in a K reg Ford escort 1.8d LX. No turbo, and no power steering - so extremely heavy. I then went straight into my parents 1981 mini 1000 which felt like something from the stone age by comparison, but I look back at memories of it with huge affection!
A black Corsa B with BSM. (Bring Some Money, as we used to call them as opposed to the correct British School of Motoring)11 lessons, passed first time and booked two motorway lessons after I passed, which I'd recommend for all new drivers. It's amazing what people forget when using motorways!
That product works well because those bumpers and wheel arch flares have come back up nicely.
I passed my test in 1982, a Ford Escort. First car I owned was a P6 Rover 2000 TC in a delightful shade of brown.
I done my dashboard about two years ago with that product and it still looks like I done it yesterday. As for your lights if you can separate the glass I used Aluminum Foil Tape if you're carefull it comes out really good.
The driving instructor lessons I had were in a K10 Micra. It was a great little car, quite fun to drive looking back. I think the instructor had it for a long time as this was in about 1996. I passed first time in it too. I did most of my actual learning in a MK1 Mondeo though. Also a nice car. On my test in the Micra I got lucky as I got reverse around a corner and despite not being able to see said corner managed it well enough to pass.
If test taken in a van was always a right hand corner so one could see by looking backwards out the window or sliding door open in a Bedford CA or BMC J as sliding window too small for ones head, closing it before continuing forwards. One had to reverse further back along the road so as to get back onto the correct side to exit the road at the junction.
I passed my test in 1996 in a 1995 Nissan Sunny two door, in November, a dog ran in front of me an test, which resulted in a textbook emergency stop. Passed first time
I started my driving with BSM in a Metro and ending up passing in a Toyota Corolla, the Corolla so much better to drive but enjoyed every bit of learning to drive ended up passing in 97, but I was a pleb when I was young was driving from 81, so don't do what I did get your Driving Licence when your young is my advice it was the Best thing my life when I passed.🚗👍
Learned to drive in a maroon/brown 1989 base model diesel Fiesta. My instructor was an old school friends dad, so always felt a bit weird driving their family car! ABS, power steering, air con, electric windows and any meaningful acceleration were all things absent from that particular Ford effort...😂 Always amused me too that he had L and R stickers on the dashboard incase the pupil didn't know left and right!
Boot polish is what I used years ago when trading cars, also extremely good on tyres
I used to have a friend who was a a driving instructor in the early to mid 90s, he had a metallic maroon Corsa turbo diesel.
I still need to tackle the plastic door trim on my Ford Fiesta MK2, thanks for this product tip.
I learnt to drive and passed my test in a 98/99 BSM Corsa 12v 1L 3 Cyl engine.
Had 3 different driving instructors, the first two I didn’t get on that well, then was matched up with a lovely bloke called John who was former major in the army and had retired from running a major car dealership in the south east and took up driving instructing as a hobby!
As for the car, it was remarkably comfortable for somebody over 6’3”, the engine had a such a narrow power band which meant you had to be in the right gear all the time, not such a bad thing. Reversing around corners was a doddle as long as you kept the kerb stones in view in the certain spot of the rear window.
I’d love to drive another one, just for a trip down memory lane.
I learned to drive in a Corse back in 1994 and failed my test in it too !! Then went on to pass a month later in my then own Austin Maxi which is still around and attended the NEC for the first time this year
Ah yes. Martin's Maxi?
Driving lessons in a Brown MK1 Austin Metro, with a match stick in the rear window rubber which you lined up with the pavement to help reverse around corners
I learned to drive in a Nissan Micra in the late 90s. Same driving instructor still teaching at that time who my Mum learned to drive with all those years ago.
Cute little car really and well deserves a new set of lamps. I have a similar greying problem with my Seicento S, I use "Wet 'N Black" by Turtlewax I think and it brings the bumpers up really well but they eventually go grey again in a few weeks.
You could take the wheel arch trims off, give them a light scuff (so as not to remove the texture but just give it a light key) and then prime and paint them with black plastic paint. Did this with the plastic indicator / fog light surrounds on my Audi Coupe after repairing them and they came out surprisingly well.
Nice thought, but these clips are a nightmare. One way construction. You'd definitely break either trim or clips (or both). Black plastic paint is very useful stuff though.
@@sebastian0107 good point. I have no idea how easy to obtain the clips would be now. I suppose it might be possible to paint them on the car with very careful masking.
@@markf4720 Masking will do the job. The clips are universal and dirt cheap, but still very hard not to break parts, while fist-hammering them back on.
They would take a hell of a lot of degreasing to remove all that restoring oil and accept paint properly...
@@johnmoruzzi7236 lol, yes. Would have been better to do it before oiling it! 😁
Corsa looking good
another great video has always Ian and Carly miss/mrs hubnut and hublets and hubmutt 👍
I learned to drive in a Corsa B in 1998/99. I had a 1985 Mk II Golf as my first car, and it was quite an adjustment going between those as a learner driver with big heavy steering and a heavy (slightly worn out) clutch in the old Golf to the lighter and easier to drive BSM Corsa for the lessons.
Owatrol is great, they do a spray in that inhibitor..i used it on a sump, it can handle the temperature and dries to quite a shiny hard finish..sealed nicely👍 also use a little drop as a pouring option in solvent paint (gloss and satinwood) for a superb finish!
I learnt to drive in 4 diffrent cars, two K11 Micra's and 2 Corsa C's with the second Corsa only being a few days old when i Passed my test with BSM in 2001.
There was up until a few years ago a driving school teaching pupils to drive in a 80's Nissan Sunny!
Top job on the Corsa Ian and Carly as you mentioned i am a huge fan of Polytrol on the Smart, think i just top it up each time i give the car a clean if I go to a Meet or Show.
The only downside is the initial outlay but as you say use it sparelingly and it goes a long long way.
In 1993, when I was learning to drive, my driving instructor had a 1991 Nissan Micra K10 1.2 GS. I loved that car so much that 28 years later I had to get my own K10.
Not in the nineties but passed in 2002 in a w reg Corsa b 1.7 diesel,very nice cars,I did briefly have a w reg Corsa b 1.0 GLS about ten years ago great cars.
I passed my test in a red 5 door Corsa B in 1998. It was a diesel so moving away and doing 3 point turns was easy as I could manoeuvre the car on idle.
I learnt to drive in my late Grandad’s 1995 Corsa B, chauffeured my parents everywhere in it with L plates on. I have a Corsa B again now. My driving instructor’s car was a new ‘03 K13 Micra - the engine mounts failed whilst I was trying to do a hill start. Lesson ended after about 10 mins
The white paint has come up a treat. Great result with the bumpers. Maybe try the heat gun first on the arches and then complete with the restorer. That's what I did with my brown PVC drainpipes!
Well, started driving lessons in late 1989, passed in 1990, white Vauxhall Nova saloon 1.1- try finding one now! Paper clip in rear window for a reference reversing! Seems a life time ago.
My driving lessons were in a bright red Nissan Micra Super (K10). Wasn’t allowed to take it over 50 mph on the dual carriage way. “50 is a nice speed” he’d always say. He always had some techniques for reversing around a corner (lining the mirror up with the curb) but that never seemed to work for me. Fun times.
I'd paint the wheel arch plastic black, because it stands out a bit too much,but it's amazing what some products and elbow grease can achieve.i think it would be a great first car for little miss hubnut,and she can even show it off at festivals being a 27 year old car.
Nice job! Looks lovely! Corsa B's in this shape are very hard to find. In the Netherlands they already sell for 1.500,- up to 2.000,- in this condition. I hope this one finds a caring new owner!
6:52 There is fantastic fluid for sale made by Simonys, it is absolutely perfect for the plastic that that turned white under influence of the sun! I have bought a bottle for a neighbour with the same model Opel Corsa, his bumpers were almost white on the horizontal parts and light gray for the rest. After using that stuff they looked as new!
I had exactly the same model as this (R-reg too) but in red as my first car, and with the 1 litre 3 cylinder - sounded like a sewing machine. The classic Vauxhall red never lasted after T-cutting and eventually became pink again. Gave up with the black trim after a while as I just couldn’t get it stay😅. Loved this car and did many miles, up and back to uni, 500 mile round trip. Sunroof was useful to be able to stick my head out at 6’ 4”😂
The Corsa will look great I'm sure. Will make a good vehicle for its new owner.
I like that corsa B. Zero options no sunroof . Perfect car to learn in.
I learned to drive a bit before the time in question, in 1982 driving a W reg mk2 Escort.
I learnt to drive in the late 90's in a 1.4 Citroën ZX.
My instructor was a burly Scottish chap who taught me one thing, "you have to get up to speed as quick as possible on slip roads", which lead to him grabbing G the gear stick to stop me changing up a couple of times.
That poor ZX didn't half scream on occasions!
I also failed my first test because I was too tentative reversing round a junction.
A junction that was 100 yards from a school just before chucking out time!!
I passed my test early 2000s in a K10 Micra 1.0 16v. Had to do a 3-point-turn in a road next to a school at going home time!
I use Forever Black on plastic trims, it's excellent and acts like a black dye, lasts for months.
Off your target because it was in the 80's but I learned to drive in an Opel Ascona B. 1.9 petrol. The fast one!
Learned to drive in a 1992 Toyota Starlett. It was a great car. Practised in a slightly older Volvo 340. Neither car had power steering.
Absolutely brilliant video ian miss hubnut ❤👍she looks brilliant now well done brilliant
I learned in the early 2000s in a Corsa C. Big memory was my instructor chewing nicotine replacement gum ha!
I have used buzzwelds chassis guard on plastics. (I'm pretty sure this is like Lanoguard - but a cheaper price). Had some faded plastic on the rear bumper of my C1. Used it in June, and it still looks good. As it's lanolin based does not harm plastics.
Just realised the first car I owned was R reg only that was a 1977 Simca 1100 Estate, I learnt to drive in a 1973 Morris Marina 1.3L. (Passed in 1982)
I realise that makes me "Old"
Good luck to LittleMissHubNut whatever she gets to drive, I think it was on this weeks OTOSOT Smith & Sniff podcast where someone said its better for young people to have old sheddy cars as they learn a lot more about how they work.
1997. Driving instructor had an R-reg Corsa B in white. Supplemented with experience in mother's 1988 Fiat Panda
I did my driving lessons and test in a Leyland Sherpa minibus. It was 1979 and I was on my mechanics apprenticeship, part of the course being a requirement to learn and pass my driving test. As well as vauxhall cars, our dealership also serviced and repaired bedford trucks so we were sent to a local hgv driving school and the smallest vehicle they had was this sherpa minibus. The thinking behind it was that if we transferred to the hgv side having passed our driving test in the sherpa it was not such a big step up to learning to drive hgv's. It also means I have grandad rights to drive up to 7.5 ton non hgv trucks if I want to.
I had a Holden Combo Van with similar faded bumpers and wheel arches, i found Bumper Grey spray paint worked much better than any wipe on stuff.
Really easy to mask and paint.
I learned in the early 90's (passed my test in '93) - started off driving tractors and Land Rovers on farms some years earlier, so had a bit of experience by the time I actually hit the road with my instructor (Simon); first drive was in a Micra K10 where let me drive around country roads whilst he observed.. at the end, he commented that I drove "like an old hand" because I changed down through the gearbox and didn't block change, going on to book my test ASAP (that was 10 weeks later, due to a waiting list at the test centre); the day before my test, Simon took delivery of a brand new Peugeot 106 XND and the first time I drove it was an hour before my test. Worse still, on the day of my test, the examiner that I was supposed to get was off sick and had been replaced by a guy (Mr Britt) who was locally renowned as a bit of a ball buster. Because he had been called in on what should have been his day off, he was also grumpy. My instructor was convinced I was going to fail purely on the basis of that (although he only told me this after the test thankfully); I thought I had made an error fairly early on in the test, so knowing who was examining me, I basically gave up and thought I may as well just enjoy driving this brand new car and get to know it as I was likely to be driving it a few more times before my next test.... I passed, and never drove it again.
Other useless facts - I passed my PCV test having been instructed by a guy called... Simon! I passed in an MCW Metrobus. Sadly, due to illness, I had to let that part of my licence lapse.
Like Ian, I remember reversing round a corner and 3-point turns; being in a country area, attention was also paid to hill starts and how you used engine braking. On the bus test, we had cadence braking (something that ended quite soon after, as everything following had ABS)
Driving lessons, well I know it's not the 90's but I passed my test in a 2014 Corsa D honestly absolutely loved that car. Personally I think an ideal first car would be a MK1 focus preferably the little 1.4 so forgiving & easy to look after I ended up buying a bit of a dog though buyer error on my part
I will just add to this my second car was a Rover 45, and the sole reason behind that was because of your RUclips videos
I learnt to drive in a MkI Nissan Micra 1.0.
Passed on the second attempt back in 1990.
Early 80s in an Army Ford Escort Estate With a civilian instructor, we drove around the Home Counties in pairs over a month (July I think)
Another great video Mr HubNut
I've been a driving instructor since 1982, military then civilian. Wouldn't it be interesting if one of my pupils were to comment on this lol. 1st car I taught in was an Army Mk2 Ford Escort
I learned to drive with the AA driving school in 1996, in a Rover 100. The 1.1i engine felt quite pokey compared to my first car, a Austin Metro 1.0 City!
I remember when my dad's Corsa B (the four-door version of this one) was being traded in, and the dealer knocked off a lot of the offer price because the white paint was pock-marked from having been pelted by grit in the winter from being parked on the road, so it had a bad case of rusty chicken pox resulting in it needing a respray regardless of whether it was up for sale or not, probably would have been a good idea for my dad to have gotten that fixed though before selling in favour of the Hyundai Lantra (no 'e' yet!) estate that replaced it... :P
I passed my driving test in a manual no-turbo diesel Escort. Perfect car for the job, instant torque makes it hard to stall.
Arches probably covered in years of car wax, try the groundnut oil ,it breaks it down .. edit to add remember owatrol is for oil based paints, cant use acrylic over it . I learned in a nova saloon, and a fiesta diesel in around 89/90
Learnt to drive 1983 in a Metro City X, 6 lesson and passed first time. Not many cars or trucks on the road back then HubNuts.
I passed my test in 1996 in a 5 door Corsa B diesel. Measured the turbo lag with a calendar
I drove my mum around twice a week in a 1969 Vauxhall viva 1.1SL, I had 4 lessons with a driving instructor in a 1979 ford fiesta mk1 .. she had me driving for 10 mins using only hand signals, took me onto a 3 lane A road and told me to drive at 70mph, and when it was wet she taught me Candice braking, my first emergency stop in the wet resulted in me facing 90 deg from my original direction.. she was a rally driver in her youth.. I passed in 1981..
My driving lessons were in 1989 in a 1989 Nissan Sunny saloon. The instructor told me I wasn't a racing driver 🙄. I passed first time. A decade later, my flying instructor told me I wasn't a fighter pilot. I'm still both (in my head) 😂
You are right about safety concerns and for younger drivers. I run a 93 Corsa like this without any extras and do pay strong attention to everything on the road. It’s not going to fare well in a bump. The ncap rating is for the airbag version and also if you watch the video it’s not much better than the Metro or 106, the cabin and pillars have major intrusion. That said I love driving it and great to see this one clean up!
Your, (both Mr and Miss HubNut) participation in the Sophies Legacy 24 hour event was very much excellent and widely appreciated. Respect, deserved. Many thanks.
The Corsa project currently underway. Wishing you success in every way. Sending much love.
Passed my test in white E reg 1987 Vauxhall Nova in 1989, My first car was a A reg 1983 Mini Metro city - this makes Me old very old.
Nice result! Strange that the plastic parts of the wheel arches age so differently then the bumpers! I passed my test in 1993 in a 1992 red Seat Toledo 2.0 GT it was freezing cold ! After passing my test, we got outside and it had starting to rain ! All roads were covered in ice 😱 ! Luckily for me not during the test! My instructor drove us home ! Very Nice car , and you hardly see them any more! 👍🏻👍🏻 🆙 like always 🫶
Learnt to drive in the very early 90s, first in a Fiat Uno, the a mk4 Escort.
I learned in a 1998 Fiesta 1.25. Very refined little car, I liked it a lot.
I passed my driving test in Crawley on my third attempt in October 1991 after taking lessons for six months with the British School of Motoring. They were using Rover Metros in red, white, or blue at the time and changing cars every few months, so I had the chance to drive each colour. These 1.1L models had a choke, but they also had a five-speed gearbox. They were great learner cars and made manoeuvrers like reversing around a corner easy, even without power steering.
In the test, there was a choice of three manoeuvrers: reversing around a corner, a three-point turn, and the newly introduced parallel park. The instructor would select two of these. I was fortunate that on my test day, I only had to do the three-point turn and reverse around the corner-both of which I could handle without any problems. I was still struggling with parallel parking and still dislike it today!
At that time, there was no theory test apart from three or so questions on the highway code at the end of the driving test. I remember getting one wrong when the instructor asked what vehicle used a green flashing light. I couldn't remember it was for a doctor, but I listed all the other coloured flashing lights, and he was satisfied with that.
My instructor was a great guy, always friendly and willing to demonstrate things. Even on my first lesson, he had me driving around town and onto the dual carriageway. He was quite impressed when I demonstrated changing gear from third to fifth on my first lesson, as the road speed was good enough. He also liked that I naturally went down the gears when slowing down, but I believe that's not taught today, if how a good friend of mine drives is anything to go by.
Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, but he was also teaching my mum to drive at that time. Sadly, she never managed to pass her test. Going backwards was something she struggled with, and after two failed tests, she gave up. Our instructor always said she was capable, but her nerves got the better of her. Looking back, I think she would have been better off learning to drive an automatic car, so she didn't have to worry about clutch control. However, automatic cars were rare back then, so it never crossed her mind to try that.
Once I had hours of driving with the instructor done, I did go out with my father as well. I had a Mini 850 ready to be first car, so if we were visiting grandparents at the weekend, we would go out in that and I’d drive with the L plates on the get more experience, but on journeys I was familiar with. It all seemed to go well, with no arguments.
I remember finding the experience of learning to drive pretty entertaining and exciting, but these days with so much more traffic around, it must be much a harder thing to do.
i had 2 instructers -1st was elderley gent who had 1.1 metro that i drove on lessons but he had habit going sleep on 2hr lessons - 2nd was in rover 216 h reg i think now that was a nice car to drive
Back to black paste is what you need for the arch trim
That's basically n-butylacetaat. It actually reacts with the plastic surface. Owatrol gives a nice protection-layer. I'd use both for a long lasting result.
I can remember these Vauxhaul Corsas been the Holden Barina in Australia
I can recommend Owatrol Oil as a rust inhibitor. I had an issue with wheelnuts going rusty on the Super National, so I coated one of the wheels nuts with it, and it stopped the rust coming through! I've used it liberally on the current Bristol RE projects chassis. Owatrol Oil is also brilliant as a paint conditioner, which is very useful when you coach paint (i.e. using brushes) vehicles.
Great video,will make an ideal first car for " little miss hubnut" if she has any incidents in it it doesn't matter.
I passed my car test in a brand new 1975 Orange Honda Civic.
I passed class A HGV licence in 1990 in a little mining town in Western Australia.
That consisted of a couple of laps of the town; being careful to stop at both stop signs, followed by reversing around a corner and ending up with the trailer reasonably straight. The test took about ten minutes, and I passed.
I was able to convert this to a Class 1 licence when I returned to the UK.
Passed in 1994 in an Escort mk4 second time. The first time the thermostat went on the way to the test centre. A hasty stop at a garage to remove the offending thermostat didn't help my nerves!
I learned drive in the 1980's. My high school had a group of white over light blue vinyl 1982-3 Chevy Impala sedans for driver's training. We got to drive full sized American sedans around a town started by the Spanish in the early 1700's. One way streets, too narrow for bikes, a bunch of high schoolers trying to miss other cars, pedestrians, bikes on roads designed for horses.
Fun times.
The wheel trims are fake MK4 Astra Club/LS 8v from about 2002...so nerdy here!
So good to see this B getting some love. Always liked the Corsa B and C....Corsa D looks like an awkward bugs bunny.
I passed in 93 and the car I learned to drive and passed in was a Nissan Sunny J plater. I did have an Austin Maestro sat at home waiting for me for when I passed which felt quite agricultural compared to the Sunny as there was a 10 year difference between the two. The Maestro was registered in 83 so was a Y reg.
For a clicking door check strap on a Vauxhall, there is a trick where you undo it and turn it upside down. It worked a treat on my Signum! There are many videos on YT.
Oh I thought it was meant to do that! Cheers.
1993 : A diesel Nissan Sentra saloon if I remember well. With George, a 50-something retired bus driver from a recommended driving school. He picked me up by the office in central Dublin at 5.30pm. As I approached the car, he moved into the passenger seat. I knew the theory of how to drive a manual car, but had never done it. And so off we went with me driving in rush hour traffic through the worst junction in Dublin, and out into the suburbs. He had a couple of golden rules/ sayings : 1) Always let buses pull out 2) "You'd drive a bus through there !" if I was unsure if the gap was wide enough to go through 3) "Always be Noddy at junctions and when reversing. I want to see you looking left, and right, and behind 4) Touching the kerb is like killing a pedestrian. When the hour was finished, the next client was always this young nutter who drove like he was a get away driver. Talk about driving on the brakes. We'd drive back into the centre with George using the dual controls to keep us all alive. When I was competent to drive but still hadn't bought a car, I did 2 or 3 more lessons for the enjoyment of driving in the summer sunshine and a good chat with George. Then the 1987 1.1Popuar Plus Fiesta came along. I thought I'd keep it for year and buy something better, but I loved it so much I had it for 7 years, and only changed it as my sister's 1988 Volvo 343DL was going a begging.
I passed my test in 1990. My instructor was a real character. Ivan Hoyle was his name, and he'd previously been a copper. He taught a lot of the kids in the small town I lived in. One day we were in my Mum's Fiesta (non dual control) as his Metro was poorly. I was trying to get on to a very busy roundabout near the prison in Canterbury. He kept saying "That was a gap"... "You could have gone then"... etc. This went on for a while until I finally went for it. "Noooo!" he shouted and pulled the handbrake on. Which actually stopped the car fairly fast. He later said that if the handbrake hadn't worked his plan B was to go for the door handle and bail out.
Surely Miss Hubnut the younger now
Wow, great result x
I saw a advert on Facebook marketplace the other day from (strangely) Temu showing a what once was this generation Vauxhall Combo van but with slightly different front end and details under a different brand name. I didn't realise they still made vehicles on the old Opel/Vauxhall Corsa platform.
I learned to drive in a 205 diesel back in 1992
I learned to drive in 1990/1991 in an Opel Corsa A 1.3 N with Irmscher bodykit and running on LPG 😅 I quite liked it apart from the steering wheel not being in the centre of the driver's seat
Learned to drive in Red 2 door Corsa B back in 2006. There was no power steering, and the clutch bite was at the end, as you were just about to take your foot off the pedal compared to modern cars. Did I mention it was in the Polish winter in a hilly city? Great time of the year to learn to drive.
Those arches are notorious for being faded, so much so it’s unusual to see them unfaded. When I had a Corsa B, I tried to freshen up the exterior plastics and used baby oil. It worked albeit temporarily but it was more of an experiment than an attempt to beautify.
Back then, I used 2 cans of my mothers Elnett Satin Hairspray. I was very pleased with the (temporary) result. She was less thrilled ...
My driving lessons albeit in 2000 were in a Matiz actually, and then in a Focus 1.6 Ghia, which felt massive!
I passed my test in a vauxhall nova 1990 G plate
It's a Holden Barina. My grandfather had one, 1998. Only car i have ever driven that held up traffic. It was Automatic.
Ian, I would suggest sending some of that Owatrol rust remedy inside the front edge of the bonnet to stop it rusting out entirely in the future.
I learned to drive in 1990 in two Austin Metro 1300 5-doors in black and a burgundy/brown 1.0 3-door.