My first car, a 4 cylinder, 1500cc, “4 on the tree”, bench seat Ford Cortina.  First surfboard at 3.6m long was almost as long as the car  at 4.2m!  Subsequent surfboards looked a little more in proportion to this small car.  The car had been driven by my mother for several years and I had learned to drive in it.  When I started work in January 1971, I purchased the Cortina as a means to reach my distant work place and good surf beaches!