Your First Car

Bob,

Yup, I luv customers with Audi's. They have not changed. :)

My first was the dune buggy 1600 dp with a holley 2 barrel. I still have it, and the Oooga horn it came with..

My second was a 72 Pinto runabout, 4 speed, Ac, and a 177 hp 2.0 german engine in it. Now it was peppy for a pinto.

My third was a Boat, 1957 ford 300 2 door custom. Lt blue and white. To this day,,I still would like to find a 57 Ranchero in tha same trim and colors. It was a Hoss. with the 312 4 barrel.

'81 Trans Am! slowest Trans Am ever made. 301ci Poncho engine automatic non-turbo. 0-60 in 11 seconds!

Michael "Sludge" Beaucage, I'm seeing some resemblance to my current ride... Even has the louvers

The detailed answers to the question show that there is a cohesive bond to this group of men and women that overshadow our differing political/religious/cultural, yada, yada, differences.

Since I am almost decrepit, but not quite senile, I am amazed at the newest round of "security" questions I was forced to answer from either my bank, credit card company, or somebody like that:


Who was your first grade teacher? I don't know, Sister Somebody
What was the name of your first pet? I don't know.
What is the name of your childhood best friend? I don't know, could be 3 or 4 different guys. The problem with making up an answer is that if someone on the other end of the telephone asks you the answer, you really have to guess. Not so with cars.

Can any of us remember the name of the first girl we uhhhh, ummmm, how about kissed? That brings it far enough back in time that you may have a face in mind, but can't put a name with it. Not so with cars.

My point is that we are car guys, and fond remembrances of that first sleeper, junker, or hot rod are an important part of our lives. Even if it wasn't too cool, it was ours, not big brother's, mom's, or dad's. Keep smiling and keep the rubber side down.

Great post Jim !

Like the saying goes, "You don't get a second chance for a first Impression", the mind tends to remember things that leave a heavy impression upon it. So usually, if something really blows you away, you tend to remember it. Our first and successive cars, bikes and toys fit that bill. I have trouble recalling what I had for dinner yesterday but can recount things from decades ago like they were yesterday.
In 10th grade, I remember helping a senior replace head gaskets on a 318 Plymouth....my introduction to wrenching....ahhhh those were the days. I credit him for the many thousands of $$$ I've saved over the years doing mostly all of my own vehicle work. The same guy had an old Willys MB with a plow and I've been Jeep crazy ever since. "It's a Jeep thing, You wouldn't understand" applies here!

~WB

Robert Brown,

Made me drool, your car looks like a 1950?

Smart to keep the brightwork.

Nice

It's a 1950 Club Coupe.
I was my dad's car. He bought it in 1988 because he wanted another coupe like his first car, but he isn't very mechanical. In 1995 he gave it to me as a running project. It had a 292 six which sounded awesome with its split exhaust manifold and dual glass packs, but that motor had major issues. I replaced it with a 305 and finally a 355ci.
It has a 5 speed, 12 bolt posi, A/C, coil over front suspension, and I drive it everyday.

Beautiful !

What a great thread!

Amen

and Becker's first car was a 959.................damn !
He said on Top Gear that he now owns 3 Mercedes dealerships & currently drives an SLS AMG

You welded the hood nicely, left mine split to match the split windshield.

I love the "teardrop" design era. Nice pics - thanks

50 years apart, Sludge and Bobsled create almost identical rides! How cool is that? It reminds me of "Close Encounters" when unrelated people suddenly create the "Devil's Tower" in their living rooms. And I swear I saw a 50 Chevy lowrider cruising the PCH with "Jesus" written on the driver's door! Twilight Zone stuff.....

I was in Starbucks the other day. There was a double mocha on the counter for Jesus, but no one came up to get it until the barista shouted, "Hey Zeus"!

Split windshield? In my "hood" we all knew that 10 bucks (at Cherry auto wreckers) would get you an early Olds 1 piece windshield that fit an ol' Chevy perfectly.
Just wish I had pictures!

Yes, I wanted to put a one-piece windshield in place of the split, knew it could be done. The problem was I already had the louvers punched and welding the hood could have been a problem, the project was just about complete, so I left it. Visually, there was one chrome stripe right down the middle - looked ok to a 17 year old...

I like louvers.

Speaking of wrenching, that evolution for me began in HS, I guess. Helped a guy drop a small block V8 into his Austin-Healy. What a hoot. Baddest thing I had ever seen or heard of. Also, I tried (and failed)to repair a broken piston in the family Buick one summer -- that was a '56 two-door Special. A very long, and sad, story there. [The end of that story has yet to be told, as the replacement car (the '56 was declared too broke to fix) was a '64 Buick Wildcat, two-door, w/ a 45-something cu in engine it. Weighed two tons if it weighed a pound, but that engine made it scoot. This car resides to this day in my mother's garage, undriven in I do not know how many years, waiting for some TLC from my brother and me -- one of these days . . . He wants to do a full show-room resto, and I can see the thing w/ a big supercharger sticking out of the hood. My brother and I will have some issues . . .

But my true education wrench-wise began w/ the aforementioned 1600 Normal. Yes, I did pay a guy to rebuild the motor for me that first summer, but after that, if it wasn't me fixing it, then it did not get fixed. Who had that kind of money?? Over the years I did figure out how to do an engine, having redone a Volvo B20B, and an early Honda Civic, plus a few lawn mowers and a tractor along the way. Got to the point where I could do an R&R of the engine in my coupes in about 15 mins -- by myself.

56 FORD FAIRLANE BURNED A QUART OF OIL PER GALLON OF GAS GREAT CAR

1967 Volvo 122s. I was 15 yrs old and drove it home looking like a mosquito fogger :) White smoke pouring out all over the Houston highways. Two pistons had holes in their tops big enough to drop a quarter through. I learned how to wrench with my step-dad's tools and a Chilton's manual... Rebuilt the engine from scratch, swapped out the auto for a 4-speed, rebuilt the rear-end, brakes, and even did a full repaint in my garage in a tent made from plastic drop cloths stapled to the ceiling. This pic is off the internet, but looks identical to mine in white (Sherwin Williams transport enamel if I remember right). Trip down memory lane! BTW for some weird reason the chicks loved it! Not exactly my idea of a magnet, but whatever works, right?

Hey Gordon! My 2nd car was also a '65 Mustang notchback. Black on black. I had to rebuild its 289 as well. In fact, I can't remember a car I didn't have to rebuild the engine on until late 20's when I finally had enough money not to buy REALLY used.

My first car was a 1971 Fiat 850 spyder. I was 17 and bought it summer after high school. Killed it in three months. It only had one accelerator pedal position...the floor. Less than one massive liter out back.

My second car almost doubled the displacement - a 1970 beetle. 1600cc of stump-pulling power. Learned to really wrench on this car. Painted it Porsche Sepia Brown. Kept that car for almost 10 years. Took me everywhere I needed to go through college and grad school. Loved that car.

Kelly -- I knew we had something more in common than mayonnaise-filled chocolates. My first was a 356 too -- 61 Super 90 Cabriolet. Bought it in 65 for $1500. Then a Beetle. Then a rustbucket 55 Speedster too gone for me to do anything on a student budget but reinforce and beef up and run the canyons in. Sandblasted the paint and putty off and primered it twice a year with a couple of cans of red oxide. Took the engine apart on a tarp in the kitchen, washed it in kerosene in the bathtub, stored it in pieces under the bed until I could afford the parts I wanted, put it back together in the living room. Widened the rims with one-inch bands and stretched out the rear fenders to fit the tires. Dropped the suspension travel down to nothing. Had a guy do a new top with a zip-out back window. Wish I had a top frame that would let me do that again.

Came time to sell it a few years later and I redid the dash naugahyde and reinstalled the door panels and lined the rusty backplates of the beehive lights with tinfoil to brighten them up some. Sold it to a young realtor. I'd give him my house for it now.

This is a great thread. Love the stories.

Chuck Fuller - are you sure I'm not your poppa? Actually my son Erik's first car story is EXACTLY the same as your Volvo experience, except his was an early 60s Opel Manta coupe.

At one point, he was towing it home behind my truck and the rusty brakes either failed or simply locked up. He just unhooked it and left it beside the road. I talked him into retreiving it to avoid towing and storage charges. Later, with a fresh rebuild, updated with a Weber and solid lifters, it was turning 6000 RPM. Painted in my garage using the plastic sheet and staple gun. He forgot to wet down the floor, so I still have remants of the blue paint left after 20 years.

David? Do I need to have a heart-to-heart with my Momma? :)

This is a web-site featuring the original factory brochures for nearly every American car you have ever owned.

Pick the manufacturer, the year and the model.

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

Greg - that is a very cool website. Thanks for sharing that link!

got some new ink yesterday, didn't want to start a whole new thread..

My first car was a Remault CV4 donated by a neighbour. While trying to turn it around in front of the garage ( before bleeding the brakes), I mistook first gear for reverse, skipped along the corner of the garage and broke my arm above the elbow as it got pushed back to the window post. I had my head out too, but somehow it got back inside the car before the arm could. My Father made me give the car away and I did but Laurie Fox's Mother made him give me his weekly allowance....$2.75. I've never been the same since......pic below is not exact car.

First car was a

When I turned 15 my father told me I could have any car I wanted.

Only problem was I had to pay for it and maintain it myself, and if he needed it ... it was his for as long as he needed it.

Bottom line, 1955 Pontiac Chieftan,2 door, V8, 3 on the tree and it always smelled like oil. Good thing was it was very clean,2 tone sky blue and white with lots of perfect chrome and had a huge back seat. 100 bucks and the whole scene was covered. Still looking for that car

When I was 15 years old I bought 1956 chevy 4 door bought for $10 from a family friend that just wanted it out of his garage. Had a 6 cyl & automatic trans - a real runner ;-). Exterior was about 17 colors - original two-tone and then various primers, bondo ect. $70 bucks in tires and various brake parts later - she was road worthy. Several cans of rustolem rust primer and she was all one color. Added a JC Whitney bench seat cover and an 8-track and that car was a cruis'n machine for my first few legal driver years. Sold it to my neighbor for $500 bucks and he drove it for many more years and passed it on to his little brother for his starter car. Lotta memories in that machine.

A '93 Mazda 323 hatchback, I still own her and I love her, never let me down. has 250K on the gauge and still running like brand new.

Ohhh, baby! I winced when I checked out the brocheurs and found my 71 Barracuda convertible ... I complained about everything but its looks... it leaked, idled poorly (but always started), drank fuel and burned oil ... i wish, oh how I wish i had er back. Luv the one yer with!
I always tell the youngsters to never, never part with that one special first car. That piece of advice should appear in every teens How To Live Well booklet!
Happy now to have a Roadster ... my new love! Great thread!

My first car ,was Austin Healey Sprite 1962. It is funny It had Plexiglass window that slide to the side.(like my Speedster). To put the top on it took 1/2 and hour. I love that car. I was living in Spain them and I took that car all ove Europe. I wish I had it back now

A 1940 Ford standard coupe that I bought from a gent along the Alabama and Tennessee border. The time was between my junior and senior year in high school 1956/1957. It had a "holed" piston and rode nose down. The revenuers never caught the owner! Got her home and a rebuild got under way. A new Ford black paint job and a red and black pleated and rolled Naugahyde upholstery. A 1948 flat head Ford engine completed the true "Hot Rod". The previous owner was a blockade runner (bootlegger or whiskey runner to the uneducated of mountain lingo). The transverse rear spring had a few extra leafs added to carry the load.

Oh my, if that little coupe could talk! I'll never forget how the passenger side door upper seal welting was dislodged during the first summer! No wonder I love the movie of my time..."American Graffiti"!

My first was the '61 TR3, with many more to follow...

'69 Ghia; I'd still have it were it not for my younger brother who had a natural ability to destroy everything he came in contact with. He totalled it. Funny thing he had accidents with all the cars he did not pay for. As soon as he graduated from college, got a job and bought his first car with his own money he hasn't had any more accidents. Life is ironic, isn't it?

Vince - diggin' the art!

My first car was a 75 Plymouth Duster. Slant six, four on the floor. It was green, a two-door, with Oregon plate APY242.

angela

77 MG Midget-White.

Ran for about 6 weeks....then I sold it for a 77 toyota Celica GT.

1974 volkswagen type 1. baja'd it with my fathers help.