What Was Your First Car?

[Stormbringer]

When I sold it the heater didn't work, it burned oil, radio was shot and the alternator wasn't charging the battery.

This post had me ROTFLMAO . I needed that. I'm just picturing this thing going down the road with the front end higher than the rear. OMG, again I'm ROTFLMAO.

I have to admit, when I first got my car (1980 grand prix anti-babe magnet btw) I did'nt know squat. I went out and got all new tires but wanted some nice wide ones for the back to make it look muscelie(?). This was before I new what the f all the numbers on the sidewall meant. I wound up with pizza cutters on the front that were two inches taller than my wanna-be slicks on the rear. Doh!. What was I to do, I paid for them. Eventually, when I could afford new rear tires I moved the wanna be slicks in the rear to the front but found out the hard way I couldn't turn.


But back to you Crockett, I have to ask, who in that right mind would buy that in that condition and for how much...or did you have to give them money to take it .

[mater]

First car was bought when I was sixteen and it was a 1951 ford. The times I had with that car.

[Roger on the Rock]

1981 AMC Spirit with 258" I-6 & 4 Speed. Kinda geeky, but it would always start at -35C and with it's positrac rear end, pulled more than one fancy import out of a snow-filled ditch.

[MoldnMaker]

My first car was a 1976 Chevy Malibu Classic 4dr. I paid $600 for it at a used car dealer. It literally didn't make it off the lot before the problems began. I didn't have time to get it the day I bought it, because I had to go to work and it had a flat. I told the dealer I'll be back this evening to get it. I came back that evening and he was already closed for the day. The flat had been fixed. I already had the keys, so I hopped in, cranked it up, started to drive off the lot and .... it stalled. Would not start again. Opened the hood, the battery was different and dead. So I push it to the parking lot next door and came back with jumper cables the next day. I had a love-hate relationship with that car for the next 3yrs. Actually wish I still had it for reasons I literally cannot explain. I guess I've always liked big cars.

To give you an Idea what it looked like. It was bright orange. It had 15" white letter tires on firebird rally rims on the rear and 14" white letter tire on cutlass rally rims on the front. Both painted white w/chrome trim rings. It had a 350 w/ lots of chrome. It had true dual exaust with glass packs and chrome exaust tips that went straight out the back. It was a redneck car you could be proud of. LOL

Here is a photo off ebay that I edited to look like mine. It is one of two cars I have owned that I don't have pictures of. Go big orange UT Vols.

[Bruce Cohen]

First car was a well used '53 flat head Merc. The guy who owned it before me had it tricked out with a red rolled and pleated interior, it was lowered 4" and had a candy apple red paint job. I loved that car. I think I paid $200 for it. Then I got a 1940 Buick convertable limited model, dual heaters (front & back) wheel wells and running boards (I think), problem was, couldn't get parts and I was too poor to have them machined, so this $75.00 beast never ran. We just used to sit in it and play a transistor radio real loud and try to pick up girls.

Bruce

[hitekrednek]

My first car was a 79 Mustang hatchback that had a burned up 4 cyl turbo when I got it. Took me a couple of months to build out a 302 marine engine the way I wanted it. That thing ran like a scalded dog.

[91FE]

Looks like I'm winning so far. First car was an '85 VW Scirocco happily dubbed the "$hit Rocket".

[gsmittle]

Mine was a 1968 Rambler Ambassador, two-tone green. Only good thing about that car was the fully reclining front seats. It leaked power steering fluid, oil, trans fluid, gas....

My next car was a 68 Riveria, also green, nicknamed the Green Latrine. Kept that one until 1983....430 4-barrel, bucket seats, tiny trunk. Wish I still had it.

g.

[Tree Farmer]

Wow, I'm definately a young guy here. I had a 1980 Ford Escort, that was my first car.

Keith, I think I have even you topped on this one. I drove my mom's 1981 Ford Escort WAGON with a four-banger that could be beaten from a standing start by a good moped.

My God, if I hadn't learned to play guitar pretty well as a teenager, I'm not sure I could have ever gotten a date in that turd.

[Warren]

A 1959 Simca, 4 door, which only ran on 2 of 4 cylinders when I purchased it in 1966. So little compression that I had to go up one hill in reverse on the way home. A mechanic, who worked on my father's trucks, helped me on weekends to rebuild it. We got so we could take the engine out in ten minutes. Bought it for 5 and sold it for 8 hundred three months later.

As an aside, the oddest car purchase I made was a '62 TR-3. I stopped the guy for no brake lights. It was primer gray and bondo pink. He explained he was just driving it to his mother's house so he could sell it.

He wanted $500.00 for it. I parked my squad car and drove it to my folk's house a couple of blocks away, left him to walk home without the citations. Had high hopes for the little sports car. Ran great, no heat, pot metal hinges on hood (bonnet?) and trunk (boot?) constantly cracked. Never could get the rag top to seal well. It was the best handling peice of junk I ever owned. Loved it, but before I could get it in shape my uncle offered me a full paid one year vacation to southeast Asia. I couldn't pass on that deal. Sold it for what I had in it. I still miss that miserable peice of tin.

[lkazista]

1980 Chevy Chevette

Bright yellow.

My mom bought it new, and sold it to me for $1 in 1988 (I think I overpaid)

Lee

[JoeyGee]

One more for the early 80's...

White 1981 Plymouth Horizon. I didn't care what it looked like or how slow it was...it got me where I needed to be. Yes, suprisingly I miss that car--nostalgia, I guess.

[Tarheel]

1st car!!!

1936 Dodge coupe with a flathead 1949 Mercury V8! Ran ok but just could never keep up with my buddies 1936 Chevy pickup (Chevy 327 V8) or another buddies 1940 Ford coupe w/ 351 Olds. All we could afford back in 1962!!

I did spring for a 1965 Chevelle SS back in 1967. Still wish to this day that I still owned that sweet little car!! If sold, I could probably afford some way better tools in my shop today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wayne

[mpc]

'78 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Liftback... not quite a station wagon and not quite a 2-door coupe either. Parents got it so I could drive home from college on weekends; it had lived hard years in Washington DC. Paint was flaking off (dandruff...), rear bumper was smashed into an inverted V shape, one door caved in a bit and the dent was painted with silver spray-paint to make sure everybody could see it. Ran great though. No a/c + black vinyl interior... not fun on the east coast. 60K miles at the time.

Now it's got nearly 260K miles on it. No more paint, I just sanded it off and spray-can primered it. Bumper & door are straight. Rotted out front fenders replaced with junkyard ones. It has a/c now too that I installed myself along with a cruise control system from a Mitsu Starion. Still runs great, it's one of two that are my daily driver fleet - I alternate them. When one runs out of gas, drive the other until they're both out...

Rear wheel drive, 5-speed, 1.6 liters churning out a whopping 78HP. Enough to have fun though since the car is so light. Great dirt-road rally car - what I did during school years to raise funds... And the hatchback is just over 48 inches wide. It'll carry plywood sheets with the rear seats folded down; about 6 inches sticking out. I even fit a clothes dryer in it one time. THAT'S why I keep it - it's almost a mini-truck.

mpc

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Wow, I'm definately a young guy here. I had a 1980 Ford Escort, that was my first car.

Ya, I had 1979 Datsun 210. We rock.