What was your first car? What happened to it?

rea98d · February 2000

So what did the florida wholesaler get for it :-)

txmarko · February 2000

My first car was purchased from a coworker back in 1978. It was a 1971 Chevy Chevelle Super Sport, Silver with black stripes. It had a 454 with mechanical lifters (425 HP stock), a 4:11 posi rear end, and a shift-kitted TH400 tranny. I was going in the Army after high school, and I was just killing time with my job, so I spent my college money on this car ($1700) and got it professionally repainted and all rust removed ($700). It would turn heads and smoke the tires on command. I LOVED that car, complete with AM/FM/8-Track and a pair of Jensen Triaxials.

After going in the Army, my sister hit on hard times, and she needed a car. My Mom was scared to death of my Chevelle (she drove it once or twice and hated the way people always wanted to race). My Mom and Dad asked if they could trade my car in for one for my sister, with the promise they would help me get a NEW car when I got out of Army schooling. I foolishly agreed.

My parents traded my car straight across for a Datsun B210 for my sister (remember the gas crisis?). I ended up getting a new 1978 Toyota Celica GT (another great, fun car), but I never got over the Chevelle.

I finally bought a 1970 Chevelle about 6 years ago, and it sits in my garage, waiting for warmer weather. Its not as awesome as my original (which today would be worth $$$$$), but it turns heads and tires all the same.

Thanks for listening.....

spokane · February 2000

First car with 425 HP! I needed several years to accumulate that much HP ... and it was probably spread across my first five cars.

Tough luck, txmarko, you may never be able to work back up to the level at which you started. I knew there had to be something good about my starting with that tired 80 HP Studebaker.

niteshft · February 2000

Back in 1970 some guy bought a '63 plymouth fury sport convertable for his daughter. Fixed it up real nice- she went past her curfew and he put it on a lot- $150.00! I stumbled across it on my way to buy an old chysler for $300. White with red interior. 318 engine with push button trany.Learned to change the oil and the starter on that car (almost as often!). would love to have it back. My wife to be took out 50 ft. of guard rail on I-89 with it. No damage to her. They knew how to build 'em.

fjw2 · February 2000

I didn't know how to drive then, I just knew one day I'll buy me an MG and cruise just take off. My neighbors fixes and sell cars. MG was what one guys was driving in high scool.

But when I met my first boyfriend at 19, and finally got my first job, he taught me how to drive and went car shopping. I was attracted to the 'danger' look of the '67 Fastback Mustang, so I bought it for $900. It was the same style that Steve McQueen drove in the movie 'Bullitt'. I drove it from Oregon to California three times, and back. I watched the odometer went to 000000.
It was amazing! The only thing I hated about the car was when I drove my mom to work, I have to warm it up for a long time while I sat there shivering in my fur coat!

My husband was having problem with the car after we've had it for three years. He sold it for $300 to a guy who collect classics but couldn't get it to run for a couple years. (We were lucky to be able to drive it there to get the money, but we were in touch with him after it was sold and he told us he couldn't get it to work, still.)

Every time I see a turqouise Stang out there, same style and color, I get depressed. Now that I have so much money, I COULD HAVE BOUGHT A NEW ENGINE and fixed it up good.

Our 8th car is now a yellow '00 BMW M Roadster. You KNOW WE'LL BE KEEPING THIS ONE FOR LIFE!
My husband and I have to agree that we drive it every other week, and take turns! He doesn't get angry if I have lunch or have an affair, but he gets really pissed if I drove it when it's not my turn! I guess, it's like your first love, you will never forget your first car.

hok1 · February 2000

Sorry, never found out what the dealer paid. This car had a great exterior and well kept interior. (the rust was all underneath) I still can't believe that this happened. (I'm so naive)

mmcsw · April 2000

283cid 195 hp V-8, three on the tree, manual everything. In the engine compartment there was the engine, battery, radiator, and NOTHING else. Paid $200 for it 1976, then put a $300 stereo in it. Well you got to have your priorities straight.
Sold it to friend for a $100 when I joined the service. The frame was rusted out in the area of the transmission crossmember. If you let the clutch out too fast the engine would torque ever and the fan blades would hit the radiator shroud, still ran good though.

bigm1 · April 2000

The Good - 1963 Ford Falcon - 16 years old and purchased my 1st car from a little old librarian. 260 V8 with a 2 sp automatic. Great looking car - Black with a white convertible top and a red vinyl interior. Immaculate shape when I sold it 1 year later to my sister since she needed a car and I wanted a manual transmission. After several fender benders, she sold it to a body guy. He re-leaded the areas that needed repair (no bondo), and rolled it several years later when it had +100K.

The Bad - 1965? BMW 1800 - I've only seen 1 other. This was a 4 door, but I had my manual transmission. A friend of my fathers helped test drive it. He was into racing and taught me to heel/toe. Big mistake - I thought this was the way to drive all the time. This car was a mechanical nightmare. When it ran, it was great, but that never lasted for more than a few weeks. It had a 6 volt electrical system and not many mechanics back then had metric tools. Blew fuses consistently. Parts had to be flown in from Germany and cost way too much. Wouldn't start when the weather was anywhere near freezing. Finally blew the engine. Dear old Dad bailed me out of that one. He paid to get it fixed (used 1600 engine, brakes, exhaust, etc), and then quickly sold it. Probably lost more on that car than any I've ever had since.

The Ugly - 1971? Pinto (1st year they made them)- Ugly mustard yellow color, but a wonderful car. Cost $2,100 new with the 2000 engine and the optional disk brakes. Installed an 8 track in it. Ran the heck out of it. Had a lot of friends with Pintos and we called them our racing Pintos. Never had a mechanical problem. Drove it on trips all over the country. That car gets a lot of bad press, but my friends that had them still talk about them affectionately.

johnedod · April 2000

My 1st car was a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, given to me by my older brother who had it for a parts car. It was yellow, 383 with automatic on the column, and had been hit in the front end. Went to the junkyard, got a front clip, (black) and proudly drove this thing to school every day. Eventually painted it red with black stripes ('cuda style) and put a slap stick shifter with console in the floor. Kept it for awhile, then traded even with my brother in law for a 1968 mustang 289 automatic.

denniswade · May 2000

First car I inherited from my Dad was a '56 Karmann Ghia. It was lavendar and white (it was originally my sister's car). Two weeks after having it resprayed Coronado Red (that gorgeous deep red they used for Corvairs) I got into the marbles at 70 mph and rolled it.

First car I bought myself (to replace the KG) was a '57 DeSoto convertible with the huge fins and 330 hemi. Really cool car. When I left home to go to college I sold it to another young guy who promptly drove it into a tree. I think he survived without a scratch (the car and tree didn't).

sgaines1 · May 2000

This was mine. Bought it in July of '96 for $1700 off an old guy who was getting cataracts. Texas car, so almost no rust. Drove it to MD with no problems except for a dead battery. It started to take a lot more work after that. It was a beautiful car, lt. blue with dk. blue interior. Low slung, outrageously long, and so comfortable. Most of the modern conveniences, a/c, am/fm, power windows, cruise control. Most people either mocked the 'ghetto cruiser' or offered to buy it. I did get mauled by some stupid woman who pulled out into rush hour traffic, and left a huge black scar all the way down the passenger side, crushing in the door. I never got around to fixing it because... It had a 451 Cleveland which ran on 7 cylinders for a little over a year until I paid $2500 for a valve job and head replacement. Of course, right after that the camshaft warped and machined out the bottom of the engine on the Beltway. Sounded like a coffee can full of bolts, and looked like a scene from some war movie with coolant streaming down my window, and steam coming out from under the hood. It sat at my mechanics while he looked for a new engine, and I eventually said the hell with it, and used the wreck for a trade in on a '96 Bonneville. I did have him take off the front panel (grill,headlights, etc.), which is in my bedroom.I felt like I betrayed it by not taking care of it, but $8000 in just under 2 yrs. was way beyond what I could put up with.

denniswade · May 2000

Yeah, those old guys like their Cadillacs!

Those old Mercs were cool, and some were seriously fast. My buddy had a Merc station wagon he used to humiliate kids with.

nrd525 · May 2000

My first car was a 74 Roadrunner,one of the very last ones made before they got really ugly and slow.I ordered it in April of 74,and it finally,after a Green Satellite Sebring was sent in June,it arrived with a bunch of the ugly '75's in mid September.It was supposed to have a 440 in it,but it had the good 360 instead.
It ran ok,but not right,the dealer found out it had the wrong fuel pump on it,and once they changed it,it ran good.Eventually,I did some stuff to it,and it ran a 13.97 at the strip.It also broke the weak Duster rear end in it.A 8+3/4 was swapped in,and my problems were over.
After 4 years of it,I stupidly traded it in on a 77 Dodge Power Wagon,a total piece of trash.It was a never ending parts eater.
I had someone run the VIN for me,and it said the car was still around.It was registered in a pretty hi buck area of town,so I had a friend go and drive by,since I don't live there anymore.He turned on to the street,and it was coming towards him.He said it looked perfect,and rumbled pretty loud when it passed him.
He followed it to a strip mall,and asked the guy who got out about it.It has the 440 now,with leather interior!Its still silver w/red stripes,and has big wheels and tires.The guy had finished restoring it about six months ago.
Damn,I wish I had it back...

wildpony · June 2000

My first car was (after learning to drive in my Mom's plymouth voyager with broken struts, and them an 86 Lincoln town car)was a 1990 Mustang GT convertible in red with a black top. It was all stock and I fixed it up pretty nice.
I still have it, but that's probably b/c I'm only 19 and between the loan/insurance/gas and parts, I'll be paying it back for the next ten years. Well, that and, it'll always be my baby...=O)

98monte_ls · June 2000

A 1974 Olds Delta 88 coupe inherited from mom. I got rid of it in 1985 with over 100K on the odo, I think 114,000. I traded it in the dealer, so it is probably recycled as a tin can by now. I doubt it is still around.

It had a lot of rust on the bottoms of the doors and rear quarters, but ran strong with the "Rocket 350" engine.

I'd love to own a convertible version of that car because they're very rare today and classics.

mcsap · June 2000

I located a 70 Coronet 2 door with a toasted 383 sitting in a back yard in Greaty Falls, MT while there in the USAF in 1979. I looked all over town for another big block, any big block. At a foreign car dealer at the maingate to the base was sitting an old 72 Dodge Monaco Highway Patrol Car. The paint was bad, weeds were grown up all around it, there were old diapers on the floor. Under the hood I found a mice nest in the carb. The dealer said it had been sitting at least a year and the A/C had been taken off. We got some starting fluid out and in a few minutes had it going. I paid $250 for the whole thing and towed it away.
We towed the Coronet in, junked the 383 and inserted the 440. The Coronet 2 door red ext, white interior shined up real nice. The car idled so rough (cam as I found out) that the mirrors were all but useless. No other mods, showing 92,000 on the Monaco clock she ran great and as I pulled out I quickly realized someone had also put a rock hard shift kit in it. It just banged from one gear to the next with "fury"!
At 5 to 6 mpg I had a Mopar that was really too fast. Gas was 60 cents a gallon and I loved to leave the base and cross over the big white line off of Gov't property and just dump it. Every time I came back I was doing a nice 25 mph on base. What a car. I sold it to pick up a Cherry 66 Fairlane 53k from the original owner 289, which I drove home to PA in 2 days. Those were the days.

jres · July 2000

My first car was a 69 volvo 142. I inherited it in 82 and had it for about a year. It had no power steering, but it did have a huge steering wheel which gave the driver plenty of leverage and I often had people amazed that I could parallel park using only one hand.

We finally gave it up due to escalating mechanical needs, we traded it to a friend of mine for a complete set of the Ian fleming James bond books. He had it for another year or two before it completly self destructed.

Pulpfictionado · July 2000

1984
it was in the Junkyard by 1990

I've driven 4 cars in not even two years

mdelrosso · August 2000

My first car was a '62 Nova with the 6 cyl engine I got in '71, one cold night the accelerator pedal fell through the floor pan.Put a piece of plywood in the hole & it was good as new.(Hay that's what new Corvettes are made from). Car got fried in a fire though. Next was a '65 Impala sport coupe,white with red interior loved it 'cept one day my 2 speed turned into a 1 speed & I sent it to the crusher.

ksm1 · September 2000

My first car was a 1969 Mustang Sportroof (fastback). I bought it for $1,100 in 1980 when I was 16. I don't think there was an exterior panel on that car that did not have a scratch or ding in it. The interior was great as was the engine.

One of my memories of that car were that the heater/defroster did not work so this car would fog up on the inside requireing me to drive and wipe the windows at the same time. As I couldn't wipe the back window from the drivers seat, backing up could be interesting! Once on a foggy morning I backed out of a parking space ... into a police car. I rolled down the window, heard laughing and almost died when I saw two cops rolling with laughter. They waved me on my way.

I sold the car after three years to my sisters 16 year old friend. Her parents immediately had the bodywork done and a repaint etc. She, however never checked the oil or anything and it died a quick death in her hands.

cooksterdog · October 2000

Hey folks! It has been some time since I last posted, but want to know. What is your current ride compared to your first one? Sort of like what was your first girlfreind/boyfriend? I am now driving Jeeps exclusively, and love to explore still. It has been a long way since that 49 Pontiac I lost my virginity in!

rea98d · October 2000

Current ride Vs. first ride?
Let's see, Current ride, "Patsy" is a 95 Ford Thunderbird with 205 horsepower, 281 CID V-8, 1,000 pounds less weight, an air conditioner that works, a driver's window that rolls down (without the drivier pushing on it from the top), 27.5 MPG highway, flimsy plastic bumpers, and looks like everything else on the road.

First ride? One light green 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis with a 153 horsepower 400 CID V-8 (gotta love 1970's emissions controls), no air, the drivers window was operated by a hand pushing down on it, a horn that occasionally satyed on when you released the button, got 12.5 MPG highway the only time I was brave enough to calculate it, had enough room to relocate a family of pachyderms, a massive chrome bumper that was known to give broken down Chevys a loving nudge outta the way, and more steel than Pittsburg's NFL franchise. My T-Bird is a more practical daily driver, but I hung on to the mercury, figuring I'll eventually rebuild the enigne minus the obsolete, ineffective emissions controls, add a computer controled EFI, and see if I can't get some decent numbers out of that engine. But first I'll have to concentrate on finishing college ;-)

republican · October 2000

My first car was a 1969 Buick Skylark. I bought it when I was 18 and right out of high school. It was green and had a 6 cylinder motor in it I think it was a 283 but I am not sure. That car went over 110,000 miles. It was a darn good car.

speedshift · October 2000

My first car was a 1960 Corvair four-door sedan. That was thirty years ago, and my social life still hasn't recovered.

mark156 · November 2000

The first car I bought was in 1977 at age 19. it was a 1972 Dodge Charger, 33,000 miles, $1,400, brown with tan vinyl interior, forward half black vinyl top, hidden headlights, 8-track. It was an automatic with an eight cylinder engine (318). Then about a year later I sold it to my Dad when his '65 Valiant died. I then bought a '73 VW bus, automatic, 30,000 miles, $2,000, no power but lots of fun. I traded the Bus after 8 months on a new '79 Datsun 210, white with blue clothe, Listed for $5,500. (I was very proud of my first new car!) Then an '81 Olds Delta 88 diesel (junk), '84 Peugeot 505STI, '87 Maxima, '89 Maxima, '91 Mercedes 560SEL,'96 Jeep GC ltd, and currently a 99 Jeep GC ltd. QD and a '00 Mercedes E430 sport.

ndance · November 2000

My first car (bought in 1976) was a 1970 Boss 302 Mustang. Grabber blue, rear spoiler, louvers, flat hood, $1800, headers, Minilite wheels (15x8's I think). Sold to finance the next muscle car, which in turn was sold to buy the next, etc... Thought I had found it for sale on the net but turned out that that car (which looked identical) had been owned by a guy who had bought another Boss 302 from me (I think I said that right).

Pretty good all-around cars. They're not real fast but look cool and sound great. It always seemed to me that the build quality on 1969/1970 Mustangs was a lot better than Camaros and Cudas/Challengers of the era.

jabilda · November 2000

My first car was a Bug - great car to learn stick on, wish I hadn't squashed it. I cracked a cylinder on it after going over a speed bump too fast (it was ready to go). Fondest memories were going to the shore w/o parents and the two inch whole in the floor board that would allow water inside. Had a monsoon night one night. Great car - wish I had one or could import one from Mexico. May buy the New Beetle - but not the same thing.

Car I first learned on? '65 Plymouth Fury with a Slant 6. Real dependable - my parent's car.

Second car - '68 Chevy Impala 305 - o.k. great back seat for my age (like a couch, used as a .... I'll let you fill in the rest!)

Cooper · November 2000

Don't laugh. First car was a '74 Ford Pinto. Didn't even have carpeting. Had it from '76 to '79. Don't remember what happened to it.

Then, got my parent's '72 Plymouth Valiant Scamp with a 225 slant 6. Great engine, as the separate discussion topic shows.

Had that until I got my first new car in May 1983: VW Rabbit L. 1715 cc engine, last year with a carb, 4-speed. Neat little car.

ajvdh · November 2000

I had the dubious privilege of piloting the family chariot for the first couple of years. 'Twas a 72 Fury with the 318 and towing package, which included a "heavy duty" suspension. The best thing about this boat was its uncanny resemblance to an unmarked cop car. Left lane bandits were not a problem.

My father had a temporary assignment in Italy, so they moved there for two years while I was in college, so I got sole use of the Fury. It did develop a fascinating problem - there was a fault in the wiring harness that would cause intermittent temporary electrical separation between the interior and underhood sections. When this happened, everything electrical would switch off, and the ignition switch was a dummy. No lights, horn, windshield wipers, etc.. And you couldn't turn off the motor. Chrysler issued a recall for this (go figure!).

My parents sold it to a neighbor when they bought their diesel Peugot (they wanted a diesel they could buy in US form in Italy, and bring back to the US). The neighbor drove it for a couple of years, then an engine mount let go and the cost of fixing it was more than the car was worth.

The first car I actually owned was a tennis-ball yellow '79 Civic 5 speed purchased a couple of months after I graduated college. A fun little beast that was one of the few '79s that could run on leaded gas. Quicker than it looked and dead reliable too. I put on better shocks, stiffer and shorter springs, a bigger front sway bar and added a rear bar. And an Ansa exhaust.

Sold it after 6 years and 80,000 miles for about 1/2 of what I paid so I could buy an '85 T-bird Turbo (which depreciated 75% over the 6 years I owned it). I ran into the people I had sold it to a few years later, it was at 130,000 and still going strong.

impalakrzy · January 2001

The year was 1982 and I was 15 1/2. My father always wanted a car when he turned 16 so he told me he would buy me a car within reason. He found this 66 Impala convertible at M&M Auto sales in Waldorf, MD. We went to look at it and it was love at first site. It had a Power pack 283/powerglide, 4 barrel carb, and duel exhaust.
I learned to drive in it, drove her to college, back and forth to work. She was my baby. I had an on the body restoration done to her. I loved the way heads turned when she went into the parking lot.

I was getting high milage so I put another car on the road for a daily driver. I was given a 79 Transam with 6.6 litre engine. Would pass anything but a gas station. That was a money pit. LAter sold it and bought a new 94 Lumina and paid it off to buy my now current 2000 Impala LS (bought in May,1999). Now my LS is my daily driver and the convertible is my nice weekend car. Http://www.geocities.com/W_Bassett
you can see a picture.

badgerpaul · January 2001

She's a beauty, identical to my second car, except mine has a red interior. I drove it for many years and finally put it away, my dad restored it and now uses it as his "go to the golf course" car.

cookie01 · January 2001

I finished my college internship in 1986 and bought my first car, a 1982 Honda Accord hatchback (lt. blue) with 82,000 miles on it... Yeah, that's a lot for a four-year-old car. But my Mom trusted Hondas and I thought it was worth a try.

Only had one speaker, and the former driver must have been a "large" person cause the driver's seat tilted to one side quite a bit.

The VERY FIRST day I had it some lady in a huge boat backed into it at a McDonald's. Of course she had no insurance.

It ran pretty good, but no one told me I had to add water to the battery. I spend my first tax return on new battery and rotor. Sheesh.

What happened to it? I "loaned"/"gave" it to my fiance and when we broke up he took it with the promise to send me $2000 for it... Of course, I NEVER saw a dime.

rabidbowtie · January 2001

1964 3-duece 389 Bonneville convertible. It's being restored.

crazcorkath · January 2001

My first car was a 1959 Plymouth Savoy with a 3 speed on the column. I bought it for $35. It had a crushed rear fin, but it ran good.

speedshift · January 2001

Nice car! 4 speed or Hydro? Any options? I had a '61 Bonne convertible and a '63 Ventura.

rabidbowtie · January 2001

It was fully loaded, pw, pb, ac, power antenna, power driver seat, big chrome vac gauge on the console and had the rare Pontiac spoke hubcaps. This one had a 4-speed hydramatic. There were 3 gears on the selector but low had 2 gears.

We had alot of old Pontiac stuff. My father used Pontiac engines in the race cars. There were alot of interesting performance parts laying around. He had 3 Pontiac convertibles over about 7 years. The 64 was one of them.

Excellent. A diehard-Pontiac buddy of mine found a 61 Bubble top Bonneville. He's looking at restoring it. It's alittle rough but all the pieces are there. You still have any vintage Pontiac stuff?

speedshift · January 2001

No, all I have left are a few shop manuals and the Q-Jet off a '69 Judge I had in the mid-80s. Old cars were more than a hobby for many years, but I had two life changes: a '68 Cougar, the last of many projects, I took a $5k hit on; and an urgent need to get on with my life. Got middle-aged, I guess. Just saw a '61 Catalina yesterday, still a sharp car. Always liked big cars with lots of power.

rabidbowtie · January 2001

A Judge. Have you seen the prices on Judges lately?

speedshift · January 2001

Don't remind me. I traded a '67 GTO HO for it, then had a hard time selling it for $1500 in the late '80s. It was real--I documented it through Pontiac, back when they were still doing that. The problem, believe it or not, was that it was a column-shift automatic, not floor shift or 4 speed. The white vinyl top didn't help either, and it was missing the spoiler...and it had a small ding, and someone had cut a hole in a quarter panel for a CB antenna. But very clean and a strong runner--I beat a Six-Pak Challenger at the strip. That Ram Air III put out every one of its 366 horses. Handled well, too. One of my favorites.

teea318 · January 2001

My first car was 1970 VW that I purchased for $1500.00 right after I graduated high school. White with red interior in excellent shape bought from an older gentleman. I sold it in 1985 to my fiancee at the time who inturn painted it candy apple red with mag wheels and beefed up the stero system in it. He sold it in 1990 for a van ..kids you know. The person who bought it who was older than the both of us sold it w/in a year to a young kid and I haven't seen it since. Many fond memories in that car.

jsylvester · February 2001

Bought it in 1982 for $295 with about 92,000 miles from an old lady my Mother worked with. The reason it was only $295? It was broadsided by a teen on the driver's side, (never fixed, but very very drivable), and the passenger side had been hit by a school bus. I never filled the gas tank completely the whole time I owned it, and it averaged about 13 mpg for me, but it was completely indestructable. Accidentally put it in park coasting down a hill - locked up the tires and killed the engine. Started it back up, put it in gear - no damage.

When I was away at Parris Island for the Marine Corps in 1984, my sister drove it while home from college. Blew the radiator hose and drove it home, frying the valves. Car still ran. Brake master cylinder went out - still drove it, just pump the brakes. Heater went out next, still drove it with my head out the window. Was going to use a torch and cut the roof off as a homemade convertable the next summer - parents gave it away.

Currently drive a 2000 Intrepid R/T - miss the old Catalina, but it started my love affair with big American cars.

c43amg7 · February 2001

Right out of college and a two year fellowship, was working on Hilton Head in 1972 -- bought a old orange Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (born sometime in the 60's) for $600. Great car if you ran it through the gears -- would go through any type of mud, water, etc. like a Jeep. However, I didn't realize that you had to do something other than just put gas in, and ran it until the oil was used up. Car seized up on the road coming back through the marshes from Savannah one night -- $300 and a rebuilt engine.

Drove it for another year and gave it to my brother to use at college when I went to England -- when I came back two years later, he had used up what remaining life was left in it and ended up trading the car straight-up for a hanging plant!

dishfish · February 2001

my first car was a 36 ford coupe no heater paid 150.dollars for it. lived in country on dirt road no way you hang it up in mud traded for a 38 ford sedan I was 16 yrs.old when bought the first car
drivers license cost .50 cent then in mo.also no
test

dish fish

jlflemmons · March 2001

Bought in '72 for $525. Had the 200ci six with 3spd standard on the floor. Car had 44K on it when I bought it. White with red interior. While it was a good looking car, it was an unreliable disaster. Brakes, clutch, electrics, and the vent pipe on the drivers side rusted out, so every time it rained it would dump water on your feet. After two years I sold it and later saw it coming down the road with no glass and a crooked top. A month later, the new owner rolled (again) it several times. I had sold it to him for $595. Bought a '67 Austin Healey Sprite (am I stupid, or what?) Sold it six months later after going broke trying to keep it on the road. But then, a real sweetie: 1973 Olds Cutlass S w/ 350 4bbl. Dualed it out using Walker Blue Continentals. Loud, fast, fun, and as reliable a car as ever went down the street. First new car was bought in '75, Olds Starfire, 231 V6 with 4spd. Did everything in that car including getting it airborn a couple of times. Drove it 4 years and 70K miles with only minor maintenance. That is the one I really miss. Not that fast, but sharp looking and lots of fun.

Jim

starrow68 · March 2001

My folks wanted my sister and I to have transportation, not the family Galaxy or Falcon Wagon so the mechanic at Galpin Ford sold us his 54 V-8 3 speed column shift. Drove it home, sis didn't want to, neither of us had ever driven a stick. As I remember the engine was the first OHV V-8, maybe 239 cid and wouldn't guess at HP. I drove it weekends and sis was supposed to take it to school as soon as she learned to drive it. Blew the clutch in 6 weeks and did the replacement myself in friends driveway with a motors manual and 3 advisors who could have done it in 25% of the time, no mechanic here. Got it painted canary yellow, taste in 17 year olds is suspect, and blew the engine 8 weeks later. Sis never did drive it but she paid her half of the $250 price and still complains to this day. Got a 60 Falcon replacement and honestly don't remember the price, straight six and 2 speed auto.

Don't miss either of them. Now my first new car the '72 MGB is another story.

blarg1 · March 2001

as it hauled my buddy's car off to the junkyard. His girlfriend didn't know he sold it to me a couple hours before.

It was a 1984 Gutless Ciera 4 door. Colored Purpple/brown and pinkish/orangish two tone and a brown and orange interior. What a crate. Rust all over. Bought it for $100 in 1995. It ran on 3 cylinders and the windows wouldn't roll up, leaked oil out the header covers and had all four original hubcaps. Licence plate NOGO 500, no go 500 miles. So I fixed it, put in a cd played and 2 new speakers and it was good to go.

I used it to deliver landscaping supplies, dirt, blocks, timbers. Delivered pizza, drove to school, girlfriends, drove to funerals, weddings and I loved to drive it.I would park next to the most expensive cars I could find and wait for the owners of that lexus or porsche to look down at my NOGO. Mine was paid for, how 'bout yours? That gutless would make 100 mph if I held it down long enough.
Best moments were dying at the toll booth, i got to push it through for free, and the muffler nailed a tailgating corvette at the on ramp to route 55 in Chicago. I pulled over 1/4 mile down the road to see the steam cloud from the destroyed radiator, laughed all the way home.

second best moment was changing a flat in January, -30 temp, -75 windchill. I jacked up the car, and the jack crashed through the floorboards. Drove the car on the flat, with the jack dragging to the Firestone. I'm surprised the sparks didn't catch the car on fire.

God Rest NOGO, traded it in for $1700 for a Buick, dealer didn't even see my car, it was getting a new muffler, and I walked to the dealer. I parked it over by the oil cans when I turned it in.

Drove my NOGO 28000 miles, and almost exactly one year. best piece of crap I had ever driven.

fdthird · March 2001

My first car was a '55 Chevy BelAir that was bought when I was 17 in 1967 from a family friend for $50. Stove bolt 6 with a 3 speed column shift. It was that yechy two tone Chevy green and I "classed" it up with a racing stripe!!!

Had the car for 3 weeks and going to work one morning plowed it into the back end of a 52 Chevy that was sitting dead in the left lane (no mean feet to find a 15 year old car to crash a 12 year old car into)

Hitched rides with friends for most of the next year till I got a '68 Falcon!

FDIII

swauger · March 2001

My first car was a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass that my father bought new in '67. It was a gorgeous aquamarine/light blue combo, with vinyl seats, 330 cu. in. V8, 2 bbl. carb, and 4 wheel drum brakes (taught me a lot about brake fade). It became "mine" officially in '75 when I graduated from high school even though I almost exclusively drove it since '74. Drove it until Dec of 77, just over 10 years and 146K miles on the clock when I got the hots and bought a 1978 VW Scirocco (fun car, but should have kept the Olds). Car was rock solid, engine had only ever had one valve job at around 36K, transmission was in great shape. Sold it to the son of a neighbor, who totally abused the car, and trashed it in 6 months. It sat around at the corner gas station for another 8 months or so until it disappeared when he sold it to a junkyard. Was darn hard to watch such a great car be run into the ground by an idiot.

I've driven a lot of Stangs since then, but still think if I were to go for a classic car project it'd have to be a late 60's 442.

freddok · April 2001

Interesting tales about first cars. My first was a 1974 Ford Maverick that I bought from an old man on Long Island for $300 in late 1986. It had an interesting sense of deja vu about it since I remember my father looking at a new '74 Comet once in a Pennslvyania showroom that he decided not to buy, and my Maverick looked almost like it...bucket seats in the interior, four doors, big dash, etc. Mine was a bit more beat-up. It came Corvette yellow but it turned out it had been repainted by the previous owner...its real color was a dark bronze color. I found out its real color when the yellow paint began peeling off. It had a 8-track tape player and the passenger side seatback was broken and held up with a green picnic cooler that came with the car. I fixed that later on by ripping out the seatbacks and replacing them with a pair of matching tan ones from a junked '78 Mustang.

That Maverick lasted me about a year and a half when it finally went due to its timing chain snapping at speed on the Long Island Expressway in the fall of 1988. Off to the junkman it then went.

It was replaced with a real antique...a '66 Fury with a slant six I owned for about two months and gave to a friend when its brakes went (at slow speed pulling out of the driveway, luckily). I got that car for $70.00.

I was then given a '78 Dodge Diplomat wagon by a relative at Thanksgiving 1988 for $1.00...loaded and filled with options. That lasted about two years and only got junked when it wouldn't pass inspection due to rust on its underbody. That one went in the summer of 1990. I then got a 1983 Ford Escort wagon (ugly orange thing...purchased for $400.00) that ran like a tank for almost four years until its head gasket went. I then bought my first new car...a new 1993 Escort that I got in the spring of 1994. That was a little more expensive ($11,000) and lasted me a bit longer...traded it in the summer of last year after I put 147,000 miles on it. May my current car, a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire bought new in July 2000 for $18,000 last me as long, or longer than my dependable old 1993 Escort did. However, I still remember my first car fondly...wish I had gotten that Maverick new.

Freddo K.

sundayduffer · April 2001

Paid $2000 for it the summer before my senior year of high school after my dada' insurance agent said I could,I afford the 440 Road Runner I wanted to get. Drove that car for 4 years (put 80,000 miles) & lots of smoke & traded it for a Brand new 1974 Ford Mustang II 4 anger.

The old Ply mouth got bought from tote the note lot by some guy that worked down the street from my part time job last time I saw her she had the trunk wired closed & looked like a fogging machine going down the road.

What was your first car? What happened to it?

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