What Was Your First Car?

[jayfish]

Mine was pretty special and a ton of trouble. It was a 1976 Plymouth Duster and the guy I bought it from, at one time, built motors for Chrysler. The car was close to bone-stock and had a 360 in it. It was rated at 225 bhp from the factory, but what this guy did was remove all of the emission controls from the motor(if only he could have gotten it to run without that damn ballast-resistor). It also had a set of headers and really mild sounding California Turbos It was real quick and if I had to guess it would run about 13.5 - 14 in the quarter. It was scary as hell too. The guy apparently tried to do some front end work on it and the results were often breathtaking. Any dip in the road would result in the steering wheel trying to dart violently to the right, especially during full-throttle acceleration. I only ran it at the track one time and the damn thing wouldn't shift out of second. It just kinda droned-on the the finish. Still ran a 15.1 though. I got it when I turned 15 and had a ticket within a week of getting my license. That car led to a near-suspension. I'll scan and post some pic's when I get a chance.

Jay

[JohnnyCougar]

1. 1983 Volvo 240DL, I believe

It was a metallic powder blue sedan with 198,000 miles on it, with manual 4 speed transmission with overdrive (5th gear). We called it "The Tank". Boy did we have fun in that car.

[Longhorn]

2. 1969 Chevy Malibu

in 1974 for $1000. I can't remember how many miles it had but we did have to do a valve job shortly after I got it. It looked a lot like this one only it didn't have the "cowl hood" and it was light green. I sure remember it being smaller, though! I guess it was compared to the other tanks we drove back then!

[CO Liberal]

3. A 1958 Hillman Minx

Like the one in the ad above, except a previous owner had painted the body red with a brush. I paid 80 bucks for it in 1970 and drove it until early 1971, when the trans jammed in second one day when my dad was using it to go to work.

[HamstersFromHell]

4. 1969 Chevelle SS396

Bought it off a co-worker in 1972 who had co-signed for her little brother and he couldn't keep up the payments.

22k miles, 350HP version of the 396, 12 bolt positraction, TH 400 tranny. Silver with black SS stripes and black interior. Air, PS, PB, and Am/FM Stereo with 8-track.

Loved the car, just absolutely couldn't afford to feed it when the gas crunch hit. Got a whole 6-7mpg on a good day and needed premium to boot. (Probably could have gotten better mileage, but I was a lead footed 16 yr. old)

Took over the notes of $62 a month on a balance of $1900. Wish I'd never gotten rid of it just for it's collector value now. :(

[flvegan]

18. That's a HELL of a first car.

Sweet. 396 SS w/air. Wow.

[RetroLounge]

5. 1965 Impala Super Sport

Black on Black...

RL

[Kolesar]

6. 1978 Datsun B210, used

I hoped that the girls would think humility was cool.

[robertarctor]

7. 1957 Oldsmobile 98

Kinda like this one, but all white with a red stripe, and no continental kit. Looked just like a big chrome catfish coming down the road.

[CO Liberal]

8. That's The Type of Car I'd Like to Own Some Day

A mid-'50s convertible. Or a Karmann Ghia convertible.

[RetroLounge]

9. Nice!

I have a '58 Super 88...

:hi:

RL

[seemunkee]

10. 1966 Fiat 850 coupe

Had a visiting uncle take me to pick it up and learned how to drive a clutch on the way home.

[Book Lover]

11. 1989 Trans Am

From by brother's best friend down the street. I believe it was the only Trans-Am in Queens with pro-choice and NOW bumperstickers :-)

[likesmountains 52]

12. 1964 Rambler..the front seats folded down to make a bed with the back seat

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

13. 1962 MG A

Mine was kind of off-white, not red. And mine didn't have the beautiful wire wheels. I bought it in 1967 for $600, my entire life's savings up to then. It had only about 20,000 miles on it and ran very strong. I drove every day to high school.

[rexcat]

14. 1964 Saab 96

with three speed on the column, FWD, 850 cc 2 stroke engine (1 quart of oil per 8 gallons of gas). Got 30+ miles/gal.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. I'm buying a Saab 96 this week-end, but one with the v4 Ford engine

I'm giving up on new cars forever and have decided to only buy old cars and keep maintaining them. I love old cars and have been doing this pretty much my entire life, anyway. I used to have a Saab 96, a 1973 v4 DeLuxe which I bought in 1980. This one had the v4 Ford engine and four speeds on the steering column. That old Saab 96 was the single greatest and most spirited car I've ever driven and I was such a complete fool to sell it. Little wonder those Saabs won the challenging Monte Carlo Road Rally. I've had (and eventually sold) two MGAs, a great Jaguar Mark II 3.8 sedan, an Alfa Romeo GTV, four old 1960s Mustangs, a Jensen Interceptor, an Austin Healey, and a fantastic Citroen DS (the latter which I still have). But that 1973 Saab 96 v4 was without doubt the single greatest automobile I've ever owned. The road handling was incredible. The acceleration from a complete stop to 50 mph was wonderful, and the gears on the steering column were the greatest driving fun I've ever had. And the look of that car is like nothing else. That's why I'm buying another Saab 96 this week-end and, this time, I will never sell it again.

[Dover]

16. A used 1969 Saab

Paid $600.
Looked something like a VW beatle. It was made like a little tank. Lasted nine years without a need for major repairs and was such a simple engine that I could do most of the maintenance (me a girl!).

Have only bought used cars since, and had great luck...Toyotas and Mazdas (626 was excellent).

But have never owned another Saab...not sure why. Are they still as good as the old ones?

[flvegan]

17. Used 1985 Mustang LX

I was a Mustang fiend when I was 15. My mom agreed to go car shopping with me (1987) as I was turning 16 very soon. I wanted a GT, of course. My mom saw the 5.0 engine, told me I'd kill myself, and said no.

I saw her, gray w/back window louvers. The salesman misquoted the price for $1000 too little. We took it on the spot.

BTW, I totalled it 2 days after getting my license. I got run off the road. That car saved my life. Nobody thought that I, nor my gf in the car with me, should've lived through it, never mind walking away from it.

[Bombero1956]

19. 1973 Ford Galaxie

http://b.im.craigslist.org/oa/vL/TVoqTKVkafG8

It was a pale yellow 4 door sedan with a 400 cu Cleveland. I was looking at a 1972 Mustang but my Mom who was cosigning the loan refused. It was a car Ward Cleaver would've to own.