[Administrator]

First cars are special and memorable. They teach us life lessons, and for many of us, they've seen us through many important events in our lives. They leave a mark, for good or bad, and sometimes we love and hate our first cars just like a family member.

What's your first car story?

 

[Deadmeat]

1986 Ford Mustang LX coupe. 2.3l 1 brrl carb automatic slower than a fatguy on a huffy. Manual windows no rear defrost it was an experience....

 

[Wolfgrey]

1967 Mustang 287 V8 with 3 speed tranny.

 

[DFranch]

1986 Ford Mustang LX coupe. 2.3l 1 brrl carb automatic slower than a fatguy on a huffy. Manual windows no rear defrost it was an experience....

Yeah, those 80's mustangs shouldn't even be called mustangs. I knew 2 people with them back then. May as well have been an escort. Still better than my 1st car. 1980 Chevy Monza, I tried to pimp it out, but there is just so much you can do with rims, air shocks and a Maaco paint job. At least my next car was an 84 Firebird with a 5 liter V8.

 

[Deadmeat]

My friends always said it's a Glorified Escort, but in high school you don't complain or else it's the bus or walking..

 

[WolfGreyGuy]

Got my first job 3 months before I turned 16. Saved every dime all summer. Had a guy down the road who had a blue 69 Camero SS (with the wide duel white srtipes). The engine was blown and he was going to sell it to me for $600.00. Had found a shop to rebuild engine for $300.00. My mother would not let me buy it said it was too much car for me.

Mom and step father took me out to their car dealer and she told her guy there she wanted an appropriate car for a new driver. He said he had a perfect car. We walked outside walking towards the really tan car. I was saying I really don't like the color. My stepfather nudged me and shook his head no. I bought the car for $800.00 it was a 68 or 69 Chevelle SS with a 396.

This was 3 weeks before I got my drivers license. I totaled it 5 weeks after I got my drivers license. Sold the engine for 700.00. BTW this was in 1978. when gas was still less than a dollar. Minimum wage was a little over $2.00.

 

[DFranch]

Got my first job 3 months before I turned 16. Saved every dime all summer. Had a guy down the road who had a blue 69 Camero SS (with the wide duel white srtipes). The engine was blown and he was going to sell it to me for $600.00. Had found a shop to rebuild engine for $300.00. My mother would not let me buy it said it was too much car for me.

Mom and step father took me out to their car dealer and she told her guy there she wanted an appropriate car for a new driver. He said he had a perfect car. We walked outside walking towards the really tan car. I was saying I really don't like the color. My stepfather nudged me and shook his head no. I bought the car for $800.00 it was a 68 or 69 Chevelle SS with a 396.

This was 3 weeks before I got my drivers license. I totaled it 5 weeks after I got my drivers license. Sold the engine for 700.00. BTW this was in 1978. when gas was still less than a dollar. Minimum wage was a little over $2.00.

The Camero was too much car, but the Chevelle with a 396 wasn't? What was in the Camero? The only factory option bigger was a 427.

 

[DFranch]

My friends always said it's a Glorified Escort, but in high school you don't complain or else it's the bus or walking..

Agreed, any car is a good car in high school.

 

[jasonszero6]

1978 Buick Regal turbo. Paid $1200 in 1986.Metallic orange over tan leather. Bought with blown turbo. Neighbor replaced it for me. Burned more oil than my 2016 Optima SX. Threw a rod by 85K. Some high school kid rebuilt it in my parents garage. Threw a case of oil in the trunk and tried to road trip it from NY to Florida. Made it half way through Jersey before the engine blew up on I-95. Cost my entire savings ($275) to have it flat bedded home.

 

[WolfGreyGuy]

The Camero was too much car, but the Chevelle with a 396 wasn't? What was in the Camero? The only factory option bigger was a 427.

My mother did not know what a Chevelle was, it is why my step father shut me up.

 

[Mike_TX]

You youngsters will giggle when I tell you I bought my first car in 1963 when I was 18. I had been working since I was 13 (yes, you read that right ... things were different back then) and used my own money. Bought it from a friend of my brother's.

It was a 1953 Ford Victoria 2dr with a bashed-in driver's side front fender. It had a 2bbl flathead V8 and 3 on the tree, and it was sloooow. But it was a car and it was really pretty blue. Never got that fender fixed (who could afford that!), and later traded it for red a .56 Chevy.

 

[Cb450sc]

1978 Honda Civic. It was a four speed with big manual stick on the floor. I saw someone was selling one in the same blue colour as mine for $14,000.00. It was in mint original condition looking like it came out of a Honda museum!

 

[SX2GT]

1975 Olds 442 with 350 rocket engine AT. 2 doors with single piece bucket seats which would rotate to get in/out of the car.
Got it from my parents in 1982 while in college. All around solid car & built like a tank. Lucky if I was getting 20 mpg at that time.
Florida runs were the most memorable.
Unfortunately the body did not support well all the de-icing substances used at that time. As you could see thru the body, sold it for $300 in 1988 when I bought my first new car....a brand new VW Fox.
Found a pic of the exact same car (color/striping).

 

[Mike_TX]

1975 Olds 442 with 350 rocket engine AT. 2 doors with single piece bucket seats which would rotate to get in/out of the car.
Got it from my parents in 1982 while in college. All around solid car & built like a tank. Lucky if I was getting 20 mpg at that time.
Florida runs were the most memorable.
Unfortunately the body did not support well all the de-icing substances used at that time. As you could see thru the body, sold it for $300 in 1988 when I bought my first new car....a brand new VW Fox.
Found a pic of the exact same car (color/striping).
View attachment 4113

Dang, a 442 as your first car? Back then the 442 was practically considered a race car. Lucky you!

 

[GhostTX]

Bought a 'Vette....1980 Chevrolet blue 4-door Chevette (with a roof rack!) in 1988 fresh from getting my driver's license. Got from a little old lady that just used it as a grocery getter and just wanted to dump it. I worked to save for a car, and this was in my budget. 'Course I had aspirations of a sports car, but I couldn't really afford them. With the money I had left over, removed the AM mono-speaker radio and bought speakers and an Alpine stereo unit, installed speakers in the front doors and made speaker boxes for the rears. If it couldn't be a cool car, it could at least have good sounding music. Having that underpowered car probably saved my life as I learned to do 180s, handbrake turns, burn outs, "J's", and raced more cars than I should have (never won, but it was the fun in trying). Getting the car over 65mph was like breaking the sound barrier, as the whole thing would start shaking as you approached 65, then would be glass after that. The roof rack gave some strength to the roof, and had friends "surf" on my car while I drove down the road. Fortunately, my stupidity never got myself, my friends, nor the car hurt. It treated me right though. Got me through 2 years in HS and 2 years in college.

This is pretty close to what it was (sans roof rack):

 

[Kiska23]

First car was a 1962 VW van, while I was in High School in the early 70's.

Dropped the 1200 motor out & installed a slightly warmed over 1600 engine. Fat (for the time) tires & rims, shag carpeting throughout, am/fm radio with 8-track player, Dark Brown Enamel paint with tan, hand done, pin-striping.
Had a bumper sticker on the rear bumper that said; "Don't Laugh.... your Daughter Might Be In Here".

Sold it when I completed the build of my '67 Fairlane GT 390 (428 heads top-loader 4-speed, 9" rear... which I wrecked), and was followed by my '69 Nova (,70 front clip) with a big block (488 cu in) 4 speed, 12 bolt rear.

I worked 2nd shift as a machinist in a local (Milwaukee - area) speed shop (while in high school) clearancing GMC 4-71, 6-71 & 8-71 blowers.