Tell us about your first car

[quint]

Back in the mid 1985 my first was a 1977 Mustang II with a 302 and a 2 bbl carb. It was shiny black with gold wheels and a perfect gold interior. Had less than 50,000 miles on it when I bought it from some old guy in N. Kentucky. Whoever had it before him changed the rear end to a very low ratio, as that 302 would roar well over 3000 rpm at 60 mph, but the torque on tap was unbelievable. The 0-60 was absolutely ferocious and practically instantaneous, but it would top out at about 85 mph, if that. My friend called it the "Noise Making Tire Fryer". I was lucky to get 12 mpg out of it so I had to fill it 2-3 times a week between going to work and school. It only took about $8 to fill it so it wasnt that big of a deal.

While flipping with the stereo and not paying attention, I plowed into a pristine Rx7 at a stoplight. The Rx7 was barely damaged but the Mustang looked like it had lost a heated argument with a bulldozer. I got rotary fever from looking at the Rx7 and ended up buying one a few days later, my first of three. I would kill to have the Mustang or any of the Rx7's back again.

 

[Dyusik]

I had a thoroughly molested 1989 Chevrolet Corsica LTZ. The 2.8L v6 was abused, but it never quit. Had all kinds of shortcomings when it came to fuel consumption, I think the ecu was shot (dad had a stack of jy computers for it, I ended up using the one the car liked best). Did all my wrenching, but never did change the oil, it was still in there, and liquid, so it was good enough I guess. The junker had nothing to offer, other than nice seats, kept one of them down the let the bass in for a 15 inch MTX thunder pro . People offered to buy the car because of it lol. Good times ... used to cram 6 passengers in it, one shotgun, 4 in the back, and one on the floorboard. Not my smartest days.

 

[Benzadmiral]

A 1975 Ford Maverick 4-door sedan, the slightly more expensive model with the 250 c.i. six. Auto transmission, power steering (but not power brakes), AM radio, good air conditioning. My then-fiancee bought it in early 1976 with some inheritance money, and I drove it on my driver's test. Metallic green paint, with a matching cloth-and-vinyl interior -- we used to call it "Klingon green" -- but a handsome if underpowered car. I learned a lot about taking care of cars on that one.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

1954 Ford Customline four door with 239 cu in Y block, OHV V8. Couldn't get out of its own way but reliable and lasted me through five years of college(the Sister of Saint Francis got tired of looking at me and there I went.

 

[brave sir robin]

first car was a 1965 Oldsmobile F85 Cutlass post
330 4bbl with a two speed "Jetaway" transmission, manual drum brakes all around but did have power steering and black bucket seats. My dad got it for me as a birthday/graduation gift in January 1996. It was stolen in 2004 though my dad and some friends did say they have seen it around town in the years after.

I looked at picking up another one before I bought my Electra but big block Buick, AC and power everything were too much to pass up.

It looked very close to this car except it had eagle alloy wheels

 

[doitmyself]

Purchased summer 1974.....1969 Opel Kadett. Oil embargo years. Got a whopping 21mpg on a good day, if I remember correct. Got me to work for one year at US Steel Gary Works, saving enough to put me through college. My, how times have changed.

Cut my teeth on: Bondo, plugs/points/timing light/dwell meter, stick shift, the cost of dealership brake job, pop can exhaust pipe repair, Pennsylvania crude = the best, 1/2 bottle of Turtle wax per application. Sold with about 68,000 miles..... approaching high miles in that era.

 

[Delta]

Cool thread!

Back in 2005 we bought a 1987 Oldsmobile Delta 88 for $500 from my mothers boss that was his mothers car. Unbeknownst to us it was a little rusty and wouldn't pass PA inspection. It sat for several months until me and my dad started tearing it apart. Did a full paint job, and I had to get it running better on my own. Did a set of plugs/wires, alternator, water pump, starter, and full coolant flush. That old 3.8 V6 would run, it almost got me in trouble several times. Even went to the junkyard to find a chrome luggage rack from a higher line model, along with new front emblems that weren't faded.

I had the oldest car in the high school parking lot, but it was all mine!

 

[Exit32]

My first car was a 1954 Ford Country Sedan station wagon, a hand-me-down from my dad when I graduated from high school. That car featured Ford's first OHV V8 engine -- a 239-cubic-inch powerhouse making 130 HP.

A few years before the car was given to me, my uncle gave gallons and gallons of "perfectly good, clean oil" to my dad for oil changes on the ol' station wagon. My uncle was chief engineer at a large municipal sewage-processing plant, and they had huge vacuum pumps with lots of oil in the crankcases. The vacuum-pump oil was changed regularly, and my uncle noticed how clean the old oil was. Too good to just throw it away, he thought.

After a couple of oil changes using vacuum-pump oil instead of motor oil, the engine starting leaking and burning oil like crazy. First thing I did when I inherited the car was to buy a used 312 cu in, four-barrel "Thunderbird" engine out of a wrecked '57 Ford Fairlane. Had that engine professionally rebuilt, and it served me well through college.

Moral of the story: Don't use vacuum-pump oil in an internal-combustion engine.

 

[OVERKILL]

My first car was a 1974 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Silver with black roof, 350 "Rocket".

Identical to this old girl:

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
My first car was a 1974 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Silver with black roof, 350 "Rocket".


1983 Old Cutlass Supreme with the 3.8 V6. So not much power from it at all. It used to be my grandpa's car and only had 21k miles on it and was 7 years old. It was a medium blue, half vinyl top of the same color, red painted pinstripe, vinyl bench seat, am radio, power nothing except for the steering, metal hubcaps with plain black tires.

 

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Oh, you'll love this one. Prior to the late 1960's, when the first US-Canada Free Trade Pact, called the Auto Pact and which applied only to automotive products was enacted, Pontiac made different cars in the US and Canada. The "Canadian Pontiacs" were manufactured in a Chevrolet-Pontiac joint venture, and certain models made for the Canadian market utilized Chevrolet frames and drivetrains with unique body and interior parts that fit those chassis.

Pontiac also used unique model names that were related typically to some aspect of Canadian history or tradition for these models. For example the full size deluxe model was a Parisienne, the base full size was a Laurentian.

My first car was a 2-door Pontiac Acadian, 1964 model, bought used around 1978, which was built on a Chevy Nova chassis and drivetrain and sported a 230 CID straight six motor and "three on the tree".

An "Acadian" is a resident of Atlantic Canada, and also implies a link to United Empire Loyalists ... Americans who moved to Canada during or after the American Revolution, who felt an allegiance to the British Crown versus the new American republic.

But it was not "just" an Acadian, it had a sub-model designation, indicating the premium trim level. I owned a 1964 Pontiac Acadian Invader. "Acadian" appeared in chrome block letters on the trunklid between the rear tail lights, and "Invader" appeared in chrome script on the body on both fenders. No lie.


My 79 Transam has a RPO z49 Canadian equipment modification for a cost of $3.48. Nobody can figure out what it is.

My first car was the 75 Vette that I still have. I just pulled it out the other day and I realized it's still my favorite. It has almost no width giving a feel of being one with the car.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette


My 79 Transam has a RPO z49 Canadian equipment modification for a cost of $3.48. Nobody can figure out what it is.





Does it have a block heater?

 

[JasonC]

My first car was a 1983 Bandit Trans Am with the Crossfire Fuel Injected 305. Got that car in 1994 a full year before I could get a license. Kept it till 2000 and loved that car, only one I wish I hadn't gotten rid of.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: JasonC
My first car was a 1983 Bandit Trans Am with the Crossfire Fuel Injected 305. Got that car in 1994 a full year before I could get a license. Kept it till 2000 and loved that car, only one I wish I hadn't gotten rid of.


Here's a mint condition 1987 TA that I saw the other day at the Chevy dealer. Only has 20k miles with the 5 liter V8.

http://www.firment.com/VehicleDetails/used-1987-Pontiac-Firebird-Trans_Am-Avon-OH/2966846963

 

[wings&wheels]

1974 TR6

It was 1982, I was a senior in high school and I had the car through college. Dad was a car guy, Mustangs, so it was going to be something interesting and my Uncle raced British cars so the TR made sense. I learned a lot from owning that car including the values of a decent tool kit and a long walk.

My TR6 is less that 200 s/n away from that first car.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

1976 Chevy Nova with the 250 I6 and a "heavy duty" leaf spring rear suspension, college graduation gift from my Dad. He ended up having 3 cars on hand after my Mom died, he kept two Comets/Mavericks around in the hopes that one of them would be running at any given moment. My sister didn't drive, so it made sense to cut down on his car load...he gave me my choice and I had no interest in the Fords.

The rear suspension was a joke because something in it would break every year or two and one of the rear wheels would float around in its well. I took it to a Chief Auto (attached to a 7-11 right across from my apartment complex, it was convenient and I didn't know better at the time) the first time it happened to me and they swore that couldn't be happening...the car happened to be on the lift right next to us and I grabbed the right rear wheel and slammed it back and forth to show them! Other than that, it was decent enough for free transportation, although it didn't like to start in even the modestly cold weather I had to deal with in Dallas.

My dad warned me about checking the oil when I drove to Dallas from Chicago, and I ignored him...told him after I got down there that the car was making a weird rattle. He flipped out and said that was the timing chain, I had to add oil ASAP! Think I just dumped the 2 quarts he left in the car in there, didn't even check the dipstick. Took it to Gyppy Lube every 3000 miles after that, never rattled again. I drove the car for a year or two until a got rear ended while stopped by a Civic going about 50mph...it was amazing how her car was almost wiped out while my Nova just looked a little pushed in and drove kind of funny. Of course, I went and bought a little Honda...

 

[Dave Sherman]

1997 Saturn SL2, bought new. First car I could call my own and it had a manual transmission. Served me well, despite being rear-ended once and having a tree branch fall through the windshield during a storm (I wasn't in it). Only time it gave me a scare was when one of the clips on the gearshift cables popped off the transmission, and I lost first and second gear. I was afraid something had gone tragically wrong inside the transmission. Coincidentally, I was driving past the Saturn dealer when it happened, but they were closed. Managed to limp home taking the back roads and starting out carefully in third gear, jury-rigged a new cable clip out of a breather element clip from the auto parts store, and it held until I could get a new clip from the dealer when they opened. Clutch didn't seem too badly abused by the experience, it was still going strong at 128,000 miles when I needed something larger.

 

[Eddie]

1950 Crosley Station Wagon with a 44HP I4 OHC engine and a 4 speed manual. Engine & transmission rebuilt by dad and me. Ed

 

[Sunnyinhollister]

1967 Chevy Camaro with a 250cid straight six and a 3spd manual tranny. I added a set of Clifford headers and it was a blast to drive.

 

[babyivan]

84 chevy celebrity