What was the first car you worked on regularly?

[ARCOgraphite]

$850 85 rotten Subaru XT in early 90s in college. It got me thru college and left at long term parking Logan airport(no start).

That must have been one heck of a Parking fee! Did the Staties or Mass DOT or CoB send you a letter?

I had a no start on a Yaris MT - I was attempting to push start it from second from top floor of Logan Central Parking and I ended up having had a gun drawn on me by the Garage Cop who appeared out of nowhere, LOL. "Step away from the Vehicle sir, NOW!"

 

[Oldwolf]

Not including my parents cars that I started doing tune-ups on at around 14 yo, my first car that I owned was my Grandparents 1959 Galaxy.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Scrapped the 225 after pulling the 455/TH400, My LeSabre was an A-Body & pretty light compared to a C-Body.

Light engine for a BB, Did you do any oiling improvments or partial jacket block filler?

I think I would like that engine better with a square bore intake a little bit more cam and some long tubes.
That would make it a bit less Cadillac-y

- Arco

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

85 Mercury Cougar V6. What a pile. Quality was not #1

 

[Dr_Dr3i]

1988 VW Jetta GL - I wrenched on that car relentlessly since something seemingly broke every week. I did drive it thru 2yrs of high school though, and that level of freedom to just hop in the car and go for a drive (when gas was $0.89/g) is still unmatched.

 

[wings&wheels]

1974 Triumph TR6. Dad said that they'd agree to a car that we would both fix up. Bought this is 1982. Learned a lot and enjoyed the time with Dad when he was healthy. I really haven't progressed much in tastes

 

[repairman54]

'64 VW. It was a Euro version, probably brough over by a returning soldier. It had a factory locking steering wheel and amber turn lenses. Even dealers had trouble deciphering parts for it. Its why the only VW I would own today would have to be gifted to me and turned over ASAP.
But it made me the family and neighborhood pro on US vehicles.

 

[andrew_j]

That must have been one heck of a Parking fee! Did the Staties or Mass DOT or CoB send you a letter?

I had a no start on a Yaris MT - I was attempting to push start it from second from top floor of Logan Central Parking and I ended up having had a gun drawn on me by the Garage Cop who appeared out of nowhere, LOL. "Step away from the Vehicle sir, NOW!"

No one sent anything , plates pulled and glove box emptied by friend who tried getting it out on my behalf and gave up.

I was dumb in early twenties.

 

[Lubener]

85 Mercury Cougar V6. What a pile. Quality was not #1

I currently have an 87 and looks almost like new. Bought it in 89. I always liked the t-birds and cougars of that era.

 

[redbone3]

My Dads '51 Chevy rust bomb pickup truck.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I currently have an 87 and looks almost like new. Bought it in 89. I always liked the t-birds and cougars of that era.

Good on you for saving it. Maybe the 5.0 was better. I had the 3.8 v6. Leaked from every gasket, egr made it run so rough at 45mph which was the normal cruising speed in town. Distributor shaft broke one day randomly. Every suspension / steering part was shot at 100k miles.

 

[ATex7239]

‘94 Civic with 1.5L and 5 speed manual. It was cheap, reliable and easy to work on. Forcing me to spend too much of my money and time on cigarettes, booze and women.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

1988 Chevy Caprice Estate wagon. Ooooofta.

 

[vavavroom]

My first car was a 1989 Mazda 323. I did minor things like plug wires, changing snow tires, bulbs, and one oil change.

But my first beater, bought with my own money, was a 1982 Cadillac Cimarron. And it was the first car I really worked on-- including diagnosing. Complete tune-up, vacuum lines, oil changes, rust repair. What an awful car! I eventually figured out that the Wells brand distributor cap and rotor were hot garbage with their aluminum contacts, and switched to something with brass parts. Upped my top speed from 55 to 75 MPH.

I drove my friend's 323 F a few times. In '933 I hadn't gotten used to driving on the wrong side while sitting on the wrong side. The car was zippy.

 

[cb_13]

85 Chevy C10. It was my best friend’s truck in high school. Keeping that thing on the road was a full time job for both of us

 

[Fifth87]

'78 Chrysler Cordoba. Bought it in high school in '98. I am sure I lowered property values with it in the snobby area where my parents lived.
Got pulled over constantly for stupid and not so stupid reasons. First Mopar of many for me.

 

[eljefino]

! Peeve Alert !

Nothing personal but, DONT CALL THEM THAT! It's an Electra 225 - as in "two-hundred and twenty-five inches long"

No "quarter" anywhere. Who stated this drivel, Dice throwing greasers in the Bowery? Run DMC?

After careful analysis I can say it's not Sir Mix-a-Lot. In the R&B classic My Hooptie he refers to it simply as a "deuce" three times, yet he never includes the "quarter."

 

[k1xv]

'78 Chrysler Cordoba. Bought it in high school in '98. I am sure I lowered property values with it in the snobby area where my parents lived.
Got pulled over constantly for stupid and not so stupid reasons. First Mopar of many for me.

I hope you took proper care of the Rich Corinthian Leather.

I had the same problem when I drove my C2 Corvette at age 20. The cops always thought I was speeding, or that I had stolen it.

 

[BHopkins]

Although it wasn't my first car, the first car I worked on regularly was a 1978 Volkswagen Dasher. It took me a little while to figure out a few things, but once I did, I loved working on that car.

The engine was transverse mounted, and slanted towards the rear. This made access to the plugs super easy. And the distributor was easy to get to also. Air filter box sat on top of a Bosch mechanical fuel injection system next to the passenger side strut tower. I got to where I could change plugs, points, and air filter in 15-20 minutes, including adjusting the timing.

The fuel filter has tucked up under the driver's side rocker panel, and had to be changed regularly. Brakes were easy too. The only item that was German stupid, was aiming the headlights. Instead of having the adjustments at 0° and 90°, like almost every other car, The adjustments were at 315° and 45°. I've occasionally thought about this, and to this day, can't quite wrap my mind around what reasoning the engineers would have had for this.

 

[Fifth87]

I hope you took proper care of the Rich Corinthian Leather.

I had the same problem when I drove my C2 Corvette at age 20. The cops always thought I was speeding, or that I had stolen it.

It was not in the best shape, but I did try to clean it. Nice shade of blue I haven't seen since.
Between the rust, the 400 with cracked headers and speed, legal or otherwise, it was always something. Never any accusations of it being stolen