What was your first car?

[DANW]

77 Datsun 280Z bought summer of 79, still own it today, never drove it in the winter in MN.

[GoDadGo]

OK, I must be older than u guys, I bought a 1951 Oldsmobile Holiday 88 Coupe and had it painted metallic REd, Titian Rd. I saw one on Meacham recently and apparently it was a Nascar Grand National Favorite and 16 or 25 races in 1951 were Oldsmobiles.

The engine was a 303 cu in V-8 which came out arouond 1949, and was ahead of its time. And Yes I did have baby moons on it.

check this link

http://www.espn.com/racing/results/_/year/1951



Bob

McWho / aka Bagdad Bob

My Dad bought a Rocket 88, 1950 when he got out of the Navy.
My 85 year old Mom still talks about how fast that car was and how much fun they had in it running around and racing people from stop light to stop light.
I dug up the information on that car which is shown below:

Works Cited: INFO PULLED OFF GRIP THE MOMENT

The car could make the run to 60mph in roughly 13 seconds, which may sound slow today, but this was stunning in 1950. The car barreled pass 60 on its way to 97mph where physics eventually overtook the new rocket and did not allow the car to top over 100mph. In the end, the acceleration number could be beaten by some cars, but the Rocket would reach a higher top speed and others others could beat its top speed, but took much longer to make it there. Oldsmobile had successfully created one of the fastest cars in America decidedly beating Ford and Chrysler models up and down the street.

[Paparazzi]

I'm sure no one had this. A 1960 Ford Anglia 105E. Purchased for £50 by my father from a family friend - he wanted the 998cc motor for a boat. Decided that the car was in too good condition to dismantle, so it became my first car at 17.

This is the car, and that's me front right in my cool shades.

[JRD56]

My first car was a 1966 Mustang convertible. Bought it in 1971, still have it. Fully restored.

[Ducky2009]

1963 MGB convertible. It was 7 years old by ran great.

[Mark Reynolds]

JRD you have me beat all over! - Your first car is older, you've owned it longer and you still own it, and it is in way better condition. Your lawn is also in way better shape than any lawn I have owned or will ever own.

My signature has it - 1967 Fastback bought for $800 in 1980.

[RoadRacer]

I'm sure no one had this. A 1960 Ford Anglia 105E. Purchased for £50 by my father from a family friend - he wanted the 998cc motor for a boat. Decided that the car was in too good condition to dismantle, so it became my first car at 17.

This is the car, and that's me front right in my cool shades.

Haha don't bet on it. Many ex-pats here . My first car was a mk1 escort van.. that if course I ran into a Land Rover in the first month with my license. Needed a long steep hill to get that up to 80mph!

[Chuck Sloggett]

51' Studebaker Commander V8 Starlite Coupe. I see Studebaker won a few NASCAR races in 51 too. I paid $165 for it summer of 58 at the Ford Dealership in Broken Bow, Nebraska. -- Chuck

[bobl]

My first 2 cars I would give anything to have now. First a '55 Chevy 2 dr sedan with a pretty hot rodded 283, then after too many tickets my dad made me sell it. So I got my mom's 65 mustang fastback. Oh darn!

[Jazzman]

A 1970 AMC Javelin with a straight 6 and three speed on the floor. Not the AMX, mind you, which I will admit is only slightly better. Mine didn't have enough of an engine to warrant the cool hood scoop or racing stripes or the upgraded wheels. Just plain metal wheels with boring cake-pan style hubcaps. To make it even worse it was painted "Big Bad Blue". Mine was just ugly, and very blue. I used to joke that the color made my eyes hurt. It still does today. Now this is NOT me, and it is NOT my car, but I thought you might enjoy seeing a very similar car in the actual throwback color from the early 70's.



Given that this is where I started, it is a wonder I ever wanted to see another car, much less built one! Well at least I pretty much had no where to go but up!

[Bobby Doug]

1964 Rambler 440 Convertible. The top leaked, the fuel gauge quit at 1/2 full, the trunk opened with a screwdriver, and the driver side window only rolled down halfway, then fell the rest of the way. I drove it for 1 1/2 years and saved every penny I made. My dad promised to match me dollar for dollar on a new car. At $2500 I started looking at new 1973 Corvettes. Dad amended his offer to $1500 and I bought a Burnt Orange 1973 Nova SS. The car was a slug due to the compression being dropped to 8.5 to 1. But it looked good.

[Dave Howard]

1971 Ford F100. Two tone red and black. Kept that for a long time into college. Then a Dodge Shelby Charger. 2.2 turbo and GLH. Go Like Hell.

[RickP]

My first car was a 1966 Mustang convertible. Bought it in 1971, still have it. Fully restored.

That is one sharp looking stang.

[Barrel]

1951 Triumph Mayflower that was originally my mother's car. She later bought a Triumph 2000 and this became my first car in 1968. She disowned it completely some years later when the Best Man at my wedding made an amusing reference to the fact that it was aptly called The Mayflower because of the number of puritans that came across in the back seat!

[Avalanche325]

1974 Vega notchback. $50. Needed a head gasket. If that car won't make a Ford man out of you, nothing will.

[rx7922]

3949510008_large.jpg

1989 mercury tracer wagon

[Cobradavid]

1974 Vega notchback. $50. Needed a head gasket. If that car won't make a Ford man out of you, nothing will.

Now THAT is funny!

[Cobradavid]

1973 Ford Ranchero. 302 cu in and 3 speed automatic. 93,000 miles on it. Bought it for $100 from my neighbors after it got totaled.



After putting on a new door, lots of terrible body work (including some work to the front end after I ran through a station wagon that ran through a stop sign), and new paint, it looked like this.



It was a fun truck. Kinda wish I still had it. At least I still have a Ranchero in the family since my daughter's first car is a '66 Ranchero.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...3-Garage-Buddy

David

[ehansen007]

Me too everson. She was a red on red beauty! Shameful.

p5217408.jpg

[phileas_fogg]

1960 Rambler Cross Country Wagon - 250 V-8 Borg-Warner Push Button Auto. Dropped 327 in it. Paid $1 - Dad was mechanic picked it up at work.

Mine was a 1966 Rambler station wagon with the American Motors 232 in-line 6 (years later I had that same engine in my 1991 Jeep Wrangler, except with fuel injection). It had a 5-speed transmission; 1st gear was Low that you had to specifically select. Gears 2-4 were what you generally used. Much to my surprise, I found out about gear 5 racing a college buddy who had a 1970s Camaro. We were doing 90+ on the north side of Chattanooga TN when the car got really quiet and then kept on accelerating.

The Rambler sat in my grandfather's driveway for two years and then he gave it to me my sophomore year in college. We spent a summer getting it back to running. He turned me loose on the drum brakes with a Chilton's manual. It always pulled to one side whenever I braked; it's a miracle that car ever stopped.

My grandfather worked his way through the Great Depression as a mechanic for International Harvester. They gave him a truck full of parts and tools. He drove into farmers' fields and fixed equipment where it sat. If he didn't have the part, he made the part. He didn't leave until the equipment was working again to the farmer's satisfaction.

When we were restoring the Rambler to operation, we had to work on the carburetor. Grandpa took it to a carburetor guy. And that's why my Roadster has fuel injection!


John

[flynntuna]

My dad had a Rambler wagon. we use to play lost in space in it . Jeez did I actually admit that. Just some goofy ten yr olds lol

[Lowrod]

1965 Ford Mustang Coupe with the 300 Sprint package. 6 cylinder with a three speed manual transmission.

[Gromit]

I got my dads 1972 4 door Plymouth valiant sky blue slant 6 3 speed column shifter as a senior in high school my friends called it the nerd mobile I took the family out to ice cream Sunday's to pay for it.

The car had an am radio and a bunch of delete options. It didn't even have a cigarette lighter but it did get 22 mpg and I might still own it if I hadn't gotten T-boned and totaled during my senior year of college

It had 102,000 when I got it and 135,000 when it got totaled still on the original clutch. Manual steering and brakes and Ac by 4-40 (as dad put it roll down the 4 windows and drive 40 mph) it leaked oil badly and only left me stranded one time when the gear on the distributor gear wore out

Man I miss that car

[phileas_fogg]

My dad had a Rambler wagon. we use to play lost in space in it . Jeez did I actually admit that. Just some goofy ten yr olds lol

Lord knows the thing was big enough to be a spaceship. I think my Grandfather told me he hauled 14' timbers inside the vehicle jammed against the tailgate and resting atop the dash jammed against the front glass. I could be exaggerating though. He also put 500 pounds of quarried marble in the back during the winter to make sure the chains on the tires got extra bite in the once-a-decade snow.


John

[lahrs37]

These stories are great! I am just a tad jealous that so many folks' first cars were so much cooler than mine. With that said, I got inspired by you all and since I have been experimenting with video editing, I decided this would be a good topic for a video.

Check it out: https://youtu.be/nQDuYdjTCg8

[FFinisher]

1970 Torino Cobra
429Super Cobra Jet, drag pack including 430 Detroit locker rear axle.

"J"Code"

Canary yellow and black. Awesome car definitely wish I still had it. Had 24,000 miles on it when I sold it.

[Dragonfire]

1964 Pontiac GTO. Took delivery in November of 1963. Sold it in 1986. Big mistake. Loved that car.

[jceckard]

These stories are great! I am just a tad jealous that so many folks' first cars were so much cooler than mine.

No kidding! I turned 16 in the early 90s. At first I had to drive my parents cars to work. My mom had this ugly seafoam green Mercury Sable. My dad had an early 80s brown Dakota with worn out shocks. You hit a dip in the road and oscillate for a few hundred feet. My parents did get me a car when I was in college. They picked up a late 80s Cherokee from the state surplus auction. It was a fun vehicle, only thing against it was the AC didn't work. In the south, that ain't cool (pun intended). Plus it was black. My first vehicle that I purchased was a '02 F150 FX4 with the 5.4L. My wife keeps telling me to get rid of it. I ignore her.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Canary yellow and black.

Thank Got it wasn't ORANGE

Jeff

[lahrs37]

No kidding! I turned 16 in the early 90s. At first I had to drive my parents cars to work. My mom had this ugly seafoam green Mercury Sable. My dad had an early 80s brown Dakota with worn out shocks. You hit a dip in the road and oscillate for a few hundred feet. My parents did get me a car when I was in college. They picked up a late 80s Cherokee from the state surplus auction. It was a fun vehicle, only thing against it was the AC didn't work. In the south, that ain't cool (pun intended). Plus it was black. My first vehicle that I purchased was a '02 F150 FX4 with the 5.4L. My wife keeps telling me to get rid of it. I ignore her.

Nice! I drove a slew of crap cars. While I never drove a Sable, I did drive a Mercury Topaz.

[wareaglescott]

These stories are great! I am just a tad jealous that so many folks' first cars were so much cooler than mine. With that said, I got inspired by you all and since I have been experimenting with video editing, I decided this would be a good topic for a video.

Check it out: https://youtu.be/nQDuYdjTCg8

Dude probably fixed your car and went on a nationwide illegal parking mission. You are now wanted in 38 states for unpaid parking tickets! My wife and I got some good laughs from the video.

[lahrs37]

Dude probably fixed your car and went on a nationwide illegal parking mission. You are now wanted in 38 states for unpaid parking tickets! My wife and I got some good laughs from the video.

Bahahaha! You are probably right!

[boat737]

1970 Honda N600. 2 cylinder, 598 CC, (or as I used to say, "36 cubic inches of fire breathin' blow-by"), 35hp (almost 1 hp per cu. in., rare in the 70's), air cooled, 4 speed, front wheel drive. Honda started selling cars in the U.S. on May 1, 1970, and I bought this 14 days later, for a whopping $1395 brand new. Drove it for 28 years before I sold it to a guy who took it back to Japan. Here's a pic at Lions Drag Strip. Won my class once, and came in runner-up in bracket racing one day. Won $10. I still have some Lions time slips from back then. 21 seconds in the quarter mile. Whew...

Honda Car 2.jpgHonda Car 1.jpg

[Ray]

1957 Ford Ranchwagon 2-door. It had the 312 "Y" block and an automatic trans.

Ray

[DowenS]

1964 Ford Falcon two door sedan, 144 6 cylinder, "3 on the tree". It's the car I learned how to drive manual with. The Car was handed down from a great uncle. Still have it!
Your very basic model. Rubber flooring, no radio, no padded dash, no washer fluid. I believe the only option he got was front seat belts. The cars specs state 85 hp, I think that was a stretch.

[lahrs37]

36 cubic inches of fire breathin' blow-by... 21 seconds in the quarter mile. Whew...

Honda Car 2.jpgHonda Car 1.jpg

hahahahaha! love it!

[Cyclotic]

Lots of Ramblers here. Cool. My dad had a 1963 Rambler Classic 660. 4 door, 3 on the tree, no options, not even a radio.

My first car was a 1974 Saab 99, 2 door.

[42Bfast]

That's funny. I haven't seen a Triumph Herald since we got rid of ours a lot of years ago. The thing ran good with that little sewing machine motor. But the rest of it took a lot of TLC.

I dated a girl when I was in college that drove a Herald, I liked the car more than her. :-)

[42Bfast]

1971 Pontiac Firebird (used) (Paid $1700, took me 3 years to pay it off) it had a 350 engine, 4spd manual transmission, factory Hurst shifter, limited slip differential, vinyl top and aftermarket AC!
Loved that car! It set me on the path of manual transmission, rear driver, and big oversteer, that I will NEVER outgrow!
I turned doughnuts until the oil light came on, I did the Rockford Files maneuver, I hit 130 for the first time in my life in that car! Don't know how I survived, but it was a blast!

[rancho cobra]

32 ford 5- window coupe w/ 49 flathead , got it for $325 when I was 14 years old in 1974 , didn't have it drivable by 16 so I bought a 65 falcon futura w/289 for $400 , added glass packs , cragers, positraction torque twisters . That was the first car I got to drive