what was your first car?

[That Nice Guy Beck!]

1981 Porsche 911sc (I inherited from my father when he moved to Germany).  I should also mention that I had to give it back 3 years later when he returned.  So, maybe my first car was the Jeep wrangler I got then...

niiiiice...

[rgramjet]

First car I ever drove was a 1977 vega station wagon, silver with the wood wallpaper and blood red vinyl interior.

First car I ever bought was a 1972 Chevelle SS454 convertible (clone).  Wish I could get that car back!!

[TJR178]

I had an '84 Pontiac 1000 Acadian kind of like the one seen below.  Only mine was in excellent condition.  I bought it in '96 and it had 18k original miles on it.  The car was in amazing shape since it was a grocery getter for my great uncle.  The 12" sub I stuffed in the back barely fit.  I remember filling up the tank in '97 when gas was so cheap for $6.  Those were the days.

[Jarvicious]

1989 Mazda 323 hatchback.

Manual everything (including steering and brakes).  No radio.  No speakers.  It was my grandma's car before she died and she did nothing with it except drive to store, drive home.  Drive to our house, drive home.  A 300 dollar Dupont paint job (which looked make the beast with two backsin amazing, by the way), a few hundred in Infinity audio equipment, some strobes and some running lights and that thing was one baaaaaaaad mamma jamma (read: still a Mazda 323).

Got it my senior year of HS and drove it into my sophomore year of college.  TLC.  Regular maintenance.  A new skin.  How does she repay me??  Obliterated tranny at 50k.  I didn't have the time or money to drop a new one in so we had to part ways.  RIP "the egg".

[herm]

1970 toyota landcruiser, FJ40
1969 straight 6, completely stock otherwise (when i bought it)

should have mentioned...
paid 1000.00 for it
sold it for 5000.000

i think i still lost money on the deal, but i loved that cruiser

[DesmoDiva]

'94 Chevy Cavalier
Still driving it.  

[Popeye the Sailor]

Still waiting

Oh alright.

Back in 1965 my dad bought this particular Chrysler Newport, used. It was his first car.

He drove it regularly, until a new wife and kids necessitated having something a bit more reliable. He kept the Chrysler as a second car. I have distinct memories of riding in the car as a little kid (I was born in 1980). A few weeks later, he lost his job. Having no idea he'd get a new job a week later, he pulled the Chrysler off the road. This was 1984 or so.

It then sat until 1993. At this point, my mother started getting a little miffed. Started nagging him. "What are you going to do about the car?"  "What are you going to do about the car?"  "What are you going to do about the car?"

Finally, in a moment of weakness he says "Alright, I'll sell it". This offered no improvement, as the tirade then became "When are you going to sell the car?"  "When are you going to sell the car?".

After some time of this, he sold it to me, for the grand total of $1. Thus keeping his word. I'm fairly sure she did not talk to him at all for over a month.

Me, at the ripe old age of 13, with no mechanical knowledge, then set about attempting to restore the car. I'm fairly sure if I knew then what I knew now, I wouldn't have tried this. This car was beyond the point where one would consider a restoration.

We bought a battery. Installed it. Nothing. Rebuilt the starter, still no cranking. We put a breaker bar on the motor with a pipe on it. We bent the breaker bar.

Long story short....the motor got rebuilt. The transmission got rebuilt. An entire new wiring harness was fabricated from scratch and installed. A new cooling system was installed, as well as a new fuel system.

When we pulled the drums, every brake component fell to the ground in a pile of rust-no longer discernible as separate entities. The front fenders were replaced, as were all four doors. The trunk and interior floor were gone, so we built new ones. It has a new grille and bumpers.

The frame, originally, was a square box style. All that was left was the top. This is how I learned to weld. New rims and tires were put on. The body had holes you could put your hands through. I shaped the fender wells based off of pictures I found from old ads. We sanded, we had it painted, a new interior was put in. I snapped the driveshaft in half one night (no, not the U-joint-the actual shaft).

This took around a decade.

My introduction to the world of things mechanical, and my entire engineering career were basically brought around my this old clunker, and my dad teaching me these things. Some of the fondest times I ave ever had were working with him out in the garage. Sometime after the resto was complete, and unfortunately, my dad died.

Currently, the car is to undergo one final once over of interior and body work and mechanicals. Then I'm going to have her painted and leave her be, and think of my old man when I drive her.

[lethe]

My first was a 1975 Dodge Tradesman 200 van. It was the shortest wheelbase but with a very strong 360. I paid $50 for it and spent a whole weekend cleaning empty cigarette packs and assorted garbage out of it. When I found the first crack vial, I tore the thing completely apart to make sure I got all that sort of crap out of there. It had magnesium rims on it and those big ass Pro-Track 50s on the back. The rear bumper was a steel I beam with a pintle hook. Needless to say no one tail gated me. I didn't know much about such things at the time but in retrospect the engine must've had some work done to it because the thing could keep with 5 liter Mustangs light to light. Hell of a vehicle to learn to drive in.

[Grampa]

73 vw bug

piss yellow

autostick 


many "fix it" tickets

one motor rebuild

5 cans of grey primer and 6 black sharpies

the Bangles autographed it

[red baron]

1972 Monte Carlo

350 auto

posi traction rear end

that was a fun car even though I never got around to painting it the whole time I had it it was in black primer.

[somegirl]

Mine was a very boring 1986 Toyota Corolla, all manual (hand-me-down from my parents).

Currently, the car is to undergo one final once over of interior and body work and mechanicals. Then I'm going to have her painted and leave her be, and think of my old man when I drive her.

[LMT]

1981 Toyota Tercel bought new as  a Sr. in High School.  No radio, no air, 5 speed.  I drove around with a tape deck listening to Rush and Van Halen.

My cousin drove it and totaled in while I was in basic training in 1892.  Then I got a Datsun Sentra.  It had a good stereo!

[Kopfjäger]

1968 Beetle. Black w/red interior. (maybe thats why my Monster is blk/red)

[Duck-Stew]

Well, there were a couple of boring vehicles purchased for me by my parents (and/or given to me...who knows and I sure don't care), but the first car I bought...

1970 Ford Torino Brougham
(was supposed to be loaded to the hilt with options......but wasn't!)
351C 4V CJ 'M' code engine
Toploader 4-speed transmissin (close ratio)
3.50:1 Posi 31-spline 9" axle with a Nodular center section
Magnum 500's
Black with a black vynil roof

Should've sold the car when one of the leaf springs broke INTO the trunk while drag-racing it.  Fixed it instead and kept driving it.

Way, way, way too much car for an 18 year old.  Never could get it to run perfect, but I tried like hell...  I still remember Mr. Allen (my auto shop teacher) screaming at me, 'BAKER! When are you going to learn how to fix that car right?' 

bought for $700 2 weeks after I turned 18.  Put untold $ into it...  Still brings a smile to my face and I still have the VIN number memorized....

[S4ROB]

First car my Dad picked up  for $150, was a '59 Ford 4 door X-undercover police car. Still had the spotlight on it and holes in the door jamb
where the cage was attached.

First car I bought was a '63 Pontiac Tempest for $500.

The one car I wished I would have kept was a '56 Cadillac Family Lemo from a funeral home for $150.