What was your first car?

[tomwed]

In 1969 I turned 17 and my dad bought me a 62 Beetle.
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/3331/2721/33326360001_original.jpg

[this is a photo of someone else's 62 beetle]

Dad paid $200 because the engine was blown and quarter panels and bumpers were banged up. Then he taught me how to rebuild an engine. Truth be told, I got the theory and grinded some valves and seats but mostly I was extra muscle and handed him the wrenches like the assistant in an operating room. I took apart the upholstery too and with the help of my girlfriend, we hand stitched the seams. I also got lucky when I found someone selling their black 60 Beetle body that was in great shape for $50. They were building a dune buggy with the chassis and motor. The body parts were interchangeable and in one day I transformed my car into a much better looking car. That’s the kind of Dad I had.

It was a perfect car in Secaucus, NJ. When the snow came, it went over everything and smaller parking spaces in Jersey City, where I went to High School, were not a problem. Since then I have owned many other interesting cars and each one has a story.

[rosygail]

1060 Corvair with no floor! This was in 1974.

[billethkid]

1941 Ford 2 door sedan....flat head v-8.....

[outahere]

1965 Dodge Dart - bright red, straight 6, automatic transmission. Paid $600 for it right after I graduated high school in 1970 (basically my life savings from gifts and 3 years on a paper route).

[JSR22]

1969 Mustang mach 1 blue with black racing stripes and white interior.

[gpirate]

1955 Chevrolet BelAir Hardtop. Candy apple red with white top. Paid $800 in 1960.

[Gary7]

1964 Plymouth Belvedere -
Slant 6 -225 -
Push button automatic

[tv2016]

Red AMC Gremlin

[FlamingoFlo]

Orange 1970 Dodge Colt

[villagetinker]

1958 Ford Galaxy, police inceptor special (what was he thinking??), 352 V8, 4 barrel, auto, PS/PB and a read end geared so low that at 70 mph the engine was barely turning 200 rpm....no idea the top end.

First NEW car 1966 signal flare red black vinyl roof Mustang coupe, 289 V8, auto.

Currently reliving my youth, by restoring a 1966 Fastback Mustang (no exactly stock).

[jebartle]

45945


Sure wish I had that car (1963 Corvette) now....Sold for $5,000, probably worth $70,000 now

[dbussone]

A brand new 1967 Mustang

[tommy steam]

1957 buick convert , light blue with a white top and white interior. It was beautiful.

[Hankg42]

1956 Chevy 150 4-door sedan. It had an almost new 283 that I swapped into it, along with a few hot rod bits. It looked like hell, but ran great and was pretty quick, for what it was. :smiley:

[plrbr1120]

Graduated from H.S. May of 1967. Ordered a new car before hand and in June 1967...had a brand new paid off 1967 GTO. Wish I still had it. Bought it with $$ saved doing odd jobs thru my high school years.

[folkh]

1966 Plymouth Fury, 3 on the column, this was 1971 gas was 29 cents a gallon in the coal regions of PA. The car drank oil!!

[Ecuadog]

White 1957 Chevy Bel Air, black convertible top, red/gray interior, 283 V8.

[Chi-Town]

Red/white two tone 1957 Olds Holiday 88 coupe.

[tucson]

1970 XKE Coup

[DonH57]

My first car I bought in Japan to drive around was a Toyota Toyopet. It was an old beater. Column shift 3 on the tree. Steering wheel was on the right side. I later junked it and bought a Suzuki Mini Truck, two cylinder stroke engine. Steering wheel was on the right as well. I sold it for the same price I paid for it.

[goldseekur]

1967 Ford Mustang Sport
Yellow exterior
Black Interior
Bucket seats
4 on the floor
Sport scoops on the hood

Drove it until it wouldn't go no more - loved that car.
Paid $900

[Buffalo Jim]

1959 Plymouth Fury . Purchased in June of '68 for $200 .
Huge tail fins and " push-button " drive .
It was a tank and my college car .

[George Bieniaszek]

1968 Dodge Charger! 383 automatic. Sure wish I had that car now.

[OpusX1]

64 Chevy Impala. We called it the baby maker because, well you know!

[village dreamer]

61 Plymouth 318 push button trans in 1968 paid $50,boy I had some good times in that car...................

[kcrazorbackfan]

1966 Chevelle SS396; the time that I owned it, it was the quickest 1/4 mile street car in NW Arkansas :22yikes:; wish I still had it.

[John_W]

A 1962 Nash Metropolitan green over white with a black softtop, if you don't know the name, it was just like this one. They were made in England and last produced in '63. They sold new for $1,600, my dad picked up the one year old '62 for $800. In 1965 when I was 15 I got my learner's permit and he taught me how to drive and then gave me the car. It had a 3 speed shift on the column and an AM radio with a dial tuner, no push buttons. If you sat in the backseat you had to lean forward or you head would touch the back window.

http://www.sportscardigest.com/wp-content/uploads/F194_Nash_1961_Metropolitan_Convertible_E86184_900 .jpg

In 1969 I wanted something different, I was torn between a new VW Beetle for $1737 or a Datsun 510 for $1910. I don't know how, but those prices stayed in my head. I went with the Datsun but then had to let it sit for a year while I was in Korea.

[Bonanza]

My first was a '68 VW convertible -- red with a grey top. That was the first year headrests were required and I hated them, but I loved my VW.

I just may get another one!

[ugotme]

A 1961 Chevy Impala convertible.

Couldn't see great out of the back window and sometimes it leaked but HEY -

IT WAS MINE !!!!

and p. s. - Man was I COOL !!!! :1rotfl:

[DigitalGranny]

For my graduation in 1968, my parents splurged for a '63 Ford Galaxy Sunliner (convertible). It had a big V-8, was "desert gold" (fords name for metallic baby-poop green) and passed everything except a gas station! I loved it! I drove it until one day the wheels literally fell off -courtesy of an over zealous use of a pneumatic wrench by the young kid who changed out my snow tires. Stripped the lug bolts!

[caseycasebeer]

A 1950, black Ford convertible. I was in love with it and mounted four new tires (not even recaps...) at Dad's insistence. Also installed 'spiffy seatcovers (from JC Whitney as I recall).

It was great, but after driving it for about six months I began to realize the financial drain it represented with gas, insurance, maintenance, etc. I sold the Ford and bought a 10-speed bicycle!

Dad had a 1960 VW (36hp, with no gas gauge as I recall) and I was able to talk him into using it for 'dates ... and it always came with a full tank of gas. :-)

Best,
Casey

[Halibut]

My mom had a Nash like that, John. Cool car!

My first car was a 1962 Sunbeam Imp. Not this one, but white with white interior, four speed. My grandfather bought it for me for $300 when I was 18. I put a peel and stick red racing stripe over the top/hood and groovy flower power stickers on the dash. Yowza, chick magnet! Not.

It broke down constantly and had so little power I couldn't drive it up any hills in San Francisco. I think it was only running on 3 cylinders the whole time I had it.

I bought my first new car when I was 29 - a Volkswagen Dasher station wagon. When I crashed that, I bought another one. What was wrong with me?!

[dbanks50]

1963 Triumph Spitfire! Loved that car!!!

[Northstar]

1968 Pontiac LeMans Yellow with Black top. Lifted with L60's in the rear. One rainy night, a utility pole jumped out and hit me on my side rear panel. :cryin2:(I hit a pole). :mad:

[tomwed]

I enjoy reading "first car" stories. Just about everyone has one.

My 62 Beetle had a gas guage with the letter F on the right and the letter R on the left. One day my friend asked "I know what the F stands for but what does the R stand for?."

I said "Rempty".

[In awe of TV]

1964 Chrysler Newport convertible, push button trans-what a tank. It was powder blue with a white rag top and a purple fender (replaced, due to an accident). My boyfriend bought me this car for $50 in 1971. It was a wreck, but he fixed it up for me. True love at its best. Woo-hoo!

It has been fun reading everyone's responses. You never forget your first car - great memories.

[manaboutown]

This was in 1957 when I was a sophomore in HS. My father found me a 39 Chevy business coupe for which I paid $35. It had no power which was fine with my Dad, but not me. I soon sold it, bought a '47 Ford Coupe for $50, dropped an Olds V8 in it, giving the flathead V8 to my brother to put into his Model A coupe. It went on from there, 49 Chevy, 53 Buick, 55 Chrysler, 56 Merc convertible, 55 Jaguar XK120 roadster, '57 Caddy Fleetwood...and more. I bought and sold them through HS and college.

[Edjkoz]

1966 Maroon Corvair. It had a 110hp engine with dual carbs

[Halibut]

It's funny how many of these cars are in demand now and would fetch a high price for restoring.

1963 Triumph Spitfire! Loved that car!!!

What's not to love?

1964 Chrysler Newport convertible, push button trans-what a tank.

Dear god, the pushbutton transmissions! Mom had an unsafe-at-any-speed Corvair -- notice there's no Park. You could not park that thing on any kind of incline without putting chocks on the back tires. We actually carried a set in the trunk. Can you imagine parents these days letting their teenagers drive that? Of course no seat belts.

[GatorFan]

1967 Ford Mustang, Black, red interior, 3 speed, 289...bought in 1968, $1500.00..sure wish I still had it

[chuckinca]

Dad bought me a 1950 Ford Yellow Convertible when I was 15. Six months later when I was near 16, he sold it - didn't get a car again until I was 19 and bought a 1955 white over orange Ford Crown Victoria.

[CFrance]

A brand new 1967 Mustang
Hey, we have one of those in storage up in Michigan. Have had it for 20 years. Fun car.

[CFrance]

a 1960 fire-engine red Triumph Herald convertible. Four door. I was supposed to share it with my brother, but he wouldn't keep up his part of the upkeep bargain, so it became all mine. I learned to drive a four-speed 'cause of that thing. It held me well through high school and college, and then it pretty much fell apart. later I bought a 1972 maroon TR6.

[asianthree]

1969 Mustang mach 1 blue with black racing stripes and white interior.

Same car but 1971 mustang mach 1 silver with black strips and black interior

[pbkmaine]

A Ford Granada I bought from my parents. The price was right, but there was absolutely nothing else I liked about that car.

[LittleDog]

A 10 year old Mercedes 4 door sedan with a floor shift. Lasted about 2 years when I replaced it with a 1959 Chevy. I was in the army in Germany for both cars.

John

[Bobcuse]

1963 Ford Falcon $2400 my senior year in college. Wasn't allowed to have my own car until then and was all we could afford. I loved it, but my favorite car was our '69 Mustang Grande which finally rusted to death in upstate Ny 1977.

[tcxr750]

Four year old 1959 Jaguar 3.4 Litre Mk.1 Sedan. Maroon with black leather interior. $1500. Capable of 125 mph indicated on recap snow tires. It's dangerous to be ignorant of tire technology!

[Topspinmo]

1958 Ford Galaxy. villagetinker must be typo Ford didn't make galaxies till 1959. 58 Ford was Fairlane 500.