Whats the story behind your first car?

The Birth Control Car

My first car was a snot-green Mercury Monarch with the finest simulated woodgrain that 1970s plastics technology could produce.

The gutless 6 cylinder required a running start to pass anyone. In winter the extreme front-end weight made it a hog on ice. Come spring, when I took my 125 lb barbell set out of the trunk (an ineffective attempt to help winter traction), the springs didn't come back up.

From the parent's perspective it was the perfect car for a young teenager. No power or sex appeal for getting into ANY kind of trouble (except maybe a ticket for littering).

The deer that committed suicide by jumping in front of it late one fall evening did me a big favor, although car #2 was no prize either.
 
1977 Chevy El Camino Classic with a 350 4bbl, dual exhaust and chrome rims. I drove it for 75,000 mile and only had to shim the frontend and rebulit the quadraslobber carb. I sold it to a local highschool kid who trashed it in only 6 months. The last time I saw it on the road it was smoking like hell and I could hear the rods knocking from 50 feet away. The final time I saw it it was parked next to a barn on rt29 in central Illinois. Oh well it saw alot of road beers and female company.
 
1986 Pontiac Fiero, white! I had saved money for two years to buy it for $2000 cash, had very low miles on it and a hot pink heartbeat stripe down the side! Yes I thought I was a cool 16 yr old pulling up in that matchbox size car!!
 
I remember those. They had the speakers in the head rests.
 
My first vehicle was a 1984 Chevy S10 Blazer two tone Black/Silver. I added four 15" subwoofers and three amplifiers, Lowered it a couple of inches and added a set of Motoform Sekta 17"x9.5" rims and Pirelli tires. I loved driving around Long Island in this truck so much fun as a teenager but I did get pulled over all of the time for excessively loud music. lol
 
LOL It was a 59 Ford. Ran the thing into the ground and scrapped it. Had more plans than money to do them. Learned a lot of things by experimenting. Would like another one maybe some day. The Woodward Dream Cruise is really big here. A cruiser would be nice but the wife wants a Cobra kit car.
 
Mine was a 1988 1/2 Ford Escort. I bought the car new with money saved working 2 jobs while in high school. I hated the car after 2 months of ownership: poor interior pieces and rattles, electrical gremlins, transmission problems, periodic engine cut off while on the highway (turns out an aircraft style conected had broken; ziptie fix) oh an the battery liked to explode on occasion. Despite my loathing for the car, I kept it until 1995 when I finally sold it. In that respect, it did pay for itself and it did redeem itself with great fuel economy (a couple of cross country trips solidified that).

Lessons learned from that:
* do not listen to father who talked you out of a Mk VW GTI for that
* pick and pull salvage yards offer a wealth of cheap parts
* I became skilled at fixing problems on my own( college poor at the time and a need for transportation fueled my interest in learning how to fix the car)
 
Still driving my first car. My parents bought it almost 6 years ago come April, and since it needed some work on it at the time ($1000 - $1500 worth of work, I believe), they said they would buy the car if I would pay for the repairs. Been mainly trouble free since, although I did have the A/C go out (cost a grand to replace the A/C system), something with the transmission (can't remember what it was, but it wasn't too bad to fix), fuel pump, and a couple other things. Never got left sit in public anywhere, but it has left me sit at home twice - once with a flat tire due to an errant nail, and once with a dead battery. I did have one fender bender in which I accidentally ran into the back end (specifically, the towing ball mount) of a pickup truck that was waiting to make a turn because I wasn't paying attention - cost about $1300 to have my front bumper and headlights replaced. It had just under 90,000 miles on it when purchased, now it has a little over 136,000 miles on it and still going strong. I do love that car. :xyxthumbs:


 
Re: The Birth Control Car

ScubaCougr said:
My first car was a snot-green Mercury Monarch with the finest simulated woodgrain that 1970s plastics technology could produce.

The gutless 6 cylinder required a running start to pass anyone. In winter the extreme front-end weight made it a hog on ice. Come spring, when I took my 125 lb barbell set out of the trunk (an ineffective attempt to help winter traction), the springs didn't come back up.

From the parent's perspective it was the perfect car for a young teenager. No power or sex appeal for getting into ANY kind of trouble (except maybe a ticket for littering).

The deer that committed suicide by jumping in front of it late one fall evening did me a big favor, although car #2 was no prize either.
Click to expand...


That's just too funny. What a great description!


Colin
 
JohnHenry said:
I bought a 1951 Chevy Panel Truck in 1964, at age 15, for $100. Her gas tank was rusted out, so I punched a hole in the firewall, attached a hose to the fuel line and ran it into a five gallon gas can that was held securely between my brother's feet on the passenger side floorboard. (You can't make this stuff up!)

Since neither of us had a license, we ran the beast exclusively on woods roads, venturing onto blacktop only at night.... DARK nights.

Note to Pennsylvania State Police: What is the Statute of Limitations for Driving With Head Up A$$?

I made some monumental "detailing" and "restoration" screwups. The floor and walls of the cargo compartment behind the front bench seat were lined with plywood. I painted the wooden parts with a mustard yellow, oil-based house paint that I found lying around. (I was ready for Woodstock!)

Here comes the obscene part... I wanted to get her painted, so I figured she needed sanding. I would save oh so much money by doing the "prep" work. So, I grabbed Dad's Singer brand rotary sander and put some 40 grit paper on the disk (lying around... you know the routine.)

After about a six inch swipe on the hood, even I knew that couldn't be right. So I drove it to the body shop for an estimate.

I'm sure that those guys are still laughing!
Click to expand...


Here I am reading this thread at 1:30 in the morning when I come across your post. I think I may have awakened my wife with my sudden burst of laughter!!

After about a six inch swipe on the hood, even I knew that couldn't be right.
Click to expand...

That mental picture is just way too funny.


Colin
 
how about an english killer. a 1965 mg 1600 four door sedan. nope not the racy two seater but 60 mightly placed horsepowers or so and a two foot high stick shift. bought new off dealer lot in 1966. wonder now why it wouldnt sell in orig. model year for a whopping $1600. fun things hydraulic fluid bag suspension, alum engine, and torque of a 30 year old honda grass mower or so. but i am 16 and on it. put a solid metal ball on top of long stickshift and destroyed one of my best friends kneecaps when he would inadvertently put it too close. sorry skip once passed a 18 wheeler in the mojave desert uphill with three really good sized friends. a world record two lane pass of 5 minutes in the other lane and we all still are alive. finally that fancy new tech transverse mounted aluminum engine totally blew at 30,000 miles with only about 10 cracks in it. i was told later that filling it and trading it for my next ford without telling was a bad thing. try to find me now suckers. my first upside deal of many . oh, one interesting thing the last 6 months my license points required i couldnt drive it and i traded with my dad and got a huge olds 98 with a 400cubic inch v8
 
My first car was a 1952 Buick 2dr. My dad bought it for $40.00 on the condition that I would fix it up and paint it. I did fix it up with the help of my dad and uncle. They did do most of the work . We painted it 2 tone mint green and dover white in lacquer. Back then I had to rub it out by hand.
 
Re: The Birth Control Car

ScubaCougr said:
when I took my 125 lb barbell set out of the trunk (an ineffective attempt to help winter traction), the springs didn't come back up.

No power or sex appeal for getting into ANY kind of trouble (except maybe a ticket for littering).
Click to expand...

LMAO :laughing:
We will never categorize you as a silver spoon child. Great write up. I especially like the title. The Birth control car:laughing:
 
Well, after a year of searching for a 1966 or 1967 Chevelle SS and not finding one within budget, I got this:

bef7.jpg


That is the day I drove it home. Yes, I am washing it. I was 15 and just got a job at a grocery store. Paid $2500 for it on a credit union loan.

Here's a couple of more shots:

bef5.jpg


Post Cragar Wheels:
bef8.jpg


I wanted to turn it into a show truck (regret that now). So, I worked and put too many paychecks into it. By the time I graduated High School, it was pretty much like this.

100_2603.jpg


There's been a few things change on it since then, but 13 years later (since buying it), she still sits in the garage.

interiormain.jpg


Eng1.jpg


Also of enjoyment to myself at least...
http://www.slickorange.com/board/Orange.mp3

DLB
 
Lots of nice rides in here. Mine was a '83 Plymouth Turismo 2.2, 5 spd. (Charger cousin). I bought it in summer of '87 (b4 my senior year). It was basically still new. It had 5000 miles. The dealer let his daughter drive it (demo). It was a Chicago Auto Show Car (stamped plate underhood). It was a fun little car for the 80s. It had no A/C, AM radio w/1 speaker, crank windows. I immediately added AM/FM/Cassette with 6x9 Pioneers + 4" Alpines:). I drove it for 5.5 years (longest ever for me -- by far), and 110K miles. It treated me well.
 
DLB, I'm in love! 1967-72 Chevys and GMCs are, IMO, the most beautiful truck ever made. Yours looks truly stunning. Thanks for sharing the photos.


Colin
 
My first "real car" was a carburated '85 Stang, It was grey and had T-tops, man I miss those. I wanted one bad and my Mom and I were comong home one afternoon and I saw the car sitting on a lot and I talked her into stopping and letting me look at it even though I would never get it, but no harm in dreaming right? Well we went home and three weeks later on the last day of school I walked out into the parking lot and there was a grey '85 in the lot I was thinking "man sombody has a nice and ride, then HOLY S#$t my car is gone" I freaked out for a while and then noticed a note on the windshield with my name on it, inside said Happy Graduation, love Mom and Dad. I alomost did not make it to graduation after that.
 
I "picked" mine out four years before I got it....
In the sense that when my brother, older by 4 years, had turned 16, my parents started looking. There was a nice used car dealer in our town, and they had two Honda Accords on the lot. One was a 4 banger EX or LX, I really don't remember at this point, or a V6 EX-L. My parents asked me which one my brother would like better. Auto climate control vs manual, leather vs cloth, v6 vs 4 banger, it clicked for me that my brother would want the V6 model. And so it was. 4 years later, I turn 16, and I get the Accord. I'm so glad I picked the V6. Sure, it had a few more miles and a couple more dents, but I didn't care. It was nice and I had my own transportation (he had recently moved up to a 97 LX400). It was a good car...I miss it now. Just one more hour behind the wheel...I'll buy one when I get the money again, when they get cheaper.
 
I worked and put too many paychecks into it. By the time I graduated High School, it was pretty much like this.

100_2603.jpg

:bowdown: Great work. Keep that truck in the Family.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top