First Car/Truck

[RobS]

My first car was an embarassment but a good lesson. Got it before I had a license. '66 Dodge Polara 4 dr. $60 non-running. Gave it a head job and a few other things to get it running but failed to fully tighten the oil drain plug. Lost all the oil and spun a bearing before I ever had it out on the road.

Second car was similar. '64 Triumph Herald. $70 non-running. Did a complete engine overhaul and got it running pretty well. Went off to college and had my mother sell it for me. Made out OK though again, I never got to drive it on the road.

My first "road worthy" vehicle was a '68 Ford F-150 Ranger XLT. Worst case of body cancer I'd ever seen. Paid $460 ($1 per cube in the engine and $100 for the rest of the truck). Got good value out of that piece of junk. Drove it lots and drove it hard.

Fun thread, thanks Twinkletoes /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Von, my first "showroom new" car was a '62 Austin Healey Sprite; cost $2,200, and all I could afford to do was drool on that big Healey because it was about $4k at the time. The big Healey, or the Jaguar XKE, would have been first choice if I'd had the money./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[cowboydoc]

My first pickup was a 1956 Ford that we had used on the farm for irrigation. My uncle and I completely redid it when I was 14, you can get a permit to drive in Idaho if you live on a farm at 14, and it was a great pickup. It is still at home in the garage. Two years later my uncle picked up a 68 RS/SS Camaro that we redid as well. We spent a year on that car redoing it. I let my sister borrow it and she wrapped it around a telephone. Luckily she only broke her nose.

 

[GrantMO]

First car was a 1972 Mustang Grande 351Cleveland all white with custom exhausts, hood pins, fancy wheels. Worked great until my Mom totalled it. She wasn't hurt which was the important thing and I got back almost what I had in it from insurance and selling it for parts.

 

[DaveNH]

My first was a free 1963 Chev Biscane(sp) station wagon.
Rear wheel wells totally rotten out, rear panels flapped
in the wind. Straight six with a leaking rear main seal.
30 miles per quart. Front seat broken, had to hold it up with a 2X4. 3 speed on the column that would get stuck in first if you pushed down too hard going into first, manual blinkers!
Started without a key. Radio and backseat worked great!

We're all in this together! (3)
Just some more pathetic ramblings.

 

[Von]

Bird,
I got my Healey from my dad, who got it from a friend of his who was towing it up to Conn. from NC. The top was thrown in the cockpit and when stopping suddenly the top hit the gearshift and put it into gear, the trans. broke it half. So my dad and his friend went to tow it on a trailer back to our house (about an hour away) but it would not fit on the trailer. The friend went on to Conn. and dad and I went and got it later the next week with a bigger trailer. The friend sold it to dad for $500.00 and he was going to fix it, but a Jag XKE found its way home so the healey was to be sold. Paid dad what he had into it and have not even thought of ever selling it! I have had six big Healeys, (should have kept the 100-M, now worth about 50k) and lots of Porsches but it has always been my favorite. Mine is a two seater with a factory hard top. They are selling for well over 30k for a good rust free clean car these days! I hope to someday give it to my son when he is old enough to enjoy it without destroying it at the same time!

 

[fishman]

my first truck was a 1978 Chevy long bed with a 250 in-line 6 and a three speed on the column. Purchased in 1987 for $2000 as a senior in high school. It saw me through undergrad, marriage, grad school, first job, and most of the way through my second job. When I got promoted, I sold it a bought a 2000 model Z71. Miss that old truck, but it had a heck of a time pulling my boat up steep ramps. Put at least 200,000 miles on it, don't know how much really, as the speedo was always breaking and it showed 189,000./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif It was a magnet for people running in to it, and over the course of it's 13 year tenure, I collected over $1500 from insurance companies. Sold it for $500, so capital outlay was $0 /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I doubt I'll ever get that kind of deal again! /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

 

[Thomas]

TWINLE_TOES,
My first was a second hand 1972 Dodge pick up,slant 6,3 speed on the colum,over 50,000.oo miles,payed $800.oo,no radio and could ownly afford recap tires.
Looks back now it was the best of times...dirt poor and life was simpler and I wish I could travel back in time.

WOW..you open up some memories. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Thomas]

mark,
Did your Ford have the 2 door convertible w/the 4bbl...yep she had the 390cu..ouch. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[JiminMI]

Wow, talk about memories. My first car was a 50 Olds Rocket 88 Convert. My girlfriends father sold to me for $10 because his son felt it was not "good enough" for him! Floorboards were rotted out. My Dad and I replaced the floorboards with marine grade plywood. When my dad was at work, I would put a bucket upside down and use it as a seat and drive around the county. I was too cool....
I would kill my kids if they did that today!
The convertable top was held down by a screwdriver stuck in the hole on top of the windshield. One day, at about 60MPH, the screwdriver fell out to the floor....the top popped up like a parachute....then ripped off making a really loud noise...
Sold the car the next day for $50...I'm still in the car business to this day....

Jim