First Car/Truck

[geneP]

My first car (other than one I co-owned with my brother) was a '37 Ford coupe bought in 1958. It had a 59A flathead with 2 carbs, aluminum heads, and a 3/4 race cam. The brakes had been converted to hydraulics. It would outrun most of the new V8 chevys. I later converted it to a OHV engine and had it painted an upholstered. Later traded it for a '40 Ford convertible......and I'm still into street rods/hot rods. If I had only kept the early ones..

 

[GlueGuy]

I had no idea what this thread was about, but it's been hanging around for a few days, and thought I'd peek...

My first car was a '64 Olds 442. They didn't "officially start making the 442 until '65, so this must have been an oddball, or something. Loved that car. Bought it used from the Sheriff's son for $1300. When we went to go see it, there were two other cars in the running, a Dodge Dart of roughly the same vintage, and a Pontiac Tempest.

My Dad & I took a spin in the 442, and my Dad said to me: "If you don't get this car, I'm gonna get it for myself." That certified it for me.

That car was <font color=red>SOOO</font color=red> much fun, it brings a smile even now./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Biggest problem I had was the tires that were on it were some el-cheapo Amoco something-or-others. Would spin them babies till they turned blue. Got into a little "contest" with my brother-in-law out west of Peoria IL, and completely burned one of those Amoco tires up ! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

So I bought & put on a set of Goodyear wide-ovals (remember those), that had been re-treaded with Casler racing rubber. Wahoo! Completely changed the "tone" of a burn out! Went from a high-pitched <font color=blue>squeal</font color=blue> to a low-pitched <font color=red>growl</font color=red>. The next problem was this tendency to drop the rear-end occasionally /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

The GlueGuy

 

[LazyK]

Sir Twink...you hit the yester-year 10 ring with a triple tap.
Back in 19&66 with 300 textbook or booze bucks,
I highballed out to Whiteherst Mortuary in Los Banos,CA from the U of Santa Clara. On the tip from a room-mate, Joel Whiteherst Jr., I plucked up a:
1951, WHITE, Pontiac Hearse, built by Custom Coachworks of Chickashaw, Oklahoma.(sorry for spelling)...straight-6 flathead/3-on-the-post/crimson velvet curtains and interior/chrome landau bars with lanterns switched on when HR aboard/26,500 miles on the odd-meter(wonder why)/real tight 3rd gear(wonder why).....A Wonder Wagon of the First Water!!
Down-side: Impounded 10-12 times due to upset homeowners calling cops to let them know I parked too long in front of their houses, my parents included. Bad impression on my In-Laws when I departed the Hamilton AFB Officers' Club with my new bride after our wedding reception. Too long to park in any standard metered parking place.(had to find and pay for two spots) Blew up the engine on an LA freeway(tight 3rd gear?) Had to find a straight eight Pontiac which bolted right in...except for the ancient slush tranny which I converted to the 3-speed stick in-residence.

Sold it to a surfer for 1300, less flip-down battery-lit sunvisor FUNERAL sign.


Just basic transportation...

Lazy K - Chip

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

Von,

Your first car looks better than my present car./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Not many still have their first car.(maybe Plower) I looked a couple of times at 47 Plymouths, but wouldn't be the same as "The" 47 Plymouth. It had a bunch of ripples in the roof from dancing on it at a "kegger".

 

[RobertN]

That truck was a '63 Ford F100, 292 with a 3pd on the column. The mains were so worn, when you came to a stop the oil pressure dropped to zero; rev it up, and up came the pressure. Kept a gallon jug of recycled 30 weight behind the seat, and added it regularily.

That thing got 15mpg for me, much better than the 9mpg I get from my current 3/4 ton

One time, while I was scrapping sheetrock on a job, I had it loaded heavy and had a hill to go up. The truck didn't move. Let the clutch out, nothing. The clutch was old enough, it was just sitting there slipping! Had to unload a fair amount before I could go.

It was great! As Jimmy Buffet sang, "Can I have an Amen for a $100 pickup truck?!?"

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[RobertN]

I grew up in a CJ2a just like that. It was a heck of a rig. we covered a lot of incredible country with that thing. And, we did it before big tires and lifts and all the stuff used now.

Those 5:38's remind me of these tractors that only go 10-20mph in highway gear /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Even with a overdrive, you wound it up to run the highway.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Kept a gallon jug of recycled 30 weight</font color=blue>

Every time I hear anyone mention recycled oil, it reminds me of when I was a teenager and Dad owned a Mobil service station. People used to come in and ask if we had any "two bit motor oil" and they usually seemed a little embarrassed about asking. Mobil oil sold for 40 cents a quart and our profit was 11 cents. The recycled oil sold for 25 cents and our profit was 12.5 cents. Naturally, we were more than happy to sell them two bit motor oil./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[Will]

My first car was a '69 Cutlass Supreme. It cost me $100 and was so ugly I'd occasionally find a flyer on it (and not on any other cars in the parking lot) saying things like, "If you're down on your luck, marriage problems, trouble with money, come see Brother Bob the miracle worker at..." It ran beautifully and I sold it 50,000 miles later for $450. My wife to be recognizing a good deal when she saw one (not me, the car) managed to pick up a '71 Cutlass for free. She even turned down the $50 we were offered while towing it to Georgia (they they wanted to use it in a demolition derby). It limped along for a few years, till we gave it away to a graduate student. The student returned it, but after a bit more work we managed to give it away.

 

[brewerbob]

'55 Chev. 210 4-door. 2 speed PowerGlide tranny. Bought it when I was in the millitary. It had been my dad's company car. Looked, ran, and drove great. I added dual exhausts with glass pack mufflers. My dad had apoplexy. People thought it was HIS car. Drove it for 2 years and traded it on a '58 Chev. Impala 2-door hardtop. Later found that the '58 was a veteran drag racer. Bad choice!!!
Bob

 

[Whitepark]

My first vehicle was a 1949 Chevrolet 2 1/2 ton truck with a 216 6 cyl. and 2 speed rear end, 23,000 original miles (in '97 ) and no brakes. I still wish I had it, it would haul anything anywhere and ran so smooth and quiet going down the freeway at max 50 mph, I was always very careful with that engine because all the old timers said they wouldn't take high rpm or low oil so I drove real slow and checked the oil every time I ran it, I only used it for farm work which included a 10 hour trip acrost a mountian pass to pick up cattle, hauling hay, grain, water, livestock, firewood etc. all with questionable or no brakes which was very stupid but Dad drove it too and didn't seem to worry, I learned how to downshift real fast! When we moved 3,000 miles away Dad sold it because we didn't have any driver to take it, we were already taking 3 trucks and trailers, I had inherited my great grandfathers 1970 Suburban which is what I drove, it has a 292 6 cyl, 4speed, 3/4 ton, 3 door, 92,000 miles, it had been sitting in his garage for about a year before I got it, he had bought it new and used it for his yearly trip to Mexico from Oregon, it had all highway miles and he took perfect care of it so it is like brand new, it even had the original tires on it when I got it, but I changed them because they weren't safe due to age, I didn't think I would like the 6 cyl. engine and wanted a big block for towing which is all I do, but Mom blew the 351W Ford engine towing the same size trailer on our trip out here (3,000 miles ) and I didn't! I also could keep up with her on most hills. I never take it over 3,000 rpm I guess because I am used to JD 2 cyl. diesel tractors that run at 1200 max so I don't like high rpm, I keep the Suburban in the garage on blocks now except for a few trips in the summer and one or two exercise trips on nice days, I hate having to answer no to everyone who wants to buy it when I stop for gas. Now I drive a '52 ford 1 ton around the farm as a replacement for the old '49, I don't like the flathead V-8 as much as I did the 6 but it still works well and gets the job done. This is long enough so I had better quit! Whitepark