First Car ?

[beagdog]

Yep, the infamous Mopar ballast resistor. The GTX never had a problem with them, but a couple years after I got it I added a '70 Road Runner, 383 auto. That thing ate 'em. Picked up a '70 SuperBird, 440 6 pack, auto. It never had any problem with them either. Wish you hadn't got me thinking about it, what an idiot I was to let it go. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[ScottAR]

First vehicle was/is a 76 bronco. 302 auto....Still got it...

Vehicle I learned to drive in, My dad's '68 F100. 390 auto... long wheelbase, manual drums... Still in the family... Needs work now, but give me time!!

 

[yonahforge]

My first car was a 1974 Nova (in 1989) 2 door, 400 small block, slightly modified. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif I went through enough tires in the couple years I owned it to fill a tractor trailer. Traded it for an '84 Datsun Sentra /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif to commute to college.

A few years after I got rid of the car, I saw it in a parking lot, and it tore my heart out. Cracked windshield, one of the dual exhausts was dragging the ground, and a good deal of damage to the passenger side. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif The only bright side was I heard them leaving the parking lot, and it still sounded good.

 

[California]

First car? '36 Ford Coupe. Here's a picture of one:

http://www.hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/dealers.detail/hmn_vehicle_id/197419

I read an article in an old Popular Mechanics showing how they modified an old clunker Ford to make it faster than any production car of the early 50's. Then I found one of that model, in a local ad.

But I was only 14. (1959). I got on my bicycle, took a month's newspaper delivery earnings ($50), and went to see the Ford. The paint was good, no dents, and the upholstery, instruments, glass etc were fine. I instantly felt this model was destined to be a classic. I could fix the bad axle key and grind the valves, and it didn't seem to need anything else to be a good driver and look good as well. I bought it and had the seller drive me home.

You can guess the reaction - I was a year and a half from minimum age for a license and I caught hell. There was no place to put it, it blocked the driveway and made it impossible to get the family car out of the garage. And no insurance. "But Mom, can't you see? That car is a true American classic and some day it will be worth thousands and thousands of dollars..." No luck, parents put it in the newspaper and I got my $50 back.

If you haven't looked at that Hemmings ad: Asking price for the '36 Ford is $27,900!

 

[RichZ]

Whoa, Gary!!! My first car was exactly the same!!!

Black 1959 Pontiac Catalina with red interior!!!!! Bought it from my father in 1972, he bought it new, and it was his favorite car ever (mine, too)!!! The double tail fins were really cool!!! After that, I just had pick-ups and vans, but that Catalina was great!!!

 

[GaryM]

I never did find out where the water was coming in. But as I said a few holes punched in the floor let it out again. Solved the symptom if not the problem.

Can't remember the engine size though. But it went pretty good. Didn't corner like Wrought'n Harve's Triumph though. Had to wait 'till I got my Sunbeam Tiger for that kind of fun.

 

[Dozernut]

Hey Gary, you didn't do like a friend of mine did. His trunk leaked and had standing water in it. So he got a hammer and a spike nail and drove holes in the trunk floor to drain it. Unfortunately he also punched holes in his gas tank /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. Sorry I just couldn't resist! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[GaryM]

Naw, I'm not that dumb, most times anyway. If you remember the cars back then often had really deep footwells in the back. As I remember this Pontiac's were about 5-6" deep. I just knocked a few holes through the carpet and floor pan with a tapered punch. I was sure suprised the first time the water came rolling out from under the seat though! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[RobertN]

Yup, that was it. Never had any other problem with that car, till a guy t-boned me in the passenger side.

It was a $2 part for sure, and hours of fiddling. It was not bad, except it like to do it in traffic, where I had to push it to the side...

Fortunately, my Dad had access to spares, so we were able to swap some parts to pinpoint the issue.

 

[dmccarty]

It ain't only "old" cars that had water in 'em. My moms 1977
camaro would leak like a screen door on a submarine. And we
lived in south Florida which has been known to have some pretty heavy rain from time to time. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I found that thing filled up with water more than I want to think
about. I never was smart enough to punch a hole in the floor
to let it drain. Sure wish I had thought of that trick! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan

 

[BigDave]

First Car: 1984 Grey Market Suzuki SJ410 (pre-Samurai.)

45hp 1.0 liter engine.
4speed manual trans with no overdrive. (~4100rpm @60mph)
4wd w/ hi-lo
soft-top - later put on a ****** top since I lived in Florida.
Manual choke
Removable doors & fold-down winshield
Top speed:70-80mph depending wind direction.
Cross winds were scary.
Cost: $6500 new. (I got the deluxe model)
Several non-compliance safety recalls.

Lots of fun!!!

 

[JDgreen227]

BigDave,

Excuse me if this sounds skeptical, but after all the posts you made recently about hoping to decrease your size to MediumDave, do you really expect us to believe you fit in a roller skate like that car.... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

But if I think about it, 20 years ago I could wear a size 30 waist pair of jeans, so I had better shut up. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[rozett]

Mine was a '58 Pontiac Super Chief... yellow and white. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Got it when I was a freshman in college.... (all so long ago... '67/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif). The 370 cid motor needed a valve job. So I pulled the heads and had them ported & polished. Added dual exhaust with dropouts and a bigger Carter 4-brl carb. Could smoke the tires easy. Sunoco 260 was only about 30 cents a gallon. Unfortunately, the car had a slush-a-matic that was all hydraulic like the Buick Dynaflow. Stomp on the pedal and the car took off like a shot.... after about 3 or 4 seconds for the tranny to build up pressure. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Gave the car to a junkyard when I graduated from college because it wasn't reliable enough to drive from Florida to New Hampshire due to some engine compartment electrical problems. So wish I had that boat today.....

 

[BigDave]

I don't normally measure time in years, I like to use pounds. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

So that was 142 pounds ago...wait minute, that was 100 pounds ago. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[TCowner]

My first car was a 1970 Plymouth Duster 340. THe car was painted the plum crazy color which was a real bright shade of purple. Unfortunately, the car shed its paint in huge sheets. I was always told it was due to a defective primer. Many of the cars painted this color had the same problem.

I bought it for $1700 when I was 18 and without common sense. The odomoter read 43,000 miles but had been disconnected. The owner told me that had only disconnected it a couple of hundred miles before. It probably was a couple of hundred thousand before as I had nothing but trouble with the car. But I was 18 and fell in love with that color. No amount of discouragement from my parents could keep me from that car.

Even though I had so much trouble I would love to have a restored 1970 340 Duster just to drive a little and admire. Today's cars while more reliable just don't offer any excitment for me anymore. I'm sure if I drove new Corvette or a Dodge Viper I could have some fun but the rest all look and feel the same. I suppose that is why I drive a pickup today.