My first car was a 1964 Buick Skylark 4-door that my dad gave me (this was in 1980), with a 231 V-6 that I pulled out of a 1964 Pontiac F-85. The original engine in the Buick literally came apart internally, beyond any hopes of a rebuild. I was 16 at the time, and my dad said that if I wanted the car, I would have to get it running on my own. Luckily, he also owned an auto repair business, so I was in good shape as far as having somewhere to do the work. He also knew of the Pontiac that was on it's way to the junkyard, so I was able to rob the engine out of it and rebuild it. The Buick also had a 2-speed Powerglide transmission that didn't shift into high until about 40mph. The engine was equipped with a Rochester 1-barrel carburetor. On a good day, I was only able to get about 10mpg out of that car, regardless of how easy or how hard I drove it. My dad didn't believe I was honest about the mpg, so he drove it for a couple of days, and finally had to admit that it was a gas hog. We never did figure why that thing loved fuel so much (replaced the carb, plugs, checked the ignition timing numerous times, rebuilt the transmission, etc, etc). But, it was a good car, and I would like to have it back one day. The body on it was in excellent shape - no rust, no dents - and the interior was in pretty good shape, too.
I finally sold it after two years, and bought a 1969 Dodge Coronet 440 (body style, not engine size). It had a 318 with a 2-barrel Carter on it, which made decent horsepower, but, of course, being 18 now, I HAD TO HAVE a 4-barrel ThermoQuad on it! So, I found a small-block 4-barrel manifold from a 360, and a ThermoQuad, and put 'em on there. And, in no time at all, I was rebuilding the A907 TorqueFlight transmission in it - twice. Seems that transmission, as good as it is, can't handle what a teenager and a 4-barrel can do to it on a daily constant basis.
I eventually got rid of the Coronet for a 1969 Plymouth Fury III VIP (2-door hardtop), which, I've since learned, is pretty much a rare car nowadays (look it up). It had a 383 Magnum making 330hp and 375lbs-ft of torque. Now that's more like it! I actually wore off the rear tires (mainly from performing some impressive burn-outs - it had a Dana PosiTrac rear differential - from the factory!) until both of them blew out while I was driving back to my votech school from a national VICA contest (in which I won first place in what else - auto mechanics!). With me, riding shotgun, was my automechanics instructor. Let's just say he was extremely livid at me endagering his life, and the other two students in the back seat, when both rear tires blew within 5 seconds of each other while going 45mph on a crowded main road in Memphis (sounded like two shotguns had gone off.....). He was retired Navy, so I learned a lot of new words that day, too.....
After that car, I went to a 1972 Plymouth Satellite 2-door with a 360, which was modified by it's previous owner with a HUGE 12" tall hoodscoop (I think it was called a "shoebox" scoop at the time). He had also tried to put a floor shifter in it (it was a 727 TorqueFlight, at least, but had a column shifter), and had, for some odd reason, modified the electrical system so that all four headlights came on whenever the headlight switch was pulled out (remember that? The headlight switch was on the dash back then). I got a ticket for that about a week after I bought it. Came to a 4-way stop late one night, and so did a Memphis Police car coming the opposite direction. He signalled me to turn off my high beams, to which I couldn't, so he gives me a ticket. Oh well.....
My next car after that was a 1973 Dodge Charger SE with a 383 (not a Magnum, though, being a '73 model), but it did have a 727 in it. Had that car until I was in the Corps for about three years. I sold it, and bought my first-ever new car - a 1987 Plymouth Sundance with a turbocharged 2.2-litre and 5-speed manual. Paid $10,000 for it off the lot. Even with a measley 150hp, that little car had some pep, thanks to the manual transmission. Needed a good new car with a warranty, as I was married with a small baby by then, and didn't want my wife to have to worry about paying for car repairs if I was shipped out somewhere for an extended period of time.
I would love to have every one of those cars back if at all possible.
That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!