What was your first car and do you wish you still had it?

JOE RIX

Well, my first car was a variety of VW Beetles of some year or another. You see, my father ran a VW repair shop and accompanying collection of VW's...

I had 3 different VW buses.  '74 hardtop Westfalia, '76 white over orange station wagon, and the creme de la creme a 1978 sage green Westfalia poptop- propane tank for the stove and tri power toploading fridge, gas heater, dealer installed air conditioning (had a little 4 page manual glued to the back of the owner's manual, said not to run it unless you were in 3rd or 4th gear, and never in town.  Compressor took 25 HP to run, out of 68 HP from the engine- highest HP of any of the air cooled VW's- hydraulic lifters didn't need to be adjusted and gave an extra 1 HP over the year before.  Bought it in February and first warm day of spring was on the highway cruising at 55 and turned it on, just to see if it worked.  Immediately doing 10 MPH less, but it blew nice and cold.  Only time I ever used it, but it had a nice extra dash on the bottom of the regular dash- looked more finished than a normal one.  2 big radiators underneath), original owner (an Air Force colonel had bought it in Portlan Oregon, had the 400 mile oil change somewhere in Idaho, the thousand mile service in Illinois on his was to a new posting in Ohio (Wright Patterson AFB where me dad worked and saw it for sale) had installed an inline pump on the windshield washers instead of running it from the spare tire mounted on the front.

Had 72K miles on it when I bought it, ended up selling it at ~145K as the transaxle started to act up (popping out of gear when letting off- I had a bungee cord that I'd slip over the shifter to keep it in gear when I was cruising.

I installed a J C Whitney cruise control unit for a fuel injected Super Beetle (only needed to splice in some wiring between the cab and the engine).  And with the right plugs in it I could cruise at 70 MPH (almost wide open) and get 23 MPG (22 with the regular).

Thought about buying a 5 speed transaxle and installing it, but it was a grand.  Also thought about a supercharger for a little more power (FI would have handled the extra flow), but never did.

modelcrazy

Wow JB, it sounds like a tough little sucker.

 

Certainly was!!!

There was a railroad track by my high school.  They were raised up above the level of the road, and I found out that if I went over them at 45 I'd clear them and land on the downhill side.

Started pushing the speed, went over them one time at 70-75.  Came down HARD!

Heater vents popped out of the dash, sunroof closed breaking the latch and when I stopped to get out the driver's door fell a couple inches off the latch.

There was a faintly visible crease in the roof at the rear edge of the sunroof, so I'd flexed the unibody.

Greg

Always thought Opal GT's were cool-looking.

Haven't thought of one in years, thanks for the pic and memories.

 

I know a guy who has one.  Over restored, bright orange paint, Mini lite wheels, nicer than when it was new (he owned it since it was new).

He brought it to the place I was managing, and people were going gaga over it.

Someone said "Bernie, how fast is it?"

He smiled and said "Well, it'll beat a Volkswagen."  Meaning Beetle (no big brag there), and the people standing there thought he was talking about a GTI.

Used to be one between where I lived and worked.  It had the headlights always never completely closed.  Common occurence on those, since the lever and cable system (lever on the dash you'd pull or push to open or close the headlights).

They did look like baby Corvettes though.

Wow JB, it sounds like a tough little sucker.

My first car at age 16 was a 77 toyota celica, crashed it a week before I paid it off. Took the insurance money and bought another 77, but I got a fastback that time. I like the memories of the cars but I don't think I would like either one of them now. My first new car, at age 42, I bought was a 2010 Mazda3 Sport. Love the car, been to PA twice and AR a few times from TX and still only have 48k in mileage. I will most likely have this car for a long time.

crown r n7

My 1st new car was a 1981 Plymouth reliant a company car zero to sixty in 30 min and a block to stop it . 

 

Well, ultimately that was the car that saved Chrysler.

The first minivan was a K car underneath.  Parents' had an '85 with the Mitsu 2.2 L I4, and a 5 speed manual.

First front wheel drive car I'd ever driven, and the neighborhood we lived in had a gentle curve in the street, somewhat downhill, with a big asphalt driveway on the southern facing hill on the left.

There's always be some black ice where the sun had warmed the driveway, melted the snow, water ran across the street and froze in a slick surface.

Normally I could goose the throttle to rotate the chassis when I started to slide.

Hit that ice patch, started to slide and goosed the throttle while turning the wheel.  Front wheels spun and I plowed straight into the snowbank there.

No harm done, except to my pride.

My first car (that I bought) was a 1981 Datsun 210 SL with a factory sunroof, rear window wiper and washer (pretty well optioned for 1981), rear cargo cover, center console with this little storage area in front of the gear shift (I put an Audiovox EQ and CB radio in there) every factory option except automatic transmission.  Some previous owner (AZ car) had put a race exhaust on it (2.5" straight pipe, gutted cat and minimal muffler) and a Weber 2 barrel.  Also a limited slip differential with higher gearing.

1.5 L I4, alloy head.  Redline was 6500.  In fifth gear, I was turning 25 MPH per 1000 RPM (~2000 at 55).  I could stand on it in fourth, to almost the redline then shift into fifth and stand on it.  

Speedo only went to 85 ('member those?), but I could often get into the 5000's RPM.

Thing handled like a go cart, and got mid 30's MPG (thanks to the performance upgrades to the engine- provided I wasn't driving the heck out of it).

One Friday after school was out (we had to drive 2 highways to get home I70 and SR68- both divided highways) we were all hauling ***.  The school bus I would have been riding on if I hadn't been driving was already making the lane change to the offramp (big right hand sweeper that I could take at 90 without much drama).

Needless to say I didn't want to drop in behind the bus and have to trundle around the ramp, so I kept the hammer down and passed the bus before it made it into the lane (it was still in the divided highway part) and zipped past it.

Got a little wide on the exit, into the gravel in between lanes before the merge.  neStupidly thought I should pull the wheel harder to get back on the line.  Only made the car spin.  Not 360 degrees, not 720 but a full 1080.  3 times around.

Saw the car that was traveling along in his lane, the guy freaking out slamming on his brakes (Pacer AMX- red and black, stripe and wheel package I'm sure).  I was steering into the skid, and when I was going backwards and the engine started to die (or the clutch slip) I heel and toed into fourth.

Once backwards, steering into the spin made the front end come around again.  Backwards again, Pacer further back, heel and toe into third.  Around again, Pacer, heel and toe into second.

Suddenly I was going straight in the passing lane at about 25.  Accelerated away to cruising speed (much more comfortable and LEGAL than before).  Took long enough I had time to tell my friend to put his seatbelt on (I was worried I'd hit the bridge coming up sideways, or go into the median and roll the car.  We would have been really F'ed up if that had happened).

When I dropped him off, I got out and looked at my tires (I'd been buying used tires from a junkyard, and had a sweet set of Yokohama low profile soft compound block tread tires- pretty much street slicks).  They were flat spotted down to the wires in a couple places.

Then the fear set in.  I was shaking too much to light a cigarette.  My buddy, who didn't smoke, light it for me and handed it back.  Smoked that sucker right down.

When I got home, my mom was like "The school called.  The bus driver said you passed her on the ramp and fishtailed at the end.  And you were going about a hundred miles an hour.

I said "That little car can't go that fast, and the bus had just started to get into the offramp.  There was still plenty of lane left, and I swerved to avoid a semi retread at the end of the ramp."

Bus driver had radioed in to the school, and they called my folks.

When my dad came home mom brought it up at dinner.  I stuck to my story.  Couple days later (once I'd gotten replacement junkyard tires) my dad said "Lets take a ride, son."

I gave him my key, and he took it out, gave it a little bit of the business I'd been giving it.  Managed to bury that 85 MPH speedo.  "I didn't know this little thing was that fast.  Had I known I wouldn't have let you buy it (I was still a minor, and needed my parents to sign the tittle).

Paid $500 for it, 141K miles.  Pretty rust free, before the first Ohio winter.  Then the tin worm showed up.  There was a metal trim piece that went over the bumper, and I ended up taking it off and throwing it away when it started to look like crap.

I drove the *** out of it, tried to pull into the bowling alley parking lot in front of oncoming traffic one night in the rain.  Always had trouble at night with rain reflecting oncoming headlights, and hit the curb on one side of the driveway straight on at about 25. 

Broke the right front tie rod.  Couldn't afford to get it fixed, so continued driving it.  Made highway travel interesting.  It would turn in really fast going to the right, slower to the left.  Wheel was neutral like a shopping cart.

Drove it 3 1/2 hours up here for the summer.  My dad got in it to drive it somewhere when it was the last car in the driveway.  When he got back, he looked underneath, and saw the broken tie rod ends (now rusted, so he knew it didn't just happen).

He asked me "What happened to your car?"  I told him I hit a pothole going too fast.  He said "Well, when did that happen?"  I said before I brought it up for the summer.

"You mean to tell me you've been driving like that on the highway?  No way are you taking that car with you to college.  It's dangerous!"

So I didn't take it with me to my freshman year in Toledo.

The next summer my brother got a job as a laborer at the limestone quarry right down the road from us.  He had a better 200SX, and got so dusty working he didn't want to drive his good car.

So he was driving mine.  The starter motor stopped working, he carried a length of steel pipe he'd bang the starter to get it to turn.  Then it stopped working all together.  Would roll it down our driveway and pop the clutch in gear.  Bump starting it.  Quarry entrance was less than a half mile down the road from us.

The clutch went out, and he was rolling it shoving it into gear.  Chewing up the synchros, then the gear itself.  First started jerking when it was engaged.

So he was using second.  By the time the summer was over, second gear was starting to do the same thing.

Once he got it running, he would drive it without the clutch.  Apprently, one of the other college kid laborers had an original Bronco (I6, 3 on the tree, half cab, floor had rusted out so he welded in heavy duty screen stuff).  They'd drive around the quarry, going over and off rock shelves.

I'm looking for that exact same car (color and options), coming up short.  Always the wrong transmission (autotragic), rusted out, or no options.  As much abuse as it took, and as well as it held up I would love to have it back.

My first car was a 1961 Food Galaxy that my father gave to me. It was underpowered with  a six cylinder engine. It also had three on the tree. One  really cold winter day I pulled the shift lever into first gear and it snapped off in my hand. After that I used a vise-clamp as a shift lever. The engine was junk. It belched smoke from the crankcase vent pipe and it had terrible rod knock. To stop the knock I pourd cans of STP oil treatment into the oil pan. That stopped the knock but then the oil was so thick that the engine would not turn over on cold winter days. One day the right rear leaf spring broke. I replaced it but then the car went down the street sideways. I should have replaced both springs. The car had vaccuum powered windshield wipers and no windshield washers. When I accelerated the car, the wipers would stop moving. I used a plastic squeeze bottle filled with windshield washer liquid to clean the windshield.  I never complained because the car was free.

My first car, which I owned for 9 years, and still miss to this day was a 90 Cavalier.

I loved that car.  So much so I decided to own another, only it was a 91 Convertible.

I put way too much money into it, and had to finally just part ways with it, and focus on the Camaro.  I wasn't planning on spending that much, it just happened over the course of a year.  The novelty of owning a convertible then wore off, and I sold it for less than I had into it.  Lesson learned. 

Always thought Opal GT's were cool-looking.

Haven't thought of one in years, thanks for the pic and memories.

Well, my first car was a variety of VW Beetles of some year or another. You see, my father ran a VW repair shop and accompanying collection of VW's.

As such, if I wanted a car to drive I had to go out in the yard, drag one out and get it running myself. My first was a '62 Bug with a rag top. The car I got later on though, which I drove through the later part of High School and into college, was a silver '72 Opel GT. It was much like this one but, not as clean.

Loved that car. Then one day a fellow in Dodge Ramcharger turned left in front of me and smashed the left front quarter panel. Thus, it spent the remainder of it's life in the my father's yard. And yes, I would absolutely love to have another one.

53 Ford pickup.  62 Chevy Super Sport, 66 Caprice, 65 Jaguar E-Type fixed head coupe (kept it 20 years). 58 Volkswagen bought for 75 bucks with the engine in a bucket,  Once I had the E-type everthing else was like a Volkswagen, why not.  70 Volvo 145 Station Wagon.  Wouldn't mind having it still but it got wrecked saving my daughter's life with no injury.  79 Rabbit, worst car I ever owned.  89 Dodge Caravan, drove it 240,000 miles.  94 Mercury Cougar, almost forgot that one.  2003 Camry and a 97 Ford extended cab with camper shell.  That's all in the last 56 years.

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

Yeah... what is it with BMWs anyways. Seems like alot of people drive them. I personally don’t like them. Folks in my area drive like they’re better than the rest of the world. Must be a yuppie status image of sorts.

 

I've owned four of them, for which I probably paid $ 500, then $ 2000, then $ 20,000 and my current one was about $ 40,000. Certainly my last one.

1966 Chevy Impala 2 door, Yellow with Black vinyl top. 283 V8 & power glide (wanted the SS 396 but ...) Wish  I still had it (or one like it)

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

Yeah... what is it with BMWs anyways. Seems like alot of people drive them. I personally don’t like them. Folks in my area drive like they’re better than the rest of the world. Must be a yuppie status image of sorts. 

Hi,

I think that back during the 80s or maybr 90s they kind of had that reputation, but I'm not sure about it now.  I know one of my old bosses had a larger one and it was nice but not too overly ostentatious. 

Nowadays though I have difficulty telling the smaller BMWs from an Audi or Volkswagen from a distance. 

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

Yeah... what is it with BMWs anyways. Seems like alot of people drive them. I personally don’t like them. Folks in my area drive like they’re better than the rest of the world. Must be a yuppie status image of sorts.

I know a lot of people see cars as status symbols, but I buy what I like and not what allows me to brag in front of others. 

Yeah... what is it with BMWs anyways. Seems like alot of people drive them. I personally don’t like them. Folks in my area drive like they’re better than the rest of the world. Must be a yuppie status image of sorts.

First car was a '77 Plymouth Fury wagon with the rearward facing third bench in the back. What a tank. Then a '80 Mercury Zepher, '77 Mercury Marquis (tank redoux), '79 Chevy Impala wagon. After all that came the first vehicle I bought with my own money, a '93 Ford Ranger XLT 4WD. Loved that truck, and wouldn't mind at all if I could have it back. The rest, not so much. Only one other vehicle I've owned I wish I could have back, and that's a 2005 Nissan Maxima that my wife and I bought new. Lotta fun- that thing went like a scalded dog and could really corner for a passenger car.

Dave

Bought my Great Aunt Helen’s 78 or 79 Buick Century from her for $50.00 in 1988 when I got my license.  She smoked a ton so the car stunk to high heaven and smoke had caused the glue holding the cloth to the roof on the inside to deteriorate so that was hanging down on top of your head.  It got me to school, soccer and basketball practice, and my job, but for a date - forget about it!  It was fun doing doughnuts in during the Michigan winters and could make contact with a light pole with little damage. Towards the end of my senior year in 1990 it threw a rod. My dad came and took the plates off and said leave it.

Tanker, why "YES" it is Bumble Bee from the Transformer movie. I know it is not an exact copy, but it is a factory authorized GM (Chevrolet) limited edition. The package included the fender crests; special stiched interior (double stich yellow and the Autobot crests on the center colsole and head rests); stripe package which includes some of the Autobot language on the front and rear of the car; Transformer door sills; Autobot center caps on the wheels, and other stuff. It was very limited. I have shown it as several car shows and the kids (young and old) love it, my problem is that they want it to transform....

I got the sidecar custom made for my FZ1 when my son was diagnosed with severe CP. After I realized he would not be able to ride with me on a 2 wheeled bike, I had to get something and this fit the bill. Hanagan Motorsport took my bike and 6 weeks later returned it with the matching painted sidecar attached. I purchased and had them add a five point racing harness to the sidecar to help my son with his posture. Learning to ride a sidecar bike like this one takes time, patience, and smooth acceleration and braking. Planning for corners are different than a normal motorcycle as well. The rear brake is linked to the sidecar wheel which makes it squat and pull evenly at a stop. It gets great attention and all the girls want to ride in it  . The most important thing for me is to enjoy a ride with just my son and I...

Hey , Drums 01;

 Isn't that Camaro supposed to be  "BumbleBee " from the Transformers ? Oh yeah , I gotta say that Bubble Top Sidecar is a hoot !

My first car was a 1966 Corvair Corsa convertible. It was customized with a 1967 GTO interior and painted GMC truck bright red with a white soft top. I added fender flares and Cragar SS chrome rims with white letter 50 series tires. It was real fun and the girls in high school loved it. 

The next one was also unique; it was a kit car of a Ford GT40 called a Fiberfab Avenger. I bought it already built professionally. It was not the regular VW floor pan, instead it had a tube chassis and a Porsche 911 engine. It even had torque thrust five spoke rims with a polished lip and knock-off centers. It was yellow with black accents... fast and fun.

Between then and now I have had at least 12 other vehicles. Presently I have two motorcycles, a Toyota Tundra, a wheelchair lift Toyota Scennia (for my son), and a 2013 Camaro Transformer Edition which I bought new. I chose the V6 version over the v8 as it alrady had 326 HP and the smaller engine made the front end lighter. It has all options except a sunroof; to include the heads-up dash, heated leather, JBL sound, sport suspension package, etc. While it is not a Hellcat or Deamon, it is very performance oriented and handles very well (meaning fun to drive).

Yes I quite wish I still had the Corvair, Avenger GT40, 57 Belair Convertible, 67 Camaro, and others. Bottom line is that I am glad to still be blessed with still having some fun rides for me and my family.... 

hogfanfs

 

 

Marcus McBean

My first car was a 1965 Pontiac Catalina.   You could put six bodies in the trunk.  I used to haul my 250cc off road motorbike in trunk on trips to northern Michigan. 

I would love to still have it, it was beautiful vehicle.  No seat belts, large steering wheel and brakes so sensitive that just thinking about them made them lock up.  

 

 

 

 

That reminds me, my father had a 1965 Chevy, with a trunk that size. I remember I could sit inside the engine compartment on the metal wheel wells and change the spark plugs. 

 

I remember it well, can't do that with today's autos.

Hi " G " ;

   What is it with B.M.W. and Black Sedans ? Except for the type and trim . That could be related to the Sedona Killer . Funny , they called the police looking for the Front Bumper .Someone had thrown it in the Sedona when cleaning up the accident site .

 What is the 0-60 0n yours ? I wondered . Because the Sedona weighed 4868 Empty and I had just come back from and event and was loaded , 5400 maybe ? .He came out of a driveway , across the outer lane . Impacted me , pushed me across two empty lanes of traffic into a parked car and up on the curb !

 I did have a Beemer years ago and thought it was definitely the cat's Meow !

I currently own a 1994 BMW 540i. In addition to the driver car.

That BMW is the fourth I've owned so I know how to manage the stable. 

Has a four liter  V8 that gives close to 300 hp. Low stance, fat tires, stiff suspension and the usual 90's thin in ever way interior. 

Take it to auto shows and not ashamed to park her on the lot. Next year I won't have to smog her any more, and I have plans.

This isn't my car, but it's identical except for the wheels. I have the dishes.

My first car was a 1969 Buick Skylark, deep royal blue with a black interior and a black fake rag top and absolutely immense chrome bumpers  My grandmother bought it the summer after I was born with the thought that it would be my car some day.  It needed an engine rebuild when I got it, as it was old and tired.  Unfortunately, I did not have the tools or the skills to fix it up like it derserved.  I would love to have that old steel tank back, now that I have the some of the skills and tools to fix it up.  I often joked it could eat small foreign cars for breakfast.  

Also I was going about 50 miles an hour down Anaheim Street here in Southern California and my friend reached in the back to grab something then he came back and sat on the automatic shifter and put it in reverse we screeched to a stop in shock. Put it back in drive and we kept going without missing a Beat. 

My first car was a 1974 Honda Civic hatchback. It was orange. The previous owner had rolled it on its side the rear bumper was all dented up as well. I remember when I was 16 an older gentleman rear-ended me at a stop sign. He got out of his car and was All Shook Up about it. I took a look at the rear bumper and said "don't worry about it". I got back in my car and drove away. I think I made his day. Do I wish I still had it? Not really

Hi Modelcrazy !

 My first car that I bought was a 1949 Ford Club Coupe in 1955 . Flathead  V-8 and three on the tree .  I Paid 50 Whole dollars for it . Ran till the wheels fell off from to much rust . next car -A new1957 Chevrolet BelAir two door hardtop with Fuel Injection and a four speed . Insurance was a killer but I paid that beauty off .

   I kept her till the babies Came . Yeah , I went and got married ! Bought a New 1967 Chrysler New Yorker , nine passenger Wagon . Can you say an Automotive Aircraft Carrier Deck out in front ?

 Came back from England with a 66 Mini-Cooper . What a Fun P.O.S. That was . I always had to work on it but it got me back and forth to the base !

 Ah ! Civilian life at last , Kids older . So , bought a 1977 Mercury Grand Marquis Brouham T.S. . Loaded with everything but the kitchen sink . Wife didn't like it . Bought her a 1974 Dodge Dart Plain jane two door h.t. , Rubber carpets , no air , no power but a darned dependable little car . Slant six , auto ,and a lot of fun to drive actually !

 Wish they still made the " Big " Mercurys . Had a Kia Sedona after two wives , May they rest in peace . Got T-Boned by a B.M.W. 625 - I and he totalled it . My Sedona that is . Now I have a little grocery getter Hot Rod . A KIA -Soul , Bare Bones Coupe .Six speed , Air , Power Steering and disc brakes . Fun little car . But it will never make it against my two favorites , the 57 Chevy and the 77 Grand Marquis 

 I would take either of the last two back in a flat minute !