Girl not included...although it was pretty much a magnet.
Posted on 11/10/2017 6:19:44 PM PST by Army Air Corps
Calling All Freeper Gearheads!
Let's talk about first cars! What was you first vehicle? What did you like most about the car? What drove you nuts? Do you wish that you still had it?
Girl not included...although it was pretty much a magnet.
One of my relatives had one, and he got rid of it as soon as he paid it off.
1966 Mercury Comet 289 V8 3 on the tree. 4 dr car with no luxuries. Not even power steering or brakes. But I was proud of it.
It’s really hard to nail down my true first car:
1. Learned to drive in Dad’s 1996 Pontiac Bonneville, 4 door hard top with rear fender skirts, 389 V8 w 4 barrel Holley and Turbohydromatic tranny (remember the real meaning of that word?) Great car.
2. Dad bought a 1962 VW bug as a third car. Learned to drive a stick. Learned to enjoy gas and oil fumes in the cabin from the heater. What a piece of junk.
3. Graduated from college in 1973 and needed a car for field service engineering throughout the western states. Turned down a new company car and bought a used 1969 or so Jeep Gladiator with a Chevy small block V8. Huge mistake. Sheared a lobe off the camshaft within a couple months and it’s was dead. What a piece of junk.
4.Got a brand new 1973 Buick Century company car. It worked well and was reliable. I didn’t have to pay a dime of my own money! You cannot beat that perk.
5. Left field service engineering and bought my grandmother’s teensy 1970 Mazda station wagon in 1978 (from her estate). Another anemic POS. What a piece of junk.
7. Bought a house and a Jeep CJ7 in 1978. Exhaust manifold gasket blew impinging hot gas on a vacuum tube and burned a hole in the tube. Exhaust gases were now circulating into the intake manifold making it run rich, richer, richest thoroughly loading the head with carbon. Eventually needed a head job. Another POS. What a piece of junk.
8. Got married and finally bought my very true “first” car, a turbocharged Volvo 740 sedan. Started to drive off the dealer’s lot, hit the dip at the curb, and the gearshift knob top detent button exploded spraying springs and bits all over the cabin. It went downhill from there. What a piece of junk.
So, my “first”car? Still trying to figure that one out.
it was a wonderful old car. Never had a bit of trouble with it. I kept it for years. Now I wish I never sold it,
It got me to work and school. Pretty reliable car. I'm usually a blue oval guy but I have a soft spot for Pontiac because of that car. I could see me getting a wild hare and buying an old Pontiac Solstice just for fun and then blaming either a delayed mid-life crisis or early senility and maybe both depending on how upset Mrs. CommerceComet is. I always thought the Solstice looked like it'd be fun to drive.
Nice lines. The car is nice, too.
‘65 Chevy Biscayne. Biggest piece of junk on four wheels. It, and its successor, a ‘66 Impala Supersport, are the reasons I’ll never own another Chevrolet in my lifetime.
1959 VW bug - cost me $200.
Love it!!
I loved that car.
Mark
The headlights were vacuum activated via the intake manifold and the hoses prone to leaking. A vacuum leak = burned valves.
The good news is there was so much room in the engine compartment you could get in there with the engine to work on it.
What did you like most about the car? The 352 FE V8 was tired and burning oil, but I had connections (uncles in the salvage business) - swapped in a 390 out of a totaled T-Bird. That made the car a lot more interesting. The Galaxie was a great highway cruiser, it'd run all day at 80+ mph and never feel fidgety or "floaty". Great road manners at speed and a nice hood ornament to help keep that wide beast centered in the traffic lane.
What drove you nuts? Manual steering (with about six turns, lock-to-lock) and all drum brakes, no power assist. Splashing through a few puddles could make the morning drive a lot more intense. I hated the idiot lights - especially the inexplicably dim "COLD" light with a bulb that barely illuminated its blue lens. I ended up putting in under dash oil pressure and coolant temp gauges, right next to the under dash A/C unit.
Do you wish that you still had it? Yep, you bet. I see similar cars at weekend car shows and wonder if mine still survives out there somewhere. More common versions like mine are now prime candidates for "resto-mod" treatment - modern engine, transmission, brakes, mild custom bodywork and paint. I've come close to buying another one off of CL a few times. Maybe later - got a few other projects that need my time and attention first.
I have a ‘66 Tbird towne coupe now. Project car. More project than car at this point ...
Anyone used to have a 1988 Honda Prelude, 2.0L SI Fuel-injected 5-speed, 2wd?
('65 MGB busted my auto cherry, but good ;-)
Yes, The Lucas Curse.
Lucas Refrigerators are why The Brits drink warm beer!
Mark
That’s a real beaut.
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