Your very first car...driving/owning
Re: Your very first car...driving/owning
Mine was a '65 Chevy Impala SS exactly like the one below.
Chevy SS, first car.jpg
Bought it for $400 in 1970 (was one of the first guys in high school to have his own car) & then proceeded to blow another $800 in mods. Souping the 283 was easy: hi-rise cam w/ new rocker arms, spring & rods, Hooker headers, Holley 4 brl., Edelbrock manifold, Accel distributor & wires, chromed valve covers, it looked so sweet.
But, being the idiot kid I was I did NOTHING with the Powerglide 2 speed auto nor the rear end. Darn near anything could beat me off the line but over 30 I was gone............after all, I could take the Powerglide up to 60 in 1st gear!
Of course, over time & since I had blown all the money I had earned throughout the years, I became unable to keep up with the maintenance & ended up parting out the car after trashing the tranny (well, duh!).
In hindsight I would've been better off tossing a 4 spd. in there & replacing the rear end with something a lot more wicked (4.11? Am I remembering that correctly?).
Funny too, in passing cars I can easily get the Xfire over 100 in no time. Back then, anytime I'd get the Chevy close to 100 I pop the fan belt off.
Sigh.........
After that came a '63 Bonneville convert., red w/ a white interior (man, whatta boat that baby was), then a '65 Mustang that had hole in the driver's side floor big enough to put your foot through (used to joke that my left foot was an auxilary brake). Big fun when it was raining or snowing.
Chevy SS, first car.jpg
Bought it for $400 in 1970 (was one of the first guys in high school to have his own car) & then proceeded to blow another $800 in mods. Souping the 283 was easy: hi-rise cam w/ new rocker arms, spring & rods, Hooker headers, Holley 4 brl., Edelbrock manifold, Accel distributor & wires, chromed valve covers, it looked so sweet.
But, being the idiot kid I was I did NOTHING with the Powerglide 2 speed auto nor the rear end. Darn near anything could beat me off the line but over 30 I was gone............after all, I could take the Powerglide up to 60 in 1st gear!
Of course, over time & since I had blown all the money I had earned throughout the years, I became unable to keep up with the maintenance & ended up parting out the car after trashing the tranny (well, duh!).
In hindsight I would've been better off tossing a 4 spd. in there & replacing the rear end with something a lot more wicked (4.11? Am I remembering that correctly?).
Funny too, in passing cars I can easily get the Xfire over 100 in no time. Back then, anytime I'd get the Chevy close to 100 I pop the fan belt off.
Sigh.........
After that came a '63 Bonneville convert., red w/ a white interior (man, whatta boat that baby was), then a '65 Mustang that had hole in the driver's side floor big enough to put your foot through (used to joke that my left foot was an auxilary brake). Big fun when it was raining or snowing.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,231
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From: Wake Forest, North Carolina
Re: Your very first car...driving/owning
1957 Ford Fairlane 500, 312 V8, three speed manual with the shifter on the steering column.
Had it for about 12,000 miles when it threw a rod at 112,000 miles. What did you expect? It was a Ford!
Had it for about 12,000 miles when it threw a rod at 112,000 miles. What did you expect? It was a Ford!
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
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From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Your very first car...driving/owning
1974 Plymouth Duster 318 engine with a 3 speed on the floor! Bought in 1977 for $1875 with 45,000 miles on it. I remember I financed 18,000 for two years at $91 a month while still in High School.
Pictured is the 340 version with hood scoop - mine was two tone brown without the hood scoop - but other than that, same car. Traded it for a new CJ5 in 1979, I had the odometer up to 109,000 by then. Never a lick of trouble out of that engine - or car!
Pictured is the 340 version with hood scoop - mine was two tone brown without the hood scoop - but other than that, same car. Traded it for a new CJ5 in 1979, I had the odometer up to 109,000 by then. Never a lick of trouble out of that engine - or car!