# First car memories



## Grampa Don (Apr 2, 2017)

When I graduated from high school in the spring of 1957, I bought my first car, a 1948 Plymouth coupe.  It cost me 200 dollars.  I had saved up 100 dollars from my part time job and my folks gave me another 100 as a graduation present.  It wasn't anything fancy, but it was transportation for dates, work, and college for four years.

The engine was a flat head six, and there was room enough under the hood that you could crawl in with it.  It was a simple machine.  The choke was a manual knob to pull.  The wipers worked on engine vacuum.  The air filter was oil filled, messy, but no cartridge to change.  It had an AM radio that buzzed when you turned it on.  The buzzing was a mechanical vibrator that was part of the power supply.  It converted the six volt battery up to voltages needed for the vacuum tubes.  No clock.

When I bought it the engine had a ticking sound.  My older cousin said it was just a noisy tappet.  He was wrong.  After I drove it for 3 years a mechanic found that one of the pistons was cracked.  By then, I was working part time at a service station and got it fixed cheap.  It died on me once when my future wife and I were driving on Palos Verdes peninsula in the middle of nowhere.  We hiked to a phone and she called her brother-in-law for help.  He drove out, removed the glass dome off the fuel pump and emptied out some crud, put it back, and it ran again.  What a great guy.

It was a good car for dates.  The bench seat meant Janie could cuddle up right next to me as we drove.  I put a brodie knob on the steering wheel so I could steer with one hand.  She made fuzzy dice for the rear view mirror.  I bought some fake white side walls that fit between the rim and tires.  I didn't want to risk rubbing a curb and tearing them, so I also added curb feelers.  With these things, you knew when you were near the curb.

It had terrible brakes.  I could stand on them and still not lock the wheels.  That made for some scary moments and taught me to look ahead in traffic.  Of course there were no seat belts.  So, I have mixed emotions about it.  I certainly wouldn't want to drive it again, but I do think of it with some affection.  Here is a photo of it after I had it re-painted.



What was your first car like?

Don


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## jujube (Apr 2, 2017)

My dad bought me a '55 Dodge station wagon to drive in 1965, my senior year in high school.  My mom had gone back to working full time so someone had to drive the younger sibs around after school to all their lessons, etc.  I had one hour between the time my school got out and the first kid had to be picked up, so that was one hour of freedom and driving around like an idiot.  It had a "police interceptor" engine in it (whatever that was) and the boys were crazy about looking under the hood.  When you stomped on the gas pedal, you could see the gas gauge go down, but it took off like a bat out of hell and gas was only 25 cents a gallon.   I could pack a whole bunch of my friends in there and go cruising or to the drive in movies on Friday and Saturday nights.  Fun, fun, fun.


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## Grampa Don (Apr 2, 2017)

Ah, drive in movies, also known as passion pits.  I suspect bucket seats helped kill them.  I mean, how do you snuggle in bucket seats?

Don


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## Falcon (Apr 2, 2017)

When I came out of the military  the first car I bought was a Dodge ragtop.

I should add that, at the time I lived in Detroit.  When winter came, I realized what a foolish choice I made.
I kept it for about a year and traded it in for a more sensible little Chevy 2 door sedan and kept it for 5 years.

Foolish youth !


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## Steve LS (Apr 2, 2017)

First car was a 1964 Impala Convertible. 


Second car was a 1965 GTO, 3 Two's, 4 on the floor.


Both images are identical colors of the cars I owned.
I wish I had them now. :greedy_dollars:


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## jujube (Apr 2, 2017)

Falcon said:


> When I came out of the military  the first car I bought was a Dodge ragtop.
> 
> *I should add that, at the time I lived in Detroit.  When winter came, I realized what a foolish choice I made.*
> I kept it for about a year and traded it in for a more sensible little Chevy 2 door sedan and kept it for 5 years.
> ...



Ah, yes, the Detroit winter.  I spent two of my Detroit years with a car that had no working heater or windshield defroster.  I drove with a  muffler wrapped around my lower face so that I didn't steam/frost up the windshield and a scraper in my left hand because I never failed to steam up the windshield.   Breathe, breathe, scrape, scrape.  

foolish _impoverished_ youth :eyesweretoofrozentoroll


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## Grampa Don (Apr 2, 2017)

Steve --  You must have had a better job than I had.  Those are sweet cars.  

Don


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## Steve LS (Apr 2, 2017)

Grampa Don said:


> Steve --  You must have had a better job than I had.  Those are sweet cars.
> 
> Don



Hi Don, at the time I was an apprentice electrician and both vehicles were "pre owned" as  they like to say today.
My dad, didn't _give me_ any money, but did finance both cars at a _better_ rate, so that helped a lot.

By 1972 I was married and had a son and the GTO was history. :dispirited:


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## IKE (Apr 3, 2017)

I left home at a young age and as soon as I could I joined the Army and then after returning from 16 months in Vietnam and getting discharged I returned within a month and worked overseas for a few years so the very first car I ever purchased (at age 25) was in the spring of 1975 and it was a used, 1972, red, four door Datsun PL-510 when I returned stateside.

At the time I wasn't married and I knew it wouldn't be very long till I was approached about another position overseas so I wanted to stay cheap but yet reliable just in case I had to hurriedly get rid of it......I drove the heck out of that little Datsun for about a year and then headed back across the pond for a few more years.


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## Pappy (Apr 3, 2017)

My first car was the same year I was born. A 37 Buick. It was a car given to my dad, and he gave it to me on my 17th   birthday. It was a mess when I got it, but spent all winter getting it cleaned up an painted white side walls on the tires.


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## hauntedtexan (Apr 3, 2017)

My 1st car was a 1958 Lincoln convertible my mother's friend sold me for $50. White with a red leather interior and it actually ran! Since I was in a BOCES auto body class in high school, I was able to do some work and made it nice. It even had an electric glass window in the rear of the convertible top!!! (pic not mine, but the same)


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## Deucemoi (Apr 3, 2017)

first car I bought was upon separation from the navy for the first time. 1966 pontiac bonnevile. I bought it with my sep pay and drove it from w.vir. to wa.


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## Lon (Apr 3, 2017)

My first car was a 1953 Black/White Chevrolet Bel Air that I bought in 1956 in Tampa Florida for $800 Cash. I had won over $1,000 in a GI Poker Game during the four years of my military enlistment. I was discharged in 1957 and drove the car from Tampa, Fla. to San Francisco, Ca.


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## Grampa Don (Apr 3, 2017)

Lon --  My wife's first car was also a '53 Chevy Bel Air.  Here's a photo of it in front of her folks' house.



Her Dad bought it for her, and she loved it.  But, after three fender benders that weren't really her fault, he decided it was a jinx and traded it for a '58 Chevy that she never cared for.

Don


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## Grampa Don (Apr 3, 2017)

Pappy --  I think you win for the oldest first car.

Don


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## squatting dog (Apr 3, 2017)

my first... but by no means my last was my 55 chevy high school transportation. It was perfect (for me anyway) glass tilt nose, glass doors, plexiglass side windows, early ford straight axle with buggy spring, 331 cu. in. engine setback almost under the dash, 57 olds rear with long ladder bars. I held onto it until 2002 when unexpected medical bills forced me to sell.


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## Grampa Don (Apr 3, 2017)

squatting dog --  That is a beast.  I'm sitting here wondering what it sounded like when you took off in it.  Dual glass pack mufflers?

Don


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## squatting dog (Apr 4, 2017)

Grampa Don said:


> squatting dog --  That is a beast.  I'm sitting here wondering what it sounded like when you took off in it.  Dual glass pack mufflers?
> 
> Don



Only the finest sounding smitty's.  It was hard to keep rubber on it too.


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## Butterfly (Apr 5, 2017)

My first car was a '59 Ford Galaxy, red with a white top.  I don't know anything about its innards, but I did LOVE that car.  I told my dad I wanted a car and he said the immortal words "Wanna car?  Getta job."  So I got an after school job in an office.  He actually bought the car for me, but handed me the payment book and said if I missed a payment it was going back.  I never did.


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## Pattypan (Apr 5, 2017)

The pictures of these classic cars are wonderful!  My first car was also a Chevy Bel Air.  It was a 1954.  Green and white and I paid $25 for it.  My second car was a blue 61 Ford Falcon.  My third, and favorite car, was a brand spanking new burgundy 1966 Ford Mustang.  Loved that car.  Trading that car in is on my regrets list.


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## Grampa Don (Apr 5, 2017)

Pattypan --  I also had a new '66 mustang.  Mine was baby blue, and it broke my heart to trade it.  But, our second child meant we needed something roomier.  When I left it at the dealer, he put it right out on the front line, no prep necessary.  It felt like abandoning a puppy.

Don


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## Whisper (Apr 7, 2017)

My first car was a 1969 Cougar XR7. I had it for 11 years and do I ever regret selling it.


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## HazyDavey (Apr 7, 2017)

I had a 63 Chevy, two door hardtop, 327 engine.
I'm also on the regrets list for selling her.. :crushed:


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## Grampa Don (Mar 13, 2022)

This is an old old thread, but I thought maybe some of our newer members might want to add to it.


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## Murrmurr (Mar 13, 2022)

Mine was a 64 Ford Falcon convertible. My aunt let me have it for $175, after her husband/my uncle died. That was in 1970, just before I graduated high school. It was in really good condition, but it had brake failure about a year later. I replaced the discs, bled the brakes a couple of times, and had to check the brake fluid every time I drove it. After my first son was born, I sold it for $500 and bought a ...um, pretty sure that's when I got the 61 Impala. That was a great family car.


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## win231 (Mar 13, 2022)

My first car was the biggest piece of junk ever to come out of British Leland Motors - Austin America.
It overheated during every stoplight. Then the radiator, water pump, & hoses were gone.
Then the transmission quit, starting with Reverse.  All before 5,000 miles.
We successfully sued British Leland & the judge made them buy the car back from me - including every penny.


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## Gaer (Mar 13, 2022)

40 Ford Coupe. I bought for $100.
Upgraded to a 50 Chevy, which was like an extension of me!  i did INSANE things with that car!


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## Grampa Don (Mar 13, 2022)

win231 said:


> My first car was the biggest piece of junk ever to come out of British Leland Motors - Austin America.
> It overheated during every stoplight. Then the radiator, water pump, & hoses were gone.
> Then the transmission quit, starting with Reverse.  All before 5,000 miles.
> We successfully sued British Leland & the judge made them buy the car back from me - including every penny.
> ...


Sounds like my Renault Dauphine.  I finally sold it to a mechanic for $50, for the few spare parts that were still functional.


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## squatting dog (Mar 13, 2022)

Gaer said:


> 40 Ford Coupe. I bought for $100.
> Upgraded to a 50 Chevy, which was like an extension of me!  i did INSANE things with that car!


Like this I hope.


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## Gaer (Mar 13, 2022)

squatting dog said:


> Like this I hope.
> 
> View attachment 212957


No, only primer!  but, WOW!


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## horseless carriage (Mar 13, 2022)

Back in 1963, having just passed my driving test, I hankered for an old MG TD sports car, something like the one on the left.

But when you take into account the tax on it, the insurance and running costs, (I'm hopeless with a spanner,) add in the cost of fuel, it all became a pipe dream for a penniless student just about to start college. However, I could afford something similar albeit somewhat down market. Known as the MG YB it did me proud for three years and when I sold it I got the purchase price, and more, back. At the time I was well pleased.

How life can come round full circle. Fourteen years ago, and in retirement, I was getting rather bored, I then remembered that MG TD that I couldn't afford, but now I could, so I went shopping. After seeing a few and not being impressed my thoughts went back to that YB that I drove into the ground. My wife was more than pleased with the idea of getting an MG YB, she suffers from asthma, not really conducive with an open sports car, so, a YB it will be.

The car is great fun but it's not enough to keep me happily occupied. I still have it, but I'm no longer retired, I have no intention of rusting out, I am back at work, retirement only lasted twenty months. The car will last a lot longer than me.


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## Geezer Garage (Mar 13, 2022)

My first car was a 53 mercury coupe. Got it from my great grandfather for $1. It had been sitting in his garage for several years, as he was no longer able to drive. It had 17k original miles on it when I got it in 1966. Drove it for maybe a year, and tore the flathead V8 out along with the trans and rear end, and installed a worked over 390FE, T-10 four speed, and a narrowed 9". But that's another story. Still keep an eye out for one.


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## Sassycakes (Mar 13, 2022)

I  never learned to drive but instead of teaching me, my Dad taught my boyfriend who is my husband now. My Dad was a very generous man and so he bought my boyfriend a Dodge Dart.


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## squatting dog (Mar 13, 2022)

Gaer said:


> No, only primer!  but, WOW!


Ahhh, I see.... more along the lines of this.


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## caroln (Mar 13, 2022)

My first car was a 1965 Chevy Impala convertible.  Loved that car!  My parents wouldn't co-sign for me , so my brother-in-law did.  I had a lot of adventures with that car.  When I finally traded it in, I drove to the dealer and it died right there.


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## Gaer (Mar 13, 2022)

squatting dog said:


> Ahhh, I see.... more along the lines of this.
> 
> View attachment 212970


No, Not quite that bad.  It was all a dark grey.   I thought it was cool at the time!


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## Grampa Don (Mar 13, 2022)

I built a model of my wife's first car for her.


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## Knight (Mar 13, 2022)

At 16 my 1st car. was a 1948 Plymouth. Dad chose it for family use[I paid for it] not for looks. A good car to learn on. Had it for about a year before. Thankfully when leaving church one sunday for some unknown reason my mom decided to open the passenger side front door as I was backing up to pull out of a parking space. I say thankfully because there was a tree there that the open door hit. Bent the hinges & crunched the right front fender. A total loss.
This is what that car looked like
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/craigslist-find-1948-plymouth-handles-like-a-marshmallow/

A 1954 Ford convertible replacement was my choice since I was going to pay for this one also. I enrolled in a new school program called Distributive education. Regular classes in the morning Afternoons off to go to my job. I had a really good job woriking in the afternoons & all day Saturday. 

At 17 replacing that beauty this is representive of my choice.
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1954-ford-crestline-sunliner-convertible.htm

Nice car money to spend & I had pretty nice teen years before joining the Navy. I gave that car to my younger brother as a gift.


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## C50 (Mar 13, 2022)

I bought a Buick Lasabre when I was 15 for $100.   It was from a friend of my sister's boyfriend who lived probably 75 miles from where I lived.  Her boyfriend drove me to see the car and I bought it and drove it home, no drivers license, no plates, no worries.   I was a bold little shit.


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## MountainRa (Mar 13, 2022)

My first car was a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, straight drive, no power steering. It was like driving a tank.  I was in high school. 
I say ‘my car’ but it was actually supposed to to be mine and my brother’s ( he’s 18 months younger than me).  Lot of fights took place over whose turn to use car, put gas in, etc.


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## Pappy (Mar 14, 2022)

Can I sneak in the car I bought after I sold the 37 Buick? My 46 Ford…


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## squatting dog (Mar 15, 2022)

Pappy said:


> Can I sneak in the car I bought after I sold the 37 Buick? My 46 Ford…
> 
> View attachment 213110View attachment 213111


I had a 46 Ford for a short time. What a hoot having to let up on the gas going uphill in the winter so the vacuum wipers could do their thing.  Traded it for a 59 Ford wrecker.


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## spectratg (Mar 15, 2022)

I was about to graduate from college in 1967.  My dad took me to the local Chevrolet dealership and admonished me to let him do the talking.  I came home with a 1967 Chevy II stick shift, just like the one my dad had--except that mine was a slightly darker shade of blue!  Around $1900 if I recall.


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## Paco Dennis (Mar 15, 2022)

Murrmurr said:


> Mine was a 64 Ford Falcon convertible. My aunt let me have it for $175, after her husband/my uncle died. That was in 1970, just before I graduated high school. It was in really good condition, but it had brake failure about a year later. I replaced the discs, bled the brakes a couple of times, and had to check the brake fluid every time I drove it. After my first son was born, I sold it for $500 and bought a ...um, pretty sure that's when I got the 61 Impala. That was a great family car.


Almost the same story here, BUT mine wasn't in "good" condition. The clutch would go out because the motor mounts were bad and I had to get under the car and force the clutch connection back in place...about every 50 miles!   this is what it reminds me of.


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## Alligatorob (Mar 15, 2022)

Grampa Don said:


> Renault Dauphine


Only car I ever owned that I could pick up (one end at a time) myself!


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## Grampa Don (Mar 16, 2022)

Alligatorob said:


> Only car I ever owned that I could pick up (one end at a time) myself!


The only car I ever owned that your could hand crank to start.  I think the engine was 32 hp.  Plastic window cranks fell apart.  Hood developed a stress crack.

I was driving to work on the freeway and the engine suddenly died.  It was in a dense morning fog.  I coasted over to the side and opened the engine compartment.  Gas was flowing out of the carburetor right on the hot exhaust manifold.  I just stood there watching it.  Down the road a ways I heard a screech and a bang.  Then more screeches and bangs.  They kept getting closer.  There was a tall fence behind me so I couldn't run.  I stood there watching as the accidents went right by in front of me and on up the road.

Eventually, one of the tow trucks that showed up towed me home.  There were over a hundred cars and trucks involved.  I suppose, if the Dauphine hadn't died when it did, I might have been part of it.  So, I guess I was doubly lucky.  It was one of my scarier moments.


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## Alligatorob (Mar 16, 2022)

Grampa Don said:


> The only car I ever owned that your could hand crank to start. I think the engine was 32 hp. Plastic window cranks fell apart. Hood developed a stress crack.


Yep, forgot the hand crank.  The Dauphine made a VW bug look like a luxury car.

Ours had an openable moon roof.  I used to take it to the beach, put it in first, climb out the roof window and drive with my feet on the steering wheel.  Pretty slow, but it worked.  Reaction time to break however was not great...


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## Grampa Don (Mar 16, 2022)

When I bought the Dauphine, I couldn't afford a VW, and I thought the Dauphine looked cooler.  I think I paid about $1000 used.

I was following a station wagon on a circular onramp that was wet from sprinklers.  I was a little fast but the station wagon had no troubles so I figured I was OK too.  I almost lost it when the rear end started to slide around.

Once I tried to drive to Wrightwood in the local mountains.  Didn't make it.  That little engine pooped out in the thin air.

It was a long time before I would even eat French fries or French toast.

When I worked at a service station I had a chance to drive a customer's Citroen.  That was one really weird car, one spoke for the steering wheel and everything, including the suspension, hydraulic.


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## Murrmurr (Mar 16, 2022)

The only car I had after my divorce was a VW Beetle. A cherry red one. It was a bit small for a family car but I loved that thing, and so did my 3 kids. A girlfriend's brother bought it from me for more than it was worth (imo) and I bought a mini station-wagon. I forget the make....Toyota, I think. That was a great little car, too. Unfortunately, I let a (former)friend borrow it and he drove it into a ditch and broke the axle. At the time, it was cheaper to buy another used car than to replace an axle... + oil pan, rear-end repair, and 2 tires.


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## JustinCase (Mar 16, 2022)

Learned to drive at 14, in a '49 Chev flatbed 1/2 T.  4 on the foor, starter next to gas pedal, no restraints or turn signals only arm.  First auto was a '51 Henry J purple (every thing was purple).  Paid $250, 3 on the column.  Previously owned by my 1st grade school teacher,   Low, low miles but I managed to beat it to death.

Took my test in the '49, examiner had me make 4 right turns around the block once,  Said 'Son, if you can drive this you can drive anything'.


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## fuzzybuddy (Mar 16, 2022)

I'm not sure how this happened, but my parents gave me my brother's AMC Rebel.?????? He never did explain the bullet holes. 
But the first car I boughtcial was a brand new " HUGO">


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## Michael Z (Mar 16, 2022)

My first car was a 69 Mustang in 1976. At 7 years old it was considered an "older" car. Nice looking but too much power! Was only by a near-miracle that I did not die in that car!


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## Tom52 (Mar 21, 2022)

caroln said:


> My first car was a 1965 Chevy Impala convertible.  Loved that car!  My parents wouldn't co-sign for me , so my brother-in-law did.  I had a lot of adventures with that car.  When I finally traded it in, I drove to the dealer and it died right there.
> View attachment 212971
> View attachment 212972


That is a lot like my current car


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## JonSR77 (Mar 21, 2022)

I am 60 years old.  In 1978, having just got my license, my parents let me drive their beat up 1969 Buick Skylark. 

Because, at 17, I was a genius, I decided to see if I could take that car and break 100 mph.

So, early one morning, maybe 6AM, I took the car out, proceeded a long way down NJ's Garden State Parkway...and then, with no cars around, I floored the thing.

I got it up to 110 mph. The entire car was shaking! If I moved the steering wheel the slightest fraction of an inch, the car went nuts.

When it hit 110, I figured I should probably stop now, because the thing was clearly going to fall apart.

So, I backed off on the gas, slowed down...and then just quietly drove home.

But, my guardian angel, on the other hand, was taken to the ER and placed on a Pepto Bismol IV. My understand is that he was in rehab for several years.

By the way, 4 years later, when a family member was driving that car...all of a sudden, the engine literally just fell out of the car!


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## caroln (Mar 21, 2022)

caroln said:


> My first car was a 1965 Chevy Impala convertible.  Loved that car!  My parents wouldn't co-sign for me , so my brother-in-law did.  I had a lot of adventures with that car.  When I finally traded it in, I drove to the dealer and it died right there.
> View attachment 212971
> View attachment 212972





Tom52 said:


> That is a lot like my current car


I wish I still had mine!  I didn't have the money to fix it back then but I'd definitely find the money now!  I can't imagine what it might be worth today.


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## Lanny (Mar 22, 2022)

My Granddaddy died two weeks before my 16th birthday and I was given his '64 Ford Falcon with a "three on the tree".
I already knew how to drive a stick shift 'cause I'd been driving my Dad's old Ford tractor since I was probably 8 years old. It had a three on the tree too. 
I'd carefully navigate Granddaddy's Falcon through the woods behind our house out to the pasture where I could roam freely and practice driving.
Within a year or so the Falcon was given to my Granny because she wanted to learn to drive. That was a trip.
Soon after my big sis and I bought a used '71 Nova which we shared for a while.


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## Lanny (Mar 22, 2022)

JonSR77 said:


> I am 60 years old.  In 1978, having just got my license, my parents let me drive their beat up 1969 Buick Skylark.
> 
> Because, at 17, I was a genius, I decided to see if I could take that car and break 100 mph.
> 
> ...


That's hilarious!  Reminds me of the times I take my mom's Buick deuce and a quarter to my girlfriend's house down a 10 mile stretch of torn up country road filled with big potholes. I'd get that baby up to 100 miles per hour and be skipping over potholes. Then one day the timing chain broke at high speed and the big tank coasted a good mile or two. Walked the rest of the way to give mom the bad news from a pay phone.


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## Timewise 60+ (Mar 23, 2022)

1956 Mercury Montclair

Everything was automatic, windows, seat, Radio Atena...I got this in 1967...


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