Bought a new toy for my son and I

[Hugh R]

72 Olds Cutlass, 350 with 2 bbl Holley. He and I are going to work on the suspension, steering, etc. Give him a little respect for ownership and he has something to get to high school. He turns 16 in two months. Figure its better than handing him the keys on his birthday, maybe he'll treat it better. I won't put any money into performance enhancements, only safety. Go ahead, tell me I'm irresponsible.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Beautiful car....make him sweat for it.

[widebody911]

You're irresponsible. He's going to be known on campus as "Smokey Burnout", and then learn about terminal understeer in a bad way.

Here's a good first car.

[Hugh R]

Kid we bought it from, its was his grandmothers. 89,900 original miles on the clock. Was originally painted avocado green. No rust, California car.

[ZAMIRZ]

that's a dope car, just needs some wheels

[Icemaster]

I wouldn't say irresponsible IF he learns to respect it as well as appreciate it.

It's a damn nice one, I had a Cutlass S convertible the same vintage, they can be dangerous, make sure part of your lesson plan is an appreciation/respect for what it can do...

[jyl]

Quite a long time ago, I sold my '65 Mustang to a co-worker who had the same idea. He and his 15-y/o son were going to fix it up, and the care and respect the boy would develop for the car was going to make him a safe beginning driver. In the next four years that boy blew the motor twice, which takes some kinda abuse with a 289.

My opinion, based on that and some other experiences, not the least my own instances of youthful stupidity:

- If a teen boy has a hot car, he'll drive it like a hot car. Period.

- A teen boy in a 70's muscle car is guaranteed to attract the wrong kind of attention - cops, street racers, other kids who want to pile in and egg him on.

- None of the beginning driver's problems can be solved by the choice of car. The beginning driver's no. 1 problem is immaturity/inattention. No. 2 is inexperience. No. 3, depending on the kid, is usually alcohol.

- The best thing a beginning driver's first car can be is safe - for him and for whoever he hits. That means not-too-small, not-too-big, not-too-fast, good brakes, good emergency handling, and lots of airbags.

So I think you've gotten your son exactly the wrong car for his first car. Loud and flashy, way too fast, handles and stops like a pig, virtually no passive safety features, enough mass to flatten other cars in collisions. I'm being blunt, sorry.

It seems instead like the kind of car that we all wish we'd gotten as our first drives - and as we all remember, when we were 15 y/o, what we wished for was often not what was best for us.

IMHO the ideal car for a teenaged boy is something competent, safe, and nebbish like a used VW Golf, Toyota Camry, etc. And something to direct his go-fast energies to the track - a kart, a 914/911 dedicated track car, etc.

P.S. By the way, I'm not saying your son won't or can't be a safe driver in that car. I'm saying that, instead of helping him be a safe driver, the car is likely to make it harder.

[84porsche]

Hugh,

That is an awesome car. Their is nothing irresponsible about it. Just teach him to respect the road and show him all the dangers. When I was in high school, only 6 years ago, they brought in the coroner for a presentation about driving and he basically said if you don't drive safe I'll see you but you won't see me. Ever since then I was scared into safe driving.

[turbo6bar]

Cool ride. The only way to teach a kid how to be responsible with that car is teaching him how to have fun with 7 spark plug wires missing. Or, adjust throttle cable where pedal to the floor = 1/8 of full throttle.

[pwd72s]

Yeah...to heck with the kid! Do this one for yourself!

[350HP930]

Originally posted by jyl
Quite a long time ago, I sold my '65 Mustang to a co-worker who had the same idea. He and his 15-y/o son were going to fix it up, and the care and respect the boy would develop for the car was going to make him a safe beginning driver. In the next four years that boy blew the motor twice, which takes some kinda abuse with a 289.

My opinion, based on that and some other experiences, not the least my own instances of youthful stupidity:

- If a teen boy has a hot car, he'll drive it like a hot car. Period.

- A teen boy in a 70's muscle car is guaranteed to attract the wrong kind of attention - cops, street racers, other kids who want to pile in and egg him on.

- None of the beginning driver's problems can be solved by the choice of car. The beginning driver's no. 1 problem is immaturity/inattention. No. 2 is inexperience. No. 3, depending on the kid, is usually alcohol.

- The best thing a beginning driver's first car can be is safe - for him and for whoever he hits. That means not-too-small, not-too-big, not-too-fast, good brakes, good emergency handling, and lots of airbags.

So I think you've gotten your son exactly the wrong car for his first car. Loud and flashy, way too fast, handles and stops like a pig, virtually no passive safety features, enough mass to flatten other cars in collisions. I'm being blunt, sorry.

It seems instead like the kind of car that we all wish we'd gotten as our first drives - and as we all remember, when we were 15 y/o, what we wished for was often not what was best for us.

IMHO the ideal car for a teenaged boy is something competent, safe, and nebbish like a used VW Golf, Toyota Camry, etc. And something to direct his go-fast energies to the track - a kart, a 914/911 dedicated track car, etc.

P.S. By the way, I'm not saying your son won't or can't be a safe driver in that car. I'm saying that, instead of helping him be a safe driver, the car is likely to make it harder.

+ 1

[badcar]

From experience....20 years ago, my first car was a 1968 Firebird 400. I was raised to respect the law and was never in any type of trouble before I got behind that wheel. My end result was two speeding tickets, the last in that car ended up being a "reckless" and I lost my driving privileges for 6mos. My thought is this: a car that good looking, and that fast, will be used to its potential. JMO
P.S.
Beutiful Car!

[vash]

SWEET!, my first car was a hot rod, (71 camaro). i learned all about the wrenching, made great friends, made mistakes, was sent to the store for the typical trip to find "chrome moly muffler bearings", basically i had a great time. yes, i spent my money on a NOS kit and blew the motor on a drag race. but my mom reeled me back in, and that is the key. she used to encourage weekend bracket racing at the local drag strip because it kept me from racing on the streets. if you pay attention as a parent, your kid cant go wrong. nice ride.

spend some time finding the original rims. those chrome mods, gotta go. .

[Hugh R]

Jyl

In many respect your right. However, I've noticed that kids with ricers also do the same thing (race). I think its how you raise the kid (not being too naive' here), but I learned pretty quick that racing beats up a car and costs money very quickly when I was 16-17. I honestly believe that my problem, as a teenager, was I didn't have any respect or ownership and I'm hoping with a few months under the car sweating on fixing it that he will. BTW, it has about 250 hp, which seems like a lot, but new hondas/toyotas can come close. Also, my daughter's Echo will actually do over 100 mph, plenty fast to kill you.

Widebody911, I note your comments

[Moses]

That's a great first car for a kid who is already showing signs of wisdom and responsibility. If he's getting fantastic grades, always on the honor roll, no problems with drugs or alcohol then it's a good choice. If not, potential disaster.

[Roadrunner911]

Hugh,
Saw your thread and had to weigh in since I know you and I have a son that just turned 17 (last week). We went through the same type of decision fairly recently when my son started driving solo earlier this year. I bought him a late 90's Mustang. The only thing I would suggest is to get a car with air bags. Not so much because the way your son might drive but because the way someone else might drive. My son has already been hit by a hit and run driver that deployed the air bags. Fortunately, no one injured.
Beautiful car though, I've always like the Cutlass. Really, think about air bags though.
Aloha,
Steve

[Rufblackbird]

Hugh,
that is an awesome looking Cutlass! It just needs a set of 17" Torq Thrusts My first car was my '76 911 and I've had my share of Trans Ams (3), so just because a car has potential to go fast doesn't mean a child will take advantage of it. As long as he is responsible it should be no problem. Besides...those things were built like tanks. Sheetmetal is way thicker than what we have now. With this ride your son would probably become really popular in school

[Eric 951]

Awesome Cutlass. That will be a GREAT car for your son.

Don't sweat the "hot car" vs. "boring econobox" argument as a first car. In high school I saw people do more stupid things in K-cars, Accords, and grandma Buicks than those with Preludes, Firebirds, and Camaros.

Bottom line is it isn't the type of car--it is the type of son that matters.

[John Brandt]

I had one of those when I was 16. Mine was a convertible though and orange.

One night I hit a pothole entering a corner and spun it at high speed. We drove it home but we were just luck we didn't hit anything solid.

If I'd have been in my BMW, the event would not have happened.

Make sure your Kid understands that the Olds is not a modern car and that consequently, the price for bad judgement is very high.

[Mike(dat's me)]

That car is amazing. I wish my parents would have been so nice.

Hmmm.

Will you adopt me?