What was your First Car?

[Evans, Marv]

'55 Ford

[livi]

Started up with a vintage Chrysler. Ended up with a Polo 1.2. What a disgrace.

[petrolhead611]

My dad paid £30 for my 54 Ford Prefect, in 1966. 1172cc flathead 4 making 36 BHP, 3 speed with no synchro on first, vacuum wipers.
Drove it to university. Surface ground head to raise compression. Repaired rocker panels with glass fibre, then painted them with orange emulsion paint left over from decorating sisters room : it creates a sort of bubbly finish , and I thought that together with the light blue bodywork it recreated the Gulf Ford colourscheme. Sold it for £60 6 months later and bought a Ford 105E Anglia which was a revelation in comparison.

[techweenie]

[Ayles]

1978 Cutlass Supreme Brougham. It was a great car at the time. Paid $900 for it and never had a problem.

[Skytrooper]

1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Dark green with vinyl top, 350 auto.

[Otter74]

The first car that was truly mine was my Sentra SE-R, which I got new in 1993 when I graduated from high school. Still have it:

I also have a Fiat Spider (2L Turbo) that my dad and I got when I was 14, but that wasn't technically mine until later.

[David]

'72 240Z. Total rust bucket. Bought it the day I turned 16. I think I paid $1,600 for it and sold it a couple months later to a junk yard for $400. The last straw was when I realized there was a street sign welded in near the front suspension. The car was only 11 years old at the time but had lived a hard life. One of my more valuable life lessons.

[Rtrorkt]

1969 Triumph GT6+

[stevej37]

1966 Chev Malibu...but not an SS

[vbaron]

1970 Impala Fastback in light metallic green. My Dad's hand-me-down. Went to my younger brother after I bought a '72 Camaro.

[Ryan_Cunningham]

1992 Geo Storm.

Parents paid $1600 for it in 2000 when I turned 16. 5-speed, 90HP, and no AC.

Started from the bottom now we're here.

[MAS956]

1971 Ford Pinto sporting Firestone 500 tires. And lived to tell the tale.

[908/930]

Was a 1971 BMW 2002. Early 80's paid $700 for it needing some work, what a fun car.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by Rtrorkt

1969 Triumph GT6+

That makes two of us.

I was a junior in high school.

[Kraftwerk]

First vehicle was a Honda Super-Sport 400four but first 4 wheel vehicle was a 1971 F100, a perfect transporter for the 'Wild West'-days of North Brooklyn. Everything has a story ...this one has many, starting when I was visiting my brother in Vermont, and had missed my train back to NYC, my brother pointed out to a field behind his house and said why don't you take the Ford? Consumed by tall grasses, it appeared to have been put out to pasture, and claimed by nature. With a bit of coaxing it fired up and I commandeered it back to the big city, no easy task. I don't think it even had power steering. No one ever tried to steal it but it provided shelter to a few bums & was eventually claimed by rust. Great truck all around. F 100 with '3 on the tree' converted by my brother to a Hurst floor shifter. Never had a problem merging into any kind of traffic, sometimes I really miss that truck.

[flatbutt]

A Ford Comet, I don't remember the year exactly but it would have been '61 or so and was 3 speed on the column.

[SiberianDVM]

1965 Pontiac LeMans 2 door coupe, dark blue exterior, blue interior, with a 326 V8 and 3 on the floor; got it in 1968 for $1500. AC was roll all the windows down and go fast. Got rid of it when we had the first gas shortage in 73-74. One of my many dumb moves over the years.

[GH85Carrera]

When I was still 15 and only had a drivers permit to drive with a licensed driver with me I was looking for a car. Dad said one of his co-workers was selling his 1960 VW bug that he had bought new. We looked at it, test drove it and dad gave me a $600 interest free loan. I had to pay 100% of all other costs, from tires to gas, to maintenance. The only exception was the insurance. Dad did pay my insurance bill, and yea, the room and board and free food and all other costs of a teenage kid.

With 36 HP when new it was likely 25 after many miles. Zero to 62 on a calm no wind day, dead flat road was 72 seconds, and 65 was flat out as fast as it would go unless you found a downhill section, and it would get to almost 70 but it was terrifying and the engine sounded like it was going to come apart. From a dead stop a fully loaded 18 wheel semi was too fast for me to out run. He had to shift 12 or 14 times, but I could not get in front of it, I had to drop back and get behind. There was one road that was a stop light, and the road ahead was 55 MPH limit, and I never could outrun the semis.

I had the car paid off in 6 months.

[arcsine]

1962 Chevy II Nova stationwagon
Rebuilt it before I could legally drive it and wish I still had it.