What was your first car?

Started by Cryptic Bert, July 31, 2011, 07:54:36 PM

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Solar

Quote from: tbone0106 on August 07, 2011, 08:31:27 AM
Oh, yeah. My third car was a '57 Chevy, but mine was rough on the outside and the interior. I bought it because of the work done under the hood -- 327 small block rebuilt with 12:1 Jahns pistons, "3/4 race" cam, Holley 600 dual-line four-barrel sitting on an aluminum Edelbrock semi-highrise intake manifold, Hedman "hedders," Accel ignition, double-hump heads, a floor-shifted Saginaw 4-speed in place of the original three-on-the-tree, etc. Shit, that thing was fast.

And you're right about the small block Chevies and Fords -- best automotive engines ever produced, and still in production today, largely unchanged. My current Chevy pickup uses a 5.3L version of the same basic 265 engine Chevy introduced in 1955.
I too bought a car that looked like Hell, but screamed, which led me to sell it a month later, that is, after 10 speeding tickets.
So I bought a brand new Honda 750 which netted me an additional 21 tickets the following year.
Though I still do have my 1970 ElCamino I bought new in 1970.
Restored it three times, it now just sits dead, needs an engine and tranny.

I finally gave up on bikes a few years back after hitting my third deer on my Harley resulting in memory loss for more than a year. ???
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walkstall

Quote from: taxed on August 07, 2011, 12:01:01 PM
'88 Thunderbird turbo...

:o  I have nicktie older than that.   ;D   
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."

taxed

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walkstall

Quote from: taxed on August 07, 2011, 12:08:57 PM
hahahahaha

About 5 years ago I gave my son my Canary Yellow 1965 Chevy Impala convertible with a 348HP V-8 with 4:11 Positraction rear end.  For 20 years people would follow me home and ask if I would sell it. LOL 
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."

elmerfudd

My first car was a 1959 Ford Anglia.  Like Solar, I found English cars to be somewhat temperamental.   If ANYTHING was wrong with it, it just shut down.  But it did get good gas mileage, for that day and time.  But bigger and better cars get better mileage nowadays.

I know a lot of old guys like to reminisce about when they "really built good cars."  But does anybody really believe that a just off the showroom floor 57 chevy was a better car than a just off the showroom floor 2011 (name your mode)?  I don't.  In fact, I have a 98 Buick Regal with close to 200,000 miles on it that is still, in my opinion, as good a car as the showroom new 57 chevy.  It's true they don't build 'em like they used to, and I, for one, am thankful.  They're a lot better.

Solar

Quote from: elmerfudd on August 09, 2011, 01:51:32 PM
My first car was a 1959 Ford Anglia.  Like Solar, I found English cars to be somewhat temperamental.   If ANYTHING was wrong with it, it just shut down.  But it did get good gas mileage, for that day and time.  But bigger and better cars get better mileage nowadays.

I know a lot of old guys like to reminisce about when they "really built good cars."  But does anybody really believe that a just off the showroom floor 57 chevy was a better car than a just off the showroom floor 2011 (name your mode)?  I don't.  In fact, I have a 98 Buick Regal with close to 200,000 miles on it that is still, in my opinion, as good a car as the showroom new 57 chevy.  It's true they don't build 'em like they used to, and I, for one, am thankful.  They're a lot better.
I'd say in many aspects cars are better, but the downside is you really can't work on them anymore, it takes a specialized computer.
Also I miss all the heavy gauge metal that they used to be built with; just look at some of the cars in parking lots, actual dents from other peoples doors hitting them, unlike the old ones that merely got a chip in the paint.

But cars off the lot today have triple the mileage distance than one from the 60s, they usually needed a an overhaul after 150 thousand miles, today you get 300 thousand plus before you shit can it.
Which is another issue, people no longer restore these POS' like they used to, I doubt people will look back at cars from the 80s 0r 90s and lovingly refer to them as classics. :D
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Quote from: Solar on August 09, 2011, 02:04:52 PM
I'd say in many aspects cars are better, but the downside is you really can't work on them anymore, it takes a specialized computer.
Also I miss all the heavy gauge metal that they used to be built with; just look at some of the cars in parking lots, actual dents from other peoples doors hitting them, unlike the old ones that merely got a chip in the paint.

But cars off the lot today have triple the mileage distance than one from the 60s, they usually needed a an overhaul after 150 thousand miles, today you get 300 thousand plus before you shit can it.
Which is another issue, people no longer restore these POS' like they used to, I doubt people will look back at cars from the 80s 0r 90s and lovingly refer to them as classics. :D

100% agreement.  Cars were more fun and easier to work on back in the day.  But they're a lot more reliable now.  My experience with cars in the 50's and 60's was you RARELY broke 100,000 miles with a car that still ran well and had everything else in working order.  Now tires last that long.  And sparkplugs longer. 

I think the absolute pit was the early to mid 70's for American cars.  Nothing but junk.  My 73 Dart, which I bought new, was the SORRIEST car, from day one, I ever owned.

walkstall

On my 1965 Chevy I put 150.000 on it and then rebuilt the motor. Then put on 100.000 mile then rebuilt it just before giving it to my son.  He now has 5.000 miles on it LOL  He will only dirve it when it not raining.  He live in Seattle so it don't get out much.  LOL    He was in love with that car at age 14.  He took his mother for a 3 hr ride around town two weeks ago when we were in Seattle for the weeked.   Now that put a smile on her face all day lone.  I think he liks his mom.   :))
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."

elmerfudd

Quote from: walkstall on August 09, 2011, 07:13:02 PM
On my 1965 Chevy I put 150.000 on it and then rebuilt the motor. Then put on 100.000 mile then rebuilt it just before giving it to my son.  He now has 5.000 miles on it LOL  He will only dirve it when it not raining.  He live in Seattle so it don't get out much.  LOL    He was in love with that car at age 14.  He took his mother for a 3 hr ride around town two weeks ago when we were in Seattle for the weeked.   Now that put a smile on her face all day lone.  I think he liks his mom.   :))

Sounds like a good kid and a great car.  Unusual for the car, at least for a 60's car.  I remember 65 Chevies fondly, though.  I think 64 was my favorite year, at least for the 60's.  66's were pretty good, too, and I had a 68 that wasn't so bad.  Biscayne, in line 6, three on the tree, no air, no power.  But 69 they really started downhill, and by 72, they were garbage mostly. 

Shanghai Dan

Quote from: taxed on August 07, 2011, 12:01:01 PM
'88 Thunderbird turbo...
WOW!  That was the first "real car" I bought when I graduated from college - a new 1988 Thunderbird Turbocoupe that had been on the lot for 9 months (bought in April 1989) - had 383 miles on it.

A waste gate dump valve, 5th fuel injector drilled into the intake manifold, 0.020" head gasket, aluminum head with ported and polished valves and ports, Accel ignition system, and smoothed-and-flowed intercooler and it was FAST.  Lighter pistons and rods, a Centerforce Dual Friction II clutch, and I could seriously smoke a lot of folks.

Dyno'd out at 388 HP at the rear wheel, and a peak of 410 lb-ft of torque at 5000 RPM.  Racing was fun - just as you finished staging, floor it, let it bang off the rev limiter and pop the clutch.  The Centerforce could take it, the engine would bog down to 3000 RPM, the car would squat and leap out - typical 60' times were 1.5 to 1.6 seconds (VERY quick).  about that time the RPMs were up 4000 and the turbo kicked in and there you had it - low 12s with a 2.3 liter turbocharged engine.

Surprised a LOT of guys at Seattle International Raceway and around town...  Many had built 5.0s and 5.7s in the Mustangs and Camaros and could take me if they knew what they were doing (lots of even lower 12s and high 11s around), but they'd see me leap out of the gate like a demon with NO wheelspin (only 270 lb-ft of torque at 3000 RPM - not enough to break loose the the 275 wide Comp T/A radials) or smoke, just a "hunkerdown and charge" that they'd get too anxious on the gas and go up in smoke and lose precious time.

I never had to worry about wheelspin - the engine didn't have enough grunt down low to really break the sticky, wide rears loose other than a single, little "chirp".  No smoke, just squat and charge!

Great cornering car, too...  Bilsteins, urethane bushings, sticky tires at all 4 corners...

Also used it as a demo vehicle for car stereos, even won my share of local and regional events.  Some custom rebuilt Focal TC90s in the dash (my own blend of ferrofluid injected in the gap), some rebuilt Focal 6K218s in rebuilt doors (rebuilt the skins with fiberglass, balsa wood, and canvas then wrapped in factory-looking vinyl), a pair of Morel MW224s I rebuilt with softer suspensions and heavier cones in the rear 6x8 openings, a trio of KLW Broadway XA-50 amps for power, and a custom designed active EQ and crossover network (I am an electrical engineer after all).  A Nakamichi head deck buried in the center console behind a fake factory stereo front, and it was stealth and sounded good enough to win "best sound of show" 9 times.

Ahh, when I was young, dumped cash on toys, and could bend into weird shapes for hours working on a car... ;D

Being fat, old, and wise now, I choose different "toys" to play with and enjoy!
Life has proven to be 100% terminal...

elmerfudd

Quote from: Shanghai Dan on August 09, 2011, 08:24:02 PM
WOW!  That was the first "real car" I bought when I graduated from college - a new 1988 Thunderbird Turbocoupe that had been on the lot for 9 months (bought in April 1989) - had 383 miles on it.

A waste gate dump valve, 5th fuel injector drilled into the intake manifold, 0.020" head gasket, aluminum head with ported and polished valves and ports, Accel ignition system, and smoothed-and-flowed intercooler and it was FAST.  Lighter pistons and rods, a Centerforce Dual Friction II clutch, and I could seriously smoke a lot of folks.

Dyno'd out at 388 HP at the rear wheel, and a peak of 410 lb-ft of torque at 5000 RPM.  Racing was fun - just as you finished staging, floor it, let it bang off the rev limiter and pop the clutch.  The Centerforce could take it, the engine would bog down to 3000 RPM, the car would squat and leap out - typical 60' times were 1.5 to 1.6 seconds (VERY quick).  about that time the RPMs were up 4000 and the turbo kicked in and there you had it - low 12s with a 2.3 liter turbocharged engine.

Surprised a LOT of guys at Seattle International Raceway and around town...  Many had built 5.0s and 5.7s in the Mustangs and Camaros and could take me if they knew what they were doing (lots of even lower 12s and high 11s around), but they'd see me leap out of the gate like a demon with NO wheelspin (only 270 lb-ft of torque at 3000 RPM - not enough to break loose the the 275 wide Comp T/A radials) or smoke, just a "hunkerdown and charge" that they'd get too anxious on the gas and go up in smoke and lose precious time.

I never had to worry about wheelspin - the engine didn't have enough grunt down low to really break the sticky, wide rears loose other than a single, little "chirp".  No smoke, just squat and charge!

Great cornering car, too...  Bilsteins, urethane bushings, sticky tires at all 4 corners...

Also used it as a demo vehicle for car stereos, even won my share of local and regional events.  Some custom rebuilt Focal TC90s in the dash (my own blend of ferrofluid injected in the gap), some rebuilt Focal 6K218s in rebuilt doors (rebuilt the skins with fiberglass, balsa wood, and canvas then wrapped in factory-looking vinyl), a pair of Morel MW224s I rebuilt with softer suspensions and heavier cones in the rear 6x8 openings, a trio of KLW Broadway XA-50 amps for power, and a custom designed active EQ and crossover network (I am an electrical engineer after all).  A Nakamichi head deck buried in the center console behind a fake factory stereo front, and it was stealth and sounded good enough to win "best sound of show" 9 times.

Ahh, when I was young, dumped cash on toys, and could bend into weird shapes for hours working on a car... ;D

Being fat, old, and wise now, I choose different "toys" to play with and enjoy!

Unless you were a late bloomer, anybody who finished college in 1988 does not qualify for "old."  60 is the new 40, which means 45 (about your age, I am guessing) must be around the new 30.  Fat you can fix at any age.

elmerfudd

Quote from: Solar on August 07, 2011, 09:10:45 AM
I too bought a car that looked like Hell, but screamed, which led me to sell it a month later, that is, after 10 speeding tickets.
So I bought a brand new Honda 750 which netted me an additional 21 tickets the following year.
Though I still do have my 1970 ElCamino I bought new in 1970.
Restored it three times, it now just sits dead, needs an engine and tranny.

I finally gave up on bikes a few years back after hitting my third deer on my Harley resulting in memory loss for more than a year. ???

I am certainly glad you seem to have recovered from the bike wreck.  Losing one's memory for a year sounds like a pretty serious, even life threatening, lick on the noggin.  Not that it's any of my business, but were you wearing a helmet at the time?

Solar

Quote from: elmerfudd on August 10, 2011, 08:24:18 AM
I am certainly glad you seem to have recovered from the bike wreck.  Losing one's memory for a year sounds like a pretty serious, even life threatening, lick on the noggin.  Not that it's any of my business, but were you wearing a helmet at the time?
Oh yeah, it was a Bell full face, but I was going down a grade when the damn thing jumped off the cliff in front of me, I flew to the bottom of the down hill side of the road, only to stop on the upside part, like hitting a wall.

Losing ones memory isn't all that bad, you don't know what you forgot if you can't remember ??? .
Though I do know one thing I lost completely, was a complete collection of jokes I used to tell at parties, more than a hundred according to my friends, they said they miss that part.

But what was most frustrating was losing the concept of time, a year passed, seemed like a day and vice versa...
But I'm kind of back to normal, whatever in the Hell that means. :D
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Quote from: elmerfudd on August 10, 2011, 06:54:48 AM
Unless you were a late bloomer, anybody who finished college in 1988 does not qualify for "old."  60 is the new 40, which means 45 (about your age, I am guessing) must be around the new 30.  Fat you can fix at any age.
Yeah, 45...  And all these young punks keep calling me old!  I'll just tell them to shuffle over to your lawn if they want to see a real cantankerous old fart... :)) :))
Life has proven to be 100% terminal...