My First Car

[maxcruiser]

1972 Volkswagen micro bus - love that van

Mike

 

[Bill Seward]

1964 Corvair. Started the tradition of owning weird vehicles.. I had a Daewoo a few years back.

 

[Specs95t]

1980 Dodge DeTomaso for me.

Garage sale special that my dad bought for me when I was 15.

It wasn't running and had been sideswiped.

My dad helped me fix it from the ground up over the summer and I had a car - and the start of some wrenching and bodywork experience.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HyperPete]

1972 Dodge Charger SE with 400 4bbl. It would pass anything but a gas station! $700 back when I bought it in 1978 (ish).

This is what it would have looked like, new:

http://www.automobile-catalog.com/img/picto28h/dodge/1972-dodge-charger-se.jpg

 

[The Beekeeper]

70 Pontiac Catalina 2dr, 400 2bbl, paid $400 in 1978.......................Tom.

 

[IowaAndy]

1978 International Scout II 304 V8 automatic 4X4! Was giving to me buy my Grandfather for my 14th Bday. He had bought it to make a wrecker out of it but after removing the top the bed was top short it sat in a field for 8 years until my dad and me pulled it out and made it my daily driver.

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[carrizog60]

mine was a golf g60.
still have that car,and hope to keep it as long as possible

 

[Fire-medic]

Not a first car but i've had some similar to what's been mentioned.

1961 Ford Econoline Van-pickup (two of 'em) & another 1st generation Econoline van camper
1963 Corvair Spyder: 145 cu.in., 150 HP 4 speed. The Spyder was a convertible & turbo, not bad for 1963! All Spyders were convertibles.
1970 Mustang convertible, 250 cu.in. 6 & manual tranny
1983 VW Rabbit cabriolet 5 speed w/a Weber carb kit
1977 Trans Am 'Smokey & The Bandit' WS-6 & another '77 T-A not the 'Smokey,' but a 400 Pontiac, not a Chevy or Olds engined car they were making at the time
1980 Z-28 350 cu. in. Turbo Hydra Matic & a shift kit & cam, fun when it hit the powerband
1982 Mustang GT 4 speed SROD tranny I converted to a BW T5 5-speed
1988 Mustang GT 5-speed

 

[caseyjones955]

Not a first car but i've had some similar to what's been mentioned.

1961 Ford Econoline Van-pickup (two of 'em) & another 1st generation Econoline van camper
1963 Corvair Spyder: 145 cu.in., 150 HP 4 speed. The Spyder was a convertible & turbo, not bad for 1963! All Spyders were convertibles.
1970 Mustang convertible, 250 cu.in. 6 & manual tranny
1983 VW Rabbit cabriolet 5 speed w/a Weber carb kit
1977 Trans Am 'Smokey & The Bandit' WS-6 & another '77 T-A not the 'Smokey,' but a 400 Pontiac, not a Chevy or Olds engined car they were making at the time
1980 Z-28 350 cu. in. Turbo Hydra Matic & a shift kit & cam, fun when it hit the powerband
1982 Mustang GT 4 speed SROD tranny I converted to a BW T5 5-speed
1988 Mustang GT 5-speed

Damn fine resume there, reminds me of a 62 Greenbriar van I had for a while. It was great to be born into an era of great vehicles. My kids are 20 & 21 and they got totally effed. Son got a 98 Park Ave POS, daughter got a cosmetically dysfigured 03 subaru. They will not likely engage in a thread like this one! She wants a "bitchin' Camero" he wants a 21/23 window bus or the big block Maverick we keep talking about building. The cool cars are mostly gone but the spirit lives on in some kids with partially insane parents:clapping:

 

[blaxmax]

Should have been "my car resume"-----
1973 Pontiac gto le mans sport coupe
1976 Pontiac trans am (anniversary edition) 455 4speed
1969 Dodge Dart GTS 440
1969 Doge Dart 340 4 speed
1968 Doge Dart 340 4 speed
2-1965 Plymouth Sports Fury 383 with snuffer box's in the trunk (border patrol cars)
1967 Plymouth Sports Fury lll
1973 Dodge Challenger
1972 Chevy Chevelle-454
1973 Dodge Demon-340 4 speed
1976 Pontiac Trans Am-400
1969 Dodge Dart 383 4 speed
1964 Mercury Caliente Comet
1967 Pontiac GTO ram air 400
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Classic
Front Engine Dragster-chevy 331 aluminum
9- 1986-86 Gsxr 1100's 1-Pro Stock

I still have all of them except the '76 TA

 

[Traumahawk]

1977 Trans Am 'Smokey & The Bandit' WS-6 & another '77 T-A not the 'Smokey,' but a 400 Pontiac, not a Chevy or Olds engined car they were making at the time

My 78 was a 400 pontiac. Wasnt there something that you could tell by looking at the lettering on the shaker? Mine said 6.6 litre.

My most fun Trans Am, was the 1980 pace car edition.....with the 301 turbo. I took that out, and put in a Pontiac 428. THEN I learned the DOWNSIDES to a torque monster in a unibody car.....with t-tops.

EDIT.....it was the Olds 403 that said 6.6 litre. Mine said T/A 6.6. What can I say....that was almost 29 years ago.

http://www.firebirdtransamparts.com/techinfo/shaker/shaker_scoop_page.htm

 

[blaxmax]

My 455 said 6.6 liters
6.6 liters = 400cid-------402.758

 

[caseyjones955]

I cant remember all the cars, but if I dont count all air cooled VWs its easier. I have a couple memorable favorites. I guess I never realized how I gravitated toward Euro cars until I saw all the more patriotic resumes here.

70 torino GT 351/400 heads. Rat car
72 Gran Torino 2/door 351c auto near mint
70 new yorker 440
72 SAAB 99 2 door v4 showroom cond.
85 SAAB 900 turbo. 5 speed 2door
2005 SAAB 9-5 ARC rare 5 speed, tuned/modded 2.3 turbo, mint,
59 Carmann Ghia ragtop, very rough but fun.
87 325es coup.
08 vw gti dsg autoban bought new.
69 type I
Authenticated Meyers Manx on 66 pan 1776cc street driven.
72 maverick grabber 467cid
Mercedes, 55 190, 76 300d, 85 300sdl, 2003 S600 biturbo torquemonster.

My best overall car is the 96 LS400 i still drive but if I could reach back and take one back it would be the 70 Torino GT, that is if I had the room Blaxmax obviously has haha.

 

[Fire-medic]

I think if the 5th no. of the VIN was a K it was a Pontiac engine. It's been a long time...

My 78 was a 400 pontiac. Wasnt there something that you could tell by looking at the lettering on the shaker? Mine said 6.6 litre.

My most fun Trans Am, was the 1980 pace car edition.....with the 301 turbo. I took that out, and put in a Pontiac 428. THEN I learned the DOWNSIDES to a torque monster in a unibody car.....with t-tops.

EDIT.....it was the Olds 403 that said 6.6 litre. Mine said T/A 6.6. What can I say....that was almost 29 years ago.

http://www.firebirdtransamparts.com/techinfo/shaker/shaker_scoop_page.htm

 

[caseyjones955]

My guess would be a decent percentage of pre 79 camaro/firebird/ta do not have matching numbers or even the same configuration. I do recall a few 6.6 decals over a big block olds or chevy mill. Not sure when they stopped with the 455sd from the factory or how many were made but I'll bet its a rarity today, I had only seen big block transplants that I know of. The 301 turbo always reminded me of a buick GN, in a good way of course.

 

[Fire-medic]

The Chevy and Olds V8's were a common substitution in the '70's because there were fewer Pontiac engines made, and GM used the Olds 403 mostly in the T-A. There was a lawsuit over the practice, paying for a Pontiac but getting a Chevy or Olds engine. In the 1960's, all GM divisions had their own engines, but in the '70's they began 'sharing.' For instance, early in the 1960's Buick developed an all-aluminum V8, 215 cu. in. and lopped two end cyl's off to make an aluminum V6. They turbocharged the V6 and you could get it in the intermediate chassis Buick Skylark in the '60's. Corvair had a > 1HP/cu. inch air-cooled flat 6 turbocharged engine, Yenko was one of the companies that modified them even more, another was Fitch. John Fitch was an engineer who invented those plastic drum barriers at roadway construction sites which were filled w/water or sand, which open & release their contents when someone hits an array of them, absorbing lethal levels of energy, and allowing the unfortunate vehicle inhabitants to live. Those early 'tuner' cars now sell for huge amounts of $$$$. The Yenko cars often used big-block V8's. You could buy parts and make your own, or you could buy one through a participating GM dealer and get it financed and warrantied.

Pontiac had a fuel injected car in the 1950's, not many made, but it was there, a Bonneville. Olds had a turbocharged early 1960's car, again on the GM intermediate chassis. About the only GM divisions that didn't use forced induction in the 1950's/'60's were Cadillac or GMC. None that I can recall.

As an interesting aside, I think Burt Reynolds made a movie where a fuel-injected GM product was featured, WW and the Dixie Dancekings. It was the Bonneville equipped w/the mechanical Rochester fuel-injection which showed up on the Corvette in 1957.

That original Buick V8 aluminum engine was sold to British Leyland and was used for many years, among other vehicles it ended up in the MGB-GT for two years, and Jaguar was unhappy to find-out it was competing w/the XK-E for 'fastest British Leyland car' at the time, which is probably why it's production halted after only two years. Jack Brabham of F1 fame used a derivative to power his Repco-Brabham and to win the F1 championship. Brabham and Dan Gurney are the only drivers to build their own cars and to win a F1 race, supposedly, in the 'modern' post WW II era.

Land Rover used a variant of that GM aluminum V8 engine until recently.

 

[blaxmax]

I cant remember all the cars, but if I dont count all air cooled VWs its easier. I have a couple memorable favorites. I guess I never realized how I gravitated toward Euro cars until I saw all the more patriotic resumes here.

70 torino GT 351/400 heads. Rat car
72 Gran Torino 2/door 351c auto near mint
70 new yorker 440
72 SAAB 99 2 door v4 showroom cond.
85 SAAB 900 turbo. 5 speed 2door
2005 SAAB 9-5 ARC rare 5 speed, tuned/modded 2.3 turbo, mint,
59 Carmann Ghia ragtop, very rough but fun.
87 325es coup.
08 vw gti dsg autoban bought new.
69 type I
Authenticated Meyers Manx on 66 pan 1776cc street driven.
72 maverick grabber 467cid
Mercedes, 55 190, 76 300d, 85 300sdl, 2003 S600 biturbo torquemonster.

My best overall car is the 96 LS400 i still drive but if I could reach back and take one back it would be the 70 Torino GT, that is if I had the room Blaxmax obviously has haha.

Maverick with 467 CID? You in a HURRY???
I did forget to mention the rv though.

 

[Traumahawk]

The Chevy and Olds V8's were a common substitution in the '70's because there were fewer Pontiac engines made, and GM used the Olds 403 mostly in the T-A. There was a lawsuit over the practice, paying for a Pontiac but getting a Chevy or Olds engine. In the 1960's, all GM divisions had their own engines, but in the '70's they began 'sharing.' For instance, early in the 1960's Buick developed an all-aluminum V8, 215 cu. in. and lopped two end cyl's off to make an aluminum V6. They turbocharged the V6 and you could get it in the intermediate chassis Buick Skylark in the '60's. Corvair had a > 1HP/cu. inch air-cooled flat 6 turbocharged engine, Yenko was one of the companies that modified them even more, another was Fitch. John Fitch was an engineer who invented those plastic drum barriers at roadway construction sites which were filled w/water or sand, which open & release their contents when someone hits an array of them, absorbing lethal levels of energy, and allowing the unfortunate vehicle inhabitants to live. Those early 'tuner' cars now sell for huge amounts of $$$$. The Yenko cars often used big-block V8's. You could buy parts and make your own, or you could buy one through a participating GM dealer and get it financed and warrantied.

Don Yenko, Nickey....quite a few dealers did their own thing back then.

I was really disappointed to learn when the Cameros/Firebirds/T-A's all shared the corporate "GM" engine. I think they lost a lot of individuality. Thats part of the reason for owning a car.....so its NOT like one down the street.

 

[caseyjones955]

Maverick with 467 CID? You in a HURRY???
I did forget to mention the rv though.

I had no subframe conmectors or reinforcement, it didnt last long before the car was scrap. I really want to do another one now that I'm better equipped to do it right and it might be a cool father and son project.

Even with the poked and warmed up 460 it lacked the raw power and torque of the big Benz. With stock turbos, 200k mi and only basic mods it could have violently humbled the Maverick. The cost of ownership drove me out of it before to long. If I could have broken 10mpg in town or something didnt fail each time I drove it I might still have it. I would not recommend a v12 S class to anyone not very well off. If you got bank and your in a hurry shes your girl.

 

[blaxmax]

The Chevy and Olds V8's were a common substitution in the '70's because there were fewer Pontiac engines made, and GM used the Olds 403 mostly in the T-A. There was a lawsuit over the practice, paying for a Pontiac but getting a Chevy or Olds engine. In the 1960's, all GM divisions had their own engines, but in the '70's they began 'sharing.' For instance, early in the 1960's Buick developed an all-aluminum V8, 215 cu. in. and lopped two end cyl's off to make an aluminum V6. They turbocharged the V6 and you could get it in the intermediate chassis Buick Skylark in the '60's. Corvair had a > 1HP/cu. inch air-cooled flat 6 turbocharged engine, Yenko was one of the companies that modified them even more, another was Fitch. John Fitch was an engineer who invented those plastic drum barriers at roadway construction sites which were filled w/water or sand, which open & release their contents when someone hits an array of them, absorbing lethal levels of energy, and allowing the unfortunate vehicle inhabitants to live. Those early 'tuner' cars now sell for huge amounts of $$$$. The Yenko cars often used big-block V8's. You could buy parts and make your own, or you could buy one through a participating GM dealer and get it financed and warrantied.

Pontiac had a fuel injected car in the 1950's, not many made, but it was there, a Bonneville. Olds had a turbocharged early 1960's car, again on the GM intermediate chassis. About the only GM divisions that didn't use forced induction in the 1950's/'60's were Cadillac or GMC. None that I can recall.

As an interesting aside, I think Burt Reynolds made a movie where a fuel-injected GM product was featured, WW and the Dixie Dancekings. It was the Bonneville equipped w/the mechanical Rochester fuel-injection which showed up on the Corvette in 1957.

That original Buick V8 aluminum engine was sold to British Leyland and was used for many years, among other vehicles it ended up in the MGB-GT for two years, and Jaguar was unhappy to find-out it was competing w/the XK-E for 'fastest British Leyland car' at the time, which is probably why it's production halted after only two years. Jack Brabham of F1 fame used a derivative to power his Repco-Brabham and to win the F1 championship. Brabham and Dan Gurney are the only drivers to build their own cars and to win a F1 race, supposedly, in the 'modern' post WW II era.

Land Rover used a variant of that GM aluminum V8 engine until recently.

I remember Burts' 429 Police Interceptor/Cobra Jet engine in his 1971 Ford Galaxie 500. That car would fly.