First car?

[Chet]

1 hour ago, thatCharlieDude said:

Growing up my parents had a 1950s Volvo

I had a buddy growing up who's parents had one like that.  I always thought it was a cool looking car... still do.

[difalkner]

50's Morris Minor.  My parents bought it from a preacher friend around the corner.  Cost was $115 and I drove it two years in high school before getting a '65 Mustang.

The Morris Minor would go 60 mph downhill and with a tailwind.  JC Whitney was my new 'friend' and go to source for parts.  The car was a blast!  Two of us could pick up the rear end and move the car.  Three of us could pick up the front end. It makes a VW Bug look large and looked about like this one -

David

[Keggers]

18 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

You win.

First drive, '65 Impala. First owned, 1980 Datsun Stretch pickup, brand new. Last new car I ever bought.

When I lived in Texas as a kid - I had a friend who's dad owned a junk yard. We used to drive their model A down the little lanes between the wrecks. It was quite the adventure for me at that age.

[Tom King]

Not exactly my first car, but a story about my first driving experience.  This looks like a good place for it.

I wanted a go-kart for my 12th Birthday, and got one.   My Father decided he would like to play with it too, so he came home with a racing kart, with 2 big West Bend two stroke engines on it.

An Uncle of mine had a long driveway, so my Dad, and Uncle decided that would be the best place for me to learn how to drive it.  They had rigged up a spring on one engine throttle, so that I couldn't give it much gas.

The engines were too powerful for clutches back then, which were the same on go-karts as chainsaws, so it had a sprocket on each engine mounted directly on the driveshaft.  Each engine on opposite sides had its own sprocket, and the rear wheels rotated independent of each other (no solid axle).

The men put the rear axle up on a block so they could start the engine, and then set the kart on the ground for it to take off.   It did TAKE OFF!!!   Their spring on the carb throttle arm slammed the arm past the point it was supposed to stop, and wide open, or for those of you who know what it means    WFO!!!!

Since both engines turned when the wheels turned, the second engine fired too, and I'm sure it's no exaggeration to say the I was going over 70mph as the end of the driveway was approaching.  At the end of the driveway was a  turnaround circle, big enough to maybe park three cars on it.  Fortunately, all the cars were parked to the side of the driveway headed back out, so none were in that circle that day.

I tried to make the turn, but it only started swapping ends........FAST!!!!   Beyond the circle was an old, thick grapevine, with a wooden fence behind the grape vine.  I went into that grapevine backwards, and the engines stalled going backwards right before the fence.

The men came running, and I remember seeing several faces looking at me, as they moved the large grapevines out of the way.

They said I was just sitting there smiling.

That Uncle's house was just a quarter mile from where I95 is, a few miles South of the Virgina line.  95 was under construction, and all graded out red dirt, but no gravel anywhere except near the bridges that had already been built.  They decided to take me to 95, where I had more room to learn how to drive the go-kart.  I was probably one of the first people to speed on 95, and went there for a number of weekends.  They did end up putting the largest chainsaw clutches on it, but it would wear them out fairly quickly.

We had a fairly large front yard, of maybe 3/4 acre of grass, and I dug out all the grass on the curves with the back tires of that go-kart, getting to the point that I could go around the turns almost fully sideways.  My Dad would drive it on the roads around there, and friends would try to stay up with him, but couldn't, on the winding twisting country roads.

[Jim DaddyO]

At 14 I bought a '68 or '69 Plymouth Sports Fury with a 318 and an automatic.  I never got in on the road.  That was my first car and a piece of crap.  Years later I bought a Plymouth Voyager Rallye and that was a piece of crap too and I swore never to buy another Mopar ever again.  

The first car I bought that I actually got to drive was a '75 AMC Hornet.  Which, despite some problems, just kept running and running.  The dimmer switch caught the carpet on fire one rainy night as the car had a few leaks, but I changed the switch and ran it for a few years after that.  At 70 mph the dash bounced up and down like it was going to take flight too as I remember.

[Tom King]

Massively Over Powered And Respected, or Money On Parts And Repairs.   My friends 426 boat motor was the former variety of Mopar.

[gee-dub]

8 minutes ago, Tom King said:

Massively Over Powered And Respected, or Money On Parts And Repairs.   My friends 426 boat motor was the former variety of Mopar.

What happened to "Mostly Outdated Parts Arranged Ridiculously"?

[Tom King]

Here's another early driving story:

My Dad traded cars often, and was good friends with Herman Sadler (Grandfather of Hermie, and Elliot Sadler) who had started a car dealership about that time.  Mr. Sadler would send cars home with my Dad, hoping he would decide to buy it.

I was 15, and hadn't had my drivers license for very long.  I was not old enough for anyone to allow their daughters to go with me, but did pick up other boys to go to Boy Scout meetings.

On this occasion, I had three boys to pick up, so the pickup would have been a little too tight.  Mr. Sadler had sent a car he had taken in on trade home with us, so my Dad said to drive that.

It was a 1964 Ivory colored GTO convertible, with Turqouise interior, 3 deuces on the V8, and a four speed.  It was a cold night, but we decided to ride with the top down anyway.  I didn't hurt the car, but did find out what it could do.  Experience driving the go-kart probably helped us all get back home safely that night.

[wdwerker]

My brother had an AMC Gremlin X . It had a V-8, headers & glaspack mufflers with a 5 speed( I think ) That thing was quick and loud but it shook screws & bolts loose enough to rattle constantly.  Sure was fun while it lasted. 

[drzaius]

Not really mine, but one my dad was good enough to provide for me, was a 1964 Mercury Meteor station wagon with a 223 cu. in. 6 cylinder & a 3 on the tree. It brought me meaning to the term 'gutless'.

Oh, the times we had with that car. I remember going bowling for a phys ed class & we had to make our own way to the bowling alley. 16 of us crammed into that car to get there. That would never be allowed now.

[Coop]

I’m still driving my mom’s 1964 Fairlane my parents gave me for graduation. Not even a 289 and no a/c. 

[wdwerker]

1 hour ago, K Cooper said:

I’m still driving my mom’s 1964 Fairlane my parents gave me for graduation. Not even a 289 and no a/c. 

No AC in Texas ?  Sounds like torture !

[JohnDi]

 

That Uncle's house was just a quarter mile from where I95 is, a few miles South of the Virgina line.  95 was under construction, and all graded out red dirt, but no gravel anywhere except near the bridges that had already been built.  They decided to take me to 95, where I had more room to learn how to drive the go-kart.  I was probably one of the first people to speed on 95, and went there for a number of weekends.  They did end up putting the largest chainsaw clutches on it, but it would wear them out fairly quickly.

Tom, when they were building I-95 in Phila. And I was a kid, we used to ride our dirt bikes on the large mounds of fill they piled up. One day we followed a construction path and lo and behold they had just poured about 2 miles of roadway.

Pegged the speedometer at 70 and to this day swear I was flying.

thanks for reminding me of that.

[legenddc]

All you guys have much cooler cars/stories than me and my minivan. Used to do some stupid stuff when I was younger, but nothing super memorable or good enough to share here.

[wdwerker]

Minivans are practical but they aren't cool .  I've got a Transit Connect & a kinky girlfriend but it hasn't happened yet.

[treeslayer]

1 hour ago, wdwerker said:

Minivans are practical but they aren't cool .  I've got a Transit Connect & a kinky girlfriend but it hasn't happened yet.

Pictures of kinky girlfriend please

[Chet]

1 hour ago, treeslayer said:

Pictures of kinky girlfriend please

And the van if she is in it.

[wdwerker]

Would you risk messing up a good thing ? I'm having more fun now than I had when I was 30 -40 years old !

[xagejicary]

On 8/11/2018 at 10:29 AM, thatCharlieDude said:

Growing up my parents had a 1950s Volvo, it looked something like this: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-classic-volvo-pv544-car-from-1950s-1960s-london-149197265.html

My older sister drove it while in high school and hated it. She would leave the windows down with the keys in the car hoping that somebody would steal it but nobody ever did. Her friends moved it once without her knowing it and she was so happy until she found it.

I loved that car, I played in it as a kid and was hoping it would be my first car once I got my license but my dad sold it before I turned 16. I had a similar feeling when I got behind the wheel of a Lamborghini for the first time (rented one through renting Lamborghini totally different era and vibe, but it still hit that same mix of excitement and memories. It reminded me of why I fell in love with cars in the first place. There’s just something about certain cars that imprint on you, whether it’s a beat-up ’50s Volvo or a modern-day supercar.

Man, that post brought back some serious nostalgia—those old family cars really stick with you.

[Botch]

This was fun to read thru!  I started on a 1970 Ford Maverick (Mavericks were cars back then), 170 blistering cubic inches, three-on-the-tree, no A/C and a pushbutton AM radio.  Was totaled by a drunk at 1 in the afternoon, the day before I flew to boot camp.   

[Coop]

This started 7 years ago. I wonder if Steve @wdwerker is still enjoying his kinky girlfriend enjoying their minivan? 

[pkinneb]

On 3/30/2025 at 5:35 PM, Coop said:

This started 7 years ago. I wonder if Steve @wdwerker is still enjoying his kinky girlfriend enjoying their minivan? 

I miss Steve and many others on here....

[gee-dub]

On 3/30/2025 at 3:38 PM, pkinneb said:

I miss Steve and many others on here....

Father time marches on.  When my dad was 96 he used to say "I would give anything to be 70 again!".  I am 70 this year and hope to live to see what he meant!

[Coop]

Steve still has a beautiful website. I couldn’t find any dates so not sure if there was any recent activity. 

[tperson]

'77 caprice classic for me, white with a blue interior...350 and a spinner knob on the steering wheel...that thing'd pass anything except a transmission shop.