:::: I was reading the "Family Car" thread and thinking how many of the ones listed were in the category of my own first car. I was 17 in 1960 and my first car was 1954 Ford sedan. It was ugly and leaked oil, but it was mine! A year later I bought a used 1955 Pontiac convertable and it was fantastic! I earned the money working at Presbyterian Hospital every day after school at Arts high, where I would take the 34 Market Bus back and forth till I got that car.
I'm sure there is a picture of it somewhere. Maybe we can start a "First Car" picture page.
BILL R
My first car was a gold 1965 Ford Mustang. I brought it for $800 in April, 1970. It was a cool car. Unfortunately, it was totaled by a drunk driver on Park Avenue at Branch Brook Park that summer. My insurance check was for $1,200. I didn't complain. I used that money as down payment to buy a brand new 1970 Chevy Camaro. Another cool car. That I sold it for more than I paid for it for a 1974 Chevy Monte Carlo. Since then I have lost money on every car I owned. I should have kept the '65 Mustang and the '70 Camaro. They both are worth a whole lot more today than the car I currently drive!
My first car was a 1965 Corvair.....when I pulled up to a service station I would tell the attendant "fill up the Oil and check the Gas!". But at age 17 I didn't care....got me where I wanted to go!
My first car was a 1949 Olds 88, four-door hydra-matic. In March 1958 it cost me $75. My second car was a 1951 Olds 98 convertible that set me back $365. Those were the days!
Yes, i still have the second car i have ever owned it is a wonderfully restored, mostly on my own, concourse 1969 Tartan Red MG Midget that i have owned since 1970. It is a wonderful top down fun car that i drive to car shows and have a great deal of fun with.
Turned 18 in 1969 and had a 1964 1/2 Mustang...red...three speed. The transmission didn't last and the repair made it worse. I didn't think it was possible but the mechanic put the clutch plate in backward and basically destroyed the trans.
The next car was a 1959 or 60 VW Beetle. It had some unusual parts, like the sunroof which was a canvas-like material that slid from the front all the way to the back of the roof...larger than the sun/moon roof we are accustomed to today.
It also had bare-bulb headlights with a glass piece over it....had to install sealed-beam headlights to pass inspection.
Typically, Beetles did NOT have gas gauges...you drove until you ran out of gas, threw a switch for the reserve tank and knew it was time to get gas. This one DID have a gas gauge. It also had something you rarely saw on US vehicles...seat belts.
I left my part time job at 10 PM one Saturday night and was headed somewhere with my brand new 8-track tape player connected under the dashboard, the wires all neatly hidden to four speakers, tooling along listening to music when suddenly a tow truck went through a red light, T-boned me, pushed me across the intersection and into the granite stone corner inlet. The Beetle was about two feet wide when the dust cleared and I was stuck between the small space now made by the two doors...HOWEVER! The 8-track tape player, now hanging by one screw, was still playing whatever I was listening to.
My first car was a 1966 Mustang 3 Speed on the floor. I spent $600.00 for it. My friends and I pushed it more than we drove it. The car sat in a driveway for several months without being started and the electrical wires were bad. I sold the car for $600.00 2 years later. Wish I had it now!
In 1971 I bought my first car. A 1957 4 door Plymouth Belvedere. I suppose it had been red. It was faded salmon pink. Yet the inside was sweet and particularly roomy for the drive-in. It had a dashboard mounted push button gear [shift]. I agreed to pay $35 a week for 6 weeks. I figured it was a bargain.
Two weeks into ownership the carb would backfire and catch on fire. I would hear the explosion and ala chinese fire drill fling open the hood and stuff a towel into the carb.
Four weeks into ownership it began smoking and burning lots of oil. Yet it ran and I wasn't walking! I made my final payment and wouldn't you know...2 days later the engine seized up.
first car was a '67 Pontiac Catalina... huge barge of a baby blue metallic paint car with a clear steering wheel with glitter inset in the plastic... bought it for $1.00... priced right because of debt owed... lived at the gas station even at 40 cents a gallon...
now car #2, 1969 Plymouth 426 hemi Barracuda was a different story... paid $5k for it weekly payments to the original owner... bright orange, was cranky sometimes but hey, a huge screwdriver, a hammer and a chunk of 2x4 usually fixed things... took it down to Raceway Park whenever possible for gas and tire $$... car never let me down...
was going down the turnpike one friday night towards Englishtown with friends to race the next day... that long turnpike stretch before the exit for the track, can't remember what the number is anymore... had a trooper on my bumper with lights on... couldn't afford another speeding ticket so stepped on it... last time I looked at the speedometer it said 135mph and was still going faster, a little too busy to look down to see how fast I was going by then... out-ran the trooper to the exit to disappear in the night... thank god!!! incredible car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ps... anyone know if that trooper is still looking for me???
Ellen, I live about 5 miles from Raceway Park. All 3 of my kids spent alot of time working the summers there. Are you one of the ones that we can hear racing down Route 18 to Texas Road to the track????? (lol)
Summer Nationals are a nightmare with the traffic and swap days and the nights of thrills (at the track) are pretty crazy too. Even at 5 miles we hear the jet cars from our backyard - and that's every couple of minutes all afternoon.
It actually is a fun time as long as you have earplugs.
Ellen, if that trooper was on the road, all those years ago, you can rest assured he's retired by now.
As far as him looking for you is concerned, sounds like maybe you're looking for him. A little Freudian situation, here?
Pat... want to run Raceway Park just one more time in this lifetime, but no, not guilty about tearing up the db's in your neighborhood since the '70's... have only been back home once for our Christmas party since then... still race a bit, but the hassle of car upkeep now ends at oil changes, drive other people's cars now... but, if you would like a visit from my truck that has the stock engine, a V10, the same one as the Dodge Viper, I can bring it over to 'purr' in your driveway sometime... :) closest thing I'll ever own again to the original 'Cuda...
Marty... no not Freudian, know statute of limitations ran out years ago... wondering about a gray haired re-match... think I'd win again???
My first car was a 1959 Ford Galaxie 4-dr. hardtop. What a bomb! I bought it for $200, it lasted about 7 months. It leaked oil like a sieve and burned whatever was left. I used to buy re-refined oil at Two Guys in 2-gallon cans, had to fill the oil about twice a week, sometimes more often. The generator kept quitting, fortunately this was the kind of automatic that you could start by rolling down a hill. I lived at the top of one so had to start it that way often! The engine was basically shot, the engine mounts busted but the thing didn't have enough torque to let go anyway. I traded it in on a '61 Pontiac Catalina 4-dr. hardtop. Nice car, powerful engine. It was peculiar in that it was a "Florida car" - it had no heater or defroster. Just delightful in the winter. I had a plug-in defroster that stuck to the windshield with suction cups and plugged into the cigarette lighter. Drove around with a big wool blanket wrapped around me on cold days. It lasted until some imbecile rear-ended me on Rt. 10 at 50+ mph. My radio knobs ended up in the back seat! I was OK though, and went on to purchase many, many more cars. I'm on #15 right now.
Ellen, bring it over. Would love to see it. I can still appreciate a good car! One of my sons drive autocross. It certainly isn't as fast but alot of fun.(a little hard on the car however). He's taken my husband out for a run. You can hear him coming 3 blocks away. He'd love to meet you.
