The D-stock thread made me think of this.
Here's mine with the Datsun circa 1989. We'd mounted the huge lights because we used to blast down gravel roads late at night. Needless to say I won my class at many a night autocross. I did well with this car in H-stock.
I didn't realize I started 10 years ago.
Me in my first Fox body, probably 1997-98 or so:
ooooh, I'll play
What wasn't hot in FS in 1985. 1984 Pontiac Phoenix. Through judicious use of the ala carte options, this is how you got a 5 door Citation X-11. 2.8 HO V6, F41 suspension but sadly in FS fighting TPI Trans-Ams and Holley 4bbl four-eyed Mustangs. Pontiac only came with the 205/70-13 tires. This was shortly before I bought my first set of takeoff wheels, from an X-11. Sadly no pics of that setup. Circa May 1985, Dayton, OH, WOR-SCCA, Hara Arena
Not on course but I thought the grid shot was tastier. Feb 1988, Lakewood Ampitheater, Atlanta SCCA. Still on the OEM 225/60-15 Gatorbacks at this point since it was about 6 weeks old.
This was second event for me but the first in a 'project' car that was intended for AutoX use. 2009.
This was the car all liveried up later that year. It was an absolute pile but I loved it.
First autox in this car was in 1993. This picture is probably from 1998 or so.
2011 I think, not far out of a divorce, decided to go find the local SCCA group (my dad was a member in the 70/80s) and what I can do. They let me bring the Toaster even though it was technically banned from competition, with the springs, strut brace, sway bar and it's massive HP.
My first autocross was in 2012, way before I worked for the magazine Tom took me out to one where he was driving the project Ford Fiesta and I had just recently bought my first GTI. It was a ton of fun even though I was really slow. 
2000. I only have thumbnails of it unfortunately. I lost so many digital photos from the very early 2000's to a hard drive failure. I had just moved to Chicago and got a fancy new job and bought my first brand new car.
Color photography? Y'all so young...
Tall cones, shopping center parking lot cuz blue laws, shoe polish class/numbers on windshield, timer made from rubber-hose-triggered gas station bell triggers (ding, ding) hooked to mechanical stop watch. Welcome to 1978.
And yeah, that's a real 66 GT350-- just a cool used car in those days. Bought for $5K.
Grainy but all I have. From around 2006, probably my last AX. The fun part was the boxster in line behind me, they gave him my time slip. Boy was he bummed when he learned I beat him by a second! 
Andy Hollis said:Color photography? Y'all so young...
Tall cones, shopping center parking lot cuz blue laws, shoe polish class/numbers on windshield, timer made from rubber-hose-triggered gas station bell triggers (ding, ding) hooked to mechanical stop watch. Welcome to 1978.
And yeah, that's a real 66 GT350-- just a cool used car in those days. Bought for $5K.
My first autox was in a shopping center parking lot on a Sunday. The mall was open. There was very little room for things to go wrong!
More than a decade later, 2005.
Video from a 2007 event, before we put everything on Youtube.
https://www.cheapsportscar.net/video/Corvette_autocross_FTD_big.mov
One of these things is not like the other. The first autocross I even went to was in a 91' Grand Marquis, circa 2006. I've since had much better tools for the job, but the worst ones are always the most hilarious fun.
To be fair, I'm not 100% sure that I'm the one driving the car in this picture... but the $2005 Challenge was my first autocross.
I wish I would've started when I was younger, I was doing a different kind of racing.
Photo from 1977, age 22.
Forty one years later, I bought my first Miata and started autocross.
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
Wow, and I thought I was skinny in my early 20s!
Great thread! I'm really enjoying the pics. I wish I had paid attention to Autocross decades ago. I'd seen it, but was racing motorcycles and just never really thought about it. I caught wind of RallyCross maybe 5-6 years ago but it didn't click with me til 2023. On the plus side, I'm on the steep side of the learning curve which I've always found to be the best part.
What's the best car to start your autocross career in?
The one you already own.
Here's another one from my formative years. 1965 Sunbeam Tiger build to CAT specs (California Association of Tigers) by previous owner as an FTD autocross car. Built Boss 302 bottom end with 12.5 compression and big, lumpy cams in a 351W head. Headers and a 3" exhaust. Ran on Sunoco 100 octane Cam2 available nearby from the pump. Stupid fast and street legal. Ann drove it to work often and scared her co-workers on lunch drives. I learned so many bad habits in that car that took me years to unlearn later.
First pic is the car in autocross trim on ugly wheels that were later painted. Drove it to events with the race tires strapped to the (wholly inadequate) roll bar.
Second picture is the street setup. Pic is from Dearborn at the Shelby Club national meet (SAAC). We drove the car all the way from Baltimore to Dearborn and back...top down.
I'm loving these throwback pics–keep 'em coming!
FYI: $5K in 1978 is a little over $24K in today's money (according to the inflation calculator I used), but good luck finding a '66 GT350 for that much today. 
dsp in San Diego circa 94 at the pro solo.
Colin Wood said:I'm loving these throwback pics–keep 'em coming!
FYI: $5K in 1978 is a little over $24K in today's money (according to the inflation calculator I used), but good luck finding a '66 GT350 for that much today.
More recent pic here where it came up for auction at Mecum in it's original green color. Has had a ground-up resto and won a bunch of concours. I considered bidding, but its too nice now for me. I'd want to drive it -- a lot. And Green is not my fave.
First event I ever attended sometime in the 90s. My friend had taken all the go-fast stuff off a wrecked WRX and put it on his base Impreza. It was his first event as well and I think that he got lost on course most runs. Actually what I remember most from that day was that there was a kart track next to the autocross one and I'd never seen shifter Karts previously. It looked as though I was watching film that had been sped up. Couldn't believe how fast they were. Also, I almost never throw shoes away. Still have those suckers. They're like old tires now.
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