The First Car I Owned and Loved

My first "car" - a hand me down from my parents. Its orange colour named it the nickname "cheesewagon". Lots of fun in its own way and useful for camping trips and such. It had a 360cid V8 and 3spd automatic. The interior had velour captain's chairs, a rear seat that folded to a bed, wood paneling and shag carpet. Very groovy!

First car I really loved - 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. My first car I bought with own cash. A mint 1978 Z28 with a 350cid V8, 4bbl carb, 4spd close ratio manual, posi 3.73 rear and some headers with true dual exhaust. The previous owner had ported the heads and put some sort of aftermarket cam in it too. Lots of fun. Sold to buy first house.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: The first car I ever had was a 64 Spitfire, I got it just before I graduated from HS in 89. I really didn't know anything about working on cars so for the first 2 weeks I had the car it sat in my future FIL garage while we got it up to snuff. It was that time spent with him drinking coffee and staying up till 2 am that showed me cars are not something to be scared of, at one point some other human being put the thing together so you should be able to take it apart, fix it and make it work again. He showed me how to take things like starters and Generators apart, clean them up and put them back together and save a bunch of money. I DD that car for about a year while I was going to college driving about 100 miles round trip each day sun rain or snow, it was quite a learning experience. Later when I joined the Army I drove it from Ohio down to Louisiana and then back to Ohio when I got out. It was so much fun driving that car, it never failed to put a smile on my face. It right now is sitting in the back of my garage waiting for me to bring her back to life.

Wanna feel old? In 1989, that car was only a couple of years older than 1990 Miatas are now. I forget that I drive a vintage car sometimes...

Keith wrote:

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: The first car I ever had was a 64 Spitfire, I got it just before I graduated from HS in 89. I really didn't know anything about working on cars so for the first 2 weeks I had the car it sat in my future FIL garage while we got it up to snuff. It was that time spent with him drinking coffee and staying up till 2 am that showed me cars are not something to be scared of, at one point some other human being put the thing together so you should be able to take it apart, fix it and make it work again. He showed me how to take things like starters and Generators apart, clean them up and put them back together and save a bunch of money. I DD that car for about a year while I was going to college driving about 100 miles round trip each day sun rain or snow, it was quite a learning experience. Later when I joined the Army I drove it from Ohio down to Louisiana and then back to Ohio when I got out. It was so much fun driving that car, it never failed to put a smile on my face. It right now is sitting in the back of my garage waiting for me to bring her back to life.

Wanna feel old? In 1989, that car was only a couple of years older than 1990 Miatas are now. I forget that I drive a vintage car sometimes...

Thanks. I am about the age my FIL was when we were working on the car and I thought he was "old" at the time.

I bought my first car for $250 when I was 15. 1980 Buick Park Ave Diesel.

Injector pump died 2 weeks before my 16th b-day.

PArents felt sorry for me and loaned me their 1984 Ford Tempo 4-dr 5-spd. Like this one, only dark blue with whorehouse red interior:

First car I fell in love with, 1989 Caprice 9C1. Same color as this, and I had truck ralleye's at one point....

I put almost 100k miles on that car in 4 years. I was stupid, young and miss it daily.

My Spit was exactly like this one, right down to the color and low back seats. She doesn't look real happy, does she? I stripped it and painted it white, put later Mk IV high back seats, got a hardtop (those are rare now!) and best of all repowered it with a 2000 cc Pinto engine. It broke rear ends with alarming regularity and once the right front suspension trunnion separated on me but man I loved that car. You never know; when things settle down I might go out to my bud's house, drink a few beers and make yet ANOTHER poor decision.

In reply to Ddavidv,

We seem to have followed similar paths of automotive passion. My first car was also a Fiat Spider bought at a Boston police auction in fall of 1981 for...$300. Surprisingly, an airtank, a battery and some gas got it going, and it made it all the way home. Insurance for an 18 year old costs way more than the car did, and i did what I could to keep it going through that Boston winter (although being stopped by the Boston police and being dragged out of my car and accused of stealing my own car while a gun was held to my temple is not one of my favorite Boston memories). Spring in Boston was amazing though, and a young guy with a convertible did pretty well with the ladies. 8 years and several Spiders later, I finally got the car or my dreams, an Austin Mini. The lessons from the Spider helped me get the Mini going, and I've had incredible fun with them. But I still remember some of the summer night drives I've had with Spiders, with tremendous fondness.

A Volvo PV544 in this color. It was a 65, and had the b18b which was the high compression dual SU carbed version that made somewhere around 110 hp and was quite torquey. At 2100 lbs or so it could get out of it's own way and the induction sound through oiled steel wool filters was fantastic. I put Michelin x radials on it with new dampers so it handled O.K. on the street. Where it shone was on the forest service roads I would romp around on in the San Gabrial mountains between Big Bear and Barton Flats along the Santa Ana river. The power was sufficient to step the rear end out on dirt roads (and wet tarmac) at will, and the steering lock was insane. As a friend said at the time "this thing has the turning circle of a horse". So I spent tanks of gas sideways looking out the side windows of the car. The mechanical linkage to the carbs yielded the best throttle control of any car I have driven since by a wide margin. And it held boatloads of stuff. A great car to cut my teeth on.

Dusterbd13 wrote:

Great looking car!

thanks! if photobucket hadnt locked me out this morning, i would hve posted a few more pics from back when i as 15. (and its funny how many memories were made in this car. been thinking about it all day.)

On my 16th birthday my Grandfather decided to teach me a lesson....in the end I learned alot. He gave my twin sister and I each $200 then mentioned he had this car that he'd sell me for $400.

1975 Olds 98 Regency, 455 V8 19 ft 6 inches of pure landyacht. My sister didn't get her license until she was 18 because it took me at least that long to work off the $200 I got from her in chauffeur fees.

No pics of that one, but years later I bought another just because I missed it. It was never the same :(

First one was white, 2nd was this one.

My first car - bought for me by my father. Renault 4CV just like this picture. He made sure I wouldn't get any speeding tickets.

The first car I bought for myself, as a college graduation present. Alfa Romeo Gulia 1600.

I wish I still had both of them. But I don't know if I could get parts for the Renault.

My first car was an arrest me red 1980 Ford Pinto with a E36 M3ty repaired right rear quarter and flat cam lobe.

I have yet to really have a vehicle I have loved and wish I had kept. Living in MI really keeps a person for keeping anything much longer then the loan length in decent shape.

Keith wrote: You'll all be amazed at what mine was

Reminds me of my friend Ken's old car (he's from Ottawa too, I think you know him).

Oh, and my first car looked very much like this, minus the writing on the doors.

First car I really loved is the Daimler SP250 I'm restoring. It sat in the garage without moving for almost my entire life.

During my first two years of driving, my dad had two vehicles, a 3 cylinder Metro and a Ford Ranger. I drove whichever one he wasn't driving that day; usually, the Ranger. I loved the Ranger, it was a great vehicle to cruise in. I learned that I could have my right arm along the bench seat around a girl's shoulder, shift with my left hand, and hold the steering wheel straight with my knee. Priorities, you know.

The first car I ever had that I loved was a 1986. Don't get me wrong, it was a complete pile of crap, but it never cracked in half like my first car did, and I'm still here talking and enjoying cars after an off and rollover on the Taconic Parkway.

I learned how to do tune ups, oil changes, suspension work and a bunch of other things on this car.

It had an annoying/expensive tire size (205/60-14), so I also learned about how tire sizes worked so I could afford to keep tires on it.

It looked exactly like this:

Truefax: you can fit seven rugby players into a car like this, provided they are all backs. To hell with the forwards.

You know, come to think of it my actual 'first car' was a thing called a King Midget. It looked exactly like this one except it didn't have any doors.

It had some kind of industrial air cooled single cylinder engine (a Wisconsin?) in the back. My dad got it in some kind of swap deal with a buddy, it ran but otherwise wasn't in real good shape, he figured it would be something for my brother and I to mess around with (at the time we lived on a 40 acre so called 'farm'). The seat was missing so Dad cut out a piece of plywood and laid it across the frame rails so we'd have somewhere to sit.

My brother and I immediately did our level best to destroy the thing. Dad used to lease part of the property to a real farmer, so we'd go bouncing across the fields in it and we broke the front suspension more than one. It had the springs inside these sleeves which were welded to the side of the frame rail, we broke those things off more than once. Dad got to be on a first name basis with the welder dude and each time we broke it he swore at us the whole time the guy was there. Once my brother, cousin and I were riding around in it and they decided to drive to the back of the property and kick me out. I took umbrage at this because it was a long walk back to the house and particularly since they would drive by and laugh about every 5 minutes or so. I picked up a chunk of tree bark or ? and the next time they came by I threw it. He was driving and he ducked, ran straight into a fence post. It knocked out a tooth, to this day he has a partial plate with a fake tooth thanks to that little incident. But he doesn't mess with me, either.

We finally killed it somehow or other and sold the rolling frame to a guy who put a 350 Honda twin in the back but never got it running.

Mine: Still have it. Still love it and hate it. It was 20 years old when we bought it. Now it's 42 - Keiths comment makes me laugh- I'm only 35.

Shaun wrote: A Volvo 1800S in this color. It was a 64, and had the b18b which was the high compression dual SU carbed version that made somewhere around 110 hp and was quite torquey. At 2100 lbs or so it could get out of it's own way and the induction sound through oiled steel wool filters was fantastic. I put Michelin x radials on it with new dampers so it handled O.K. on the street. Where it shone the local streets of a small town in NJ The power was sufficient to step the rear end out on dirt roads (and wet tarmac) at will, and the steering lock was insane. As a friend said at the time "this thing has the turning circle of a horse". So I spent tanks of gas sliding it around The mechanical linkage to the carbs yielded the best throttle control of any car I have driven since by a wide margin. And it held boatloads of stuff. A great car to cut my teeth on.

I only had to edit your post a tiny bit to make it fit my first car......

1964 Volvo 1800S B18B, 4 speed+O/D, body built in England. Had a mere 225,000 miles on it when I got it in 1976

wish I still had it??? Not that one... that one succumbed to an accident.... although the driveline lived on in my 2nd car.... yep, another Volvo 1800S, this time it was a 1968 model.

I was NOT expecting the first post to be about a Taurus

This is what I learned to drive in. Except ours was black and a 5 speed. The bench seat in it was broken somehow and was not very comfortable but it was sure fun to drive. The rear end was so light i could get pretty stupid with it.

Zomby woof wrote: I didn't love my first car, a $100 69 Chevelle, but I think about this one (internet photo) all the time. 86 S10 4 cylinder 4 speed.

Now the first car that I actually owned was a 1993 Eagle Talon N/A 5 speed that my grandma helped me buy for $1300 when I turned 16. That was a fun first car but I didnt learn anything with it really. I spent a lot of money on basic stuff that looking back on it I could have easily done. I was taught growing up basic stuff like oil changes and such. But not much more. 2 years later I bought a 1990 Plymouth Laser turbo fwd 5spd for $1000. Now that car was a fun car for a 18yr old. I would alternate between the 2 cars for a while till one night when I decided that I wanted to drive my Talon again. Just after I got to speed on the highway the car made some nasty sounds and shut down on me. After about 6 months I finally tear into the car and find out that my timing belt had snapped doing 70mph. I had put a valve through a piston and completely screwed it up.

Well I drove the Laser for a while till it started giving me problems and I found a great deal on another car. I found a 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX shell with a transmission and polyurethane motor mounts for $600. All it needed was a motor and I just so happened to have a good one in my Laser.... So I drove the 300 miles to do the motor swap in the guys shop that I got it from and as i got down there my car finally gave up and would not shift anymore. The guy ended up coming to get me and manager to get my car to his garage and I drove his car. Fun times.

I think the GSX was the first car that I loved and the car that taught me a lot of what I know. I am pretty much self taught when it comes to working on cars. Im the person all my friends would come to when they needed work on their cars. But that car soon met its death when I got rear ended in a 4 car pile up and my drive shaft put a crack in my tranny. I still had all 3 of those car up till about 2 years ago when I sold them all for $150..... Looking back at it I wish I had just used parts from all of them to make a decent running car. Wouldnt have been too hard either.

From there I went to a rusted out 1990 Nissan 240 SX that I got for $700. Had that car for about 4-6 months before I hit a curb in the snow at like 5mph and it broke my front passenger A frame and front supports. Limped it home and sold it for like 100-200 i think.

Then it was a 1995 Dodge Neon I got from my parents for $1200. I knew the history of that car and had worked on it for a few years when they had it. But I rear ended some illegal mexicans on the highway and it totaled my car. Thankfully they were illegal and it didnt go on my record and the cops werent called. I just called a wrecker and went on my way.

Well that brings me to what I have now. I have a 1999 Plymouth Neon that I bought for $400 that had a thrown rod. I took the head off it and had it rebuilt. I had a good shortblock that I was going to put into the 95 neon that I threw it on and had a very reliable car for under $1000. But it started having issues on the highway one day where it would sputter and die under throttle and now it will die if you brake too hard. It is sitting in my drive way waiting on me to get the motivation to figure out whats wrong with it.

As that car was giving me problems I was able to buy my brothers old car. A 1999 Dodge Avenger for $400. This car is my current DD and is a great car. I just need a new rear crossmember as my brother spun out and hit a curb that bent it.

I dont know that I have actually loved a car yet. I would say that the GSX was very close to that. But I have recently bough a project car that I think is going to develop into my first true love for a car. And that project is a 1982 Porsche 928. I cant wait to be able to tear into her and get her running again. I just love going out to my garage and looking at her and scheming about what I want to do with her.

And that is the history of my car ownerships. Nothing as fancy as some of yours but still a good learning experience. And here I am turning 24 this January. So many cars in such a small window. Every car I have owned I paid for myself and some more than I should have. But it has gotten me to the point where I am about to be working on an amazing machine. Just hope I dont mess her up!

1979 dodge prospector. I bought it in 2001 for $63.15 from a friend of mine. when i asked how much he was selling it for he said "how much do you have in your pocket" none of the gauges worked so i never knew i was running it with out oil. it blew up 6 months later. It was awesome though.

In reply to MG_Bryan:

First car was a pass down from my dad, a 1956 Ford Mainline, black & white 2 door post, 6 cyl with 3 on the tree and questionable brakes. Second car, high school senior, was an Olds F85, gold, with a Rockette 155hp engine and center console, automatic... loved that car.

1967 Plymouth Belvedere II, almost exactly like this one. My grandfather bought it new, I grew up in it and then drove it through high school. I have never gotten over the fact that I sold it.