 |
|
First Cars & Fond Memories
08-13-2011, 07:23 AM
|
#1
|
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 103
|
First Cars & Fond Memories
The other day, I came across an old advertisement for my first car...
It was the first car I saved for and finally begged my father to let me buy...
Although it was a 10 year old (heavily USED) car when I bought it... I LOVED this car for the 10 years that I drove it; through high school... colleges... and job interviews.
When I finally landed a "real" job... I succumbed to responsibly (and reliability) by trading my GT for a "slightly" used Honda Accord (yawn).
Still, I'll never forget my first love... she taught me a lot. 
Am I alone with a fondness for my fist car?
|
|
|
 |
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
|
08-13-2011, 07:37 AM
|
#2
|
|
gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 3,851
|
My first car was a 1969 Dodge Dart GT with a 273-2bbl carb, purchased new when I returned from Nam, in September 1969 two weeks before I was married to DW.
Don't have the car (wish I did); still have DW (glad I do  ). Drove the car a bit over 10 years, and almost 100k on the odometer - something unusual in those "pre-foreign" days. Maybe I was just an LBYM'er and didn't know it at the time  ?
Metallic blue with a black vinyl top. Here's a representative photo of a similar car of the same year/model, but in a different color and without the vinyl top:
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 07:53 AM
|
#3
|
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 103
|
Wow, what a great car! The father of an old college friend had a Metalic Blue dart.
No wonder you were fond of it.
If I remember correctly, they were practically indestructible... down to the painted steel dash!
Thanks for sharing!
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 08:00 AM
|
#4
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cavalier
Posts: 2,317
|
Mine was a 1948 Cadillac 7 passenger limo. Bought in 1965 and sold in 1970. A few weeks ago I was contacted through Facebook by the guy that has the car now (he found an old registration card in the glove box) and am waiting for pics of it as it is today.
__________________
"Don't take life so serious, son. It ain't nohow permanent." Pogo Possum (Walt Kelly)
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 08:06 AM
|
#5
|
|
Administrator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,128
|
My first car was a Ford Anglia.
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 08:12 AM
|
#6
|
|
gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 3,851
|
 Quote:
Originally Posted by Seeking Hobbes
down to the painted steel dash!
Thanks for sharing!
|
No, dash was also vinyl (along with the seats, which would burn your skin in extreme heat).
BTW, I had the seats covered in clear plastic vinyl for protection (if anybody remembers Rayco) since it was my first car (along with the payments of $83.39 for 36 months - yes, I still remember, since I was in the military and not earning multiples of that amount).
My next duty station was in Florida. Imagine a car (without AC, and vinyl seat covering) in that heat. I believe I still have some impressions on my butt from those days...
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 08:22 AM
|
#7
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: LaLa Land
Posts: 4,698
|
__________________
Work is something you do to get enough $ so you don't have to....Me.
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 09:07 AM
|
#8
|
|
gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 3,851
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by 73ss454
I think the most popular plastic covers were made by Fingerhut as I remember.
|
"clear plastic material that had raised triangular bumps all over it"
Exactly  ...
Heck, this was my first car and the most expensive thing that I (or the finance company) owned. Would I settle for less? ...
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 09:21 AM
|
#9
|
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: chicago burbs
Posts: 806
|
First Car
My first car was a 1973 Volkswagon Bug. Bought it in 1975 from my cousin. Beat the c**p out of it until I sold it in 1979 after a front end accident. Took it on many road trips. Fun times!
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 09:32 AM
|
#10
|
|
Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,356
|
Ah, yes. Mine was a 1968 bug. When I finished college, I took my entire life savings ($1,800) and bought it new. I loved that car. When I lived in the snow belt of upstate New York, it was one of the few cars that could get through after a blizzard. The thing was so lightweight that you just drove over the top of the snowdrifts!
__________________
I thought growing old would take longer.
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 10:21 AM
|
#11
|
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Punta Gorda, FL
Posts: 828
|
My first car I bought with my own money was a 1966 corvette convertable. I paid $6,000 and my dad thought I was nuts. But I drove the crap out of it and sold it years later for $8,500.
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 10:35 AM
|
#12
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,901
|
My first car was a 69 Triumph TR-6 bought new in 69 and sold in 1976 for a 76 Camaro.
__________________
“I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said” Alan Greenspan
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 10:37 AM
|
#13
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Waimanalo, HI
Posts: 1,881
|
My first car was an MG Magnette from the late 50s, a hand-me-down from my parents in 1965. Staid, but stylish. I don't know the exact model/year, but this looks like it:
__________________
Greg (retired in 2010 at age 68, state pension)
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 11:12 AM
|
#14
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 13,566
|
My parents had a VW Bug as our family car when I was born. Still can't imagine how they fit five of us in there, but I guess we were small. They replaced it with a brand new Vega, if you can imagine.
My first car and love was a 1984 full size Blazer, given to me when I was 15. It saved my life when I rolled it off a 30 foot embankment the next year--I drove it home after replacing all 4 tires that had blown out from the impact. When it threw a rod a few years later I cried so much that Dad took me down to the dealer to pick out the only new car I've ever owned, a 1988 GMC Jimmy that I put 385k miles on before selling it.
The Blazer in convertible mode:
__________________
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.”
Gerard Arthur Way
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 11:23 AM
|
#15
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Moscow
Posts: 1,572
|
Blue 1976 Chevy Monte Carlo. Bought it from my brother in about 1984. Still have it.
__________________
You can't enlighten the unconscious.
But you can hit'em upside the head a few times to make sure they are really out...
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 11:37 AM
|
#16
|
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 746
|
A pre-Ralph Nadar 1964 Corvair.
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 11:46 AM
|
#17
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,681
|
Mine was a 1971 VW Beetle. It was a big surprise from my parents for my 21st birthday in 1976. I loved the sound of the engine and the feel of the stick shift. The lack of a fan on the heater and defroster was a problem in Ohio winters but I had big sturdy mittens for wiping the inside of the windshield.
Loved that car! We were still in college and not married yet but having that car allowed DH to start working for a county social services department in the same pension system that he retired from last year. So that car has a special place in our hearts.
__________________
Married, both 69. DH retired June, 2010. I have a pleasant little part time job.
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 11:50 AM
|
#18
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: LaLa Land
Posts: 4,698
|
The first 2 pictures are the day I picked up my 1966 Chevelle, it was May 6th 1966. I had just turned 17 by a few days. These pictures were taken in front of my parents house. The car was a SS 396 4 speed.
The 3rd picture was taken in 1969 at NY National Speedway out on LI.
Man did I have a good time back in the day.
__________________
Work is something you do to get enough $ so you don't have to....Me.
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 12:01 PM
|
#19
|
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 928
|
My first car was a '66 Mustang, handed down to me from my Dad in 1990. With a straight-6 and a 3-speed manual that shifted like a tractor, it could barely get out of its own way, but it sure looked cool! Sadly, I killed it about a year after I got it, by running it with no oil until it seized.
First car I bought with my own money was a '74 Superbeetle, which was nowhere near as cool-looking as the Mustang, but drove significantly better.
__________________
I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.
- Joe Walsh
|
|
|
|
|
08-13-2011, 01:19 PM
|
#20
|
|
gone traveling
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: DFW
Posts: 7,586
|
Can't find the actual pic, but mine was a 67 SS396, 4 spd, just like the one below, except with a black vinyl top and black interior. I wore out the wide ovals after about 3k mi. Unlike 73ss454's national pic, my races took place on Mamaroneck Ave, NY; Goats were delicious for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|
Linear Mode
