Memories of Cars gone by

[tecumseh]

OK how about a thread of your first car or favorite car or perhaps the old family car. This is a continuation of sorts of diversion on the Public Policy Board. One car I remember fondly is my older brother's first car, being the practical type and low on funds he bought a Toyota Corolla with no extras it had a 1200 CC engine and with three or four adults had to be down shifted on the highway to make it up hills. But it ran forever.

[Lavabe]

OK how about a thread of your first car or favorite car or perhaps the old family car. This is a continuation of sorts of diversion on the Public Policy Board. One car I remember fondly is my older brother's first car, being the practical type and low on funds he bought a Toyota Corolla with no extras it had a 1200 CC engine and with three or four adults had to be down shifted on the highway to make it up hills. But it ran forever.

When I saw the title of the thread, I had thought that another original Car, say Ric Ocasek, had passed away.

Car in which I took my original driver's license test was a blue semi-automatic VW Beetle. It had a stickshift WITHOUT a clutch.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[wilson]

The first car I remember riding in was an orange '78 Beetle convertible that my dad drove. I later drove a cream colored '68. Both were great.

[EarlJam]

'66 Mustang.

My first car was a beat-up yellow '66 Mustang. It was a 3-speed with a 289 (I think) V-8 engine.

It's name? Gertrude.

Lots of great memories in that automobile, including many spontaneous trips to the beach and to the mountains.

I still miss driving a stick-shift sometimes.

-EarlJam

[EarlJam]

Dayyyyyyyyyyyyymn. Not to hi-jack, but half of the Atlanta Mafia is on this thread now.

-EarlJam

[wilson]

'66 Mustang.

My first car was a beat-up yellow '66 Mustang. It was a 3-speed with a 289 (I think) V-8 engine.

It's name? Gertrude.

Lots of great memories in that automobile, including many spontaneous trips to the beach and to the mountains.

I still miss driving a stick-shift sometimes.

-EarlJam

Nice! My first was a metallic light (not Carolina!) blue '65.

[greybeard]

I saved up my money from working 6 summers in my old man's soda factory doing every dirty job imaginable and went out and bought me a 1967 British racing green Corvette sting-ray, with a tan leather interior and two tops.

It has, I'm said to say, been a steep downhill since.

[YmoBeThere]

Ahhh, I wish I could romanticize about cool cars from days gone by. But my first vehicle was a 1986 Ford Escort and yes it was light(not Carolina)blue.

And yes, I ask for another car whenever the rental agency tries to foist a Ford on me.

[dukechem]

I got my license in 1959 in a 1952 Chevy Deluxe 4-door sedan that my father won at a street fair. It was two-tone blue with three on the column. Since we were in Pittsburgh with the salt on the roads in the winter, the bottom rusted out within the next few years.

The first car I bought when I left for graduate school at Duke in 1964 was a 1958 Pontiac Bonneville with three deuces although only one was working. I traded it in the following spring, and recall seeing it one day sitting in an intersection with the hood up and several guys looking on.

[dukepsy1963]

O.k., another thread that will reveal our age to everyone...:). No matter. I'm the same age as John Lennon would have been had he lived(RIP).

Anyway, my first car was a straight-8 1955 Chevy. I had that my last two years at Duke. What a car...wish I had kept it and I wouldn't be worrying so much about the stock market and economy.

My favorite car has to be my 1972 240-Z. I kept it for 22 years and restored it when it was about 17 years old. Wonderful and fast! I was living on Cornwallis Drive in Durham when I bought it; and commuted back and forth in it to my job at, dare I say it, UNC.

A fun little car I had in the Navy was a Triumph Spitfire. God help you if you had the top down and it started raining!!! Yikes!!

Lately I've been driving Miatas and Subarus. They both have their advantages and the Miata is great in the mountains.

[Jim3k]

my dad had this thing about small foreign cars.

In 1957, he bought a 1954 Nash Metropolitan convertible. It was the first car he let me drive. You had to manually put the top up and down. Occasionally the gear lever got stuck and you'd have to open the hood and push on something in the shift linkage to fix it. Happened all the time.

Later, he bought a 1960 Fiat 600. Man...talk about a roller skate. I blew it up when I drove too far with a broken radiator hose. It overheated and later leaked oil, but still (barely) ran. Once Jay Buckley got into it for a ride to East. He had BIG trouble fitting. It had a canvas top you could push back to make it into a 'convertible.' It also had big tail-light lenses that would crack every time you touched anything while backing up. Must have bought four replacements. Essentially made out of tinfoil and styrene plastic.

Oddly, both were kind of a kick to drive. And really, but strangely, I saw a Nash Metropolitan on I-680 about 10 days ago -- going like a bat out hell. I wish mine had run that fast. That car had to be 53 years old. I wanted to catch it but the traffic was too great and I got to my exit before I could. It seemed to be in really good condition. Top was up in the cool weather.

Some things are ugly, secret pleasures -- and an embarrassment all rolled into one. :D

[cspan37421]

My first car - a 1967 Saab 96.

http://www.saabhistory.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/saab96_b.jpg

I'd still gladly have it now if it wasn't for its mechanical and cosmetic condition, scarcity of parts, and no mechanic to work on it. But I loved it.

4-speed on the column, trunk pass-through, radial windows, front-wheel drive, clock (not working) and metal dash (!). Tricolor: rust, primer grey, and wedgwood blue. Not in that order, but it didn't help property values, let's put it that way.

[cspan37421]

My latest ride - 2008 Honda Fit Sport, Vivid Blue Pearl:

http://www.honda2007fit.com/images/fitthankyou.jpg

and yes, in a manual.

[dkbaseball]

Learned to drive in one of the real muscle cars -- a '65 Buick Gran Sport. 445 cubic inches. Lucky I survived the experience. Nothing but econoboxes ever since, except for a brief flirtation with an RX-7 that made me claustrophobic.

[Windsor]

In the summer of '69 (wow...song cue!) my parents bought a 69 Firebird convertible (white on red). I was 10. As we drove it home from the dealership I said that I loooovvveed that car. My father said 'we'll let you have it when you learn to drive' I quickly said 'Promise???' and before my mother's elbow could blast into his ribs he promised...6 years later (hint: I'm an only child) after the mother of all tantrums (you promised...you LIED to me) I got the car. So at 16 I'm driving a monster V8 (400) at the outside edge of its performance envelope. I loved that car...wish I still had it (I kept it until I moved to Florid in 89) but it is a miracle I didn't kill myself in it. I will not admit to how fast it actually went, suffice to say I buried the speedometer more than once.

[Chard]

In the summer of '69 (wow...song cue!) my parents bought a 69 Firebird convertible (white on red). I was 10. As we drove it home from the dealership I said that I loooovvveed that car. My father said 'we'll let you have it when you learn to drive' I quickly said 'Promise???' and before my mother's elbow could blast into his ribs he promised...6 years later (hint: I'm an only child) after the mother of all tantrums (you promised...you LIED to me) I got the car. So at 16 I'm driving a monster V8 (400) at the outside edge of its performance envelope. I loved that car...wish I still had it (I kept it until I moved to Florid in 89) but it is a miracle I didn't kill myself in it. I will not admit to how fast it actually went, suffice to say I buried the speedometer more than once.

Aw, man. Why did you get rid of that car?! Do you have any idea what it would be worth (http://musclecarsaz.com/gifs/fb67/fb67.htm) now? Wait, don't answer that. You'll be sorry.

My first car was a 67 Firebird 400. Of course, the car was over 20 years old when I bought it and it was in rough shape. My brother still has it and is currently restoring it. After that it was a Dodge Shadow. Ug. I ran that thing into the ground but it lasted for 12 years.

My brother had a 71 Camaro. That thing was sweet. I really liked that body style. The 327 was a plus.

[Windsor]

Aw, man. Why did you get rid of that car?! Do you have any idea what it would be worth (http://musclecarsaz.com/gifs/fb67/fb67.htm) now? Wait, don't answer that. You'll be sorry.


Yeah, I know...at the time I was single with an infant relocating to another state where I didn't know any high performance mechanics (we had..uh...enhanced the engine a little bit :D ) I sold her to a friend who was a total classic car freak and performance nut. He still has her...she's a thing of beauty (I saw her about two years ago...my daughter drove her....and wants her back...not gonna happen lol)

I miss that car!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

My first car was a Corvair Monza Spider convertible with a long shift in the floor. This little beauty was black with red leather interior. By the time I got it, it used about as much as oil as gas! What a powerful, throaty sound it made when accelerating! (Somebody has enhanced the car and the sound it made before I got it.) The price at purchase: $100.

[EarlJam]

Nice! My first was a metallic light (not Carolina!) blue '65.

Cool. Do you still have it? My brother in Burly, Burly, Burlington fully restores old Mustangs. He owns two that he takes to car shows - and wins.

-EarlJam

[pamtar]

Got my license in 1997 so i was kinda late for the true classics.

Not muscle but pretty fast, my first car was a '85 Peugeot 604 w/ a 2.3 turbo diesel. It was really fun to drive and handled well. Kinda like driving a tank. I drove it for 2 years until it met its demise in a corn field - upside down and slightly smoking.

My current car is an Volvo T5. I would highly recommend to everyone in the market for a new car to check out Volvo. I've owned seven cars in my short driving history from GMC to Honda. This one is by far my favorite.

[wilson]

Cool. Do you still have it? My brother in Burly, Burly, Burlington fully restores old Mustangs. He owns two that he takes to car shows - and wins.

-EarlJam

Sadly, I do not have it anymore...had to give up my classic car penchant for a while in order to get through grad school. Now I'm riding in a '92 Buick Park Avenue that I love. I intend to drive it until it won't go anymore. It has been a great car so far, and still has less than 90,000 miles on it.
Another cool element of my car life: My junior year of high school, we stayed with my dad's childhood best friend in Charlotte for the ACC Tournament. I had been really excited to see his '66 Corvette convertible, about which I had heard quite a lot. Unfortunately, it was in the shop at the time, so I missed it.
The next year, we went back to Charlotte because the tournament was there again. Woody met us at the Thursday night game and informed me that the 'Vette was back in action. He told me it looked great..."and just wait until you drive it."
"Wait a minute," I said. "I don't know how to drive stick."
"Then it's about time for you to learn, isn't it?" he said.
That weekend, I spent just about every waking minute either watching ACC Tournament games or learning to drive stick on a '66 Stingray convertible. It did not suck at all.

[greybeard]

In the fall of 1965, my old man gave me what had been the family car, a five-year old, 1960 2-door Chevy Impala. One of the hottest looking cars ever made.

My old man got it almost new, except for the fact that it had been in a flood. He picked it up for a proverbial nickel after his mechanic (soda men had trucks that needed fixin, in my old man's case, all the time) said that all that water hadn't hurt the engine. Two tone job, dark grey body, light grey top; no power nothing except under the hood.

It lasted through the end of '66, at which point it was hopelessly rusted out. At that point, well, I had the wherewithall to do it on my own. Real nice car that '60 Impala; I'd love to have it now. Actually, my favorite vehicle of all time is the one I own; a 1993 GMC Suburban. Don't ask me why, it just is.

[tecumseh]

Yeah, I know...at the time I was single with an infant relocating to another state where I didn't know any high performance mechanics (we had..uh...enhanced the engine a little bit :D ) I sold her to a friend who was a total classic car freak and performance nut. He still has her...she's a thing of beauty (I saw her about two years ago...my daughter drove her....and wants her back...not gonna happen lol)

I miss that car!

Hope you did not promise the car to your daughter in a moment of weakness.

[Windsor]

Hope you did not promise the car to your daughter in a moment of weakness.

I certainly did not!! Knowing full well how danerous that car was in my hands there was no way on earth she was getting it. Her first car was my mother in laws Dodge Spirit (the Granny Mobile) she now has a little Ford Focus hatchback. 4 cylinders = good 8 cylinder = bad when you're young and immortal!

[devil84]

OK how about a thread of your first car or favorite car or perhaps the old family car.

Horny Car. My favorite! I'm not sure who on the team or in my dorm nicknamed it, but it was a '67 Beetle. My family was into repainting cars (including a '69 Cougar and a '67 Mustang), so we painted my Beetle painted Duke Blue on the bottom, white on top. Mom fashioned up some devil horns (removable, since we live near Chapel Hill), and a tail. I think I got it my freshman year; maybe sophomore. I can't remember who named it, but since I lived in Aycock, well, any car that has horns and parks near Aycock MUST be named Horny Car!

Best memories: too many to mention (and get your mind out of the gutter -- there's NO backseat in that thing!), but one of the most visual was when Marty Nessley needed rides, and he'd fold himself up into my front seat.

The Cougar -- a 428 Super Cobra Jet w/Holley 4 barrel and water injection -- was pretty cool, as was the Mustang. Somehow, I never got a speeding ticket in either one!

I also got the family VW Rabbit during high school, when it was on its last legs. Every once in a while, it'd stop working, and I'd need to call my dad, who was the Director of Hospital Labs at Duke. This was at the time when he had a series of secretaries, and if he wasn't around, I'd tell them, "Oh, just tell Dad that the Rabbit died again." The secretary generally didn't know what to say! (For those of you too young to know, pregnancy tests used to involved live rabbits, and if they died, you were pregnant.) Dad rather enjoyed getting those messages, as the secretaries were rather tongue-tied (he didn't enjoy fixing the car nearly as much).

As an adult, I also had Bucky, a beloved '91 Nissan Pathfinder. He finally was retired in '03, when his clutch went out as I'm hauling Girl Scouts and a trailer full of camping supplies to a Jamboree. The girls named him a few years earlier, calling him a "bucket of bolts." OK, so the passenger window was held up with duct tape, the AC didn't work, and the leather seats were WELL worn. But, he ran fine, he was paid for, and I didn't care how much mud and dirt came in when camping with the girls. Did I mention he was paid for? Looking back, he was a little embarrassing and past his prime, but HE WAS PAID FOR. Now I have an '04 Dodge Dakota quad-cab (navy blue--as close to Duke Blue as I could get!). I love it, but he doesn't have the character of Horny Car or Bucky. I do have one of the few pickups with Duke decals, though. :)

- della

[greybeard]

I also got the family VW Rabbit during high school, when it was on its last legs. Every once in a while, it'd stop working, and I'd need to call my dad, who was the Director of Hospital Labs at Duke. This was at the time when he had a series of secretaries, and if he wasn't around, I'd tell them, "Oh, just tell Dad that the Rabbit died again." The secretary generally didn't know what to say! (For those of you too young to know, pregnancy tests used to involved live rabbits, and if they died, you were pregnant.) Dad rather enjoyed getting those messages, as the secretaries were rather tongue-tied (he didn't enjoy fixing the car nearly as much).


Now, for best car story in the category of funny, . . . . That made me laugh, thanks.

[tecumseh]

I remember being picked up by some friend of my Dad in a Lincoln Continental and it had electric windows. It took all of my control to keep from playing with them but the guy was pretty nice and let me play with the electric windows. I thought maybe it was my imagination on how big the car was and how big my family's Vista Cruiser was but cars really were much bigger back then. Those old full sized cars were a foot wider and yard longer than full sized cars of today. Like I posted before you could sit four across (few wore seatbelts in the old days) and there was lots of room for "activities" in the back or front seat, that would be the old style front bench seats.

[captmojo]

I know Greybeard's '60 Impala was a great car for backseat activities. With a speaker in the center top of the rear seat back for listening pleasure while resting your head, leaning back, you could look up, yes up, through the rear window at the heavens. Quite the romantic ride, or park.

My very own first car was a '66 Beatle. VW with an "a". This rascal was the engineer's favorite because the next year they changed everything. They raised the height of the seat back, enlarged the tail lights, put real parking lights on the front, but the most important change was the switch to a 12 volt electrical system. I got that car in the fall of the year. The next Christmas, my Dad gave me 50 bucks and a tape deck. (uh, 8-track. well, they were popular at the time) The 50 went for two speakers and a voltage converter. You had to be careful not to leave that thing turned on when you shut the car down. That sucker could drain a battery in less than 2 minutes.

My favorite adult car back then was one that belonged to a friend of the family. It was a '65 Buick Wildcat. This thing was a complete fraud. To look at it you thought it was just another big Granddad car. This monster had a powerplant under the hood that produced 325 horsepower. I saw him at stoplights with hot rods in the next lane, revving their motors, that would be lost behind him when the light turned green, just for fun and watching those driver's jaws drop.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

As I just posted in the other car thread, my first car (not counting my mom's 1968 Olds Toronado) was a 1972 Pontiac GTO - 400 4 barrel, automatic. Lucerne blue with a white vinyl top. Gorgeous, just gorgeous. Totaled it on Cornwallis Road coming back from chapel hill (a story I've told on the old board when talking about this car, about 3 years ago(?)). Got the 1974 Pontiac Grand Prix about a month later from Coggin Pontiac, out on 15-501 across from the bowling alley. That had a 455 4 barrel, sun roof and was loaded. Got 15 mpg cruising down I-95 (what little there was of it then) going home to Florida. 95 wasn't just the road sign for either of those cars :)

[Chard]

As I just posted in the other car thread, my first car (not counting my mom's 1968 Olds Toronado) was a 1972 Pontiac GTO - 400 4 barrel, automatic. Lucerne blue with a white vinyl top. Gorgeous, just gorgeous. Totaled it on Cornwallis Road coming back from chapel hill (a story I've told on the old board when talking about this car, about 3 years ago(?)). Got the 1974 Pontiac Grand Prix about a month later from Coggin Pontiac, out on 15-501 across from the bowling alley. That had a 455 4 barrel, sun roof and was loaded. Got 15 mpg cruising down I-95 (what little there was of it then) going home to Florida. 95 wasn't just the road sign for either of those cars :)

GRRRRRRRR!

(Pontiac owners get the reference)

[Windsor]

Got 15 mpg cruising down I-95 (what little there was of it then) going home to Florida. 95 wasn't just the road sign for either of those cars :)

95 (or 85) wasn't the road sign for my Firebird either...and it could out run a Va. state trooper...at least the one on I-85 in South Hill VA who couldn't catch me before I hit the NC line. It wasn't really a fair chase...he was at a dead stop with the radar gun...I was already at 90 something. Put the gas peddle to the firewall, killed my lights and flew. (young and stupid...what can I say...but dam it was fun)