Topic: What Was your First Car??

[DH]

Mine was a twin to this one. Contrary to belief, Pontiacs really DID make power.
Being from Missouri, the "show me" state, there were times when it was necessary.
A bit of trivia: why do half or more of the cars at the track have tail light/brake lites out? A guy could make out like a bandit selling bulbs all night long.  end hijack

Ah yes, the big Poncho's are my favorites. My first introduction to one was after the frame frame failed on my Boss 302 (severe rust) and I bought a 70 GP from a friends brother and I was hooked on Pontiacs since. In the past I've owned 2 70 GP's, a 78 T/A and a 65 GT0. The GP's were  my favorites though.

My favs. too.  Owned 2 1972 GP's, one '71 GP, a '79 firebird (w/built 455 pontiac), and a 4speed 400
'79 Trans Am. Guys who didn't own 'em just didn't understand....

[Bob3050]

My first car was this '48 Mercury coupe. It was black and ugly when I bought it from my brother in 1957. I paid $75 for it. I then proceeded to remove all the fender chrome trim, nosed and decked it, lowered the front a couple of inches and painted it "Cloverfield" green. I drove it all through high school and more and then sold it about 1961 I think. It had a hot cam and high compression heads on it when I got it and I added a two carb manifold. One day when I was in a junkyard I found another Merc coupe that had tuck and roll upholstery so I bought the seats and door panels for $25. It was a good old car. Olds hub caps and phony white walls(right rear flew off just before this picture was taken).
Bob

[grcamna2]

Mine was a twin to this one. Contrary to belief, Pontiacs really DID make power.
Being from Missouri, the "show me" state, there were times when it was necessary.
A bit of trivia: why do half or more of the cars at the track have tail light/brake lites out? A guy could make out like a bandit selling bulbs all night long.  end hijack

Ah yes, the big Poncho's are my favorites. My first introduction to one was after the frame frame failed on my Boss 302 (severe rust) and I bought a 70 GP from a friends brother and I was hooked on Pontiacs since. In the past I've owned 2 70 GP's, a 78 T/A and a 65 GT0. The GP's were  my favorites though.

My favs. too.  Owned 2 1972 GP's, one '71 GP, a '79 firebird (w/built 455 pontiac), and a 4speed 400
'79 Trans Am. Guys who didn't own 'em just didn't understand....

Did that 71' come w/ a 455 ? if so she must have been a Smoke Show car    I Love the smell of fresh tires !

[Johnie]

My first car when I was in high school...all muscle...1969 GTO.

[grcamna2]

My first car when I was in high school...all muscle...1969 GTO.

Was she a 4 speed 400ci. ? I traded my nice Torino GT convt.(VERY dumb move on my part,I was 17...)for one just like that was black and needed a LOT of work. I had high hopes for it,but needed more take home pay and a garage to finish it off.Times haven't changed much for me.
                                     Very Nice Car  ,
                                                                  Bill

[Johnie]

Yes, 400...4 barrel...4 speed and posi...she kicked too.

[Retro Rocket]

Yes, 400...4 barrel...4 speed and posi...she kicked too.

I bet you wish you still had that one....Worth a pretty penny these days....

[Stev-o]

Mick - what was your first car?  I know you didn't have a license until you were older, unlike most the rest of us.

[Johnie]

Yes, wish I still had that GTO! I rebuilt the engine when I blew a ring. Had it painted and rebuilt the interior. Took it to shows and then sold it in 1995 when priorities changed - kids.

[DH]

Mine was a twin to this one. Contrary to belief, Pontiacs really DID make power.
Being from Missouri, the "show me" state, there were times when it was necessary.
A bit of trivia: why do half or more of the cars at the track have tail light/brake lites out? A guy could make out like a bandit selling bulbs all night long.  end hijack

Ah yes, the big Poncho's are my favorites. My first introduction to one was after the frame frame failed on my Boss 302 (severe rust) and I bought a 70 GP from a friends brother and I was hooked on Pontiacs since. In the past I've owned 2 70 GP's, a 78 T/A and a 65 GT0. The GP's were  my favorites though.

My favs. too.  Owned 2 1972 GP's, one '71 GP, a '79 firebird (w/built 455 pontiac), and a 4speed 400
'79 Trans Am. Guys who didn't own 'em just didn't understand....

Did that 71' come w/ a 455 ? if so she must have been a Smoke Show car    I Love the smell of fresh tires !

 The 71 GP was only a 400, but did quite well.      My second 72 had a good set of heads, and was tuned just right (naughty)    The 79 homegrown firebird 455 was a torque monster, but I had to sell
it before I could tune and gear it (got divorced). 79 TA was stock. None were race cars, 455 bird excluded,
but were just all around fun cars on the street, and especially the highway. Pontiacs had a very exclusive feel/personality. I miss 'em..done whining

[Retro Rocket]

Mick - what was your first car?  I know you didn't have a license until you were older, unlike most the rest of us.

I still had lots of nice cars Steve, I was lucky enough not to get pulled over very often 

My first car was a AP6 Valiant regal sedan in white with a slant 6 engine, it was a 1 owner car... Not mine but identical...

[dave500]

Dave the surfer dude?

not me man!thats my mates surf board momo,my folks had a valiant aswell retro in the late 60s but an earlier ap5 with the straight less fussy grille.

[wardenerd]

1957 Ford Fairlane 500 White with some rust on the rear wheel wells. 312 four barrel three speed on the floor.  Went through 5 clutches in two years. Black interior redone before I bought it but the PO sat in the driver's seat with a screw driver in his back pocket. Just a small hole but irritating.  8 track with reverb and a huge back seat.  I called her Mary Lureaine Campbell for the girl who launched a thousand Chevies.  You know like Helen of Troy.

[dave500]

five clutches in two years?,they throw you in jail for that here,you gotta adjust your driving style!

[locomonza]

78 chevy monza coupe, 4 cyl later i swap it with a 350csb

[cj750]

1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator that I purchased in very rough shape for $1,750.00 in 1983. Guy I got it from had found it sitting behind a barn and had done the minimum required to get it street legal, then found a 442 that was going to be a lot less of a project and decided to dump this one.
I stayed absolutely broke for the next few years putting every dime my college-student budget could spare into fixing up the Cougar. Learned a ton about mechanics, since I couldn't afford to hire anyone to do the work. Was my daily driver until 1989. Still have it.

[grcamna2]

1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator that I purchased in very rough shape for $1,750.00 in 1983. Guy I got it from had found it sitting behind a barn and had done the minimum required to get it street legal, then found a 442 that was going to be a lot less of a project and decided to dump this one.
I stayed absolutely broke for the next few years putting every dime my college-student budget could spare into fixing up the Cougar. Learned a ton about mechanics, since I couldn't afford to hire anyone to do the work. Was my daily driver until 1989. Still have it.

Hey Nice car ! It reminds me of my 69' Cougar XR7,it had a 351W w/ a 4 BBL from the factory.I loved it & I miss it.I had to sell it to a guy who knew I needed $ and he gave me very small $ for it.What type of performance package did the Eliminator come with ?

[tbpmusic]

My first car was this '48 Mercury coupe. It was black and ugly when I bought it from my brother in 1957. I paid $75 for it. I then proceeded to remove all the fender chrome trim, nosed and decked it, lowered the front a couple of inches and painted it "Cloverfield" green. I drove it all through high school and more and then sold it about 1961 I think. It had a hot cam and high compression heads on it when I got it and I added a two carb manifold. One day when I was in a junkyard I found another Merc coupe that had tuck and roll upholstery so I bought the seats and door panels for $25. It was a good old car. Olds hub caps and phony white walls(right rear flew off just before this picture was taken).
Bob

Wow, this thread is making me feel really old now.
Glad there's at least one other Olde Farte reporting in.........

[cj750]

Hey Nice car ! It reminds me of my 69' Cougar XR7,it had a 351W w/ a 4 BBL from the factory.I loved it & I miss it.I had to sell it to a guy who knew I needed $ and he gave me very small $ for it.What type of performance package did the Eliminator come with ?

Standard engine for the '69 Eliminator was the 351W 4-barrel. (Which is what mine has.) Optional engines were the 390GT, 428 Cobra-Jet and Boss 302. In theory, the Boss 429 was an option, but only two were made, and they both went to professional racers. Standard equipment included dual exhaust, fast-ratio steering, mag-type wheels with Goodyear Polyglas RWL tires and a "Competition Suspension" consisting of a bigger front sway bar, stiffer springs and heavy-duty shocks. A lower-ratio rear axle ratio was part of the package as well, unless you also ordered air-conditioning. The interior got better bucket seats, upgraded steering wheel, door panels and trim, woodgrain on the dash replaced with a black "camera case" finish and the tachometer, clock and gauge package out of the XR-7. On the exterior, they came standard with a hood scoop, front and rear spoilers, blacked-out grill, side stripes, and only four paint colors were available. (Bright Yellow, White, Competition Orange, Bright Blue Metallic.)
Any pictures of that XR-7?

[grcamna2]

Yeah,
I'd like to have taken pics of it.I remember it had 2.79 hywy. gears in the rear and it was geared up too high.It was a metallic(faded)blue,it also had 10.7:1 compression which was getting too high for the fuel avail. to me(1979) on the Island(M.V.) w/ those Hywy. gears.When it had great gas in it lookout.  Island top speed was 45mph 
I liked the FMX trans. which was a lot stronger than my C4 in the 69' Torino GT I had.I lived on the island w/ salt water atmosphere and the car had no rust,it was a Cali car originally.I started restoring it but ran out of $. 
                                                                                 Bill

[dave500]

man you guys got great cars in the 70s with some great engines!the 351W was rare here,only came in imports or our local falcon XW and early XY  models,it was the cleveland after that,we had clevos in 302 and 351 though.

[Bailgang]

man you guys got great cars in the 70s with some great engines!the 351W was rare here,only came in imports or our local falcon XW and early XY  models,it was the cleveland after that,we had clevos in 302 and 351 though.

Gas prices down under probably dictated the availability of big engines there. I've always wondered why Ford eventually favored the Windsor over the Cleveland because I assumed the Cleveland had the superior cyl head. Maybe the Ford fans here can shed some info on that.

As far as great cars in the 70's well maybe up to the early 70's but once OPEC got created and our very own EPA was formed even the biggest engines here turned into nothing more than asthmatic wheezers during the 70's that still got junk fuel mileage.

[jtb]

55 Bel Air Chev 2 door sedan.  Loved that car, 265 V8 with 2 bbl carb.  Did the stock to dual pipes conversion by cutting off and sealing the crossover pipe.

[Medyo Bastos]

1975 Chevy Luv, I use to drive it to middle school!  man, that brings back memories!

[grcamna2]

Hey,what kind of mileage did you get in your Chevy luv ? was it a 4 cyl ?