How expensive was your first car?

My 1st was a '74 Gremlin Levi's..Perfectly DREADFUL little car, even by the lax standards of the Seventies..Mine had the BIG 6 cyl-258 cubic inches. The wheelbase wasn't that much different than the width,, you could spin it way too easily.The car I wanted was just like this boy in Chattanooga had-a 1969 Galaxie 500 that was an ex-Signal Mountain, Tenn., fire chief's car..Red vinyl top,red paint, red upholstery. But it had something that would have tickled almost anyone- a 427 SOHC mill that could make It FLY..NOT a car for a16 yr old boy, nor was it "Easy on Gas",
 
When i lived in Winnipeg in the early seventies there use to be a 401 gremlin that did the drag race scene(street).Friday and sat nights were so american graffiti. It was a blast.One of the nastiest was a 426 max wedge 63 polara just like i use to own though mine was a pushbutton 225 slanter.
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The 80,s were a horrible decade for cars imho.I Had a hyundia pony ,50 mpg but a resale value of a dollar.
My new '83 Bronco was excellent.
Well the excellence really started in '85 when I swapped a properly built 351W and junked the seized 351M. Drove the crap out of it on road and off for another 11 years.
 
1970-71 or so...a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 for $200...had that for a few months then got a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL for $200...which lasted me through four years of college, when I got a 1968 (?) Ford Torino for...you guessed it...$200.

Back in 'geezer times, everything that was in one piece and could get a state inspection sticker was $200!
 
My new '83 Bronco was excellent.
Well the excellence really started in '85 when I swapped a properly built 351W and junked the seized 351M. Drove the crap out of it on road and off for another 11 years.
A bronco was not a car.I cannot think of one 80,s car i liked ,nothing did it for me .I drove bikes and winter trans were 70,s cars then trucks for the last 30 years.I liked all the full size bronco,s,blasers,ramchargers,wagonneres.
 
I had an 82 K2500 Weasel Suburban. Had GM's "From the Ground Up" diesel, 4.11 rear end, top speed was a PAINFUL 65 or so. I raised hell & coerced Generous Motors to put 3 motors in it eventually. The 4.11 rear end was the big problem-at hiway speeds the poor bastard was turning supersonic engine speeds...
 
I got my 1st Lincoln in '82, a '69 sedan. Basically got it just as a "Tom-Cattin' car" That POS diesel stayed effed up so much, the Connie was a lot more reliable. The 1961-69 series of Lincolns have been lauded as some of the PRETTIEST big sedans in the postwar era. You had REAL":Stretch-out Room" that just wouldn't quit in 'em, & if yours was in any half-way decent shape, you DID NOT have to take ANY sass from most anything else on the road. I never had much trouble finding guys & gals who enjoyed a cruise thru town or 2. Say what you will about those old mastodons- you couldn't beat the ride you got in one... And, of course, the "Suicide" rear doors were ALWAYS good for discussion...
 
Buick Grand National? 5-liter Mustang? LT-1 Corvette (not to mention the '89 ZR-1)? Porsche 928S? Nothing?
nope, sorry to me the 80,s were anemic.Even the buick was or is only so so by todays standards.Sorry i cant honestly think of one id like to own.Trucks were my thing and motorcycles ,everybodys got diff tastes mine tend to go late 50 to 77 or so then skip right up to the 2000 plus.
 
$400
From the pharmacy I delivered drugs from for 2 years in High School
1980 Dodge (Mitsubishi) Colt with 120k miles.
42mpg (in 1980!!) 1.6L, 97hp FWD
Installed a sunroof, a Concord tape deck, Pioneer amp and Jensen 3 ways in a custom box.
Ran it another 80,000 miles before discovering early 70's Datsun Z cars and triple Weber carbs.
Mitsubishi made dang fine motors back in those days.
 
A bronco was not a car.I cannot think of one 80,s car i liked ,nothing did it for me .I drove bikes and winter trans were 70,s cars then trucks for the last 30 years.I liked all the full size bronco,s,blasers,ramchargers,wagonneres.
Thanks for clarifying. Our '88 Acura Legend L was one of the best for those times with a whopping 160hp. The SHO Taurus had 220 but was still a Taurus.
 
First and worse was the 55 chevy my dad used up. I bought it in 62 when I needed a drive to work as an apprentice. First month I replaced the generator(before alternators), front ball joints after a near rollover and oil pump. The next month I replaced rear bearings and seals, fuel pump, and radiator. Next month I replaced universal joints and had power glide repaired for leaks. Next month a rear spring broke.
Then I replaced the heater core and fan motor.
Of course my dad had things to say. His most prominent statement was"You don't know how to drive". He had the car for 7 years and did little maintenance at all. The thing was worn out with 42K on the odo.
I still owed him $300 when I traded it in in 63 for the second worse car I ever had, a new 63 chevy II super sport. 6 cyl and power glide. Really bad. I was told in 65 that the whole car was out of alignment and needed a major rebuild as it didn't drive straight. Not covered under warranty. Brakes also not stopping. It would squeal on turns.
I didn't do real well with cars or wives. Neither lasted long. I also never abused my cars. Seldom drove on the interstate, never had an accident and never got a ticket for speeding because I never drove fast.
 
I still owed him $300 when I traded it in in 63 for the second worse car I ever had, a new 63 chevy II super sport. 6 cyl and power glide. Really bad. I was told in 65 that the whole car was out of alignment and needed a major rebuild as it didn't drive straight.
No different than the 1970s Chevy Novas that always seemed to head down the street sideways. :D My buddy used to drive the family Nova. '73, mustard yellow, three on the tree. At least it drove straight!
 
The car I really wanted was the family '65 Wildcat. But, my dad dumped it at the junkyard in 1975, still running but rusting out really bad, and that was five years before I started driving. If there were any one classic car I would buy, I would get the coupe version, perhaps even the convertible, of the '65...

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401 nailhead, 445 lb-ft of torque, aka the "banker's hot rod."
 
The first car I bought with my own money was a 1967 Ford Fairlane in a Baby Blue color. Price... $750. It was owned by some granny and stored in a barn, so I was told. It was in immaculate condition body wise. The main problem was when the car hit that Pennsylvania snow weather for the first time, it started to rust immediately. Beautiful car though...


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'71 plymouth Satellite Sebring, Tan, Tan vinyl top, And tan Bench seat interior, But it had a 440 (and a column shift automatic) for $300 (or $350). For some reason I sold it and bought a '66 Chevelle convertible that was rusty and needed an engine. I like them now a lot more than I did then.

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Dad gave me his 62 Chevy Belair when he found out he couldn't get much for a 10 year old car as a trade in on his next Chevy. After it was totaled out from under me by a guy running a stop sign, I bought a 66 Chevy, and then opted for better fuel economy with a 68 MGB. My Belair looked just like this one.

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My first car was a horrible 1984 piece of schitt that looked, near exactly, like this one only with black leather interior, different 'performance' wheels and a Pioneer flip face CD/tape stereo with Rockford Fosgate speakers: two 12" subs, 2 8" mid bass, 2 4" mid range, 2 tweets with 1 Orion 1000watt amp running the subs and 1 500w Orion amp running everything else. I'm guessing the cost of the stereo was about twice as much as the vehicle itself.....

The second worst vehicle I've owned..... Next to my SAAB 9.3T

The Scirocco MK2 were far away from the original MK1 in just about everything. Heavy and underpowered for starters and things like latches & switches wore out continually. This on top of the electrical nightmares. A buddy had one in the early 90s and it was always something stupid failing. I'm on VW #9 and MK2s are on my avoid list. Got suckered on a SAAB 9-3 Linear though. What a pile of dog excrement, ended up donated for the tax writedown.
 
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