How expensive was your first car?
- Thread starter harman/kardon
- Start date
Lavane
Lunatic Member
$400. It was a 1964 Chevy Impala. I bought it from the original owner. The interior was nice and it had been repainted a nice blue. Stock 283, 2bl carb with a 2 speed power glide trany. I was 16 years old in 1975 at the time. picture found on the Interwebs, but a close match for paint. I kept the stock wheels also. 
in 1972 i paid $50 for a 1963 Ford Galaxie looked like the one in the picture except the left side rear was all smashed in and it was pretty beat up, i was in high school and didnt care. got about a year out of it until it crapped out, then my mom gave me her 1967 Galaxie 500 for an early graduation present.
A 69 Datsun 510 in 1979 for $300 I bought off my sister
I then got a 1970 Doge Dart Swinger in 1980 for $700 bought off a co-worker
Around late 1980 my Dad offered me his original owner1969 Cougar for $300 but I didn't have the money for it so he sold it and then got a ton of tickets because the guy didn't change the title.
He had bought cars on a a whim around 1981, and had no where to park this 1962 Pontiac Catalina in the City and the battery was ripped off twice.
He decided to give it to me
this is the car my dad and me.
Well those where a few of my first cars
I then got a 1970 Doge Dart Swinger in 1980 for $700 bought off a co-worker
Around late 1980 my Dad offered me his original owner1969 Cougar for $300 but I didn't have the money for it so he sold it and then got a ton of tickets because the guy didn't change the title.
He had bought cars on a a whim around 1981, and had no where to park this 1962 Pontiac Catalina in the City and the battery was ripped off twice.
He decided to give it to me
this is the car my dad and me. Well those where a few of my first cars
1974 dodge colt station wagon with vinyl wood grain sides. $2500 bought for me by my parents. It would hold 3 kegs in the back but I had to be careful going around corners when it was loaded.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
My second car was a 1967 Galaxy with a 390 v8. I had a hard time feeding it at 69 cents a gallon for gas.in 1972 i paid $50 for a 1963 Ford Galaxie looked like the one in the picture except the left side rear was all smashed in and it was pretty beat up, i was in high school and didnt care. got about a year out of it until it crapped out, then my mom gave me her 1967 Galaxie 500 for an early graduation present.
Oh my and your still alive with that as a fist car, Although my mom had a 1970 Buick Electra 225 4 door with a 454. She sold it around 1982 to my sisters, sister in law who lived in Lodi CA. She got hit by a semi truck in the rear of the car and totaled it. However that tank saved her life that day, such a huge car.
whoaru99
Epic Member
Loved me some big Olds tankers. That was all I drove for many years; the '73 Delta 88, a '72 Ninety-Eight, and a '73 Toronado. All had the 455s. Front wheel drive burnouts with the Toronado were always a hoot.
Been threatening the GF/SO that my next car is going to be a huge early/mid 70s Caddy Fleetwood. This one is a little earlier, and probably wouldn't be too good in the snow.
Been threatening the GF/SO that my next car is going to be a huge early/mid 70s Caddy Fleetwood. This one is a little earlier, and probably wouldn't be too good in the snow.
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ConradH
Lunatic Member
Our first car was a Ford Capri, but my memories don't agree with the data I find online. Memory says it was a 1972 with the German 2600 cc V6. 2 bbl Weber carb, not FI. It was stupidly fast, faster than the larger engine models that came shortly after, probably because it didn't weigh anything. I think we paid less than $2k as it was about 2 years old. I only had a learners permit, but could drive a standard. My wife had the license but couldn't drive a standard, so we traveled together. We've both been driving standards ever since.
Mine was a 64 Plymouth Sport Fury, free , gifted to me at age 16. It needed a few things (like an engine) and as it had been side swiped I ended up scrounging at the junk yards till I found a new drivers door and a quarter panel. Then I took "auto body and fender" in high school in order to get it all cherry. I don't have a picture but here is similar to what it looked like without the big chrome strip down the side.
383 4 barrel, torque flight tranny and 3.91 rear end.. Used to beat the pants off my buddies Goat!
383 4 barrel, torque flight tranny and 3.91 rear end.. Used to beat the pants off my buddies Goat!
My first was actually a shared ownership with my brother- we were in high school & a friends dad gave us their 1962 Chevy Bel Air, four door and beat to death. We paid $1 to keep it kosher with the title requirements, found about twice that in change under the back seat.This had the 283 & Powerglide trans- I remember push starting it many times. With a bit of a hill it would take 15MPH rolling to turn the engine over. Keeping tires on it was a challenge, the frame was bent to the point where it wouldn't pass the state inspection. That was not an issue because we had all of the family cars registered in another state ( Dad was career Army)- We only drove it a year or so, sold it "as-is" for a hundred bucks & the buyers tried to return it because of the frame issue.
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DrumminDaddy
Hit it, Baby !!
1971 Barracuda for $300. It was a beater with a slant six. I then bought a rust bucket 1970 Barracuda with a 318 V8 and swapped it into my '71 after rebuilding it and upgrading the cam and intake. Had E-body Mopars most of my youth. Still have some parts in storage.
Love to get me a new Challenger.
Love to get me a new Challenger.
Johnno_Oz
W-a-y down south
Yes, these were quick, nice looking car too. There's a couple of guys in Sydney that use these for drag racing.
Killer Fox
Super Member
$400 for a baby blue '72 4 door Ford LTD 4 barrel seats about 20 got about 8 miles per gallon.
I walked to work all summer washing dishes at a Mexican Restaurant to save up for it. One of the worst jobs. That baked on cheese is a real pain!
It was the summer of '79. Oh yeah! That summer seemed to last forever. It was the summer of '79.
I walked to work all summer washing dishes at a Mexican Restaurant to save up for it. One of the worst jobs. That baked on cheese is a real pain!
It was the summer of '79. Oh yeah! That summer seemed to last forever. It was the summer of '79.
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savatage1973
Addicted Member
- My first car (and I wish I still had it) was a 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am--Bandit Edition with the T/A 6.6 engine--400 Pontiac (not the 6.6L Oldsmobird 403), T-tops, and enough decals and pin-striping to shrink wrap a house. To this day, I still don't know the actual purchase price--I got it from my cousin, who had bought it new and built the ass out the drivetrain (including a B&M supercharger under that shaker scoop. I had a bunch of money sawed up, and my parents helped me out with the purchase and first 6 months insurance--beyond that, it was "keep on working boy, if you want to keep it on the road". The car was only 2 years old when I got it, so I know it was more money than I surrendered to my parents to get it, but they were cool about it. I sold it when I went to college, since it basically got gallons per mile, rather than miles per gallon, and I went to college more than 100 miles from home (each direction), and although I was a resident student, I came home frequently to see friends/family, and that racks up fast.
Johnno_Oz
W-a-y down south
Dad bought me an Australian made Ford XR Fairmont similar to this with a whopping 200 cubic inch motor BUT it had that glorious Ford-O-matic. it's an Australian designed car with some 'pony" influences from head office in Detroit. He paid $500 and they bring a lot more now.
Passed it onto my brother when I left home for college, he wiped out the back fender on a solid gate post.
This is the only photo I have of my first car a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger with a 318 cid that my dad financed for me in '72 when I turned 16 and cost $1500. An old man owned it previously and it had 27k on it. Gawd I loved that car!! Used to cruise around with my first girlfriend in it, what a cutie!! I wish I had time machine for just one night! 
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The next car I buy myself is probably going to be like the one in the pic, mid-late 60s Cadillac with the stacked headlights. The trouble is I'd either have to get rid of something or extend the garage to do it.
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