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What was your first car?

1966 Opel Kadett Model 32 fastback. My Dad bought it not running, but I got it running again.

I was seven years old.

That's not a typo- I did say SEVEN years old. In early 1975. Basically, I was very interested in cars- to the extent that I wanted to take apart any car I could get my hands on. Dad gave me this car, and told me I could tinker with it in any way I wanted- but in exchange, I was not to meddle around with any of the OTHER cars we had. :D

I wound up partially rebuilding the carburetor, cleaning the points, draining the old gas out, putting in some new gas and a replacement fuel filter- and it actually started up and drove. I got the engine running basically by myself- but Dad helped me rebuild the brakes, afterward.

We later determined that the engine burned too much oil- and we wound up swapping one into it, that was in better condition.

Here's one that looks quite a lot like it- same color, and I even did the blacked-out hood panels. Mine wound up with silver Rallye wheels from a later model Opel.


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It had the standard 60hp 1.1 liter engine, with four-speed manual transmission.

I soon swapped it with my Dad, for a similar 1967 Kadett, which had a sunroof... and we wound up giving the 1966 to my cousin. Unfortunately, he was too much of a "dope head" to take care of it properly- and, in fact, he wound up abandoning it in a field not far from our house. We found it- we brought it home, and kept it for a number of years afterward. Eventually, it just got too rusty to be worth fixing again, and wound up going to scrap in the late 1980s.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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Family cars to use Honda Civic hatchback and a Volvo 240. First purchased: Mercedes 300e. Bad ass brick shithouse until all electrics started breaking.
 
First car was a rusty white 67 Lincoln Contential Executive. It was given to by a neighbor who didn't want it in his driveway any more. The backseat had been removed and replaced with a floral hide-a-bed couch. It was hilariously long and a stupid, but it was popular with my friends because you could cram tons of people into it. My friend Alex once tried to unfold the bed and got it wedged in the roof. I drove around like that for two weeks before I figured out how to get it back down.

Picture isn't mine
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I wish I grew up in the US so badly! All these 'first cars' are way cool. What was my first car? An Austin Mini, 1974 vintage, 1000cc and rusted out from top to bottom. I paid 300 pounds for it and my dad and I gutted it, put a ton of new metal on it and resprayed it. The insurance for that little 1000cc engine was a big stretch for a 17 year old kid - why is UK car insurance SO damn expensive??
 
Oh you missed out big time. In 1975 ten to five year old muscle cars were cheap because they needed a set of points or tires or some other insignificant detail. Like GTO's, 442's, and Road Runner's for $800 cheap. It was like a new used one in the driveway every month for about a ten year stretch.
 
First car was a 79 Toyota SR5 Sport Coupe like this one. Manual transmission. Was yellow like this one, same gas cap and rims, just did not have that wide lower black stripe. Got a good deal on the used car with 51k on it bought it early my Senior year of high school in 1984. Drove the little yellow thing until I replaced it in 1994. Had over 151k on it when I let it go.
Corolla sr5.JPG Corolla SR5 side.JPG
 
1948 Plymouth Coupe. The previous owner had removed the trunk lid and welded in a metal box, so he could haul firewood. (He lived in the mountains.) Butt ugly, but it was only $35, and I learned to drive a stick shift with it. Didn't keep it long.

1960 Chevrolet got it in 1969.
I had one of those too, at about the same time. Starter solenoid would stick from time to time, but a *gentle* tap would get it going.
 
1971 Toyota Corona Mark II. In Primrose Yellow...like this one. I probably have pic of the actual car somewhere. I think it started rusting out while it was still in the factory .

Cloth bucket seats, carpet on the floor, Toyoglide 3 speed automatic trans, 8RC engine, rear wheel drive. The gas cap was behind the spring loaded rear license plate.
It had high beams on the signal stalk.

There was a Master key that worked everything, and a Valet key that only did doors and ignition ( not trunk or glove box ). It would be decades before Detroit figured out the "single key" technology !

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Here's the original advert for it....look how much copy there is ! I guess we had the time to read back then.

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In 1983, my first car was a $25 1955 Buick Special Riviera.
All the hard to find parts were missing.
I did end up getting it running and drove it a few times using the glass windshield washer reservoir to hold gas (and pumping the wash button to feed the carb),
and using vice grips to hold the emergency brake out so I could use the rear brakes only with the E brake pedal.

Around '84, I got a $100 1966 Olds 98 with the 10.25:1 425 Super Rocket and an anti-spin axle.
What a tank, but it was fun.

Then I became a Mopar guy (for life) after I got a $500 1966 Coronet mid year 1985.

I also briefly had a $250 1972 Buick Skylark.
 
63 Ford Galaxie i got it for $50 in 72 it ran pretty good. looked like the one in pic except the rear driver side fender was completely smashed in, i didnt care i was 17 and the radio worked all was good. lasted about a year

1963_Ford_Galaxie500Boxtop2.jpg
 
63 Ford Galaxie i got it for $50 in 72 it ran pretty good. looked like the one in pic except the rear driver side fender was completely smashed in, i didnt care i was 17 and the radio worked all was good. lasted about a year

1963_Ford_Galaxie500Boxtop2.jpg

Looks like a Narc car. :)
 
A 1968 Mustang hardtop. Green with a black vinyl roof 200-c.i. straight six. I got during my last year of high school. I bought it from my cousin who had it two tears before she found out you had to change the oil periodically. Too much different needing to swap in a V-8 I traded it for a 1972 Cougar XR7 a couple of years later.
 
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