What was your first car...???

[Doctor Strange]

The first car I owned was an eight-year-old 1975 Dodge Dart, with the famous Slant 6 engine. (I somehow managed to kill that notably unkillable engine after a couple of years.)

But I grew up on Corvairs! My folks had bought a 1965 model new as a second car. We later owned used 1967 and 1969 Corvairs as second cars. (We had big Chevys - 1962 and 1971 - as our main cars.) Those Corvairs were great: the infamous bugs had been worked out by these later models, and they were dependable and really fun to drive.

 

[Fading Fast]

It was 1980 and I bought a 1967 Chevy Impala Super Sport - 327 V8 with the odd combination of manual transmission, power steering, but not a power brake (you had to apply serious pressure to stop this behemoth), manual windows and factory installed air conditioning that could have kept Florida cold in the summer all by itself.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Now that you mention it, I have never read it, and I know, none of my friends that actually owned a Corvair ever read it. Funny how a book, no one ever read, had such a profound impact on the auto industry! One thing I do know, many people have flown behind modified Corvair engines with little or no problems. Speaks volumes!

I did read it, and the Corvair stuff only applies to the earliest models -- and is only a part of the book. The bulk of the book is an indictment of Detroit's overall ambivalence toward safety in favor of "styling." The point that always stuck with me is that several deaths were documented from pedestrians being fatally impaled on the sharp-pointed fins of the late fifties.

"Unsafe at Any Speed" didn't just come out of the clear blue sky. Nader picked up on many points that had been raised as far back as the mid-fifties by auto-industry critics, notably John Keats, who absolutely blistered the Detroit establishment and its marketing wizards in "The Insolent Chariots," which is highly recommended for a look at what was really going on behind the scenes in the tailfin era.

 

[foamy]

I bought a '69 4-door, Chevy Biscayne in '74. Straight six, automatic on the tree, AM radio. That car wouldn't spin wheels on loose gravel. Lots of room and I put in some nice Jenson's and 8-track. A party car. Very reliable. Incredibly boring. My family's insurance agent (remember them? And their huge black accounts book?) bought it from me when I went to college.

 

[Frunobulax]

Great thread idea. Technically, I had a mid '60s Beetle for a couple of hours. Dad was giving it to me and we went out to the local hockey arena so he could teach me the ins and outs of a standard transmission. I drove it home that day, shut it off, and the engine seized. Not being mechanics at the time (something I developed independently of Dad), it got 86ed. A couple months later, I purchased a '71 Mustang with a 302. Nice car, but didn't have that one for long either.

 

[Panadora]

 

[DNO]

1963 Chevy 2...until it fell apart (loved that little car), then a 1966 Olds F-85. My first new car was a 1978 Honda Accord.

 

[Dan Allen]

1964 Austin Mini Cooper S, More fun than should be allowed on the road. Drove it till Uncle Sam beckoned. It never occurred to me to store it at my dad's, he had a spot in his garage. Mentally kicked myself many times for not doing it.

 

[Stearmen]

Ohhhh....nice!

 

[vitanola]

The problem with that "extra" gas reserve was that it was nothing more than a depression in the bottom of the gas tank. If you didn't use it regularly any solid contaminants in the gas tank would settle in that "bowl", and when you finally used it more often than not those solids would get sucked into the car's fuel system and plug it up.

And I know what I'm talking about because my first car was a 1961 Volkswagen Beetle that had that "extra" fuel lever. lol I paid $2,500 for it in 1977, had the engine and transmission rebuilt, converted it from the stock 6 volt electrical system to a 12 volt system, had new seat covers installed, and had it repainted after I rear-ended an AMC Pacer. I had it almost three years before it was stolen. :Cry:

Just use the fuel gauge from a Flivver!

 

[Stearmen]

The point that always stuck with me is that several deaths were documented from pedestrians being fatally impaled on the sharp-pointed fins of the late fifties.

That turned out to be an urban legend! Look at the 59 Cadillac bellow, the fins are on the back, so it would have to back up onto the pedestrian, knocking them over, before they could be impaled. If you were standing against a wall, you would be crushed by all that chrome, so the fin would be the least of your problems. Now, the 59 Cadillac was dangerous to the person, driving with out seatbelts, all that metal, your head and chest would not stand a chance!

 

[vitanola]

That turned out to be an urban legend! Look at the 59 Cadillac bellow, the fins are on the back, so it would have to back up onto the pedestrian, knocking them over, before they could be impaled. If you were standing against a wall, you would be crushed by all that chrome, so the fin would be the least of your problems. Now, the 59 Cadillac was dangerous to the person, driving with out seatbelts, all that metal, your head and chest would not stand a chance!

No. My father worked with a man who was eviscerated in a collision with an Oldsmobile rocket hood ornament, and there were occasional news reports of accidents invloving pedestrians and cyclists. Here is a news report of an evisceration from as recently as 1999. A fellow was hit by a passing car while entering his legally parked car and was thrown up against the (stubby little) tail fin on a 1964 Cadiallac which sliced him open from stem to stern.


Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

A 24-year-old singer and dancer seeking fame in Hollywood was killed Wednesday in a hit-and-run crash when he was impaled on the tailfin of a 1964 Cadillac, police said.

Trent Illig, who went by the stage name Trent Taylor, died instantly in the 2 a.m. crash in the 11600 block of Ventura Boulevard, said Officer Jason Hough of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

After saying goodbye to a friend at the Apache, a bar near Blue Canyon Drive, Illig walked toward the driver side of his Ford Probe and was hit by a pickup truck traveling eastbound on Ventura Boulevard, Hough said.

Illig's body sheared off the rear-view mirror of his car and was knocked into a tailfin of a parked Cadillac convertible, Hough said. He landed in the front seat of the Cadillac, which had its top down.

``More than likely, the impact with the tailfin probably killed him instantly,'' Hough said.

Illig's friend, Richard Henry of Santa Fe Springs, was sitting in the passenger seat of the Ford Probe.

``He was really upset and didn't know what to do. The bartender was trying to console him,'' Hough said.

Witnesses described the motorist as driving a 1996 or 1997 Ford F-150 pickup truck, which likely has a broken headlight and front end damage, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Willie Guerrero.

Police asked those with information to call detectives at (818) 756-8391 or (818) 756-8381 after hours.

Trent Illig was raised in Buffalo, N.Y., and graduated from the University of Fredonia's music school with a degree in music composition in 1996. After graduating, he joined Carnival Cruise Lines in California, entertaining on ships before moving to North Hollywood.

 

[de Stokesay]

Mine was a 1971 Ford Ltd convertible in 1994. Lovely car with no rust at all, but quite faded paint. I gave it to my father a few years ago for Christmas as he always loved it. He still has it. My second was a 1969 Dodge Charger which I still have and drive every summer. Before the cars, was a 1971 Yamaha motorcycle I built from a box of bits. I still like old vehicles to this day.

de Stokesay

 

[Harp]

Drove it till Uncle Sam beckoned....

M151A2 with a $14,000 M109 radio bolted in back. I had to sign for both, so technically the Jeep was my first ride.

 

[GHT]

In 1963, at the age of seventeen, having just acquired my driving licence, I bought a 1939 MG TA. It was about 24 years old and forever going wrong. It had cost me the princely sum of ten pounds, so I couldn't believe my luck when I was offered a hundred pounds for it. Restored today, it would easily fetch forty grand.

That car was the influence for the classic that I own today. I learned that the MG Y series, was a saloon version of the MG TD sports cars, aimed at the young thirty something, who thought that he was still eighteen, in his head, instead of 32, married, with a couple of kids. Now he can have his 'sports' car, and put the kids on the back seat. The Y series was seen as antiquated and unloved. But it proved a gold mine for TD owners. Most of the spare parts were interchangeable with the Y series, so many a Y was bought, cannibalised and scrapped. Nowadays there are very few MG Y's left. It's a privilege to own such a rare car.

 

[DNO]

In 1963, at the age of seventeen, having just acquired my driving licence, I bought a 1939 MG TA. It was about 24 years old and forever going wrong. It had cost me the princely sum of ten pounds, so I couldn't believe my luck when I was offered a hundred pounds for it. Restored today, it would easily fetch forty grand.

That car was the influence for the classic that I own today. I learned that the MG Y series, was a saloon version of the MG TD sports cars, aimed at the young thirty something, who thought that he was still eighteen, in his head, instead of 32, married, with a couple of kids. Now he can have his 'sports' car, and put the kids on the back seat. The Y series was seen as antiquated and unloved. But it proved a gold mine for TD owners. Most of the spare parts were interchangeable with the Y series, so many a Y was bought, cannibalised and scrapped. Nowadays there are very few MG Y's left. It's a privilege to own such a rare car.

A beautiful car. In university, when I had my Chevy 2, my friend had a mid-60s Triumph Spitfire. When we wanted to go somewhere and look cool, we always took his car...when it ran. Not an MG but still a sweet car.

 

[Stearmen]

No. My father worked with a man who was eviscerated in a collision with an Oldsmobile rocket hood ornament, and there were occasional news reports of accidents invloving pedestrians and cyclists. Here is a news report of an evisceration from as recently as 1999. A fellow was hit by a passing car while entering his legally parked car and was thrown up against the (stubby little) tail fin on a 1964 Cadiallac which sliced him open from stem to stern.


Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

A 24-year-old singer and dancer seeking fame in Hollywood was killed Wednesday in a hit-and-run crash when he was impaled on the tailfin of a 1964 Cadillac, police said.

Trent Illig, who went by the stage name Trent Taylor, died instantly in the 2 a.m. crash in the 11600 block of Ventura Boulevard, said Officer Jason Hough of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

After saying goodbye to a friend at the Apache, a bar near Blue Canyon Drive, Illig walked toward the driver side of his Ford Probe and was hit by a pickup truck traveling eastbound on Ventura Boulevard, Hough said.

Illig's body sheared off the rear-view mirror of his car and was knocked into a tailfin of a parked Cadillac convertible, Hough said. He landed in the front seat of the Cadillac, which had its top down.

``More than likely, the impact with the tailfin probably killed him instantly,'' Hough said.

Illig's friend, Richard Henry of Santa Fe Springs, was sitting in the passenger seat of the Ford Probe.

``He was really upset and didn't know what to do. The bartender was trying to console him,'' Hough said.

Witnesses described the motorist as driving a 1996 or 1997 Ford F-150 pickup truck, which likely has a broken headlight and front end damage, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Willie Guerrero.

Police asked those with information to call detectives at (818) 756-8391 or (818) 756-8381 after hours.

Trent Illig was raised in Buffalo, N.Y., and graduated from the University of Fredonia's music school with a degree in music composition in 1996. After graduating, he joined Carnival Cruise Lines in California, entertaining on ships before moving to North Hollywood.

That article left out the most important part, "Illig, who was thrown 30 feet in the air, was pronounced dead at the scene." http://articles.latimes.com/1999/apr/15/local/me-27651 If you fly 30 feet up in the air, then hit a car, fin or no fin, you are probably going to die!

 

[vitanola]

That article left out the most important part, "Illig, who was thrown 30 feet in the air, was pronounced dead at the scene." http://articles.latimes.com/1999/apr/15/local/me-27651 If you fly 30 feet up in the air, then hit a car, fin or no fin, you are probably going to die!

Well, in this case it was not blunt force trauma. His skull and face were sliced open, as was his chest and gut, spilling his viscera over the pavement. Rather gruesome. There were in the accunts of children cycling suffering terrible injuries when running into the fins of those monstrosities. Cannot imagine why you defend those things. Don't even have running boards.

 

[Warden]

Nothing retro or vintage for me, my first car an Austin Mini Metro.

Sadly Austin is no more, but according to this advert at the launch of the Metro (1980 I think) they did make a defiant last stand.

[video=youtube;E4-8LgXjQbc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4-8LgXjQbc[/video]

 

[Edward]

My first car was one I bought as a restoration project, at the age of twelve. An early 1960s Morris 1100, something like this:

It was a runner, MOT'ed, though a bit rough around the edges. Bought for £17 in 1986/7, sold a few months later for £40. I then bought a 1959 Ford Popular 100E - this style:

(Again, not mine, just one like it). Stripped and did some preliminary work, then sold it on as an ongoing project when I was about fifteen.

When I was finally old enough to drive, I largely lost interest in cars, and took two and a half years to get around to doing my driving test. My brother and I co-owned a couple of Eighties Ford Fiestas when I was in my early twenties, but I only ever actually drove the first one - twice, at that. I discovered pretty quickly I hated driving, a resentment partly borne of the fact that there was very poor public transport in Northern Ireland (the service, such as it is, has improved significantly in recent years, but there are still large chunks of the six counties not covered at all, or only poorly: not driving is a major handicap over there, and one reason why the three-mile-universes that contribute so greatly to the ingrained social difficulties of the place still exist). I didn't much like leaving my room in those days anyhow, or that's how it seems looking back.

I've never owned a car since moving to London in 1999; kept my licence up to date more because it's useful for ID than anything else, but truly the last time I drove was 8th February, 1999. If ever I could afford to have garage space and run a hobby car, there are a few vintage vehicles I'd love, but it's unlikely I'll ever be able to afford that unless I leave London.

Had I the money, I'd probably be looking at some of the 50s British Ford Zodiacs (love the MKI & MK II) - all the styling of the big, beautiful American cars of the period, but more practical on UK roads, and cheaper to feed! A Morgan would have serious appeal, and definitely a Morris Minor or two...

A'67 bug with the Porsche engine was my dream car. Worked in a garage and a guy used to come in with the dark blue '67, stock except for the Porsche engine. I drooled each time I saw it. Bought the same stock bug in the 80's but discovered rusted engine mounts and never bothered to install the Porsche engine.....to my eternal regret!!!

My dad had one back in the Sixties with that mod. I've seen photos of him autotesting and off-road racing in it. Apparently it was great for the autotests, with all the weight in the back end....

He and a mate also used to rally a Ford 105E back in the day. It was..... a bit hairy. They got hold of an engine, gearbox, and back axle out of a Lotus Cortina (i.e. all the Lotus bits!) and dropped those into the little 105E..... apparently it was too fast for its own good, and great fun, until they borke it one night....

1969 VW Beetle. Bought it for $600, drove it until it rusted completely away. When they loaded onto the hauler to take it away after I finally sold it, it broke in half. But it was cheap, reliable transportation while it lasted, and when it skidded into ditches in the winter, I could push it back onto the road with no help required.

Cheap, honest transportation? I will bid you good day....

[video=youtube;4fQOqpPsgFo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fQOqpPsgFo[/video]

Nice to see so many VW firsts Mine was a 73 bug, which I drove for 80k miles before trading it in for the same $ I paid for it. I still have a '74 camper (mostly original), but that bug was quite something. Man, I really miss it sometimes..

- R

Those cmapers are fetching crazy money over here nowadays. My brother fancied one, but ended up converting a much later T3 van owing to what even a later bay-window type goes for now in the UK.