My first car, a 1952 Merc 2-door Htp. The last flattie. What a custom that would make today. My brother wrecked it while I was in the Navy.
My second, a 1953 Chev Bel Air.
My third, a 1955 Chev half ton.
My fourth, a 1958 Chev Impala. (Which I thot back then was one ugly beast. Today…sigh)
I’m getting old.
Hmmm…
Never had any real classics. Too young for the 50’s cars. I did have a 1956 VW bug as my first car. It was well over 10 years old when I got it. I souped it up by changing the motor out for a Porsche motor. That lasted only a couple of weeks before I blew it up. I later cut it up in an attempt to mount the body on a shortened Buick chassis with V8 power. I was never able to get the engine running after adding dual 4BBL carbs and a cam advance kit. Soon after I discovered girls and beer were more fun than wrenches and oil so I sold it unfinished.
After the VeeDub my I had a few motor cycles and several cars were pretty boring.
My brother on the other hand… He souped up and painted my mom’s '54 Pontiac convertible as the “Hydromaniac”, Later he had a 56 Chevy Nomad - Way cool. There was a '48 Ford roadster in there somewhere as well, and a Volvo 444.
I wouldn’t mind having my brother’s Nomad for a weekend warrior.
Not personally owned by me, but my gramps had sitting in his driveway for years:
1963 Buick Riviera, and in front of that:
1949 Mercury Coupe, yes, THE classic Mercury
Unfortunatly when the time came to clear out the property I was living in an apartment and had no place for them…
Wow John , ask a bunch of old men about the cars that they have had , this will not be a short posting ;- )
54 Chevy 4 dr
51 Ford 2 door
53 Chevy 4 dr
66 Impala 4 dr
then several more , onwards till now .
But the real storys were the Motorcycles
1968 Honda 450 Scrambler
1970 HD 900 Sportster
1972 HD 1200 Superglide
1969 HD 1200 Electra Glide
1973 BMW 750
1982 550 Kawasaki
1984 Honda 550
1997 Honda 800 Pacfic Coast
1969 Dodge Coronet 2-door. Dark Green. 440 / dual quads. Fast as hell.
1964 Pontiac Catalina Convertible. Baby blue, white leather interior. Got about 5mpg, but it was damn good looking.
1981 Ford Bronco. Came with a 240/6, but we put in a 460 with a C6 automatic from some ancient station wagon. 8" suspension lift, 3" body. 44" tires. Fun as hell in the mud.
I’ve only parted with one vehicle, a 61 Studebaker Champ half ton pick up with a 289. It had a rusted out cab floor, so was kinda drafty in the winter. I wish I still had it. It was unique.
I drive my wife nuts with the eclectic collection, but they are all paid for and all run well.
58 MGA Roadster the only exception to running well. It runs, but not well. Needs extensive body work.
65 Dodge Van. Ugly as sin, but tricked out as a camper, so why part with it?
65 Mustang Coupe with 200 cu 6 cylinder, 3 on the floor and an AM radio.
79 Oldsmobile 98. Yes, it was my father’s Olds.
98 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab with the 5.9L diesase-al
83 Suzuki GS 750 T Motor Cycle. Always garaged, looks and runs like new.
Just two, a 71 Ford Pinto w/ 2L and 4 speed, rebuilt it myself and you could tune it up with out a computer! The other was a 65 Chevell station wagon with a nice little 286 in it that I put in, it was a real runner! Of course now I am not sure I could get in to or out of the Pinto! Getting too old for those little cars!
Paul
66 Mustang 289 w/Hurst Speed Shifter
71 Maverick with a 302…tires did not last long on this one!
I wish I still had my old '57 Chevy Convertable…
I had a 1952 MGTD, 1959 Triumph TR3A and a 1968 MGC. All would be worth a lot of money, but I’d probably sell them. That was a different time of my life and suited it well.
'73 Dodge Charger SE, with 440 and pistol grip 4-speed… Plum Crazy and white. tricked suspension, and Year One aftermarket repro spoilers… would run 14.7s all day, and either bury the 150 speedo, or get 18 mpg depending on my mood.
'68 Plymouth Sport Fury convertible, with 440 auto – No wait, I still have that one, it’s just too far rusted to fix.
The first car I ever owned was a 1953 Citroen Light 15. I ill treated it and my dad took it off me until I could prove I appreciated what I owned and would look after it.
My second car was a 1956 British built Citroen Big 6. A fantastic performance machine that was a lot of fun to drive.
Sadly peer group pressure sucked me into buying a Mini Cooper that were all the rage then.
That car was like Murphy’s axe. Same body shell but two different engines and gear boxes.
I wish I still had either of the two Citroens. They are worth big $$ nowadays.
Are those the ones with front wheel drive and rear steering?
Volvo 123S
The first car I owned was a 66 VW Beetle. I installed 13 inch wheel adapters which widened the stance and lowered the center of gravity. The heater ducts were rusted out. In the Winter I had to scrape the inside of the windshield and it kept about 4 inches of snow on the floorboard. Never got stuck though.
The one car I wish I still had is a 71 Pontiac Grand Prix. Fast, nice handling and comfortable.
Another would be the 76 Buick Riviera. It was the last big Riviera, but no boat tail. It had the same three qualities. I ounce drove it from Detroit, Mi to Weatherford Tx. in 12 hours. Stopped several times for gas and once to eat. Average 100mph. The car speedo didn’t work and I traveled most of it in the dark. It was so comfortable I never realized I was driving that fast. Got slowed down for my exit in TX and got pulled for doing 75 in a 55.
Ralph
'54 VW beetle with the small oval rear window and the periscope tail lights. 1136cc of surging lack-of-grunt.
The one I’d like back? Bright red '64 Corvair Turbo convertible, white rag top, cherry condition until the dickhead in the Mercury (high on something illegal) ran a STOP sign and put the Corvair on top of a mailbox
John Bouck said:Front wheel drive and front wheel steering. They had the gear lever coming out of the dash. The Light 15 was in production from 1935 - 1955 when the DS-19 came out. Like the DS-19 the Light 15 was way ahead of its time.
Are those the ones with front wheel drive and rear steering?
Phil - The '54 was the one I wanted but could only find a '56 in decent shape by 1969. I think The '54 had the split rear window. The '56 still had a small oval window, but no split. It also had very small tail-lights but no periscope. Did the '54 also have the turn signals that came out from the side behind the door, or was that earlier ?
Hmmmmmmmmm, best car I owned was a 1971 Duster 340. It was also the first new car I ever owned having bought and rebuilt used cars before that. Bought the car brand new off the show room floor while I was still in Valley Forge General Hospital recuperating. Since I didn’t live far away from there I used to drive the guys who had weekend leave to the airport. Had it a few years after I got married until another car ran into it and totaled it. It’s been station wagons and mini-vans since then…
I really miss my first car, a 1970 Fiat Spider 124. I swear I had the only rust free and reliable one in all the world.
I replaced it’s memory with a 2006 Solstice…and replaced that with a 2008 Solstice.