What car did you own as a teenager?

[SnowStorm]

It was a Rambler American 330 sedan for me.  Dad bought it when I was in college for $500 (I think the asking price was $550) and in bad need of an overhaul.  Just a three speed on the column but it had "overdrive"!  This was the crazy system that let the car freewheel (no engine braking) until the overdrive was "engaged" by letting off the throttle momentarily.  Engine was a "flat head" six - that's before overhead valves which is before overhead cams which is before dual overhead cams, etc, etc.  Moments to remember (or not!):

 - Before the engine overhaul, the piston blow-by was so bad it would come out the vent around the oil filler tube, up through the steering column and out around the steering wheel as little wisps of smoke!

 - Revved the engine a bit too much in 2nd gear once and there was a bang and a sudden shaking.  Pulled over and found coolant everywhere under the hood.  Eventually saw that I had managed to throw a fan blade!  Called campus police to inform them the car would be sitting there for a few days, pulled the radiator and had it soldered and then, to get rid of the out-of-balance fan problem, sawed off the opposing blade and went on my merry way with a two bladed fan!

 - On the way to a spelunking adventure (our guide's motto was "you're never lost, you just don't know where you are"!) the back fender was smashed because someone ran a stop sign.  I pulled it back out a bit and we went on.  Folks said the only evidence of the accident was a small pile of rust!.  Insurance totaled the car, paid me $200 or so and I went on my way hoping someone would hit me on the other side!

 

Drove the car as far away as Ann Arbor MI and eventually traded it on our first Volvo when engaged.

Unlike many of you, don't think I can drum up enough sentimentality to want it back!

[PWBarrett]

My dad's business was doing well for a few years there, and he got me a new '75 Firebird with a 350 in it, back when I was about 17.

Then when it got up to about 30K miles, he sold that and got me a Trans Am with a 400 in it.

It was a good thing I was in his fleet insurance, because I lost count of the number of tickets I got.

I drove that like it was a tank, and commuted to college in it.  By the time it had 120K on it, it had a cracked frame, multiple replaced panels, a bad oil pump, and would only run a few miles before losing oil pressure.  Ended up selling it for salvage.  Yeesh.

 

I'm so glad our son is nothing like the reckless driver I was at that age.  He's now 24 and hasn't had an accident or ticket.  (Jinxed now?)

[Hero161]

I brought my first car for $200 in 1962. It was my Junior year in high school. The 1941 Plymouth 4 door sedan had a 3 speed on the column and I remember putting a split manifold on the flat head six cylinder engine giving me the opportunity to install dual glass pack mufflers.

 

The picture here is not my actual car but one very much like it. Sweet memories...

 

Rick

[RetiredJohn]

1963 Dodge Polara 4-dr Sedan.  Had a 383ci "Wedge" 4-barrel with push-button Torque Flight Trans.  I converted it to a Hurst floor stick shift (gas was 29c/gallon).  It was a sleeper :drop:    350ci Cameros and Firebirds would pull along side, laugh and gun their engines.  At that point they were just a spec in my rearview! :camera:

After an electrical fire the engine lived a second life in a Dodge Dart at the race track.

[mtb9153]

Didn't start driving until after high school (1971), but here's a list of my rides up to my Max.

 

1. 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda 340 Hurst Pistol Grip 4-speed (should have kept this car)

2. 1971 AMC AMX 390

3. 1974 Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty 455 w/4-speed

4. 1971 Datsun 240Z (I swapped the 6 cylinder engine for a '68 Chevy 327 which put out 340hp) that I built from scratch. Muncie M-22 4 speed

5. 1991 GMC Syclone tubrocharged, AWD (Fastest Production Truck ever built) 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds, in the rain

6. 1992 GMC Typhoon, sister to my Syclone in Sport Utility trim

7. 2013 Ford CMax

 

Future possible ride...Tesla if I could ever afford one?

 

Obviously the CMax is the opposite direction from all of the above.  Got tired of paying at the pump more than once a week, but what a rush it was while it lasted.  San Jose Police knew me well.

Edited July 18, 2013 by mtb9153

[bigalpha]

Future possible ride...Tesla if I could ever afford one?

 

yes!  I wish that I could afford the X that's coming out.  It looks amazingly sweet.  Also, wish I had a garage to put it in and charge.

[grggwlkr]

A 1966 candle wax yellow buick LaSabre.  A real land yacht. Back seat the size of a twin bed. Great for high school  back seat panty scratchin. Those were the days!

[JohnnOhio]

Bought my first car in 82. Got me a 72 Mustang fastback with a 429 CID engine. Loved it. Gas mileage not so much.

[chryssa]

1972 AMC Javelin SST with a 304 V8 automatic that would hit 110 with no effort. (What the heck was I thinking?)  The car was red with inverted gold C stripes on the sides, and side pipes that added a nice rumble. (Probably Glasspack.) Janis Joplin belting it out on the eight track... Not exactly an inconspicuous ride. 

[Jmonty]

 

 

79 Thunderbird. Was OK.

 

85 Ford van

 

78 Ford station wagon

[roninsd]

Took MY driving test(s) (ok, took me three time to pass) on the family '61 Oldsmobile.  Moved up, when I was 18, to a Red Datsun 510 "station wagon".  In college (seminary) drove an old VW van that we had to push/pop the clutch to start. 

 

Since then many different, uneventful vehicles until I got my Subaru Legacy, my first REAL NEW car.  Loved it!

[Ldcarson]

A Fiat X-1/9 and then a Fiat 132S.  After a year of driving it, I bought a 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra 2 and and after that a 1982 Indy 500 Camero pace car (Still miss that car)

[fbov]

My first car was a Ford, and this C-max is my second... Ford. 40 years later. The first Ford was a 1970 Maverick , purchased in 1973 for $1250. 200 cid straight 6 with 3-on-the-tree, that would become the largest car engine I've ever owned. It's only claim to fame is that it got me through college; it had many claims to infamy...

 

HAve fun,

Frank

[susanne]

What a fun topic! Old Stoney was a big ol' Ford Country Station Wagon. When he died, my parents gave me their 1967 Camaro 350 SS convertible to drive that my father had given my mother as a b'day present in 1967. My son drove that same Camaro when he was in high school. I finally sold it to a collector in 2007.

[tehuti]

D train, IND line or the #4 IRT line - uptown in the Bronx. No car.

[C-Maxgo]

What a fun topic! Old Stoney was a big ol' Ford Country Station Wagon. When he died, my parents gave me their 1967 Camaro 350 SS convertible to drive that my father had given my mother as a b'day present in 1967. My son drove that same Camaro when he was in high school. I finally sold it to a collector in 2007.

 

What a great story susanne!  Recently I asked my father about the 66 Camero he helped me buy when I was kid.  He said he wished we would have kept it because it would be worth some money now.  

[fotomoto]

I am imagining your car and that time that car was really a nice car.In Finland i seen a lot of old cars which i am still amaze on it.Well we all know that today and before has a huge differences like parking or pysäköinninvalvoja where you can park anywhere without paying but now you are paying in some parking space weather you like or not.Sadly may dad never gave me a car before that's why i can't tell what is my first car given.

 

spammer

[marshtex2]

At age 15 my first car was a 1927 Ford Model T pickup.  Never licensed it, just drove it around the back roads.  Next came a 1947 Ford two door.  Pretty nice, would get up to 80 mph quite quickly but on old US 66 with the pedal to the floor indefintely would hardly get over 85.  Next came a 1929 Model A sport coupe.  Soft top, non convertible, with a rumble seat. A great transportation special.  Now at age 82 I'm back to a Ford, the C-Max, got it up to 113 mph going through Panamint valley (next to Death Valley), probably my last car.

[Mark426]

Red El Camino with fake wood trim and to make it more awesome, a huge CB radio antenna. 

EDIT: I now realize that teens have no fashion sense at all.

Edited September 23, 2013 by Mark426

[C-Maxgo]

At age 15 my first car was a 1927 Ford Model T pickup.  Never licensed it, just drove it around the back roads.  Next came a 1947 Ford two door.  Pretty nice, would get up to 80 mph quite quickly but on old US 66 with the pedal to the floor indefintely would hardly get over 85.  Next came a 1929 Model A sport coupe.  Soft top, non convertible, with a rumble seat. A great transportation special.  Now at age 82 I'm back to a Ford, the C-Max, got it up to 113 mph going through Panamint valley (next to Death Valley), probably my last car.

How interesting marshtex2!  My father had a car when I was young that had a rumble seat.  It was so fun to sit in it.  

 

Red El Camino with fake wood trim and to make it just awesome, a huge CB radio antenna. 

EDIT: I just realized that teens have no fashion sense at all.

I remember the CB radios.  My handle was lil pumpkin in 1975 because at the time I worked at McDonalds we wore orange uniforms.

[robertlane]

1969 Mustang Mach1, purchased in 1983 while I was a junior in high school (mowed a lot of lawns) and I still have it.  Next was a Chevelle with a 400 V8, then a 1976 F150 and then another 1969 Mustang Mach1 with a 428 Super Cobra Jet (still have that one too).

 

My first new vehicle was a 1991 F150 (4.9L straight six) and my wife purchased a new, 1993 Ford Escort wagon - I loved that Escort!  

 

Up next was a 1995 Thunderbird (used, but it was a cool chameleon purple) - traded that for a 1996 F150 (last of the 4.9L straight six).  

 

I then went to a 2006 Ford E350 van, which I still have with 130,000 miles and EVERYTHING is original, except the tires and battery.  Yes, the brakes are still good! 

[drdiesel1]

1969 Nova SS with a 350-LT1 shifted though a Muncie 4 spd and a 3.56 gear.  Fastest car in high school :worship:

Edited September 24, 2013 by drdiesel1

[DR61]

Took my driving text in a 1967 Plymouth Fury station wagon. Parallel parking was an adventure. In college I had a Volvo 544 and a Volvo station wagon. My brother had a Volvo P1800. Sweet car, until he totaled it.

Another Volvo here for my first car: a 1958 Volvo PV444, 4 speed manual, with shoulder harness attachments built in (which I added).  An industry first, I think.  Traded it in on a 1961 Austin Mini Cooper!

[robertlane]

1969 Nova SS with a 350-LT1 shifted though a Muncie 4 spd and a 3.56 gear.  Fastest car in high school :worship:

 

From the fastest to the most fuel efficient

[drdiesel1]

From the fastest to the most fuel efficient

Age has weird effects on people :victory: