Car Of Your Youth

[hohjoe]

17 hours ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

Always wanted a 56 or 57 Bel Air  (with or without the fins... either is good  ).  That Delray is a looker!!!

That's an internet picture, although mine was that color.

[Troy_Clark]

21 hours ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

We did not have a car when I was in high school but back on our small town in Brazil on the 80s and 90s, bicycles where kings of transportation, mine got stolen after my brother borrowed it, and after he got home, he left it by the curb, and someone took it, to this day he owes me a bike.

I had one of those but in black as a hand me down from my uncle.

There were a lot 80s and 90s cars in Brazil that I really like, I loved and still would love to have the Brazilian Chevy Opala Diplomata 4.1L

The Opala had been build with the base and chassis of an Opel Rekord, but had the power unit and final styling of the American Impala, resulting on an awesome hear turning machine, specially for teenagers who where overflowing with hormones.

Before my dad passed on the middle 80s, he had one of these, late 70s fiat 147, he actually bought two cheap wrecked ones, cut them in half and put it together was one.

One of the many professions my dad had, he was a painter and body shop worker on one of the two shops our town had back then, the shop also had a junk yard.

Ahahha I remember how i rided my bike to college)

[GolfSpy TCB]

9 hours ago, EasyPutter said:

Oh look how long this is and I said short story, will save that for another time. 

Get us talking about the "glory days" and we could fill volumes EP!!  Loved reading about your Volaire street rod.

[GolfSpy TCB]

16 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

1969 Mustang Mach1

I would like to see the Mach1 against @EasyPutter's Volaire. 

 

[GolfSpy TCB]

9 hours ago, funkyjudge said:

After my ‘69 Pontiac Bonneville, I bought a ‘61 Chevy Impala convertible (same color combination as that Mustang, although the blue was just a half shade lighter). I also burned/blew up that car’s engine by putting far too much strain on it hauling around band instruments and amplifiers plus part of a PA system.

I wondered when an Impala was going to make an appearance.  I only need an El Camino to complete my BINGO card. That or a Subaru Brat.   

[Tom the Golf Nut]

47 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

I wondered when an Impala was going to make an appearance.  I only need an El Camino to complete my BINGO card. That or a Subaru Brat.   

I drive an Impala now. Does that count?

[Golf2Much]

After I graduated high school in 1974 and was going away to college, my first car was a mid-1960's Dodge Coronet 440.

Unlike this picture, it was a green/grey color.  It looked benign from the outside.  I'm not sure my parents really knew (or more realistically didn't want to know) what was under the hood!   If they did, they would have insisted me getting a different car.  That lasted about four years (normal life expectancy wasn't great back then). 

My next car was a mid-70's Dodge Colt.  It was green, just like the picture.  Unfortunately, I didn't have it too long.

Our first Summer together, I did extensive body work to get rid of all the rust and dents and had it repainted.  That Fall on a trip home from college a deer hit me in the driver side front fender and door, it flipped 180 degrees and took out my rear panel.  Needless to say it was totaled it!  Colts were not made with the most robust sheet metal!

I quickly needed a replacement and got what ultimately was my favorite car growing up:  an orange mid 70's Chevy Vega.  It had a 4 speed manual transmission along with all the problems that Vegas were famous for. 

It lasted me through college.  On my way home from junior year it caught fire about 4 hours from home.  I let it rest for a few hours, started it up and drove it again for another year.  After graduation I gave it to my uncle and he drove it for another four or five years.

[Golfspy_CG2]

11 hours ago, PMookie said:

The first car I drove was a Ford Galaxie 500 that my grandma gave my Dad. It was a red two door with the black top, black interior.

Then the first car my parents bought me was a used 1986 Ford Tempo, light blue four door, light blue interior. It turned-out to be a piece of junk, always needed a repair. This looks EXACTLY like the one I had.

Ah the Ford Tempo!  I remember that one..ha

[Tom the Golf Nut]

28 minutes ago, EasyPutter said:

 

I bet that Mach1 would have had some good traction and with someone who could actually handle the power it would have been fun!  The Volare had a locking differential so accelerating was always like releasing an arrow from the bow, always 2 wheels pushing together and straight as a bullet.

It had a posi rear, ladder bars, and wheelie bars to keep it grounded and straight. Adjustable air shocks in the back. I forgot what the gear ratio was, but it also had the short axle for the tubbed our rear wheels. It was a bored out 350 to start then all the extras and blower and such. So much fun.

My mom had a Volare. This was the actual color scheme she had on hers. She sold me her 1967 Cougar to get this. 

 

 

 

[GolfSpy TCB]

31 minutes ago, Golf2Much said:

It lasted me through college.  On my way home from junior year it caught fire about 4 hours from home.  I let it rest for a few hours, started it up and drove it again for another year.  After graduation I gave it to my uncle and he drove it for another four or five years.

Ok... that is funny right there.  

[Golf2Much]

The worst was taking my drivers license test with my mom's 1969 Chevy Bel Aire Townsman 5 door station wagon.

It was 18 ft. long, over 6.5 ft. wide, had a 10 ft. wheelbase and weighted over 2.2 tons (4336 pounds).   The road test examiner felt sorry for me and picked the widest street he could find for me to do my three-point turn and plenty of space between cars for my parallel parking exhibition.

I think the modern military had tanks smaller than this!  

[GolfSpy TCB]

28 minutes ago, Golf2Much said:

The worst was taking my drivers license test with my mom's 1969 Chevy Bel Aire Townsman 5 door station wagon.

It was 18 ft. long, over 6.5 ft. wide, had a 10 ft. wheelbase and weighted over 2.2 tons (4336 pounds).   The road test examiner felt sorry for me and picked the widest street he could find for me to do my three-point turn and plenty of space between cars for my parallel parking exhibition.

I think the modern military had tanks smaller than this!  

Now this is a WHOLE other thread... haha.  What car did you take our driver's license test in...haha.  

This was mine:

1974 Plymouth Satellite. 

[cksurfdude]

5 hours ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

I only need an El Camino to complete my BINGO card. That or a Subaru Brat. 

Yeah I thought an El Camino would've shown up by now, too!

A friend of mine had a Brat way back when .. does that count? 

[GolfSpy TCB]

10 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Yeah I thought an El Camino would've shown up by now, too!

A friend of mine had a Brat way back when .. does that count? 

I think the BINGO rules makers would say no. haha.  

[chisag]

5 hours ago, Golf2Much said:

I quickly needed a replacement and got what ultimately was my favorite car growing up:  an orange mid 70's Chevy Vega.  It had a 4 speed manual transmission along with all the problems that Vegas were famous for. 

 

 

... Brings back not so good memories. A Vega GT was my first new car. It was totaled when an idiot ran a red light and almost t-boned me hitting just in front of the left side door and spinning my Vega in a couple circles before hitting a telephone pole. Miraculously the only injury I suffered was a slight concussion and a bruised right hip where it pressed against the seatbelt buckle with such a violent collision. A little scary as they strapped me in including my head, on one of those boards but all X-rays were negative and the slight concussion was a guess, but familiar to me from those I had playing football. But pretty much unscathed with the entire right side caved in. 

... Another surprise was my new Vega GT replacement came with no out of pocket cost. Granted it was only 6 months old but those days are long gone. But never felt comfortable in it again and traded it in for my Camaro. 

[cksurfdude]

So after the Triumph were...

..a purple CJ5 with oversize tires but an all stock suspension that I drove all over the country;

..an old PoS wagon that I can't remember the make or model but the back seats folded flat and it held a lot of windsurf gear;

..and the biggest car I've ever owned ...

.. '69 Caddy De Ville convertible in champagne pink and white leather interior .. altho needless to say by the time I owned it (late 80s i think) it was nice and faded all over.

Still ran great!! 454 Caddy engine and you could literally ride around all year with the top down (yes the electric roof mechanism still worked well) - it pumped out massive amounts of heat in the winter and the old freon kept things pretty chilly during the summer!

I think I was the third owner - the guy before me had had his nickname painted on the doors so the car became known as "Irv"

The thing was just massive .. sooo heavy and loooong .. at the time I still had an original Windsurfer which was 12 feet long - with the top down (of course) I'd put the nose resting on the back of the front seats and strapped it down on top of the trunk, and barely a foot and half of the board was sticking out beyond the back bumper!

Good times; loved that thing. Buuuut... it did need a lotta space to park it.... 

[chisag]

1 minute ago, cksurfdude said:

.. '69 Caddy De Ville convertible in champagne pink and white leather interior .. altho needless to say by the time I owned it (late 80s i think) it was nice and faded all over.

 

 

... Were you Corleone or Barzini family? 

[PMookie]

5 hours ago, Golf2Much said:

After I graduated high school in 1974 and was going away to college, my first car was a mid-1960's Dodge Coronet 440.

Unlike this picture, it was a green/grey color.  It looked benign from the outside.  I'm not sure my parents really knew (or more realistically didn't want to know) what was under the hood!   If they did, they would have insisted me getting a different car.  That lasted about four years (normal life expectancy wasn't great back then). 

My next car was a mid-70's Dodge Colt.  It was green, just like the picture.  Unfortunately, I didn't have it too long.

Our first Summer together, I did extensive body work to get rid of all the rust and dents and had it repainted.  That Fall on a trip home from college a deer hit me in the driver side front fender and door, it flipped 180 degrees and took out my rear panel.  Needless to say it was totaled it!  Colts were not made with the most robust sheet metal!

I quickly needed a replacement and got what ultimately was my favorite car growing up:  an orange mid 70's Chevy Vega.  It had a 4 speed manual transmission along with all the problems that Vegas were famous for. 

It lasted me through college.  On my way home from junior year it caught fire about 4 hours from home.  I let it rest for a few hours, started it up and drove it again for another year.  After graduation I gave it to my uncle and he drove it for another four or five years.

My parents didn’t have much money, and during one of our especially cold winters in Michigan my Dad didn’t have a car to get him to the school where he taught, so a friend offered him there Vega. $50!!!! Rusted out, NO FLOOR BOARD on the driver side, just a small wood plank that didn’t block one from seeing the road below! Exhaust came out in a PLUME! My Dad got pulled over and given a ticket one day when we were taking a friend home! Ha! My middle brother ended-up having to drive it for a date. The date didn’t appreciate the smell of exhaust it left on her clothes! HA! Kept Dad warm, though!

[cksurfdude]

Just now, chisag said:

 

 

... Were you Corleone or Barzini family? 

HA! No but who knows Irv may have been

[cksurfdude]

2 minutes ago, PMookie said:

My Dad got pulled over and given a ticket ...

Sheesh I hope that ticket wasn't more than $50!!

[chisag]

3 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

HA! No but who knows Irv may have been

 

... That Caddy really reminds me of one of my all-time favorite films: Tin Men. Stars Danny Devito, Barbara Hershey and Richard Dreyfuss with a ton of great character actors and is so funny and poignant. One of Barry Levinson's best works and a must see for anyone alive bin the 60's. 

 

 

[RichL85]

So my first two cars were actually handed down from my parents. First one was a 1991 Nissan Sentra that was my mother's old car when she purchased a new vehicle. The most random thing about that car... The passenger side-view mirror was an optional accessory that my parents did not spring for. It also had those annoying automatic shoulder belts that went on the track around the door frame for the front seats. Drove that for about a year and a half. From there I "upgraded" to a 1994 Toyota Corolla after my father passed away. Taught myself to drive manual so I could drive that instead of the Sentra. There were many stall outs around my neighborhood getting the hang of that. Drove that all throughout college until I finally got to purchase my first vehicle.

After agonizing over the decision for a few months because it was down to two vehicles and the final decision was going to be based on where I went to grad school, I finally made the decision. Only problem was, the manufacturer did not make the interior and exterior color combination I wanted. I actually had to special order it and then wait a few more months to be assembled. It was finally assembled and delivered, but it was delivered to my mother's house in Texas while I was in Colorado. The dealerships in Colorado wouldn't get me the vehicle I wanted, the dealership in Texas would, so that made the decision easy. I picked it up from the dealership in Texas and drove it the 700 or so miles back to Colorado on day one because I had to work the next day. That car lasted almost 10 years and 145,000 miles. It is certainly nothing special compared to the other cars on here, but it was the first vehicle I can say that was mine. A simple 2008 Honda Accord Coupe. 

[funkyjudge]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... That Caddy really reminds me of one of my all-time favorite films: Tin Men. Stars Danny Devito, Barbara Hershey and Richard Dreyfuss with a ton of great character actors and is so funny and poignant. One of Barry Levinson's best works and a must see for anyone alive bin the 60's. 

 

 

I love that flick! Aluminum siding sales wars in Baltimore if memory serves me correctly.

[TheOther1]

I bought this 1975 Mustang II Mach I from the cash I earned working as a dishwasher/busboy, just after getting my license.  By the end of that year, I had to go to traffic school and my parents insurance company dropped me from the policy.  It was just so fun to go fast!  I also dumped a lot of money into that 302, Edelbrock manifold, Holley carb, 5 angle valve grind, custom cam, custom built C4 transmission and torque converter, high volume oil pump, deep sump oil pan, hooker headers, 2.5" straight exhaust, etc.   I did all of the work myself except for the valve grind and the transmission.    Even as an adult, I ended up spending a lot of money on Pirelli tires for that thing.  I had that car until 2000, though not aa a daily driver.

Later on, at about 17, I had a 2 wheel version of a death machine, a 1982 Yamaha Seca Turbo 2.  That 650 would outrun 750's all day long.  And, of course, any Harley.    I still have the scars from that bike, we tried really hard to kill each other.  

I loved both of these vehicles!!

Edited October 14, 2022 by TheOther1
typo

[funkyjudge]

1 hour ago, TheOther1 said:

I bought this 1975 Mustang II Mach I from the cash I earned working as a dishwasher/busboy, just after getting my license.  By the end of that year, I had to go to traffic school and my parents insurance company dropped me from the policy.  It was just so fun to go fast!  I also dumped a lot of money into that 302, Edelbrock manifold, Holley carb, 5 angle valve grind, custom cam, custom built C4 transmission and torque converter, high volume oil pump, deep sump oil pan, hooker headers, 2.5" straight exhaust, etc.   I did all of the work myself except for the valve grind and the transmission.    Even as an adult, I ended up spending a lot of money on Pirelli tires for that thing.  I had that car until 2000, though not aa a daily driver.

Later on, at about 17, I had a 2 wheel version of a death machine, a 1982 Yamaha Seca Turbo 2.  That 650 would outrun 750's all day long.  And, of course, any Harley.    I still have the scars from that bike, we tried really hard to kill each other.  

I loved both of these vehicles!!

I had the exact same car back when I was playing pro ball (baseball) - same claret red with black lower panels. Mine was the biggest POS car that I have ever owned, and I have had a few POS cars.

[cksurfdude]

6 hours ago, chisag said:

.. That Caddy really reminds me of one of my all-time favorite films

Ha! Good one

One of my fave Caddy-starring movie scenes is in "A Bronx Tale"...  Chazz Palmiteri, the mob boss, drives his prized red convertible from his house around the corner to their .. social club .. but it's all One Way streets going the wrong way .. so he puts in reverse and backs it up door to door.

[cksurfdude]

22 hours ago, TheOther1 said:

Later on, at about 17, I had a 2 wheel version of a death machine, a 1982 Yamaha Seca Turbo 2

Turbo .. wow yeah death wish...

I had three different not quite so scary fast bikes, all twin cylinder -

.. two in my 20s - first an older but totally working Yama-hopper 250 twin (made me think of the bike Steve McQueen rode in that famous scene in "The Great Escape") and then after a few good years with that upgraded to a bit newer Yammie 650 twin (kinda boring but a nice street bike);

..and the last bike later on in my 40s that I shudda hung on to .. it was a beauty .. the first year of the Ducati M900 Monster ...

Mine looked pretty much like this; I kept it stock except for nicer grips, bar end mirrors and a "Flying D" logo clutch cover.

Never raced it, never dumped it. Sold it cheap to a nice younger guy who swore he was a Ducati fan and would take good care of it.

 

*** EDIT NEW PIC!

Turns out I still had a few pics of the actual IL Monstro

[TheOther1]

9 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

Turbo .. wow yeah death wish...

I had three different not quite so scary fast bikes, all twin cylinder -

.. two in my 20s - first an older but totally working Yama-hopper 250 twin (made me think of the bike Steve McQueen rode in that famous scene in "The Great Escape") and then after a few good years with that upgraded to a bit newer Yammie 650 twin (kinda boring but a nice street bike);

..and the last bike later on in my 40s that I shudda hung on to .. it was a beauty .. the first year of the Ducati M900 Monster ...

Mine looked pretty much like this; I kept it stock except for nicer grips, bar end mirrors and a "Flying D" logo clutch cover.

Never raced it, never dumped it. Sold it cheap to a nice younger guy who swore he was a Ducati fan and would take good care of it.

That Ducati would probably be worth a pretty penny nowadays.  Very nice bike!  I always loved the Cafe fighter/racer style bikes.  I could never get used to the cruiser or chopper style,  especially with ape hangers. Seemed like they took 10 mins to turn!

[TheOther1]

10 hours ago, funkyjudge said:

I had the exact same car back when I was playing pro ball (baseball) - same claret red with black lower panels. Mine was the biggest POS car that I have ever owned, and I have had a few POS cars.

Haha! Mine did catch on fire one time.  Fuel line broke and gas ignited when it hit the headers. I had a nice burn mark on the hood for a few years. All braided steel lines after that! 

[cksurfdude]

10 hours ago, TheOther1 said:

That Ducati would probably be worth a pretty penny nowadays.  Very nice bike! 

Thx!! Had always yearned for a Ducati with that classic Italian style and as it happened a really good friend of my uncle's had a BMW motorcycle dealership and somehow got the local Ducati franchise .. and uhh "invited" me to come look at the Monster when it came in....

Oh you may know - that "birdcage" frame, as it was called, is actually the same production frame from the previous 851 Corsa Moto GP bike!

There's nothing like a desmo twin imo!