yer first car...and or hotrod...

[DoWopBox]

First car was a 61 Impala rag top,, aqua and white color, had a stock 283 with one of chevy's great ideas of a road grade transmission,, it wernt fast but life was sweet at 17 years old and a brand new 8 track player,,,
ohhhh well back to reality,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I had one of those too, only it was an Impala bubbletop, SS 409. I built it out of two I found in a junkyard. One was on top of the other. I had to sell it when I was out of work for an extended period of time.
It ran like a bat-out-of -hell.

[DoWopBox]

. In 1956, just after I graduated high school, I bought this nice '53 Ford 2-door.

Interesting story about a 53 Ford...
In 1964, my brother-in-law pushed his old '53 Ford ragtop off of a mountain road down into the forest, just to watch it crash. He went back about 5 years ago and found it still there. He towed it out of there and fixed it and put a late model Cadillac V-8 in it. Its his trailer tow car now. He also now restores old travel trailers.



There are lots of pics of other vintage trailers and teardrops here:

http://www.swvca.com

[Arne]

Dale, you haven't changed a bit <wink>...

First car was late 40's English Austin A40 4 door sedan.... First fast car was 1931 Pontiac Roadster with Olds V-8... If I can find pics, will post them... they're around here somewhere..... boy, old memories.....

[DestinDave]

First car I drove: 1967 Chevy Impala station wagon. 27 minutes after getting my license my mother sent me down the street 2 blocks to pick up my sisters from school. When turning into the school lot I caught the passenger-side front fender on the gate latch, tore into the metal like a can opener, and opened it up from the front fender to the rear panel. Is that a record time for an accident after getting a license?

First car I bought: 1971 Super Beetle. Baby blue, right-hand drive (I was stationed in Scotland). Installed a high-powered 8-track player and blasted Queen and Supertramp everywhere I went. Man, I was the schitz...

First fast car: 1973 Triumph Stag. Still my favorite car of all times. Fast, sporty, classy, all high-dollar. Hardtop/ragtop, leather interior, burl dash and console. 4-speed with overdrive switch in 3rd and 4th. Had a 3-litre V8 that I blew up running about 160MPH in Scotland. Replaced it with a Rover 3500 engine which made it even faster. Sold that car for a downpayment on the first house I bought. My ex got the house in the settlement. Here is a photo of a 73 Stag. Mine was Mallard Green. Apologies to the folks who own this one...



There've been many more (Vette, 280ZX, Z71, Morris Mini to name a few) but that Stag is still #1 in my heart. Still love small go-fasts but the last 10 years it's been all minivans (perfect for working out of).

[angib]

OK, this is taking some liberty with the word 'hotrod':



Please note the engine compartment from which you could eat your lunch. I rebuilt the engine in standard size/tune but the hotrodding went on the chassis:



Not just vented disc brakes, but anti-roll (anti-sway?) bar and gas shocks! Cooo-eeee!

The Minor has the 'nicest' image of any car anywhere and this had the singular benefit that you got absolutely no grief from other drivers - which is really worth something on today's roads.

Andrew

PS A Stag fan also...

[madjack]

I bought my first car at 14, with my lawnmower/chore money I had saved...it was '58 Chevy Bel Aire 4dr with a 283 and a 2sp Powerglide...for 50 bucks! The man I bought it from, told me the tranmission was shot...we poured 5qts if tranmission fluid it and drove it home inna cloud of smoke...all the tranny fluid leaked out...I poured 5 qts if transXmedic init and drove it for the next 3 tears...the solenoid went out and I had 2 wires(piece of romex) run under the dash to be able to start it without having to open the hood...that car weighed about 5000# and had maypop tires on it...I would drive it in the woods...tranny in low and pedal to the metal...splash thru big ol' mud holes and then sit on the other side till it dried out and do it again...great times...sold it for 100 bucks to a stock car racer who wanted the motor/tranny...wish I had pictures
madjack

[Spadinator]

My first car was a 1963 Belair Chevy with the in line 6 cyl. A 232 if I remember right. It had a three speed on the tree with the overdrive underneath the dash. It had almost 300k miles on it when I got it and it ran great. But......SORRY GUYS.......I took it into the demolition derby and placed third!!

[DoWopBox]

.the solenoid went out and I had 2 wires(piece of romex) run under the dash to be able to start it without having to open the hood..

Remember in those days Chevys (until about '64 I think) had an ignition switch that if uou didn't lock it you could drive the car without a key. Those days are long gone.

[Chip]

Dowop,,,, got to give ya a high 5 on the 61,,, sure brings back a bunch of memories,,, and most of em good,,, I sure wish I could turn back the clock and hang on to it,,, but alas,, I traded it for a 67chevelle SS 396, had a powerglide tranny,, was the biggest dog out of the hole, now top end was about unlimited though so I guess it was a trade off,, Next was a 70 1/2 Camera, SS350 with the 350hp option, 4 speed,, top end was about 115 but it was no slouch getting thar, the car I had the most trouble beating in the 1/4 was a dodge dart 340 six pack,, that sucker was a rocket,, ran a lot on weekends on the end of the runway at beautiful Mtn Home AFB, Idaho,, course this was in 72 and 73

again good looking 61,, thanks for the pic

chipper

[WarPony]

My first car was a 1976 AMC Hornet station wagon, 232 6-cyl, 3 on the tree. It came with a heater and that was it, no radio or AC.

My first hotrod was a 1965 Malibu SS with a 402 and a Muncie rock crusher 4-speed. The car was a POS but man did it run!!

Gave up the hotrods for canoes. There's alot to be said for slowing down.

[asianflava]

First car was an 84 Dodge Colt. Did my first stereo install on that car. Installed a head with a boostalizer (EQ booster), 6 1/2in Pioneer speakers and 6X9 on a rear package tray/cargo cover that I made. That thing rocked in it's time. It got handed down to my younger brother.

Then I got an 85 CRX Si my senior year of high school, after graduation, I had enough money to get stuff for it. The parts manager at the local Honda dealer campaigned a CRX in the Firestone Firehawk series so he some connections. He got me a set of Tokico Illuminas with progressive springs and sway bars for dealer cost. I also had a Mugen exhaust with a flex joint. MSD ignition and wires with an Accel super coil. Even today this is the hot setup for this car. I can tell these young ricers that I had that I had it 18 years ago (holy cow it's been that long?).

I have pics of them but I don't have a scanner.

[cracker39]

Remember in those days Chevys (until about '64 I think) had an ignition switch that if uou didn't lock it you could drive the car without a key. Those days are long gone.

DoWop, you just reminded me of a fun time back in '56. My buddy had a 46 plymouth, and left it at his girl friend's house when he went to his naval reserve two week summer camp. The Plymough had an ignition switch and a starter button on the dash. I'd tape a nickel behind the switch to make contact, push the starter button, and off we'd go. His girlfriend, my girlfriend and me. I drove his car all during those two weeks and he never knew about it. Those were the days when you could reach behind the dash and access all of the electrical just by laying in in the floor.

[Nitetimes]

My first car was '70 Ford Galaxie 500 Fastback, never got it on the road. First driver was a drumroll please '71 Dodge Valiant 4 door straight six with the 3 speed on the floor. Wooohoooo what a racer! But boy would that car take a beating! Next one I bought six months later was a '71 Maverick I bought off the neighbor for $100. Pulled the 200 six and dropped a 302 4 speed in it, with the 2.79:1 rear in it it was a dog out of the hole but it had a near limitless top end, I had it to 145 once without even pushing the motor, them airplane gears really made it fly! It didn't look like much but it would go. If I can find some shots of it I'll try to scan them.
My favorite cars that I had were my '68 & '69 Torino GT fastbacks, I could still kick myself in the ass for selling the '69, '68 got totaled.
This is the after, if I can find the before I'll put it here



This one I brought back from NM when I got out of the service, didn't look like much but no rust and it ran like a raped ape, no hail dents either, a real bonus down there and it was straight, just had about 8 coats of paint on it.



BTW - Notice the tires on both, BIAS, boy am I old.

[engled]

Not my first car and not a "Hotrod" but it is my race car.

[stjohn]

Engled that left rear tire is all most off the ground goiung into that corner looking good