people & memories! your HS cars?

[ScarredKnightfan]

*
Do you agree!?

Read more about this here:
http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2017/01/18/wednesday-wakeup-3/

 

What vehicles were in your life when you graduated HS!?

Read more about this photo here:
http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2017/01/20/friday-flashback-3/

 

Have you seen anything like this!?

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2017/01/18/at-the-heart-17/

 

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com
pig&cowValves.paceMaker * 1979 CC to 2003 MGM + 81mc
"Something's haunting you" | Marty Robbins | 'Some Memories Just Won't Die'

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Strangely, my '71 Camaro has gotten much faster in my memory than what might have been the case back in the day!  

[padgett]

Guess I was the only one who did not have a driver's license in HS & had only driven overseas. Maybe why I overcompensate now.

[60FlatTop]

There were a few.

Here is one I had before I got my driver's license.

 

Some we just bought for parts.

 

 

but here is the one I graduated HS with in 1966.

 

And, home on leave from the Navy, I stopped at my Grandfather's shop with a '60 Chevy.

I'm in black.

Bernie

 

[Larry Schramm]

59 minutes ago, padgett said:

Guess I was the only one who did not have a driver's license in HS & had only driven overseas. Maybe why I overcompensate now.

 

You were not alone, but I did not have the opportunity to drive overseas at the time.

[plymouthcranbrook]

Although I don't have any pictures of it, my HS car was a hand-me-down from my Father. A 1954 Plymouth with the drivers door bolted shut, a rod bearing for number five that would spin and usually lock the motor forcing innovative ways to get it home. This was in 1968 and 1969. I was ashamed of it and also happy to have something to drive.. Affectionately known as the DSP.(Dilapidated Sh*t Pile)

Edited February 1, 2017 by plymouthcranbrook (see edit history)

[keiser31]

Most of you have probably seen my first car/high school car. Still got it....

[Spinneyhill]

1957 F.I.A.T. 600. Ours was Canary Yellow with a black roof where the canvas would be if it had it. Independent suspension all round (i.e. transverse springs). Had an alloy head and the rocker gear studs kept pulling out of it (the head was probably crystallizing). My brother took it over after me and it sort of broke in half when he jumped in one day. Easy to pick up and put in a corner from which it could not be extracted without lifting it out again, as done by my "friends".

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

HS car was 1939 Ford Standard Tudor Sedan. I installed a hot 59-ab V-8 and went like a bat. I spent 0 $$ on cosmetics, all went for speed. When I fell for a lady, things reversed......bought a nice clean '70 'Cuda w/ a small V-8 (318?).

[Dave Henderson]

My first "find" while out on my paper route in 1946-7 was this '35 Pontiac, jacked up on blocks with no wheels and only a few windows in a narrow alley behind an apartment building.  It had been a target of vandals and errant motorists, not to mention the tin worm, but cars that kids like me could afford in the early post WWII years were few and far between and this one was $15. 
Getting it home with no wheels turned out to be a simple matter.  Well, not my home, a friend's grandmothers.  I didn't have the nerve to drag it to my parent's home until it looked quite a bit better.  Chevy wheels would fit, and my dad and a friend's dad each had one to borrow wheels from, leaving one on them jacked up on two wheels, and the other "tow" '41 Chevy on 4.  I fixed it up, got it running and then the discovery....the diffy was shot.  Not to worry, a friend knew of one in the woods on its side and I lucked out, finding a good freebe replacement.   That one got me started and the 70-year-ago thrill of the chase has never worn off.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Edited January 24, 2017 by Dave Henderson (see edit history)

[Restorer32]

My first car was a faded blue 1960 Corvair 4 door automatic with torn seat covers from Pep Boys. Even with all that against me I was still able to get dates. I hope to never see that pos car again.

[Xander Wildeisen]

The car that started it all. My 1952 Hudson Wasp Sedan, Texas Tan, 262 engine with overdrive. One older repaint, the rest was all original. Never let me down, ran like a top. Everyone else was driving muscle cars, and had kids at a young age. Maybe this car saved me from fatherhood back then. 

[Frantz]

I'll cheat, I did have a few cars, but the first car that I really associate with myself is my '88 AMC Eagle. I flipped it once too! Pitman arm snapped while coming home from a camping trip. Bearly put a dent in but it did crack the flex plate. Drove it with a noisy flex plate another year or so and that finally gave out and I moved on at that point. It was also the first car I ever took to a car show. AMC drive in movie night, planned too far in advance so the movies were Clifford's Big Red Movie and Spy Kids 2. Good times were had by all.

 My high school car was another wagon, and another '88, but that time it was my parents Celebrity they purchased new. Being born in '83 limits the classy cars I got to have as hand me downs, but I always managed to find a barely running heap and bring it home and work on it.

 

This picture is actually AFTER the roll over with no body work being done. The damage to the bumper side was from an unrelated rock. These things were awesome! I would like to get another one of these days.

[Fleek]

my first ride was a hand-me-down blue 55 Chevy pickup that my dad wore out in the West Texas oilfields first. 6cyl and 3 on the tree. It was a lot tougher than it looked and served me well until I saved enough to get a bright red 58 Plymouth. Both served me well in my high school years. I would love to have either one today.

[capngrog]

Wow, I never considered myself "deprived" until I read the posts on this thread!  Although I worked summers, after school and weekends, I never could afford a car of any type while I was in high school.  My family was solid middle class, and we never lacked for the important things in life.  I guess a car in high school (I rode the school bus) was not high on the family's list of priorities.  In November of 1962, I bought my first car (1958 Chevrolet convertible) after graduation from USAF tech school and sold it when I was shipped overseas in 1964. 

 

Cheers,

Grog

[zipdang]

My first car at 16 years old in 1977 was a 1951 DeSoto Custom 4-door. My first high school car that actually ran? A 1956 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 in 1978. One story from that occurred after a football game. My "tank" as it was referred to was the primary transportation to pizza and a buddy of mine was racing me to the car when I saw that he planned on jumping on the hood. I yelled for him to stop but it was too late and that rocket hood ornament cost him 8 stitches to his inner thigh! It was a great car, nonetheless!

[RansomEli]

My high school ride was a 1966 Rambler American. Light tan two-door with a 199cu straight six and three-speed manual on the column.  Don't have a picture because why would I ever want to take one?

 

At least I drove a stick. I never associated the word 'performance' with that car, however. 

 

I'd drive my Dad to work before going to school and then pick him up after work. Kind of cut into my playtime but I did get to use a car. Otherwise, it was the school bus up and back (yech). 

 

The car lasted a long time. For college I bought a 1970 AMC Hornet two door, 232 6-cylinder with 3-on-the-tree. For performance, it had a vinyl top. Great car that, while unpretentious, served me for many, many years.

 

Have to say it, I have a soft spot in my heart for Ramblers.

 

[trimacar]

I bought a 1931 Chevy tudor when I was 13, restored it by the time I was 16, and drove it to high school, graduated 1969, for a graduation present my parents gave me a 1969 Cutlass.  Still have the Chevy.....

[dei]

My first two cars were both 1958 Buick's and STILL have them.

The first was a Limited my Dad handed down to me.

 

My second was a flashy red Special convert.

 

Learned to drive standard shift on Dad's 1951 Nash. Still have it too.

[Bob Zetnick]

I'm the tall guy in back and was in the 10th grade when I got my first car, a '29 Dodge DA-6, back in 1971. Still have it and undergoing it's 2nd resto.

[Xander Wildeisen]

10 hours ago, capngrog said:

Wow, I never considered myself "deprived" until I read the posts on this thread!  Although I worked summers, after school and weekends, I never could afford a car of any type while I was in high school.  My family was solid middle class, and we never lacked for the important things in life.  I guess a car in high school (I rode the school bus) was not high on the family's list of priorities.  In November of 1962, I bought my first car (1958 Chevrolet convertible) after graduation from USAF tech school and sold it when I was shipped overseas in 1964. 

 

Cheers,

Grog

I dropped out of school to go and get a job, it was the only way that I could buy something that I wanted. My dad had a old shop truck that I could drive, but I wanted a old car. Jobs were around $5.50 an hour. Got a loan from the bank to buy the car. I was not driving mine out of privilege, you had to want it. Worked long hours to pay off the car. I would then look for cars that I could do a few things to and sell. The goal was to try and climb a ladder in value. Get another loan, buy a car, make payments, do some work and try and make a few dollars. Then roll it into a higher value car. Over the years I was able to do all the work myself, (because I could not afford to pay someone) Here is the Hudson truck that started a long run of them. Bought out of Zilla WA, the guy had about 30-40 cars there all Hudsons and BorgWards. Fixed it up and then sold it. All of this is being done while working a full time construction job. Again, you have to want it. Would go to work, and after work go in the garage. After I bought my 52 Hudson wasp, my dad got back into old cars. We both found 1937 Hudson Terraplane Utility Coupes. You can still see my Wasp on the end. Some of you might remember I posted some pictures of a Black Hudson That I just sold for him. That is his coupe next to my green one. A ton of work over the years, and I am going to keep going.

[atlbluz]

Well,  here we are during the good ol' days.  Spent several years getting to this stage in High school.  Look carefully outside the shop window and you can see one of my parts cars.  Fast forward to today, lots of garage time and some revitalized paint and new shoes.

 

[Doug Novak]

Early '60's VW Beetle 36HP, Canvas Sun Roof, Flipper Turn Signals.

It was freedom and opened up the World to me. Best fun was trying to get up to Highway speed while getting on the Baltimore Beltway before getting run over by a 18 Wheeler. No gas Gauge, had a switch under the Dash that would open up the reserve area in the bottom of the gas tank but I would forget after filling up to switch it back and be stuck with no gas. Purchased in 1966 , wish I had it  now. Sold it in '68 and bought a new Javelin while a Senior in HS. 

[Frantz]

Doug, I (also Doug) grew up dreaming of the '72 Super Bug up the road and then ended up with a Rambler, the Super Bug getting sold for $650 when I was 14 without money. Dougs + Pennsylvania + Bugs + Ramblers... there's gotta be a condition that causes it.

[Plyroadking]

Since I was home schooled through high school I didn't really have much of a commute. In 1995 my parents bought a 1930 Plymouth for a family restoration and industrial arts project. I did most of the monotonous work on it and my father, grandfather, and I finished it when I was 17. I put over 15k miles on the car in the next 5 years and never left town with it. 

 

I needed something faster and bought a 1940 Plymouth two door in Denver in 2006. It was a "20k original mile" car that only needed the blown Dodge truck motor replaced, a trans cluster gear, and all new front suspension. I drove it to the local junior college almost every day. I transferred to the main campus about 40 miles away and continued to drive the several times a week. I had a tiny glass pack on it and enjoyed idling through the parking lot and setting off car alarms. It was a really nice commute when I stumbled upon and installed a 1955 Plymouth overdrive transmission. 

 

In 2009 I bought a 1986 Chevy K30 pickup because I was moving to Iowa to attend a university. I tow dollied the '40 out with me. I continued to drive the car daily till they start putting salt out for the ice. It served me well but the engine was getting tired again. I rebuilt one spring then a couple days later I drove out to CA for an internship. Made the trip in two days and only had to adjust the od kickdown switch once.

 

I've still got all of them, they are currently hiding in storage waiting till this salted season is over. I reset the odometer on the '40 when I bought the car, she's reading just over 75k miles now and hopefully has a lot more to go. Maybe one of my future children will drive them to school someday.

[Doug Novak]

4 hours ago, Frantz said:

Doug, I (also Doug) grew up dreaming of the '72 Super Bug up the road and then ended up with a Rambler, the Super Bug getting sold for $650 when I was 14 without money. Dougs + Pennsylvania + Bugs + Ramblers... there's gotta be a condition that causes it.

 

That's funny Doug, but so true. Now 50 years later I'm still infected with the condition.

I upgraded though, to a '74 VW-Porsche 914, and a '68 AMC/AMX.  

Edited January 25, 2017 by Doug Novak (see edit history)

[Frantz]

I've seen your AMX several times, nothing to be ashamed of there! My 68 Javelin is still under way.... If I had a little more space I'd retrieve it from the shop thats "working" on it and finish it myself.

[cahartley]

I got my first car just before I started my Junior year in HS in 1967 and had just barely turned 16.

I guess Dad got sick of me asking to go here and there and, one day, he threw down $200 on Grandma's kitchen table and said "Go buy a car"........ LOL

So the hunt was on.

I think I borrowed Grandma's '62 Ford Falcon and headed to Stevens Point which is 17 miles away.

The first stop was the Chevrolet dealership where a salesman asked how much I had to spend........no use wasting time for either of us.

He promptly showed me a '59 Chevy Biscayne with a 235 under the hood and three on the tree inside.

I loved the fins (always did and always will) and, like on House Hunters, fit my budget.

It left a smoke trail all the home but I didn't care.......it was MINE.

I slapped in a new set of rings, added a bypass oil filter and ran the wheels off of it.

Back then -30º was a fairly normal Winter occurrence but that engine never failed to start.

I loved that boat and never did fall out of love with it.

So three years ago I bought another one with a 235 under the hood and three on the tree inside.

I love driving that car more than the rest put together....... .

 

[Doug Novak]

Wow beautiful '55 Beetle CCF.........is it a small rear window? The Canvas Sun Roof models are really getting a lot of attention these days.  

Did you keep the old engine in it? I use to work in a Texaco Station when I was a kid and got pretty good tuning and setting the timing was so simple. Not sure exactly what year the one I had was. Bought it in '66 when I turned 16, think it was early '60's.  Might be older judging from the condition it was in. It had the larger rear window and the Bumpers had the rolled steel nerf bars across the top. The only engine mod I did was to shortened the muffler end pipes 4 inches and take the baffles out. Didn't make it any faster but it was a lot louder and made it harder to sneak home late at night after a date. 

[ScarredKnightfan]

Oh

My

Gosh.

 

Don't know about  y'all, but I am very glad this sparked so many memories for so many of you ... I really loved reading your experiences & memories.  & the photos posted ... just added to my enjoyment because I sure love old family photos, particularly when vehicles are involved ... always love featuring them on OC,SH.

 

I found myself smiling quite a bit reading your replies!

 

 

Cort, www.oldcarsstronghearts.com
pig&cowValves.paceMaker * 1979 CC to 2003 MGM + 81mc

"Could everyone agree that they should not be left alone?" | Filter | 'Take A Picture'

[Dandy Dave]

First Vehicle I put on the road I had since High School days is the 1957 Dodge Sweptside Pickup in my list. I did have it running and driving around the farm when I was around 14 or 15 and it was the first vehicle I put on the road around the time I graduated. Dandy Dave!

 

More Here. 1957 Dodge Sweptside and more.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[oily rag]

I am glad that my High School area cars are not still on the road.

They never would have passed the East Cost inspections, floor-less. wig wag headlights, I would put in used oil before leaving in the morning.

I never payed more than $35 until I was 20 working in a body shop, then I caught the old car bug from a 35 Dodge coupe.

[Guest LifeontheRoad]

1967 Ford Mustang. It was a (not so) lovely shade of green but I loved that car and drove it through college.  I wish I had a picture of it available.

[Zimm63]

For some unknown reason, my father bought a 70 dodge challenger new.  It was baby poop tan, 318 and a 3 speed on the floor with leather seats.  I think it was one the dealer wanted to move out, as Dad was a cheapass.  

 

What always struck me as nuts, was he had a 19 year old, a 16 year old, and a 13 year old at the time.  We ran that car hard.  It was 3 years old when I got my license and getting tired.  I got to drive it every day to school my last semester because Dad had a cataratct operation.  Yee Haw!!  

 

Dad traded it in 75 with about 60K miles.  It had gone through 3 clutches and a couple transmissions.  Ever had your Dad bring the car home from the shop and ask why the mechanic wanted to know who had been speed shifting it?  Yup, happened to me.   For some unkown reason, I always seemed to be driving it when something broke.  Go figure.   

 

If I saw that car today, I would buy it in a minute but suspect its long gone to scrap.

 

Never did ask him why he bought it or fess up why it broke so much.  Probably should have. 

 

Zimm

 

[keiser31]

Got this 1936 Dodge Brothers touring sedan when I was 16. Drove it to high school when I wasn't driving the '31. Drove it all over the place and did a quick valve job on it, once. I really miss it. When we bought it for $450.00, it needed a differential gear setup as there were some broken teeth in there and it would lock up about every 1/2 mile. I found another '36 sedan and brought it home. It was strictly a parts car. Changed out the rear end gears one day and let it down off of the jack stands. Went to back it out of the garage and it went FORWARD! My Dad said, "Put it in reverse." I said, "I did." The look on his face was priceless. We (I) put the gears in upside down! I had three reverse gears and a forward gear. Oops. Took the car to my high school auto shop teacher and asked if I could fix it. He said his senior class guys would correct it. Got in it after school was out cruising around with three or four other guys in the car. As I was coming home, I was turning left onto our street when I heard this horrendous crash when the right rear of the car dropped. The guys who "fixed" the car didn't tighten any of the lugs on the car and just slapped the hubcap on. The bolts were sheared through and the fender was bent from the wheel. Here I was, stuck crossways in the intersection and my Dad would be coming home soon from work in the other direction up the street. Good thing I still had the parts car. I had to go up the street to our house and get the rear drum I had taken off of the other car when I changed out the gears. I finally got it all back together in the intersection (at rush hour) just as my Dad was coming the other way. WHEW! What a day. There was a giant, curved groove in the intersection to remind me of the incident for years after.

Edited January 31, 2017 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Joe in Canada]

My first car was an Austin Healy 3000 that was my bosses sons car that he was selling me for $100. His son took off to San Francisco in 1968 and never came back at that point. To make a long story short my parents would not let me keep the car and had to return it. I guess I can thank them as my life expectancy dramatically increased and started a family at a planed later date.

[JACK M]

53 Studebaker Champion.  Ten bucks from a pot lot. Plus two more bucks to transfer the title.

Used several quarts of oil daily and had to put brake shoes on it that first day.

About 10,000 miles when the clutch went out.

I left it and the title along side of the road where it quit. It owed me nothing.

I did see it a couple of years later in a wrecking yard.

 

Next was a string of 51 Plymouths. None over $35.

Ah, the economy of the 60s.

[ScarredKnightfan]

On January 29, 2017 at 8:47 PM, Dandy Dave said:

First Vehicle I put on the road I had since High School days is the 1957 Dodge Sweptside Pickup in my list. I did have it running and driving around the farm when I was around 14 or 15 and it was the first vehicle I put on the road around the time I graduated. Dandy Dave!

 

More Here. 1957 Dodge Sweptside and more.

 

Hey Dandy Dave ... sure appreciate you linking to that thread ... thank you!  Very cool!

 

 

 

On January 31, 2017 at 3:12 PM, keiser31 said:

 

 

 

Mmmm....awesome photo keiser.

Would love to showcase some of these vintage photos on OC,SH ... if y'all don't mind.....
 

Cort, www.oldcarsstronghearts.com
pig&cowValves.paceMaker * 1979 CC to 2003 MGM + 81mc

"I've got this feeling that won't subside" | Eric Carmen | 'Hungry Eyes'

[keiser31]

12 hours ago, ScarredKnightfan said:

 

Hey Dandy Dave ... sure appreciate you linking to that thread ... thank you!  Very cool!

 

 

 

 

 

Mmmm....awesome photo keiser.

Would love to showcase some of these vintage photos on OC,SH ... if y'all don't mind.....
 

Cort, www.oldcarsstronghearts.com
pig&cowValves.paceMaker * 1979 CC to 2003 MGM + 81mc

"I've got this feeling that won't subside" | Eric Carmen | 'Hungry Eyes'

Feel free to share the photos. I did not include the one with the girls after they went topless. The guy with the machine gun was the owner of "Dirty Harry's Topless Speakeasy" on Michigan Avenue, downtown Detroit. He saw my car at the local Husak Brothers Dodge dealer and wanted a poster over his bar so he asked for the photo op. We had a BLAST. Especially me being so young and hanging out with girls "hanging out". I saw the poster later and it was about 6 feet long by about two feet high.

[61polara]

My first car was a 1961 Dodge Polara 2HT that my Dad bought new when I was 8 years old.  Passed from him to my Mom in '65 and to me in '69.  Mom's replacement was a '68 Charger (318).  I still have the Polara, but need to have a transmission band replaced so I can get it on the road.  I've only personally seen 2 other '61 Polara 2 HTs since it was new.  Rare, but not valuable!