Your first vehicle purchase?

[STEVE POLLARD]

Just out of curiosity, how many of the membership here still own the first vehicle that they purchased ? I still have mine that I purchased new right off the Chevrolet Dealership lot back in 1986, granted, it's not a classic like some of my other vehicles that I own, but I've had it now for 33 years ... kind of special to me.... Dad help me with the purchase and co-sign on the bank loan. 

Let's see them......

[PONTIAC1953]

I still own the first car that I bought with my own money, 1953 Pontiac chieftain custom Catalina in 1973, I was 17.

Edited March 1, 2019 by pontiac1953 (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

I still have mine.  Had the chance to sell it and probably should have to move up the old car ladder but everyone always says they wish they still had their first car.  It is still on the road.  Bought it when I was 17. That was 27 years ago.  I've replaced or replated most of the chrome since then as well as cut and buffed the old tired finish.  Its about due for it's next set of tires which will hopefully last 30 years like the first set.  Should probably pull the engine and freshen it as well since it has a noisy wrist pin.  Of course after this long, I also have a bunch of NOS and spare parts I have acquired along the way if I ever decide to get crazy and really freshen the whole car,  but I don't see that happening any time soon.  

 

That top picture is actually taken directly out of my year book. The second was on a trip to run it back north for winter storage.  I think my wife was driving the Tbird up and I was following her.  About a 1 hour track North through the Adirondack Mountains. 

Edited February 27, 2019 by auburnseeker (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

I still have a Triumph TR 250 sports car I bought just at the end of high school ,1976. But it was already my third car,  A Mustang and a MGB came and went  before it. I bought the MGB when I was 15 before I had a drivers licence. Paper route money for two years and then a Saturday job at the GM dealer where my father worked. I liked the Mustang {1966 2+2} however I only had it about 6 months when a friend made a good offer on it and I sold it to him. I made about $400.00 profit which seemed like a lot to someone making $2.00 / hour.

 

Greg in Canada

Edited February 26, 2019 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

It's not mine, but one man I know still owns and drives

the 1936 Oldsmobile 6-cylinder 2-door sedan which

he GOT NEW IN DECEMBER of 1935.  This may be an

unacknowledged world record, because this car has been

in one person's ownership for over 83 years!  The Guiness

Book of World Records has a record of someone else

whose ownership is shorter by a couple of decades.

 

The owner has written in some depth about his ownership,

and our AACA newsletter published his accounts.  Since

he is trained as a mechanical engineer, and he has driven

this as his main car back in the 1930's and 1940's, his insights

into 1936 Oldsmobiles may be better than those of

anyone else who is alive today.  The car remains original and

unrestored.

 

 

Edited February 26, 2019 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[C Carl]

That is wonderful, John. I figure your unique friend must be about 100 years old. Still owning and driving ! Makes me very happy.   -   Carl 

[Taylormade]

I still have my 1932 Dodge Brothers DL sedan that I bought in 1965.  I sold it and then bought it back.  Selling it was the worst move I ever made.  Buying it back was the best move.

[John_S_in_Penna]

30 minutes ago, C Carl said:

That is wonderful, John. I figure your unique friend must be about 100 years old. Still owning and driving ! Makes me very happy.   -   Carl 

 

He is 99, and still goes to work in the morning,

maintaining an office and a secretary.  Perhaps

because he has stayed active, he looks, moves, and acts

at least 20 years younger than he is.  He and his wife

live in the same house in the country that they've had

for years.  And as I mentioned, he still drives the car.

 

Another car, which he bought used in 1939, he also

still owns and drives.  He's had that car for 79 years.

He must think long-term!

 

So anyone who has had a car for "only" 30 or 40 years,

you may have many happy years to look forward to!

Edited February 26, 2019 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[sebastienbuick]

She is magnificent   .

 

My first car (I'm 24 years old) was a peugeot 306 1995, but I sold it.
My godfather has always renault 5 alpine 1981, he had bought when he was 18, then 10 years after he put it in a garage. Then 20 years later he released the car from the garage and he restored it completely.
To this day, this car rolls regularly and it goes to the car show  

[C Carl]

Thank you for staying up late to post "the rest of the story", John. I will sleep very well tonight, smiling about this fine couple's good fortune !    -    Carl 

[trimacar]

I still have my 1931 Chevrolet Coach, bought in November of 1964 when I was 13 years old.  I restored it and drove it to high school a few years later.  Back then, the restoration standards weren't what they are now, and I couldn't afford to do chrome, so the bumpers were painted black.  It did have 15 coats of hand sanded lacquer on it, paint 3 coats and sand, repeated 5 times, done by a friend of mine in my hometown who was quite the craftsman (with me helping on the sanding).  He drove a 1940 Ford pickup that I lusted after, but he'd never sell.

 

Pictures show finished product, picture taken circa 1974.  The running gear, restored, is shown, those are NOS front fenders that I bought for $35 for the pair back then. One running board and splash apron original to car, the other I found in the junkyard that was behind my Dad's business.  The body was solid but had some bad wood, in picture you can see some of it that was replaced.  A retired carpenter replaced about 50% of the wood in the body for me, he was a friend of my Dad.  Took him one week, all joints done as original, and for payment he asked my Dad to buy him one of "them new-fangled toaster ovens", and that's what he got..... note that body had a roof rack at one time!  I didn't know any better so spent hours with a razor removing old paint.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Not the first car that I had, but the first one that I bought on my own. Very nice original car. (one re-paint) 1952 Hudson Wasp Sedan

[8E45E]

I posted a photo of mine here --------------------->  http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?340-Where-is-your-FIRST-Studebaker

 

Craig

[Restorer32]

I don't have my first. It was demolished in an accident but I do have my second, a 1955 XK 140 Jag Drophead which I bought in 1968 after I demolished the Bug Eyed Sprite.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

7 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

 

He is 99, and still goes to work in the morning,

maintaining an office and a secretary.  Perhaps

because he has stayed active, he looks, moves, and acts

at least 20 years younger than he is.  He and his wife

live in the same house in the country that they've had

for years.  And as I mentioned, he still drives the car.

 

Another car, which he bought used in 1939, he also

still owns and drives.  He's had that car for 79 years.

He must think long-term!

 

So anyone who has had a car for "only" 30 or 40 years,

you may have many happy years to look forward to!

 

 I would be HONORED to meet that man.

 

  Ben

[R Walling]

 This is the third car that I bought in 1958, the first two were beaters that I paid $15 for.

It was all in pieces and I assembled it in my basement.

 I told my father that I was going to remove the cellar wall in order to get it out.  It didn't phase him a bit. he was happy that I had something to keep me busy and a place to spend all my extra money on.

 I still register and drive it every 3 or 4 years.

 

[60FlatTop]

I was 11 years old and in the 7th grade when I connived my way into my first car. My parents used to swap us out for a week every summer and let my an Aunt have us. Then another week we would have the cousins for a week. The summer before 7th grade was the year the car hobby blossomed for me.

At my school the 7th grade trip was to Albany to watch the government work, 8th grade was Washington. The Albany trip cost $50 in 1959 money.

 

My Mother was all full of angst about my clothes, where a suitcase would come from, and all the gentrified stuff I still haven't adapted to. I offered to ease the pain. My Dutch Uncle Frank ran a body shop and always had an old car or two behind the big old house my Grandparents lived in. At the time he had a pretty good 1949 Plymouth with a little rust around the edges. It was only $25. So I told my Mom I if I got that Plymouth I would stay home from the trip and it would cost only half the money with none of the baggage (pun intended). They agreed. I got the car and stayed home with the school hoodlum group, another story there.

 

That same year I started working in my other Grandfather's tire shop and used car lot. So, when I needed it, I could buy some gas, that $6 Western Auto battery, and the custom chrome nut covers (the chrome nut covers for an 11 year old were worth buying just to hear my Aunt and Mother laugh.

 

After that I was in a position to make my own deals and bring home lots of stuff. No pictures of the Plymouth. Not much interest in cameras at the time, but the flood gates had been opened and it was many years until there wasn't at least one big bare spot on the lawn:

[Bhigdog]

1941 Mercury convertible. $50 used. Long long gone...................Bob

[Akstraw]

Model AA Ford; purchased in 1971 for $25.  Still own it! 

[1937hd45]

First car was a 1927 T Tudor delivered for $220.00 New Years Day 1967,  I still have the engine block and the wood panel that fit under the rear seat. I did take the running chassis to the local Ridgefield meet. In the end when I sold it I had replaced enough parts to have a 1927 T Touring. It turned up on eBay two years ago, fellow that bought it never finished the restoration and passed away. Current owner was selling it part by part, must have made a small fortune, I looked at it and just couldn't justify buying it back, or what was still left. The body did make it to a finished TROG race car, that made me happy. Bob 

[Paul Dobbin]

First car, no regrets about selling.    1951 Renault 4CV

Second Car "    "         "            "            1956 Ford Town Sedan

Third Car     "   "         "            "             1957 Ford Convertible

Fourth Car  "     "      "            "              1959 Studebaker Lark VIII (2Dhtp) Sold for first  overseas deployment

Fifth  Car    "     "      "          "                1951 Mercedes  170 VA

Sixth Car    Lot of hindsight regrets on this one, but it paid for my Junior year of collage in Heidelberg Germany.  1957 Porsche Speedster, Pictured.

[keiser31]

Not bought by myself, but given to me by my Dad when I was 15. Still got it. A lot of you know the story, but here it is again. 1931 Dodge Brothers DH6 business coupe....one day I hope to finish it....(not me in the chassis photo or the one sitting in the car)....

Edited February 26, 2019 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

Post bail, and get that Dodge out of garage jail.

[28 Chrysler]

I am glad I don't still have my first car.

I bought a 1954 rusty high mileage Ford wagon with a full tank of gas for $5 when I was 15.  The V8 bock was repaired with body filler were it split from freezing. The car smelled like rotting wood and carpet. It ran, stopped, the lights worked and it was mine. 

My father was not to happy, not just because I hid it from him for a month and a half, but it was a Ford.

[TerryB]

1951 Pontiac Chieftan 4 dr loaded with options bought in 1970 for $100.  I had to have a 1955 Chevy to be cool so the Pontiac was gone by May 1971.  The Chevy and me at the drag strip July 1971

 

 

[Jim Bollman]

In the Spring of 1962 I was not yet 14 and my Dad said I could buy a car to work on, if he approved of my choice and I had the money to pay for it. I picked several including T-Birds and Corvettes that I could not afford and my Dad said no. After several of these go arounds I finally asked what he would approve and he said a Crosley might be a good choice, I said what’s that. He already knew where several were (imagine that) and we went out to look at them over the next few days. I picked a 49 wagon for $100. Within a few days of getting it home Dad talked me into taking the body off and store it next door in a neighbor's shed, so I could do a better job doing repairs. He now had control of the finish date since I needed him to help put the body back on. I had set a goal of when I turned 16, he said 17. I didn't really realize how smart he was till later. 

 

I then started a two year frame up restoration (that turned into 3). My father could always slow down progress if he thought I was going to get done to soon by not helping as soon as I needed him on certain parts. My Mother has commented several times over the years about the Summer that her clotheslines were used to hang car parts on to paint. The mechanical part all came together and the body went back on just before I turned 17. A few trips up and down the alley behind the house was the start of my Crosley driving career. It went on the road the summer of 1965 with a paint job using Western Auto spray paint cans. By then I wanted it done so the only body work other then the prep for the rattle can paint job was new sheet metal floors, screwed in with what seemed like hundreds of metal screws.

 

I still have it and it is on jack stands in my shop waiting for me to get busy on the 3rd mechanical rebuild and a new rattle can paint job. But where to buy Western Auto paint?

 

1962 soon after it got home and today. Looking at the old pictures I would have kept it as a survivor but back then I thought new paint was a good idea.

 

 

 

[Pomeroy41144]

In 1983 I purchased a 1972 Buick Electra 225 four door hardtop.  Gold with black top and black interior. 

 

I knew the owner and he took care of his stuff.  Loved that car.  I wish that I still had it. 

 

 

 

 

.

.

.

 

Edited February 27, 2019 by Pomeroy41144 (see edit history)

[Jim Skelly]

1987 El Camino that I ordered new (after hand-me-down 1971 Eldorado coupe and 1973 Caprice 454 hardtop).  Pretty cool vehicles for cars number 1 and 2!

[61polara]

My first car was a hand-down from my parents, a 1961 Dodge Polara 2HT, which I still have.  The first car I purchased was in 1972 when I was 19, a 1970 Dodge Challenger convertible.  Don't get too excited, it is a 318 auto car.  Still have both of them.  I was 20 when I bought my first old car, a 1946 Dodge Business Coupe.  That one got away after I moved it to 4 different cities as my jobs changed and had no time to work on it.

Edited February 27, 2019 by 61polara (see edit history)

[dei]

The winter of 1970 I was 15 and back then you could get a beginner's license at that age. I was bugging Dad as he needed to add me to his insurance and told me if I helped him repair his 1958 Limited that spring he would give it to me and I'd be on the road. So technically I didn't buy it but was smitten with the Buick Bug!

 

Thing is I still have it but... it has become a parts donor for an identical twin that I plan to put on the road.

 

Once this car is on the road I will disclose that it is not my original but she sure is identical in every way what I used to drive.

 

Now as to the first car I bought, I still have it!

I came upon this 1958 Special ragtop (or did it find me?).

 

After a 13 year hiatus I have had her back on the road for the past two years.

Took her for a spin just this February 10th on dry roads (to keep her in good running condition 😂).

[SC38dls]

My first car died just before it was going to fall apart from rust!  It was a 57 DeSoto 4 door I bought for $200 in 64 from Mr Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge on Grand ave in Chicago. The only non-muscle car on the lot. I could pack 4 couples in that car. We had a lot of fun doing that too. 

Dave S 

[zepher]

First car I ever purchased was a used '75 Camaro.

Guy I sold it to had someone run a stop sign and T-bone him totalling the car but he was OK.

Second car was a '64 Malibu SS Convertible 327/4 speed that I still own.

 

[Pfeil]

My dad special ordered a 1959 Pontiac Catalina through the L.A. Zone office. Back in 59 the Catalina was the bottom price leader Pontiac. My dad liked the Bonneville interior, but the Bonneville was 7 inches longer and 200lbs heavier and my dad was going to drag race this this car in AS/A. The car was ordered with a Bonneville interior, sort of a pre Ventura/ Grand Prix. The engine a 4 bolt main, 389 Tri-Power was hand built in the Pontiac tool room like other Factory NASCAR and Drag Racing Engines. The car also came with the Police/Taxi Heavy Duty 4 speed Hydra-Matic that also came with a special in front of the radiator oil cooler. The car was ordered with a 3.08 Posi. and a 3.90 and 4.10 Pumkins came in the trunk. Also in the trunk was a Isky E-2 solid lifter cam and lifters. Pontiac would not sell a car with solid lifters and a warranty-so in the trunk. A car in California would normally have been built in the Southgate Ca. plant, but because of the engine was hand made in Michigan so was the car. A 13 second car at just over a hundred, my dad raced it until 1964, then in 1965 I got my IHRA drag racing license at the age of 14, I also got my regular license at 16 in it. Going to HS with this car and dates and so forth was getting expensive so in August 1968 I bought a 1965 VW Type 111 Standard- European 1200 Custom or "A" Sedan. These cars were never sold in the states and 1200 Customs are very rare in Europe. In November1968 I decided to sell the Catalina, however a large void and the need for speed really bothered me so in the same month of November 1968 I ordered an new 1969 Pontiac LeMans H-O 355, T 400, 3.23 posi.    

  I know now I made a mistake by selling a purpose built race car/ street car, but I still have the LeMans ( which now has a .030 over 455 )  and my 1965 VW. Over 50 years for two cars is a long time. In 1973 I bought a 1964 VW type 113 U.S. Export deluxe that I still have and also In 1976 I also bought/ special ordered a Omega brougham that I still have as well. All great cars that do what they were designed to do.

1965 Type 111 L-360 Seablue;

 

1969 H-O Pontiac LeMans;

 

1964 VW 113 Deluxe--the one with the fog lamps;

 

1976 Oldsmobile Omega Brougham; November issue Hemmings classic car. 115,000 miles original paint, Original Chrome. Original interior, engine never apart, still in it's original paint. Original complete drive train, original P/S pump, Alternator, Carburetor-never been apart, original fuel pump, original air pump, original complete exhaust including Catalytic converter. 3.08 Posi never been apart. Original front calipers, rear brake wheel cylinders and rear shoes.

250 cu. inch Seven main bearing I-6 cylinder, T 350 HydraMatic.

 

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[JamesR]

1966 Impala Super Sport. 327 c.i., 4 bbl, 2 speed auto console shift, bucket seats. It needed exhaust pipes, so I put on duals with glass packs, though I think the car may have come from the factory with a single exhaust system.

 

No, I don't have any pictures, but I still have the factory wheel covers!  I had to have chrome reversed wheels with matching chrome moon caps back then, so the wheel covers were set aside...and thus, saved. I paid 60$ for the wheels...not each, the whole set! New! They were on sale for $15 each because everyone was buying Cragars. I liked chromies instead because I thought they were more "Beach Boys" or something...a little more old school. I paid $200 for that car in 1976, the year I graduated from high school.

[8E45E]

9 hours ago, Pfeil said:

My dad special ordered a 1959 Pontiac Catalina through the L.A. Zone office. Back in 59 the Catalina was the bottom price leader Pontiac. My dad liked the Bonneville interior, but the Bonneville was 7 inches longer and 200lbs heavier and my dad was going to drag race this this car in AS/A. The car was ordered with a Bonneville interior, sort of a pre Ventura/ Grand Prix. The engine a 4 bolt main, 389 Tri-Power was hand built in the Pontiac tool room like other Factory NASCAR and Drag Racing Engines. The car also came with the Police/Taxi Heavy Duty 4 speed Hydra-Matic that also came with a special in front of the radiator oil cooler. The car was ordered with a 3.08 Posi. and a 3.90 and 4.10 Pumkins came in the trunk. Also in the trunk was a Isky E-2 solid lifter cam and lifters. Pontiac would not sell a car with solid lifters and a warranty-so in the trunk. A car in California would normally have been built in the Southgate Ca. plant, but because of the engine was hand made in Michigan so was the car. A 13 second car at just over a hundred, my dad raced it until 1964, then in 1965 I got my IHRA drag racing license at the age of 14, I also got my regular license at 16 in it.  In November1968 I decided to sell the Catalina, however a large void and the need for speed really bothered me so in the same month of November 1968 I ordered an new 1969 Pontiac LeMans H-O 355, T 400, 3.23 posi.    

  I know now I made a mistake by selling a purpose built race car/ street car, but I still have the LeMans ( which now has a .030 over 455 )  and my 1965 VW.

 

 

 

 

 

Does that special-order Catalina still survive?  It would sure be an interesting car to see today at a car show.

 

Craig

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Great thread.  Cannot claim that but two childhood pals still have theirs.  First is my wife's cousin who has a 68 Mustang GTA 390 coupe.  I remember taking the engine to a machine shop for him around 80 or so.  It is being re restored now after decades of sitting.  He is 56 I think, with a goal of driving it before his next birthday.  Second is a 39 Chevy, stock restoration, used continuosly since it was completed around 1980 or so.  He did it all himself except the uphulstory and chrome before age 21, it has won at local shows multiple times.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

3 hours ago, 8E45E said:

Does that special-order Catalina still survive?  It would sure be an interesting car to see today at a car show.

 

Craig

No, but will tell a interesting story. I worked for a major auto importer / manufacturer for 34 years in the engineering dept. Every year we would get pre production or sample cars to evaluate and study. Every year the last years samples would go to the crusher/shredder. The company we used was down in the L.A. harbor area about a 1/2 mile from where the old Lyons Drag strip used to be and where I got my IHRA drag racing license. I found out that the guy who bought the Catalina from me had installed a 421 and had raced it a bit in the early 70's. In 1978 I decided to try and find the car, buy it back and restore it. I had a friend that had access to DMV records and we pulled it up. Unfortunately the car had gone to scrap THREE months before I started looking for it, however we found out that the place that scrapped it was the one I had dealt with for many years for my company, Any road those guys in the office were kind enough to do a print out for me with the serial # day and time it met it's demise. I have a book, more of a picture book with captions and order information on the car and it's roughly 9 year history in my family from day #1 to the end. The last page is that print out from the scrapyard.  

 After that happened I decided that if a car was important enough to me I would never let it go like I did with the Catalina. That's why the special cars to me have survived and are in the above threads pictures. I learned my lesson.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[8E45E]

Thank you for sharing your story.  Sorry to hear about it's demise.  

 

One show that is most interesting is the annual Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals, which brings out the special orders and the oddball cars no one thought any were made.  One of the most interesting cars there last year was this ex-Tennessee State Trooper 1966 Chevrolet sedan, where the trim tag states the painting instructions.

 

Craig

[Pfeil]

37 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

Thank you for sharing your story.  Sorry to hear about it's demise.  

 

One show that is most interesting is the annual Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals, which brings out the special orders and the oddball cars no one thought any were made.  One of the most interesting cars there last year was this ex-Tennessee State Trooper 1966 Chevrolet sedan, where the trim tag states the painting instructions.

 

Craig

 

 

That was a long time ago, some you win and some you lose. Your vin tag picture juggled my memory. On special factory orders out of the Zone office Pontiac's like my Catalina also had a S/O ( special order)  tag that's next to the vin/data plate that has a factory code stamped into it. Don't know if the rest of the divisions had that or not.

[8E45E]

2 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

 

 

On special factory orders out of the Zone office Pontiac's like my Catalina also had a S/O ( special order)  tag that's next to the vin/data plate that has a factory code stamped into it. Don't know if the rest of the divisions had that or not.

I believe, maybe with the exception of some Cadillac models, they were all a Fisher body, and the bodies would most likely have shared the same codes.

 

Craig