History OK - This will be Fun - What was your very first vehicle ?

I can’t talk about mine since it was two years too new to talk about. But, I will be following along to hear other stories.

 

48 Chevy 4 Door. Paid 45 dollars in 1961, I was 13. I really wanted a 46-48 Ford Coupe.
But three years later I built this.
https://www.google.com/search?q=mar...ate=ive&vld=cid:19a80bc6,vid:2GkdhGCTORw,st:0

 

1959 Ford Ranch Wagon, 272, 3 on the tree, paid $35. I was about 15, field car, learned a lot.

 

A 1962 Chevy II, six cylinders, three on the tree, AM radio and that was it for options.
13" wheels. Car was purchased from Paramount Chevrolet on Firestone Blvd in California.
I ran it once at OCIR shortly after I received it at one of their "run what you brung nights".
I was too young and stupid to realize how embarrassing it was to run it. My E.T. was about 20 minutes due to my shifting skills and clutch pedal work.

 

1953 Ford Mainline. Paid $35 in 1966. Rebuilt Flathead V-8 from Sears, '56 Olds tailights, '54 Desoto grille, '56 Ford wheelcovers, de-chromed hood and deck lid. Refrigerator White.

 

My first ar was a '57 Belair four door I dove to high school. I one below was purchased while I was still in high school, but not roadwothy until after graduation. So this is not actually my first car, but I've owned it for almost 50 years.

Bought in 1975.
Cost: $300.
Last restoration: 2001.

 

i bought this in 1974 at the age of 11. did bad things to it over the years but never gave up. hopefully will be on the road this summer. paid my uncle $50 in payments for it.

 

my first car isnt allowed here, but my first hamb friendly was my '57 ford. 1000 dollars.
3 flats, 4 tubes, non running since the 90s and non registered since the 80s. first month of owning it, still didnt run but i worked on it when i could during my junior year.

edit: i may have the most expensive one here, despite easily being the worst condition, how times have changed!

 

I had a chance at a ‘56 New Yorker with a hemi but it was a northern car and had way too much cancer to mess with so I ended up with a 1963 1/2 Falcon 2dr hardtop with the 260/2speed automatic when I was 13. Paid $350 for it wit my yard cutting money. My dad and I worked on it and by the time I was able to drive at 16 it was finished and won a trophy at one of the local car shows the first time out.
I’ll have to see if I can find some photos of it if my wife lets me off of decorating the house for the holidays

 

My very first car was the yellow '37 Chevy sedan in the picture. Got it for $5 when I was 14yrs old.
Put a sbc into it, using the enclosed driveline. Sold it to my high school friend and bought the
orange '40 Chevy from my brother in 1965 for $200. Great times with both cars.

 

1962 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine. I paid $150 for it in 1982. I blew up the engine in it 2 hours after I got it. My parents were not amused I bought it in the first place.

 

Got my 1950 Chevy pickup by splitting five cords of firewood. Was my first lesson in rebuilding a head. Drove it all through High School...until it windowed the block on the way to school one morning. Good times! No pics...was fifty years ago

 

Back in 1962 we had a neighbor that lived behind us on a corner lot, Mr.Burton was his name, I never knew his first name and from the time I was 10 years old I cut his grass during the summer.

He drove a 53/56 Ford truck to work and had had some kind of accident and walked with a bad limp that's probably why I cut his grass.
Anyway,I would go to his barn and get what I needed to do his yard work and there half covered with a old canvas army tent was a 32 Ford 5-window coupe.

I always looked forward to entering that sacred tomb each summer until that day in early June he told me that my services were no longer needed, he explained that he was moving up north to live with his sister and he ask me did I want the lawnmower to go into business cutting other folks yards, I gladly went to the shed to retrieve the mower and gaze one last time at the coupe which had not moved the whole time we lived next to him.

I ask him was he gonna drive the old car to his sisters or pull it? His answer was, No son,I'm gonna have to sell the old gal, with that reply I fired back how much?

His answer was already established because 75 bucks came back as quick as I ask, I'll buy it,I said.
He looked at me and said we need to talk to your dad.
Not wanting my dad to say no I told Mr. Burton I would talk to dad tonight when he gets home from work.

Next day I sat outside Mr. Burton's front door, it seemed to be forever but I knew he worked second shift and I didn't dare wake him up, It just might screw things up.

Around noon he exited his house and ask how long had I been there and if I had discussed the sale with my dad, I told him I just came over a few minutes ago and dad said it was OK with him.

BTW, I never once said a word to my dad, I really didn't need the money, I robbed my cigar box and with my grass cutting money, birthday money and my entire life savings I had enough money and some change, I had enough money to buy the coupe and fix it up, Hey I was 12 years old, I didn't know what I do today.

So, I handed Mr. Burton my hard earned cash and we proceed to unearth the coupe,That car was nice with original black paint, flathead V8, and all 4 tires were shot and rotten but I had the biggest grin on my face as I fought with all my might trying to guide it as Mr. Burton pulled it behind his truck across his yard into my parents side yard.

I was the happiest kid in the world for about three hours.

That was when my dad got home, the first words out of his mouth was what was that junk car doing in our yard?, from there it got ugly dad called Mr. Burton and woke him up, remember this man worked 2nd shift, to say he was a little more than annoyed would be a understatement. dad got into a debate about not clearing it with him first and that I was 12 years old and had no business with a car and for him to come and get it out of his yard and if he wanted to keep the money Danny gave you for lying to us both and he would take care of me, I knew what was gonna happen because they don't call this part of the country the Bible Belt for nothing.

Heavy on the belt! long story coming to a end, Mr. Burton gave me my money back and had a big laugh and a few days later both he and the car were gone never to be seen again.

Many years later my dad and I talked about what had now become known as the ol' ford coupe incident and how he never dreamed that I would ever be able to restore and build cars from the ground up and how badly I wanted that car and how he was proud of me when people would stop by our business and ask about the different cars that
I would drive to work.

At that time the 32 Ford coupes were already reaching unheard of prices and he just couldn't believe the prices.

A few weeks before he passed away the subject came up again, Dad said I sure hope you find a old coupe like that one someday,I told him it was probably a good thing he didn't let me keep it,I would have tried to made a hot rod out of it and gotten myself killed .
he smiled and said,Nobody will ever know son,we can't go back but if we could I allow you would let to keep that car.

All you guys got is my word on this ,all the players are deceased with the exception except of me and nobody knows what happened to that 32 coupe. but I'm willing to bet the owner ain't 12 years old!

That was 62 years ago.

The First car I could drive was a 1954 Ford. It was like brand new and cost me 200 bucks, inline 6 ,3 on the tree. the car had been pampered it's entire life until a kid with a size 12 shoe spun a main bearing, this car became my very first hot rod, my granddad's next door neighbor helped me install a 390 with a automatic transmission, the car would fly and the brakes were marginal. HRP

DISCLAIMER - This is not the car, heck I doubt we even owned a camera at that time, but it's very similar to what it looked like.

 

1964 Impala SS bought in 1973 for $150.00.
Paid for by me at age 14 with money earned by working for anyone who would pay me. Mainly farm work with some construction.
Spent the winter months working to make it run and look good. Drove it to school on my farm work permit.
Traded it for a 55 Chevy when I was 15.
No pictures.

 

First car was a 40 Ford tudor, which was a present for my 15th birthday. Second car was a 67 Chevelle, got after I turned 16. I still have them both.

 

A 48 Anglia Prefect for $30.00, it was around 1963 I was 14 had it in a friends garage until I had to move it. Found a garage close to my house, took the car completely apart to build an A/G car when my friends decided to play a prank on me. They took all the parts and put them on my landlady's lawn. She got mad and told me to clear out. It cost me $15.00 to have it towed away. The car was in really good shape also.

Pat

 

1967, I was 15-3/4. Bought a near mint 1953 Chevy Bel-Air 2 dr. Ht. (exactly like the one below) for $25 and drove it through my junior year of high school. Bought it off my girlfriend's older brother, who had just replaced it (it was his Grandma's car) with a 'hot 57 Chevy convert. He had gotten a couple speeding tickets with the 57 and needed some quick $. Funny thing is I only had $20, so I had to give him 5 silver dollars from my coin collection.
My Dad WAS PISSED that I had gone and bought a car without him checking it out first...but after he looked it over good (it had only 28,000 original miles), he thought I was a pretty smart kid after all. Drove that my Junior year of high school


In the meantime (1969), I had picked up a '48 Chevy coupe body and '57 Chevy 4 door (that donated the 283, 3spd, rear end). Drove the '48 my Senior year in high school.


I sold the '53 Chevy to my auto shop teacher for $1.00 for helping me with clutch linkage and some wiring on the '48.

 

55 Chevy Delray coupe.Sea mist green with a white roof.Got it at age 16. Paid 250 bucks for it.Blew out two powerglides in 6 months,and sold it to another kid for 95 bucks ! Im doing a 2 door conversion on a 55 now.When done it will be Sea mist green too. Ive had my 32 Ford PU since 1982. Life long car nut.

 

First car was a '31 Model A. Just moved to SoCal in 1966. I was 15 and paid $95.00 for it. Didn't run and the front axle was in pieces. Got it running and pulled the body to paint the frame. Actually got it all back together and drove it around the block before selling it to buy a motorcycle. First real hot rod was a '65 Falcon 2 dr. wagon. Ended up with a 289 with solid Sig Erson cam, headers, and a T-10. Sold it when I got drafted.

 

I guess it was this one? Dad bought it for $32 in 1970, told us kids we could take it apart when it quit running. When I was a freshman in high school, it kind of quit running, so I took the engine apart and overhauled it, with a little help from my brothers. We put a top on it, I think just after getting it running again. I ended up with the car after us kids all left home (I was the last to leave), and sold the car in the mid 80s. Not too many years ago I googled the car's VIN and discovered that it had been restored and sold as an original 348 tripower 4 speed car. It was actually a 2bbl 283 powerglide car.

 

1951 Mercury coupe, dark blue with overdrive. I missed an icy turn and went head on into the deep ditch. I was 14

 

No wonder you like chevys

 

1927 Ford Tudor sedan which I paid $250 lawn mowing money for and still own it. First on the road was a 1953 Chevy convert that I paid 300 for. Drove it for my senior year in high school. When I went into the Air Force dad sold it. Still looking for one I can afford.

 

My first vehicle? My ‘57 Fargo that I still have, bought it for $350 when I was 13. First H.A.M.B. era car I drove was my ‘65 Valiant that I’m currently parting out to build the ‘65 Barracuda. Bought it for $100 from my junior high shop teacher.

Added some pictures, the truck the day I brought it home and my valiant about ten years ago when I was moving.

 

I sold it for $500 around 1985. That was long before it looked pretty!

 

28 Ford coupe. My dad's buddy gave it to me when I was 14. It was parked on top of several oak tree stumps with no running gear. It had been painted with white house paint. My buddy, Ken and I would ride our bikes the 8 miles of paved road and 2 more miles of gravel to sit in it and make race faces. I'd bring a few tools with me and remove small parts to take home. I grabbed some of the window moldings and one day I grabbed the radiator shell and rode home with it hanging around my neck. Wish I had a photo of that!
My parents moved to another town and when I came home from the Army, I drove up there to see if my coupe was still there. The guy had died while I was away and the old coupe was gone. Wish I had photos.

 

First one in my name that actually ran & drove was a '35 Olds 6 4dr bought for $65 earned picking dirt clods on a spud combine fall of 1961.
Before the Olds, I had claimed the family '36 Chev Standard 2dr as my own when the rear axle wore so badly the axle shafts would slip the c-clips & slide out.

 

My first car was a 30 or 31 Model A tudor. I can't remember the price but they were around 20 to 30 dollars back in 55. Car didn't run and it was a project. I was 13 when I got it. I can't remember what happened to it but when I was 15 I bought a running 40 Ford 4 door. Had a 5/16x1/4 L block with a Potvin cam and Evans heads and manifold with 3 97's. I believe I gave 300 for it. Had a fresh 58 Lincoln Matador red paint job and a well worn original interior. I wasn't long till I rolled it on a mountain road. I salvaged the engine, bought another non running 40 and was back on the road in a few weeks. Never got that one out of primer. I had a very understanding family who allowed me to bring home any old car I could find. I think they figured it was safer for me to work on old junk in the backyard than to be out on the street doing what kids did back in the fifties. The real worries for them began when I got the things running and hit the road. ;<)