What did your dad drive?

Dad drove whatever he could buy cheap- usually not running and he'd rig them enough to last a few years- never to my knowledge bought a new car- some of the ones I remember- 1949, 1950 and 1951 Plymouths- 1953 Pontiac- 1954 Willys- 1959 Rambler wagon- 1961 Tempest- several Falcons- 62-68- I helped wrench on many of these- good times- good memories-

 

Lol!!! 1970, that's a 1969 Kawasaki 90!!

 

After the WW2 surplusChevy 1-1.2 ton truck a 1952 Plymouth wagon similar to this one. This is the first car I vaguely remember as I was born in '53.


Then a '57 Dodge four door similar to this one bought brand new. A real rust bucket. One of the door handles pulled right throug the door skin in 1959.

 

Traded the'57 on a '59 Dodge similar to these. I remember seeing these at a thrill show at the Cuyahoga or Geauga county fairs.

 

The '59 engine blew in '62 so it was traded on a 1962 Dodge Dart 440 4-door sedan like this one. As I was starting to read car mags I really hoped my dad would keep it until I got my license in early 1970. I really wanted that car, had vision of a 413 super stocker at least in my eyes. Didn't happen.

 

My Dad had a 56 2rd fairlane...

 

I remember my DaD having a 69 or 70 amx. He sold it for a bigger family car. But then we did get a 79 International scout.

 

Back in the day.I'm the little one.

 

1941 Pontiac Torpedo (in my avitar), then a '52 Henry J, then a '53 Willys Aero Ace hardtop, then the '62 Valiant wagon.

 

Dad and his 1941 Chevy.... and the "I'm a bad ass" look is classic. I never saw this photo 'till after he passed. He always told me he wasn't a "car guy", yeah right!

 

Studebakers.... 1955 President , 1957 Provantial station wagon. Drove the wagon til the late 70s , still has the 55. Would still be driving them if Stude was still in business. He is 83

 

Not sure about his very first car, but the first one I remember is a 1953 Pontiac with a straight 8 flathead. It had one of those round ice boxes on the right side front window for A/C. That thing got us kids wet in the back seat

 

That's really cool. I've never ridden in a car with one of those early A/C units. I suspect that my kids would get a kick out of getting wet from the air conditioner.

 

This is a GREAT photo. It speaks volumes about what your dad was about at that time.

 

What a great read bring lots of memorys

 

here was his first hotrod

 

I've posted before on another thread - I have my Dads 57 TBird in the garage that i'm slowly rebuilding - but this one one is my favorite from when I was a kid. I would love to track it down. It was an old laundry delivery truck that he bought sans drive train - and put a SBC and 4speed out of a totaled vette.

Thats me on the hood in about 1971 or 72.
<a href="http://s887.beta.photobucket.com/user/agshelby/library/Random%20Car%20Photos" target="_blank"></a>

 

The '32 Ford 2-door in my avatar was my dad's, and that's him "barnstorming" on top of it...at about 17 years old. In the earlier years of his family life, he had some cars that I thought were cool...'53 Chevy, '51 Chevy, '57 Ford Ranchero, '55 Buick, '57 Plymouth, etc. But as his family grew to include 10 children, practicality became important. Through the '60s, a Volkswagon Bus. Through the '70s, the Ford Econoline 12 passenger van. No more cool cars for Dad. I asked him once if we could put mags on the Ford van. He said, "Sure...if you pay for 'em!". Lol.

 

mY MOTHER TO DIVORCE

 

I am the 5th child of seven I have been told in the early years Dad had motorcycles Indians, Harley's,and I think a 29 Olds when my oldest brother was born in 48 so what I remember Dad driving was 50 Olds 88,
53 Chevy Panel truck,51 Pontiac,53 Chevy Bel Air?,57 Olds 88,67 Olds Delmont convertible (I still Own),71 Chevy 3 door suburban (carry all) was Dad's name for it. He had numerous other cars and trucks in between to fix up and make a buck. He also took a 56 Ford retired church bus and turned it into a camper now that was tons of fun to travel in all summer long! GREAT TIMES!

 

Dads first car was a NEW 1917 Ford Model T when he was 18! He got a lot of static for
that from the relatives that had sons in France then! (He did enlist the next year).

His last car was a 1967 Impala SS, yellow with black top & interior in 1969.

 

My dad was the epitome of a car guy. '55 BelAir, '56 BelAir, '59 Olds Wagon, early 50's Chevy pickup, '56 F100, '39 Studebaker Coupe Express, '35 Dodge Brothers Pickup, '57 Chevy Panel Delivery, '55 Studebaker Conestoga Wagon, '59 Olds 98 Convertible, '36 Buick Special, '57 GMC Custom Cab pickup...

 

I wish I had some pictures to share as my dad was into hotrods too. He built a 39 Ford coupe it was white with blue flames if I remember correctly. I think he sold it to someone in Bel Air Maryland.

Another I know is a yellow 1956 Chevy gasser he used to drag race it had a 427 Rat motor in it (had written "get-go" on the side and "gone" across the back). It was also sold to someone in Maryland

He had many others as well... he was big into drag racing in the late 60's-70's. He lived in Maryland for a long time, but was pretty much back and fourth between there and WV.

His ex wife has some pictures of the cars... if I ever see her again I'll try to get them or at least copies of them and post them.

 

1953 Ford
1961 chevy belair 2 door post
1969 ss chevelle
I wish we still had the vic and belair! But he still has the chevelle!

 

Are we talking daily drivers or hobby cars?

My father's first car of his own was a 1940 Cadillac Hearse (in the late 50s/early 60s).

As for hobby cars he had pre-war Ford, pre-war Buick and 50s Chevrolet.

As for drivers, my father was mostly a Buick Man.

TM

 

Early days. '51 Crestliner.



Currently, '54 Stude.

 

My uncle enlisted in the Army after Pearl Harbor. The old man tried to enlist in the Air Corps but they wouldn't take him because of his overbite. He bought that uncles '40 Plymouth because he thought he was out of the service. So that was his first car and the closest to brand new car he would ever own. Two months later the Army drafted him, "fixed" his overbite (he'd have trouble with that for the rest of his life) and sent him to Europe for the duration plus 6 months as a mechanic. The first car he told me about that he had after the war was a '49 Olds "because it had overhead valves and really hauled the mail". Then a 56 Olds Super 88 four door when I came along in '58. In about '63 he bought a "second car" for himself, a '58 MGA, then a '55 T-Bird he built (bought off the same uncle), 312 3 speed then a '68 AMX, 343 4 speed, which I learned to drive on and later totaled, then a series of nifty sporty cars, all manual trans and very quick, up until the Alzheimers took him away. He was a car guy through and through and I miss him and still use/do things he taught me everyday.

Kevin

 

My dad's first car was a '50 Ford 2 door. He'd ordered a V8, but they offered him a flathead six, take it or leave it - he took it. That's my sister and I with my father. My father in law (on the upper left) kept his '34 Plymouth coupe through the war and college, until he bought a new '56 Pontiac wagon.

 

My dad had a 34 ford pickup before I came along. I found another for him in 1991 in El Paso, Texas that he had restored. My brother and I currently own this one. He also had a 48 Willys Jeep station wagon that was our basic transportation for a number of years. He went thru the original engine, then a stude six and finally a stude V-8. He gave the jeep to me when I was 16 and told me if I put in another engine in it it was mine. So I used all my summer job money and bought a 259 stude v-8 with four barrel carb and that was my driver.

 

1934 Chevy Master coupe, bought it ($35) 1 day before his 13th birthday. He had the full set of wheels (6) but as you see in the pic, he swapped the rear for some 15"
1956 Belair 235/3spd my Grandfather bought new in December 1955, and my Dad inherited in 1958 when my grandfather died in an accident.
1961 Impala 348 three speed, he bought this one new, today when he saw this picture he said "that was one sweet car". Eventually owned 3 of them.
Traded this one for a 65 Catalina. These are just the ones I could find pics of. Thanks Dad for the knowledge and love of automobiles.