Remember your first car?

[Jordan]

I was 23 when I finally had enough money to buy my own car.  Had just completed university and got a job in South Africa working at one of the gold mines.  Needed transport to get around so I bought a used blue metallic 1981 BMW 518.  BMWs and Mercedes were relatively cheap down there at the time so I was pretty proud of my new used car.  A lot of expats as well and everyone was driving either German or Italian.  The car really had no guts having the smallest engine in a 5 series but I had a lot of fun with that car, driving into Joburg to spend most weekends with my girlfriend.  While the pay was atrocious, the perks were second to none (8 weeks of holidays to start) and I sold the BMW 2 years later when I got my first company car.  

I came across a blue metallic 1981 BMW 518 for sale in Quebec about a year ago and almost bought it.  My wife talked me out of it.

[49er]

I am going to show my age by saying that my first car brought in 1965 as a student from another guy at Univesity was a 1930 Ford Model A that I used as a daily driver for several years, including surf boards on top.  Great car, traded it in on a Mini Moke!!!!! and regretted it from day two.

Well Garry, I see we have more then our Pagodas in common. My first car was also a 1930 model A. I paid $150 for it in 1960  and it was in pretty rough shape. I was only 15  (not old enough to drive yet) at the time and it took me 3 years to restore into the condition you see in the last of these pictures. I sold it in 1965 to pay for my VW bug that I picked up in Paris. Wish I had both of them today.

John

[49er]

And the last 2 pictures.....

John

[WRe]

Hi,
my first car was an orange VW Kaefer/beetle from 1970 with 40 HP.
...WRe

[280SE Guy]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected so I could also share.

Mine was a 1961 Ford Starliner. I bought it when I was 17 years old (1967) from the Ford Garage that I worked in for $650. This picture was taken after the motor was removed, bored out, new pistons and rings, a high performance cam, a four barrel intake manifold from a junkyard Lincoln, a new 4 barrel carb, the block was painted a high temp yellow, some parts baked in our oven in the house, exhaust manifolds were painted a high temp white and also baked in the oven, I also added some chrome engine dress up parts..

Here is me with a picture taken from what I think was a proud mother at the time of the completion of the motor installation.



Regards,

280SE Guy

[71Beige280SL]

280SE Guy,

You had a wonderful Mother to allow you to bake parts in the oven.  Didn't that smell up the oven and the house?!

[280SE Guy]

280SE Guy,

You had a wonderful Mother to allow you to bake parts in the oven.  Didn't that smell up the oven and the house?!

A little bit but it was early summer and the kitchen windows and back door were open so the smell dissipated pretty quickly. My mother lit the oven and brought it up to temperature for me.

Thanks,

280SE Guy

[KevinC]

1967 Chevelle ....Purchased from my brother for $300....three ez payments of $100 for three months. Guess I am a sucker for this color and model year. And top-down driving!

[49er]

Sure fun to see all these great old cars and their young owners. Those were the days, right guys?

John

[WRe]

... cylinder head in the oven
I also had the cylinder head of my old /8-Diesel in the oven of my mother to heat it up and the valve guides in the freezer to cool it. So the assembly was much easier.
....WRe 

[Ulf]

Oh yeah...a 1967 Triumph Spitfire, got it in the summer of 1994 and put more miles on it during that warm summer that it had done in the ten years before that. Had just gotten my first job and had no summer holiday, but that didn't stop me from having a lot of fun. I even took it out for drives in my lunch break with a sandwich in my hand, it carried surfboards and firewood to the beach, carried a lot of young ladies on dates - I even chauffeured my grandmother around quite a bit, she really enjoyed arriving at social events in a loud little red sportscar. I even slept in it once which cannot be recommended...
Had it for 4,5 years during which it was slowly restored when funds would allow it, new soft top, new carpets, an engine overhaul, re-chromed bumper, a respray in a brighter shade of red...and then it was wrecked by an idiot in a Mercedes behind me who didn't keep his braking distance - SLAM-BAM!!! I suffered "only" a whiplash that I still can feel when it gets cold in the autumn, but my little car was a complete write-off. I kept the crappy stereo and the Nardi steering wheel and put both in the rusty hulk of a Triumph TR6 that I bought for the insurance money to start all over. But although the TR6 ended up as near concourse and perhaps was the best sports car I've ever owned (that will p*** off quite a lot of you I know, but I'll stick to my guns even though I love my 230 SL), it never really gave me the same feeling as my first car - the little red Spitfire called "Betty".

[KevinC]

it never really gave me the same feeling as my first car - the little red Spitfire called "Betty".

Great story. You never forget your first.

[Flyair]

Kevin
the real question is how to make that SHE also never forget her first one

[328stig]

My first was also an Alfa — a 1978 Alfetta GT. The finnicky 5-spd gearbox taught me how to shift gingerly as well as the value of double-clutching. Very fond memories that I have absolutely no wish to re-live. I'm quite content with German iron!

Douglas Kim
New York
USA

1750s did not get produced till 1969. i also had one... great car in its day

[Iconic]

Yes, I remember my first car. And if I ever forget, I just need to go into my garage and take a look because there it sits.
Here are a few pictures taken over the last thirty something years.
This thread prompted me to find and scan some old pictures. I found many I didn't even know I had. Thank you !!
#1 - 1979 in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado
#2 - Autocrossing in 1985
#3 - 2005, crossing the Mississippi River (celebrating the install of a rebuilt transmission)
#4 - December, 2012

There are some very cool stories and pictures here from the rest of you. Very nice thread.

[49er]

Mark, How cool is that! Great Pictures of you and your "time Machine". You (and your Camaro) haven't changed a bit! Well maybe the driver, just a tad

I love this thread

John

[Iconic]

Thanks John, .. I think. 
I might not look like that first picture anymore, but, when my left arm is resting on the top of the door and I am in the driver's seat, I sure feel eighteen again.

[pablo_o2]

My first one was a NSU 1000 cc. Got it from my sister, who got it from my father...
Second a mini 1275 GT man what a nice to drive thing that was. And fast as well.
Third was the Opel Ascona 1600S also pretty fast in those days, but very thirsty
Not as exotic as some other members, but hey, I had wheels