Hot Rods What was the 1st car that "wowed" you

Dear I say, this one. ....... Hey I was only 14 ! ......now I know better, - they should be black.

 

There are really two cars that stick in my memory:
When I was a kid this guy would drive to our house and carpool with my Dad to work. He drove a new '69 Camaro Z-28, blue with white rally stripes. I would walk around that car all day.
Second was Kessler's yellow roadster in 1979 (already owned by Don Ward). I didn't know hot rods from hot pockets and I saw that at a "rod run" with a friend who owned a body shop in town. Those huge slicks, tire rake and in your face yellow paint! Wow. I was hooked on hot rods!

 

Great thread. There was an older lady that was a neighbor of my Mom,s when she was growing up that would drop by from time to time in her solid black 59 coupe de ville. That car to a 7 or 8 year old seemed like a boat. I would get in it and do the best I could to peek over that huge steering wheel. Funny, I can still remember the smell of the interior.

 

This did it for me in the mid 60's

 

I was 12 years old and went to the tiny town of Green, Iowa with my grandpa. I had never paid much attention to cars and grandpa's "31 model A was our transportation. While walking down main street, past the show window of Fisher Chevrolet I saw the new "53-"54 Corvette and I've been a car freak since that memorable day, seems like yesterday and not 60+ years ago!

 

I was 5 in 1985 and my dad's daily driver was a 54 ford pickup fire engine red

 

The Batmobile from the TV show but I was only 8 years old.

 

Oh, it's my time? I feel like I'm in group therapy. The finest ride I ever laid eyes on was owned by a local fellow, Punk Frances., and was a canary yellow Forty Ford Coupe. I was a lowly car hop at The Dairy Bar, well before I had my driver's license and, of course, I saw my share of local heroes and their cars; but when that Yellow Forty went by, it had a growl that was really something special. And, I knew I had to have me one, someday. Several years later, I ended up with a Hot-Rodded Turquoise Forty Coupe with a bad ass flattie that sated some of that desire, along with a laundry list of other Hot Rods. But, trust me, I'm still working on getting my own Canary Yellow Forty Coupe. And, it'll growl just like the one that turned my head around nearly sixty years ago. Some buzzes don't ever go away, and no matter how much you stoke the coal to your own mystery train, gettin' there's always half the fun.

 

Yep--
An ICON in the hot rod world.

 

In 1965, a neighbor a few houses down had a 57 chevy raised up like a gasser. I believe it had ladder bars and was primed. I'm not sure but I may have had a ride in it once, either way, I did see him driving it a couple of times. I took a couple of pictures of it before he traded it for an early corvette, I think a 58. In 1971 I saw the neighbor (he had moved a few years before) working at a junk yard. He said he didn't have any pictures of the 57 so I gave him the ones I had. A few years ago I tried to find the negatives and realized I may have given them to him as well. Maybe that's why I like gassers and early vettes. Around the same time a fellow had a 64 GTO with 4 speed and 3 deuces. He took me for a short ride once. I also like those. Those are the ones that originally WOW'd me, along with a lot of cars I saw in magazines back then, both customs and hot rods.

 

When I was 7 or 8, guy down the street had a '59 or '60 Corvette. I don't remember it being particularly shiny or fast, but it stuck with me. No long after that, I saw a shiny red Dodge Daytona on the street in Tulsa. That really contributed to my automotive awakening.

 

The Batmobile, The Munster Koach, Dragula, then later Cadzilla when I was a kid, then a few years back, @Hot Rod Packard.. 's 48 car:

 

In 1955 I went with my Dad to buy a family car, when we drove on the car lot, they had a white 54 Corvette on a raised platform I just couldn't take my eyes off of. My Dad wasn't interested, he bought a 53 Chevy Belair 4 door and we drove home with me dreaming about what it would be like to have a car like that Vette, never ever found out, one of the cars I have never owned that I wanted to own.

 

That killed two birds with one stone!!

 

My Cousins 33 Chevy! Gave me a ride when I was 14 and that was all I needed. tb33anda3rd (the Son)is redoing the car as we speak!


His brothers 348 powered 49 also did it for me back in the day!

 

When I was about 11 years old I saw a 1959 or 1960 Corvette. Before then, cars were just an appliance, something that got you from here to there. But that Vette, WOW, there was a car that could TAKE you somewhere! It changed my life. I became a car nut!

 

The one that really sticks in my mind is Bill Block's "Brandy's Chariot" (I think he was from Racine, Wisconsin). Although I've always been a great fan of '36 3-windows, I remember this one in it's otrigianl iteration, because of the way he absolutely ruined it trying to make a full custom (drawer pull grille and all) a couple of years later.

 

X2 on the batmobile and the munster coach

 

My Brothers friend had a custom candy apple red 40 ford coupe with power trunk and doors and a caddy engine ! Must have been 1961 or 62 ! Been an addict ever since !

 

I thought I was the only one. The first time I saw Milners coupe I said " What is it? & I want one!"
If there was any doubt after that the glovebox full of tickets sealed the deal!

 

I was running errands with my dad, it was dark out and we walked out of some storefront and there was a black '57 Chevy nosed in to the curb at an angle. The florescent lights from the business were reflecting across the hood and sides and that big chrome bumper was nearly touching the curb. He pointed at it and said something like "That's a special car right there." I agreed. I couldn't have been much taller than the headlight.

 

In the mid 80's my dad had a 65 nova hardtop. As a toddler I would always ask him to do a burnout for me when he was leaving to work over night when my folks were just starting out. He recently told me of a drive we took on a rural highway where I was standing on the bench seat so I could rest my arm on the door like him. I was yelling "go dad go"as he stomped the gas. I was never the same after that car. I cried a couple years later when we had to sell it to pay for life. My sister was arriving and they had obligations to take care of. Dad kept me involved in whatever he could, we spent a lot of time going to dirt track races. It has been a common bond for us my entire life, we recently tracked down the 283 out of his nova to use in his 57 delivery he has had his whole life without ever letting go of it.

 

The guy across the street had a 50 Chev 2 door fastback, blue and white, lowered, with fender skirts, white rubber mud flaps with red and green jewels and probably other mods I don't remember. It was noisy! Had straight thru exhaust and possibly a split manifold on the stock six.

It was the first modified car I ever saw and it made an impression. Never saw a hot rod or car magazine before. I was 5 or 6 so this would be 1956 or 57.

 

You guys make me feel OLD! About 1949 [yeah,1949] I was starting to notice cars. I was not a teenager yet. In Carterville, MO, at a corner house where we made a left coming into town, sat a 1940 Buick Special [ according to Dad] Convertable coupe with side mounts . I still want it.

Ben

 

Neighbors son came home from military 1960, purchased a 57 Chev BelAir 2 door hardtop, teal w/ white top V8 glasspacks, beautiful car took me cruising with him. Believe that set my mind for 57 Chevy's. My first car 1964 was a 57 210 2 door sedan. Right now I have 2 of my cars for sale, going to go looking for a 57, last car on my bucket list , SO many cars SO little time. Caught the 32 Ford bug, 1966 ? Hot Rod magazine, McMillan Roadster, WOW car !

 

'65 Fuel Injected Corvette conv. Black with white leather int. White top. I was 15 and it was the first Corvette I ever rode in. I told Tucker after he gave me the ride that one day I would own one, and I did. Not a fuelie, but a 365 horse '65. Damn that redhead that cost me that car...........D

 

When I was 13 or 14 Pittack Ford in Plainview Ne. got a white '56 Mercury convertible in on trade... I saw it sitting on the back lot with a flat tire and was quite interested. It disappeared a couple of weeks later and it turns out that a young guy that worked in a local body shop bought it, painted it red and added 4 bar hub caps... I was hooked! Never had a '56 Merc but still remember that one.

 

This would definitely be memorable!

 

It's always been the Tri Five Chevrolet for me, and still is but have moved on to many others. Being a Bowtie guy I even have some love for certain Fords and Mopars.