What's the first car that ever lit your fire?

Some of us can remember the first time a car
ever really hit a nerve in them...

For me it was my future uncles MG/TD.
I remember walking home from a local grocery store
in the summer of 1961 munching on a Milky Way when
I rounded the corner at my grandmothers house.
There it sat with a thousand stars and a huge moon
reflecting off of its black finish. The owner was my
aunts new boyfiend.

Right away I knew this was going to work out
well for Aunt Virginia and me... and it all did.

Let's hear about yours...

 

when i was a kid my cousin had a model a coupe, sbc, 4spd ,torque thrust wheels,

 

75 Toyota Celica....

Well, it was the first car I ever lit on fire....

 

'80 Datsun 210. ALWAYS disconnect the battery BEFORE removing the starter to change the clutch out. ALWAYS.

 

'66 Ford Bronco...trying to fix the ignition.

Oh....I thought you said "lit ON fire".

In that case: as a kid= '32 Ford highboy coupe.
As an adult, with a real, live car I owned= '64 Fairlane H.T. 289 Sports Coupe...

Damn...posted too late! beat me to it...^^^

 

Do brake fires count? Oh, oops.

 

Mom's big red 1960 Ford Wagon. That, and the perty Turquoise '59 Buick sedan 3 houses away. A true li'l old lady car. I was 4 when the bug bit. Younger, according to my parents.

 

My cousin Mike's '39 Chevy 2-door sedan. I especially liked the shape of the trunk and the tail lights.

 

The FIRST car??? Probably my dad's 64 Triumph Spitfire that he had when I was little, or my mom's old 69 Mustang that she replaced her 64 Nova with.

After that, the next big influence was probably the General Lee, follwed closely by the Fall Guy's truck and Mr T's van!!!

 

This one.
I met Nole in 1982 when I was 14 and I got to work on and eventually drive his race car over the next 3 years. Fun times.
I have him and this car for lighting the spark that still burns today.
The car is long gone but we,re still good friends! Ha ha ha.

 

For me it was in the mid 70's, we were at Edgewater Raceway Park in Cleve's Ohio, and in the lanes' was a Blue Metalic with Gold lettering Buick Opel GT with a Big Block Poking between the fender's, I would love to have a pic of this car today...This car was brutal sounding, running, looking...All I can remember is that it was kicking ass all day and in the final's it was pitted against a mid year vette, and dad being a diehard vette nut, chose the vette...Guess what the little opel ate it alive...That was the car that really did it for me.....

 

Oh and of course dad's 57 Gold Met. White Tuck Int' and the flip front end Corvette.. That car was the shit when you are 5 year's old...(STILL IS IN MY EYE'S)

 

A ride in a 48 Tucker when I was four.

 

All right dammit. If we have to be all serious about it....


I guess it would have to be the 39 Chevy (rest it's soul, cuz it had it) owned by "Pops" here on the HAMB.

 

I grew up in a family full of car guy's. And one of my older cousins had a 69 Chevelle SS 396 4 speed car. I remember hearing it rumble, watching him dump the clutch soooo many time's just to get us younger kids worked up..and going for ride's in it..
It sat up high like typical 70's early 80's muscle cars did. Had the fat Cragars with Micky Thompson I block's..Ladder bars..etc..it was bad ass back in the day.
That car made a huge impression on me..
He still own's it, 30 years later..And i still admire that car..

 

When I was a kid, on the way back from Detroit to bring Grandpa home for Sunday dinner,... we were heading west bound on Michigan Ave. and just near John Daily rd. a chopped green Hot Rod/ Custom 36 Ford Coupe was pulling out of a A&W heading east,... It was the first real Hot Rod/ Custom I had ever seen,...... years later I found that car,.. sold it and bought it back about 3 times (I was the only one that would do any work on it), after it was MIA for about 12 years, I accidentally ran across it again and bought it back for the last time (literally untouched from the time it left my garage),.. this time because of odd circumstances I found out the history on the car,.. It won 3rd place at the first Autorama in 53,.... It's sitting in the barn now waiting its turn in the shop (but keeps being put back to the end of the list) Hope to build it before I "assume room temperature"

 

That's a great story! Keep us posted!

 

this cartoon when i was maybe 6 or 7 years old.
no one in my family was a car guy....

 

My dad loves cars, but we always had those sensible ones....
I loved my folks Datsun 510 wagon, that thing went forever.

But the first car that I saw that made an impression was the Jaguar E-Type, followed closely by the BMW 2002. I have had the pleasure to have one of each at some point, truly great cars.

 

I am afraid we will all be Hot Rodding space ships by the time I get to it,... I have to finish way to many other guys cars and the Blue Racer before I can even uncover this old girl,... even though I can't get to it for a long time (like my childhood 32, that's in the basement) I feel good knowing these two cars are in my possession, maybe someday my son's will finish them if I don't,... If not, watch the obituaries, when I go there's going to be one cool auction !

 

When I was 11 y.o. our next door neighbors son had a 59 (?) Ford retractable H/T. He was away at college most of the year, but came home for a few weeks in the summer. Every time I would see him leave the house, I would race over and bug him to run the top up and down for me. A real nice guy, he would usually oblige me and I was completely awe struck with the mechanicals of the whole deal. Just like something on the Jetsons.

 

Sittin' in a dark theater in Hawaii and seeing that yellow deuce pull into Mel's.

Changed everything.

 

Two cars actually get the credit for ruining me as a kid.

The first is a '40 Ford Coupe, saw one on the street as a child. There's probably still hand and face prints on the window of my moms old '69 Impala cuz I had my face pressed up against the glass so hard looking. Built tons of models as a kid, and about every third one after that was a '40 Coupe.

The second was a model given to me as a gift in the 4th grade, a '36 Ford Three Window Coupe. Had never seen one in person but starred at that one for hours after it was complete. Still hooked on those particular cars.

Other than that, my older brother (18 yrs older) always had fast cars and convertibles. SS Impalas, Vettes, Firebirds and the like, new at the time but we're talking late Sixties so it was great stuff. He hooked me on the need to actually own hot cars. It's been like heroin ever since, he just turned 61 last week and I'm 43 now.

Johnnie.

PS: That story abour the '36 from Harms Way is the BEST ! Put that thing to the front of the line, is will fend off the "room temp" condition !

 

Mine was always dad's '50, shown here in its "teacher's salary street trim" LOL

Engine had about an 18" setback, no front seats. Hell of a thing to grow up in

 

It was when I was about 9 years old I got an AMT model from my grandpa and grandma. It was a 36 Ford 3 window. Also the guy right around the corner had a pristine tudor. Honestly I would have to say it was a combonation of the 36 FOrd and the 35 Auburn Bottail Speedster. I went nuts for that car.Actually the guy around the corner gave me a ride in the 36 after he found out I loved 36's. When we got back from ride he gave me a side mirror that was dull and pitted and said "Here.... its a start I guess". I thanked him with a big grin and ran back to my grandparents house where I think I polished that mirror for the rest of the weekend. I still have the mirror too.
http://www.stevenshaver.com/auburn%20speedster 35.jpg

 

Growing up it has to be one of my friends dad's car. The first real hot rod I ever got to touch. It changed me forever! He still has the car and here are some pics.

 

52 chevy......bought it from my uncle......gave him 75 bucks for it......drove it home with a trailer tag on it......50 miles......half way the seat fell through the floor.....drove off the road.....got a ticket.....had to call my ol' man to tow me home......god!! i loved that car!!!!!!!! still not sure about the uncle.......

 

I saw this '51 Merc ... one of those Danbury Mint cars. I had to have one.

 

When I was a kid way back in the fifties I fell in love with my pastor's son's '51 Ford Victoria mild kustom so my first real car was a lowered mild kustom '49 Ford Tudor. For years I told everyone that I wanted one of those square Fords (shoebox).

 

In Germany:
When I was 17 I saw American Graffiti for the first time and I fell in love with Millners deuce coupe. That´s when I started loving old cars.Neither my dad nor my Mom had a car so I was the first in the family who had a driving license !
Before I had my license I would´ve died for a 1958 Plymouth Coupe ! I have to admit I still dream driving this car someday !
With 24 I found a 57 Coupe near Regensburg and made a deal with a handshake. On the next day when I picked up the money from the bank the owner already sold that Plymouth ! What a bummer, it was the only one in Germany at that time...