Customs What were your grandparents driving when you were a kid?

I mentioned this in another thread so I thought I would start a new one to see what other guys remember about their grandparents' cars. My mom's parents had a yellow '62 Impala SS with yellow buckets and my dad's parents had a blue '60 Bel Air 4 door with a 6. I still have the owner's manual from the '62 with some of their notes in it. Unfortunately it was stolen and stripped in 1969. Any pics you have would be cool...

 

It would only let me add one pic so here's one more....

 

first car i remember was a 54 chevy, at the time dad had a 51 merc he traded that for a 57 olds and gramps got a 57 chevy four door.oh yeah i own a 51 merc now.

 

Neither set of grandparents had automobiles.

 

My dad's parents had a 53Bel Air, and my mom's had a 53 Olds 88

 

Mine had a 51 Plymouth and a 49 F1. Plymouth was granny's
ride, pickup was gramps.

 

My mom's dad while not a very tall man was a really kind, gentle guy who had big cars with big motors. I don't remember seeing what was under the hood of his beige/gold '65 New Yorker, but I'm sure it was a big motor. His last car was a burgundy '69 Mercury Monterrey with a 428 and black vinyl top. I got to drive that for awhile after he passed. He got that to replace the NY'er on a vacation when the hood of the NY'er wrapped itself over the windshield after a Montana gas stop where the attendant didn't latch the hood properly. Grandpa didn't want to wait for a body shop to deal with the hood, so he traded the New Yorker up to the Monterrey.

I remember going riding with Grandpa Tony a few times, particularly when he would take me fishing... he liked to put his foot into those big cars. He didn't creep away from a dead stop - it was more of a launch. I mentioned it to my mom one day when I was a kid, and she lightly laughed saying Grandpa like to drive fast.

Grandpa Rex had a wide assortment of practical cars - nothing that stands out.

 

Same here Neither Grandparents had cars. My Mom's Dad did not have a drivers license.
My Dad's father did not have a car but owned a small moving company.
I always thought that was unusual that my grandparents walked or took public transportation but owned a bunch of trucks.......

 

We grew up pretty poor. We Lived in a very small house.{MY grandfather came over from Germany} He was a very good carpetner} He was working on a ship and it docked in Wilmington


.N. C. he jumped ship. When the local cops found him they were going to send him back because he spoke very little English but the town need a good carpenter so they let him stay and he brought my grandmother and dad over pretty to the U.S.A. So dads first car was a or 46 chevy.He was so poor he could afford antfreeze so he kept a trouble light on next to the engine block to keep it warm. We lived in N.J. back then.Well the blocked cracked any way that winter so, he put some screws in the cracked block hopping they would rust together.Any way he then borrowed some money from my moms dad and bought a 1956 chevy2nd hand. Then things got better he got a real good paying job at Bell labs then turning in to A,T&T.So he bought a brand new 1963 chevy 2 station wagon. It had the 6 banger with 3 speed on the column, he even sprang for the A.M. radio.. Then that rotted away and he bought a brand new Plymouth Duster. Same motor and trans set up. Mom got a 1967 Plymouth Valaint, same set up again with the motor and trans. Then dad bought a used V.W CAMPER, till some one ran a red light and took the nose off of it.He liked it so much he bought a brand new 1980 V.W. camper. He bought that when they moved to Flordia. He bought it brand new with NO.A.C. in Flordia.!!!!!!!Dad was a little tight with his money. I guess that was from growing up poor. Thats the story. Bruce.

 

On Dads side Grandpa only had two cars from the time I was born until he died when I was 24. the first was a 1956 Chevy 4 dr wagon 265SBC powerglide it was Red and White with White and Gray interior. He was a carpenter and house painter for the neighborhood so it was his work rig as well. I took my drivers test in it as they wouldn't allow me to use the 48 Willys Jeep that would be my first car) His other car was a 65 Malibu Station Wagon he bought used from the local Chevy dealer it had been the local fire chef's car it had a 190hp 283 and powerglide it was White with a Gray interior?

On Moms side I remember three cars a Rambler 4 dr sedan I think it was a light blue no clue as to year or model. Then in 1969 They bought a Datsun 510 4dr sedan White with a red interior. great little car. After that it was a 1979 Datsun 210 wagon that easily got 40mpg with a 5 spd. Brown with wood grain. Last I knew that car was on its thrid owner and had had the clutch replaced once it then had over 300K on the clock.

 

My grand dad had an old F100 that he bought new and he had it till he died. He used to tell me stories about guys wanting to buy her.

But I had an aunt, who owned and operated a Funeral Home. She had a 59 Cadillac. She called it a "bankers car". As a youngster, my parents would send my brother and I to stay with her during the summers. I can remember sitting in the back and marveling at how huge that car was. When she took us on trips to the bank, she'd park that big SOB right out in front.

 

Same here. My Mother's Dad was dead and my Dad's Mom was dead, so his Father and her Mother lived with us. Neither of them ever drove a car in their life, as far as I know. Seems strange today, but not back then.

Don

 

grandparents on Mothers side,never owned a car..just horse and wagon...Grandpa on Dads side had a 34 Ply 2dr...

 

My Grandmother had a 1954 Chevy 2 dr sedan lt. blue/white.
My last memory of actually riding in it was when I was about 6 years old; we had gone to the store for ice cream and as we pulled into her driveway I saw her cat run in front of us, I was just sure we had run over it. I frantically got out and looked under the car with my hand resting on the door jamb/rocker and the door closed on my hand, for some strange reason I remember nothing about the ice cream though.
I had often thought I might be in line to get the 54, but not living closeby, I did not realize that my older cousin (girl) who lived next door to Grams had been driving it and had not been very kind to it.
I visited some years later to discover quite a different sight than I expected, it appeared my cousin had been learning to drive in the 54 and she was not a good student.
Kind of glad though, as the pre 55's were never my most favorite Chevy's.

Edit
And the cat was OK.

 

My Great-Grandfather was a caretaker for an estate back in the 1920's and drove an assortment of cars that the estate had. Eventually he had a number of Chevy's, the last one being a 1963 Biscayne.

My Grandpa had a 1928 Chevy coupe after he and my Grandmother got married in 1938. I'm told it was green with yellow wheels, and had a bad habit of breaking axles, so he always kept a spare in the trunk. At some point he drove International pickups, and traded them every two years until they stopped making them, when he switched to Chevy's again. He also had a beautiful blue 1961 Ford Fairlane 2-door hardtop that mostly stayed in the garage. He sold it shortly before he passed away, and the second owner didn't take care of it. I'm told it got hacked up for a custom job that never got finished and ended up in a field. I'd probably cry if I saw it like that.

 

my Grandparents had a 1959 Chevrolet wagon in ugly green when I was a tot. I want to say it was a 2 door but not 100% on that one. then they had a '65 or so Plymouth or Dodge, and a 1970 Buick Le Sabre. I could have bought the Buick in the 80's but at that time it was not cool enough.

 

My grandmother on my mom's side had a 1934 Ford 2 door sedan, gray with red wire wheels and she drove the hell out of it in Laguna Beach, Ca. in the late forties and fifties. She knew every short cut and back alley in town and would never mention when she intended to take one; scared the hell out of me a time or two (Laguna is hilly and narrow, surprise, surprise!) My grandad on my dad's side lived in Columbia, Mo. and had a Ford tractor and a wagon, not much road use. Lots of family took him where he needed to go. Oh yea, I do wish I had laid claim to that '34 back in the day.

 

In the little town of Graham Alabama ( pop. 48 ) my grandfather drove a one mule wagon to and from the fields which were about a mile away. The mule did double duty as he also pulled the plow all day. At the age of 5 ( 1953 ) I was given the most important part of coming home from the fields. I got to use the 8 foot willow branch. The branch was used to move the mule's tail to one side and inserted into the mules butt........................Passing gear ..........he sure could run even with a wagon attached

 

One pair drove Dodge autos. They bought a new one every three or four years. The one I remember from my childhood was a two tone 1955. It was a white/pink combo. As soon as they got it, it went to have clear plastic seat covers put on over the nice cloth seats.
The other pair of grandparents were very old and no longer owned a auto.

 

My granddad,on my mom's side was a brilliant yet uneducated man,he absorbed everything he ever heard and could read a slide rule with the best of them,he worked at the foundry for most of his life.

I remember a Henry J in his barn but I don't remember him driving it but mom said he did,what I do remember is a black 1958 Chevy 2 door post,283 engine & 3 on the tree.

I also remember it had rubber floor mat,no carpet and he used the car to pull a early canned ham Shasta trailer.

I never knew my grandfather on my dad's side,he died before I was born and my grandmother never drove. HRP

 

My grandmother had a 1969 Mercury Marquis Brougham and my grandfather had a 1968 Chevy El Camino SS396. I can still smell the foam fabric interior of the Mercury. What I really want is the car he had when he was dating my grandmother (1939 Merc Convert).

 

My grandfather was a hard working man . His daily driver was a 31 ford coupe with a 40 flathead , and had a pickup bed coming out the trunk area . He called it a hoppy . His other truck was a 41 ford big flat bed he hauled cotton with . Don't remember my grandmother ever driving but I'm shire she did . They never had any Luther autos that I know of . I would love to have the 31 .

 

My Grandfather drove a 1955 Chrysler 300....

 

In Rogue River, Oregon: My mom and my grandmother with her beloved Nash Metropolitan...grandma was a wild child!-----My grandpa drove an old 4x4 Ford (shown in front of his log trucks) pickup due to his work...he drove that pickup for years and years, battered more each year!! Grandma drove a bit more fancy Lincolns, although she was an awful driver who left more dents in her car than my grandpa's trucks!

 

This might give you a hint to my age.grandma's ride

 

Grandpa lived in Monett, MO and owned a 54 Chev 4dr that was the light puke green color. He was retired and drove on the seniority system..... he was the oldest person at the stop sign so he had the right of way. He would ask me if I wanted to go to the store with him but my mom always had something for me to do that moment.... took a few years to realize that she didn't want me riding with him. He also shifted without using the clutch...clutch was only for starts and stops, all other times he just shifted.
When he passed away, my dad bought his car from the estate. Pop sold it to my best friend...me and him had to replace the clutch and transmission almost immediately. Fortunately, back then, we drove around until we saw a 54 sitting on blocks and bought the trans for maybe $10 and removed it in the farmer's yard.

 

'36 Buick

 

My dad's dad was a car guy. Loved the big luxury cars of the twenties. He drove a 69 Mercedes that was his pride and joy until they took his licence away in the 90s. Both of my grandfather's had Harley's in holland before ww2. My moms dad was active in the resistance during the war and drove a 38 chev sedan. Loved American power. My dad drove a 58 Dodge Custom Royal when I was born.

 

My mom's dad had stopped driving by the time I was born in 1946. My dad's dad worked for the Missouri-Pacific railroad and lived in Dupo, Ill. just outside St. Louis. He only lived a block from his job where he worked 47 years as a switchman. He still had his 35 Ford sedan with very low miles, since he walked to work. He died in 1956 and still owned that Ford.

 

yeah... i remember as a young lad in upland socal... in the mid to late 50s ... my grandmother on my dads side had a early 50's Cadillac four-door sedan. and my grandpa... (they were divorced)... had like a 57 Eldorado 2dht. and also a '51 Ford Woody with a v8... and also World War II era jeep.
on my moms side... my grandmother had an absolutely gorgeous Packard 1937... think it was a 120 four door sedan. omg... I remember driving down the streets and Avenues and Boulevards in Glendale California in that packard... The wonderful sounds that transmission made.... her husband had a beautiful 49 or 50 ford two door sedan with the V8 and stick. I clearly remember him being an absolute alcoholic but functioning... he worked at the Disney studio in Burbank.( he died at the age of 62 in 1962.) my mom's father who still lived in Oskaloosa Iowa... and married to a much younger woman... I don't really know?... but it i would guess like a v8 ford hard top.
as for my great grand parents... on my dads side (he was born 1924 in hollywood) they drove a new 1920 hupmobile touring car from maine to hollywood ca ( when they mooved there with most the family)... my moms parents... god only knows. but my mom had memories of much time in a model a rumble seat. she was born late 1925. and moved with her mom from iowa to the silverlake echo park area in 1930 ( west los angeles) how she survived without a car seat and seatbelts... amazing. btw. my parents met in 1948 at the beach in avalon catalina island.