History How did you get your first car and what age were you?

Look if this has been a thread before, moderators delete it.

I have often wondered if I'm unique in my tale. Trying to keep this short.
Played trumpet. Brother tried also, didn't stick with it, now I had two.
Not yet 16, ridding the school bus, sitting next to a little lady every day. She is also in
study hall, we sit together and talk "things".
Next door guy says to me, he wants his kid to learn to play the trump. He'll trade one
of mine for his '47 Kaiser, pulse I clear some acreage of bush, haul it away.
Stupid moredoor, faded two tone gray, but the tires almost have tread, no broken
glass, runs good, uses oil but it gets me of that damned yellow kids thingy.
Now its study hall, and now 16. At the age of hormones out of control, raging through out me and almost every red blooded teen aged boy alive. Got my drivers license, the world is good, life is good and the little red headed girl, (hi Charlie Brown) in my study hall wants a ride in my recently acquired "shot rod". This is the first day I've had it and of driving to school.
Pick her up after school, start out and she says she wants to drive. (No drivers license, 16 years old, says she will do any thing I want...….. if she can drive……………….and she did a damned good job for someone that young, ..............with no formal training.
First car, no virginity all in one week,...…….Life WAS good.!!!
(wonder what ever happened to that little red headed girl?????)
What's your unique story on getting your first vehicle???

 

Well, when I first got involved in this hobby I had no idea what year,make or model vehicle I wanted. Then one summer day I’m leaving swimming lessons, i hear an engine rev, looked up and it was a red F-100. Decided then and there I wanted one. Fast forward 2years my father tells me he found one, cheap. Seems the owner lost interest and was ready to get rid of it. Had no drivetrain but, hey, I was happy. Long story short, I bought it, restored it and 31 years later it’s my avatar.


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.........There's no way I can top that story.

 

1962 @ 14 yrs. old , My Dad had a small body shop , he often hit the Ins. Co. Salvage auctions , I borrowed $248.00 from him and bought a recovered theft 60 Corvair , I repaired and repainted it , Sold it for $850.00 . I used the money to buy my first Triumph Motorcycle = 500 cc sold the Bike 2 years later and bought a New in the Crate Triumph T120TT Special. pic is of me @ 16 yrs. old the day I sold the 500 .

 

Got my first car at 15, a black 61 Impala 4 door hardtop, 348/3 speed on the column.
Due to always having my nose in car magazines I became infatuated with the Dodge and Plymouth a/fx and altered wheelbase cars of the mid 60's.
I poured over the car rags dreaming of how I would get a Savoy or Coronet and the mods I would do to it. I walked by my local Chevrolet dealer everyday on the way to school and there was a white 64 Baracuda on the corner of the lot for sale, (the only Chrysler product on the lot I might add), when I excitedly told my mom about it she said let's go look at it.
We test drove it and noticed it had a noise coming from the rearend so no sale, parked next to the Baracuda was the Impala and she liked it, so we tried it, not what I wanted but couldn't argue with her as she was fronting the money for it.
I think I had the Impala about a month before I did the first modification to it, a used Hurst Syncro-Loc shifter I spotted in the local auto trader.
The worst part of all of this was I couldn't drive it yet because I only had a learners permit.
My friend got to drive it first because he got his license before I did.

 

Worked my ass off for a couple of harvests, live in potato and barley land at the age of 12-13 and saved up some cash to buy a car so I could drive at 14 which is when you got a drivers license in those days. Had the cash and was looking for a car when my dad expressed that I wasn't going to park some piece of shite Nova in his driveway. Not sure what he had against Nova or if that just came to mind. Anyway he offered to pay half if he had a say. I was perfectly fine with doubling my cash. He was working in CA, we live in ID. He called one day to inform me he had purchased my car? Well that's interesting that I didn't get a say but whatever I just wanted a car. He wouldn't be able to bring it to Idaho until the holiday vacation which was a couple of months out and then the game started, everytime he would call he would tell me what it was and it would change. 70 Charger RT, 69 Firebird, 68 Camaro and the list went on and on leaving me no idea what I'd bought. When he finally rolled in to home it was a beautiful little 65 Mustang which served me well for many years.

 

14 yrs old. Bought a '62 Chrysler Imperial ( 2 dr, 413 pushbutton...) from a classmate. Never got it home. Paid $200. Sold it 3 days later for $600. Mom and dad never even knew I bought it.

 

1967 at the age of 14. Free 1929 NASH four door sedan with twin ignition. Did,nt have a clue then. That was a big car. Sold it for $50 after being outbid on a $150 NASH convertible with twin ignition. Then i bought a Overland Whippet roadster for $10 . Sold that for $100. This was in Australia.

 

I have posted my story before, but I couldn't resist posting it here....

 

First car....the one that got away. My dad's youngest brother had a '39 Oldsmobile straight 8 coupe he drove thru high school and college. I remember watching him paint the entire car bright red with one of my Grandmother's powder puffs. One day, when I was 12 or 13, he called and told me he had bought a new Pontiac Bonneville Convertible and asked if I wanted "old red"? Of course I said yes and I would tell my dad so we could pick it up. My dad's response was "your 12 years old, you don't need a car". That was the end of it and my uncle gave the car to his mechanic.

Real first car....the keeper. My dad had a friend named Joe. This was the 60's and his brother got his 4th or 5th DUI and got sent to prison. In Texas back then that meant he lost his license and had to get rid of all vehicles. Joe ended up with the car, a 1957 Chevy 2 door 6 cylinder in pretty good shape. After the car had set in front of his house for almost a year, I turned 15 and got my license. He offered it to me for free, as long as I stayed out of trouble with it. He said the car had a knock that needed to be fixed before I could drive it. This time my dad was ok with it and we towed it home with a rope. It was summer break from school and the next day I started cleaning it up a little. In the glove box, I found a brand new rocker arm, adjustment bolt and nut and push rod, all in Chevrolet packages.........yep, that was the knock. The threads in the rocker arm were stripped and the adjustment nut and bolt were just laying there. A true mechanical rookie, I pulled the valve cover and had the thing fixed, no knock, by the end of the day. When dad got home from work, I proudly showed him what I had done. He had planned for it to take me 6 months to get it on the road and was a bit upset that I was ready to drive my own car this soon even if I did already have a license. I kept the car thru my second year of college, adding a built 283 and a four speed, drag raced it a little. I sold it to a kid in town when I got my '64 Chevy II Nova Super Sport with factory V8.

 

At 16 bought a1951 Ford 2 door for 150.00 in 1961 . Put a sparkomatic floor shift and a 56 wheel two carbs. Friend borrowed it for a date and rolled it over.

 

14 living in the country-saved up and bought a 37 Ford pickup-$150 in 1957. Played with it for a while then the next summer bought a 54 Merc-kept the 37 for many years and drove it to work up into the 60's.

 

It was around 1970, I was 12 years old and made my $ mowing lawns and selling papers.
I had saved up and bought a Honda 125 dirt bike. Had a lotta fun but when one of my friends dad offered his old car when he bought another the bug bit hard.
It was a 55 Chevy 2 dr sedan with rusty rockers, eyebrows, etc., a 235 six and 3spd floor shifter. $100.00.
I sold the dirt bike pronto and purchased my first car.
No drivers license but my grandparents had field behind their house with a long driveway from the street, went between houses and led to the field behind. I would back the car up driveway out onto street, pop the clutch to peel out and shift into second while flying as fast as possible down driveway and into the field, spinning around and going again. What a blast I had.
Western Auto supplied bondo, sandpaper and flat black rattlcans for my first experience doing 'body work'. And a hammer and screwdriver provided the necessary noise to make my 'hotrod' both more fun and annoying to neighbors.
Great fun and memories. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share.
Tim

 

There were no school bus routes in my small town growing up. Either you walked or found your own transportation. After a couple of years of scrounging rides with fellow classmate's parents, my dad decided to pony up the money for a car for me and my older sister to get to high school instead of unreliable hitching rides. In 1964 I went down with him to one of the local dealers and there in glorious beauty was a 1956 Chevy convertible. Love at first sight, but dad being a Ford guy went with a 56 Ford 2 door sedan nearby. His money, his decision, but I lusted after convertibles for decades after that. Probably why I own a 56 Chevy now. But I had a lot of fun with that old Ford Yblock. I learned a lot about cars with it. I came to love it but sold it to my cousin in 68 when I was headed off to a Pacific paradise .

 

1956 in a small town in upstate NY. I had been hooked on little format hot rod magazines since I was 12. Used to haunt the United Cigar Store for the next months issues. My father was a carpenter, cars weren't his thing but he saw my interest. Went to local car dealer in town and bought a '49 Chevy from the back lot (the back, back row), not running and tired. That motor was a poster child for sludge! He took out a section of picket fence behind the garage and put it there, wisely reinstalling the fence. I took that car apart and learned a lot and no, it never went back together. At some point the junk man came and got it. This led to a lifetime of cars of all types and a lot of hot rods. At 75, I am keeping the flame alive.

 

Got a stock 1930 ford two door sedan at 15 for $125.00 in 1964

 

14 in the summer of 69. Dad had a Texaco station on the Vt-Quebec border. Deal was I pumped gas and played fetch and step for him and the hired man for that summer. 7-5, 6 days a week, and we’ll have you a car when you get the license.
Visions of Chevelles and GTO’s for a year until the Sunday he says “ we’re going to get your car today.
The chevelle/GTO dreams came to a rude awakening as we pulled into the local bank VP’s yard and I got to feast my eyes on his Mom’s car.....a 63 Falcon s/w with a powerhouse of 170 stomping cubes under the hood!

 

In 1960 I was 15 and I bought a 1948 Ford sedan for $50. Needed a valve job real bad so we tore it apart redid the valves. Sold it later on and bought a 1955 Chevy and it's all history from there.

 

I have told this story in the past but here goes.

Back in to 60's we had a neighbor that lived behind us on a corner lot, Mr. Burton was his name, I never knew his first name and from the time I was 11 years old I cut his grass during the summer.



He drove a 53/56 Ford truck to work and had had some kind of accident and walked with a bad limp that's probably why I cut his grass.
Anyway,I would go to his barn and get what I needed to do his yard work and there half covered with a old canvas army tent was a 32 Ford 5-window coupe.

I always looked forward to entering that sacred tomb each summer until that day in early June 1962 he told me that my services were no longer needed, he explained that he was moving up north to live with his sister and ask me did I want the lawnmower to go into business cutting other folks yards, I gladly went to the shed to retrieve the mower and gaze one last time at the coupe which had not moved the whole time we lived next to him.

I ask him if he gonna drive the old car to his sisters or pull it and he said No, son I'm going to sell the old gal and I fired back how much?

His answer was already established because 75 bucks came back as quick as I ask. I'll buy it I said.
He looked at me and said we need to talk to your dad and not wanting my dad to say no I told Mr. Burton I would talk to dad tonight when he gets home from work.

Next dad I sat outside Mr. Burton's front door and it seemed to be a eternity but I knew he worked second shift and I didn't dare wake him up thinking it just might screw things up.

Around noon he exited his house and ask how long had I been there and if I had discussed the sale with my dad? I told him I just came over a few minutes ago and dad said it was OK with him.

BTW, I never once said a word to my dad because I really didn't need the money having robbed my cigar box and with grass cutting money,birthday money and my entire life savings I had enough money and some change, enough money to buy the coupe and fix it up. I was 12 years old and didn't have a clue , I didn't know what I do today.

So, I handed Mr. Burton my hard earned cash and we proceed to unearth the coupe. Man,That car was nice and it still had original black paint,flathead V8,and all 4 tires were flat but I had the biggest grin on my face as I fought with all my might trying to guide it as Mr. Burton pulled it behind his truck across his yard into my parents side yard.

I was the happiest kid in the world for about three hours.

That was when my dad got home and the first words out of his mouth was what was that junk car doing in our yard? from there it got ugly when he called Mr. Burton and woke him up, remember Mr. Burton worked 2nd shift and was a little more than annoyed,then he and dad got into a debate about not clearing it with him first and that I was 12 years old and had no business with a car and for him to come and get it out of his yard and if he wanted to keep the money Danny gave you for lying to us both and he would take care of me.

Hearing my dad say he would take care of me I knew exactly what was gonna happen, they don't call this part of the country the Bible Belt for nothing.

Heavy on the belt, to make a long story coming to a end Mr. Burton gave me my money back and had a big laugh and within a couple of days a few days both he and the car were gone,, never to be seen again.

Many years later my dad and I talked about what had now become known as the ol' ford incident and how he never dreamed that I would ever be able to restore and build cars from the ground up and how badly I wanted that car and how he was proud of me when people would stop by our business and ask about the different cars that
I would drive to work.

At that time the 32 Ford coupes were already reaching unheard of prices and he just couldn't believe it.

A few weeks before he passed away the subject came up again he said I sure hope you find a old coupe like that one someday and I told him it was probably a good thing he didn't let me keep it I would have tried to made a hot rod out of it and gotten myself killed!

He smiled and said Nobody will ever know son we can't go back but if I could I you would let to keep that car.

All you guys got is my word on this because all the players are deceased with the exception of myself and nobody knows what happened to that 32 coupe back in the summer of 1962 but I'm willing to bet the owner ain't 12 years old!

Just a footnote to the story, I did get the lawnmower and used it to add additional cash to my cigar box and purchased a 1954 Ford a couple of years later, with dad's approval this time. HRP

 

Got a free '39 Chevy from the widow next door after the hub passed when I was 12 in '62. Kept it hid in the woods from the folks and rode my bike to it every day after school and drove it around the corn fields on dirt roads. Morning paper route supported it. Couple years later, traded it and $25 for a '46 Ford with a flat head, needed to hear dual exhaust.

 

I was a car crazy kid that spent all of his money on car magazines back in the early 70's. My dad really didn't care much for cars except for transportation. Luckily I had a grandpa and 2 uncles on my mothers side that were pretty heavy into cars. My grandfather owned a 600 acre mint farm here in wisc that i worked on in the summer and of course where there is a farm there is always junk parked somewhere. There was a '39 chevy truck parked in the woods that belonged to my oldest uncle (13 years older than me) I badgered him until he finally gave in and I bought it for the grand sum of $50 on payments. I was 11 so there really wasn't a whole lot of cash flow so it took a while to get it paid for. I have moved this truck around and played with it on and off for years. I really got serious about 2 years ago and have been working on it pretty steady. I finally got to drive it down and back up the drive way this last spring. Only took 44 years to make it into a moveable truck. I did learn a lot in those 44 years so I think it was worth waiting. It has a chopped top, stretched cab, nail head and custom built box with '56 dodge tail lights.

 

13 years old, traded my horse for a 51 GMC p/u.

 

I was 16 and not to long after getting my drivers license in SoCal.
I bought a gas station '53 Ford 2 door sedan for $25. 1st gear was gone and the clutch was pretty well shot.
Had it one day. The very next day I sold it to my high school chum for $50!

 

here was my first ride this spring

 

Way back in the olden days, late 50's. My dad traded a dump truck of gravel for a 30 model A more door that ran and stopped and as I remember was in great shape inside and out. I was 13 yrs old but that didn't stop me from driving it UNTIL my mother said I was going to kill myself or some else so away it went.

 

Not a bad deal for A HAY BURNER.

 

Bought my Non H.A.M.B. friendly car (by one year) impala as soon as I turned 18 last April! Can’t really say I have a unique story about how I got it, but I got it haha!


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1962, 14 years old with $150 cash I had saved, found a 1942 Ford 2 dr. sedan, red primer, alum heads and intake, white Atlas battery on the fire wall, beautiful engine. Asking price was $150. My dad said you don,t want that, took me to a used car lot and came home with a 56 Ford 2 dr. hardtop with 292, A/T for $395. Payments were $21 a month.

 

Wife and I still have our first car.
Mine a 66 Rambler American I got at 17...hers a 55 Chevy BelAir her Mom bought new, given to her at 16.
I bet few old people still have their first car.

 

I was 14. My dads a machinest and back when he would get laid off sometimes in the winter, he would buy wrecked (new) Ford rangers, fix them and sell them. An old guy named Jim Speaks somehow met my dad, saw one of his just finished rangers and asked if my dad would paint his Ford LTD. My dad went to Jims place and I tagged along. Jim was a mechanic at the Sheriffs Garage in Spokane for many years, and had all kinds of old Fords at his place. Way in the back, I spotted a 1956 F-100. I was in love. I still remember sitting in it and seeing all the dead stink bugs and bees on the dash. Dad came over and asked what I thought of that truck? I said I loved it. Dad smiled. He traded his paint labor for the 56 and I worked of it (1,000.00 if I remember). This would have been roughly the early 90’s.

Here it is when Jim delivered it. Jim ALWAYS had a cigar in his mouth. Jim’s in the overalls and my dad is next to him. I think I took the picture?