Was your first car a family hand me down?

If so, I would love to hear your stories. My first car was given to me in 1968 right after high school by my father. He got the muscle car itch and bought a new 1968 Z-28 Camaro. His old two door green 1964 Mercury Comet with a 260 V8 and C4 automatic became mine. A 4bbl 289 intake, new 550cfm Holly carb and open element air cleaner woke it up just enough to spin the ties a few feet on takeoff. Wanting more power, I had the heads lightly ported and milled while a TRW street/strip hydraulic cam kit went in the short block. Well: The old short block didn't hold up long to the increased compression and rpm. A new Jasper rebuilt 302 short block was added, along with a Edelbrock F4B aluminum high rise, a larger 650cfm Holly carb, Cyclone headers, Ford dual point distributor, and Thrush header mufflers. Well the much added power and 7000rpm rev's quickly destroyed the 100,000 mile automatic transmission. So ... in went parts from a late model bone yard totaled Cougar. 2.78 low gear 4 speed, and associated clutch and linkage parts. A Hurst shifter and 3.50 rear gear (replacing a 2.80 ratio) and traction bars were added a little later. Well, the used factory clutch goes out fast after a few high rpm starts. A heavy duty zoom clutch is added, and all is well. Ran the car hard for about the next two years with no problems at all, and had it repainted a pretty metallic blue color, had the interior redone in black roll and pleat, and nicer wheels and tires added. Fun little car, won a few street races, and took it down the the local strip in a few times. Learned how to work on cars, and how improving horsepower breaks things not up to snuff. Did the unthinkable, and sold the car and bought a new 340 Duster. The Duster was a pretty nice car, but GAWD I've wished for a long time I had that little Comet back.

Sorry if this old guy has bored you with all the details.


--Steve --

 

Nope,, my first car was in 1964, a 55 Buick Roadmassa.. Brush painted John Deere Green and Yellow..Bought with my own money from farm work and a "Grit" paper route..

 

Bought my own car a 71 Buick...which I later found out my grade school gym teacher had owned...he had poor taste in color.

 

I wish I got a hand me down, my dad always had really cool cars that were really nice, so of course I didn't get them....... but I did get a really cool 77 Jeep CJ5 i learned to wrench on that i restored and still own today.

 

69 Impala 396 TH400, Quad stereo, Hidden Headlights....all stock...cruising with the Pony Cars on Woodward Ave in 1980....Not all bad....

 

Inherited my grandfathers 65 Buick special in 1970.

Blue w/ white painted top,V-6,3 spd on column.

Put baby moons and rear seat speaker in,J.C.Whitney glass pack, and cruised Woodward Ave!!!!

 

Got handed a 72 Pinto wagon in 1983

 

Family friends moved back east and didn't want to take it. they gave me their 63 bug that had been in the garage for years, I was about 14.....I still have it, figured I would give it to my boy if he wants it..

 

I was sort of given my first car - sort of. My uncle had this '55 Plymouth, rust bucket, worn out. His kids had jumped in the seats and ripped the seat covers and headliner. He tried to trade it in on a new Buick - they offered him $35. He was insulted and told them that before he would do that, he'd give the car to his nephew (me). They told him to do that, because they didn't want it. So... he called me up and said "I'm giving you a car!". Great! We met at the DMV to transfer ownership. He told them he was giving me the car. They suggested that he "sell" it to me for $1 (which you could do at the time). They suggested that he could even give me the dollar! He insisted that it was a gift - he signed the title, shook my hand, and left. The lady at the DMV then informed me that the minimum gift tax was - you guessed it - $35!
One week later, the clutch went out. Fixed that and another week later one of the leaf springs broke (never did that before, or since). Replaced the spring. About two weeks later, I made an appointment to get the brakes done and on the way to the shop a guy stopped suddenly in front of me - my brake pedal went to the floor. All the brakes managed to do was lower the front of my car so my bumper missed his and I caught his in my grille. There was a scratch on the Olds I hit, and one of the letters in 'Oldsmobile' was knocked off. My grille was in the radiator, radiator crushed over the fan and water pump. Both headlights pushed a foot back into the fenders (neither one broke). We exchanged insurance and he left. I called for a wrecker. When the wrecker got there, and picked up the front of my Plymouth, there was an outline of my car on the street, made of the rust that was knocked off on impact! Embarrassing! So much for my gift car.
Fast forward a few years and I am driving a '66 Mustang that I just painted, when I attended a family event, and my Aunt (wife of the Uncle that 'gave' me the car), looks at the Mustang and reminds me of the gift car and tells me how nice it would be if I returned the favor and gave my Mustang to one of her kids who just turned 16! Yeah, right!

 

Yes for me. My first car, which I still kick myself for selling 30 years ago, was a 55 Nomad that my brother gave to me when I was 15 back in 1977. He had the 55, a 56, and a 57 Nomad, all at the same time. The 55 was the worse and need the most work. No Motor, tranny, front seat. The body was a million different colors. But little by little, I worked on it, with my brother helping install a 327 with a 4 speed. I drove for awhile with one bucket seat until I found a stock front seat. Then my dad painted it the original color, turquoise and white lacquer. Damn, why did I sell it.

 

My first car was a '65 Mustang coupe I got in '73. My sister had bought it 4 or 5 years before and seized the engine. The oil pump drive shaft had snapped. It sat in our driveway for a couple years and when I said to my Dad that I was thinking of getting a car he pointed at it and said "fix that one." I got another 289 out of a junkyard and swapped it out with help from a couple of friends. I lived just down the hill from Mulholland Drive so it turned into a road racer, Lowered, Shelby springs, Konis, Galaxie discs, wide steelies with BFG Radial T/As. Sold it a couple of years later to a friend who sold it to his cousin who crashed it trying to outrun a cop up around Ojai.

 

nope...nothing was give to me , had to buy it with my own money

 

Yes, a 1965 Chevrolet Four Door Sedan with Six. One big ass trunk. Had to share with my two brothers. We had to pay our own Insurance and Gasoline. 1980. I wrote about it in Hemmings Motor News recently.

 

My first car was handed down, and I am currently rebuilding it again after having it over fifty years. Mine was/is a 1929 Ford cabriolet that my dad bought new in 1929. It was the first and last new Ford my father ever bought. He gave it to his mom after a couple years and bought himself a used '28 Chrysler touring. ...and almost every car he bought thereafter for the rest of his life was Mopar.

He often told me of things he did not like about that old Ford, so there was never any thought in my mind that I should restore it to original. This time, I am adding a 1928 Chrysler instrument panel to it, in dad's memory. In the early sixties I added hydraulic brakes, dropped axle, and 15" Mercury wheels and big and little wide whites. ...but it was mostly stock, but it was a blast and I drove it everywhere. This time will be much the same but I am adding a lot more mods to the banger, better '56 Ford PU steering, a modern synchro tranny, and many more refinements. With more time and resources it is going to be a much nicer car than it was in '63, but it should still be a fun ride.

 

My dad was car shopping in 1969 and bought a 1950 Studebaker Champion 4 door for $50 just because it was only $50. He drove it for a few months before he bought another car. The Stude was parked for a few years and I asked him if I could have it if I got it running again. He said sure but I had to pay for everything. That was 1972 and I still have it today. It's sort of an on going project.

 

Yes, one of my 1931 Dodge coupes was my first car and a hand me down from my Dad. Drove it to high school in Royal Oak, Michigan in 1969/1970 and still have it.

 

1964 Ford Country Squire Wagon 289 3 on the tree

 

'46 Desoto more door, monstrous, ugly, embarrassing, but would burn rubber in that real low gear. Sold it, got a '49 Ford coupe, happy happy happy!

 

NOPE! Bought it myself. My Dad uses cars up anyways, I cant think of one that they could have given to me even if they wanted too.

 

no hand me down here. bought mine myself.besides when i was young we lived in the burbs of chicago. nothing last long enough to get to be a hand me down up there anyway...lol

 

Mine was a hand me down 1953 Plymouth 4 door rust bucket, but it got me all over town.

 

My family handed down a 56 dodge Coronet 2 door post. It went from dad and mom to my older brother, and then was handed down to me. I made it my own and loved that car. I still have a soft spot for 56 Dodges and will own another someday.



Learning from the pages of Hot Rod I flared and radiused the rear wheel openings,formed a scoop on the front hood, removed the grille centerbar, tunneled an antenna, and nosed and decked it. Painted Pontiac "barrier blue with fake vinyl top (all the rage in its day.) I really thought I was the catsass.

Photo from 1966 (probably before most of you were born) Fuck! I'm old!

 

Nope, my first car was a 65 impala ss 327 4 speed car

 

Nope but it was my fathers choice and not mine. after I had saved enough to pay for it. I did drive my mothers car when the motor blew and I was replacing it with a 383. 58 first year for the B engine right? Wow was that a learning experience!!

 

Wow, that car is sharp !! ... First thing that came to mind was "Christine".

 

Dad gave me his 56 Ford 2 door sedan in 1971.

 

My parents first brand new car and the one I came home from the hospital in, a 1978 Bronco. It was perfect, green on white two tone. Rolled it in college during a blizzard going to surprise my then girlfriend on valentines day. Headed to North Dakota this summer to haul it to Oregon to do something with it. Just too sentimental I guess.


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yep, my dad gave me a 54 ford 2dr sedan when i was 13, im 30 now and still have the car.....john

 

Mine was a 1948 Plymouth P15 4-door Special Deluxe, that was originally purchased by my grandfather. After he bought a Studebaker Lark to replace it, it became our family car. It later became my car, because I needed to commute weekly to a community college. Ended up selling it, but later in life I decided I wanted one again. Bought my current 1948 Plymouth P15 about 6 or so years ago. A lot of work, and a few driveline modifications, new interior, fresh paint, and it's "On The Road Again"

 

I was brought up in Liverpool in the North West of England in the 1960's. It was always raining, we'd had war time rationing until the mid 50's, everything was grey, no one had any money, nobody bought anything new. In 1965 my Dad was the first bloke on our street to have a car.... I didn't know anyone who was able to buy a new car until the mid-1980's. Pretty much the opposite of So Cal - which was really only a dream world as far as we were concerned.

What all this leads up to is that in 1974 my first vehicle (handed down from my Dad) was his old ride-to-work hack, a 15 year old Raleigh RM5 Supermatic - even that made me something special back then. I was very proud and pleased to get it and it gave me a great deal of personal freedom that other 16 year old kids envied.

If I'd had some of the cars listed here (even those regarded as a POS in the USA), I would've been a total chick magnet....