Cars of our youth

[rcurtner]

Came home from Vietnam on July 22nd 1969. Bought a 69 Camaro, 396 375 horse the 1st week of August. I had a blast with that car, plus a couple of tickets. Got married in November, started a family and sadly traded it in (embarrassed) on a Ford Maverick. Man, I wish I still had that car.

 

[Old_Me]

i had a '64 T-Bird, if i recall a 390 engine?

gas guzzler, heavy tank, drum brakes..

much like this, except what they called a burgundy red???

 

[Bassbob]

My first car was a 1970 Duster with a slant six. Second car was a '67 Fairlane GT with a 289. I ended up putting a 351 Cleveland in it.

 

[rcurtner]

My first car was a 1970 Duster with a slant six. Second car was a '67 Fairlane GT with a 289. I ended up putting a 351 Cleveland in it.

The 67 Fairlane was a good looking car. That Cleveland was a kick butt engine.

 

[Bassbob]

The 67 Fairlane was a good looking car. That Cleveland was a kick butt engine.

Indeed.

 

[rcurtner]

i had a '64 T-Bird, if i recall a 390 engine?

gas guzzler, heavy tank, drum brakes..

much like this, except what they called a burgundy red???


View attachment 50583

You rode around in luxury, bet that 390 did not like passing up gas stations.

 

[Sld1959]

My first car was a 1968 Gran Prix 2 door sport, sweet ride. Then 1967 Camaro R/S with a super built 327 inline Hurst shifter and other goodies, then in 1976 a 1975 Firebird Formula which i had 3 weeks when a drunk hit me, then in 1976 bought a 1975 Trans Am which I still own.

 

[Snake45]

Came home from Vietnam on July 22nd 1969. Bought a 69 Camaro, 396 375 horse the 1st week of August. I had a blast with that car, plus a couple of tickets. Got married in November, started a family and sadly traded it in (embarrassed) on a Ford Maverick. Man, I wish I still had that car.

Got any pics of it? If not, help me fill in the picture: What color, what interior, what tranny, what wheels, what rear gears? Spoiler package? F41 suspension? Style Trim Group? Cowl Induction hood?

 

[rcurtner]

My first car was a 1968 Gran Prix 2 door sport, sweet ride. Then 1967 Camaro R/S with a super built 327 inline Hurst shifter and other goodies, then in 2976 a 1975 Firebird Formula which i had 3 weeks when a drunk hit me, then in 1976 bought a 1975 Trans Am which I still own.

You had some real nice cars. It's great you still have the '75 Trans Am.

 

[Snake45]

First car '62 VW sunroof, after one year got a '65 Buick Special 2-door post coupe with V6 and Powerglide, drove that about three years and then finally got a '69 SS/RS Camaro, 350/300, Muncie M20, console, 3.55 Posi rear, PS, Power Front Discs, 14x6 Rally Wheels. Man I loved that car.

 

[rcurtner]

Got any pics of it? If not, help me fill in the picture: What color, what interior, what tranny, what wheels, what rear gears? Spoiler package? F41 suspension? Style Trim Group? Cowl Induction hood?

Red SS, black hockey stripes, red interior, think Muncie 4 speed, either 4.11 or 4.56 gears, no cowl induction (I think), had spoiler, don't remember suspension set-up, think rally wheels.

 

[Old_Me]

You rode around in luxury, bet that 390 did not like passing up gas stations.

i went from RI to Cape Cod roughly 140 miles one way.......i swear to God, if there weren't any gas stations every 20 miles, i'd have to do a lot of walking.

needless to say, i didn't go to Cape Cod all that much

even going to work, i could only make it one way...fill up. go home.

but then too, gas was like under 50¢ a gallon..???...i forget. too long ago

 

[Grayfox]

You guys did good. All I could manage for my first car was a 1963 Mercury Comet with a 170cid 6 banger in it.
Had some minor body damage that I fixed up as I could with junk yard body parts. No A/C. Finished it off with a Earl Schieb $29.95 paint job. It wasn't much, but it was dependable. I actually wish I had that car back.

 

[Old_Me]

You guys did good. All I could manage for my first car was a 1963 Mercury Comet with a 170cid 6 banger in it.
Had some minor body damage that I fixed up as I could with junk yard body parts. No A/C. Finished it off with a Earl Schieb $29.95 paint job. It wasn't much, but it was dependable. I actually wish I had that car back.

wow, i recall Earls paint job was at $19.95

 

[rcurtner]

You guys did good. All I could manage for my first car was a 1963 Mercury Comet with a 170cid 6 banger in it.
Had some minor body damage that I fixed up as I could with junk yard body parts. No A/C. Finished it off with a Earl Schieb $29.95 paint job. It wasn't much, but it was dependable. I actually wish I had that car back.

My 1st car was a '52 Mercury, flat head V-8. Was not a high performance car but it got me from A to B, usually.

 

[kenpomaniac1958]

I grew up working in my dad's auto repair shop in the 1960's and 1970's until I joined the Marine Corps in 1976 out of high school.

I owned a couple of Chevrolet Corvairs and they were fun cars(One was automatic and had the shift lever, the other had a standard transmission). My dad could work on almost any gasoline engine and didn't mind keeping those Corvairs running smoothly.

I was also blessed to own a Dodge Coronet with a 440 wedge motor. One of my older brothers had a 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS with a 327 and then later got a 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner with a 383 and Beep Beep horn. One of my older sisters had a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda with a 318.

I got into motorcycles in my 20's after I got out of the Marine Corps and at one time owned a Harley Davidson Softail Custom and a BMW K100LT at the same time (2 dramatically different motorcycles).

The BMW was my favorite vehicle of all. I took an almost 5000 mile trip on it from Dallas, Texas up to Portland, Oregon and back. I went through Colorado and Wyoming. And might have gone over 100 mph in Wyoming and parts of Utah...

 

[KillerFord1977]

When I turned 16 and was old enough to drive, I drove 5 things:
1977 F250 Custom
1983 Z28 HO 5 speed
1986 Z28 IROC
1978 Cessna 152 and 1982 Cessna 172 RG

My parents were speed nuts and we collectively drove whatever was left in the garage. Dad went to work first and took what he wanted. Mom and I vied for the other and I drove that HS.
Got my pilots license same day as drivers license . Was driving the ‘77 Ford , dirtbikes and flying Cessnas since I was 14

 

[papa]

My first car was a 1961 Mercury Comet. It had a 144 CID 6 CYL. with a 2 speed automatic. Then I bought a 1968 Chevelle with a 307 CID and 2 speed power glide. I put a 350 in it and gained MPG. This car taught me how to cuss because of drawing moisture in the dist. cap and plug wires.

I traded the chevelle in on a 1973 Mercury Comet GT . It looked like this without the chin spoiler. After putting different heads , Edelbroke intake , and 780 Holley carb it ran pretty good. After that I bought a 73 Mach 1 Mustang with 351 C 4 BBL.

 

[Mr.W.]

The first vehicle I purchased was a seventy-nine Olds Cutlass/Hurst package, T-tops also. I repainted it silver flake; looked sharp with the light gray interior. I, and the ladies, sure loved that car!

 

[Snake45]

Red SS, black hockey stripes, red interior, think Muncie 4 speed, either 4.11 or 4.56 gears, no cowl induction (I think), had spoiler, don't remember suspension set-up, think rally wheels.

Got it. In fact, I have a 1/24 diecast model that's ALMOST your car exactly--it's SS50 and has a black interior and the Super Sport wheels.