Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Just reading the Hot Rod magazine "First car" feature and thought I'd do the same thing, FTBCF style.

What was your first car?

Mine was a '78 Trans Am. Power came from a 1970 LT1 350, funneled through a TH350 to a posi rear with disc brakes (the car had the WS6 package). Dunno what gears were in it, but I do know I could do 55MPH in first, 90 in second, and had the 160 MPH speedo indicating 140 MPH on a long straightaway (oh, the things we do when we're young). When I bought it (for $600) the shaker scoop sat about 3" below the hood, thanks to the SBC in place of the original 400 Pontiac. I had to make a cylinder out of sheet metal to bring the shaker back up to the proper level. The interior was trashed: Ripped vinyl seats, no carpet (bare metal floors), cracked dash, and of course, the corners of the top of the dash had rotted away (common in old F-bodies). The rear quarter panels were 1/2" thick bondo that only vaguely resembled what a Firebird quarter panel is supposed to look like, and the whole car was painted spray-bomb black. Wheels were polycast "honeycomb" style except for one brief period when I had 15X10 Keystone Classic wheels and N50-15 tires on the back. For one day. Floored it on the school road and did a 360 with absolutely no intention of doing so, then later that day I hit a large bump and destroyed my bondo quarter panels. The wheels came off that day.

I knew absolutely NOTHING about cars when I got this thing. My first oil change was a spectacular failure. Done out on the street, with two wheels up on the curb to give me clearance, I had to drive a lug wrench through the filter to remove it (it had probably been on since 1970), and when I was filling the engine I looked down and saw a spreading pool of fresh new oil running down the road between my feet. I'd forgotten to install the drain plug. One time when it was laid up (I thought I'd blown the engine, but it turned out it was just a broken flywheel - it knocked like a broken crank) I loaned a friend a spark plug for his Chevette. That's how car-stupid we both were: The plug fit the hole so it was good enough. When I put the car back on the road I simply found another plug and installed it, with no knowledge (or care) whether it was the proper plug.

Then there was the time I was doing something under the hood (I don't know what it was I was doing, but that doesn't matter, I probably didn't know back then either) and a wrench slipped and I nearly broke my hand. I got so mad I beat the valve covers in with a hammer, so bad the car wouldn't run. I ended up getting replacement valve covers off a burned Monte Carlo in the woods. Months later I'd return to that Monte Carlo to get the brake rotors, calipers, and yes, even the pads, after a caliper seized up on Bertha.

It was a pile o' . And I loved it. All my friends had Chevettes, Omnis, Escorts, etc, while I had a Trans Am. Because it was so light (bare interior, lots of missing metal) it was extremely fast. And because it was extremely ugly nobody suspected it of being fast, so I shut lots of people up on the main drag. I frequently showed 5.0 Mustangs my tail lights. One time I walked out of the high school to see a bunch of black guys in a Capri laughing at my car. I said something to the effect of "It's ugly, but it'll kick your ass". We went down to then main drag and I beat them silly. They then started claiming they'd beat me top end, so we went up onto the highway that bypassed the town and I beat them even sillier. I was at a gas station pumping gas into the car when they finally caught up to me. Their jaws dropped when I showed them the well worn SBC under the hood. We became friends after that (one of them dated my sister for years).

It was the only car I'd owned that I'd ever named. I called her Bertha. I had to sell her when the Safety Inspection Gods came calling. She just needed too much work and I was a poor high school student. I replaced her with an '80 Formula Firebird, but it wasn't near the same car. Perfect body, beautiful interior, but saddled with a 301 that would better serve as a boat anchor (the '85 V6 T-Bird I bought after it was faster). It was no Bertha, and no car I've owned since has captured my heart like she did.

So, what was your first, and why was it special to you?

*EDIT* I don't have any pics of Bertha but this is about as close  as you can get to what she looked like, including the missing front ground effects. Add a set of honeycomb wheels and a tan interior and this would be a dead ringer. The second pic is the '80 Formula I replaced her with.

Mine was a 1983 cougar 3.6. It was black with a red pinstripe, charcoal or black interior. I loved it. But, the engine harness was bad (sso i was told - didnt know much 'bout cars when i was 16 - still dont lol) and i sold it for 500 bucks. Next car was an '88 tempo - thats another story....

1977 Buick LeSabre 4-door
green vinyl interior/exterior with a white vinyl top
buick 350 motor bored .060" over
buick TH350 trans TCI saturday night special converter
bought for $100
chrome buick rally wheels

1974 Caprice Classic with a 400 SBC

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Loaded87IROC/New%20Pics/caprice.jpg)

1966 Nova
Baby blue on baby blue.
256 inline six out of a truck with a 2 speed powerglide.

Car started bellowing smoke and the trans was slipping.  I thought it was doomed so I got rid of it.  Learned later it was a $15 vacuum modulator.

Then and Now

1965 Plymouth Fury I two door post.  318 poly head, 727 automatic.  First attempt to paint.  First H/C/I swap (those things had SFT cams stock), custom duals.  Magnum 500's off a 67 Mustang w/Wide Ovals. It was a slug off the line, but man would it pull from a 25 MPH roll (needed a real gear to get it to move).  Had to really work to get a one wheel peal, but once that tire got spinning the car would fill with smoke!  Michigan rust had eaten away part of the trunk floor.

Swapped in a bench seat that slid all the way to the back seat. Made it nice, no need to get into the back!  That part of high school was fun! 

I screwed up more stuff on that car!  I first swapped on 500 cfm two barrel Holley.  Left the shift linkage for the trans off because I couldn't figure out to hook it up.  Well, that regulated the trans pressure, time for a new transmission!

The engine was out of production for 7 years before I began searching for parts to "soup it up".  My first experience with getting too much cam.  The first cam  I got had 1/2 the lobes reversed.  Took me a bunch of time to figure out I had the wrong part, then took a couple months to get one with the right lobes.  I was an idiot!  If I had had any sense, I would have swapped in a 340.  They were everywhere then (340 Dusters and Deamons littered the junkyards then) and cheap.

But no, I just kept spending money and break'n stuff.  Of course a daily driver.  My girlfriend hated that car (except for the sliding seat!).

The blue was the same color as my T-Bird.  Always loved that color.

My first car was a 85 notch mustang 2.3l carb and a 4 speed. The car was rusted up bad. Never got it on the road and ended up trading it for my 88 t-bird. Here is a pic of the day I got the t-bird and said goodbye to the mustang.

92 ford taurus.  Her name was Susan.

LOL that is hilarious! My girlfriend hates my car. So do her parents.

1986 Cougar 5.0

Had 53xxx on it, TRX, old lady's car (seriously). Had hail damage, Maaco re-spray (enough said), Needed a good scrub, $400. Car was so nice when I bought it. It sat in the driveway for almost a year an
a half before I got my license. Bought it early, I cleaned the hell out of that car NON STOP. It makes me sick to think how nice it once was and how horrible it is now. I dont ever plan on selling it but I think everyone says that. Going on 5 years now, 84xxx now, wrecked twice, three tone black paint, wouldnt trade it for anything.

86 cougar with (about) 220,000 miles when I got it. $110 police impound. No igntion trunk or door locks. Its the car doing a peg leg brake stand in my avatar. They sold it with a paper saying what got it into impound. It was first involved in a hit and run accident where cops got involved and got away because it was in a 25 mph speed limit zone and the cops didn't want to hurt anyone. Then it was in another hit and run where the cops cut off the chase at 110 mph on the freeway because they couldn't keep up with it. 4 years later it was found along the side of building lodged into the wall.

My dad bought it for an engine swap in his 91 crown vic when his block cracked when he lost a freeze plug on the freeway. He ended up not using it and getting a rebuilt motor thrown in instead. When I got my license I was told that I had to take auto before I could buy my own car so that I could fix it when the battery went dead or something like that. When I got the car it was missing the front disc break. Thats not entirely right, because the brake caliper was seized and there were parts of the disc still inside it. I spend my whole $130 check on it putting a new hub and caliper on it and took it to auto where it stayed for about 3 months getting worked on.

My teacher liked using my car for tests and to show how to work on. We did a compression test on it. 65 lbs low 110 lbs high. While he was showing it he pulled out 4 spark plugs and told me to crank it. It fired right up and idled at about 400rpm. He had me pull two more spark plug out and it started on the back two passenger side cylinders. He then pulled off the coil and continued showing us how to do a compression test.

The tranny started going out at about 290,000 miles when I lost overdrive. My compression was only about 85 high the last time I checked it. I broke the shifter off of the colum when I was reverse driving it out of a ditch along a parking lot. When I came back to fix it on pay day, they towed it. It had 297,000 miles on it when they came for it.

I got that speedo to read over 130mph and could spin a tire from a stop up to 40 mph in a straight line. Even the newly rebuilt motor I have sitting in my father in laws garage with e7 heads and H.O. upper and throttle body felt like a dog compared to that car. I kinda wish I knew more about cars when I first got it. The engine I rebuilt was supposed to go in that car just a week or two before it got towed. They keep sending me storage fee bills on it. I think the last one said I owed them $15,000 at $45 a day for almost 1 year. I called them up and told them I saved up $20,000 and wanted to get it out and they told me they sped it, but they keep sending me a newer updated storage bill on it.

That car was by far the best car I ever drove. It never left me stranded and never actually broke down. If I wouldn't have broken off the shifter I am sure I would still be driving it today. I put around 60,000 miles on it in just over 3 years. I used to brag that I could get from any point inside the salt lake valley (about 15 miles from one end to the other) in less time then it took you to smoke a cigarette. I'm also fairly sure that car had some H.O. parts swapped into it. It still ran out of steam at 4,000 rpm though.

Man I was a stupid kid.
(http://b7.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/00061/75/23/61153257_l.jpg)

78 Mercury Monarch. Got it when I was 18 in 1984, for $2000 and 38,000 miles on it. mint condition with brushed aluminum wheels. drove to Daytona  Beach in it for spring break a couple of times. I remember parking next to a black 88 Xr-7 with ground fx on it while in Daytona. I knew one day I would have a cougar. ended up getting my cougar to replace the Monarch in 89. and the rest is evolution history.
the only pic of my Monarch
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/Untitled-2.jpg)

and the earliest pic I have of my cougar in 91 or 92 next to my 88 E-250
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/my%20old%20cars/img025.jpg)

does this count too
my first van when I was 18
1975 E-100. Used it to haul my band equipment to gigs.
replaced the entire bottom all the way around.
did a front end swap to an 84 front grille and head lights
here it is right before I sprayed it
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/my%20old%20cars/img005.jpg)

(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/my%20old%20cars/img004.jpg)

(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/my%20old%20cars/img002.jpg)

here's a before
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/my%20old%20cars/img001.jpg)

88 Lincoln Town Car

It actually had no options, but somebody put a carriage roof on it.

trans slipped in and out of overdrive
the last 3 years it had no heater
the valvetrain clattered like crazy when it was cold
half the time it would die if you left it alone to warm up in the morning
I was constantly having problems keeping the doors working

It did get me through high school somehow. In March 2003 I traded it for a 93 Mustang convertible, and that was a major upgrade even though it was a 2.3.

What's hilarious is that Town Car is still sitting at the same Ford dealer I traded it at almost 6 years ago. :giggle:

(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/cb400f75/Misc/88TownCar.jpg)

(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/cb400f75/Misc/Photo0003.jpg)

This is the Mustang I traded it for. In my mind this was really my first car.

(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/cb400f75/Misc/IMG00043.jpg)

(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/cb400f75/Misc/IMG00026.jpg)

i was 15 when mine was a handy down from my sister.
 dad got it for $50.00 with bad head. he replace head, so my sister could have a car to drive. she had rolled it over, 2 years later.
 dad fix it and painted. but forgot to put hardner in the paint.so every time i wash it, my rags turn maroon. i learn how to power slide with this beast on dirt roads,now days they call it drifting.
the beast was  1967 2door 220 American  Rambler rouge:bowdown:

 i fix the body on dads 1972 AMC AMBASSADOR(that sis wreacked too) because he didn't believe me that it could be done.i bet him it could,so  he gave me the 72 . i  then sold the 67 to a friend. who flip it ,on to it top, in small pond.two days later. i was pissed because i only sold the 67 to him because he was in need of a ride to school.

.

her name is christine
my first love and fist ride.87 ls still have her but no more 6cyl.:rollin: we now have the 5.8:evilgrin: and she is my time machine .o the days of skipping class,the drive in.and that nice comfy back seat;) .o yea those were the days..well at least before thundergirl88 came and screwd all that up.:punchballs: lol

I Called her betzy and she was my first true ride.
I got here when i was 10 and had her till i turned 17, she went from light blue to black primer, rust, and bondo over a 7 year period and she still managed to rip mustangs a new one. I will always miss her, even tho i have my thunderbird nothing will fill the empty hole that she left.
She was a 1964 4 dr. Chevy Biscayne with a 250 bored to the max and a 3 on the tree. First gear she got to 20, Second gear she got to 50, Third gear she got to 110 and while doing this the car behind her was left in the dust going WHAT???
Boy i will always miss that.

mine was a 1986 olds my dad bought it wrecked fixed it sold it to one of my sisters then my other sister wreaked it so i got it fixed it then sold it for a (you can kill me later )a 1988 toyota pickup which i dated my wife and had fun making our first son in .

36 cubic inches
36 horsepower
36 miles per gallon
.
1971 Honda N600
.
Here's the new owner taking away what was left of it.
Did you know that if you're on a snowy hill, and a green 1971 Ford Torino slides pointy-nose-first into your left front wheel, it tends to snap off the spindle?
.

1980 Chevy Malibu Classic, I paid $500 for it..

It was a bronzeish/gold color with black primer and had about 3 million miles on it. LOL I had to dump oil into it at least once a week..... thank God my (now former father- in -law) made sure I knew how to check the oil in it, since my brothers never taught me.
I drove it when I started dating my ex husband and the day we got married, the engine blew on it.... that's when I learned about rods and valves.
We replaced the engine and drove it for a few more months, my ex had an accident  and the back end was smashed in, so we hooked a chain around a tree and he drove it away to pull it out some. LOL
Drove it for a little while after that but he soon killed that engine too.
I remember piling all of our friends into that thing and going out..... we all had to pool our change to buy gas for it, but we had a blast in that car.

It looked basically like this, but the all over color was the darker color of this one's hood and roof.

(http://i15.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/33/d4/568f_1.JPG)

81 Cougar XR7

66,000 miles, 302, tan with tan interior.  Hail damage all beat to heck.  $1500

Drove it for many years, then bought a 85 LS with the 5.0, Blue on blue.
Smoothest idiling engine I have ever seen.

my first truck was a 74 datsun pickup.  i was 11 and my dad worked at a car dealer, some guy traded it in for a newer car and the lot gave him 750 for it, my dad got it for 0.  we had a 1500ft dirt driveway, and 15 acres.  it lasted for about 2 years and it was basically my go-kart.  used it to take the trash to the street too but it was a gokart more than anything.  it was ugly, water damage, nothing in the dash worked and the seat wasnt usable on the passenger side but it had a hurst shifter :D it was a 5 speed.

the day i got it running (stuck alt, so even an eleven year old can smack it with a bfhammer :hick: ) my dad was cutting the yard and almost shat himself when i did dounuts around him while he was moving haha!

but... one april evening the bald tires which used to slide real well on the gravel driveway, the left rear blew out and bucked to the left kicking the bead off the right front.. at 55-65mph which dumped the truck over.. it didnt have a windshield and i was 12 so a) i was invincable and b) i wasnt wearing a seatbelt so i went right out the windshield on the first roll.  as i sat up all confused the truck tore a path prolly 200 feet if not more into the woods.  it was just a mangled mess.  we tried wenching it out a couple times but it was firmly stuck in the trees.  its still there i imagine to this day.

the first car i drove on the street was a 99 hyundai elantra gls.  it was totaled when i lived in nc b/c i got scammed in traffic.  that ol trick where you jump infront of some one and completely stop for no reason.  the police knew it was a messed up situation so they sent me to the hospital with the bones in my arm bruised by the airbag and then towed the car away.  didnt ever find out what happend to the other driver.

first car that was "mine" was the bird.  first truck i bought myself was an 86 f150 and then when i was rearended i bought the MX-5.

Mine was a '91 Subaru Justy 5-dr hatch. It had the new and improved fuel injected 3-cyl with an ECVT and full time 4WD (50:50 front:rear) which was turned on by a 4WD button on the side of the gear selector (it was the same with manual cars). With new directional Toyo winter tires, I had never gotten that little white marshmallow of a car stuck in anything. In the winter I terrorised parking lots (including a nearby church) and in the summer I drove it like an Odyssey (not the van) on logging roads. Slick mud was the only way to get those 4 tires spinning enough to get sideways, so it was like my own little rally car. I loved it and treated it like a Mule.

I bought it from my parents for $700 and spent $800 getting the motor rebuilt for my first year of college. It never let me down, until one day I left for church and the brakes were making a lot of noise. They usually did, though, since the rotors were so warped it was audible from inside and outside. When I got home from church that afternoon I tried to park it on the part of the road leading to the barn, but my brakes weren't there. I just pumped four or five times until finally it locked up solid and ground to a halt. Later that day I found one of my driver's side brake pads on the ground, metal melted to the point where it was curling around the edge in a jagged lip. Never maintained but somehow it wasn't the ECVT that killed it, even after running the tranny dry once.

I later moved to Edmonton to work, and my parents sold the car for me to a neighbour, who had a 3-dr 5-spd as well, for $800. He was planning to cut the roof off behind the front seats to make a rig for hauling wood into his basp00get (he could actually drive it into his basp00get full of firewood), but I don't know if he ever did. I do know that his main reason for buying it was for the windshield, which had a valid inspection sticker, so he could swap it onto his wife's DD.

This isn't mine, but it looked pretty much just like it but in white. It was both terrible and awesome all at the same time.

(http://cdub.wombatsauce.com/images/thumb_justy.jpg)
(http://www.dustysjustys.com/images/1991a.jpg)
(http://www.dustysjustys.com/images/1991b.jpg)

1969 Plymouth Sport Fury

Got it for a whopping $175 in 1978. I could replace the transmission in this car in less than an hour - ask me why :rollin: I can say it had a nice large back seat :evilgrin:

(http://www.fuselage.de/ply69/69ply04b.jpg)

79 Mustang, when we got it, it was a 302 C4 8.8" car. Shortly after it became a 351 car I had alot of fun racing punk kids in Hondas. I have loved Fox body vehicles ever since and decided I would only drive Ford products. Its worked so far.

Master blaster your car looked like a mini, my first car is my 88 xr7, it was given to me by my mom, after dad ripped the  out of it, now shes worn out slightly dented, and all mine baby!!!!!

49 willys 4x4

My first car was a 61 T Bird. white with red interior. Spent most of the summer I was 15 restoring the car then got rid of it like an idiot. Moved on to a 72 Bird with a 429 and a 62 Caddy. Now 30+ Birds later here I am

1976 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ. 455 with a Turbo 400,black on black on black,factory sunroof,full power, and Trans AM seats,shaker hood scoop,and the deeper snowflake (Honeycomb?) wheels from a WS-6 Trans Am.Awesome car.

Oldraven: I've always liked those Justys. Wouldn't want one as a daily driver, but it would make one helluva woods beater. My mother's old (new at the time) Nissan Micra would go places no sane person would ever drive a car unless it was his mother's (I used to drive it UNDER logging road gates). I can't imagine adding 4WD to the mix...

Seems like everyone had V8 power.

I had 8V power. (Valve)
92 Mercury Spaz. 2.3L 3spd automatic. Porno Red on Porno Red.  Jiggled like jello at stoplights. It had less than 100 hp and to move away from the stoplight with any gusto you had to turn off the AC.

Not quite! lol My first car is still the one I'm working on, a 1988 thunderbird base model. Came factory with a 3.8l, the only option being power windows. Now its got a 5.0 out of an 87 thunderbird, finally ready to put her back on the road. One leak after another, she is finally ready to get inspected and be driven, I'm so excited. :)

There's still a part of me that wants one again just for a back roads beater. A 5-spd 3-dr model with no glass and no interior. In fact remove everything possible to make it light enough to get some actual excitement out of it under power. I would never have one for a driver again, but it was incredibly stout, considering what it was. The only problem with a toy like that is the fact that Subarus are made with gold plated parts, so if anything went wrong you'd be stuck trying to justify spending $200 on a rotten rally racer.


Hey, I didn't even have HALF that. :hick:

My first car was a '69 Mercury Cyclone 428CJ w/ ram air. Was an Ford executive car before we bought it, had really thin body panels on it. (you couldn't lean on it at all) Pretty fast car, wish I still had it.:punchballs:

Mine was an '85 3.8L Cougar, that went through many drivetrains...  4 V8's, 7, AOD's and 3, 7.5" Differentials and one 8.8"

had a 255 4.2L V8 out of an '80 XR-7 for its first V8 swap, then went to SO 302's.  I always wanted to throw a 351 and T5 in it, but never had the cash to.

had that car for 9 years.  burned off MANY sets of tires....
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb170/1WLDBRD/Pict0001-1.jpg)
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb170/1WLDBRD/Pict0002.jpg)

Niiiice - wish I had one of those :D

Me too....lol.:punchballs: :punchballs:

X2

A lot of you guys had some real nice cars. Hell just to have a car is nice.

So many people say they wish they still had their first car, I dont want to say that. I want to I STILL have my first car.

Ricky Bobby-
    No one lives forever, no one. But with advances in modern science (daminc) and my high level income (one day), it's not crazy to think I can live to be 245, maybe 300. Heck, I just read in the newspaper that they put a pig heart in some guy from Russia. Do you know what that means?

That is how I feel about my car.

Yeah I took a huge step in the right direction last fall finally being able to get myself a winter vehicle...the cougar will NEVER leave my hands. Neither will the '38.

1973 Volvo 145 wagon....green.

I got a 68 Torino for my 16th birthday in 1975. Long story short, I turned 16 in September, got my driver's license in October and wrapped it around a telephone pole in November. After that, I saved up and bought my first "cool" car, a 1973 Cougar XR7. My brother's buddy ended up with it after I sold it and tried to beat a train to a crossing. Take a good look at the picture. He was unhurt and he said after he came to a stop, he had to turn the Cougar off. It was still running!

My first car was an 87' V6 plain jane grey on grey T-bird. I loved that car and would have never given it up but for an 88' loaded T bird sport.

My first car was an 86' Celebrity wagon with a 4 tech in it, got it for 500 bucks, and spent about 2000 on it. Had it for 2 years and traded it for my 87' ranger.

I can honestly say that I do not want my first car back! lol

Sweet merciful ...

i had a gold 73 plymouth duster with the snakeskin top and straight 6. it was so rusty that as i was going around a bend the jack fell out of a hole in the trunk.

Chuck were you queer back then. LOL. kiddin with ya.

Mine was a nice 57 chevy built pretty good, hand me down from my older brother. I was to young to know what I had at the time.
I dented it and sold it ,gave the money to my bro. ended up wit a 63 chevy 3 on the tree strait 6, with wood boards between the the frame and axle to jack it up, real bad, but they fell out some times.

1978 Oldsmobile 98 Regency 2 door with the Olds 350 (gas -- not diesel)

The only difference appearance-wise between mine and the one below was that I had a light blue interior and Landau top....

Paid $800 for it in High School.  Bought it knowing it needed a cam (wiped intake lobe) and radiator (had a slow leak).  Swapped in a cam and new lifters with just a wee bit more grunt and a radiator for a Caddy Coupe DeVille with the 500 C.I. motor.  Fattest radiator EVAR and I got it NEW for $40.

They came with 750 CFM carbs.  Considering engine output was rated @ 170 HP in stock trim and the redline was 5000 RPM's, looking in hindsight it was a bit much....8 MPG!!!! :banana:  Leaded fuel at that!!  In 1993 there were only a handful of gas stations left around by me that had leaded gas.

I drove it for about 3 months and it was trouble free.  Coming down a road I knew well the dreaded oil light came on one day.  I had checked the oil less than a week before and the level was full.  Luckily I was within walking distance of a parts store because somehow in that time period more than 3 quarts had managed to find their way out of the crankcase and oil pan and apparently disappear.  I never noticed any leaks, drips, odd smell, or smoke....That's not to say there weren't any....I was 17.....

That was the death knell for the car; the Olds developed a horrendous rod knock.  My parents had just bought a brand new 1994 Toyota Camry and only needed one car.  They decided that an under 50K 1987 Cougar LS 3.8 was most likely MUCH more reliable than a 1978 Olds.....especially considering that the history of the Cougar was well documented and known.

The Olds sat in the driveway for two months as I developed a budding relationship with the Fox body Cougar that eventually made me seek out the one I own today.  I finally conceded and called the local salvage yard to haul the old girl away.  They gave me $50 for her.

I still miss that car....

88 thunderbird (hence my user name) in light blue and 140K on it back in 2004 with the usual options and 5.0. Bought it for $150 and rebuilt it with junkyards parts. Ended up junkin it due to severe rust in places you really dont want it to be. Hated getting rid of it and vowed to find another. Then I came across the red one in my sig for $250 back in late 2007 with only 104k almost no options, solid body and a v6. Nobody had any faith in it but it proved everone wrong when I put 1500 miles on it within a month lol :beatyoass: I started driving it in late April of 08 and put 10k on it by November of 08. Then of course I got the Cougar off of Crusher $650, loads of options, solid as can be and only 104K on it aswell.

Oh wait this was supposed to be first car lol oh well. So I posted all the fox bodies I've owned lol. I had pics of the blue 88 bird back on EZboard but they've long since disappeared.

i still have my 1st CAR its the 95 bird

That happened with my Trans Am, too. Not the jack, actually... the jack handle. Good job nobody was behind me :hick:

Paul: Those Buick pics, are they off Kijiji? Looks like New Brunswick plates on it...

My first car was given to me by my parents.  It was a two tone green 1963 Rambler Classic.  It was nicknamed "Sweet Pea" by my Aunt when she owned it.

Straight 6 with 3 on the tree.

did you give it back???

jk sorry i had to
 my mom was given a 69 camaro SS but it was a stick and grandpa didnt teach her to drive it so he sold it and got her a rambler

This is a fun thread.  My first car technically is my '88 T-bird but it was procedure in my house than when you turned 16, you had to prove that you were a good driver for a year by driving a hand-me-down car before getting a "good" car.  The car we all (I have 3 siblings) had to drive was a 1981 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight 4 dr.  It was maroon with (cracked) maroon vinyl top and maroon interior.  My grandparents bought it when it was fairly new and then my parents bought it off them when my mom's '84 Olds Cutlass 2dr became too small for a family of 6.  It had originally had a diesel motor in it but at some point had a 403 Pontiac motor swapped in (I believe that was actually a factory option on those cars though). 

It was the most solid, best riding car I've ever drove.  It was great for loading up your pals, a bunch of girls and just cruising.  The interior was luxo as can be.  The exterior was getting on the rougher side (paint was thin and one door had rust) but it really was a good car.  We just called it "the 4 door".  Sure it handled like a barge and looked like a grandma car, but if you stood on it it would burn one tire as long as you wanted.

(http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr313/50tbrd88/olds.jpg)

One good story is when my mom was driving it and a lady ran her off the road.  She was running around 50 mph and had to swerve off into a used car lot.  She hit a post and threw my little brother out of the back seat and into the passenger side floorboard.  All it did was put a dent in the bumper...the car was that solid (no wonder everyone uses them for demo derbies).

My dad ended up selling the car to one of my friends.  One of the valves was making noise so he sold it to my friend cheap so he could fix it.  I remember him telling my friend not to drive it "all over hell's half acre".  But my bud ended up doing exactly that without fixing a thing.  It ended up blowing up on him going around 465 in Indy at about 90 mph.  After that he found a wrecked early 70's Olds with a 350 "rocket" and swapped the motor into the 4 dr.  He drove it for a few years like that but I've kind of lost track of it since.

I still think it would be cool to find one like it and put 18" wheels on it for a "cruiser".

The pics are from Kijiji, but they're an Oldsmobile, like my first car ;)

87 Ford Ranger. I really wish I still had it.
It had a 2.3L with 11.1 compression, KB pistons, Crane Cam, Crane valve srings, over sized Ferra valves, ported and milled head, indexing cam gear, MSD dist. and box, Headman header, 2.5" magnaflow exhaust, Offy intake, 450cfm 4 barrel Holley, and 4.11 gears with spool. It dynoed 207HP to the wheels. That was with 116 racing fuel and the timing jacked up.
(http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/577515/fullsize/my-ranger-4.jpg)
(http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/535903/fullsize/my-ranger.jpg)

Oh my god that's bad ass.  I love Rangers, I wish I had my '87 Ranger 2.3/5spd back (or my '97 for that matter).

When you're given a car to drive and you're 16, you drive it.  I was one of the few sophomores driving...so I had no worries ;) Actually had my license at the beginning of the school year (had gotten one @ my dad's in SC), but wasn't given a car until I got this.

So I guess having a Volvo now makes me queer? Yeah...right...:rollin:

Oops :punchballs: Guess I was too busy lookin' at the plates. I coulda sworn I saw the word "LeSabre" in your post :toilet:

I had a 1987 Plymouth Voyager as my first car. My parents gave it to me when they bought a new Dodge Caravan when I turned 16. I got it in 2001 with 59,000 miles on it (we bought it new). It was Metalic Ice Blue with a Misu 2.6 I4 with a 2bbl and a 3 speed auto. It was slow as hell (probably the best thing for a 16 year old sophomore ;) ) as it wouldn't go much over 75mph. It was great when a bunch of people wanted to go somewhere as we would all just pile into the "Van" as it seated 7. I got rid of it 4 years later when it had no rust because I blew the engine at 75,000 miles. It didn't like the 80 mph trip to visit my buddy at Urbana in college:hick: . Oh well. I do miss it at times because when I went some where with a bunch of people it was great to have the space for everyone. I actually only had the van for 3 months before I bought *my first car* (one I actually paid for with my own money), which was the 88 T-bird, which I still have ;)

Well if I go ALL the way back.. the first was a 65  Ford Wagon, Bought it from my dad for $200 for the drive train (352ci with a C6  Auto)  to put in a 56Ford PU a friend of my dad's had for sale with a bad  motor.. Pulled the motor from the wagon and he changed his mind about selling  the truck, decided he was going to put an updated motor in it (last I saw the  truck was still sitting in his field)
 So if we don't count that one... (never drove the  thing... except it's what I learned to drive in when my mom still drove  it)
 http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/1965_Ford_Country_Sedan.html
 
 
 Next, I stacked a cord of wood for this old timer  and he told me I could have his wagon with the cracked 390 block that was behind  the pile of wood
 http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/1974_Ford_Country_Squire.html
 Got the wood stacked, gave it a jump and it started  squirting oil... Never saw a cracked block cause oil to squirt on the fender  well so got to looking and pulled the oil sending unit of this old 352 I had  laying around (see above) switched it with the one in the in the 74 wagon and it  ran like a top. Showed the "old timer" and he said "well I'll be dammed... deals  a deal.. you just got ya a hell of a deal on a running car"
 
 Drove that for a day.. and A divorced mother of  three who's boyfriend had just wrecked her 1970 428 CJ Torino (she got from her  husband in the divorce) seen me in it and offered a straight across trade.. she  had three kids and needed transportation and didn't know how to fix the Torino  (and had already kicked the BF out)
 
 http://www.diecastmodelcars.com/1970-black-ford-torino-gt-p-130.html
 Black on Black leather, Hideaways, Factory rally  rims, only thing not stock was the addition of chrome side pipes. Body was  straight, ran like a top, only problem was a crooked front tire... Turned out to  be a Bent Lower Control arm.  $15.00 for a used arm and a free alignment from my  buddy who's dad owned the service station (training his son to use the alignment  rack) and I had me the fastest car in the town of Yacolt Wash. (population 500  or so) for the price of $15.00 and stacking a cord of wood.
 
 This one I drove for a while.. Plus Followed it by  2 other Torinos having three at once for a time
 This GT
 A Small Block 4Speed GT
 and a Torino Cobra

1979 Fairmont Futura Ghia 3.3L 6

I liked it, other than it being slow.  Kind of wish I still had it, but mostly don't miss it.

first car i owned 67 galaxie 500. 289/C6
all i ever did was sit in it and make "vroom" noises. i was 14 and had no license.

first car i owned after my license was an 80 monte carlo. 229/auto
it was a junker, but it has all the first car/high school memories.

My T-Bird is the first car I've ever owned. That said, for a few years before then I drove one of our two 1972 Gran Torinos:

1. Lemon-yellow four-door, with a brown vinyl top. We bought it from our next-door neighbors for $300, when it had 75k miles on it.

2. After the yellow one got four burnt valves (&$@*! unleaded gas!) I had to switch to the green Sport fastback. Not that I minded, since it meant going from a 302W to a 351C, though.

I drove that for a couple of years, but I really wanted the car I have now :)

(there are days that I miss the Torinos, though).

I was considered lucky to have that '63 Rambler.  In the 1970's it was cool to drive to school....it didn't matter what you drove.  Most kids rode the bus to high school.  I put the fake fur, which was popular back then, on the back shelf....and on the dashboard.  AM radio was still what was listened to....KJRB 790 with Sunshine Shelly.

There was only one nice car I remember that a senior drove....a new Pantera...

1946 ford 2 door w/49 flathead V8 in 1964.dad and i
restored it over a years time. thought it was real cool
back then[yes the automobile had been invented by then]
--irv

1985 Mercury Cougar in 2001, mom and dad bought it for me with no motor and terrible shape. We put and old V6 3.8 with 2xx,xxx miles from another excellent mechanical shape (but crashed) 84 Cougar, but it got a BHG 3 or 4 months later. With some savings from me and help from my parents, we bought another 3.8 engine. It is from another newe model year, but the mechanic hacked the wiring and made it run decent (it has no timing advance). Dad and my brother painted it red, so i had a unique cougar here in my town.

 So far, it was the most wonderful i car i have driven. Great in every aspect. I made many, many stupid things with it (like running over mud,loading with 10 people, running without water, Transmision fluid,cruising at 100 mph, and many others i dont remember) and never complained. I still miss the feeling of driving a fox Cougar.

Had an accident in OCT of 2005. I never repaired the car completely since then. It has so much problems and rust,  but it is still in my hands, waiting for money and time to fix it. I admit it, i love my junk.....

A photo way back in 2001, when my brother recently painted it, and another, today....

My 1st was a '71 Grand Prix Model J. I was an 18 yr. old know-nothing.

I took it to the car wash 2 days after I bought it to clean off the the engine compartment grime. After pressure washing it, the engine never started. I cranked and cranked but it never started. It was towed to my brother's appartment.

I had to leave in 2 days to catch the bus back to 29 Palms Calif. to the Marine base.

I sold that car for 50 bucks to my brother because that is all he had on him at the time. I paid 700.00 for it. Lost a bundle.

All that was wrong with it was the negative wire from the distibutor to the coil had been blown off when I pressure washed it.:punchballs: :punchballs: :punchballs:

1963 Buick Special Convertible.  198 V6.  Mine was black with white top and red interior.

I drove it for about 6 years then traded it for a.......

brandy new 1972 Chevy VEGA!!!!

What a dumb ass.:whatever:

My '86 Cougar GS. I had just turned 16 and was mowing a neighbor's lawn for extra cash when I spied it in their carport. I was hooked from that point on.
I spent an immeasurable amount of time and money on this car. I had it painted in 2000 only to hit a deer at 60 mph three weeks later. Four months after that incident, some buttwipe ran me off the road and I plowed it into a guardrail. They never caught him. Soon after that accident the transmission went out and I decided to sell the  thing.
It was a wicked-looking car before I destroyed it.

'87 TC.  Promptly blew the A4LD approximately 4 hours after acquiring license.  Learned a TON through multiple headgaskets, 2 or 3 turbos, and of course swapping in a T-5.  She was good to me.

The white cat in my sig. Was 16 and using money I saved up, found it in the paper for $900. She passed inspection with no problems and ran great. It's hard to believe I've had it almost 8 years now.

After a couple of years of driving a 1966 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 that my brother lent me; my true first car that I purchased was a 1982 Ford Escort (red of course).
I miss it's practicality and fuel mileage. It was a carbureted 1.6L with a 4-speed and I could easily get 40 mpg. with it.

A 1966 Mustang Notchback...complete with 289...it was a father-son project...made me what I am today...:hick:

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? JK. Got any pics of the notch?

Are those Marchal lights up front?

I wish....I couldn't afford Marchal's at the time.
They were KC's  :mullet:

...a little from column A, a little from column B!...lol..

I will see if I can track down some pics...

Thank God this thread isn't titled "Who was your first".

Ahem, mine was a '91 Nissan Maxima. Ended up plowing it into the rear of an F-150. I liked it as a first and it hauled pretty good, turns out it wasn't that great at (high-speed) turns.. :o Bad pun I know, deal with it. :P

lol.....my thoughts to when i saw it.........:mullet:
though i dont have any pictures of it, i have some somewhere, but who know where they are????  anyway, mine was a '67 LTD, 3rd year of them.  green, 4 door, vinyl bench, 390 with 4bbl autolite carb. (not the shoebox, though....:(  )  anyway, it had 2 burnt valves, been sitting since like 75-76 (it was 1980 at the time...i was 16)  in a shed.  my dad & mom paid $250 for it. we got it started, drove it home....slowly.  we tore it down, sent out had heads to be redone, i had it repainted the same green with gold metalflakes, new dual exhaust system(thrush turbo lers)  put some gold center "modular" look wheels on it, rechromed the bumpers and drove it thru high school and first year of college and sold it to a guy i worked with for $1,500. it drank gas like a lush..... last i saw it, about 1984-85,  it was sitting in his parents yard for 2-3 years and then dissappeared.......:toilet:
never seen him to ask him about it, as he joined the military and was gone.....

My third car was a '66 Galaxie 500 LTD. I think it was only in Canada that it was actually called a "Galaxie 500 LTD". It was burgandy with a white top, 4-door hardtop, had the 390/4bbl. Mine was fairly loaded, though - power windows, A/C, and cloth bench. You're not kidding about swilling gas - I had to get rid of it because I owned it during the first Gulf war and couldn't afford to fuel it.

I think we all did. LOL. I didnt want to bring it up.... Give me nightmares to think of her...

Took me long enough...sorry for the bad scan...the original pic is long gone...this is me circa 1987 or so...when I was 20...the mustang in the foreground is a 66 GT my dad bought...

(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/Prentie/Mewithmycar2.jpg)

Hey, if the quality was a little better, that almost looks like it could be a Mustang marketing poster. Very cool, thanks for sharing!

Just to expand on my previous post - I got my first in my first - her name was Anne.

I'm so glad that Fury had a big 'ol back seat.

:rollin:

my first vehicle was a 1974 Jeep J-10 truck, and my first car was my 1987 Escort GT, I still have 'em both, but the EGT has fared better over the years. I wasn't very kind to that Jeep...

However, mice have played hell with the interior of the 'Scort, I plled it all out about 5 years ago, and STILL have not found decent stuff to put back in. :mad:

Lol!...that was about 70 pounds ago!...:hick:

Lol.. get it enhanced and lie about it!

:rollin:

1973 grand am 455 auto, wish i still had it but that was 16years ago