Cars that are no longer with us.

[Pilgrim]

My mom had a 1950 Studebaker Champion convertible for 46 years. It was cool with the airplane nose, in red with a black top. Straight six, 3-speed with overdrive. I grew up driving it and other cars we had. A few years after we moved from Iowa to Washington, it developed a cracked head and was parked inside a large storage building. It probably spent 25-30 years there. When the parents moved from the big country house into town, my younger brother got it - wanted to restore it but decided to sell to a nice couple in Canada. I believe he still knows where it is. I'd love to have it - built in my birth year - but I don't have the time or resources to restore it.

Of course, there's my 1966 GTO that was T-boned in 1973 by an idiot in a Camaro who was taking his car to a mechanic - because he had NO BRAKES. He went sailing through a red light in downtown Denver and took about two feet off the front of that GTO. That was 1973, and at that time the goat was just an old car, not worth rebuilding. Bye........

I'm watching American Restoration right now, and they're working on a 1963 1/2 Galaxie 500XL. That show that prompted this memory....for a few months in about 1970, I actually had a 1963 1/2 Galaxie 500 XL. Yes, it was one of the original 427 cars. It was jet black with a gold interior, buckets and 4-speed. The dual 4-barrels had been stolen off the engine and we towed it home, but shortly thereafter we discovered that it thrown a rod and the block was shot. It still had the factory headers on it. We decided not to tackle an engine replacement, and sold it to a gent in town who put a 390 into it.

There are other cars which would be worth $$ now, but those stand out in my memory.

 

[Jared]

My first brand new vehicle was a 2003 Dodge Dakota. It was a 2wd V6 stick shift truck. I drove it for 11 years and have missed it every day it’s been gone. Hands down, my favorite tgat I’ve owned. Also regret getting g rid of my 84 Camaro.

 

[Pilgrim]

I have bought one and only one new car - 1977 Chevy Monza Spyder. 305 V8, 4-speed, positrac. It's with a collector in Grants Pass, OR now. Mine looked exactly like this one on the sales brochure.

 

[ponchonlefty]

My first brand new vehicle was a 2003 Dodge Dakota. It was a 2wd V6 stick shift truck. I drove it for 11 years and have missed it every day it’s been gone. Hands down, my favorite tgat I’ve owned. Also regret getting g rid of my 84 Camaro.

my cousin bought the same truck and still has it. he bought it new too. about the same story. great trucks.

My mom had a 1950 Studebaker Champion convertible for 46 years. It was cool with the airplane nose, in red with a black top. Straight six, 3-speed with overdrive. I grew up driving it and other cars we had. A few years after we moved from Iowa to Washington, it developed a cracked head and was parked inside a large storage building. It probably spent 25-30 years there. When the parents moved from the big country house into town, my younger brother got it - wanted to restore it but decided to sell to a nice couple in Canada. I believe he still knows where it is. I'd love to have it - built in my birth year - but I don't have the time or resources to restore it.

Of course, there's my 1966 GTO that was T-boned in 1973 by an idiot in a Camaro who was taking his car to a mechanic - because he had NO BRAKES. He went sailing through a red light in downtown Denver and took about two feet off the front of that GTO. That was 1973, and at that time the goat was just an old car, not worth rebuilding. Bye........

I'm watching American Restoration right now, and they're working on a 1963 1/2 Galaxie 500XL. That show that prompted this memory....for a few months in about 1970, I actually had a 1963 1/2 Galaxie 500 XL. Yes, it was one of the original 427 cars. It was jet black with a gold interior, buckets and 4-speed. The dual 4-barrels had been stolen off the engine and we towed it home, but shortly thereafter we discovered that it thrown a rod and the block was shot. It still had the factory headers on it. We decided not to tackle an engine replacement, and sold it to a gent in town who put a 390 into it.

There are other cars which would be worth $$ now, but those stand out in my memory.

my uncle had a 4dr hard top with console and i think a 390. that man changed cars many times. the stude would be a awesome car to restore.

 

[ponchonlefty]

never had a new car, was tempted a few times. i was content with the 74 formula.
the 01 black bird trans am really talked to me but i kept my formula.
it was my first car and is still in the driveway. not mine anymore but im the care taker.
the 57 was my second car. and my first truck was a 66 chevy. had a few cars but those were truly
mine and will be forever.

 

[Jared]

never had a new car, was tempted a few times. i was content with the 74 formula.
the 01 black bird trans am really talked to me but i kept my formula.
it was my first car and is still in the driveway. not mine anymore but im the care taker.
the 57 was my second car. and my first truck was a 66 chevy. had a few cars but those were truly
mine and will be forever.

The last few we’ve bought have been new. The newest one was the wife’s Subaru. We bought it while it was still on a boat on the way here. It had 4 miles on it when we picked it up. The Dakota was second. It had 4 miles on it when I test drove it. Had 15 after the test drive and 18 when I took delivery. The Colorado had 10 on it when I bought it. I test drove a different one then bought the one that sits in my driveway. The Fit was a dealer swap so it had 75 miles on it. There was a shortage of them in this area and it was a take what they could get.

 

[ponchonlefty]

The last few we’ve bought have been new. The newest one was the wife’s Subaru. We bought it while it was still on a boat on the way here. It had 4 miles on it when we picked it up. The Dakota was second. It had 4 miles on it when I test drove it. Had 15 after the test drive and 18 when I took delivery. The Colorado had 10 on it when I bought it. I test drove a different one then bought the one that sits in my driveway. The Fit was a dealer swap so it had 75 miles on it. There was a shortage of them in this area and it was a take what they could get.

what was your first car?

 

[Andyman]

never had a new car, was tempted a few times. i was content with the 74 formula.
the 01 black bird trans am really talked to me but i kept my formula.
it was my first car and is still in the driveway. not mine anymore but im the care taker.
the 57 was my second car. and my first truck was a 66 chevy. had a few cars but those were truly
mine and will be forever.

Same. Never bought anything new. I've had two '65 Mustangs, a '73 Camaro "Type LT" with the split front bumper, an '83 Mustang GT, the last year of the 4bl carb.

 

[ponchonlefty]

Same. Never bought anything new. I've had two '65 Mustangs, a '73 Camaro "Type LT" with the split front bumper, an '83 Mustang GT, the last year of the 4bl carb.

nice choices. very simple to work on and modify. great just stock. those from 17-19 mustangs are impressive cars. fun but probably a nightmare to work on. simple is stress free. i do have times when i mod things and make it more complicated than it should be. you should get you a fixer and tinker around with it.

 

[Jared]

what was your first car?

88 Corolla FX. Car was hella slow

 

[ponchonlefty]

s

88 Corolla FX. Car was hella slow

slow, fast it doesn't matter. the first car is fun. i had lots of fun with the tercel.

 

[4strings]

I've bought 2 new cars in my life. 1993 Mazda MX6 LS and a 2001 Audi S4.

 

[4strings]

The Mazda had a Yamaha 5 valve V6. It was a sweet engine.

 

[4strings]

The S4 had a biturbo 2.7 liter V6, stage 1 tuned. It pulled like a freight train.

 

[ponchonlefty]

The S4 had a biturbo 2.7 liter V6, stage 1 tuned. It pulled like a freight train.

turbo lover.

 

[BearGFR]

Not mine, but they were owned by people in my family.

My uncle Bill. I've written about him in other places, but not here. One of my very favorite uncles. He was Marine in Carlson's Raiders in WWII. Wounded in the Pacific, fighting the Japanese ( which he hated his entire life afterwards because of the atrocities he saw them do), He took a machine gun round to one of his ankles. In 1962 his doctor advised him to drive a manual to keep it "broken loose", so he ordered a new Galaxy 500 XL, 406 - 3 deuces - 4 speed.


One of my cousins, "Billy Dean" several years older than me (from a different uncle - my Dad had 6 brothers and 4 sisters), seemed to always have something fast. There was a 60 Tbird with a 430 Lincoln. He scared me senseless in that car more than once, burying the speedo on those little 2 lane country roads. Later a 67 Mustang with a factory 390, but after that - a real Boss 429. He blew the engine in it enough times that the dealer told him "no more, do it again and we're not replacing another one."

I didn't have my own fast car until after I was married and in college. The 69 GTO that I still have. However before that, in high school, because my Dad had his own used car business where I also worked, whenever we'd get something "interesting" it would often get taken out on a late night "test drive" . In fact, I have a story about the first GTO I ever drove, an Iris Mist 65 4 speed, that was responsible for igniting my love affair with GTOs, but that's a story for another time.

Bear

 

[knuckledust3r]

Nobody's gonna talk about boring cars? I was bumme.d when Ford announced they were killing off all of their sedans to make room in their lineup for things like the Ford Edge and the Ford Escape. I wholeheartedly enjoy 30+ mpg and the fact that I can fold the rear seats down and haul stuff...I'll grant that I can't haul a sheet of plywood, but I've definitely hauled 10+ 8' long 2x4's in here, and 21 (empty) sixth-barrel beer kegs.

 

[ponchonlefty]

Nobody's gonna talk about boring cars? I was bumme.d when Ford announced they were killing off all of their sedans to make room in their lineup for things like the Ford Edge and the Ford Escape. I wholeheartedly enjoy 30+ mpg and the fact that I can fold the rear seats down and haul stuff...I'll grant that I can't haul a sheet of plywood, but I've definitely hauled 10+ 8' long 2x4's in here, and 21 (empty) sixth-barrel beer kegs.

i hauled firewood in the back seat of the firebird. stacked to the top of the package tray. im glad the roads were smooth. nice car, the wheels were a good choice.

 

[4strings]

In fit of 21 year old stupidity I once hauled five people and a 1/6 keg in a Fiat Spider.

Not mine but identical:

 

[Pilgrim]

The last few we’ve bought have been new. The newest one was the wife’s Subaru. We bought it while it was still on a boat on the way here. It had 4 miles on it when we picked it up. The Dakota was second. It had 4 miles on it when I test drove it. Had 15 after the test drive and 18 when I took delivery. The Colorado had 10 on it when I bought it. I test drove a different one then bought the one that sits in my driveway. The Fit was a dealer swap so it had 75 miles on it. There was a shortage of them in this area and it was a take what they could get.

Boring cars?

That reminds me of when I was in car sales (Chevy, Olds, VW) in 1978-1980. The fuel crunch was on and the hottest seller in automobiles was the VW Diesel Rabbit with the manual transmission. We sold them for full retail ticket, no discounts. We'd learn that there were X number for us on the boat coming in, and they were sold before they reached shore.

I sold a pair to brothers who I went to high school with. They were swimmers, and 6'4 and 6'5, and they were running the family farm. Believe it or not, they fit into those Rabbits just fine. They were so tall they'd let their right leg fall over to the right and use the gearshift inside the angle of their leg. I also bet they didn't buy much retail diesel, since most of their their heavy machinery ran on diesel and they kept large a tank of it on their farm.

First car I ever drove was a 1940 Chevy 4-door. My dad bought it for $25 from a friend (I have no idea why) and we drove it around the 4 acres we owned in the country. It had rear suicide doors and it was the last year for running boards. We changed drivers by opening the driver's door, stepping onto the running board, opening the rear door, walking across the back seat area and out onto the passenger running board, then back in.

It looked much rougher than this.