Your very first auto was a ......
- Thread starter LandCruiserPhil
- Start date
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1970 Firebird Formula 400 w/ 12 bolt posi, 3.70. Ratio I think, M21 4-speed. 400 cu in Ram air III block with 428 HO heads out of a '68 or 69 Grand Prix. Car was a rocket in a straight line & cost me my license. State of Maryland agreed to reinstate my driver's license so I could go to New Mexico for college with the provision I did not return - the guy at the hearing actually told me that!
My first was a 1977 Toyota FJ40. I bought used in 1979. I was a junior in HS.
Color was Olive Green/Brown #653.
Added KC lights on the windshield, White wagon wheels and 31" tires (don't remember lift height or details) and not sure why in the world I painted the running boards white, or added the stupid vinyl 4X4 sticker to the side...lol...
Drove it till 1981, then bought a NEW (first new car) 1981 Toyota SR5 4X4 long bed pickup from the Toyota store on McDowell near the Buttes (don't remember the name).
Added a 3" lift 33's, tube bumpers/KC lights, shell. Rear tube bumper was filled with sand for additional weight. Had a bed in the back for camping and......
Spent Summers at the Salt River (Blue Point Bridge area) and many days off of FR300 near Woods Canyon Lake.
Color was Olive Green/Brown #653.
Added KC lights on the windshield, White wagon wheels and 31" tires (don't remember lift height or details) and not sure why in the world I painted the running boards white, or added the stupid vinyl 4X4 sticker to the side...lol...
Drove it till 1981, then bought a NEW (first new car) 1981 Toyota SR5 4X4 long bed pickup from the Toyota store on McDowell near the Buttes (don't remember the name).
Added a 3" lift 33's, tube bumpers/KC lights, shell. Rear tube bumper was filled with sand for additional weight. Had a bed in the back for camping and......
Spent Summers at the Salt River (Blue Point Bridge area) and many days off of FR300 near Woods Canyon Lake.
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Toy Trucks
My first purchase was a 1979 Toyota pickup truck with a long bed.
I camped all over the country with this and since it thought it was a four wheel drive truck I drove it like it was a four wheel drive (I.E. I drove it 'till it got stuck).
I still have this truck . . . but it needs a little work
Pics:>
1. Me & my Aunt in 1979 at her house in Ft. Meyer's Florida
2. My new 2008 Tacoma next to the old guy here at the casa
My first purchase was a 1979 Toyota pickup truck with a long bed.
I camped all over the country with this and since it thought it was a four wheel drive truck I drove it like it was a four wheel drive (I.E. I drove it 'till it got stuck).
I still have this truck . . . but it needs a little work
Pics:>
1. Me & my Aunt in 1979 at her house in Ft. Meyer's Florida
2. My new 2008 Tacoma next to the old guy here at the casa
Powder blue 1969 Landcruiser with a 327 and 31 x10:50 TruTrac tires on white wagon wheels. Owned it for 2 years before buying my first new car, 1979 Honda Prelude.
How OLD are all you guys???
My first was a "66 Corvair Corsa convertable. White with 4 speed and quad carbs. Purchased new. Had been riding motor cycles prior. Fun car but didn't last long.
And... I might be considered an older fellow??.
Came off my first cruise in the Navy, went to Scottsdale on leave. Was hanging out with a buddy in Mesa, stopped by Sun Pontiac and left with a 1989 Firebird Formula 350 off the showroom floor.
Bought my 4Runner off my dad when I turned 16. He went and bought a 1995 80 series. My dad was the original owner of my 4runner. This is what it looked like when I was 17 after doing some stuff to it
I still own it and now it looks like this
I also bought a 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS a month after for 200 bucks that I restored with my dad. I still own that too.
I still own it and now it looks like this
I also bought a 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS a month after for 200 bucks that I restored with my dad. I still own that too.
All very cool! Good thread. Phil
Great thread!
My stepdad was seriously into Corvairs at the time, so that's what I bought (he advanced me the $150 but I did pay for it) Ugly beige 66 Corvair 4-door, powerglide "shift-on-the-dash" auto trans, engine had 3
broken connecting rods (not easy to do on a six-cylinder) and the rest of the car had seen similar "maintenance" i.e., needed brakes, shocks, tires, battery, steering work, etc.
Since Dad had a spare Greenbriar engine laying around from when he swapped a Monza turbo engine into the Greenbriar van I got the anemic Greenbriar engine, which bolted right up. Did all the engine swap, brake work, etc. myself, great way to learn about wrenching on cars. Drove that thing junior and senior year, a few months prior to graduation saw a Nissan Patrol for sale. Bought that and sold the Corvair for $300. And never looked back.
My stepdad was seriously into Corvairs at the time, so that's what I bought (he advanced me the $150 but I did pay for it) Ugly beige 66 Corvair 4-door, powerglide "shift-on-the-dash" auto trans, engine had 3
broken connecting rods (not easy to do on a six-cylinder) and the rest of the car had seen similar "maintenance" i.e., needed brakes, shocks, tires, battery, steering work, etc. Since Dad had a spare Greenbriar engine laying around from when he swapped a Monza turbo engine into the Greenbriar van I got the anemic Greenbriar engine, which bolted right up. Did all the engine swap, brake work, etc. myself, great way to learn about wrenching on cars. Drove that thing junior and senior year, a few months prior to graduation saw a Nissan Patrol for sale. Bought that and sold the Corvair for $300. And never looked back.
Nice to see I'm not the only recovering Corvair owner.
1970 scout 800a. Had a 304 v8, and a 3 speed manual. Put add-a-leads, New shocks and brakes, 31in tires. Had all the rust cut out of the sides, and sanded and premiered it all. Put in a bolt in roll bar too. I wish I had that one back. I sold it cheap cause I was young n dumb!
My first car was a 1965 MG-B with a 6 volt electrical system. It always needed a jump or a push start, which was easy enough to manage by myself or with the six people 
I was always driving around in high school.
The next two cars shown in the second picture were a mustard 2WD 1972 Chevy Blazer and a mustard 1975 FJ40, bought new from Scott Toyota. That's my mother showing off a sterling silver fire-agate squash blossom necklace that I made for her when I was in high school. Mom will be 80 next year!
I was always driving around in high school.The next two cars shown in the second picture were a mustard 2WD 1972 Chevy Blazer and a mustard 1975 FJ40, bought new from Scott Toyota. That's my mother showing off a sterling silver fire-agate squash blossom necklace that I made for her when I was in high school. Mom will be 80 next year!
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1st I bought
1976 Toyota Celica with a faded red paint job and all black vinyl interior.
3rd car - 1st was a chevy chevette, and the 2nd was a 1970 Impala. Gas was .69 per gallon *leaded* for the Impala, and with a 4 barrel 350/TH350 milage was a bit of a problem. Thus the migration to a smaller more fuel sipping, rather than fuel gulping engine. Believe that Toy had either a 20r or 22r in it, been almost 30 years so don't rightly recall.
Glenn
1976 Toyota Celica with a faded red paint job and all black vinyl interior.
3rd car - 1st was a chevy chevette, and the 2nd was a 1970 Impala. Gas was .69 per gallon *leaded* for the Impala, and with a 4 barrel 350/TH350 milage was a bit of a problem. Thus the migration to a smaller more fuel sipping, rather than fuel gulping engine. Believe that Toy had either a 20r or 22r in it, been almost 30 years so don't rightly recall.
Glenn
Bought with my hard earned cash.
1967 Ford Mustang Fastback - deluxe interior with brushed aluminum inserts, map console, 289, C-4, power steering, power disc brakes in the front, Craiger S/S wheels with the 3 wing spinner center caps, fold down rear seat. Saw it in an auto trader in 1985 (Junior in HS) and negotiated the guy down to $1000 over the phone sight unseen. Drove from Daytona Beach down to Marathon key, which is about 6 hours away. Mom drove with me down and I drove the 'Stang back. Stayed the night in Ft. Lauderdale after it started to over heat and I had to pull the aftermarket A/C condenser (non-factory A/C) out on shoulder of I-95 (of course it was summer). Got her back and dropped in a rear end from a Lincoln Versaille (sp?) so it would have 3.73 gears and rear disc breaks. Kept her until about a 1 year and 1/2 before Gone in 60 Seconds came out. Damn - timing is everything or nothing. Loved that car though . . . . . .
It was the longest I've owned a vehicle - about 14 years. Second longest '71 FJ40 - 12 years. To calibrate things, I'm 45, but I counted the other day and I've owned (or own) 31 cars/trucks since I was 15. Can't ever own just one and used to change 'em out with the seasons sometimes. Car nut from day one!
-Norm
1967 Ford Mustang Fastback - deluxe interior with brushed aluminum inserts, map console, 289, C-4, power steering, power disc brakes in the front, Craiger S/S wheels with the 3 wing spinner center caps, fold down rear seat. Saw it in an auto trader in 1985 (Junior in HS) and negotiated the guy down to $1000 over the phone sight unseen. Drove from Daytona Beach down to Marathon key, which is about 6 hours away. Mom drove with me down and I drove the 'Stang back. Stayed the night in Ft. Lauderdale after it started to over heat and I had to pull the aftermarket A/C condenser (non-factory A/C) out on shoulder of I-95 (of course it was summer). Got her back and dropped in a rear end from a Lincoln Versaille (sp?) so it would have 3.73 gears and rear disc breaks. Kept her until about a 1 year and 1/2 before Gone in 60 Seconds came out. Damn - timing is everything or nothing. Loved that car though . . . . . .
It was the longest I've owned a vehicle - about 14 years. Second longest '71 FJ40 - 12 years. To calibrate things, I'm 45, but I counted the other day and I've owned (or own) 31 cars/trucks since I was 15. Can't ever own just one and used to change 'em out with the seasons sometimes. Car nut from day one!
-Norm
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My first car was 1971 FJ40, freeborn red with 33s on white steel spoke wheels. I loved that thing and have loved cruisers since. Here's the only picture I could dig up of it (way in the background with red arrow - that's the Mingus Union High School front parking lot in the Verde Valley, circa 1984).
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- Thread starter
- #40
Wow you guys were able to score big for first time vehicle owners
I ended up wrenching weekly if not daily just to keep my junk moving
I ended up wrenching weekly if not daily just to keep my junk moving