My first car was a 1967 Ford station wagon. It was given to me by my father in 1978, when I was still struggling to get through college. It was a full-sized wagon; you could carry a whole town in it. It had the 289 c.i. engine, and originally had a manual three-speed overdrive transmission, which resulted in 22 mpg, impressive for a car of that size. However, this tranny split open when my father was launching his boat, and all he could find was a non-overdrive tranny, so that's what it had when he gave it to me. Pretty unusual to find a car like that with a three-on-the-tree. The 289 was somewhat undersized for a car of that size, and although I took good care of it and never abused it, I learned too late that top-end oiling was marginal, and I had to swap in another engine after a few years. Despite all of the work I had to do on it, overall, it wasn't a bad car, and sold it after about four years for $300.00.
I'll mention car #2: a 1969 Chevy Caprice, maroon with a black vinyl top. My brother got this car for me for nothing. It had fairly significant front-end collision damage, and the 327 c.i. engine and transmission were totally shot. He found another '69 Chevy (light green) that had been rear-ended, so this car donated the front clip and a 250 c.i. six and Powerglide transmission. We still needed a left-front door, so the local junkyard provided a dark blue one. After one long weekend of wrenching, for a total cost of maybe $200.00, the five-color Chevy was born. The best thing about this car was the ride; the seats, though worn, were very comfortable, and while it didn't have AC, this car had the dash-level vents that I thought were great. I started repairing the rust by cutting out the rust, making patch panels, brazing them in place, a little grinding and then applying more Bondo than I care to admit to. I finished the front fenders and had the front clip primed, but never got to finish it the rest of the car.
I finally traded this car and $300.00 to a neighbor for a 1973 Chevy Nova (250 c.i. six, three-on-the-tree). This was a great car; I put well over 100,000 miles on it, and sold it only when I moved to Brooklyn when I began working in New York city. I sold it to my cousin and bought a clapped-out 1980 Toyota Tercel. Not that the Nova was a big car, but those familiar with parking in the five boroughs of New York City will clearly understand the value of a car the size of the Tercel over the Nova.
Sorry, this was supposed to be about your first car, and I'm up to #4... Linda and I currently each have minivans, 2008 Chrysler Town and Country for her, 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport for me. Linda's parents and my mother do not drive, so these are the best vehicles for us to have, because they're much easier for seniors to enter and exit. Not sexy, but I think these are the most practical vehicles out there. Joe has been driving since last November, and isn't very happy about having to drive a minivan. Life's rough, isn't it... IF he needs a car of his own when her starts college this fall, we'll see, but until then, my car is sitting in the driveway all day long (I take public transportation to work), so it make no financial sense. Joe's a real retro kid; he wants to get an AMC Eagle; remember them?
The car taking up most of my time these days is a 1957 Chevy. This car was bought new by my maternal grandfather; I have all or the original sales receipts and documents. It was passed onto my father in 1975, when it had about 33,000 miles on it, and then passed onto me in 1991 with about 59,000 miles; Joe and Dan are now fighting over it... I'd like to post a few picture of it here; how is this done?
"I shall pass through this world but once. Any good I can do, or any kindness that I can show any human being, let me do it now and not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again."
- Stephen Grellet