First car??

My first car was a 1958 MGA. My daily drivers have always been American iron, but I've usually had a project sports car to work on.

One of my earliest memories was riding with my Finnish grandfather to his remote camp in his Model A. I remember the windshield being open and steam occasionally coming from the radiator cap... So I've always had ownership of an A on my bucket list. Fast forward to the MAFCA Convention in nearby Marquette, with hundreds of A's running around town! My wife & I went to the judging show at the Dome and were delighted at the beauties there...That finally pushed me over the edge! Within a few weeks, I was the proud owner of a 29 Tudor. At age 68, that makes me a late starter. I've since joined the Superior A's and enjoy the company as much as the car.
 
Richard Wilson said:
Guess I will go sit in the cornor with the Geo guys.
Click to expand...

Rich, any cloth sunroof VW is on a higher plane of being than any GEO so you may now leave the corner.

you are right about it being a tough start in winter. I had a 67 in 1978 and even a smooth-running rebuilt engine was nearly impossible to turn over after overnight outside in a harsh Ohio winter......
 
With regard to the 1933 Chev engine, I do not know if it used babbit bearings.

I learned alot about cars with the 33, but never dropped the oil pan.

Marc
 
In 1962 I traded my 1958 Vespa and $125 for a 1951 MGTD at a junkyard on US 1 in Maryland. The car next to it was 100.00 more and I had never heard of it so I took the MG.They crushed the other car. It was an AC Bristol. Two years later I traded the MG for $100 and a 29 Ford sedan with four doors and the extra little window in the back.It had a brass plate in the door jamb that said "Cumberland Ford,Cumberland, Maryland ". My buddy Billy R. tore it up while I was in Viet Nam.
 
It was 1981 when I was 16 yrs old... and I passed in traffic what was, at the time, the car of my dreams. It had a "For Sale" sign in the window. I had borrowed my mothers LTD to go somewhere that is not memorable today. The first time that I saw that 1969 Chevelle SS396 pass me going the opposite direction is burned vividly into my brain. I literally jumped the median in moms car turning around in traffic to try to catch the musclecar before I lost sight of it. I did catch up and stop the guy. It was rough and the guy was asking $1,200. which was more $ than I had ever had. But I made him believe that I had enough, and convinced him to follow me home to show my Dad. (fearing if I let it out of my sights I would never see the car again, and believing that my Dad might loan me the extra $700 I needed to buy it)
After looking the car over, Dad talked the guy down to $675. And he was so very right later when he and I were explaining our actions to Mom.
He told her "One day you won't be able to find that kind of car for that price". But I don't think he fully knew at the time just what a powerful car he had just put into the hands of his teenage son. Thank You Dad!
 
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My first car is a 1928 Tudor I bought in 1975 when I was a Jr in high school. I still have it, and I personally have touched every single part. It was a daily driver for almost 10 years through college. It was a challange in cold New England winters.
The wheels are now black, these wheels were from a friend that loaned them to me while I restored mine.
When I bought it, from a barn in Montgomery Mass, it was in tough shape. I learned to repair it by going to a local rest home on a weekend and with just the blow of a horn about 3-4 guys would come out and teach me all sorts of tricks.
When I got it, my mother called it Aunt Ethel (Ethel was the name for preimum fuel) but since then it has been called 'Fireball', because it has cought fire 3 times. It always got me home.
Fireball and I will be at the opening on the new Model A Ford museum, and I hope to see you there.
 
My first car or I should say the car my dad bought for us to play with. Was a 1929 Chevy 2-dr coach, all original except paint/tires. I was 15
and had the itch to get a motorcycle like my buds. But mom put a stop to that so dad bought us the Chevy. I put about 10K miles on the car the 3 years we had her. I even took my driving test in her when I turned 16.
She was wrecked out from under me in my senior year in high school in 1969:(. I loved that old car so much that I found an almost identical replacement '29 Chevy coach about 8 years ago. The only difference in the two is the first one had accessory wooden spoke wheels and the one
I have now has the standard steel disc wheels.:)

Bob-A:D
 
My first car was a 1941 chev station wagon. The wood was all rotten, but the man had a 1941 Pontiac 2 door body hanging under a big tree limb. Took the body home on a hay wagon behind my Dads John deere tractor. Then pulled the rest of the car home behind the tractor. Had to work for the framer until it was paid for. Turned out to be pretty good car, for a 15 year old kid.
 
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First car bought in1946 was a 30 model A roadster built in may of 30 needed paint i was working at a Maytag store so i painted body Maytag grey.Last car i bought on my 80 th birthday was a 30 roadster built 2 days after the first one.
 
My first car was a '71 MG Midget which I learned alot of mechanics on, particularly sorting electrical problems (dang Lucas electrics) and kept immaculate, how I learned to polish. Next was a '76 VW Rabbit after I got married, then a succession of cars, none very memorable, until today. Dad's business was aviation related and I grew up around old airplanes more than old cars. Between positions in '82 I volunteered at the WWII Airfield in Geneseo, NY, assisting their A&P mechanic on the restored fleet of a B-17, PBY, P-40, BT-13, and T-6. Got to do a little bit of everything and could do a 4-point engine change on the '17 before leaving to move to PA. My in-laws were into Model T's and A's and between their influence and the fact that old cars are alot cheaper than the airplanes I was used to working on - we got started on the antique Fords. Our collection now includes 2 T's, 5 A's, an early V8 and a wartime Jeep all of which we love as a family. My son likes the cars, but isn't that into them, my daughter on the other hand is into everything about them; driving, mechanics, era clothing, tours and events.
 
46 Dodge 1 ton, the short model with a flat bed. I was the second owner. Payed $75 and had to replace all the glass and reline the brakes. It was 1973 or 74 so I was ether 17 or 18, can't remember that far back. :)
 
If I hear you so I want to be older. As I learned in the eighties driving, the first car is usually not so great. Especially in Europe. My first car is an Opel Manta. Please do not laugh. In Europe, this car does not have the best reputation. However, shortly after I moved to Ford already. Ford Sierra XR4i.

Would certainly have been fun to have the first car a Model A or any other prewar-cars.

Greetings from Switzerland
Barney
 
MY FIRST CAR

In 1956, I was all of fourteen with coke bottle glasses and going through an awarkward growth spurt. Unbeknownst to me, he decided I needed car to hasten my arrival to maturity. After dinner one summer night, we piled into the family's Nash Rambler for a "ride" out to Berwyn via Lancaster Ave - I didnt know why. We pulled up to a dark, large garage and walked inside. In the dim light there sat a 1928 Model A Ford with 22,000 orginal miles. A local mechanic showed up; he was assisting the elderly owner with the sale. He said that he wouldn't take a dollar less than $400.00 cash. Dad asked if the A started and start it did. He asked for keys and in the same motion handed the cash over. Mom drove the Nash. Dad drove the A home. I thank my Dad to this day for his insight and generousity. For me nothing beats experience of the Model A Higway.
 

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My first car was a 41 Cadillac 4 dr. sedan in 1962. Since I couldn't drive it on the road, I banged around with it on dad's farm. Paid $50. in the spring and junked it for $25 in the fall. No regrets. It was ugly, heavy, and slow.
 
My first car was a family car hand me down to the teenager 1949 Mercury sedan. I loved that car and did my first paint, body and transmission work. It took me thru 3 yrs of college when it got traded. I missed it badly, and 30 years later in 1988 I found an exact replica I still have today. During college I wanted to buy a 30 Coupe a friend had. pop said I had my hands full (and he was right) so I didn't buy it. But 2 weeks after I got a job and needed a work car it was a 29 Tudor. That was in 1961. I still have it running great today.
 

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