What car did y'all have for your very first car?

#101
#101
photovol said:
Your correct, the Chevy 11 Nova 327/350 was quite dangerous, I had ladder traction bars that went almost up to the back of the front doors and going around a curve even at moderate speed was difficult, not to mention the 10" x 2 1/2" or 3" drum brakes up front, (can't remember exactly the size)
I was into drag racing big time and remember reading one of the hot rod magizines that said the 1966 Nova 327/350 would "run away and hide" from any vehicle ever produced in Detroit, in the 1/4 mile..... I had to have one!
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Oh I forgot to mention that car only weighed 2750 lbs........ Unbeleivable
 
#102
#102
photovol said:
Oh I forgot to mention that car only weighed 2750 lbs........ Unbeleivable
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After about 1 1/2 year's I sold the Nova to a returning Viet Nam vet and bought a new 1969 VW beetle for $1525.00, kept it for a little over a year and then bought a new 1969 Z28 which ended up being the last high performance auto I've ever owned


I got it out of my system early on:)
I've had a pretty good life, save 2 wives:)

Go Vols
 
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#104
#104
92 Toyota SR5. Only had 2 or 3 lessons driving stick, but my overconfident self thought I was ready. Stalled out at several green lights in the most nerve racking drive to school I ever had
 
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#105
#105
1989 Chevy Cavalier with a manual transmission. It was my "college car”. Learning to really drive a stick shift on the streets of Knoxville was quite a learning experience
 
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#106
#106
photovol said:
After about 1 1/2 year's I sold the Nova to a returning Viet Nam vet and bought a new 1969 VW beetle for $1525.00, kept it for a little over a year and then bought a new 1969 Z28 which ended up being the last high performance auto I've ever owned


I got it out of my system early on:)
I've had a pretty good life, save 2 wives:)

Go Vols
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Mine wasn't a post car. I seem to remember that the drums were 9 inch by 2. Maybe I'm wrong. I do know that the car was fast, and the brakes sucked. Very similar to the drum brake Hemi cars I owned. You had brakes for a couple of seconds, then they faded away.
 
#107
#107
Mine was a '59 Galaxy. Cost $34.00. Buddy half totaled it twice and put it back together. He has one of the largest used car lots in Bristol now. I like to tease him that I got him started in the business.
 
#108
#108
1974 Pontiac Ventura Hatchback. 400 WITH 421 HEADS, 400 TURBO TRAN, THE TALL SINGLE PORT SPYDER INTAKE WITH DUAL CARTER CARBS AND THE RAIL TRACTION BARS. EVERYTHING BUT THE TRACTION BARS WAS FACTORY SPECIAL ORDER. BADASS JUST DID NOT DESCRIBE THIS CAR.
 
#109
#109
orangeblooded2 said:
1974 Pontiac Ventura Hatchback. 400 WITH 421 HEADS, 400 TURBO TRAN, THE TALL SINGLE PORT SPYDER INTAKE WITH DUAL CARTER CARBS AND THE RAIL TRACTION BARS. EVERYTHING BUT THE TRACTION BARS WAS FACTORY SPECIAL ORDER. BADASS JUST DID NOT DESCRIBE THIS CAR.
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Did you buy it new?
 
#110
#110
1984 Ford F-150. Inline six, five-speed manual transmission with a granny/bulldog first gear. Spent 3 years restoring it, then sold it for a 96 Civic for college.
 
#112
#112
orangeblooded2 said:
No, got it from a work friend who needed to be rid of it and the monetary load. I think I got it in 78. for 2500.00. wish I could get it today for that.
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The reason that I asked is that the 350 with a mild cam was the largest engine option available in the Nova X-body Ventura. In the 1974 GTO version of it, it had 200 net horsepower, and 180 in the other Ventura lines. I fully believe that it had the 400 with those mods when you bought it, but I don't believe there is any way that engine with that intake, and 2 carbs would have passed emissions in 1974. I think the "special order" comment from him may have been made up as a sales pitch.

Pontiac spent a ton of money and time to bring the SD455 to market for 1973 and 74, and wound up having to change the 308/320 cam back to a 301/313 . They released a 310 net horsepower figure pre-production with the hotter cam, and had to back off to a 290 hp rating in 1974 with the cam that actually passed emissions. No 310 hp version actually ever got built, and when the car was made available, it was later in the model year. I owned 2 of them. They were the fastest factory cars from 1973 and 74.
 
#118
#118
1976 Oldsmobile Omega. Urine Yellow. Straight 6. Less horsepower than todays 4-wheelers. 3-speed on the floor stick shift. Hole in the passenger floorboard you could throw beer cans out of (I did it). Had trouble getting over speed bumps in mall parking lots. Only way to get a speeding ticket in that car was downhill and downwind in a hurricane in a school zone. Forget what I paid, but it was too much.

I win the Internet for today. I owned a moped with 4 wheels.
 
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#119
#119
photovol said:
Cool, used to ride around in a friend's VW bus
Listening to the Cream, Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac, John Mahall, Jefferson Airplane...... You get the picture:)
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I think I was in the same bus. Actually my best friend had one, I think it was a '66 or '67.
 
#120
#120
MR_VOL said:
It was a 351 Cleveland.....not much on fuel mileage, but it would get up and go. I wish I had it back.
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I had a friend who bought one new. It was orange with the laser stripe, and a 351 Cleveland 4 barrel. It would run.
 
#121
#121
1972 Grad said:
The reason that I asked is that the 350 with a mild cam was the largest engine option available in the Nova X-body Ventura. In the 1974 GTO version of it, it had 200 net horsepower, and 180 in the other Ventura lines. I fully believe that it had the 400 with those mods when you bought it, but I don't believe there is any way that engine with that intake, and 2 carbs would have passed emissions in 1974. I think the "special order" comment from him may have been made up as a sales pitch.

Pontiac spent a ton of money and time to bring the SD455 to market for 1973 and 74, and wound up having to change the 308/320 cam back to a 301/313 . They released a 310 net horsepower figure pre-production with the hotter cam, and had to back off to a 290 hp rating in 1974 with the cam that actually passed emissions. No 310 hp version actually ever got built, and when the car was made available, it was later in the model year. I owned 2 of them. They were the fastest factory cars from 1973 and 74.
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It had a COPO order sheet stuck to the bottom of the rear seat. I didn't find out till years later what that meant and on a pontiac no less. Also in those years anything was a go to keep insurance prices down. Manufacturers understated options,horsepower and miles per gallon and emissions. this thing had a true posi trac rear end you could start in the a burn out circle and it would leave two rubber tracks. There was no doubt it was what was stated. I don't remember who the dealership was but it was in Jefferson or knox counties.
 
#123
#123
A 1954 beetle. Bought it with money I saved and at the time was not old enough to get my drivers licenses. Finally got my licenses and had a ball with that rough little car.
 
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#124
#124
1986 Buick Skyhawk. Gray with red pinstripes and red interior. Great $600 car! bought it in 95 and drove it for 2 years and sold it for $500. Only changed the oil and put tires on it. I had to pay for my own car and insurance(and gas). I use to think that was horrible, but it taught me a valuable lesson!
 
#125
#125
orangeblooded2 said:
It had a COPO order sheet stuck to the bottom of the rear seat. I didn't find out till years later what that meant and on a pontiac no less. Also in those years anything was a go to keep insurance prices down. Manufacturers understated options,horsepower and miles per gallon and emissions. this thing had a true posi trac rear end you could start in the a burn out circle and it would leave two rubber tracks. There was no doubt it was what was stated. I don't remember who the dealership was but it was in Jefferson or knox counties.
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If it wasn't changed at the dealer, then the car was one of a kind and priceless. Do you still have the serial number? If you do, the Pontiac Historical Society can document it, and tell you how it left the factory.
 
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