Show us your first car!

My first car was an automatic 1993 Eagle Talon TSi AWD that my Dad pretty much bought and kept on the road for me. I loved it, but took loads of flack back then from DSM guys since an automatic turbo DSM was about as lame as a non-turbo DSM at the time. My Dad and I even did an auto to manual swap after about two years, and I could barely even give away all of the auto trans related hardware... Now all the fastest straight line AWD DSM's are running built auto's and everyone's snapping them up to make race cars. Go figure.

The oldest picture I could dig up was this one here about 2.5 years (circa Oct. 2005), 2 blown motors and and an A/T to M/T swap after getting it. The Prizm pictured was the first car I ever bought with my own money, which I picked up shorty before this was taken.

I actually still own the Talon.... It sat outdoors for the better part of six years with various issues, while I finished school and saved for my first house. After finally getting my own garage, I got it back on the road this past summer and took it to only its second DSM Shootout. Here it is pictured at the Shootout back in August. It isn't nearly as pretty as it used to be, but is still a ton of fun and has been surprisingly reliable.

Mine looked just like this one, including the fender mirror. No scanned pictures. Bought in 1993 for $1250 as a Junior in college. Thought it was the coolest thing on wheels. Had some rust on the passenger rear wheel well. Learned a lot from that car. Wish I had the internet back then, would have saved me a lot of headaches.

In reply to Spitsix:

Yep. My first car I bought myself was also a Spitfire Mk.III, but was a 1968 and in BRG. Was 19 at the time and had to convince my dad to co-sign the bank loan.

In reply to icaneat50eggs:

I bought a Dodge Shelby Turbo same color brand spanking new in 1986 as the "family car" since my daughter was a small child and my son hadn't come along yet. Once he did I had to swap the Shelby out for a mini-van. Really enjoyed that Shelby. Was a great car.

I couldn't find a picture but this is the same colour. 1978 Plymouth Arrow. I used to put $2 of gas into it at a time because it had rod knock so bad I figured it would let go anytime. It also burned oil so fast it looked like I was fogging for mosquitoes. Luckily I was working part time at an oil change place at the time. I used to save a couple of litres of used oil that didn't look too bad and dump it in at the end of my shift. It actually lasted about six months before it threw a rod. I think I paid $50 and another $50 to have it safetied, sight unseen, at a shady repair shop. A regular safety inspection was $15 or $20 at the time.

rustysteel wrote: Here's mine, a '75 Firebird 350 with an auto trans that only had 1st and 3rd but sometime 2nd. Put some big Bias ply's on the back on Cragars, it was a fun car for a 16 year old. Firebird

So sometimes the Firebird thought it had a powerglide

TIGMOTORSPORTS wrote:

rustysteel wrote: Here's mine, a '75 Firebird 350 with an auto trans that only had 1st and 3rd but sometime 2nd. Put some big Bias ply's on the back on Cragars, it was a fun car for a 16 year old. Firebird

So sometimes the Firebird thought it had a powerglide

Yes, made for a great intersection racer, crosswalk to crosswalk.

1980 Ford Fiesta. Broke down the first day I had my license and at least once a week after that. Man I miss it.

The car that taught me everything about car mechanics. 1967 MGB that was parked behind a British Car shop in the mid-80s for sale for $300. Basically a parts car, I got it running and driving and spray bombed it white and it looked great from 100 feet. Loved it, but it continually had a new problem for me to learn about, finally died when I was driving home from school and got passed going up the mountain on 70 by an Alfa, and drop a gear to try to catch him. At the summit, the oil pressure gauge dropped to zero and the rod bearings failed shortly after....

69 firebird convertible with 350 h.o. Purchased from original owner with 48k miles. Survivor car with all paperwork, unrestored and after some points, tranny fluid and new brakes she ran and drove.

Not the car pictured but raise the ride height a little, image some 14 rocket racing wheels and fade the top a little and you got it.

Sold her a year or two later when muscle cars were going crazy for twice what I paid, and got into late model stuff.

Had a 53 GMC truck before but never did much with it.

This, but not a GT, with paint so badly faded it was almost pink. Pulled it out of a farmer's field for free. Bores were so rusted I ended up swapping in a 5.0L over the Summer.

It reeked of gasoline if you were standing within a 5ft radius, but gas was $.80\gal so I never bothered tracking down the problem. I wired the radiator fans to a toggle switch under the dash. Left them on constantly and killed the battery, only to return it to Wal-Mart. This occurred 3 or 4 times per month.

At one point it had white vinyl seats, which were mostly foam by the time I got my grubby hands on it. This seating arrangement conspired to get me almost zero female companionship in High School.

Drove it around on the original tires for about 6 months, figured my absolute lack of traction was due to the bitchin motor. Still amazed that car didn't kill me.

My first car was a Renault Dauphine. No photo. What a POS.

Went on to a 1965 Impala two door hard top, with a 250 six and three on the tree. That was a good $300 car. Odd being an impala with a six and three speed.

1992 Saab 900S sedan. 5-speed 2.1 N/A. ~80k miles. One owner car. The doctor original owner wrecked it AND managed to damage the reverse gear.

This photo was taken the night I bought it:

Notice the missing headlight? What you can't see is the destroyed fender, damaged door, and blown air bag. It got patched back together and I drove it for a while before I totally destroyed the transmission by being... 16 year-old me. I'd LOVE to have this car back today.

Here's a photo from after it was fixed:

The interior that I couldn't fully appreciate at the time:

Little did I know that this salvage-titled 9 year-old car would start a (so far) lifelong love affair with a certain brand of misfit toys.

1988 Isuzu I-Mark Turbo, Handling by Lotus with factory Recaro seats. The first time I saw it I thought it was a lotus. My dad bought it cheap with a blown turbo (the seller thought they had a blown engine). It gave me my everlasting loves for all things turbo.

ME circa 1993

Had a built 302 and a toploader. Fast as hell in a straight line. Handled for E36 M3. Listed under the Wikipedia definition of "death trap". If I shave my head, you'd find the scars from my last few seconds spent with that car. Interestingly, the mangled carcass was bought by Motorcycle Legend Dick Mann, who transplanted the motor and tranny into one of his cars.

Of course that was my first real car. I can't count the hours that I spent as a lad of 9 at the wheel of one of these things left for dead in our driveway. I WAS Speed Racer, damnit!