Well, the above is not my car, I never took a picture of my first car (shame on me!), but it is like my 1929 Model A - except mine was never that good - no fancy schmancy cowl lights or rad screen or flying bird rad cap or shiny paint - and mine was 'upgraded' by yours truly with 1950 Lincoln rims (rears were reversed by yours truly) with 5.60 front & 8.20 rear tires, and homemade nerf bars and big cast aluminum (by a buddy in shop class) skull shift knob, and I tried a dual carb setup but it leaked so bad I was afraid I would burn down the town. Bought it from a farmer (yes!) the day I turned 18 and could legally buy a car without parent permission . Oh I could tell so many stories of adventures in this car but modesty prevents me ... then I went to college and needed a more reliable ride (those freaking mechanical brakes were baaaaaaaaaaaaad):
1955 Ford 2-door sedan, 6 cyl. w/ 3-on-the-tree, bought it for $50 (kid who owned it before me drove it into a tree while drunk and wanted to get rid of the evidence), after a few months the tranny froze in 3rd gear, was lots of fun trying to find a place to park, ended up junking it and that's what the pictures above are, after I 'traded' it for the next car - I'm on the left, cool madras shirt, eh? my buddy on the right. Nice rigging (coat hanger wire!) I did to hang a headlight where the fender used to be, eh?
Next car was really a step up:
1955 Mercury 2-door sedan, V-8 w/ 3-speed overdrive w/ floor shift, dual glasspaks, nosed/decked, metallic green paint (pictue above is with winter snow tires on the rear) - oh baby those glasspaks sounded sweeeet!!! Sad to say rust took over, so:
1959 Ford convertible, V-8/automatic, black w/ red interior, my first convertible, never got that top-down lust out my blood after that one, even though that 292 lack-of-oil-to-the-valve-train made me send that turkey down the road ... and I learned a lesson with this one that I take to heart to this day: do NOT buy a black car, they look great when they are freshly washed and polished but that lasts until about 10 seconds after you drive it or leave it parked somewhere. And then graduation was near so time to step up:
1966 Chevelle SS396 convertible, 396/325 H.P. w/ 4-speed - first car I ever bought new, black interior with bucket seats and full gauges, redline tires (pictue above is with winter snow tiers on the rear, hey I lived in Wisconsin then), yes I did like baby moons, - this car outran Roadrunners and Mustangs and Torino GTs and cops (ooh there's a story!) and everything else except cars I never came across (427 Corvettes and Hemi Plymouths), owned this car for ~20 years, through body repair and engine replacement (was going to rebuild it but came across a deal on a 454) and of course top replacement and 3 wives ... but for commuting:
1960 Ford station wagon, 6 cyl. w/ 3-speed - winter beater car, learned that you could haul LOTS OF STUFF with a full size station wagon - the spark plugs were rusted in so tight that I could not replace them but that old car started in 20 below zero weather and got me to work so what the hell, don't fix what ain't broke, right? Yeah it was black but I nefer washed it so ... Sold it only because I moved 60 miles away and did not think it would make the journey.
You may notice at this point that I have had no aversion to Fords, in fact they have always done me as well as the General has ... and I have no aversion to some foreign iron:
1964 Volkswagen Beetle convertible - hey, if one convertible is good, why not have 2? One to commute and your old favorite (the Chevelle) for fun? But then you discover that funny rattle sound from the motor is the death sound ... oh dear, better sell it for a loss ... but the urge for cheap commuting remains, so:
1970 Volkswagen Beetle - another brand new car, and I could not resist hot-rodding it, so added extractor exhaust, 8-inch wide custom-made (by yours truly) rear wheels w/ 60-series tires, and tinted the windows pink (hey, it was the 70's, dude! Far out! Groovy!) - but it was still kind of slow, so ... to be continued (can't upload any more files for now!)
Dave
-- Edited by davelacourse on Monday 1st of June 2009 07:39:39 PM
-- Edited by davelacourse on Tuesday 2nd of June 2009 07:35:55 AM
-- Edited by davelacourse on Tuesday 2nd of June 2009 12:44:58 PM
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1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod
I bet you wished you kept that 66 chevelle. Love the 55 Ford. My first car I ever owned was a 55 fourdoor 292 V8 with the elbow burning exhaust. I have had my fair share of Fords and do not regret it. Great pics and memories.
I bet you wished you kept that 66 chevelle. Love the 55 Ford. My first car I ever owned was a 55 fourdoor 292 V8 with the elbow burning exhaust. I have had my fair share of Fords and do not regret it. Great pics and memories.
My poor old Chevelle rusted away to practically nothing, Wisconsin winters were the cause, the cowl, the leading edge of the hood, oh so many parts rusted away, I did sell the car after 20+ years for $1000 to an expert bodyman who grafted the top to a rustfree coupe, although I never saw it ... but yes, of all the cars, this is the one I wish somehow would have been preserved ... maybe after my 56 is done I will find a 66 or 67 Beaumont ragtop ...
But I did love that 55 Merc too
Dave
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1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod
Since you like Canadian cars, as well as your old Merc, why not combine the two passions?
[1956 Monarch.
Yowza! Would that be sweet! Even a great color combo! If I can find one at a halfway decent price, when I'm done with my Pathfinder, I'd love to get one!
Where did you get the great pictures?
Dave
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1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod
Same as you Dave I started out with the 55,56,57 Fords. Why? because they were cheap and plentiful where I lived. Very dependable cars. I did a lot of switching back and forth between Ford and Pontiac. For some reason Pontiacs were cheaper and definitely more available than Chev or Chrysler back then. I gotta get a scanner!