Old cars for us Baby Boomers

[Rick H]

Like Smokey, my first vehicle was a motorcycle, a Bultaco Metralla. First car was a '65 Comet Caliente K code. Purchased from the parents of a GI in VietNam who bought it new just before he left for the Army. He told them to sell it. I bought it in '70 for $850. Sold it two years later because my wife refused to downshift the darn thing and kept loading up the plugs. I got tired of adjusting the valves. I would surely like to have it back.

 

[RicinYakima]

Sorry, didn't mean to not include Gen X'ers; forgot you drove old cars too.

Amazed at how many of you mention your hot and sporty cars. I wouldn't want my drag I-Gas car back, or really the '63 Impala SS. I understand it, but not for me. The only car I would like to have back is my 1950 Chrysler Windsor Royale. Bought it from the estate of the original owner a couple of months before I went on leave to go to Viet Nam. Wife and I drove it from Ft. Lewis to Cincinnati, Ohio, never missed a beat and steady 18 mpg at 65 on the parts of the freeway done and speed limit on the two lanes. The only option it had was "Fluid-Drive" but very well made and nicely trimmed inside. It was the least expensive Chrysler that year, but still a nice car, quite and comfortable. Light blue with navy blue and grey interior. Sold it when the wife, son and I were moving to Alaska to work on the pipeline. I don't have any pictures left, but found these on the net.

 

[Cherokee]

Born 12/6/41 so pick a generation. Came of age in the 50's in South Florida (Hialeah for you horse fans). Was a great period. Started with a 48 Dodge de Soto fluid drive, then to a 56 Crown vic 2 dr V8, then on to a 1957 Fairlane 500 2 dr. With the 312 and Holly 4bl, it was a stomper. Lucky I stayed out of trouble. That one I loved and would have kept except Dad wanted it. With 75,000 on the meter I let him have it. Dad burned up the engine within a year. I moved on to a 1962 Fairlane 500 with the 289 and stick. The cars I wanted but never got were the 1957 Thunderbird followed closely by the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II.

Now days my wheels are 2019 Explorer 4 WD and Jeep 4 WD.

 

[popper]

The 100 wouldn't do 100 up El Cajon pass though, kept kicking out of overdrive (elec). Actual 4sp with first blocked out - tractor transmission and water pump engine for (original) Queen Mary. Remember trying to pay the bay bridge toll during rainstorm (coming from S.D.), little flap under the side window and I pulled to close to the booth to get the door open. Toll gal just waved me on. Actually a very comfortable to drive car. Pulled motor in Hunter's Point for refrsh. Wanted to drop small block into but funds ran out. Frame wasn't really that good anyway. Really wanted a TD midget but buddy traded it. Insurance for a single under 21/service/sports car was about what I paid for it.
56 Crown vic was a sweet looking ride, 57 was but ugly. Had a buddy who's dad had a 56 Fury Sport - a real hot rod in sheep's clothes.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Born '62/basically bastard child/in b/n - at least I THINK so... Not really into labels...

"1965 Falcon 4dr w/AC. Paid 400$ and traded just before getting married."

^^^ made me laugh. My first car was hand me down '71 Galaxie 500 wagon - the light metallic green! My first MY car was a 1966 2 door Falcon 200 six 3 on the tree. Got it from HS buddy went to the Navy, for free. Trans locked up (the one year, no synchro 1st gear) - we towed it home. Honed valves/replaced a cpl. Rebuilt trans (FIRST time, finished rebuild at 2:30 AM and left at 5 AM to drive 5 1/2 hrs to a college for orientation!). I got the car with 90K/sold at 150K. Drove it 4 yrs/rebuilt the trans 7 times! I had two boxes of trans parts I carried in the trunk. My ROTC buddies threatened to cut it in half and make a pig cooker out of it (Eastern NC!) regularly! I sold it right before I graduated for $200 - locked up in second gear! Shape it was in from 12 mi return from a range trip! I had a real Love/Hate relationship with that damn car!

 

[462]

My 1275 cc '68 Midget wouldn't pull Cajon much over 75.

The Smiths speedo was marked to 100, and I froze it past that (105) while driving between Wasco and Chandon, on Highway 46 West, just East of where James Dean bought it.
That was a rough night and a long 400-mile sobering up drive. Left a Riverside* nightclub, drove up to Victorville, grabbed some gear and a friend and headed to my parent's home for an overnight visit.

*I might write about a dropped '56 Chevy driveshaft sometime.

 

[JonB]

So, when a 17 yr old Gen Xer (in 1981) inherits Grandpa's '71 Olds Delta 88 4 door Hardtop, what does he do?
He gives it a paint job with a imitation Mopar stripe and running lights...Talk about culture clash, LOL

My second car, it only had 21Kmi on the clock, and was is minty, Grandpa knew how to take care of a car ...well it wasn't minty fresh smelling though, LOL, it was more Macanudo smelling. Grandma wouldn't let him smoke inthe house, so he smoked in the garage, and in the car. I never did get that smell out of the cloth interior. That 455 sure would light 'em up.

 

[RicinYakima]

Cigar smoke smells Wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Used to flux my lead pot with dried out cigar butts.

 

[RicinYakima]

Born 12/6/41 so pick a generation.

War baby generation.

Had a lot of training as an vocational education instructor, so learned that people develop their "right and wrong" and "proper thing to do" between the ages of six and nine. What was happening in the world was very important when you were that age.

 

[Joshua]

War baby generation.

Had a lot of training as an vocational education instructor, so learned that people develop their "right and wrong" and "proper thing to do" between the ages of six and nine. What was happening in the world was very important when you were that age.

My dad was born in 1939. He’s the one that told me he was part of the the Silent Generation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Generation

 

[RicinYakima]

The time when they grew up, during the McCarthy communist hunts and "shut up and go along" period was very marked in the classes.

 

[Rally]

Never was much of a car guy, got married at age 17, so most were grocery getters for the wife and work trucks/ business vehicles. If I could have one vehicle back that I owned it would be my old 1992 Toyota Pu, 4 cylinder (22RE) 5speed. I put a winch on it and it would take several semis to haul the beaver it brought out of the woods. I bought it with 47K miles on it and it had almost 300K on it when a 16" Popple tree fell on it in my driveway, from front to rear, right in the center of the cab! Gave it to my son, he jacked the roof up and used it for a mud buggy until the frame broke. He gave it to a friend of his who put the engine in a same year PU and is still running the engine/ tranny. Only reason the truck was sitting in the driveway, and not in the garage was I'd just bought my current 2005 Toyota Tundra (8 ft box) and it was in the garage. Still miss that little truck!

 

[Missionary]

Never had or desire a new car. Had a couple new 2 wheelers and the best was a 1971 750 Norton Commando bought outside Zilker Park in Austin, TX while I was at FT Hood on a Saturday morning.
My favorite car was a 1955 2 door I bought from a vet I hunted fox with. Pulled the straight 6 and dropped a 327, double hump heads with a 375 hp cam and 10.5-1 pistons. Left that 6 cylinder rear end in it. Quickest 0-85 mph car I ever stomped down. And 85 was all it would do at 7000 rpm.

 

[Winelover]

Never owned a used car. Never bought a car out of the dealers stock. Always ordered from the factory, as soon as the dealer would take orders for the new models.......not buying a new car that is almost a year old. I get exactly what I want, no more no less.

 

[Joshua]

Five years old, $10,000 financed, with 76,000 miles, that’s the newest I’ve ever owned. I’ve pretty much tried to pay cash for my vehicles, with the exception of that one minivan that we bought when my son was born. These days I look for something with about 100,000 miles on it, always from a private seller. I’ve never bought a car or truck off of a lot in my life. Did buy a used motorcycle from the dealership that I worked for, but that was a weird bro deal. I’ve only ever bought one new gun. I like to buy used that’s just how I am.

 

[Rockydoc]

That iron 4 cylinder engine in the Austin Healey weighs more than a small block Chevy V8. Some people made the swap.

 

[462]

I've never owned a new car or truck and have no desire to -- can't afford the deprecation. With the exception of the F-150 all of them were bought from private sellers, and except for the F-150 that was paid off in a year, they were paid in full by cash. Also used and cash were the 2005 Nomad travel trailer, '73 Winnebago and 2001 Coachmen motorhomes.

Come to think of it, only things I've ever financed were the house and the Montana property, but their mortgages were paid off many years in advance. Oh, and there was one time in '82 when I had to borrow $5 gas money from my father.

 

[JWFilips]

Ok Some of my history but I have no Photos!
My first car was a 1963 Buick Skylark /Special...It had a 215 Cubic inch "8 cylinder" ( not 6) It produced 215 BHp The engine was akin to a formula one car! The huge quad Carb was 1/3 the size of the engine It had a 12 to 1 compression ratio It needed a minimum of Sunoco 260 to run! ...no crap
It had a HDI capacitive discharge ignition system by Buick but it was not factory attached? A car way ahead of its time!
I could burn the tires right off the car if I wanted to! It had a 3 speed on the column! I got a crazy idea and ordered a Bang shift 3 speed on the floor from J.C. Withtiny! Installed it & I Was king of the road in my neighbor hood ...taking bets and blowing the doors off of the guys that had hot cars!
Made some good money For a guy who owned a little Buick!
But the spring loaded bang shifter did a number on my trans I was told by the trany of the car was not meant to shift so fast ....as he handed me the chew up gears!
Well heck! Time for a new car! ......to be continued

 

[JWFilips]

OK The 2nd car I owned was a Buick Also It Was a 1967 Buick 400 Grand Sport! And I had it decked out as was the time period!
Skinny front tires and L 60's in the Rear! For me it looked like it was going to the Drag races! Had Hijacker Air shocks rear lift and produced a front rake. It was an auto... with the 400 Turbo trans I had it super tuned and you hit the gas it did not lay rubber because of the weight transfer to the big rear wheels via the air shocks... It just lifted the front end took off like a rocket! That was a great transmission! I had a huge Holley 4 Barrel on it! Damn I wish I had picks of that old girl now! I did the stock headers in ceramic and then polished them out to a chrome look...Tinted the windows and all the cool things we were doing into the early 70's... in 1975 I traded it for a Volkswagen beetle! Folks thought I was Crazy & I could not adapt!
But that was one of my favorite cars I had way into my years! It could do things none of those muscle cars can do
It was like a tank & I guess my life style life style changed. I have never owed anything larger than a 4 cylinder vehicle since...If you know how to drive that is all you need....unless you have special needs!

 

[Bill]

Bought a new bug in 67 at ridgecrest ca and the last payment of 55 dollars was made in 1969, I have not made a car payment since that day and have never had to walk, though I have listened to a few rattles and squeaks

Bill