The first car I ever drove and owned was a 1980 Honda Civic Wagon. I bought it off a retired Major from the Military who only drove it to the store and back. When I got it, it had 23 thousand original miles on it. Come to think about it, it was one of the most reliable cars I have driven since. I called it the lagwagon as it was not a fast car but it got me where I wanted to go faster than I should have been going. It was brown and had a tan interior. I remember that it came with an 8-track player and the previous owner had left a Stix 8-track in it. Oh the thing I did with that car at that age. I remember that I could shift the car without using the clutch by getting it to almost redline and just shifting. Had it for a while till I hydroplaned into a curb once while delivering pizzas. Some guy came out of the bushes in the middle of no where with one of those really old (new at the time) suitcase mobile phones and let me call a towtruck with it. That was a bad night. I lost my job and my car. But it all worked out in the long run as it almost always does. Does this bring any memorys up for you people? I'd like to hear them.

A 1981 Kawasaki 650 CSR motorcycle was my first vehicle transport that I bought in the summer of 1985 with 600 miles on it.

Got cold that fall and I ended up buying a 1974 Mustang II Ghia V-6 4 Speed, 20K, Vinyle top, light brown with Tan Vinyle interior while the motorcycle went into storage and was only brought out in the Spring, serviced, run up and down my block a few times and put back into storage. It has less then 1500 miles on it now and is still stored out at my farm.

The Mustang, I eventually got rid of that POS, even after I restored the outside and had the motor overhauled.

Winter time, the choke would stick and talk about instant redline at start up (also happened alot on our company's FORD F150). Couldn't break it from doing that, even after taking off the air filter and jamming a screwdriver on the butterfly's.

Then, be going down the highway and the thing would dog for power. Be in first doing 5 MPH with the peddle to the metal.

Same happened with the company's FORD F150. Must have been related or came from the same automotive gene pool.

After the Mustang, '81 Chevy Citation (front wheel and hub came off on passanger side...scary ride...but cool cause I was driving on 3 wheels for a spell before the front end dropped, went in the ditch and bent the A frame severly where it was totaled), '81 Buick LeSabre (sold it to my brother), '76 Oldsmobile Gutless Supreme (left the title in the glove box on the side of the road), '86 Chrysler LeBaron (rolled that one), '85 Chrysler LeBaron (still have, new motor but needs some new parts, in storage), '97 Dodge 3500 RAM Extended Cab (traded in for my '01), '97 Dodge 1500 RAM Extended Cab (wife's vehicle), '01 Dodge 3500 RAM Extended Cab and now the proud owner of two Fiero's...'85 GT (Black) and '86 GT (Signature).

EDIT: And a 1989 Chrysler New Yorker Landau, maroon with leather interior, digital dash, sunroof, fully loaded and not running. Something wrong with the tranny.

Yes, I'm a MOPAR fan.

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"The PRE10DR"

[This message has been edited by JSocha (edited 01-10-2002).]

First car I owned was a 74 Camaro rustbucket brown and missing vinyl top. ahhh 350 4bbl and open highway. it was mine alll mine. First car I drove was my ma's 70 someting Pinto. I wanted to drop a v8 into it but they sold it on me

First car was a hand-me-down. 1965 Valiant 4 door, with a completely gutless 170 c.i. slant six.
First car that was actually mine was a 68 Ford Fairlane 500 hardtop, with a 302. Was not fast, but it looked and sounded good. Chrome reverse wheels. Duals with glasspacks. Broke 2 or 3 C-4 trannies and one rearend.
My g/f called it the Doomsday Machine.
Would probably consider buying another, if I ran across one that was not beaten to death.

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Raydar

From the Department of Redundancy Department.

1965 VW bug, in high school (1970). I hand sanded the beast, painted it orange, pinstriped the h*ll out of it and tacked all kinds of dodads on. Gosh, I'm one of those guys who did up a car which will never be fast......my bad!!!!!

I remember when I was a bout 3 the neighborhood kids used to sit me on the kerb and I'd name all the cars and years for them as they passed. Sadly something I can't do to today's cars. I think every car made today looks exactly like the next..sorry.

Kind of makes me sad to think that so many members here only grew up with 'cookie cutter' cars.

But then again that's why I have Fieros. What I do to my car unfortunately is not likely to please the 'Fiero Gestapo'. Who cares!!! Hope to make it to Carlisle.
Gary

[This message has been edited by FieroBUZZ (edited 01-10-2002).]

65 Valiant? cool! while I had my 74 I came across a 63 Falcon for 5 bucks! Imagine this, it had OPTIONAL backup lights and seatbelts!

BTW
I saw a valiant for sale not long ago for 3 grand. Not it the worst of shape but better than most others I have seen.

[This message has been edited by 84Bill (edited 01-10-2002).]

1975 camaro LT

Ah the memories. My first car was a 1980 Ford Fairmont Station wagon my grandfather had given me. The thing was not in very good shape body wise with plenty of rust holes. There wasn't much left of the rear fenders. I spent the better part of a summer fixing the body up on that car, sanded the whole thing and my uncle painted it for me. It looked great, but mechanically didn't hold up too long. It did get me to school and work. Best thing it made me great with body repairs, and I gave since perfected my own painting skills. Although no rocket, the straight six in that car could pull anything! I loved that car!

67 Mustang for $300

The first car I owned was a '69 Firebird 350. I had to flip a LOT of burgers to pay for that baby!

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"We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free" -- Ronald Reagan

1995 Ford Taurus SE w/ 3.8L....

I miss it.

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steve@fieroproject.com
http://www.fieroproject.com

1984 White Pontiac Fiero SC with a 4-spd.

I'd rather not remember...

For $600.00 crisp US dollars at seventeen I became the proud owner of a 73' AMC Gremlin.

Rootbeer brown with moon rims, 50 series tires, lift kit in the back, and a non-op gas gauage (ran out 13 times in 1yr n half).

On the upside....I had a car before most of my friends, and it was MINE. I bought it, I worked to pay for keeping it and got to go where and when I pleased...didn't have to do the ole..."dad..can I borrow the car on.....

I really hope that some of the younger posters here that get to enjoy a first car like a Fiero TRULY appreciate what your parents are letting you have/do.

My car was a "Safe and not to fast car" which is what my parents wanted. What they didn't know is that the rear end is as light in a Gremlin as a Fiero.
I think thats why I've never spun my Fiero around....the Gremlin taught me that feeling just before your A@# passes your brain when your cornering too fast in the rain.

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Little Duce Coupe
"You Don't Know What She Costs"

1964 Pontiac Tempest with a 326 V8 and an automatic. I drove and wrenched that car into the ground. It literally died on the way to the junk yard.

1969 Pontiac Catalina (read: land yacht)
It had a 400 2-bbl. When I bought it, it was forest green. I was going to have it re-painted so I sanded and primered it with gray primer. Oil pump ate itself one night so it never got painted. It was a fun car while it lasted. Had one of those "10 bodies" size trunk with a full spare.
I have the fender name plate hanging on my garage wall and the original license plates.

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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.

Gawd, I feel young... First car was a 92 Mazda protege. Fastest damn 4-door 4-cyl that I ever had the "pleasure" of driving. Put MANY a rice-boy to shame... Combination of a lower-ratio tranny (original one died), and a dying engine (clearances were up, less friction... This thing would burn tires clear through 2nd, and chirp to 3rd) made it an absolute demon. I think it was almost as fast as my Fiero
But is was a real peice. I dumped close to 9,000 in repairs in the 2 years I owned it. Only good thing about it was the stereo... Big bass

Then the

1975 ElCamino SS. Still have. It is NOT for sale.

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Timothy E. Smith
1986 SE V6
1984 Coupe
1996 Ford Probe GT
1999 Chevrolet Silverado Z71
1975 Chevrolet ElCamino SS

1948 Packard- $25 - took my drivers test in it.

1964 Jaguar Mk II saloon (sedan). With a 2.4 liter engine -- sorta like a twincam 240Z -- it wasn't all that fast, but quite classy! It taught me to be a mechanic, too.

My first car was a 1959 Studebaker Lark. I worked all summer working in tobacco to pay for it & wrecked it about 20 minutes after I found out I had car insurance.

My first car was a hand me down as well.
1981 AMC spirit. It had a lot of balls if remember. Bit at 16yrs old, anything faster than my BMX had balls. I loved that car.

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My first car was a 88 pontiac lemans. Not a bad car. Only had it a few months though. Then everything decided to break . Sold it for 300$ and it was towed away.

1963 VW Beetle. 6-volt electrical system, tan body, burgundy fenders, silver wheels with OEM 'moon' hubcaps, chrome 'railed' bumpers, huge sunroof with a piece of clear plexi in place of the original fabric top, back seat taken out and replaced with flat plywood, recarpeted interior, black vinyl seats.

Got 5-7 different widths of burgundy pinstriping and made replica 'IROC-Z' door decals that read 'IROC-VW'...

Drove it for a couple years until for some unknown reason one of the valve cover clips popped loose and all the oil slowly leaked out of the engine. Whoops...

Sold it to my brother (after removing the IROC decals), who sold it to one of Dad's co-workers who supposedly converted into a rail buggy. Not sure if it ever happened; never saw or heard of the car again.

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Patrick W. Heinske -- LZeitgeist@aol.com
1988 Red Fiero Formula
- 1st Place - Stock Coupe - FOCOSEVA 2000
- 3rd Place - Stock Formula - FOCOA Nat'l 2001
- Class Winner - 1982 to Present - Tarheel Tigers All-Pontiac Show 2001

My 1st car was a 85 Ford Escort. I paid $700.00 for it and loved it. I learned how to go around circles (a common pain in the a$$ in Jersey) and I learned how much a new clutch costs! It was worth every penny!

1952 Plymouth 2 dr, flathead 6 cyl. Ugliest thing with 4 wheels, but never ever broke down in 2 years. Red with full moon caps. all chrome shaved.

'68 Mercury Monterrey w/a 390 4bbl.
Skinny freakin tires and the right rear would spin for 10+ seconds if car was floored. The thing was so big that I might have been able to scare Orief in his 69 caddy.
Like gargoyle, I drove hard until it finally passed. I killed 2 trees (damn trees), bent about 12 or more of those hard iron rims (damn curbs), on my side in a ditch twice (damn ditches), submerged back end in a river at Texas A&M (damn water), had about 13 buddies in the car at one time (damn crowded), chipped flywheel would eat about 1 Gateway lifetime starter per month (God bless Gateway)((I think I broke 'em, they got bought out by O'Rielly)), strange ticket for "excessive use of horn" at girls dorm (damn b!tches)... I still have that one, never paid it. It was too novel. And all the while sober.

Good Topic!

I sure do remember it. And if I forget, I can always go out to the back of the garage and look!

This:

Became this:

Hartz

'84 SC 5.7L V8
'85 SE 3.1L V6 Turbo
hartzfeld.home.mindspring.com

A used 73 vega hatchback that I dropped a 350 in the front and a 70 nova ss rear end. it was very fast until I blew the engine.

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85GT (twoloud)

Hartz - wow... *nice* before/after pic!!

My first car was a Corvair Corsa 4spd with 4 one barrel carbs. I later put a small Holley 4 barrel on it, a little easier to keep tuned. I still have the shifter knob out in the garage,

1966 Opel Seedan
4 in the floor
Slicks all the way around
Hand painted (with a brush)
BIG 1.1 liter engine
0-60 after-a-while
AM radio (The big MONO sound)
Bucket seats with springs attached (ouch)
What a ride!
or
What... a ride!

1990 Eclipse GS. $2300. Jerkoff ran me off the road. 3 months after having it:

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0-60 6.9 seconds

1966 Barracuda Formula "S". It was a hand-me-down from my Dad. 273 "Commando" V-8 with a Carter AFB. Sold it in 1986 and found out afterwards that they only built around 4,000 "S"'s that year. Wish I had it back.

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Rod Schneider, Woodstock, Ga.
White 88 GT :)

It was so long ago,I don't remember for sure what my 1st car was.I remember a 1950 4 door Olds 98,what a tank,but it had dual points so it must have been fast.
I had a 1950 plymouth with a flathead 6,4 doors(I took off the rear handles and filled the holes)I started to tape it so I could paint it in my parents dirt driveway and ran out of tape 1/2 way through,so I painted it anyway.I painted over dirt,bird$hit and any thing else that got in the way.It had a three piece 49 bumper and was one _______ car.Hey Roger,how about that 2 piece hood with the seam down the middle.Every time it rained,it dripped onto the spark plugs and shorted them out.I also had a 50 pontiac that had a loose oil pan and lots of rust.My friends wouldn't park near it,claiming it had tin termites.
BUT,I had some nice cars too.
1956 Chevy convertible,with a 283 engine(came with a 265)
1963 Falcon sprint convertible with a 260 V8.
I'll quit for now,this could go on for a while.

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1976 Chevy Monte Carlo. A Sophmore in high school working part time at McDonalds. Boy, do I have memories. I met an older woman in that car, still wet behind the ears, she taught me a thing or two.

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86 SE V-6 4 speed
87 2M4 5 speed

a 1977 Z-28 Camaro...firethorn red, 350, 4 bbl, 4 speed, posi-rear. My dad bought the car new in '77, when I was 6. I remember taking the rubber bands off of the seatbelts in the back of it before my first ride in it. 10 years and 100,000 miles later, had had it repainted and the engine rebuilt,and gave it to me for my 16th birthday present. He actually gave it to me 2 weeks before, just enough time for my friends and I to yank the automatic trans. and install a borg-warner super T-10 four speed. I drove that car all through college, 'til finally the frame rusted beyond repair and I was forced to get rid of her. God I miss that car..if I found another one I'd buy it in a heartbeat. That car never let me down, and I had no fear in it no matter what the situation. I miss her!!

An '81 Chevy Malibu 4-door! Brown with brown interior. It was a frikkin' beast!

This car was handed down from my sister so I didn't have to pay ofr it. It had a Sparkomatic cassete deck in it with the cool rotary knobs! I later added a sub box with two 8" and with my great custom installing put it on the back seat! Of course later I upgrade to a Jensen deck.

The car actually was pretty fast though, afterall it was my first car so it seemed fast to me! It had a huge 6 cyl in it. It was like a 260 or something.

Was fun while I had it, you could never see the rust!!!

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3" Drop, 17" Primax 618s/Nitto450 205/40, 4" Monza exhaust, Mudstain decklid scoop, 7" wing stands, Clear front and rear lights, custom interior, all options...that's all hehe.

Let's see....

A red 1963 Pontiac Bonneville drop-top I paid $75.00 for. The power mechanism for the top didn't work so two of us had to stand on the back seat and muscle the thing up. Also, I've eaten on paper plates with more ridges on them than the tires on that car had.

It lasted one glorious summer before the tranny died...Lost my virginity in that thing. I wish I'd kept it now that I'm thinkin' about it....The CAR, not the virginity.

Im embarrased to say it was a 1975 Honda Civic CVCC with a 1272cc engine. It had a 2 speed auto tranny but gave 40 MPG. This was back in 1977. When I was done with that car it wouldn't go down the road straight.

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A 1970 Opel Kadett Rallye. It had the big motor in it. A 1.9 liter. Pintos and Vegas beware! lol It ran for almost a year with a rod knocking. It even came with VDO gauges in it. Oh yeah the gas pedal linkage would come apart if you stepped on the pedal to fast(it happened alot).