Cars Of Our Youth.......

[Axxe55]

The other night, the wife and I were watching the movie "Dazed and Confused" and I forgot how good a movie it was, and I hadn't seen it in long time. Though not per se a "car" movie, it had some pretty cool cars in it though. Kind of got me to thinking about some of the cars that were around when I was in high school. There were some pretty cool ones. And on the weekend, cruising the Plaza, which where most people cruised around Palestine, there were some really cool cars. My first cool car in high school was my bright red, 1978 Pontiac Trans Am that I cruised in picking up girls!

Now this thread is more about the cars you saw in your youth at school, or cool cars at the time around town, or on weekend cruse nights.

Some from high school.

1. There were three different 1969 Z-28 Camaros. One a bright orange one with black vinyl top and interior, a white one with black interior, and a dark green one with black interior.
2. A 1970 Pontiac Tempest T-37. Black with a black interior. I dated the gal that drove this one!
3. A 1979 Z-28 Camaro. Bright red with T-tops, and red interior.
4. A 1970, or 1971 Buick Skylark. Tan with a brown interior.
5. A 1973 El Camino. Brown with brown interior.
6. A 1969 Road Runner. Bright orange with a black interior. I came really close to buying this car from my buddy's brother when it went for sale. My father squashed that idea! A really hopped up 383 and four-speed might have had something to do with that.
7. A 1976 Trans Am. Silver with a black interior.
8. A 1978 Corvette. Silver with a silver interior.
9. A 1979 Corvette. Silver with a black interior.
10. A 1977 Trans Am. Black SE with a black interior. I almost came close to buying this some years later after I was out of high school.

On the weekend nights cruising around town.

1. A few SS 454 Chevelles.
2 A 1974 SS El Camino. My buddy from another school owned this one. Black with a black interior. He still owns that same car today.
3. Quite a few Mustangs. 1969 Mach 1, red with black interior. My brother actually ended up buying this Mustang years later. A black 1980 Mustang.
4. More than a few Trans Ams running around. Even a 1977 Can Am, White with red interior. I actually bought this car years later from a friend's brother. A few really nice Gran Prix's as well.
5. A 1975 GMC "Gentleman Jim" Sierra Classic. Black with gold stripes, and a brown interior. I knew this one well. My uncle bought the truck brand new, and my cousin would sometimes cruise town in it on weekends. Damn sharp truck.
6. A couple 1968 Camaros. One a gold one with black interior. The other one a red one with black top and interior.
7. A 1955 Chevrolet. Bright red. The owner would trailer it to town on the weekends! Supercharged big block!
8. A 1940 Ford, with a supercharged big block Chevy engine! Dark blue.
9. A 1967 GTO. Dark blue, with black interior. I almost ended up trading for this car. Sigh.
10. Two 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1's. one was white with black stripes, black interior, the other yellow with black stripes, and black interior.
11. A 1974 Chevelle Laguna S-3, maroon with a white interior.

 

[Bozz10mm]

Back in the day cruising around my small town on a Friday or Saturday night, one might see.

A 64 GTO
A 66 Dodge Dart HiPo
A 66 Mustang GT
A 64 Chevelle 327 and 4 speed
A 59 Ford Sunliner
Lots of 55-57 souped up Chevys

 

[Geezer]

Cars I owned:
55 Chevy
56 Chevy
62 Chevys-I had 3 of these
62 Dodge 880
62 VW-I had 2 of these
66 Chevy BelAir
66 Chevelle SS 396/375
66 Chevy II
69 Pontiac GTO
69 Plymouth Road Runner
73 Chevy Vega
Probably 2 or 3 more that I don't remember.

 

[popsgarland]

A few of my past cars.....

55 Chevy rag top
57 Chevy
62 Corvette, 327 FI 3 speed. The 3 speed was their racing model
62 Chevy rag top, anniversary gold
62 Chevy rag top blue

 

[BRD@66]

This is representative of the one I miss the most. Mine may not have been this nice, but it was a 210, Ivory/Pinecrest 2dr sedan. (It was also V8).

 

[baboon]

One of my BFF from junior & high school was a car nut. His parents owned a big well know auto shop & John was a motor head long before he could drive. Not unlike my older brother I watched him replace countless parts that failed racing.

Best wreck I was ever in was his Porsche he wrapped around a telephone pole. I was on the side that ate the pole. He owned a Shelby Cobra that he scored on a mechanics lien.

He was always into bikes too. And most all of them were the winningest street racers. How he survived to old age is nothing short of miracle. John loved to get phuced up. My guess he still does. One cold winter night he jumped into a Grand Torino that had been built to the hilt. He was so blotto that he passed out drunk with his foot on the gas & blew the motor outside the bar.

 

[Sam7sf]

My dream car is a dodge demon or Plymouth duster.

Crap boxes I have owned and not meant to impress anyone:

1985 grand marquis. Total none babe magnet.

Early 80’s Sunbird. I rallied this car. I trashed it. Fun times.

early 80’s luv. Lol this truck was fun. Had some weld work done so the front diff had both tires turning when in 4wd as the back already had a locking diff. The voltage regulator was replaced with an alternator that just took a plug in style. Just needed to mill the bracket.

1973 ford ranger. (1/2 ton) pulled the 360 out and put a built 390 in. Shift kit. Stall torque converter. Broke the input shaft and tore that diff up.

I’m certified white trash if you look at my history with vehicles.

 

[TX oddball]

 

[Lonesome Dove]

One car I never had but always wanted. Ready?

Porsche 914 with a 383 in it running the standard transmission. Yeah it’s doable and a thrill of a lifetime. A friend did one back in the early 80s and other than a few rides in a built Pantera that thing was FKN bad ass!
as a kid I wanted an early Mustang I have a 65 now. My quest has been filled.

 

[Sam7sf]

One car I never had but always wanted. Ready?

Porsche 914 with a 383 in it running the standard transmission. Yeah it’s doable and a thrill of a lifetime. A friend did one back in the early 80s and other than a few rides in a built Pantera that thing was FKN bad ass!
as a kid I wanted an early Mustang I have a 65 now. My quest has been filled.

That sounds cool. Reminds me of when I got behind the wheel of an avanti with a 454.

 

[striker55]

First car was a Studebaker wagon, flat head 4 cylinder. Had a great 8 track with big wooden house speakers.

 

[Axxe55]

I was trying to recall some of the other cars that some of ny friends and running buddies had back in the late 1970's and up into the mid 1980's.

My friend Terry had a 1979 Dodge Lil Red Express. He and I would sometimes trade out for a few hours on a weekend night with our vehicles. He was dating my younger sister, and for whatever reason, she hated that truck!

Another friend was into Cadillacs. He liked fixing them up, and hopping up the engines. He embarrassed more than a few so-called fast cars with some of those Cadillacs!

A really close friend, he had two Oldsmobile 442's. One was a red 1970 W-30, and the other one, a white 1971 W-30 with the black stripes. He bought his wife a brand new 1980 white Z-28 Camaro, with red striping and interior, packed with a 350 and four speed. Vicky kept that car up until about 2010 when she finally traded it for a brand new Lexus. It was still in really great shape when she traded it.

Another friend had a beautiful 1969 Dodge Charger. Bright red, with a white vinyl stop and interior, with a 440.

One of my brother's best friend's had a silver 1966 Plymouth Satellite with a really decent 440 in it. My brother bought that Satellite some years later, and it's still sitting down here at the farm today.

Back then, there was a guy that owned a small service station, and he owned a dark metallic green 1968 Road Runner. Complete with a blown big block of some sort. Most of the time the car sat out front of his service station, but occasionally he'd roll into town looking for a race. Best of my knowledge, no one could beat it in the quarter mile.

 

[Texasjack]

Cars I owned:
......
73 Chevy Vega
......

You actually admit buying a Vega?

I worked in a gas station back during college. Every so often the company would have an oil competition. Inside the bottom of some percentage of the cans of oil were printed prizes - usually $5, but some had TVs. So when a Vega pulled on the lot for gas, we scrambled to be the first one to get to it. We kept a running total for a month and it broke down like this for every 10 Vegas:

Vegas - Amount of oil needed
1 - 0 (or at least less than 1)
5 - 1 quart
3 - 2 quarts
1 - More than 2 quarts
-----
10

Mind you, I think they barely held 4 quarts, including the filter. (Joke was, "Fill up the oil and check the gas.") People like to hate on the Pinto as a POS, and it was. If hit in the rear, the wide back of the Pinto would crumple into the doors and make it impossible to open them. The gas tank usually ruptured and everybody got burned. The Vega didn't have that problem, instead the cheap doors would fall off before it caught fire.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

My first car was a 74 Vega, in 1974.

I had ALOT of fun in it....

 

[cygunner]

I was trying to recall some of the other cars that some of ny friends and running buddies had back in the late 1970's and up into the mid 1980's.

My friend Terry had a 1979 Dodge Lil Red Express. He and I would sometimes trade out for a few hours on a weekend night with our vehicles. He was dating my younger sister, and for whatever reason, she hated that truck!

Another friend was into Cadillacs. He liked fixing them up, and hopping up the engines. He embarrassed more than a few so-called fast cars with some of those Cadillacs!

A really close friend, he had two Oldsmobile 442's. One was a red 1970 W-30, and the other one, a white 1971 W-30 with the black stripes. He bought his wife a brand new 1980 white Z-28 Camaro, with red striping and interior, packed with a 350 and four speed. Vicky kept that car up until about 2010 when she finally traded it for a brand new Lexus. It was still in really great shape when she traded it.

Another friend had a beautiful 1969 Dodge Charger. Bright red, with a white vinyl stop and interior, with a 440.

One of my brother's best friend's had a silver 1966 Plymouth Satellite with a really decent 440 in it. My brother bought that Satellite some years later, and it's still sitting down here at the farm today.

Back then, there was a guy that owned a small service station, and he owned a dark metallic green 1968 Road Runner. Complete with a blown big block of some sort. Most of the time the car sat out front of his service station, but occasionally he'd roll into town looking for a race. Best of my knowledge, no one could beat it in the quarter mile.

We bought a '67 442 that a kid had ordered with a little cam work and then couldn't or wouldn't pay for it. It was white with a black vinyl top and red interior. My wife really loved it. One day at the office a guy said he had seen her in it racing a GTO from stoplight to stoplight and taking him by two or three car lengths every time. I asked her about it that evening over dinner. She said she wasn't going to let any asshole embarrass her car and it wasn't her fault, the guy pulled up beside her and revved his car and she just floored it. Said it jumped kind of sideways but not too bad. I asked her not to do it any more and I never did hear of it again but knowing her ...

 

[Texasjack]

I did not own anything "cool" until much later in life.

My first car was a 1963 Buick Skylark hardtop (light blue with white roof and interior), 215 cu.in. V-8, with Powerglide ("Power Slide", they were pretty terrible) transmission, a 4-barrel QuadraJet ("quadra-junk") carburetor, and a glass-pack muffler that made it rumble pretty good. Friends nicknamed it The Beast. High compression engine needed high-test gas and got about 13 miles to the gallon when I had it tuned up. I loved that car - lots of head and leg room. The engine would make it accelerate beautifully, but if you went around a turn, it would speed up or slow down (right or left turn) because of the carb. The front wheels fell off (one at a time), fortunately both times I was driving slowly around a turn. The starter decided to burn itself out in the driveway of a girl I was picking up for a date. Spent the next day under the car, in a ditch across from her house, replacing that starter. Also the drive shaft fell off once. At that point, it had to go.

My second car was a pathetic 1974 Plymouth Duster with a slant-6 engine and a 3-on-the-tree manual shifter. Easily the worst car I ever owned. The day I went to trade it in and pick up a new car, the clutch plate shattered and I had to pay for the dealership to tow it off for scrap. If someone gave me a Chrysler product, I'd trade it for a sandwich.

"Dazed and Confused" is a pretty good snapshot of my high school years. We didn't do the paddling or humiliation of freshmen, but I do remember chasing one around a gravel parking lot in somebody's Camero. Wait, now it comes back to me, the guy driving was supposed to be fixing the Camero for a teacher, but we took it out late at night for an unauthorized test drive. Hey, it happened sometimes! We took state patrolman's car out one day and we came up behind the driver's little brother using his skateboard without permission. We went to honk the horn and found out that it makes the siren go off. Scared the crap out of little brother!

 

[Geezer]

You actually admit buying a Vega?

I worked in a gas station back during college. Every so often the company would have an oil competition. Inside the bottom of some percentage of the cans of oil were printed prizes - usually $5, but some had TVs. So when a Vega pulled on the lot for gas, we scrambled to be the first one to get to it. We kept a running total for a month and it broke down like this for every 10 Vegas:

Vegas - Amount of oil needed
1 - 0 (or at least less than 1)
5 - 1 quart
3 - 2 quarts
1 - More than 2 quarts
-----
10

Mind you, I think they barely held 4 quarts, including the filter. (Joke was, "Fill up the oil and check the gas.") People like to hate on the Pinto as a POS, and it was. If hit in the rear, the wide back of the Pinto would crumple into the doors and make it impossible to open them. The gas tank usually ruptured and everybody got burned. The Vega didn't have that problem, instead the cheap doors would fall off before it caught fire.

First wife wanted the Vega and if GM made a good Vega, she got it. She drove it for years without no issues. No oil consumption, either. They had all aluminum blocks without sleeves. If they overheated, the cylinders would distort and oil would go right by the rings. This one never overheated. It looked like this one.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Mine was a "GT", it came with a 2 barrel Holley....

 

[no2gates]

When I was a teenager I wanted (wait for it...) an AMC Pacer. I thought that was such a cool car.
What I GOT as a first car was a 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado. That was in 1979 and I traded a CB radio for it.
Had it for about a year. Cost a fortune in gas. Had dual quad carburetors.
Think I sold if for about $300 when I bought a new car in 1980.

 

[TX oddball]

I did not own anything "cool" until much later in life.

I did not own a car until after high school, couldn't own one during those years because it was not in the cards financially, we as a family had other priorities. A few years later, my first car was an early 70s Audi 100LS.