What was your first car?

Posted 08-15-2011 at 02:29 by bigghoss

back in 2000 when I was about 16 I was out with my dad and we randomly pulled into a car lot to browse the wheres as we often did. we both laid eyes on a 1974 ford ranchero GT with a 400 CID v8 mated to a C6 automatic transmission that went into a 9inch rear axel with 3.50:1 gears. it wasn't mint but for $1300 the price was right. with my dad's help I was able to buy that car and as I type this it's sitting right outside. 11 years later I still own and drive that car almost daily and has served me very well without much trouble. However tragedy struck last friday on a camping trip when the car was involved in a collision that left the right rear corner crunched. the matter hasn't been settled so I'll avoid the particulars but the point is my pride and joy, the first car I ever owned may very well be totaled out. I do take comfort in the knowledge that while the car was very reliable it still needed a lot of work and chances were decent I may never have gotten around to restoring the car and it also didn't suit my needs very well. Still it is my FIRST car. Somehow it survived my early driving years and reckless youth only to have another's bumper forcefully introduced to the tailgate yet still drive away, battered but still running strong and driving straight. why can't they build cars like that today? I tell ya one thing, "built Ford tough" really used to mean something because that is one tough car to kill.

Posted in Uncategorized

Views 2726 Comments 6

« Prev Main Next »

Total Comments 6

Comments

	A 1986 Pontiac 6000 LE Wagon. LOL Had a 2.8 v-6 and ran like a top, even at 145000 miles when a lady ran a stop sign and totaled it. My first new car was a 1995 Ford Escort 2 door green with a 5 speed. Drove it for almost 10 years.
	Posted 08-18-2011 at 08:07 by jwhite75

	1993 Teal Ford Thunderbird V-6 with a rebuilt engine. The interior was dogged out. Bought it outright. I should have never traded it in.
	Posted 08-20-2011 at 11:44 by District18

	since the ranchero is laid up and my blazer need to get some work done I needed a set of wheels to get around for a little bit. found a '74 pontiac catalina in the paper for $400+ title fees and it runs and drives like it just rolled off the floor. I think I can sell the stereo to recoup most of my investment.
	Posted 08-21-2011 at 15:29 by bigghoss

	1993 Ford Crown Victoria, a used police interceptor, I loved it. Bought it with 124+ thousand miles and drove it for 4 and a half years. Never gave me any trouble, well made, safe, perfect for a new driver.
	Posted 08-23-2011 at 04:39 by Delcorbett

"I tell ya one thing, "built Ford tough" really used to mean something because that is one tough car to kill."

Funny you would say that about a '74. I like the style of all Rancheros but, '74-'84 were the worst years for Ford. By '74 the compression was so low in all engines (not just Ford) they made very little power. Because of this Ford lowered the nickle content of engine blocks to save money. As power started to come back around in the mid-80s they started to make stronger blocks again.

I've owned a lot of cars since '85 and the best 2 were a '96 Full Size Bronco and an '01 Mustang GT BULLITT. The worst one was a '91 Toyota 4x4 pickup.

My first car was a '78 Triumph Spitfire.

Posted 08-25-2011 at 09:29 by 68DARKHORSE 68DARKHORSE is offline