Parents first car? Any stories remembered?

[Petetrucker07]

After the revisiting of the first ride. I thought about this. The stories or the moment, of your parents first car.

 

My mom, her first car after getting her license was a rented 78 Pinto, white. Her and 2 of her friends went cruisin Whittier Blvd.

My dad... he built this before he had a license. It was 64 and 1/2 Mustang fast back. 351 Cleveland dual 450 Holleys on top of a tunnel ram, 4 speed and a set 4:56s. He drove this car to DMV to take his test! The tester asked him how he got there and was gettin home. My said drove it here and drivin it home. The tester said I guess I'm over lookin all the hot rod stuff and passing you. 

I remember the stories on they both told of cruisin Whittier Blvd in the mid to late 70s. My dad hanging out with car guys. He had a buddy, he remained friends with him till dad passed 9 years ago. This friend had a Super Stock Valiant, named Prince Valiant. He had another buddy with a 56 Chevy Bel Air, built 454. Named All Show, No Go. I saw this car once. Orange and white, white tuck and roll bench seats. Tubbed with wide rally style steelies, 4 inch wide pizza cutter steelies up front. They used to go drag race at Irwindale and OCIR. Drive to the track, then drive home, Super Stock and Prostreet cars! Sounded like a great time to be livin in So Cal.

[Junkman]

My parants' first car was my first ride.

[Ace-Garageguy]

My mother and one of her her sisters were driving to Texas from Nova Scotia in about 1938. Their father had bought them a used '32 Auburn convertible, which my idiot aunt somehow managed to put in a ditch. They left the car, took the train, and the Auburn was never seen again.

When my father was about 18, he and some buddies pooled their resources to buy a clapped-out Bantam coupe, took it out joyriding and totaled it, almost killing the lot of them.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[GLMFAA1]

It's not my parents first car but it was the family's first new car, a 1954 Ford wagon, no Squire just a 4 door wagon powder blue with a white top, My dad was so proud about how he went about shopping around and worked the dealerships by saying this one had a better offer and could this one beat it. He worked at a office furniture plant and made cushions to cover the folded down seats, first big trip in it was to Florida. Loaded up my brothers and sister and we rode to Florida. My car seat was a Coca-Cola cooler between my dad and mom, My entertainment was naming all the brands of cars on the roads. Was family wheels until 1960 when my dad brought home a 1960 Chevy Impala convertible, 348 w the 3 speed automatic, Off white with bronze interior and bronze inset in the side stripe, crossed flags for the 348, What a lemon with the quadrajet carb and the hydro tranny that kept the thin in the shop.

greg

[StevenGuthmiller]

I believe my fathers first car was a '51 Chevy, that I remember him telling me, that the paint was in rough shape & having no money, he painted it with a brush & yellow house paint.

My mother never had her own car until years after they were married & I'm really not sure, but I think it may have been a '65 Ford station wagon.

 

Steve

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Father's first car was a mid-sixties Spitfire with a hardtop. Worked for hours in the rain to dig it out of a cow pasture and paid $10 for it.

[ChrisBcritter]

The first car my parents got after they were married:

'48 DeSoto. (My dad said it had about 400 pounds of chrome.) They had it about a year and then traded it in on a new '53 Bel Air two-door sedan with Powerglide (my mom didn't want to drive manual).

[StevenGuthmiller]

The first car my parents got after they were married:

'48 DeSoto. (My dad said it had about 400 pounds of chrome.) They had it about a year and then traded it in on a new '53 Bel Air two-door sedan with Powerglide (my mom didn't want to drive manual).

My dad had one of those at some point shortly after he & my mother were married.

Could have been a '49 but I remember him telling me about the seats that folded down creating a full sized bed.

Now that I think about it.......could have been a Nash.

 

Steve

 

Edited November 28, 2015 by StevenGuthmiller

[1930fordpickup]

Moms first car was a black 1955 Ford Mainliner, with a black interior. 6 cylinder three on the tree power nothing. I do know she she picked it up in 56 off a lot.  Dad wrecked it after they got  married and she never let the poor guy live it down till the day she passed. Not sure what dads first car was I will have to ask again. 

[RancheroSteve]

No big stories, but here's the first one (with me next to it):

I have more memories and stories about our second car.

[dartman]

While not the first car but their first new car was a 1963 chevy wagon.Straight six and three on the tree.

 

[MrObsessive]

Well, the car that I pictured in my original thread wasn't my Dad's first car. I believe it was a  '49 Mercury two door he bought in the mid '50's and sold just before he and my Mom married in 1959. I have no pics of it, but I remember him telling me it was a dark blue.

My Mom never drove until she had to learn after she and my Dad broke up around 1966. Her first car (I think she bought it in early '67) was a '61 Falcon two door wagon. I remember it being silver with a white roof. It had chrome pillars all around, so it must have been the "deluxe" model!

Her first NEW car was a '68 Javelin that she bought in late '67 when they were first intro'd. The Falcon was a troublesome car from the time she bought it, and it left us stranded about 2 miles from home one night coming from a Drive-In movie. Here is a pic of my sister and I standing in front of the Javelin which I believe was taken on Easter Sunday of '68.

Don't know where the "brown smudge" came from......this is an old Polaroid after all!

Edited November 28, 2015 by MrObsessive

[vintagercr]

My dad always told me of a story where he parallel parked his car on Bayview Ave in Toronto.  Opened the door into traffic and a car took the door off.  I can't remember the make or model.  The car replaced an Indian motorcycle that he almost killed himself on.  It had the suicide shift and he wiped out on a set of railway tracks.  Got rid of it the next day.

[kenb]

When I was growing up we didn't have a car . My mom and dad didn't drive. But we didn't really need one to get around in early 50's Brooklyn.  I remember my grandfather having a Studebaker with the bullet nose and my uncle having a buick. We took the subway, bus or trolley (yeah, they had trolleys back then) to get around. My first car was a 63 wildcat that a neighbor gave me. It was only a few years old but worn out and the engine had no oil pressure. That was a good time and era.  Ken

[1972coronet]

Dad's first car was a1949 Ford coupe , flathead w/ column-shift 3-speed and overdrive . Had it from 1954-1962 , when he sold it and bought a new '62 Comet .

Mom's first car was a brand new 1957 Ford Skyliner . She sold it in '60 and moved back home to Pennsylvania (after a 3 years stint in Miami) . In 1963 she bought a new Chevy II 2 door pillard coupe whose only options were a radio (AM only that year) , heater / defogger , and a 4-speed (with the base 4 cylinder !) .

[Rob Hall]

My folks were married in '48, 22 years before I was born.  My Dad had a '40 Packard 2dr then, which they took on their honeymoon.  Their first car together was a new '49 Ford Tudor, replaced by a '52 Ford Fordor.   During their 51 years of marriage, most of their cars were Ford products.. the last new cars my Dad bought (he passed in '99) were a '96 Lincoln Town Car and a '96 Ford Explorer Sport for my Mom.    I've seen B&W photos of most of their cars from before when I was born...

[oldcarfan]

The first I remember was my dad's 1965 Mustand 2+2. It was light metallic blue with the sport wheels. It had the fold down rear seat. He loved that car. 

[Rob Hall]

The first ones I actually remember is from around 1975, when I was 4-5...'73 Mercury Marquis 4dr ht, '67 Cougar, '68 Cougar, and '69 Mustang Sportsroof (this was the car that I was brought home from hospital in, in 1970).   My Mom still has the Cougars and the Mustang in the family barn in E. Ohio. 

[10thumbs]

I like this topic.

Mom's 1st was a Model A Ford during WW2, bought during her first job.  I have no pics of it.  Dad bought his 1st car right after he came home from after the war, a 40 Ford Coupe, no pics available.

Here though a pic of his 1st new car.  I have to smile now, he was really a car nut and bought a bunch of US Iron and quite often too.  His last one was a Buick, he bought it as an 89 yr. old.  He had it 2 yrs.  Here the 1st;

The 48  DeSoto shown above by Christopher was a constant creature during my childhood too, the neighbor next door had one.  I remember riding in that cruiser!

Concerning the Plymouth above, I remember Dad telling a story about a weekend outing with his older brother on a fishing trip.  Trout fishing in a nearby river had always been a thing to do for the two of them, read very close.  Old Uncle had brought along his rowdy brother-in-law and while driving down an obscure country road in the backwoods of Florida this brother-in-law was being banged around in the not so luxurious back seat area of this old ride.  The dude started complaining about the Plymouth's' ride while on a non-paved road,  so Dad hits the brakes and asks if the brakes are at least good. Maybe they're smoking and get out and take a look.  He did,  and watched while Dad and Uncle drove off.  Dad did not like this guy, never did.  I remember as a kid meeting him, I didn't like him either.

I know the road they were on, been there with my dad too.  He chuckled again about the story the last time I was there with him.  We caught some fish too.

Michael

 

Edited November 28, 2015 by 10thumbs

[Shardik]

My Dad's first car was a '39 Plymouth coup, and it may have saved his life.  He was in the Marine Corps at the time and his unit was getting ready to ship out to Korea when the CO said they needed someone to go to high-speed radio training, and it had to be someone with their own car.   As my father was the only one with a p.o.v., he went off to school while his buddies, many of whom did not return, went off to Korea.  He eventually became an instructor, and spent the entire war in the states.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Shardik

[Tom Geiger]

My father's first car was a 1954 Studebaker sedan.  He loved the 1953 Lowey coupe but couldn't afford one, so he bought the '54 sedan used.. almost good enough!  My father was an army officer so they took this car from New Jersey to Ft Riley, Kansas.  He got into a fender bender on an icy road and upon replacing body panels, he and his buddies sprayed it green in the post auto shop. He drove it home wet and parked it in the garage.  I was two at the time and was excited, exclaiming, "Daddy's new car!" as I put my hand on the door, leaving a handprint.  My parents loved telling that story!  When I was born I came home from the hospital in this car.

In 1962 my father got orders for Vietnam. Yes, this was before we officially had a war so he was a military advisor. Prior to going, he wanted my mother to have a reliable car while he was away for 18 months, so I traded the '54 in on a brand new '62 Studebaker Lark four door  sedan.  It was beige with a six and manual transmission. This is the first car I actually remember.  

[1930fordpickup]

Talked to the Old man  and he told me his first car was a 38 Chevy. That is all he said. He is still not much of a car guy just wheels to him. 

 

[espo]

I remember my father telling me of his first car. As the story went it was a new '41 Chevrolet tudoor. He felt that he was going to be drafted and wanted a new car before the war. Dad was a supply Sergeant in the Army and meet my mother while on leave. After they were married he was stationed at Ft Riley and later  sent to Alaska and my mother was going back to stay with her folks so dad sold the Chevy to his commander. Dad was somewhat like the " Radar " character in the movie MASH. He got the Commander to loan him his car when he had liberty so he could visit Mom. After the war there was a new '46 Chevy tudoor that I only remember as being a dark Blue. I do remember very well going to pickup our new '49 Ford four door black sedan. I could stand on the floor in the front and just look over the dash board. We didn't think we need any " stinking seat"  belts back then.  

[Tom Geiger]

Talked to the Old man  and he told me his first car was a 38 Chevy. That is all he said. He is still not much of a car guy just wheels to him. 

 

Some folks just aren't car guys.  My brothers in law are like that.  We had a conversation about first cars and one of them couldn't name his.  Even I knew his first car was a 1971 Torino!  The other one told me he bought a car for his daughter. I asked what it was and he just said it was small and red.  I laughed and asked him how he could go buy a car, title and insure it in his name and not even remember what it was!   He called me back about five minutes later and said "Ford Focus". Very proud of himself but I knew he went out to his driveway to look!

[MrObsessive]

Tom, that's funny!

I'm fortunate that I was literally surrounded by car guys in my family. I have an Uncle (Mom's brother) who's now in his 70's. He was so crazy about cars that it wasn't unusual for him to have at least three different cars at the same time at varying times during the '60's-'70's. My Aunt was telling me one time a guy showed up at the door and said "your husband just bought this from me".........she just took the car keys and set them on the counter and went about her business, as that was just normal for her.

My Mom was dating someone not long after her and my Dad broke up and I swear this fellow had a different car every 2-4 months. One time he'd show up in a Corvair, the next time it would be a '60 Olds four door "Flattop", and then the next time a few months later in a '60 Plymouth Fury to name just a few. Turns out his job had something to do with state owned vehicles so he had his pick of whatever suited his fancy for the moment.

So, my liking all kinds of cars started at a very early age, and I've never been able to shake it!