I bought a '60 Sunbeam Alpine for $65.00 my freshman year... I still have it. I got it running and fixed it up some, but couldn't legally drive it (not that that stopped me, at least around the neighborhood) so my best friend's older brother would drive us all around in my car. Since it's only a two-seater, and they were both a lot bigger than me, guess who got jammed into the storage space behind the seats, in my own car! My sophomore year I bought a '65 Olds Gutless convertable, with a worn out 330ci V8. That was the fist V8 that I ever rebuilt. Every compression ring was broken, no wonder it was gutless! My claim to fame was that we used both cars my senior year in the Homecoming parade. My mom, who was a teacher in that school drove the Sunbeam with the old guy who was the Grand Marshal, and I drove the Cutty with the Homecoming princesses! -TD

 

Bought my 57 in 1988 before I turned 16. Cost me $500 and it took me every penny I had. It ran all original not even a radio. Drove it the day I got my drivers license and was driving it ever sense. Rebuilt the Y block in shop class and what ever broke on it I fixed myself. When I was in high school I went to school and had 2 other jobs the old truck traveled over 100 miles every day. Every older preson I talked to wished that they kept their first so after 16 years I am very glade I did.

 

I just graduated this year but my vehicle list has been as follows: Freshmen-sophomore year fully restored 1971 Mustang 302/C-4. Junior year: unrestored but mean as hell '66 Mustang and part of the time my trusty POS 71 Mustang Grande...shot vinyl top, no floors, no truck floor, not a straight piece of sheet metal, no interior. But underhood like brand new, new suspension, all wiring etc worked. Then Senior year I drove the '66 stang however slightly restored. Envy of most of the school even if nothing that special.

 

My first car and a beater in high school was a '55 Austin 4dr. The turning signals were flip-up arms with a lamp in the end of them. They were in the door posts between the doors, and they both worked. My buddy and myself bought the car in 1969 for $75 (I later bought him out!). I ended rolling the car and sold it for $50. Next car was a '60 Austin Mini (notice a trend here!). The Mini was the most fun car ever! Great high school car, cheap to run. ...Terry

 

Mine first car was an 86 toyota corolla I bought from my grandparents for $450 in 1996. It was in good shape and had low miles but you had to turn off the AC just to get up any hills. I was 6' 300lbs at the time so everyone said it looked like one of those little clown cars at the circus when I drove it.

 

My first vehicle was a 95 F-150, the red one in my gallery. My 2nd vehicle is my current F-150. I really wanted to keep that red one for a long time, and be able to say I still owned my first vehicle, but...as you can see that didn't happen. Oh well.

 

I tended to drive whatever my dad had around "extra"... first off was a 1972 Ranchero. 400 V8, auto on the floor. It had a pretty good case of rust in the bed, but it ran like all get out. Of course, I tended to drive it like it was on its way to a fire, which led to high gas consumption, which led Dad to buy a Mustang II. 1974, 4 cyl., 4 speed. No power steering, brakes, air, and an AM radio. Drove it for a year or so, then the clutch went out... the thing had around 300,000 miles on it, I think. After that, I bought a '77 F250 HighBoy... 400 V8, 4 speed... and a cassette player! I gave a little over $3000 for it (in 1982), and ended up driving it for more than ten years. The engine finally gave out, and I sold it to a guy who wanted it for parts. I got $400 for it.

 

My current high school beater is a white '86 Ford Taurus GL Wagon with the 3.0L V6/AXOD which we gave $700 for three years ago at 177K miles. Now has 192K, body is rusty, transmission is starting to go out, but it's comfortable, has great A/C and gets me from point A to point B. Although right now it's sitting in the driveway waiting for a new fan control box. When I need something else I drive my dad's '93 Ford Escort wagon, or occasionally I can borrow one of the nice vehicles (see signature).

Had a decent-looking '78 F-250 CrewCab 4x2 with a 460 (see gallery), but somebody backed into it and punched through the rust under the paint, after which my parents made me sell it. Got $600 for it - probably too little, but I feel good about who I sold it to - it's now being restored and converted to 4x4.

I'm saving my money, shooting to buy either a mid-90's F-150 or a mid-90's Crown Vic. I'd like to get a mid-90's F-250 CC 4x4 with the PSD, but there's no way I can afford it.

Isaac

 

My old high school car (it wasn't exactly a beater) was a 1973 Lincoln Mark IV that was black inside and out and had a 460 and C6 tranny with dual exhaust. Everybody at school loved the fact that I could easily fit 8 people in it. Apparently before I bought it someone had "tinkered" with the engine just a bit and put some gears in it because that joker would light the rear tires up all the way into 2nd gear . I had to get rid of it my junior year because of the fuel mileage (about 6mpg highway) and bought my 79 mustang 302-2v/C4 that I still have.

 

I had a 76 Nova six with metric 200 automatic. Got from my grandpa for $1 Not a powerhouse, but it looked good and got me around. Only had 40k on it when I got it (car was 18 yrs old). Did a few repairs on brakes, gas tank & stuff, but was real reliable. I still have it and drive it some in summers.

 

First car, never drove it to school, blue 1975 Cutlass Supreme sedan, 350 4-barrel Rocket V8 with two cracked heads, Turbo 350 automatic that shifted late, and terminal cancer. A roll of paper towels could fall out of the quarter panel if I left it in the trunk. $100 car resold for $250 but only AFTER I had both heads replaced.

Second car, drove to school, red 1986 Mercury Lynx hatchback, same as an Escort, was the basic one, no power steering, no AC, 4-speed stick, no muffler, I taught myself to drive it (was either that or leave it at the auction site and ride my bike home in a snowstorm). Paid $60, sold for $300.

Third car, copper and woodgrain 1979 Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country wagon, 318 2-barrel/904, air was cold, had power everything but none of it worked. Had all kinds of bugs in it. Not electrical bugs or mechanical bugs. I mean REAL bugs. Drove with the windows down and prayed they'd roll back up. When the starter gave out I gave up. Paid $300, junked for $75.

Fourth car was my baby, white on red 1965 Chevy Biscayne sedan, 230cid six, 3-speed on the column, no options. Manual steering, brakes, shift, single speed wipers, no washers, no seatbelts, no backup lights, no radio, no heater. But in Texas, you bet it had AC under the dash. Paid $1500, traded for the New Yorker below.

Fifth was a 1987 Chrysler New Yorker Turbo sedan, maroon in and out, every option except sunroof. AC worked on low speed, control panel was out, but I had cold air and at higher speeds it came through pretty good. Speaking of high speeds, it had a Turbo. When my Dad wrecked his Celebrity wagon the car was taken from me and traded in on another car for my parents. Parents paid $3800 something, I made ten payments of $176 before they took it back.

Sixth and final high school car, a 1975 Ford Gran Torino sedan, light metallic blue, 351 Windsor (same as in my current truck) with FMX auto. Also a car with cold air, it had a Kraco cassette stereo fresh from K-Mart, blue vinyl bench seats, and Pontiac hubcaps on 14 " wheels. I had more fun in that than any other car I've owned. I miss it terribly but I'd rather have a truck for practical purposes. If I see a cheap one, it's mine. A dark green one just ended on evilBay yesterday for $100, I wish I could've bought that, but it needed a new cam and valvetrain, and reassembly, and in Wyoming, a little far for a weekend project. Mine cost my parents $1200 to replace the above car taken from me so Dad could go to work while we waited...waited...and waited some more for the ditz's insurance to pay up and allow us to get a new car. By the way, that new car, was the 1995 Century that they gave me last November after they put 224K on it. I turned 253K this weekend on that. I expect to see 300 or 350 on that. It will have to do until I can find a Torino. And the Torino? I'd still have it if I hadn't had a blowout at 75mph near Amarillo, which resulted in a tire fire and a cooked front clip and dash. The junkyard counter guy gave me $25 for the title. They sold the 9" to a guy for $150 while I waited for my $25 check. Transmission was sitting up front on the rack, asking price $300. I hate that guy.

 

MY first car is a 1968 F100 . I am 16 and drove before i got my license when my parents weren't looking. I'm gunna get in trouble because it is a 429 with some performance parts and it is 2wd short bed single cab. It is gunna be loud too with headers and header mufflers. set off all the ******* silverado's security systems at my high school.

 

In 1975, I bought a VW van that was a 1970. After only 400 miles, it started jumping out of 4th gear. A problem that eventually became terminal. I just drove it in 3rd at near redline, 50mph. The clutch cable finally broke, and I started it in gear and shifted by feel, and some grind. It went good in snow (Vermont) and carried lots of people, but I don't miss it one bit. Except for that one girl..........

 

My HS car was a 1973 Plymouth duster, slant-6 225. (my Dad bought it for $600, with 130,000) Couldn't break it with an axe and Heaven knows I tried! 80mph was about the top end. Sold it when I went off to school, my 1st car that I bought was a 1978 Firebird. V-8, also pretty darn indestructible.

 

Surprised you didnt have any problems with that 1982 firebird man...my dad had a 1982 Firebird TransAm, the first, original firebird and it was fully loaded. On teh way home from the dealer, clutch went all the way to the floor. He drove it on the way to Florida one time like a month later and he got almost half way and it did it again...this time in the middle of nowhere and there was no cellphones back then.