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July 16, 2010
Was it Cool Then? Is it Cool Now?
Bick66
Thinking back, most of us have a particular car that was the starting point for becoming a gearhead in the first place. For me, there were actually several–but it definitely started with my grandparents’ ’66 Impala convertible that they bought used in the early ’80′s, and that proudly sits in my garage today. My grandfather also had a blue 4-door 396 big-block Caprice with a white vinyl top, and a gold 2-door ’69 Caprice with a 427, not to mention the several full-sized Pontiac wagons that he used for work. I also spent countless road trips up and down the West coast in the back seat of my great aunt’s 1971 4-door Caprice, and later remember my dad busting his knuckles on its small block 400 in the driveway after he bought the car in the late 80′s. With such exposure to late ’60′s and early ’70′s GMs in my childhood, it’s no surprise that today my garage is home to an ’05 Corvette, a ’66 Impala and a ’96 Blazer. My family bought these cars not because they were stylish or particularly desirable at the time–they were just reliable, inexpensive used cars. Like the convertible Impala: Grandma liked it because it was yellow and Grandpa liked it because of the price. It would be like if I were to go buy a reasonably well maintained early ’90′s Cavalier convertible today. It’s only been in the years since they regularly ran those cars that this era of GMs have become sought-after, so I guess you could say that my chosen cars are cooler now than they were when they first got me into the hobby. How about you? What car or cars caught your eye at a young age and how old were you? Were these cars cool then? Are they cool now?
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krumpet34
Oct 10, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Nice rides, I hear alot of these cars can be found in the northeast… should anyone need car transportation I just transported my 1971 Chevrolet caprice from Jersey to Georgia for 400 dollars with a company called american auto transport check there website out they inspected the car for me an all http://www.autotransportaat.com
Ghostsniper
Jul 21, 2010 at 5:41 am
I was born a gearhead from the very start but since I am only 17, I still haven’t own my own classic car yet (but I am working on it). The thing that made me become a gearhead as a young child was the numerous stories that my Dad and Uncles shared with me about there beasts. My Dad had owned 2 1970 Olds Cutlass S’s as his first cars. The first one was orange with a black vinyl roof and the second one was red with a white vinyl roof. Then one of my uncles had a 1976 Chevy K10 with the 400 small block and the full time 4wd and locking transfercase in black.
1991S10
Jul 20, 2010 at 7:15 pm
the car i remember first and that made me love cars was my moms 1972 350 malibu…cream yellow with cream vinyl roof, bench seat, column shift automatic…and factory 8 track…was my grandfathers before he died and my mom inherited it…wasnt anything special but looking back on it now, i wish we’d kept it…wouldve made a great project…
ttkammer
Jul 20, 2010 at 6:53 pm
I grew up in metro Detroit, and a lot of my friend’s dad’s worked as executives and engineers for the Big Three. Some memorable cars that I was fortunate enough to drive at an early age include…
91 GMC Syclone
89 Pontiac GTA Turbo Anniversary Edition
Buick Grand National GNX
C4 ZR-1
94 Toyota Supra Turbo
pre-production Dodge Viper
C4 Callaway Corvette
Richter-Scale
Jul 20, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Too many cool cars to mention, I want them all.
oldskoolGTA
Jul 19, 2010 at 1:49 pm
1959 mercedes 220 3 gear stick…”3 on a tree”
4Wheelin_Forever
Jul 19, 2010 at 12:17 pm
My dream car is still the 1967 Pontiac GTO
4Wheelin_Forever
Jul 19, 2010 at 12:16 pm
I’m cught in a mix. My dad’s 1977 El Camino definitly started my love for cars with its thumpin’ 355 V8. I’m also a fan of the compact cars and what the 4 cylinders are capable of thanks to the 1988 Chevy Spectrum (Isuzu I-mark) my dad gave me. with a 1.8 and a couple cheap turbos, it was quite the little screamer.
GTwildfire
Jul 18, 2010 at 7:11 pm
An uncle had a pristine, hunter green ’69 Cougar with a black vinyl interior. I wasn’t tall enough to rest my arm on the sill when I rode shotgun. That car made an impression and it is every bit as cool today, if not more so.
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My Dad owned a 1970 Plymouth Custom Suburban (Fury) station wagon. It had its own ZIP code, but riding in the rearward-facing back seat was a blast as a kid. Since I’d love to see a similar one someday in good condition, yeah that was cool in its own way. I was probably 6 or 7.
19luna92
Jul 17, 2010 at 7:13 pm
i allways loved the look of the 67-72 chevy c10s with their boxy shape and eggcrate grille and now i got one
Bick66
Jul 17, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Hey Paul, that ’69 Caprice sounds awesome and I totally would have loved seeing it. Sounds a lot like what I grew up with. Very cool.
You’ll have to let me know if you even find an old VIN for that Coronet. There are a couple of cars from my past that I would love to hunt down and somehow reacquire.
FuryPaul
Jul 16, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Chris, you would have loved the Caprice that was at the Street Survivors’ Cruise in Glen Burnie tonight: ’69 4-door hardtop, 396, unrestored 65,000-mile car, all original except the tires!
I’ve always wanted a ’67 Dodge Coronet, ever since my parents bought one in January 1967. I was three. The one we had wasn’t sexy–a beige Coronet 440 4-door sedan with a small-block. But the brochure showed some other variations, including the Coronet R/T!
The Coronet was traded in on a slightly-used 4-door slant-six Dart in late 1973 and I never saw it again. Funny thing, though: Several months ago, I was browsing eBay, typed in “Dodge Coronet” and a listing popped up for a Coronet which was such an exact match for our old one that I went digging through old papers at Mom’s house to see if I could find the VIN somewhere. I even e-mailed the seller to ask if the Certicard was still there, and if so, what name was on it. He never replied.
I wasn’t gonna buy it (nowhere to put it), but it would have been cool to know. I wrote down the VIN before the auction ended, just in case I find an old registration or something later.
retroman
Jul 16, 2010 at 1:38 pm
That’s ok, Jen. I share your love for quirky cars. I myself own two k-cars (both Spirits, one’s an R/T model. The other is getting a one of a kind rebuild at the moment), a 2000 Buick Century (My DD. It’s not a popular car to own unless you’re old enough to get a senior citizens’ discount), and an ’87 Pontiac Fiero. I also used to own an ’89 Ford Festiva. I would like to add a Mustang II, a faux wood paneled Mercury Grand Marque Wagon (when they had the 4 square headlights. Turn the sucker into a drag car, tubbed and all, but keep the faux wood), or Chevette to my garage, but I’m sadly out of room and there’s just too many options.
Jen Dunnaway
Jul 16, 2010 at 8:48 am
I’d helped my dad tinker around on his 60′s cars (T-bird, Tiger, Fairlane, Bedford, and GTO) since I was a tiny kid, but the car that first got me working on stuff on my own and turned wrenching into a lifelong passion was my (formerly my mom’s) ’82 Escort GT. It was powerfully uncool then, and it’s powerfully uncool now. And I am 100% unconcerned about that
jcr0502
Jul 16, 2010 at 8:33 am
i remember my first car i that got me, i was around 7 years old. I was playing in my dads bodyshop, when he started taking the newspaper of the the windows on his freshly painted 77 Chevy Monte Carlo. Its was a copper metalic with sunroof and half chocolate vinyl top. I remember i’ve always wanted to go every where with him when he ws driving the Monty. By the time i turn 12 he sold it to one of his friends and he took it to Texas and he never got another one. After that it was just Caprise wagons and G20 vans. Now i have a 5 year old and i see how happy he gets when we take out our 81 Chevy Malibu, i guess im turning him into a gear head as well.
firstgencamaro69
Jul 16, 2010 at 8:20 am
At a young age sting ray vette’s caught my eye. Then when I was 10 in a cvs parking lot I saw a white 1969 camaro. I asked my mom what it was ( her first boyfriend back in the 70′s having two 1968 camaros she knew exactly what car it was) Later I found out the exact year of the particular car and told my mom I’d one day have one. The car was cool to me back then and its cool owning it now.
trav20
Jul 16, 2010 at 7:29 am
I loved racing videogames when I was little(about 7-8 years old). I used to play games like Test Drive 4,5 and 6 on the first Playstation and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit on computer. I used to pick the cars that I thought looked cool. Then I picked the cars for their specs. I started to read the in-game specs like 0-60 times, HP and braking distance.
Then as I got older I got into real cars and actually working on them. I have a 1966 Dodge Charger (with a 1973 400 cid motor) just waiting to be painted and driven. I have done a lot to the car for how long I had it(almost a year) even with going to college. I have done things like rebuilt the Holley carburetor and replaced the fuel tank, line and pump all by myself. lol I am kind of proud of it.
Hopefully by next summer I can get enough cash to stroke the 400 to be a 451.
highspeedhijinks
Jul 16, 2010 at 6:06 am
My Dad bought a 1979 Camaro Z28, maroon with body color rally wheels when I was 5. That kick started a passion that was allready in motion. My Grandfathers 70 LeSabre sealed the deal when I was 13 and he let me drive it in a parking lot.
retroman
Jul 16, 2010 at 4:10 am
My brother-in-law had 2 ’66 Mustangs he drove through college and into the early ’90s. One was a red notchback, the other was a yellow convertible. Both had the ever reliable straight 6 and C4 3spd automatic transmission. I remember him telling me he paid $900 for the pair in 1985. After they broke down for good, he got a new daily driver and parked them on my parents’ property for a good 8 years. The coupe eventually went to his neighbor who turned it into a drag car, and the ‘vert well was given to his parents and was never seen again because it was stolen while they were restoring it. Long story there, but the guy that was supposed to put the engine in ran off with it… I didn’t realize then just how much I admired those cars. And that is why I have a ’66 Mustang convertible in my garage today.