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First car

7K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  itsmehb 
#1 ·
Reminiscing, it's what we all do at times, and as we get older we seem to do it more. And so my mind slips back to that first car, which was a 1939 Mercury convertible. How old it now seems when compared to the cars of today. It was the first year Ford Motor company offered hydraulic brakes and they put them on the first year Mercury, but the 1939 Ford retained the mechanical brakes. It had an old 5 tube AM radio as FM wasn't offered yet. Also no auto tranny, no air, no power windows, No seal beam headlights. Had the 59AB block v8 flat head engine. 85 big horsepower, which wasn't enough for me so I had the block ported and relieved and bored out to max, which I seem to remember around 3 3/8th in. Bought fenton cast iron headers along with finned aluminum offey heads. Dual carb intake with twin stromberg 97's, and a Harmon Collins 3/4 race cam. Had an 11x39 rear which turns out to be a 3.54, but it was a real screamer. Joe Wolf did the engine work, and he was good with flatheads.

https://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?ti ... Speed_Shop

I did have to install seal beam headlights as the old reflectors wouldn't reflect enough light for it to pass the PA inspection. Had old DeSoto ribbed bumpers on it and lowered it as was the custom back then, and white wall tires. Even found my old car club plate which I've kept all these years. We all remember our first car, now don't we!

Have to see if I can resize the only picture I have. Black and white as colored film was hardly used then. OMG, no digital photo's either.
 

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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
For me, that's like asking "which came first, the chicken or the egg?". What was my first car" What counts? My "first" was a 1960 Westcoaster mail scooter. "Found" it a few blocks from my house when I took a detour (on my bicycle) on my way home from the last day of 10th grade. Bought it for 50.00 - not running, needed an oil pump.
hqdefault 1960 westcoaster.jpg

Looked almost exactly like this one. Ended up completely rebuilding the 12.9 HP Onan engine. Never drove it, never got it running due to an electrical problem.
Which led to this:
westcoaster 1966.jpg

A guy had 3 old mail scooters. I bought the 1966 with a blown engine (they were bad for breaking rings). Put my rebuilt engine in it and it was running in no time. Still needed a windshield so I bought a second one from the guy. Finally, I was "mobile". Independence achieved. One thing, the '60 used a 12.8, while the newer ones used an 18 HP (same engine, but different cam with a mechanical spark advance built in - didn't know until later). With 12.9 HP, I had a top speed of 30MPH - pedal on the floor. I did manage 35 one time going down hill. (the 18 H.P. s would actually pull 45 MPH, but it was scary.)
"First" actual car was a '63 Impala (given to me with a blown 283 V 8 engine). Then a '61 Belaire (also free) scarfed for it's 235 inline 6 - which ALMOST fit the '63 (see a pattern here?) These all went away and I bought a red '67 Corvair coupe - for 10.00 (had 29,000 miles). Got it running (another electrical issue), but there were other problems, so I bought a '66 Corvair (walking and talking, 4 speed car) for 200.00 Finally a driver. Look at my signature and you will see that this was only the beginning. Dennis
 

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#3 ·
1986 Suzuki Samurai. Got it June of 1999 right after my sophomore year of High School. My dad had gotten a Samurai in 1990 and all I wanted as a kid was to have a car that cool, so I was ecstatic to get one! It has served me well over the years and I frequently feel bad that it doesn't run right now. Its just languishing under a car cover on the side of my parents house with a blown head and a replacement Swift GTI motor sitting in the back "waiting" to go in. Plan is to get cracking on that once I'm done with my Trooper refresh.

You can read about it's most recent specs here. And this is the most recent decent photo I can find:



Just looking at the photo brings a smile to my face. Man I love that thing! Really need to get it back on the road!
 
#4 ·
SRN said:
1986 Suzuki Samurai. Got it June of 1999 right after my sophomore year of High School. My dad had gotten a Samurai in 1990 and all I wanted as a kid was to have a car that cool, so I was ecstatic to get one! It has served me well over the years and I frequently feel bad that it doesn't run right now. Its just languishing under a car cover on the side of my parents house with a blown head and a replacement Swift GTI motor sitting in the back "waiting" to go in. Plan is to get cracking on that once I'm done with my Trooper refresh.

You can read about it's most recent specs here. And this is the most recent decent photo I can find:



Just looking at the photo brings a smile to my face. Man I love that thing! Really need to get it back on the road!
always liked them...sadly, I hardly see any of them here in Memphis....unless they are rust free...majority of the ones I did see...were horrible rust buckets, and beat to crap engines...
 
#5 ·
Down here (Florida - Bay Area), Suzis bring a mint. Average price is (when one comes up for sale) is around 6 grand. There is an outfit in the Bay Area that is buying them up and reconditioning them. They also offer mods and repairs. Most that come up for sale are through this outfit. I saw a real nice one going down the interstate about a week ago. Gal with her dog in the passenger seat. Bet she paid a good price for that one. I had 2 of them. They were a lot of fun. Dennis
 
#6 ·
DSUZU said:
Down here (Florida - Bay Area), Suzis bring a mint. Average price is (when one comes up for sale) is around 6 grand. There is an outfit in the Bay Area that is buying them up and reconditioning them. They also offer mods and repairs. Most that come up for sale are through this outfit. I saw a real nice one going down the interstate about a week ago. Gal with her dog in the passenger seat. Bet she paid a good price for that one. I had 2 of them. They were a lot of fun. Dennis
every once in an while, I'll see one or two here in town....last one I saw was in great shape...with big oversized tires..and sounded good...

Yeah, I'm not surprised that they would fetch 6k....being as rare as they are...
 
#7 ·
Six thousand... Whew! Man, I bought mine for $1,500 and even 10 years ago you could buy running examples for $500. Man, how times change!

I still have mine and my dad still has his. We both frequently talk about restoring them. The biggest hurdle is the cancer. Suzuki used some very thin, very crappy sheet metal on Samurais and they just rust out so fast. Not being a body guy, that's always been the hardest bit to tackle.
 
#8 ·
Yeah, back in the day, consumer reports compared the Suzukis against Chevy S-10s, Ford (mini) Explorers, and a few others and ripped Suzuki because they were "underpowered, noisy, and "flimsy" It wasn't a fair comparison. I'd have another one in a heartbeat. I went from my Samauri to my 1987 Trooper II because our second child came along and the Suzi just wasn't enough (second) vehicle for our family anymore. Dennis
 
#9 ·
SRN said:
Six thousand... Whew! Man, I bought mine for $1,500 and even 10 years ago you could buy running examples for $500. Man, how times change!

I still have mine and my dad still has his. We both frequently talk about restoring them. The biggest hurdle is the cancer. Suzuki used some very thin, very crappy sheet metal on Samurais and they just rust out so fast. Not being a body guy, that's always been the hardest bit to tackle.
RUST

RUST has always been an problem..I've seen way too many of 'em, virtually eaten up with corrosion ...and I've seen a few from florida, that had cancer from all the salt water and air....BUT to be fair, I've seen similar era hondas, dat sun's, isuzu's, etc..all dealing with rust, and lots of it..

the japanese used poor quality sheet metal, and /or / did not rust proof 'em very well.....in my opinion..

still, those suzuki's are the bomb........
 
#10 ·
Skeletor said:
RUST

RUST has always been an problem..I've seen way too many of 'em, virtually eaten up with corrosion ...and I've seen a few from florida, that had cancer from all the salt water and air....BUT to be fair, I've seen similar era hondas, dat sun's, isuzu's, etc..all dealing with rust, and lots of it..

the japanese used poor quality sheet metal, and /or / did not rust proof 'em very well.....in my opinion..

still, those suzuki's are the bomb........
I don't think any vehicle manufacturer really figured out corrosion proofing until the mid-90's.
 
#11 ·
While I still see ''rusty" cars, I don't see them like I used to back in the '70s. I mean, back then, we got all these cars down from "up north" and the bottoms of the quarters and doors were gone or crusty - and I'm talking about almost all of them I saw. I don't see that much any more. A couple of years back I saw a really sweet 1967 Chevy Impala wagon, but it was the same thing. Interior 10 out of 10, no dents, no fading. Quarters: shot - put your fingers through them. I rarely see that on cars any more.
Dennis
 
#12 ·
First car? Well, like Dennis, I have to ask "what counts?" I was gifted a Crosley chassis as a young teenager (no pics). It was doomed before I got it and fatal when it left me! Then we got a 75 FJ40 that was a father and son project. But the one that first gave me independence was a 1999 Vehicross!

But my first power wheels was a VW...and I'm still kinda stuck on those!
 

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#13 ·
If you have to push pedals (other than gas, brake, and clutch) it doesn't count. And a "Powerwheels" does not count as a hybrid. :D Dennis
 
#14 ·
That particular one required me to push both pedals at the same time in order to make it move. It was tricky!

Also, daughter got her first one last Friday. It's remote control now!
 

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#15 ·
Just reread the posts. Find them really interesting what other life experiences are. Forgot to mention in my original post that the white walls, which were the rage then, cost more than black walls. But there was white paint formulated for use on rubber so we painted our tires with it. My dad helped me lead in the fenders. I think we called it French the fenders back then. I often wonder if that car is still around. I go to many car collections and shows and have yet to see a 1939 Mercury convertible. Have seen the coupes and four door ones though.
My very first powered transportation was a whizzer engine that I bought for 20 dollars and put on my roadmaster bicycle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whizzer_(motorcycles)
 
#16 ·
My Dad had a thing for Corvairs so when I turned 16 in 1981 I learned to drive his 1965 Monza which had about 6" of play in the steering and the gearbox was about as precise as a knife in a jar of peanut butter. I then graduated a few years later to a 1969 Vair he acquired which was a ragtop automatic with that funky dash shift. I destroyed that one in a teen aged moment proving that teenagers and classic cars don't usually mix well. :mrgreen:

After that & a stint on two wheeled transport I moved on to a 1971 Plymouth Valiant. I can still hear my Dad saying "Son these slant sixes will run forever". My thought of course was, what girl is going to want to go out with me in this major Grandma car. He was right about the car though as it was tough to kill but it died an inglorious death by electrical fire. Actually one of the mechanics at the place I worked bought it and fixed the wiring and had it running again.

After that I saved my pennies and bought my first new car which I count as my first car because I bought it myself. A lovely (to me) 1988 Nissan Sentra two door coupe. Such a simple little 1.6L 4 cylinder.

Others I've had over the years since then: 93 ish Jeep Wrangler, 97 Mercury Mountaineer, 1993 Ford F-150, 2007 Ford Expedition, 1953 Chevrolet 3100 Truck and NOW finally after wanting one since the 80's a 1988 ISUZU TROOPER! :mrgreen:
 
#17 ·
Somewhere in "other vehicles" I posted extensive pictures of the rebuild of a 1965 Corvair Greenbriar van engine I did a few years ago. I owned about 25 Corvairs back in the day. Dennis
 
#19 ·
DSUZU said:
Somewhere in "other vehicles" I posted extensive pictures of the rebuild of a 1965 Corvair Greenbriar van engine I did a few years ago. I owned about 25 Corvairs back in the day. Dennis
You know I really hated those vehicles back when because they were always in need of repair of one sort or another like all older cars. The convertible I used ran good but when it got hot it would knuckle or spark knock and just run like crap until you pulled it over and let it cool for an hour or so. I was not mechanical at all back then so do not know why it did this. This was also in FL like you are and it had no AC! :shock:

Dad is no longer with us but my brother bought a 1963 convertible a few years back and for some strange reason of late I have thought about picking up one at some point if I could find one in reasonable shape. Nostalgia I am sure. I think the Greenbriar vans and rampside's are really cool but I'm not sure I have even seen one of those in person. Going to go dig up your thread.
 
#21 ·
Was browsing around our forum and came across this first car post from a few years back. Thought I might add my first venture into hot rodding other than my first car. It was a joint venture with my buddy and was an early 30's ford. Don't even remember the year but was in the early 50's before either ford or chevy had a v-8 engine. But guess who did have a v-8. Other than caddies it was the olds. Came out in 49 and was called the rocket 88 and that's the engine we put in the roadster. Used to pull it to the drag races back then Had loads of fun and kept us off the streets. Memories!
 

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#22 ·
Have to correct you here Harry. Ford had the FLAT HEAD V-8 back in the 30's, and most early 50s hot rods had those. You're probably thinking OHV V-8s. Dennis
 
#23 ·
DSUZU said:
Have to correct you here Harry. Ford had the FLAT HEAD V-8 back in the 30's, and most early 50s hot rods had those. You're probably thinking OHV V-8s. Dennis
Dennis,
First, Happy Easter. Second, I stand corrected. Yes, I was thinking OHV. And our little hot rod was one of the first with the OHV V-8
 
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