WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? in Postcards 4
- July 21, 2021, 10:51 a.m.
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- Public
Mine was my grandfather’s last car, a 1957 Chevy.
I was stationed at Ft. Eustis, Virginia when my mother called to tell me that she was arranging to give me my Grandfather’s car. I didn’t know the history behind it. I didn’t know it was a classic, but I did know that it was only a few years old. I arranged to have a couple of other WACS from San Diego fly out and drive back with me. It was the great adventure.
Grandfather, Gimpa, had always driven Buicks or Oldsmobile’s. Someone at the local Buick dealer must have irritated him mightily as he went to the next dealership down the street and bought a bottom line Chevy. It was all turquoise two door, center post, with no fancy trim and small block, 6 cylinder engine.
Gimpa drove by hugging the curb until there was something in front of him. He would go around it then go back to hugging the curb. This scared mother so much that she had me drive him to church my last high school years. By the early sixties when I was far away in the wilds of Virginia, he had several horrific accidents one killing a small child. He made a habit of knocking down the stone gate pillars to the golf course too. By the time I got the car, there wasn’t a scratch on it.
I met, married, and got pregnant with daughter Margot in Fort Eustis. My husband was accepted to Art Center in photography in LA. We loaded up that Chevy topping the roof stack with my heavy duty ironing board and headed back across country to California. One day we banged the driver’s side door in a gas station. A one foot by one foot section fell out. It was lead…they used to use lead instead of Bondo. We sold the Chevy.
Please tell me about your first car. I would really be interested.
- Himself: Laundry and exercises.
- Myself: Getting winter out of my closet to make more room.
- Reading: J. K. Galbraith’s memoirs.
- Watching: KPBS: Bake.
- Weather: 80 at the beach
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Gratitude’s: To have a big closet to clean out.
GypsyWynd ⋅ July 21, 2021
A 1984 Dodge Omni. My ex and I bought it used in '85. We named it Gideon. It wasn't a bad car. On rainy days, when I'd start it and put it in reverse, it would stall. A second start would get it going.
Telstar ⋅ July 21, 2021
1965 Ford Mustang. Black w/red interior. 289 cid V-8. Dual fiberglas mufflers. Chrome reverse wheels.
gattaca ⋅ July 21, 2021
'65 VW Type 1 Beetle. 1100cc. I took the engine apart and laid it all out on the garage floor like those exploded diagrams in Chilton's manuals.
When I put it back together and it started up my parents were astonished.
woman in the moon ⋅ July 21, 2021
I learned to drive on my father's 1960 Chevy. My husband had Oldsmobiles - '57, '63' and '68. Later we had a trio of kleenex Olds in the '80s, a gold one, a blue one, a red one. First car in my name was a '62 Chevy. Later I had two Ford Escorts. And Lately we've had a couple Buicks.
I bleed GM.
Zipster ⋅ July 21, 2021
A used 1964 Rambler Classic in a metallic green. I loved it.
Adventure before Dementia ⋅ July 21, 2021 (edited July 21, 2021)
Edited
1959 Morris 1000 4 door Reg number UVJ 845. Eggshell Blue, very reliable. Bought with money given by my paternal grandfather on my 21st birthday May 1967, 230 pounds.
Marg ⋅ July 23, 2021
A green FIAT 128 (not sure of the year) bought when I passed my test in 1978 from my Mum who had it before me :)
NorthernSeeker ⋅ July 23, 2021
My first car was a used 1976 Ford Galaxy station wagon...Country Squire model with wood panelling. It had a 429 V8 and got 12 miles to the gallon. It was bought by my parents after I had left home. I named it Earth Pig.
Oswego ⋅ July 23, 2021
Mine was a 1975 Nissan B-210, now called a Sentra. It was, sadly, a lemon, but it got paid off after three years at $69 a month, and I was proud of that.