Your First Vehicle

[polarbear]

$4000 bucks???? HOLY CHIT!!!!!! i knew cars were inexpensive back then compared to now days but dam!!!!!!!!!!!!



I HATE YOU FOR 5 MINUTES!!!

$4000 was a fair amount of money in 1970. After the folks realized they had handed a chimpanzee a loaded gun, that car was replaced by a '71 Volvo 142- $3150 brand new, out the door. The Volvo was replaced in '73 by a BMW 2002. About $3600, brand new and delivered at the factory in Munich.

On the other hand, $30-40,000 would buy a decent house in most parts of the country back then too.

 

[Skandocious]

According to the inflation calculator...

What cost $4000 in 1969 would cost $23145.16 in 2009.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2009 and 1969,
they would cost you $4000 and $653.25 respectively.

 

[LEB Ben]

First hmmmmm, lemme think...oh yeah, that woulda been the the red and white one in my sig. Picked her up fo $4000 in October of 2001 when I was 15. She had a few dings and a a couple quarter sized rust holes and the roof was faded to a different color red....but she was all original and stayed in the same family until I bought her. By today's standards, I overpaid...and think i did a little back then, but it did come with lots of extras.

 

[mrfixit]

Not gonna mention my first SEVERAL cars- I'd be up for lynching on this site. I've had quite a few that wore bowties and their cousins. My first FORD was a Mercury Montego Wagon, a '71. Had a 351C 4BB and C6 tranny. Very comfortable and competent car.
The first 5 years of its life it was in someone else's hands, but was clean and sharp when I got it. I lived in an area called Edmonds, North of Seattle, while I was in college and it had quite a few hills, but never really gave a grunt. UNTIL, of course, ONE DAY...
I was leaving work and headed for home. late one night, and came around a long, sweeping downhill curve with a light at the bottom of the hill. I stopped without issue, but it did seem to take just a bit extra pedal. When the light changed, All rev, no go. What the??? Not in neutral, in drive- I thought maybe transmission... I left it in drive, and set the Pbrake so I could open the door and look underneath- driveshaft was spinning freely! I thought, Oh, great- I've busted the pinion gear (or so I thought) and pushed the car to the shoulder and hitch-hiked home. (no cell phones back then and no public phones where I was)
A buddy and I went after the car in the morning- I figured it rolled ok, it ran OK, I'd just give it a nudge to get rolling with my truck. as we made the final turn up the hill towards my house, I had to stop and yell at my friend to STOP THE CAR immediately!
The Right rear wheel was about a FOOT outside of the wheel well, axle intact! Seems that model's axles were press-fit onto the axle behind a retaining plate, bolted through the backing plate to the axle housing, with no other means of securing the axle to the pumpkin, the axle itself had separated from the bearing, allowing its egress.
Somehow that feeling of "press-fit only" left me unnerved- I pulled both of the axles & bearings, bought NEW bearings, then had the machine shop put each of the axles on a lathe and score a groove behind where the bearings sat, so that when I had them pressed back on, I could put a washer and a C-Clip as "backup". Not that it would save that from happening again, but I felt better about it!

 

[Blade]

My first vehicle is my 1990 Ranger that my 3rd or 4th cousin gave to me 2 years ago

day i got it

sometime last year

same day as the one above

 

[TexasNomad]

Green Machine back in tha' day..

 

[fatherdoug]

1963 Ford 1/2 ton 2WD in 1974. Drove it 1000 miles from Oregon to Colorado when the clutch went out. Took my girlfriend(now wife) skiing in Telluride in that truck. It was fun parking next to all the Beamers. Then I went to the darkside with a Chevy shoveit!

 

[Blue Bomber]

My "first" car was a '83 toyota celica that tossed a timing chain a few days before my sister gave it to me. (never ran)
The next car I got was a $500 '79 Datsun B-210. That car was awesome! Cheap to keep running, great gas mileage, AND BEST OF ALL none of my friends wanted rides. So, when we went somewhere, I rode with my friends and saved even more on gas.
When that broke I got a 1977 Toyota Celica. I loved that car hope I can get another one before I die or before they all rust to the ground....