What was 'that car' ?

[XcYZ]

I thought this would make for a fun and interesting thread... :thumbsup:

What was that car, the car and/or experience that made you take the path that you are on?



I'll get it rolling....

My brother had a car, as did my cousin, friends in high school, etc, but... the single sharpest memory was when I was 16. One night I was sitting around in front of a small town popcorn stand (are there any of those around anymore? lol) with a few friends when a 69 Camaro rolled by. It was yellow with black stripes and running Centerline Autodrag wheels. It was a bad ass car, looked absolutely perfect rumbling by under the street lights on a warm summer night. That's how a car was supposed to look, and that's how a car was supposed to sound. I can remember it like it was yesterday.



Am I being nostalgic because it's the end of the year? Yeah, probably. :lol: Lets hear your story; what made you a car guy. :cheers:

[Tom.A]

For me it was not any one car, rather it was my Dad. I grew up around them. I am pretty sure I was the only 5 year old dropped off at my school in a 1941 Ford Coupe, cragers and with 283 Chevy complete with a cross ram and no hood :cool: Me and my brother would always run to the window when we heard a rumble looking to see what he had bartered or traded for. My mom just came to accept it. He passed about four years ago, but even through my adult life he would show up at my house with something. It's funny even at 38 years old now ,every time I hear a rumble coming down my street I still catch myself thinking to look for Dad :thumbsup:

[silver63c10]

Pretty much same as you, Tom, I was at the race track while my dad ran a rear engine dragster when I was a month old, and spent a good portion of my life in our parts store/machine shop growing up. Kind of inevitable, I guess... He wrecked the racecar when I was 5, and we rebuilt a 63 Chevy truck as my first vehicle when I was 12, and now have put nearly 4 years into a 79 Camaro for a toy.

I think the car that probably did the most to me, though, was an 81 Camaro that my mom drove daily when I was in elementary school. Dark blue, well built 400 and a 9" with loud exhaust, I wanted to drive that car so bad...get my second chance now with our 79, I guess :lol:

Thus the obsession, though..kind of runs in the family, pretty much all of the last 2 generations have made their living doing something involving cars.

[jephs422]

That's an easy one for me.

A four door 69 Dodge Dart.........Sawzall convertible :unibrow:

I had watched my dad race cars as long as I could remember and I had always wanted to join him on the track. Even before I got my drivers liscense I had come home from work at Dominos Pizza to find the biggest pole of crap 4 door dodge in the driveway with my name on it. And It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Torn up yellowish bench seats front and rear. Only the fornt doors worked cause the rears were welded shut, and the top was cut off via sawzall.....so, it was a sunny day car only, LOL. I can remember that car doing the FATTEST peg leg burn outs known to man kind.

That's the car that made me the car nut I am today.

[class67]

For me it was my neighbor........when I was kid, one the teenagers next door had the baddest 67 Camaro that sounded awsome (all cam'd up), not that I knew what that meant at the time but I do remember that sound. His house was kind of the "hang out" and all of his friends had Chevelle's and Nova's, Chargers etc.... Now keep in mind that this was in the mid or so 70's when you could get away with pretty anything, well....the cars that were always around the are still stuck in my mind, Chevelle's and and Nova's with Tunnel Rams sticking out of the hoods and Super Wides out back (hey it was the 70's:goofy: ) and I thought that was so cool. Anyway from the time I was 7 or so I have had a thing for cars, not just because of the neighbor and his friends but those are just the images / memories that I always flash back to.

[Flash68]

When I was in high school there was this guy with probably the nastiest street car in town, a burgundy 68 Firebird with a Pontiac 400, Ram Air III heads, big cam/carb, etc. and nitrous. It was super clean from what I can remember and got me hooked, which led me to buy a bomb of a car (even though I scored) - a 74 Nova body with no motor/tranny for $150. I befriended the Firebird guy and he helped build my Nova to a decent street car. I always told him I would eventually buy that Firebird from him years later. I would have too but he sold it several years ago before I got the cash or ability to do a project like that. Ironically, I now have a 68 F-body, just not a Firechicken. :D

Good times....

[Weldon0405]

For me it was my dad. He had a '71 Cutlass. He and I would spend the majority of the weekend wrenching on it. He would always pick with me about having "tastes like my mother" because my favorite was the Camaro, but I wouldn't trade those days for anything.

[tones2SS]

For me, it was just the look of the car and sound and just the raw power that these cars had. Ok, mostly the sound!! Still love that sound more than anything else, a nice cammed motor with an awesome lope. Can't beat it!!:hail:
My dad was never really into cars, unfortunatley. I used to buy all the hot rod/muscle car magazines when I was younger and always used to beg him to drive his car without a permit or driver's license back in the day. He would let me start them up, but never drive them on the street. Maybe once in a while in a super big empty parking lot and that would be my highlight of my day!!:thumbsup:
Excellent thread idea Scott!!:cheers:

[67ragtp]

The year is 1977 my brother is 17 and Im 16. There were still a ton of 60s iron running the streets as daily drivers. My brother comes home with his first car a 69 396-375 chevelle ss 4-speed in forest green, headers, fireball 3/4 race cam(what the hell did 3/4 mean?) big holley DFDP. And off to school we went, didn't take long for the high school talk it up, whos got the fastest car in the lot to begin. When one afternoon from school we hook up with a worked over 302 boss mustang on a two lane stop light to stop light race on the avenue. Its funny thinking back these guys were not very friendly either. The two cars did not stage at the light although he was one car behind us, when the car along side us turned off he pulled next to us, even as a passenger my adrenaline was pumping. They were rolling these cars at 5mph, the windows down talking smack through the windows, and away we go, he's rowing through the gears and we are picking up a fender length with every gear change, it was closer than I thought it would be, which made it very cool. Those cars back then seemed so damn fast to me, in reality maybe they were mid 13 second cruisers always traction deprived from a dead stop. I didn't relize it until many years later when I drove my 540 rag top camaro to 10.80s at 125 at the track.

The camaro obsession came from my high school buddie's original 69 rs z28, we tore it down in 79, and it still sitting in his garage today its bit rough but all there. Once your hooked on the body lines its all over, at least for me.

For all the guys that went to high school in the the 70s, it was incredible seeing all the chevys, mopars, and ford muscle on the streets all the time. Great Times!!

Rich

[CRCRFT78]

My dad owned a shop when I was younger and used to always tell me about his car stories with his buddies. One day he pulled up to the house with a 60s Mustang convertible that was an absolute pile of parts. I asked him what he was going to do with that piece of junk and he said fix it. I laughed in all my 7year old glory and said, sure you are, not that pile of dookie. Low and behold if I didn't almost pee on myself (remember I was 7) when about 4 months later he opened the garage and out rolled a brand new (at least to me) looking Mustang convertible. I'm talking paint, interior, drivetrain, everything shining like it just came off a dealers lot. That was one of the moments I knew I would be hooked on cars after that.

[thedude327]

Great thread !!! Back when I was a kid , we had a neighbor who raced stock cars, not professionally, but a weekend racer. I always wandered over to watch and see what he was doing on his cars. Later as I got older, I started fixing lawnmowers and small engines. I grew up around dirt bikes and minibikes and they always needed fixing too, if you wanted to ride anyways.......lol.........so that kind of started me down the path of working on cars.

I have to agree with those who say that the sound of a good exhaust used to get my attention because is still does today. Nowadays you can put the whole package together and by that I mean you can have all the great classic looks of the older cars, but with the performance and handling of a modern car. These are good times to be into cars.

Paul

[Hdesign]

Born with this terrible affliction and have been "suffering" ever since!

Some of my earliest memories were of cars I loved so I can't really pinpoint one in particular. Since my dad was a GM for a Chevy dealer, I can only assume it was a Vette or a Camaro.

One car I do remember was a triple black 69 Camaro RS at the dealership one day while we were visiting him at work. It was out in the wash bay I think and my dad let me sit in it. Wow, I was hooked!

I later found out that the car caught fire because of the dealership owner's son. The happy ending is that a guy in town bought it and restored it. Now I see it every year at the Boston World of Wheels show (next week actually). I still stop and stare at it.

[DOOM]

B I G R E D When I finally saw it at SEMA this year it was like seeing a rock star !!!!!!! I took a million pics

:wow:
Mario

[Nvrenuf]

Ever since I was a lil kid. My mom says it was weird cause I could name cars just from seeing their front end driving towards us on the road. Then Junior High thru High School... My best friend's Dad bought him a 66 Nova. they built it 3 times through our high school years. They dragged me around to all the car shows, etc. Then it hit the cover of Hot Rod mag. I thought that was the ultimate! My dad would not let me spend a dime on a car, ie "money pit". So i just drove my old nissan truck and dreamed. Now I'm living the dream:D

[ironworks]

I have been into cars since I can remember, I used to build anything out of legos. I remember going to the dirt track races and then coming home to build a tube chassis and body for a late model dirt car. I used to go to the drag boat races and then I built a dually and flatbottom boat with a trailer. I had a ton of legos. I did not play with anything else.

Then In high school my first car was piece of junk 66 volvo that I had for a short period of time before I got a 67 chevy truck that got me pulled over once a week for like 14 weeks straight. We used to cruise " Chester" the local cruise spot on friday and saturday nights. Then about 11pm it was off to the street races. There used to be this 67 Chevelle that was red and ran like 12 second passes, I remember when I thought that was fast. It was like seeing a super hott girl everytime you saw the car, you were just quiet and watched it go by......

I have and will always be a huge magazine reader, I can remember reading a Street Rodder magazine talking about Boyd Coddingtons shop, back in the hay day. Before he went to jail, back when anybody who is anybody worked there, Jesse James, Alan Budnik, Chip Foose, Lil john, Steve Davis, and there were a ton more. Those guys did everything and they did it like no other. They had huge resources to do what ever, Boyd had Boyds wheels and they did cars like Cadzilla, Smoothster, Boydsters ( in steel ), He did a tangarine roadster with that had rear mounted northstar, They built the Boyd Aire 57 chevy. I remember thinking I want to build stuff like that some day. I went to my first AMBR show in 92 when it was still in Oakland. These are the things that made me what to continue to build and design just like when I was a kid with Legos.

[Beegs]

For me it was not any one car, rather it was my Dad. I grew up around them. I am pretty sure I was the only 5 year old dropped off at my school in a 1941 Ford Coupe, cragers and with 283 Chevy complete with a cross ram and no hood :cool: Me and my brother would always run to the window when we heard a rumble looking to see what he had bartered or traded for. My mom just came to accept it. He passed about four years ago, but even through my adult life he would show up at my house with something. It's funny even at 38 years old now ,every time I hear a rumble coming down my street I still catch myself thinking to look for Dad :thumbsup:

Tom...great story, brought a tear to my eye. :thumbsup:

The car for me was a 76 camaro. A local family bought it brand new, the daughter had it first then the older brother, they always kept it mint. I watched "Mike" take the 305 out and freshen it up with a cam, headers, intake, Cragar SS wheels etc...I was always hanging around like a s**t fly asking questions.
Well I ended up buying that car with 36K original miles and drove it hard! It was my daily driver thru HS and when I started making some decent money the car ended up Ferrari red with a BB 454, built trans, 3:73 posi etc... it was a great car. I sold it many moons later to fund a V8 s10 project of all things.

It's funny...my Dad is a great guy with some great qualities but I remember growing up, he was never interested in cars and actually discouraged me at every step of the way. Not in a bad way but one example in particular sticks out:

When I got the Camaro, I ran it with the 305 for a year so and decided to build a 350 for it. After all... I had been reading every car magazine for years, I was practically ASE certified! I remember going through the whole deal: machine shop, getting the parts, assembly etc..well I finally get the thing put together, all dressed up on the engine stand. I had a smile from ear to ear. You know what my Father says? "It looks good, leave it on the stand, it will never run" Looking back on it, it makes me laugh.

I put the motor in, got everything right except the timing and I had a few plug wires crossed. My father said: "see". LOL He felt bad for me and called a friend of his. His buddy was a great guy, came right over and straightened the thing out. It ran like a champ.

When the 454 build came along, can you guess what my father said? LOL

[Ummgawa]

My Dad and his brothers. They were all GM employees in the Muscle car Hayday. My Uncle Noah was the COPO cage man for 17 years in the Lakewood GM plant. My other two uncles worked the assembly line.

Every family reunion was filled with massive burn outs from the bad ass cars (Chevelles from 1966 to 1971), GTO's and 442's. All the bad A Body cars produced at that particular plant.

My Dad had a "Real Job" as my other Uncles used to call it working for the government. So he had a wicked dual Quad 63 Riviera, 425 nail head fully loaded rocket, Black with Silver Leather interior, 2+2, every option known to man at that time. That car would boil the meats on demand with the air running. My Dad kept that car immaculant (The Marine in him).

I basically had no choice in the matter. Oh and, by the way, the only Bad ride with an automatic was my Dad's Riviera. All my Uncles were sworn 4 speed drivers (I guess thats where I get it).

My Uncle Gordon drove a Ram Air 4, 4 speed 1970 Judge convertible in Orbit Orange. A very High Dollar Car now. He ran the total piss out of that car but took great care of it. Other Uncle had a 70 LS6 4 speed convertible. I have some pictures somewhere of our family reunion with both of those cars in the picture. A half a million dollars in two cars. Just amazing and who knew.

I felt it then. Those were special times and special cars. I have a great COPO 66 chevelle story if I have a little time to write it. My Uncle still has the paperwork. 427 in a 66 Chevelle. Rock Crusher, 4:56. No air/radio/dumdum, rubber floor mats, no back seat. From the factory."Tin can with a giant motor" as my Uncle put it. Got my very first, dang near pissed my pants, white knuckle ride in that car. Remember, my Dad's sisters husband was the COPO man at the Lakewood Plant.

By the way that's where "IT" started. I have been working on , driving, trading and basically living the life since I was 6. My Dad is and always has been a car guy. We are real tight so we went to every car show when I was a kid. Oh, and when each year rolled around, we'd go to the dealerships and drive all the new bad ass offerings. Heck in Atlanta, there was a dealership on every corner.He and I did this every year from 1965 to 1972. My very fondest memories. My dad speed shifting 4 speeds when we'd "Test Drive" the new offerings.

great thread Scott.

[mdprovee]

Ok this going to sound bad, but......

The car that started it for me was the Mach 5 from Speed Racer. I would race home from school to catch the episode. Always wanted to be race car driver like Speed. All the things that car did were cool to me. Once I got older I had friends accross the street were into cars, so that is how I got started inbto real cars.

My first car was a 67 camaro, which my parents gave to me for my 16th B-day. They had bought it new in 67 and handed it down to me. On my B-day I went down to get my license and when I passed the test, they gave me a set of keys. My dad always helped me change or modify something, just saying, "it ran fine before you started changing things." That was 27 years ago and I still have it today. Should be completed within the next month or so, and I fully plan to have my parents there when I pick it up.

[Stuart Adams]

Always have loved the muscle cars growing up. But my disease was cemented when, in high school, my best friends dad bought my friend a 1970 LS6 Chevelle. The dad didn't really know how BAD it was. Man we kicked more butt and got more booty in that car. He blew it up about a year later and then his dad bought him a 1970 LS5 El Camino.

Those were the days.

[JamesJ]

When I was around 15, so 15 years ago a friend of ours (race car fabricator) was building a full tube Mustang 5.0 body style full out car to compete in the open road races, the car was going to have a carbon fiber body, twin turbos, the front glass was laid back, every thing was going to be custom but still look normal, and thats when I said i need something like this....

Thats why my car will not be very custom looking....

[clill]

Jim....Can I see the COPO 66 paperwork ?

[Flash68]

Ok this going to sound bad, but......

The car that started it for me was the Mach 5 from Speed Racer. I would race home from school to catch the episode. Always wanted to be race car driver like Speed. All the things that car did were cool to me. Once I got older I had friends accross the street were into cars, so that is how I got started inbto real cars.

My first car was a 67 camaro, which my parents gave to me for my 16th B-day. They had bought it new in 67 and handed it down to me. On my B-day I went down to get my license and when I passed the test, they gave me a set of keys. My dad always helped me change or modify something, just saying, "it ran fine before you started changing things." That was 27 years ago and I still have it today. Should be completed within the next month or so, and I fully plan to have my parents there when I pick it up.

Great story, Mike! Can't til your car is finally done! :thumbsup:

[cluxford]

For me it was my first drive of a V8. Next door neighbours 69 427 Vette (I was 17 and had never driven a V8 before that)....mmmmm :drool: Love the sound of a big block through 4 inch side pipes !!!

With never enough resources and no family at all into cars best I could do was read lots of magazines and start building a few cheap rides (63 pillarless parisienne, 39 Chev 4 door). But I always dreamed of Chevy iron, just so much better looking than the aussie cars of the era.

I've worked my butt off for the last 15 years to be able to fund my dream car, in 12 months time it will be on the road and I will be finally living the dream (that is if these things are ever considered finsihed. ;)

[Ummgawa]

Jim....Can I see the COPO 66 paperwork ?

My Uncle is in Canada right now, but, he has kept all the paperwork
on all the cars he bought. He walked this particular car down the line when it was built. I traced the car from when he sold it to the next three owners and the trail went dry. I'll ask him to dig it up (It is probably in a warehouse storage that I will volenteer to go through). I have seen the COPO orderform where my Uncle Noah(My COPO cage Uncle) ordered the 427(not a tall deck mind you) 'for a bus' (they built bus chassis' there also). The motor arrived, they just switched the 427 for the 396 like it was no big deal- and for them it wasn't. It's been ten years ago that I eyeballed the stuff, but, I will just about guarentee you that he's still got it. I even have a picture that he gave me with him sitting in the car.(I'll see if I can locate it and post the picture) Beautiful Silver, knee knocker tach, no console, no back seat. no heater, no radio, no console, rubber floor mats, even the bucket seats did not have head rests. He eliminated every thing that added weight. no dum-dum, drum brakes (the one thing he debated on-disc brakes, decided not to due to the weight- said he regretted that move numerous times with manual drum brakes and a wickedly fast car),manual steering, M-22 and a 4:56, two prong steering wheel like the original I just sold on Chevelles.com. It was a single 4 barrel Holley but I do recall the aluminum Intake, because I commented about the 'snowflake" on the intake when they were tuning it up at one of or family gatherings.

I'm telling you, I have never been so scared in a car in all of my life. It was loud and mean and fast as hell. Every time I see him now I tell him he had about as rare of a Chevelle that has ever been built. Plus the COPO connection with my Uncle running the COPO cage, and him walking the car down the line himself. Too Cool.

Here is the funny/sad part. My Uncle met his wife and SHE hated the car because it "so loud and did not even have a heater or a radio". he sold it to his then brother in law, he sold it his best friend, he sold it to his brother and he sez he traded it on a used car lot for a station wagon. The lot is closed way back in the day. I had the VIN and ran it through North Carolina DOT. Nothing came up. That where the trail went dry for me. I just basically gave up.

Maybe he still has the paperwork, if he does, I'll contact you.

Shame of it all is, My Uncle that owned the car is in his 60's now and my COPO Uncle is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. They are both just about too old to care anymore. I need to sit down with them and get the full run down on 'all they saw' before its too late.

[RussMS]

The first musclecar I can remember was a 1970 Mustang Mach 1. After hauling hay all day long we went to put up some tools up in my neighbors shed when I saw it. His sons car was in a state of engine rebuild. When I asked him about it, I got the general overview about cleveland engines vs windsors and why fastbacks were better than coupes and a lot of stuff I didnt understand and didn't remember at age 10. That was the first though.

[porkchop]

Mine was my best friends older brother.His weekend street brawler was a straight axled flamed 57 chevy, and his daily driver was a hugger orange 69 z/28 this was early 70's What a pair.

[6D9]

For me it was my dad.....he always was building something. When I was a little kid all the high school guys would come around and talk to my dad about his cars. They would ask me as well but I did not know anything at the time. I remember on weekends I would be sleeping and then be woke up to the sound of a rowdy high compression sbc. I would jump out of bed to make sure I did not miss I ride with him....cause I always knew he would get on at least 1 time.....

That car was a 63 Austin Healy with a 11.5 to 1 comp 355 sbc. It had Centerline auto drags ...big n littles and was jet black. Tranny was a Doug Nash 5 speed.......good times

[awr68]

I must give credit to my dad for my addiction to cars! He is a total car guy and always had classic Chevy cars around that I helped wrench on. I spent many hours in the garage with him learning the basics and going to lots of drag races over the years. Good times! He kept all his Hot Rod magazines over the years, it made for good reading/dreaming for a young kid.

Oh, and our neighbor had a red w/ white stripe and white interior '70 RS Camaro that totally loved....I still need one!! :unibrow:

I was very lucky to have a father, his friends/family, and a cool neighbor to hang out with all those years!

And wouldn't you know it, my son loves cars and hanging out in the garage with me...I am very blessed!! :D

[almcbri]

"That car" was a 63 split window my uncle had. It was red with a big block 600 HP tubbed with the stock looking wheels and spinners. It was more of a pro street looking car. I was about 11-12. Corvettes in general have always got my attention, but that car was the one.

[Derek69SS]

Dad always had "project" cars in the shed, but never had anything he could drive. My brother and I would "drag-race" (cars were parked next to each other... imagine 2 young boys making engine sounds and slamming gears on 3spd sticks pretending we were Bob Falfa and John Milner) between the 55 Chevy, and the '50 Chevy... 55 always won, because 2-door cars are faster than 4-door cars. :lol:

I never got to ride in anything cool until we went to watch a car-cruise and saw my neighbor there with his '71 'cuda 340 Red, black interior, black billboards, and red wheels with dog-dishes. He stopped to talk to Dad, and Dad asked if he could take me and my brothers for a ride. That was my first burnout. I was probably about 8 years old at the time.

[caper150]

For me it was probably sometime in the Mid 70's, my cousin had a 67 Mustang, a friends brother had a 70 Chevelle SS396 and some other guys had a bunch of Mopars.I lived on the corner and could sit in the chair and every one of them that went around I would sit there and pick them out to my parents by the sound of the exhaust note,then I would get up look out the window to see I was right most of the time. My mom use to get upset because my bedroom walls were covered in car pics. from all the Magazines.