Here it is:

1976 Mercury Montego MX Villager!
The ****** weighed 6400 Lbs! And got 6 mpg with the carb'd 400 engine.

Got it for free, tho..





After that, I bought this:



A 1973 Triumph TR6
2.5 six in line, dual carbs, 5 speed. Hard and soft tops. Purple!

VIN CF5259U

I bought the car for 800 bucks, and spent about 12K on it. Weber carbs, reground cam, rebuilt engine, massive 235/60/15 tires, electric overdrive (which gave me a 7 speed gearbox), electronic ignition, electric fuel pump w/regulator, Pioneer cassette player (oh, yeah), paint job (911 Guard's Red) Fiberglass body panels, new top, the list goes on forever..
Drove the car for 7.5 years, till it broke in half on the freeway during aggressive downshifting. The frame just started dragging on the asphalt, sparks and all.
Sold it that week for $750 to some guy who was restoring a '69.

 

1984 pontiac fiero.

Worst car I ever owned, by far.

2nd car (and first one I got to actually drive a lot since it wasn't broken all the time) was a 1984 chevette. It was pretty shitty too.

 

97' Eclipse GS-T. Was my dad's, handed down to me when I was 16. Went through so many good times with that car. It finally grew to a 350whp, 13" brake sporting, GAB coilover riding shitbox. Open diff FOR. THE. LOSE.

I actually still have the thing, I haven't driven it in a long time though. Been trying to sell it slowly..

 

This car forced me to learn how to fix things. Front CV joint broke once while driving. The result was madd tyte camber, loss of brakes, and lots of sparks.

 

1968 Mercury Cougar, 302, dual glasspacks, Crager SS wheels

 

My first car was a 1978 MGB. Slow as oozing pine sap.

My next car was a brand new white 1990 Mazda Miata. I traded that car for the 95 Miata I still own today.

I have owned a 2 seater front engine rear drive convertible since I was 16 years old.

I plan to continue that tradition, and the day I am layed to rest, I still have a car in that same configuration.

 

My thoughts exactly.

First car was a '76 Beetle. It had been wrecked, and somebody "repaired" it by doing a half-assed Baja conversion. Not this one, but similar:



That car died in a fire when the battery fell down through the floorpan and set the interior ablaze.


Next was a '71 SuperBeetle convertible. This car was actually pretty sweet. Handled like crap, but fun.




Then I decided I needed a "real" car, so I got a '93 Grand Am. Big mistake. In addition to the automatic transmission problems, this was apparently GM's first foray into putting an aluminum head on an iron block. It went through three cylinder heads before I finally called it quits.




In the interim, my sister gave me her '91 Geo Metro LSi which she'd decided that she didn't like. This was actually a very fun car to drive in the city, though on the highway it felt more underpowered than the Beetles. Unfortunately, I discovered that while truck drivers don't seem to mind too much when you draft them in a Beetle, they get pissy when you do it in a Metro.





So then I bought my very first (and last) new car. 2000.





Next up was the '87 Celica GT. Stupid move. This car was an impulse buy, as I was just bored as hell with the Integra and wanted something fun again. It was in bad shape. Knocked all the time, transmission ground into second and third, leaked like a sieve, and had no end of electrical and cooling problems. I knew all this going in, I just didn't account for how quickly I'd tire of wrenching on it more than I was able to drive it. I think I spent more on parts for this car than I paid for the car.





After that, Miata #1 and Miata #2.

 

It's remarkable to see how many people left a life of automobile unreliability for Miatas, doubled or tripled their output, and still enjoy the reliability.

 

This thread made me realize something. My '90 Miata is now quite a bit older than my first Beetle was when I bought it.

Huh...

 

when I turned 16


I had 500 bucks in my wallet, saw this for $300. nabbed it for some reason, fixed up minor stuff, sold for $700. PROFIT


now to this for when I finally pick up my 5-speed same color from the warehouse... when I can afford to do so. :(
(reference photo... old pic)