My firsr memorable ride was a 65 Mustang with 289 hi po. My uncle had it and I remember being scared to death that first ride . Afte rthat It was fun. My first real car was a 69 Mach 1 that I sold in 05 to move to Buick. The fastest was a 70 LS6 Chevelle 4 spd and it was unbelieveable. That car was too fast forthe street. The only car that I have riden that was close on the street was a special RAv in a 71 GTO that a friend had built. That car had a Toaster carb and a KB th400 behind a Tunnel port pontiac engine that was scxary fast. Get this the guy is a parapelegic and of coarse we had to be stopped by the cops. I have a lot of stories about Vic. All Pontiac 64 GTO convert with a ram Air III Shaker hood and a pissed off GOAT with flames coming out around its head on the hood. A 64 Tempest with a 421 SD and 3 duces Sleeper. The 71 HO car and a beautiful 70 RA III GTO convert. This guy had a 69 Pontiac Gran Prix in triple black converted to a convertable using a donor a body oolds I found for him. Seems like the only hard part was making the rear quarters work out but that job was done by Custom Jims of St Louis.
My first recalled ride in a musclecar was my dad's 69 4 speed AMX w/ a 390 when I was around 4 years old. Since then lots of dad's cars have come and gone, friends have had musclecars in my high school years (Ram Air IV car that got totaled, 66 396 Chevelle, couple of big block Mopar buddies as well as a screamin fast 340 Mopoar in Topeka that everybody knew about, numerous Mustangs and Camaro's from the late 60's, plus a buddy back home in western KS that had a 428CJ Ford. My first ride in a real Buick GS455 was Mike Garrison's brown GSX striped car back in like 85'...I was hooked on the 455 torque from then on. Literally, none of those cars mentioned above every had me white knuckling the seat and arm rest as Mikes cars did back then, w/ exception to that 340 which was nowhere near stock and I never rode in. Then I got my own and did the same to my passengers w/ the 70 4 speed car
1965-I was 11-neighbors older brother (17 at the time) "acquired" a 409-409 2x4 engine and T10 4 speed for his 62 belair 2 door post sedan. the engine swap was barely finished before we were burning rubber all over pennsylvanias crappy, narrow 2 lane streets. It's a wonder we didn't all die in that pos, but man I was hooked. 1966-new neighbor accross the street moves in with his K code 289-271 4 speed 65 mustang gt fastback-once again the hook is pulled deeper into me!! 1968-living in rural Michigan now, school mates older brother has a new R code 428 Cougar Eliminator, which I spend an entire friday night in, going waaaaaay over 100 on narrow michigan 2 lanes, racing anyone we come upon-then another high school freind buys a 1967 427 Impala which I spend a lot of time in-now there is no turning back, I am destined to wreck every car my parents own on my way to my own fast car ownership. Chris Lee-GREAT PHOTO!! thanks for sharing, now I fully understand where you and Tim get your "power sickness" from!:3gears: :3gears: :3gears:
Its' spring 1970, and I am finishing up some yardwork in the back yard. I hear a strange "me-meep", "me-meep" noise in the front of the house, coupled with a really lumpy idle. I run to the front of the house, and it is my best friend Rick sitting in my driveway with a BRAND NEW 1969 RoadRunner! 383, 4 speed Hurst, Coyote Duster hood with the blackout stripes, 3.91 Sure Grip, Red with a white gut, road wheels...just a knock out. His dad bought it for his high school graduation, for $3200 out the door....:beer Rick says "Got any gas money????". I sure did...$5 bought 15 gallons of Sunoco 260, 104 octane right out of the pump. We did a lot of cruising and street racing in that car. It had the nicest exhuast tone too......:TU:
Hello, I'm John, and I am a musclecar addict.... Crowd in unison : "Hello John!" In the early to mid 80's all the neighborhood kids(16-20) had late 60's & early 70's musclecars. My first ride as an early teen was in a 68 Chevelle primer in color, with a 327. The guy driving it spun wheels all the way to the gas station & all the way back, fishtailing it the whole time like the Dukes of Hazzard, but on pavement. I was scared & exhilirated at the same time. I became an instant car nut at that point. A neighborhood kid had a 70 Dodge Super bee 440 six pack(whatever that meant), yellow in color, no less! It was the loudest, scariest car I had ever seen or been in. Ever since those days I have been an addict and I'm here for help....... Thanks for letting me share.
Here is my first ride in a Muscle car and the reason why I have the Buicks I have today. This was my Dad's, and I remember going home after a night at the track and a May Fly came in the vent (as it was a non A/C car) and hit me in the face. The May flies were bad by Moter City Dragway back in the day I guess. Of course I am the kid on the right.
The first time I ever sat in a muscle car was in 68. My brother drove me to the local chevy dealer, "Farmer Dick's Chevrolet", for those that might know it, and after talking with one of the salesmen, they sat me in the brand new 69 Corvette on the showroom floor. They left me there for a while, and I remember all the grown-ups walking by and laughing (I was 9 at the time.), but I didn't care. When I left the salesman gave me one of the dealer brochures, which I looked at so much the pages fell apart and had to me taped back together.................. Duane
i guess it would have been the day i came home from the hospital in my moms 64 dodge polara 500 with a 426 wedge 4 speed. blue w/ a blue interior. my uncle bought it new in nj and drove the hell out of it. lost his license multiple times in 2 years and once he had my cousin his wife made him sell it. my mom had it till 78 and then sold it. i tried to find it back in 94, found the last registered owner and got some tail about it being stolen back in the late 80's and recovered but it was stripped. we talked for a while and once i told him the origanal motor was blown up in 65 and was replaced under warrenty he sounded really dissapointed. he probably still has it, mopar people are weird anyways. merry christmas to all.
Jeff What year was that shot taken? I know it is old from cars in background and Polyglas on your Blue GS Stage 1 but the color and quality of photo is very nice for an old pic? Tell us about your dad's GS Stage 1 car?
A friend came over with his 66 GTO four speed Vert he just bought and threw me the keys and said lets go cruising. That was 1969. My car was a 61 Chevy Biscayne 6 cylinder with three on the tree so the Goat felt like I was flying. Mole said "quit grinning like that you look goofy". I was hooked and have spent a lifetime paying the price. My first car with a real motor was a 1963 413 wedge tropper car my dad got off a friend for $600.00 in 1970. Fortunately I worked for a gas station (high test for $.28-.31/gallon) that sold tires so I had an endless supply of used tires to burn. Those were the days. Mikey
When I was a kid of about 5 my dad drove a '62 T-bird which was ok I guess but he had a buddy with a '58 Chevy convertable. It was white and red with a white and red interior, the first time I got to ride in it with the top down was incredible. I can still see the houses and trees going by in my head. I thought that was the greatest thing ever and never recovered from the 'vert fever.
My first ride was in a 71 Roadrunner. However, I was in a car seat because I was just born a few hours before. I never really thought about it before, but it's pretty cool that I came home from the hospital in a cool car. Mom and Dad sold the Roadrunner and bought a 75 Volare station wagon to be more "responsible parents".ou: Someday I'll be rich enough to buy Dad another Roadrunner. The first ride I remember was in my uncle's brand new Corvette in 84 or 85. He still talks about to this day.
Hi Rich, This picture was taken in 1971, my mom and dad were huge fans of slides instead of regular pictures and they were insistent upon keeping all of the negatives. Last year my sister, for a Christmas present to me, put together a small set of pictures from the negatives that she transferred to a CD so I have some very high quality pictures from the past. In 1971 my dad originally was looking at the GTOs as his buddy had a 389 Tri-power that was the fastest thing on the planet and one day while on his way home from work the car he was driving broke down. As luck would have it he was picked up by a guy who owned a Buick dealer and as they got to talking, the owner of the Buick dealer convinced my dad that a Stage 1 would crush a GTO, so he bought the one on the showroom floor. The car was a bench seat, non air, no option car with the column shift. He ran at Motor City Dragway every weekend in 1971 and cleaned up in the F stock automatic class, then as car count dwindled as noone wanted to go against the Buick they started putting headered cars in the class, he lost to a Mach 1 with headers and traded the car in the next Monday as he heard a 1972 Corvette was faster. The was the last time my dad was at the track with the Stage 1...
My first ride was in my cousin's 67 Chevelle SS 327 4 speed, around 1970 or so. The first muscle car I ever drove was a 71 Boss 351, owned by a friend of a friend. At 6' 5" and around 265 in those days, it was a tight fit. That was the day I got hooked on solid lifter cams, and 4 speeds. First muscle car I owned was a 71 Mach 1, 429 SCJ, 4 speed, Drag Pack car. I was pretty much King of the Street here with that car. I recently discovered that it was a dealer promotional car, and "might" have had a factory blueprinted engine. Love all the great stories.:TU: :beer Keep them coming.
Thanks Jeff I bet your dad never found a faster car did he? Impressive shots ,they look as if they were taken this past summer...wow!
Shirl's 1970 GS 350 with Bruce behind the wheel. I could not believe how fast that car moved and it was just a 350! That got me hooked.:TU:
What is a muscle car? When I was just a little kid in the late 50s I could tell what make and year practically everything on the road was. I was a car guy for some reason right from the start, although my parents were not really. My father had nice cars (good taste) but seldom washed them and didn't lift a wrench or screw driver to any of them. Maybe it was WW2, he was a mechanic in the army (motorboat engines) and didn't want to do it anymore due to bad memories. Anyhow, I remember cruising in the family 53 Olds, 58 Olds 88, and 57 Buick Roadmaster Convertible (white with red interior). The Olds and Roadmaster really had a kick when passing somebody. Back in the late 50s it was mostly two lane roads and passing cars was a regular affair. You needed the power to do it, and I really enjoyed when we passed cars with the pedal to the metal, downshifting, carb and engine whining, etc. I also remember once seeing people run off the road when the passing car couldn't make it work and merged in too soon. They tried to pass too many cars in a row. Some of you may remember what that was like, before the interstates. Sometimes passing four or six cars, then braking to squeeze back into the line of cars going just one or two car lengths apart. Real muscle cars came later. My father had a 64 Riv and a 66 Riv GS for family cars along the way and they hauled ass as far as I was concerned. The 64 had the nameplate in it since he ordered it from the factory "This car especially made for John Mullen" or something like that. These Buicks were cool! He brought home a new 69 Electra Convertible as a surprise gift for my mother but she objected, so he took it back and exchanged it for a 69 Electra 4dr sedan. Damn... I just got a brief look at it but I think it was red/black/black. The two Rivs were also "surprises" so I guess she deserved a say once in a while what she'd be driving. He got her hand me down and kept the 66GS Riv. I just turned 16 and got his 61 Corvair 4spd coupe that he'd been using to commute to the train station. Slow but kind of fun too. First car I rode in faster than my father's cars was I guess a 68 340 Barracuda in 1970, although I could have given him a run in the 66 Riv GS. He got it up to 135 on a two lane road and scared the hell out of me. A buddy had a 65 Chevelle SS 283 4spd that I could trounce with my dad's car. A couple years later he had a 70 Challenger 440 six pack that would trounce me back. That was the fastest car I rode in up to that time. It felt like the skin on my face was stretching when he put it through the gears. I got my first Buick of my own in 1972. Brand new SunCoupe 350 2bbl. Not fast but very pretty all optioned and AC. My college room mate from 1973 -75 had a 1971GS455 coupe no option car that would eat just about anyone for breakfast. I burned the tires up when he'd let me borrow it. I don't really have a first muscle car that I can think of. Just cars. I love cars. Especially the old Buicks that I grew up with. You didn't have to apologize to anyone. They had plenty of "pep" as my mom would have said. She wasn't afraid to step on the gas pedal either when she wanted to get by someone or get somewhere fast.
I spent some time today talking to a local sheriff about muscle cars. He pointed to a mailbox about 300ft away and said he could burn the tires (posi) down to that box. "This isn't your father's Crown Victoria." he said. They use the same cars in the county as the State Troopers do for highway patrol. I told him I'd been looking at used cop cars as a second car (true). He said he's got over 130K miles on his and it still runs great. From what he said, besides Chevy's in his past he's also raced some MoPars, and a couple old Mustangs as well as having a couple Harleys. Very cool guy. He stopped in front of the house to compliment me on the 71 black/gold GSX clone in my garage which I was sweeping out at the moment. One of several stories: He said he was following a kid in a Nova out of the local high school recently. The kid didn't notice him even with the roof rack lights, so the kid goosed it coming out in the school zone. He flipped on the lights to give the kid a warning but the kid kept going to the next street, then goosed it again down that street. So the sheriff is following and jabs it at the turn as well thinking the kid's running on him and said he almost rear ended the nova. "Must not have had much in it" he told me. The kid pulled in a driveway down the street and stopped, the sheriff pulled up and the kid looked surprised. He said "I didn't see you!" The sheriff said he looked around in the car, saw the old small rear view mirror and side mirror but says to the kid... "Looks like the mirrors work, must be driver error. Don't speed in the school zone anymore." or something along those lines. He said, kids are going to do dumb stuff, we all did. But don't be stupid and do it when I can see it. Kid got lucky with a warning. But the point is, the Crown Vic almost rear ended the Nova when he was goosing it. So getting back to your story, a solid police criuser is a fast car and can be had for about $4500. And you also get a lot of respect on the highway because it looks like it's a cop car which it was. They're all over ebay, and I'm slowly trolling for a good one. I'm looking for one with the spotlight still on it. It would be the first Ford I ever owned if I find one I can't resist.
