I learned to drive in a chevy pickup truck that had a three on the tree,
dead shocks and a plugged cat which gave it all of aobut 1/4" of throttle
response. Oh, and the clutch was bad. Of course, when you stalled it, you
lost both power steering and brakes.
But I usually got to drive my mom's car. A beautiful '78 Firebird. It was
one of those rare light-blue Skybird models. (recently sold to the neighbor
who dad had hired to restore it). That 350ci engine and slushbox tranny
weren't the quickest combination around, but it would take it up well past
double the speed-limit without hesitation. The positrack rearend was named
such because it was positively deadly on icy roads.
I put one dent in that car when I rolled over a big rock. Fortunately mom
was in the car so she saw that it really wasn't my fault. (grin). Besides,
two days earlier she got the front bumber damaged when she hit another car
pulling out onto the street. We covered for each other. (double grin).
My own first car was a 4-door Dodge Omni. This was kinda the American
equivalent to the Mini, except it ran. Mine had the 1.7L VW motor in it that
absolutely rocked. It ran circles around the larger Mitsubishi-based engine.
Man, was that car fun. Stick-shift and no power nothing. I did do a couple
minor tweeks to the suspension with nice shocks and alignment and height
adjustments. It hoofed it. Unfortunately, to Moose's point, without the
recline-to-flat seats, the gear-shift ended up in places less than
comfortable. That car got T-boned in the driver's door, spun around and
planted into a power pole. It was bananna shaped in two directions. There is
a high likelihood that my current back-pain is at least partially
attributable to that crash.
But all the cars since then were better, faster, more comfortable and
longer-lasting. Yet, we never forget our first loves. Whether they be
automotive or facilitated by automotive. :)
AG
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