Car that made the biggest impression on you!

[RoostKing]

What was the car that has made the biggest impression on you? As a kid, my dad was always into hot rods, but didnt have the money for anything really nice(except for the 1970 Mercury GT he bought new) but we always had something "cool" in the garage.. 1969 convertible Chevelle, various impalas and mustangs, which probably shaped my desire to own a Chevelle some day.. That all changed when I was 15 and I met an older friend of a friend who came to pick us up in his primer grey 1968 Road Runner with newly transplanted 440/727 combo. I didn't know what a real hot rod was until that fateful day, err night! It didn't matter that the car needed body work, it didn't matter that the 50 series tires rubbed on the rear quarter panel, nor did it matter(much) that he had to put the car into drive with a coat hanger (LOL) what mattered was the HP2 block with forged internals , Mopar purple cam with 902 heads topped with gold Moroso valve covers, and about 600 miles on the build! The first time he got on it and we fish tailed down the street, my allegiance had changed forever. I had become a mopar man, even if I was still a boy. Chevelles were out and any Mopar was in. I dove into the history of Mopar and just can believe there are not more like us!

Anyways, I eventually owned that motor, rebuilt it and stuck it into my 1968 coronet(yes the 50 series rubbed on that too, but at least I had a real shifter!) I had some wild times street racing that car, made a few bucks(very few) and more importantly, learned about cars with it.
I eventually sold the car but kept the motor and bought a pretty straight 1969 barracuda that used to race in Cali. collected parts for years , including a 6 pack manifold and actually had the motor stroked to 500 CI, but I transferred to Arizona and sold it all to pay off some credit cards.. Biggest mistake of my life, but what can you do. This is the path I have traveled that has led me to the current Challenger..


So, what was the car that changed you forever!

[68RT/71GTX]

When it came time to buy my first new car, I went straight to the Chev dealership and ordered a 68 Chevelle SS396 sight unseen. On the way home, I stopped at a Pontiac dealership and the salesman asked if had seen the SD396 Beaumont (Canadian equivalent). The high back window reaaly turned me off the car and I called the next day and cancelled the Chevelle. At that point I did not know what to look at. My younger brother told me everyone at school was raving about the Roadrunner. I went to the dealer and they said 6 weeks wait. I was too impatient. I went to a Dodge dealer and when I walked in, they had a brochure on the wall that showed the 68 Coronet R/T in bright blue metallic backed up to a lake. I was sold. It took 4 months to get the car (delivered 12/24/67), but I still have the brochure, bill of sale and most importantly, the car. It is still the best car I have ever had.

[JS29R0B]

...as a kid, I was probably influenced by the Corvette more than any other car out there...they were kool...later on, "Route 66" brought the car into my living room every week, kool guys, kool music. and the Vette..

...my dad always owned Fords, usually big engined convertibles...to this day, I have always had a great love for a top down cruise, nothing beats it

...my first car was a 55 Chevy hot rod, followed shortly by a new 68 GTO convertible...always have owned a convertible...the introduction of the GTO was another watershed moment in my childhood...I wasn't even old enough to drive, but I rode my bike to the local GM dealer to look at the new 64 GTO.... Jan and Dean and others all sang about the GTO, many of the kool guys in town owned them, I wanted to be like the kool guys too.....the GTO was a cultural icon in the 60s

[Cuda340]

I was most impressed by a neighbor owned a 1969 Hemi Charger. It was tan with a red bumble bee tail stripe. It looked and sounded great!

[340EBody]

The original Challenger. Still the best. Also, as a close runner up, the Viper is just an awesome machine for the money.

[NOTSURE]

First car I was just enamored over was my Dad's 1964 sting ray,many a time I got the Ole"Don't tell anyone what I'm about to do", speech.
Later on as a teenager it Had to be a used 1969-or was it a 1970 z 28 my Buddy's folks bought him for a freaking graduation gift.

Next and foremost was a Black hemi cuda some neighborhood guy tooled around in.
This car was mean it snarled as it passed by ...Got to go for a ride in it several times each was time was more hair-raising then the last.
I remember the guy wore huge bell bottoms and had Big-old stack of 8 tracks in his front seat ..
Wasn't it great how every time a song just got cranking you would hear the 8 track change tracks,Ker-chunk,right in the middle of a song..
Peter Frampton would just be whaling and Ker-Chunk.
Those were the days!
Oh and an honorable mention to the old Chevy 11 Nova's (box's)with a shoehorned 327/396/or a 427 in it,ouch.
Something about its simplicity that caught my attn many years ago.

[JS29R0B]

Originally Posted by NOTSURE

First car I was just enamored over was my Dad's 1964 sting ray,many a time I got the Ole"Don't tell anyone what I'm about to do", speech.
Later on as a teenager it Had to be a used 1969-or was it a 1970 z 28 my Buddy's folks bought him for a freaking graduation gift.

Next and foremost was a Black hemi cuda some neighborhood guy tooled around in.
This car was mean it snarled as it passed by ...Got to go for a ride in it several times each was time was more hair-raising then the last.
I remember the guy wore huge bell bottoms and had Big-old stack of 8 tracks in his front seat ..
Wasn't it great how every time a song just got cranking you would hear the 8 track change tracks,Ker-chunk,right in the middle of a song..
Peter Frampton would just be whaling and Ker-Chunk.
Those were the days!
Oh and an honorable mention to the old Chevy 11 Nova's (box's)with a shoehorned 327/396/or a 427 in it,ouch.
Something about its simplicity that caught my attn many years ago.

...for some odd reason, I still have all of my 8 track tapes

[6ix]

well as a kid had to be the General Lee watching the Dukes of hazzered was what me and my dad did every week. turned me on to the whole muscle car era, so while all my friends are talking and playing with their lil honda's and 4 bangers i held back and have been driving my 87 ford f-150 untill i can get my own true muscle car.......09 Challenger SRT

[Ragamuffin]

I'll have to proudly admit it was a 1971 Dodge Challenger Se Convertible with the 383 Magnum [cannot remember if manual,auto or Slap-Stik auto] !It had one of Chrysler's/Dodge's "weird" colors ; kind of a Brown Mustardy Tan ,aka unknown ! It did have some power though [accompanied by a thrilling sound] that made an easy "blow dry" of my then longish hair. This was back in the Fall of 1973 when I attended WIU.It was one of my best friends,who lived in Belvidere, Illinois ;which a lot of you know is where Chrysler has a manufacturing plant [now Calibers,Jeep models]. I've often wondered if his Dad or relative worked there,since looking back must have been a rare model : as well as think now[ aka 'Flash Back'] , " Man that thing was only about 2 years old" !!! What a powerful muskle car...Wah,Wah ! I think RJ let me drive it once. I almost seem to vaguely remember him noticing that I, Ragamuffin, may have been ascared of it's ultimate power !!!

[fishstyx]

My dad owned a trucking business and co-signed on a '70 Challenger w/ a 440 and a 4 speed for one of the drivers. The guy didn't pay the loan and dad repoed the car and stuffed it in the back of the truck shop, blocking it in with trucks. Well, one weekend mom and dad went on a trip and guess who got the trucks out of the way to get the Chally out. That's the last one I've driven, until July 8th when my new gets here. I didn't have to wash trucks and sweep the shop for a summer as punishment to get this one though!