What was your 1st car? & and 1st G-Body?

[dogsht]

First car was a 76 Chevy malibu with a 350sbc. It ran well and served me well. At 16 I ran it flat on the floor at 110/115mph for miles & miles many times and smoked up a couple sets of recaps with her. Learned how to do lots with her.

First gbody was my 87 Grand National that I bought new. It ran great stock. First time I had ever been to a drag strip she ran a 13.9 at 98mph box stock. Chip, K&N, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, threaded waste gate rod, a boost gauge, a lil race fuel and some cheap soft compound recaps and she ran 12.7s at 107mph. Not bad for about $500. Last time out she ran 12.4 at 109mph on pump gas & methanol injection.

My next gbody was an 88 Cutlass that I bought with the plan to put a big block in because I always wanted one, at the same speed it would be more reliable and streetable than a small block, and because I didn't want to tear up the GN doing donuts and playing on the street. I though I would find an Olds 455 since they are cheap & attainable and its an Olds. Ended up with a Cadillac 500 engine for free and had lots of fun with that car until someone pulled out in front of me and I totaled her. Still like the Olds 455 but knowing what I now know of the two I would take the Cad if I could only have one.

As luck would have it I found the 442 you see in my pics for cheap and transfered the engine & built 200-4R from the 88 into it. Both the GN & 442 had the combo to run as quick as 11.5 at 115 mph on pump gas with the right tune, traction & a good drag racer behind the wheel. That said I think the 442 was more fun around town. Partly because it was so torquey and partly because lots of people would line up to the 442 & or the 88. In fact Mustangs and Camaros would taunt you. The only ones that would pull up to the GN were serious cars packing for bear and were almost always spraying. I only ran a 12.5 at 110 with the Cutlass but never got around to getting the carberator or timeing etc dialed. It definately had a lot more in it. Never the less the responsiveness and drag radial wasting torque no brakes required made it crazy fun to drive. Gbodys are a great platform to build a great high performance street car out of.

I learned its harder to build a reliable mid/high 11 second pump gas street car that you could drive across country than it is to build a 10.5 second drag car. Its also a lot more fun and useable. I enjoyed them way more than I could have ever gotten to the drag strip or used a drag only type ride.

I would love to get my 509ci Cady powered 442 back partly because it was unique and I built and upgraded about everything on that car and partly because it was so much fun. If not the idea of turboed LS motored g appeals to me as well. Time will tell. Thanks for reading and happy hot rodding. Hey just build something cool. 8)

 

[Joeyg329]

My first car was my first g body. 84 monte carlo CL, it had the snazzy velour interior, 70k miles on it, 305, used to be a nice grey/silver but after i plowed a bmw i got a nice primer front end. i bought the car when i was 16 (im 25 now) for 650 bucks out of the news paper. The Ad said 305 4 barrell, for some reason in my youthful ignorance it spelled performance to me. It had holes in the exhaust, so it sounded great when i bought it haha (like sh*t by my standards now, but hey). When i first got my license first thing i went to do was a powerbrake burn out. But the car just lifted and sat there hahaha. Had the car up until my second year of collage and then it traded hands between friends of mine until it met its demise. I hopped up the 305, changed the trans and rear and put cragar ss rims on it, best it went was 14.8. I was so excited to hit a 14, i thought that car was fast! Now im almost in the 9's haha. I learned alot on this car, and it paved way for my career in cars and my love of g bodies. Everyone i graduated with remembers that car to this day. The stories and trouble i got into in this car will never be forgotten.

 

[fomoco71]

My first car was a '70 LTD 4dr hardtop w/51k, given to me by my grandmother(still got it). First car I actually bought (so I didn't destroy the LTD) was a '73 Maverick Grabber. 302/c4 w floor shift & bucket seats. Really rusty, it is being continually cannabolized to keep my other Mavericks/Comet up & going. My first g-body was a pretty nice black '84 t-top Cutlass...too bad it had the extra gutless(read-worn out)3.8 v6. My g-body list includes a '78 Cutlass w350 chevy, '80 Malibu w350 chevy, a really nice '79 Malibu body I wish I'd kept and an '80-something Regal body that I sold for $75(no title). I also had a '78 Delta 88 that had a worn out greaseball of a 455 Olds swapped in place of the blown 301 Pontiac(yuk) it came with. With 2.41 gears,dual 2" exhaust and a cheapo shift kit the old Delta ran 9.60s in the 1/8 before it busted all the spider gears. Fun sleeper car.

 

[87SS383]

My first car was an 82 Cutlass w/V8 260. I got it when I was 14, stripped its guts during winter, but there was a leak from the coolant inlet on the engine, some water/coolant seeped into the block and cracked it. So after that we found a cheap 86 Regal. I have it still to this day in storage. 350H.O. crate engine, TH350, 2" Eibach lowering springs, dayton 13" 100 spoke rims on white wall tires. the interior was immaculate, so all i had to do was steam clean the sh*t out of it a voila. Even the vinyl top was serviceable to my suprise.

 

[marcar1993]

My first cars came as a pair... When I was 9 or so my grandma got sick and I took over care of her 91 acclaim and 72 satellite, though I had kinda adopted the satellite already...
First g-body is the first car I bought. I was looking for a project after my dad stopped me from playing with the wagon (thanks dad). I wanted another 60's or 70's mopar or a 74/75 t/a (dad already has a 76). Well at the young age I was all of those cars were way out of budget, also this was at the height of the muscle car prices. So one day I was out for a ride with my grandpa and saw a for sale sign in this rather beat up looking 87 cutlass. Took the number and told my dad. My grandpa wasn't expecting his 13 year old grandson to buy it, but what a shock he was in for.

Right after I got it and cleaned it up. (wash, vacuum. Basically SCRUBBED in and out...)

There is more damage spread out you can't see in these pics. Like the blown rad, that the car was driven with, that fried the alternator and the butchered wiring. The front end was replaced at a junkyard, it was junked but the yard slapped a new front end on and resold it instead of salvage titling it. They never hooked up the MAP sensor with the new front clip. The matching dent in the 1/4 that is nearly gone. The hood rust, I removed it and temporarily bondo'd but it's returning. And don't get me started on the lack of maintenance.

What it looks like now.

As of now there is a 403 in the garage with #5 heads waiting on some funds for a new trans to be dropped in. I have the th350 core, just gotta get some parts... Basically following the "texastransams" build, which got a 200lbs heavier car going 13.6's. I'll be happy for 13.99.
Next thing needed is a rear with 3.08-3.73 gears. Then we start collecting parts for a the manual trans swap... Then we get into suspension work... I have plenty of stuff I want to do, it's gonna take a while.

 

[B1tchin'-Buick]

first car was a G-Body..... 79'Cutluss Supreme >>>>>Bench seats really came in handy during high school years

 

[2fit661ca]

bench seat was a big influence here!!!

 

[cdg1984]

Lol...try it in an 84 cavalier with a console, that was always a challenge. It was worth it tho. :wink:

 

[1evilregal]

my first car was a '74 impala 2dr with the police package 350 4bbl, that finally threw the #1 rod through the oil pan(one of the only times I actuall drove it like a civilized human being! :? ). I guess that explains the soft spot I have for rwd impalas and caprices.( real impalas don't have FWD, IMO )

my first G-body experince came in the form of a completely worn out and abused 83 GP with the console automatic and would do 0-60 in 3.2 weeks I was selling it to my sorry brother-in-law for $100, and he still stiffed me on it!

I originally purchased my current 82 regal as a DD, but after driving it, I decided it would be more than just something to go to point A-to B... I've even gotten into arguments with the wife over it!

I've even owned a couple of g-body predecessors, consisting of a 77 grand prix with the 400 small block and t-tops, and a 76 cutlass salon with 350 rockett and hurst "t" shifter...(the salon is one of the few cars I've ever driven over 140 mph... the others I did were while I was stationed in germany, where it's actually legal to do that! )

thanks for the trip down memory lane guys! enjoy your cars like your memories!

 

[madmaxstyle]

I didnt know at the time how cool the old wagon really was, but my 1st car was a GBody -
1981 Chevrolet Bel Air came with the sbc350/th350 I think it was factory as it was a police unit at one time. I havnt seen one since (a bel air from the 80's)it was a mean machine. The bel air looked like the malibu/el camino of the same year not sure if they came in sedan but the one I had was a wagon.