Your first car. A special vehicle for all of us. Our first glimpse at freedom and independence. A representation of getting out from under our parents thumbs. Usually our largest responsibility to date. "It's time to grow up."
A 1971 Chevrolet Vega Panel Express was mine.
2300cc l4 engine with the optional 2 barrel carb, giving it 110 hp. Dad even got the optional passenger seat. This was one of Chevy's ugly ducklings. It looked great on paper. Aluminum engine block saved on weight, but when combined with the cast iron head, led to long term problems. This car was designed to be shipped and thrown away without much thought of what happened in the middle.
Photo courtesy Autoblog
Mom and Dad got it new. Then my brother Bob had it in college. It finally made it’s way to me when I was about 14. As I remember the clutch was shot. This is the car that got me into cars. One day Dad came home from work and I had cleaned out the garage and had the Vega up in the air pulling the transmission out. He asked “You know what you’re doing under there?” I responded with “Yep, Got a manual!” That’s not something you’d want to hear from a mechanic, but from a 14 year old, it must have been a treat.
I drove the hell out of that car. It got me through high school and into college. I carried extra head gaskets with me. I could change a head gasket in about 10 minutes on the side of the road.
This photo is me at about 10 years old throwing a snowball at my brother.
Photo courtesy Bob Kenyon
Shortly into college, the engine blew. Not having time I asked Mom and Dad to check and see what a professional rebuild would cost. They got an estimate of $1800. I told them to hold off and I’d see what I could come up with. This is where the story begins of me and VW’s
Yeah, there’s something special about your first car. 50,000 miles so far on my very first car, and not a single issue, nor a single chip or a dent. Now I’m going to sell it and I guess this service https://www.faxvin.com/vin-decoder can help me a lot. They provide third-party validation of the history of the vehicle. I guess in this way I can ensure buyers that it’s a really good car. What do you think about it?
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good site to use. I'll have to check it out later. Thanks for the tip.
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