Can you go home again? First car content inside.

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DesertBarracuda

DesertBarracuda

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Location
Whitewater, CA
Greetings all. On Nov. 17, 1976 I bought my first car. I was 17, a senior in high school, and I had started my very first job over summer vacation. I had some money saved up and I didn't want to keep borrowing my Mom's car. I had fun with it for a couple of years, then it started having electrical issues. So I moved on.
Of course as you get older, nostalgia starts to creep back into your life. For the last 5 years I have been seriously looking for another one. Cars would pop up here and there, but nothing really sounded like The One.
Then, at the end of Sept '21, IT appeared! It was a dark and lonely night on EBay when I saw IT. I contacted the seller for some additional info, and to make a long story short, it arrived on Oct 17.
So I present to you, except for the engine, an EXACT COPY of my very first car.
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1966 Barracuda. White, red interior, console w/floor shift. Mine was a slant 6, this has a 318, 727, and an 8 3/4 Sure Grip out of a 73 Plymouth. It originally was a 273 2bbl.
I bought it from a guy that got it from the estate of the previous owner who passed in 2019. Looking at the stack of receipts that came with the car, he spent a LOT of money restoring it. New paint, interior, brakes, suspension bushings and a bunch more. He passed before it could be completed, so there are a lot of little things that need to be done, like alignment, get the radio back in, and stuff like that.
Boy, talk about nostalgia smacking you upside the head! Visual yeah, but the sounds! The starter. The door closing. the little "spprrooiinngg" sound the latch makes when you shut the hood. I'm a happy guy!
I'll start a thread in the Restoration forum documenting the things I've done, and will do.
 
My first Mopar was a 66 Coronet 440 with a poly 318, AC and power windows.

I'd love to know how many were built like that, but I've been looking for almost 40 years and have never seen another.
 
DesertBarracuda said:
Greetings all. On Nov. 17, 1976 I bought my first car. I was 17, a senior in high school, and I had started my very first job over summer vacation. I had some money saved up and I didn't want to keep borrowing my Mom's car. I had fun with it for a couple of years, then it started having electrical issues. So I moved on.
Of course as you get older, nostalgia starts to creep back into your life. For the last 5 years I have been seriously looking for another one. Cars would pop up here and there, but nothing really sounded like The One.
Then, at the end of Sept '21, IT appeared! It was a dark and lonely night on EBay when I saw IT. I contacted the seller for some additional info, and to make a long story short, it arrived on Oct 17.
So I present to you, except for the engine, an EXACT COPY of my very first car.
View attachment 1715833429 View attachment 1715833428 View attachment 1715833430
1966 Barracuda. White, red interior, console w/floor shift. Mine was a slant 6, this has a 318, 727, and an 8 3/4 Sure Grip out of a 73 Plymouth. It originally was a 273 2bbl.
I bought it from a guy that got it from the estate of the previous owner who passed in 2019. Looking at the stack of receipts that came with the car, he spent a LOT of money restoring it. New paint, interior, brakes, suspension bushings and a bunch more. He passed before it could be completed, so there are a lot of little things that need to be done, like alignment, get the radio back in, and stuff like that.
Boy, talk about nostalgia smacking you upside the head! Visual yeah, but the sounds! The starter. The door closing. the little "spprrooiinngg" sound the latch makes when you shut the hood. I'm a happy guy!
I'll start a thread in the Restoration forum documenting the things I've done, and will do.
Click to expand...

These classic cars are like Time Machines, taking you and the people around you back to the good times.

Good for you, nice find on your old mopar.
 
Really, Really nice car........we all know that you'll enjoy it for a long time. 318 and 8 3/4 are a big plus, but I'd probably put an aluminum intake and a 4 barrel on it if it doesn't already have them?????!!!! You didn't mention the rear gear ratio??
 
Unfortunately for me, I can't afford to go back. Found these pics online that looks just like my first car when I turned 16 in 1971. It
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was a 68 Charger R/T 440 automatic.
 
Congratulations on finding a car identical to your first car!
Good looking Barracuda.
I'm certain a ton of memories come flooding right back every time you open the door and get in.
 
1) Welcome.
2) Yes you CAN go back. In 1969, I bought a new 69 Barracuda 340 4 speed Formula S. I traded it in two years later. Been kicking myself ever since. In 1992, I bought a 1969 Barracuda 340 Automatic Non Form S. I restored it to look exactly like my first one and converted it to a 4 speed. Every time I drive it, I feel 50 years younger.
3) Nice looking car. I really like the white / red color combo.
Post lots of pictures. In a way, you got the best of both worlds. You got a great car that had already had a lot of money spent on it, and there are things left for you to work on.
 
If I could go back to highschool, it would not be for my first car. not even the second or third. It would be for;
Mona, Lesley, Beverly, Dale, Gizelle, Nancy, Tracy, Jennifer, Bonny, Luba, and VaVaVoom Veronica, etc.
 
Yes you can and it’s the greatest thing ever. Not my first car but my favorite car. In 1981, as a 21 year old I bought a ‘68 GTS and enjoyed it for years. Sold in ‘97 and regretted it.

Last year my son bought and gave back to me for Father’s Day my old GTS. Not another car like it but my old car and driving it is just like being a kid again.

Enjoy your new found youth.

Cliff Ramsdell
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Me in 1983 ish
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Me in 2020, the very same car.
 
Welcome, great story! I still have my first car, bought it 1975, 66 Formula S, 4spd. Yes nostalgia
 
Mine was a 70 charger sold it the guy who bought it didnt want it after a few years & junked it by the time i heard about it it was crushed so later in life i bought another one & like a dumb *** i sold that one also needed a car with good gas mileage i know where that one is & he will not sell it now i cant afford one i fucked up twice & now im paying for it if you know what i mean
 
Some great stories here.
My first car was a 67 Charger, 318, auto, 8 3/4, 4 bucket seats and full length console. Such a cool car, red with a black interior. Unfortunately it was a real bondo bucket, even at 15 years old I knew it was bad, so I sold it a few weeks before my 16th birthday and bought a 68 Fairlane 500 2 dr hardtop, 289 auto. That one was a really solid car, got t-boned by a drunk driver and totalled it. Would be cool to find another one like it.
Except for the hood scoop, this is it.
15865180-1968-ford-fairlane-500-std.jpg
 
My first car was officially a 70 cuda, but I didn't like it and had a lot of problems with it and it brought too much unwanted attention to me so I will say my first car that I loved was a 72 dart swinger with a slant six and bench seat. Still have it 17 years later and still love it although it needs a restoration now.
 
All I have to do is go out to the barn. 53 years ago my mother bought it for me.
 
70 Charger 500 SE 383 Magnum , 727 , A/C , Power front Discs , HD susp , Tow pkg , 6 way seat , Mag 500s , Tic-toc-tach , 3.23s , light pkg , and too many buzzers .
Its in my avatar behind my Barracuda... but I broke down and sold it a few years back .
 
Great story!! What a great feeling to "go home again". Nothing can do that more than the sounds, smells, sights, and feeling you get while driving down the road your "first" car. Congrats!!

Welcome to FABO!!
 
AJ/FormS said:
If I could go back to highschool, it would not be for my first car. not even the second or third. It would be for;
Mona, Lesley, Beverly, Dale, Gizelle, Nancy, Tracy, Jennifer, Bonny, Luba, and VaVaVoom Veronica, etc.
Click to expand...
You left out Boom Boom LaRoom.
 
that was Jack's daughter, and Ron's girl. and everyone else's as far as that goes; They say every school has a French girl that likes the boys, but I wouldn't know.
They say our school had more than one ......... I had no clue. When it came to girls I was one dumb sob.
So; I'd like to go back and rectify that situation.....
I'm kind of glad, no one has yet figured out how to go back in time.
 
Yep would love to have a few of my old rides and ride a few of the girls I knew.
 
Every time I drive my 73 Satellite with the Road Runner hood, I am reminded of my 70 Super Bee's "pitchfork" hood.
I think that counts.

The Coronet I had when I was 17 was white with a blue interior.
My 67 Belvedere wagon is the same color combo, so I'm close on that one as well.
 
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