A man’s first car is almost a sacred thing to him, even though he probably got rid of it when it started the cost too much money, but his love for it never dies until he does.  I remember a 1963 olive green Chevrolet Impala SS Super Sports, two door with a 327 high performance engine.  It’s too bad though that anyone who knows me knows my first car was really a Chevrolet Impala four door, 283 engine with an automatic transmission, but it was olive green in color. It was passed down from my father, then my brother to me. I always wanted to have another one to call my own and I tease my wife that if I ever win the lottery, I would buy one to fix up and restore.  I guess I also would have to find a red 1970 Volkswagen Beetle with four on the floor and fix it up as well. Those were the two cars that were my first cars and meant the most to me.  I remember I used to clean the ‘63 up so much that I thought I was going to wear out the paint and the seat covers.

 

I will always remember the first accessory I bought for that 1963 Chevrolet, even though it was stolen shortly after I bought it in the parking lot at Tech High School. It was a Radio Shack eight track stereo tape player.  I know a lot of you also remember every accessory and piece you added to your first car. These are the memories that make a lifetime worthwhile.  I know guys that drove total pieces of junk, however I bet most of them would trade in a brand new Cadillac for one just like what they had.  It’s almost a bond as strong as his marriage, but not quite.  I know that many of you can remember the day you traded it in and cannot figure out why you ever did it. I know that I didn’t get much for my ’63, but I did get a little red 1970 VW Bug. It was the absolute best fun driving car I have ever owned.

I not only fell in love with that 1970 VW Bug, but I also fell in love for the first time in my life with a young lady in that little red Volkswagen Bug.  Sometimes you just have to dream of what used to be to be thankful for what you have today.  That eight track tape player was the worst piece of junk that was ever made but I loved it dearly. I remember the first eight track tape I purchased was Helen Reddy and, it’s funny, I can’t remember any of the others that I had, but I had several before they were all stolen.  Today I use my IPhone to stream 1960’s music through my surround sound system in my BMW and it doesn’t give me any problems at all. It doesn’t eat tapes for lunch, it just streams music that I love and brings back many memories of the past.  Those two cars are long gone, but when I hear Seals and Croft or good old Beach Boys songs, I feel like I’m driving that 1963 Chevrolet Impala or my VW bug once again with my best girl Ursula by my side.  If you had your first car back, who would you want sitting in the seat beside you enjoying those old time memories.  Second star to the right and straight on till morning.