First Time You Rode In A Powerful Car

[BrooseDaMoose]

Do you remember the first time you ever rode in a powerful car, or truck? What was it and what about it put that “Perma-Grin” on your face? For me, it was a 68 Dodge Charger with a built 440 Hemi that had a tunnel-ram intake with 2 Holley carbs on top. I had just turned 17 and moved down to Florida to live with my brother. The car belonged to his friend Rory, who owned lots of toys. We had gone to eat at TJI Friday’s where my brother’s girlfriend worked. As we were leaving, he decided to show off! He pulled out onto a four-lane, divided road sideways, fish-tailed it back to cut across a break in the median and then proceeded through the intersection at the light, still sideways, rolling smoke off the back tires! I couldn’t stop smiling for at least 15 minutes! There was no looking back from there! What’s your story?


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[JADE97]

440 Hemi??

 

[Mustang5L5]

Over the years i've ridden in/driven more progressively powerful vehicles. I've lost track.

First legitimately fast car I rode in was when i was 16 and got in my buddyes modified '86 Mustang GT. This was back in mid 90's, so by those standards then it was quick. Later on, i rode in my other friends modded '93 coupe with a 351 and blower. That was the first car that ever scared me.

I have Mustangs now, including one that is decently modified and fast, so I get my thirst for speed satisfied.

I've driven a 2020 GT500 on track before and that was probably the fastest, straight line vehicle i've ever driven myself. I've also driven a Porsche 911 GT3 on track and that was probably the fastest vehicle i've ever driven in a circle. That sucker just turns .

Explorer ST is quick enough to satisfy my daily driving needs, which is all I was looking for.

 

[BrooseDaMoose]

440 Hemi??

Sorry, I’m not a Dodge guy. May not have been a hemi but it was definitely a 440. It was 50 years ago so my memory is not as sharp as it used to be.


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[Gadgtfreek]

Magnum PI-style Ferrari in the 80s. First owned, 2019 Mustang GT PP2 Need for Green. 6-speed manual, full exhaust, and tuned. I'll always love that car.

Ive modified into fast and comfy. Which I why I moved from an Edge ST, to the Exploder ST.

 

[Chairborne Ranger]

I grew up in a town with a lot of wealthy people back in the 70's. I got a chance to ride in all sorts of exotics including Porsche Carrera 911 Turbos, Lotus Europa, DeTomaso Pantera, XKE Jaguar, you get the idea. The pinnacle however was a '72 Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4 with the 4.4 liter V-12, it would do 60+ MPH in first gear. The handling and braking were also superior to any domestic car and the engine sound under full throttle was seductive to a teenage kid.

 

[UNBROKEN]

“Powerful” is subjective.
I had a supercharged 93 Mustang in 94 that was fast on the street but I was driving a car for a friend at the same time that went 8.60’s on the track…that was much quicker.
I’ve had 800-1000 HP daily drivers…lots of fun in their day but would pale in comparison today.
The first time I felt something was truly powerful was a friends car built for TX2K that we geared out at 225 mph on the highway. Car made over 2000hp.

 

[edog]

A coworker give me a ride home from work in his 1968 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 Magnum. Lots of torque, it was impressive.

 

[UNBROKEN]

A coworker give me a ride home from work in his 1968 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 Magnum. Lots of torque, it was impressive.

This is where rose colored glasses come in to play. That car was barely quicker than a stock Explorer ST.

 

[SETXExpSTGuy]

This is where rose colored glasses come in to play. That car was barely quicker than a stock Explorer ST.

Yeah, likely not even as quick, not to mention that our modern-day grocery-getting Explorer STs could literally drive circles around anything of that era all the while stopping 50% shorter, or more, from 60-0.

The stock 1968 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 Magnum engine typically recorded quarter-mile times around 13.9 to 14.1 seconds in period tests.

Performance Specifications:

• Quarter-mile time: Period road tests for a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T SE with the standard 440 engine reported a time of 13.9 seconds. Another test recorded a very similar time of 14.1 seconds at 100.8 mph.
• 0-60 mph time: Motor Trend clocked the 440 Magnum-equipped Charger R/T at 6.1 seconds in the 0-60 mph test.
• Engine details: The 440 cubic inch (7.2L) Magnum V8 engine was standard on the R/T model and produced a factory-rated 375 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque (SAE gross).

That said, I still love the classic muscle-car-era vehicles and always will.

 

[BrooseDaMoose]

There’s no doubt the vehicles produced today are much faster, stop sooner and are WAY more efficient but, they also are WAY more expensive. I was 17 in 1983 and that Charger was the fastest thing I’d ever ridden in. Was there faster cars? Sure there was! I was just asking what the first vehicle you rode in that really impressed you. I’ve also ridden in vehicles that could sit and have a cup of coffee before leaving the starting line and still beat the snot out of that Charger! The fastest car I’ve ridden in was an LS swapped, turbo charged 67 Camaro SS that was dyno’d at 1,645 Hp and could run the 1/4 mile in under 9 seconds! But again, my FIRST, was the Charger.


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[edog]

This is where rose colored glasses come in to play. That car was barely quicker than a stock Explorer ST.

I agree, and I was just a teenager then. I've had a chance to ride in faster vehicles, but the situation was not right for high speed driving. Wet roads, heavy traffic, ect.

 

[Cruising68]

I was fortunate my dad had nice cars. Two of the fastest were a 62 vette with a built 327 running dual quads and a 911. We’re talking mid 70’s here. As a 16yo my dad told me to take the vette to the hardware store for him but to keep in under 3k. Needless to say I punched it in second gear 1/2 mile from home on a winding tree lined country road. Well the throttle stuck hard wide open. Some quick thinking and I killed the ignition and four wheel skidded to a stop perpendicular to the road. Got home and my dad said I was white as a ghost before I told him what happened. Of course he told me it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone over3k.

Another reasonably fast one was my 2011 Supercharged CTSV sedan. I road raced it for my midlife crisis instead of buying a corvette. That car was fun at 700RWHP but she was pig heavy though well balanced.

Throw in a few 1/4 mile runs in friends’ race cars. HP today is sick compared to the late 60’s early 70’s when you had to tinker for hours for 20HP. Now you just plug is a laptop and 200, 400, 800 etc more horses is available. But running built engines today is just as expensive as it used to be. My 68 mustang with 289 was just over $3k new


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[GearHead_1]

I started pretty early. My father's car when I was a little kid was a 1962 Plymouth Fury 413 Max Wedge with a Cross Ram intake setup. My first car at 16 was a '70 Mach1 with a 351 Cleveland. Both were good examples for their day.

 

[cheetoduster]

I grew up in the 80s and came of age to drive in the 90s, fast cars were few and far between

One of my friend's had an 8th gen Delta 88 2door his father gifted him, it had a built Rocket 350 swapped into it, one of the worst hack jobs I've ever seen. The engine was held in with a chain that was wrapped around it. Probably the first car I'd driven in that was quicker than the 80s-90s era smog choked crap on the road at the time.

After that, my Pontiac G8 GT I bought in '13 was my first "powerful" car.

 

[RFC1992]

I never realized what a good vehicle my Dad's 1969 Olds Cutlass Supreme was. Small block 350, 310 HP ~395 ft-lbs torque - 0-60 5.6 seconds... respectable especially for the 1970s. First one I drove was a 2000 Corvette; tame by today's standards but it would hit 100mph without a care.

First real muscle type car I have had is the 2017 Mustang GT.

 

[JFam]

As a young boy, 67' 427 Corvette with some work done to it.

As a teenager, my 1993 Cobra with everything but a built motor (was waiting for it to blow). Car went 11.75 @124 on DRs , it also hurt a lot of feelings on the street in 96-97 including Supra's , RX7's, Vipers, ect.

As an adult, local shop owners personal car of which was a Twin Turbo built Coyote than ran low 8's at that time. We were on a long stretch of lonely road and he matted it from a roll of about 60 and pulled until the speedo was buried. It instantly pinned me to the seat and everything turned into a tunnel until hit let off.

 

[Marauderleader]

My first car, in ‘78 I bought a ‘70 Cuda 440 4 speed from one of my sisters friends for $200, he needed money for taxes, and I had $200, and was 14 at the time(small issue). I had people drive me around in this car, 8 years old and rough as a cob, pretty quick, but not like cars today…….

My ST is ok on power, my car I sold in ‘20 was a 2004 Mercury Marauder, that I promised myself that I wouldn’t modify it at all, within 3 months it had a twin screw blower on it, tuned moderately at 445 @ wheels, then it got a transmission, Dyno tech driveshaft, and wilwoods front/rear…….. of course more power was needed….because, alternative automotive built me a stroker, crower cams, eagle rods/crank, diamond pistons and a lot of other parts, it wound up making a lot , it was super unmanageable on the street, we settled on 632@wheels. Then, widened wheels w/305-45 Mickey dr’s, built the rear end with 4.10’s and did a 10:36@132, perfect street car, faster than 90% of everything, life changed, had a hiccup in my health, the prediction was I wouldn’t make it 2 days or out of the hospital, I did, but I sold the car, I had a guy stalking me for 5 years, so I made a call. I figured if I died, my wife would sell it for what I told her that I had in it, lol.

Now I just settle for an off the lot ride, I have a buddy with 5 marauders 2 of which made mine look like a starter kit, performance wise. I guess I’m older and just not willing to take on another build like that. But, I can live vicariously through everyone else’s builds.