PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

hey all , just wondering what our first 3.8 rides were, should be a varied list
mine was a 1982 Malibu classic with a cracked block that shuddered when ac engaged.... still went to 350+ klm until I abandoned her when a cop was eyeing the smoke from the hood seams.....lol that's when I got a 87 grand am - my first cast iron block from daddy

My 93 SLE.

A myriad of mid-80's GM vehicles.

Mine is still my LeSabre. I've had it for 6 years, put 70,000 miles on it, and it's been a great car.

The first 3800 in my life was my dad's '90 SSE that he had back when I was growing up.

Mine is my current PA however, purchased almost 8 years ago.

My first car which was an '89 Lesabre T-type. Transmission died on it, but I have had nothing but 3800's since...

1983 Pontiac Gran Prix 3.8 . Drove it with a bad rod bearing for 100K miles. Only broke down once. Had 165K miles on it. Wife was driving it. She worked at a Chevy dealership. She called me said it broke down. I told her to call the dealer, have it towed and trade it in on a new car. She did :-) BC

My Cherokee had been stolen and the 1997 SSE was the first car out of about 20 that I had driven in my price range that actually worked the way it was supposed to, so I jumped on it. I knew they were good engines because my uncle had a 1990 Olds Regency Brougham with nearly 300k that he drove hard every day along with a 70 mile commute for about 3 years. It never broke down while he owned it.

My first experience with a 3800 was a 93 Park Ave that my Grandpa had, then passed down to my sister. The first 3800 I had was an 00 SSEi I had for a month when I was 16, then totalled. The story is buried deep in the depths of "On the Road and at the Track".

First 3800 I was exposed to was the L27 in my dad's old 1992 SE.

And then there's Penny.

However, 3800s have been in my family for a while. Each of my uncles has one, and have had various ones over the years.

I had an 89 SSE for a little bit, then my 95 SE, the 91 LE, The 95 Trans Sport 3800 and then the 03 SLE.. For whatever reason the 3800 are in my blood.. I feel that the 3800 was GM flagship V6 for the longest, much like the 350V8..

First exposure was my parents 78 Olds Starfire GT ...blue with white stripes and white vinyl interior.
Then MY first was a 78 Chevy Monza 2+2 GT with 3.8 w/auto - Red with Black interior.

I had a '78 Buick Century wagon about 15 years ago. It did all I expected it to and more, on less gas than I thought it would use.
For some reason it had a limited slip differential from the factory, it never got stuck in snow, and was one of the few cars able unaided to leave a showfield turned into a quagmire by unrelenting rain.

Roger.

My first 3800 was an '89 Electra, the first 3800 I'd ever driven was a '92 Regal, my first 3.8l was a '86 Buick LeSabre with the LG3.

All 3.8l/3800 vehicles I've driven more than one time:
'86 LeSabre
'89 LeSabre
'89 Electra PA
'92 Regal
'93 Bonneville SE
'93 Bonneville SSEi
'94 Park Avenue
'94 Regal
'97 Bonneville SE
'97 Camaro
'99 Regal

nice list but I don't see a Fiero yet or did they all go up in flames

The Fiero never came with a 3800, and I don't think we've got anyone here that's swapped one for that matter. It has been done though.

I've owned well over 100 cars /trucks dating back to the 60s and one 57 Chevy Belair. Many of my 3800 powered rides just aren't all that prominent in my memory to recall which was my first.

My first 3800 was a '96 Camaro, followed by the 3800 S/C '95 Park Avenue, and after a few V8s, now my S/C '97 Park Avenue.

My 1st 3800 was my Mom's black on black 95 SLE. I bought it off her right after high school.

There were a ton of firsts on that car and I learned a lot from it. Most of what I did went against the grain for members of the old BC. Luckily, I didn't listen. Ultimately it was totaled but I saved most of the parts because I knew I would own another 95 again.

I bought my current black on black 95 SLE about a year after from a guy at Dynotech with a missing engine. I swapped my old engine in after some repair, put 50k on it, and re-did most of what I had done to the 1st 95, just much better.

I'll give a brief back story of my car purchasing frame-of-mind. When I was 20, I bought my one and only new car, so far at least. It was a 1980 Datsun 310 GX which cost me $5500. I lived close to 8 Mile which was/is the dividing line between Detroit and Warren. My Dad worked for Chrysler and most of Warren, which is were I grew up, worked for the "Big 3". So my purchase was not politically correct for the day. In fact, I quickly learned that many Detroiters knew sign language as they "signed" that my choice of car was #1 in their minds. My first job out of college in 1983 introduced me to a guy that never bought new cars. Over a years time he explained his rationale which I bought into. In 1984 I sold the Datsun and bought Deetroit metal big-time in the form of a 1979 Cadillac Eldorado. Since then my strategy has been to purchase a car every year or two that is 10 to 25 years old. I keep two cars at a time. I never had children so I spent way to much time and money tinkering with them, driving them 2 to 5 years then repeating the cycle:

1987 Chrysler Laser
1980 Subaru
1985 Olsmobile Toronado
1986 Jeep Cherokee
1989 Chrysler Conquest TSI
1988 Dodge LaBaron (turbo)
1992 Eagle Premier (Renault influence)
1989 Ford Thunderbird SC
1989 Ford Taurus SHO (Yamaha engine)
1986 Jaguar XJ6 (most beautiful of them all)
1990 Cadillac Seville STS (sleeper fast)
1989 Bonneville SSE (my first 3800)
1990 Jaguar XJ6 (loved that car)
1993 Ford Probe
1995 Riviera (great car)
1988 Toronado Trofeo (loved that car)
2000 Eldorado ETC (current car)
1990 Bonneville (current...great car so far)

Someday I'd like to own:

Lincoln Mark VII (early '90s)
Grand Prix GTP (1998ish)
Olds Toronado (1988 or 89)
Buick Regal (1998ish supercharged)
1990 Cadillac Allante
1990 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe
1987 Jaguar XJS
Nissan Cube (2000ish)
Ford Edge Sport (2009ish)
Pontiac GTO (1967 Hardtop)
Dodge Charger (1966)
Ford Mustang (early '90s notchback)
Bently Continental GT (2016...my lotto winning purchase)