What vehicle took you to prom?
Odds are we’ve all looked to beg, borrow, rent, or buy a nicer car for an occasion, be it a senior year promenade, fall homecoming, winter social, or a Sadie Hawkins dance. Maybe we needed to foolishly impress that special someone. Perhaps we wanted something as nice as the tuxedo/dress we had purchased for the event. No matter, we forked over a lot of cash for our high-school dances—why should our vehicle be any different?
While a limo is never the wrong answer, I bet the Hagerty Community has stories from its delightful youth that include acquiring a special vehicle for a special high school dance. Here are a few shots from my senior prom in the month of May, more than a couple of decades ago.
Yup, that’s 18-year-old Sanjeev, back when I’d actually get upset by stupid jerks careless folks taking it upon themselves to correct the spelling/pronunciation of my name. But I matured, and my growth from adolescence to whatever I am today has been surprisingly plateau-like. Former high-school classmates tell me I haven’t changed a bit, and perhaps my prom machine proves the point: a 1991 Lincoln Mark VII Bill Blass with 1990s-rad purple pinstripe applied at the factory.
The stripe matched my date’s sparkly fuscia dress, but color coordination wasn’t why I picked it. (I loved the car I drove back then and fully expected to use it as my prom vehicle. No surprise, it turned into Hagerty’s Project Valentino.) My mom insisted that I not drive her hand-me-down car and that I upgrade my designer-series Lincoln game instead. No 130-horsepower Valentinos for my prom; I was getting a 225-horsepower Bill Blass to go with that tuxedo.
Of course, Mom didn’t throw out the horsepower figures, nor would my date care about the improved powerband from post-Malaise-era engineering. But I already crushed the spirits of a classmate when racing the Bill Blass—which belonged to Mom—against his throttle-body-injected 5.0 Camaro, so I knew a giddy little thrill merging onto the highway was in my future. Turns out the Lincoln Mark VII’s healthy, high-output mill wasn’t too far behind that of its Fox-body brother, the 1986–93 Mustang. And sleepers like this Bill Blass were extra special back then, as there was no internet to spill our automotive beans.
No matter, my prom was fun, and my date is a friend to this day. The Bill Blass didn’t last as long. With the tale concluded, the question must be asked again to members of the Hagerty Community: What vehicle took you to prom?
Bonus points if you provide a photo, as we’d love to share fancy high-school dance photos with everyone. (With the consent of anyone else pictured, if applicable.) So if you have a picture handy, send it to me at pistonslap@hagerty.com and I will use it in the article!
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1973 Prom, 1970 black Deuce and a Quarter that Dad recently got as a trade at the Buick dealer. Beautiful ivory colored brocade interior. Did 120 and got the car airborne! On a 35 MPH street no less. No damage and we lived through it. Date was surprised. Tough car–I drove it to the junkyard in 1982. Dad kept it as second car (he went 429 Marquis in mid-70’s) and the leaded premium 455 literally carboned up to death as he only drove on 30 mph streets.
Lynx Bronze 1988 Sterling 825 SL that my dad had purchased the previous fall. Connolly leather-wrapped seats, Recaro front buckets, reclining rear seats, authentic burl wood interior trim, the works. The Brits know how to put an interior together and build a great suspension, but can’t make an electrical system to save their lives. Still can’t believe Rover went with a Lucas electrical system instead of the Honda/Denso system in its Acura Legend cousin.
Mid 90s prom. Got to borrow the driver-quality 1970 Chevelle Malibu convertible for that. Dark blue with the black Malibu interior.
Sadly the car was sold away from the family while I was away at college (cheap too). The next owner did a $50000 restomod (in late 90s dollars) to turn it into a red with black stripes SS clone.
A 1955 Bel Air hardtop with stock 283 and 3-speed floor-shift. Green interior – bench seat up front. The car was mostly white, but with a tan hood and one blue fender, plus several spots showing my early attempts at body work, protected with yellow primer. Where/why did I get YELLOW primer? Hey, it was the psychedelic sixties, folks! After the dance, we headed downtown, where I promptly got pulled over for drag racing, which was an automatic $50 fine in those days. Not having that much cash, I got to spend the night in a cell, with my Chevy parked out front – minus my date, who had had to call her father to come get her (needless to say, we never dated again after that night). When I scrounged the $50 from friends the next day, me and my powder blue tux with white bucks sashayed out to the ’55 to the hoots of my assembled buddies and – quite red-faced, I assure you – headed home to face my folks. Memorable prom night? Yup.
1967 Pontiac GTO in 1972. Two proms, two girlfriends at the same time. Too much fun, too much car for a 17 year old kid, and did not get into too much trouble (with the car or the two girls).
1978 Ford Pinto Wagon. 4 speed. Beast!
1957 Chevy Bel Air 283. It was the family car, but during my high school years, after I got my license, it was mine pretty much any time I needed wheels.
1967 Plymouth GTX, midnight metallic blue, white interior. 440 commando, dual quads, 727 torque flight.
My uncle had a brand new 1968 Mark III triple black and drove my date and me to the senior prom in 1967. We were stylin’!
1966 – My 1957 TR 3. Her dad loved that car, he figured we couldn’t do anything he didn’t want us to do. Little did he know I had a local ski cabin.
To both Jr and Sr proms, a 1950 green Olds 88 coupe with the big 4barrel engine.After a few wrenching sessions, was the fastest car in our town.
Junior Prom in 1977 was a 1972 Chrysler Imperial Coupe, super impressive and comfortable luxury everywhere you looked ….1978 Senior Prom was a 1977 Monte Carlo triple Firethorn Red that I inherited from my father a couple years ago with 3000 miles on it……also took a young lady to her Senior Prom when I was about 20 with my 1966 Impala Convertible with a 396 325 horse and Corvette Ralley wheels with 67 disk brake caps…….that was my first restoration and my High School driver in the nice weather. Wish I had that Imperial Coupe….have been looking for an excellent one for years.
I had a 1941 Series 61 Cadillac Sedan (in very good condition) that had been sitting up on blocks in a neighbors garage for 15 years. When my friends and I were young kids, the owner would allow us to play in the car as if we were driving it. As I approached my 16th birthday, the neighbor said if I got it in working order, I could have the car for $100. I was able to do so under the guidance of a local service station owner and when I received my DL in 1967, I became “that guy” who all my friends wanted to double date with as it had a very roomy back seat. Needless to say, there was no double dating on Prom Night for any of my friends.
1986 Monta Carlo SS. One of the few I have seen that came with a front bench seat. It came in handy that night! Drove it to my prom in 1987
IMG_7856 (1) A 1966 Chevy C-10 step side, That I pulled out the six cyl. and dropped in a 327 V-8 along with a nice set of oversized aluminum slots with a fresh paint job in Corvette blue. The best part was the bench seat! Ended up getting married to that girl…
In 1977, 78, and 79 (with the same girl) I drove my 67 cougar (my daily but I was proud of it) . Girl is still a friend, and I recently bought the car back after a 15 year absence. It was partially stripped and almost hopeless, but it’s been fun to try to get it back to what it was when foolishly sold.