Standard transmissions

[Gordon Maney]

How did you learn to drive a manual transmission?

[HWooldridge]

How did you learn to drive a manual transmission?

My grandfather owned a '55 Chevy truck with 3 on the tree that had a horrible clutch. We spent a very traumatic afternoon of him screaming at me about killing the engine repeatedly when I was about 15 or thereabouts - so I completely swore off standards and drove an automatic until I turned 18. I then bought a Willys jeep and had no problems driving it; other standard transmissions became a breeze after that and I came to prefer them.

[Gordon Maney]

How did you learn when to shift?

[Ron in Indiana]

The first vehicle was an old Ford pick up with a 3 speed on the column. It was a company truck my Dad drove when he worked as a union operator. My younger brother and I were helping my dad set dynamite for blasting stumps when I was 12-13. After we set all the charges he told me to drive the truck up to the road while he set off the dynamite. We high tailed it to the truck while my dad lit the fuses and ran behind unblown stumps. My brother and I got to the truck and some how got it up the lane as stumps where flying through the air. All I knew was push in the clutch, pull down and towards me then let out the clutch while stepping on the gas pedal. Later I drove my Dad's new 68 Dodge truck with a 4 speed.

[HWooldridge]

How did you learn when to shift?

By ear, I just shifted when it sounded right. My big problem in the beginning was getting the vehicle moving.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Started on the Farm with Tractors, then Grain Trucks. Don't remember the details, but the Tractors were livers, and the Grain Trucks were Cheby's.

[Hobcobble]

I learned on a '73 C10 2wd Chevy while working on my uncles' farms in
Central Iowa. My cousin called this truck "Crutch". It had a weezy little
307 in it with a finicky 2bbl carb and a sticky clutch. It was a 3spd
column shift. My one uncle would take me out after work on the dirt
roads for "instructions". He was a great, but tough guy so needless to
say I learned as fast as I could. Up until recently, all of my trucks have
been manual shift. The Sweptlines I own currently all have top loaders
in them. I'd like to have my wife be able to drive my Sweptlines, but she
can't quite get the knack of it yet. A couple more tires and a clutch disc
and we'll get her squared away....
John

[BobbyMike]

I learned because we never owned automatics. I believe the first car I drove was a Datsun (or my sisters Mazda). The first car I owned with an auto was my '67 Firebird (my second car). I didn't own another until we bought our Suburban 10 years ago (gone for a few years).

I find it sad that less than 4% of new vehicles sold in America are manuals now, although I do find it amusing when I read about some erstwhile car thief stymied by the extra pedal.

[Gordon Maney]

Synchronizers

A really interesting video.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MXsRfbOiBhE" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

[Desoto61]

In my dad's old Dodge Omni. Dad always said if you could drive a stick you could drive anything. Plus it was more likely to be the vehicle I would have access to as opposed to the mom-van.

When we were kids he would let us shift when we were riding shotgun. He'd tell us when and we'd work the shifter, we thought it was awesome naturally.

When I got old enough he would take us down to the park below our house and practice starting out from a stop.

When to shift ended up being the hardest thing to learn. Not so bad just going down the street but the hills of PA and a small 4-banger meant you had to sometimes be pro-active about shifting down before a hill, or make sure your shifts were quick enough to not bog down too much. There were some embarrasing moments there.

I've had autos for my last two cars, but the control freak in me misses having the stick, which is why I like the idea of the truck having one, even if the in-town driving could get a little old.

[Gordon Maney]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vOo3TLgL0kM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

.

[Bob2]

How did you learn to drive a manual transmission?

I bought a 1955 Ford custom with 3 on the tree, drove it home after the man I bought it from gave me a lesson. I was 16-years old with a restricted drivers license (I could drive only from 6 am to 6 pm). I bought my own insurance and gas with my paycheck washing dishes at a cafeteria and paper route.
My parents were furious that I bought the car.

[Gordon Maney]

My parents were furious that I bought the car.

I can't relate to that....







Not.

[DrPepper]

It's all in the clutch...

My Dad made me learn to idle off (no throttle) of a dead stop before I was allowed to shift anything. Once I had that mastered he let me use the throttle, then changing gears was easy. Only my wife has an automatic today and she drove stick when I met her, car was a VW Bug. Used the same process with all 4 of our kids. Every one of them can drive a stick shift without a second thought.
DrPepper

[Gordon Maney]

My Dad made me learn to idle off (no throttle) of a dead stop before I was allowed to shift anything. Once I had that mastered he let me use the throttle, then changing gears was easy. Used the same process with all 4 of our kids. Every one of them can drive a stick shift without a second thought.
DrPepper

Interesting approach! I can see the value.