Did you start out driving a Stick Shift?

[GOPAPA]

Any who owned a 1939 Chevy had a Owners Manual to guide them on (How To) for beginners ,,how did you learn ?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1509387471

[hotsam]

No written instruction for me... just a dad with too little help on a cattle farm !! I was the designated tractor/hay truck driver from very early on. (Roughly 4 years old I'd guess) At first he would just put the old truck in bulldog on the flats and set the idle up a little !! I'd stand in the seat and keep it up and down the rows while he threw the hay on the bed and trailer. It all just kinda went from there and of course my first ole truck HAD to be manual😊

[Coley]

Actually my Grandfather started all of the grandkids out on the riding lawnmower at the family farm (Drumheller, Alberta area)...it was a 4 speed (lol). He took the blade off during the vacation visits so we didn't severe any limbs I guess...lol.
The 'lawnmower driver training program' (lol) was for when you were in the 8yr to 12yr. old range.....and kept us occupied for hours and hours a day on the farm.

The he 'graduated' us to a '56 Chevy sedan he had with an automatic transmission when we were 12+yrs. old..,,but whenever any of us were driving it, all the kids had to be in the car with the driver so no one was run over in the farm yard.

Then....optional at 14-15yrs old age mark was to learn to drive the 3 ton water truck which had a big heavy duty 4 speed. (early 50's international, with a transplanted 327 in it) and he would let us take the water truck down the road to the neighbouring farms....which was handy 'space' for turning that beast around. The neighbouring farmers thought absolutely nothing of it....they knew the truck, they knew their neigbours.....no 'community/public boogy-man fear issues'....all good.
all of this.....way before the age of 16......loved those days.

Kind of feel seriously sorry for the 'de-tuned' kids and teens today as a result......only able to drive the x-box cars, lol.

All Good
Coley

[67ChevyRedneck]

I started on a Ford 8N tractor. Not exactly a "manual shift" but I had to learn how to let the clutch out slowly and know what gear to put it in. If I remember right, it didn't like to start off in 4, so you did have to shift on the fly after you got going, but it's been like 20 years since I've driven one.

I then moved to a 1972 C30 1 Ton when I was 14/15. Just around the yard and out in the woods to move it to the different wood piles to load up.

When I started driving my 67 C10 at 16 on an actual roadway it was a piece of cake.

I owned nothing but manual vehicles from 1996-2005 when I bought my first Silverado (couldn't find one I wanted with a stick). Then I converted the C10 to a 700R. I did have a 5 speed S10 for a few years. There's only been about a 2 year gap when I didn't own at least one manual. I converted my 65 Mustang to a 5 speed and it's currently the only stickshift I have at the moment.

[Indian113]

You could say I started off driving a Stick Shift. I learned on a AC Tractor with a hand Clutch. Took a while but it wasn't long before I was mowing and pulling wagons.

[truckster]

I worked for a rental car company when I was 16, doing oil & lube and tire changes. Occasionally I would be sent to pick up a customer. One day my boss told me to get into a Chevette and pick a customer up at his hotel. I got in and turned the key - nothing happened. I told my boss it wouldn't start. He told me I needed to push in the clutch. I said, "OK. Hey, wait, I don't know how to drive a standard." He told me I had to learn sometime. I thought, "Well, it's not my car, so OK." It took me about two blocks to get the hang of it. I went on to drive twin-stick 5 ton trucks in the Army and 21-speed tractor-trailers. I think someday I might put a 6-speed in my Z28, but we'll see.

[davischevy]

I started on a little John Deere first then to a six cylinder Chevy flatbed hauling hay with my uncles and cousins. If you dumped a load, your life expectancy dwindled.

I remember when I was about twelve, one Sunday night, my dad let me drive his F-100 (one of the few Fords he ever owned) home from fishing. When we go to the highway he said go ahead and take it home.

The steering box was worn out, and it was a job holding that thing between the lines.

[el_fantasma]

63 valiant 3OTT. Wish my truck was manual but wanted a Cheyenne more.

[Desert_Eagle02]

When I was 15, I managed to save up $2,500 for my first vehicle. I found an add for an old Jeep with a straight six and a 5spd manual. My dad and I went and looked at it, and I bought it. He drove it home and said, alright now you have to learn how to drive it, no going back and getting an automatic now.

I rode a lot of dirt bikes so I was experienced with clutches. It took me a bit to get used to it, and after that I was driving it all over.

Drove it everyday for about 6 years until winter salt and neglect of washing it finally took it's toll on the old girl. Frame was shot and it wasn't road safe anymore. The engine and transmission still worked great, so I sold it to a guy who wanted the drivetrain for his restoration.

[GOPAPA]

Ah come guys,,,You mean none of ya's just rev'd the engine real loud and let the clutch out to hold the car in place until you could get goin on your way from stopping on that hill ?

My mother did it all the time..

[jhama78]

Started on riding mowers and small tractors on my grandfathers farm at an early age (5-7 years old) and moved onto the farm jeep ('46 cj2A) not long after. Then to C60 grain trucks when I was around 10 or so during harvest time. Never really thought about it to be honest, I guess I've been driving manual trans vehicles since I could press the clutch in and take off without stalling.

[alsriv2]

Around 8, I started with an old Massey Fergusson tractor, then moved up to a Farmall H, then an Allis Chalmers Diesel, then a '68 VW bug, then an Old Chevy LUV pickup, then a Dodge D200 3OTT, then a '38 International Truck.
I guess you could say I didn't experience an automatic Trans until I actually got my DL at 15 and was allowed to drive Mom's car on the road.

[shp4man]

Learned how to drive on dirt roads in my dad's '55 International Carryall. Granny four speed. Lots of low end torque.

[100%Chevy]

I learned to drive an automatic in my mom's 59 Bel-
Air.
But,I learned to drive a manual on my neighbors riding mower.He hired me to mow his yard and showed me how to run it.I was later fired when he caught me popping wheelies out of the ditch!Heck,I was only 7 years old!
The real manual training was from another neighbor who rebuilt and sold old army surplus Jeeps.we drove those old 4 cylinder/4 speeds everywhere!
I still drive a 78 c-10 with the 3 speed on the column as a daily driver.
Quick story---
At work,I always back into the parking spot.One day a kid from work needed a ride home.
So, we got in and I started out of the parking lot.
When I hit the road,I shifted into 2nd gear.He grabbed the dash and yelled---"What are you trying to do?Kill us!
He thought it was an auto and I had thrown it into park!He'ed never seen a 3 speed on the column before!
Mike.

[Gotenntitans]

Here she is......Grandpa's 1967 Ford F100 6 cylinder 3 speed column shift. Learned how to drive it in about 1978 and it's still going. She has an oil leak, but runs like a top.

GTT

[DPowers]

63 GMC when I was in fourth grade in the hay field. Mom kept stalling it out so dad threw me in there. He put a 4 inch foam cushion behind me so I could reach the pedals.

[bennylava]

Yeah my grand paw made me. 1989 ford escort. Car ran fine, but looked like a duck. It was humility personified.

[mongocanfly]

I don't remember if its was dads 3spd A farmall or his 4 spd 57 international pickup...but it was one or the other...when I was around 6-8 yrs old..

[rusty76]

I didn’t. But drove several manual cars for friends who either needed their car back home or were too waisted. But I bought a 84 4Runner and taught myself. My moms driveway was steel so that was the first hurdle. Thought I was crazy for buying it but glad I did.

[Myoldtruck]

Dad took me out in a large parking lot when I was 12yrs old. He had a late 70s chevy 1/2ton full size van, 6cyl, 3ott. Neither of us were sports types, I loved cars even then and he enjoyed taking me out and spending time together. By the time I turned 16 I was taking out his 68 c/50 2000 gallon tanker truck, 4speed with a 327. Dad is no longer with us, but everytime I drive my 70 c/10 it reminds me of all the times I was riding shot gun with dad in the tanker truck. Good times.

[Andy4639]

My dad bought a 1954 state body chevy truck to put the boat's in the lake with at the house. We put snow chains on the rear tires so it wouldn't get stuck in the mud putting the boat in just off of the lake lot. I learned a lot by just backing those boats in and out of the lake. I can back a trailer up by my mirrors now and just about hit the center everytime.
I drove that old truck for several years before it finally blew a head gasket. Dad just traded in on me a $400.00 Impala with 327 auto.

[CG]

First car I learned to drive a stick in was a mid 70s GMC pick up. First car I owned of my own was a three on the tree 57 Chevy later converted to floor shift. Also had a 63 Nova with three on the tree.

Both my sons learned to drive with four on the floor in our old 71 K10.

[SatinSeventy2]

My dad taught me very similar to what was in the owners manual previously listed. The only difference is he backed the truck down a gravel hill next to a water filled rock quarry...he said if I followed instructions we would not get wet! He also said every time I spin tires he would punch me in the arm. Rough way to learn but didn't get wet and no bruises...never will forget it!!!

[special-K]

I also started driving on a Ford 8N when I was 8. Then I started driving a VW bug. I've had mostly manual shift vehicles. When I met my x-wife she was driving a '79 Fairmont Futura 6cyl 3+OD floor shift. Then an '82 4spd Rabbit, '87 Samurai 5spd, '90 Blazer 4spd granny, '96 5spd Cavalier, '99 5spd ZR2, then she got a used Cherokee with automatic and within a year she left! I knew the automatic was a bad idea . My older son started off with a '65 Biscayne 6cyl/3spd, my Daughter an '83 5spd Prelude (then a 5spd Cabrio), and my younger son started in a '97 Nissan PU, next a '98 5spd Ranger, and now an '07 6spd X-Runner. My family is shifty

[Grumpy old man]

1946 Jeep cj2a , the power company installed a new power line across the top of my dad's property and we hauled 100's of loads of red oak some 3' across with the little jeeps That were the only "trucks" that could climb up and down the steep ridge . They will literally go anywhere you have the guts to drive them .My dad still has a bunch of them .