How'd you learn to drive a manual transmission?

[mechtech2]

I practiced shifting with a bent paper clip in 8th grade classes.

Actually drive one? It was an old Nash flathead a friend's uncle pulled from the top of the heap in his junkyard. Back and forth a block or so in the boneyard.

 

[Charlie1935]

Learned in Dads 46 Ford in 1950/51.
Reckon I stalled it a few times but it didn't take long.

 

[sciphi]

My cousin taught me on her then-new Jetta when I was 16. I got it pretty quickly. I daily-drove a MT car for a few years, got an AT car when the first car bit the dust (my fault), then bought a brand-new MT car when the AT car succumbed to rust.

The first time I got back from driving a MT Ranger (work truck) with its heavy clutch and hopped into my MT Hyundai with its much lighter clutch still wearing my work boots, I thought the Hyundai had blown the clutch hydraulics since it took so much less effort to press down the pedal than the Ranger! It took me a few shifts to learn how the clutch felt through the work boots.

 

[Rick in PA]

Got in, drove.

The original VW Beetles ('60s era) were quite forgiving.

 

[Quest]

My first beater car (76 plymouth Arrow hatchback, aka Mitsu Celeste). It was a 4spd manual, 1.6L GS series with MCA (mitsu clean air) system...not sure that that means.

Owned it some 24 yrs ago for 1 yr..learned how to drive stick on that thingy.

Q.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I learned on my uncle's 1979 F-250 4x4...it has the compound-low 4-speed, so that was pretty easy. My wife learned on her father's Toyota 4x4 pickup.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Fordson and N series tractors were the first, but they don't really count since there is no real shifting. Put it into gear and go. If you need road gear it's one single shift, but using road gear is rare. A Hupp or Sherman makes little difference-it's still just a single shift, or two if you're going down the road.

The first "real" manual transmission was about a 1952 IH L160 with a real (non synchronized) transmission. That, and a couple of late 1940's pickups (again, no synchronizers) were what I cut my teeth on. That taught me how to match my engine and road speed, and to use the clutch only for stopping.

A few years later it was a mid 1960's Freightliner with a 5&4 and a grain box. A 5 speed main and a 4 speed auxiliary, giving you 20 total gear choices.

I recently purchased a 1979 Ford L8000 dump truck for use at the winery and, since I'm the only one there with a commercial drivers license, I've been hauling gravel for the main drive. Using the 5&2 is a snap compared to the old Freightliner.


Originally Posted By: Win

It always amuses me that some people think driving a little econobox with a tiny four banger, synchronized tranny, and tiny clutch is some kind of big skill. They should try driving something unsynchronized.


Agreed. Even my sixty-something wife drives a modern manual in our Subaru. As much as they've been dumbed down it's not exactly a difficult skill to drive one. I get a chuckle out of the big deal some guys make over a manual, when it's nothing more than a ladies version of a real transmission.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Win
I was given the keys to the '63 Chevy (C-50?) trash truck with a four on the floor (first was the creeper) and told to make the rounds, pick up the trash barrels, and take them to the dump.

Or, I was given the keys to the '65 Econoline (engine was between the seats) with a three on the tree and told to make the rounds of the car washes and dig out any pits that were full of muck.

Can't remember which was first - the Chevy or the Econoline, but the learning curve was pretty short - a few stalls and that was about it. Taught a few girlfriends in college, and a wife and daughter. Not a big deal.

It always amuses me that some people think driving a little econobox with a tiny four banger, synchronized tranny, and tiny clutch is some kind of big skill. They should try driving something unsynchronized.


I have...I have more trouble driving an econobox than a 10-wheeler! No matter how you mess it up, you CANNOT stall my work truck! Yes, if you dump the clutch in 4th gear, it will not stall. (In 5th or 6th, it shuts down, the buzzer goes off, and the "ENGINE STOP" light comes on...it won't restart until you turn the key off for ~30 seconds.) It's a Freightliner M2 with a 7.2 Cat and a 6-speed...the ECM automatically adds fuel when you let out the clutch. (In fact, the manual explicitly says NOT to use the accelerator when moving from a full stop.) Compact cars are easy to stall (a 4-banger S10 is among the worst I've driven), most trucks are very hard to stall.

 

[TFB1]

My first car was a automatic so I learned on the van where I worked after school and in a buddies dad's '61 Falcon... Since I was eager to learn, was was fairly easy for me... That was in '66, I bought my first std trans vehicle in '68 and have owned at least one since...

 

[rjundi]

My brother let me try out his Jeep CJ-7 when I was 14 and taught me off-road.

Beyond easy with that torquey 4.2 In-line 6.

 

[TallPaul]

They can keep the non-syncronized trannies. No fun to drive. The syncronized manual tranny gives you the control, wihtout the hassle. I had a non-syncro first gear in my '64 Chevy and I didn't even try to learn double clutching--not sure I even understand it. If I had to shift into first at a slow roll, I stopped first. Of course that was the early days of driving a manual. With my '77 F150 the clutch linkage broke and I drove home by shutting it off, placing it in first gear, then starting it so it rolled out as the engine fired over. Then I did all my shifts without the clutch by matching engine speed to road speed. Made it home without a grind. Of course there were syncronizers so even that was not difficult, and I only had to go about a mile.

 

[fdcg27]

By buying one, of course.
My first manual was a '76 MGB that I still have.
An MGB is very easy to drive, with good clutch feel and a great shifter.

 

[VicVinegar]

My only experience is from when I sold cars for a few months and had to get cars for test drives or move some around the lot. For never doing it before, and never being taught (but understanding how it works) I did well in my opinion. Only stalled a couple times.

If I had the driveway space to park it (and Virginia didn't have personal property tax to "punish" me for buying a third car), I'd love to get an older Miata or something to get competent on a stick and just to have a fun weekend car.

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
I learned when I was hired in as a summer student engineer at Ford Manual Transmission department.


Now THAT'S the way!

 

[CBR.worm]

I was thinking that I learned on a late '70s Porsche 911, but looking at these other posts I realize that I had already spent years on tractors and dirt bikes. And I always understood the mechanical aspect, so it was just an issue of mastering that Porsche.

For me, understanding how everything works is key, but I have tried unsuccessfully to teach my wife. She has no interest in understanding how or why, and I have been unable to keep her engaged in learning long enough to make any progress. The G35 is not a good car to teach on.

I remember driving a friends mid-eighties civic. It was the easiest car to drive that I had ever experienced.

 

[javacontour]

Motorbikes and farm equipment. I was fascinated with Grandaddy's '63 Galaxy 500 with three on the tree. But as I was very young, I never got the chance to drive that.

I'd have to say one of the best to teach on for getting the clutch sensation was my 81 Rabbit Diesel. No need to use the throttle. That little engine had enough torque to just take off.

Now 0-60 was measured with a calendar, but that's a different thread.

 

[MetalSlug]

This dude teach me how to drive manual, first time I stall his car, that was it, he dont let me drive after that, anyway my brother friend gave my big brother a 1994 mitsubishi eclipse 4 speed ( 5 gear broke haha ), i park it in my friend appartment because my dad wont let me take any old car home, anyway every day after school I went to the appartment and drive it around the empty street. from that point every car i own after that is a manual, until recently btw i sold the car for 700 dollar hehe.

 

[DavidZ28]

Mine was boring and fairly uneventful compared to previous posters. I learned on a '78 Toyota Celica in the high school parking lot.

 

[TallPaul]

Just wish I had a beater manual tranny vehicle to give my son and let him beat on it till he gets it down. Should have kept the ol F150 until he learned.

This morning I launched the Ranger without touching the accelerator pedal at all. Very smooth too. Of course, can't do that in traffic.

 

[SEMI_287]

On my dads 90 Ranger when I has 7. I miss that truck.