Teaching son to drive a manual transmission

[streetroc]

My dad taught me in a 1928 Ford Model A. If you can drive a non-synchronized 3 speed that requires very slow double clutching with every gear then everything else is easy. As if that wasn't hard enough, every time I stalled it out I'd have to get out of the car with the hand crank and crank it back up again.

We still have that car and it still runs great. In the last 84 years all its needed was a little wrench time here and there. It still has the original 40hp 4cyl engine and it has never been rebuilt. I drive that car on a daily basis every summer. They don't build em like they used to!

 

[Public Land Hunter]

I learned in a late 80's Chevy truck. My dad taught me in a field' it was much easier to figure out in the grass because the truck was a lot less likely to stall and bounce or whenever I dumped the clutch too hard it'll just spin. I felt like it helped a lot being in the grass.

 

[Powerhouse]

I just started this today with my daughter. She has drove my truck on dirt roads but was uncomfortable with the size of it so we agreed to let her have our Saturn, which just happens to be a 5 speed. She started out by trying to back it out of its parking spot, promptly stalling it and having the "I just can't do this" fit.

I had her stay in that car for an hour alone, backing it up and pulling it forward over and over till she got comfortable with starting off. After she was comfortable we hit the blacktop for a 10 mile ride down our back roads. She did just fine, didn't stall out, didn't hit anything. She was fighting the shifter, but after we came home I gave her a quick class on the nuances of shifting and made her spend another hour going through the gears in the drive.

At least my son will not be a problem to teach, he's been using a clutch since he was 9.

 

[mountainpass]

I absolutely love driving manual vehicles. I currently drive a manual Tundra.

I learned by watching my mother drive the family truckster a 77 FJ40.

When I was probably 14 dad jumped off his old 73 Chevy 3/4 ton with 3 on the tree and turned me loose on the place. Drivers ed in HS sucked the car was an automatic, I kept stomping the brake when it was time to stop. Coach kept yelling 'Damit "my last name" this not a manual! I passed with flying colors though.

I taught my little brother how to drive a manual, but I failed trying to teach my GF's daughter....I guess it's different when the burning clutch belongs to you.

 

[olchevy]

SIMPLE!


Get him a manual for his first car, he will want to go off all the time and he will teach him self in just a day or two! For real, it's what my family has always done all the way back to my grandparents. All first vehicles, girls and boys got a manual so they would know how to drive one if they ever needed to. After that we all got autos but we all know how, including my dinky blonde sister...lol

 

[mudking2008]

when i learned to drive a 5 speed my mom drive and i shifted and after a few weeks went by i had to learn to back up the drive way and pull down the drive way after learning to drive that it went to a subdivision then the road and learned within a month

 

[earl]

Taught mine on a dirt road . Stalling and spinning the tires isn't quite as bad as on pavement . Also get them out of first as soon as you can . It won't jerk near as much . Took about a day on dirt and another on pavement .

 

[DaveTheMinion]

friction point, tell him to hold the clutch and brake, then VERY slowly let clutch out til rpms change and car begins to vibrate slightly, you can let off the brake at the friction point and car won't stall, it'll begin to.roll, then give it.some.gas and let all the way out.