What did you learn to drive in?

[camcojb]

When I was in school they still had drivers training in the school itself. You had a drivers training class with simulators, and then after school you drove for real with 2-3 other students and an instructor. My instructor happened to be my Biology teacher Mr. Koobs, who was also a neighbor when I was real young.

My driver training car was a new 73 Pontiac LeMans. What a classic... :lol:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nEcS7mTzh94/S4B_vOkckxI/AAAAAAAADvs/0g_oWhdfw5M/s1600/1973+Lemans+2+door+b.jpg

When I got my permit I cut my teeth on the family Ford wagon.

http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/G6/CLV_ClassicCountryCars_FordCountrySquire_xl.jpg


At least it had a 429. :wacko: So what did you learn to drive in?

[Sieg]

Interesting......I'm trying to think of what my first steering wheel with 4 tires vehicle was?

In high school we had a drivers ed class and the vehicle was a '73 or so yellow VW bug.....clutch modulation 101 :bang:

I took my permit and license tests with my mom's '69 Pontiac Lemans 350 w/ TH350 and that was my drifting car. I swear it gained 75 hp when I flipped the air cleaner lid. :lol:

My Dad had a '73 LTD w/ a 460.......the high-speed hwy pursuit vehicle.......straights only as that thing was a genuine pig in the corners.

[Flash68]

Awesome topic Jody. :thumbsup:

When I was 12 in small town South Dakota my MOM took me out to a gravel parking lot at the edge of town in a high performance 1981 Plymouth Horizon (4 speed!) to cut my teeth. :D

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff245/flash68/1979-Plymouth-Horizon-08_zpsbb7623c8.jpg (http://s236.photobucket.com/user/flash68/media/1979-Plymouth-Horizon-08_zpsbb7623c8.jpg.html)

[GregWeld]

I'm so old they didn't even have cars to learn to drive in. Wait! What were we talking about?

It's been so long I honestly can't remember.

[ErikLS2]

This is going to be a good thread. We had simulators in high school too, a movie from a dash of a car playing at the front of a trailer/classroom filled with dashboards from something like my Dad's old Caprice. That would alternate each day with 4 of us plus instructor driving around taking turns in a 80's ish Escort POS.

Before that though my Dad one day asked me when I was about 12-13 probably if I would like to steer the car, that old Caprice. Well, it had a bench seat so I slid over next to him and began to steer the car. That continued when he got his '79 Malibu Classic until I got my license. Learned to drive a stick in my Mom's '74 Datsun 610 that later developed a problem with the anti-backfire valve and would backfire after shifting like a bomb going off!

[tones2SS]

My driver training car was a new 73 Pontiac LeMans. What a classic... :lol:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nEcS7mTzh94/S4B_vOkckxI/AAAAAAAADvs/0g_oWhdfw5M/s1600/1973+Lemans+2+door+b.jpg

Nice car.
Too funny Jody! My very first car was a 1974 Pontiac LeMans. Very Similar to this but a maroon color.
I learned to drive in an mid eighties Camaro. (It wasn't a Z28, but still a nice car at the time and had a V8.) The guy who owned the driving school was a younger guy at the time and cool dude.
After I got my permit, I was driving around my mom's Ford Escort and my dad's Caprice Classic. Ahhhhhh,...........the memories. lol

[Damn True]

I learned to drive in a 1958 Cameo

3 on the tree baby!

[DBasher]

I was too young to deliver and throw the Sunday paper by myself so my dad would let me drive his 72 Dodge 3/4 ton. This was when you could pass an officer and wave while your old man sat on the tailgate, I was 10.

The first manual I remember is our little Meyers Manx. We'd go down into the valley and run the gravel roads next to the slough. Still remeber the lil white wheel for a gas pedal, man that thing was a lot of fun!

Drivers Ed was a sweet burgandy K car, lame!

[Ron in SoCal]

Easy...my Mom's 69 Nova 350/350. 1:am, I was 13 years old and had the night of my life. When Dad found out the next day I couldn't sit down for a week.

[Shmoov69]

Yard tractor, 51 jeep (farm/hunting rig) and this Camaro, "technically" my fist car, had it when I was 15. Would love to have it now... Also, not instead! LoL!

[DaleTx]

I learned to drive in my Dads 1971 Ford Galaxie 500 with the 390 engine. The car was huge... I remember sitting on a pillow with the seat all the way forward so I could reach the pedals and see over the dash. I had to use the pillow for the drivers test, Lol.

[st83]

I learned to drive in a 1943 Willy's Jeep! My old man dragged it home out of a swamp, got it running, and I would boot around the field and trails in it when I was 12yrs old! It was a flat head 4 banger with a non syncro 3 speed! Total blast!

[SSLance]

Mine was a 1953 Willys Jeep, I bought it when I was 13.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v362/LSVLance/Car%20Pictures/1953Willys.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LSVLance/media/Car%20Pictures/1953Willys.jpg.html)

You could side step the clutch at idle and not kill it, great vehicle to learn to drive a manual in. Never drove it on the street though, nor my Willys wagon I bought when I was 14. It had a Flathead V8 transplanted in it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v362/LSVLance/Car%20Pictures/1953WillysWagon.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LSVLance/media/Car%20Pictures/1953WillysWagon.jpg.html)

Sold them both and bought my 1977 Dodge Truck when I was 15. Drove this for my driver's test and the first couple of years of legal street driving.

In the back yard before I could legally drive it

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v362/LSVLance/Car%20Pictures/1977Dodge.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LSVLance/media/Car%20Pictures/1977Dodge.jpg.html)

What it looked like most of the rest of the time...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v362/LSVLance/Car%20Pictures/1977Dodgestuck3.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LSVLance/media/Car%20Pictures/1977Dodgestuck3.jpg.html)

It was a pig, had a 400 with a 2 barrel carb...couldn't get out of it's own way. Weren't the 70s great.

[avewhtboy]

This is what I learned to drive in. My dad would let me drive it around the neighborhood and driveway( circle driveway) when I was 13.

Army surplus, on the door it said "official use only" in little white letters.

It was 6 cylinder with 3 speed on the column.

http://www.racingjunk.com/Ford/181969077/1964-Ford-Econoline.html?imageIndex=0&showSuperSize=true

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.racingjunk.com/ui/8/05/31780058-583.jpg

[will69camaro]

First car I ever drove was a tan 1977 Chevy Caprice.

Then learned to drive stick in my 1969 Camaro I'm still building today.

First time I learned to "DRIVE" was in a 1999 Camaro at Texas World Speedway. Before then I thought I could drive...I was wrong...

William

[califconstruct]

http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr131/califconstruct/2787870001_large.jpg


http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr131/califconstruct/images.jpg


This was the ride my pop set me off in. of course I slightly wrecked it into a tree, in the back-roads.. because of the horrible suspension, heavy front end, the beer can between my legs, the hot blonde beside me.. wooo nelly... them were the days! I would constantly bury the needle on the speedometer, not knowing exactly how fast it was going.
Great back seat!

I can also remember vividly,, giving it a tune up with my Dad.. pulling out a spark plug.. seeing the carbon build up.. and him telling me.. "you don't run this car hard enough". "You have to let it breath once and a while, that's why you have all that stuff on there" (while looking at the sparkplug). Damn.. I didn't know I could make it go any faster! :confused59: . - the Speedo only went up to 120!... lol..

[lilcraigford]

I learned to drive in the '95 Saturn SW2 I currently own, around '04 while racking up permit hours for my drivers license; fortunately my instructor wasn't phased by the aftermarket gauges or aggressive exhaust.

She was my dad's daily driver until about 2010 before the mule (a '95 SL2) for a TDI swap became his regular transportation. I took the keys officially late in the summer of the following year, by which point the SW2 had roughly 328k. When purchased in '97 the car only had 41,920 miles. Its currently sitting out the winter with 384k.

Dad made some mild modifications which I have left on the car - exception being the struts/springs I swapped out for coilovers and a set of wheels - and I tackled some maintenance (wheel bearings, control arms) when it switched hands. Between the two of us she was always well cared for, however the mileage and winters show in a few places. Right now I am collecting parts to freshen up a donor motor (with 384k she is tired and greedy with the oil) and looking at some rust surgery (no more winter duty for this car). Doesn't need much, although I do have a few changes in mind. Below is a picture I took a year or so ago during paint correction (I don't really have any pictures of the car) and the last mileage update:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/7981315997_889e43524e_c.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5465/9767049624_976e1052fd_c.jpg

Somehow I ended up with a beater (another Saturn) for my daily (the SW2) which is stealing some attention, time, and money from my project. :rolleyes:

[Che70velle]

Like some of you, I also got the opportunity to steer, while being very young. Dad was very cool about things like that. He bought a new 85' gmc s-15 4 cylinder, 5 speed, and he taught me how to drive a stick in it. One day while he was gone, me and a friend took the truck out, and while turning around I backed off of the dirt road I was on, and into some softer stuff. Ended up stuck. Took me and my buddy an hour to get it out. Got it home, washed it, and to this day, I don't think dad knows anything about it. I was 13. Dad, if you read this, it was all Jeff's idea...LOL!

[James OLC]

Learned to drive - 1978 Monte Carlo
Learned to drive faster - 1984 300zx turbo
Learned to drive a manual - 1964 Volkwagon
Learned to drive a manual faster - 1967 Camaro

[TimeWarpF100]

I learned how to drive in my dad's brand new 1966 F100 very similar to the one in brochure shown and same except for color of the light blue '66 Shown here (which I still own)

My Daughters all learned how to drive in this Green~White 1965 F250 Yeah, That is still original paint!

My oldest daughter's daily driver is the Blue F250 Ranger truck pic on right with 3 old trucks.

I also have two other '66 Trucks not shown here. One with a 427 SIde Oiler and another with a 3.5L EcoBoost TT.

To say that my dad's '66 made a permanent liking for the 65-66 Trucks is a understatement!

Just bought another '66 also but not here yet . . . LOL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/CalypsoCoralBoss302/LV266-lin-ll_zps01f23834.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/CalypsoCoralBoss302/DSC02065_zps57c80d2b.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/CalypsoCoralBoss302/IMG_0661_zpsf93f708a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/CalypsoCoralBoss302/c90e2610_zps5f00e065.jpg

[Damn True]

I had a '64 in the same teal/white as the truck above....never should have sold that.

Some stupid 16yr old thought he needed a four-by-four and bought a crapcan '76 chevy 1/2-ton that was lifted by a band of retarded-one-handed-monkies. I think I spent as much money on u-joints as I did on gas during the 6mos I owned it.

[intocarss]

I first learned to drive in one of these, sitting on my dads lap

[jay web]

My dad taught me how to drive in a 70 something CJ5/V8/3 speed with side exhaust on the beach. You can still drive on that strecth of sand now. For drivers ed we had a chevy citation. I'm sure Jay Hilliard can chime in on that car as well. wHAT A TURD.

[jy211]

a Porsche 924 :thankyou:

[Evan Iroc-Z]

I learned to drive an automatic in a 1985 Dodge Aries.

I learned to drive an manual in a 1986 IROC.

I learned to drive in the snow in a 1991 Audi 5000 CS Quattro. Even though it was a boat, I felt like the best rally driver in the world.

[whitess]

First drive was a '63 4 door Fairlane with a 3 on the tree when I was 15. My friends dad took us up to the Junior High parking lot and taught us to shift it and parallel park, how to tell where the clutch should release and about engine braking. He put a couple of Green Stamps (remember those!) on the hood to show where your right side wheels were on the road. After that I worked at a Church camp above Gunnison and the Caretaker took a liking to me and let me drive the '39 Fordson tractor they had to take firewoood to the cabins. There wasn't any E-Brake so on the hills by the cabins you had to set the front of it it against a tree! It had a power take off setup connected to a large saw blade he'd use to cut wood with. Three pedals on the floor - 2 brakes and a clutch. No synchros for the gears but you could stop (had to to shift gears) and put it in 3rd, let out the clutch and it would take off! After that my sisters 3 speed '60 Corvair. Another friend took me out in it and put me on a hill and said go! One time I tried to "lay rubber" with it taking off and the fan belt flew off but didn't break. My Senior year I had a '57 Chevy with a 4 speed with no Power Brakes or Steering. In the winter there wasn't a heater so my Dad taught me how to defrost the windows with the windows part-way open. :) The summer after my senior year (1970) I worked in a Pontiac/Jeep/AMC/ Rover dealer and got to learn to drive all sorts of hot rods! Good times.

[dhutton]

A 64 Pontiac Parisienne. Essentially a Canadian built Grand Prix powered by a Chevy 283. For some reason most of the Canadian Pontiacs had French names. We also had a 62 Catalina that was called a Laurentian.

Don

[Musclerodz]

Does go carts as a kid count? The first car I remember driving was my parents caravan. I was around 13 and would bring it to the front door of the church parking lot. I had drove some POS in drivers ed. Learn to use a clutch in dads isuzu trooper when I was 15.

[NOT A TA]

First car was a 1/4 Midget I bought around 10 years old with lawn mowing money. First full size was a 64 Suburban at 11-12 I drove around a construction site back when they let kids work.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff292/NOTATA/scan%20pics/Scan_Pic0001.jpg (http://s240.photobucket.com/user/NOTATA/media/scan%20pics/Scan_Pic0001.jpg.html)

[paulk68]

This is my first car 1968 camaro and current project, my dad let me buy it when I was 15 and learned to yard drive it first. It did not take me long to pick up that 3 speed

[enzo]

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1089549.jpg

It was my Dad's daily driver

[DETON8R]

Sorry, don't have photos of the real trucks and jeep, but these will do.

Learned to drive a white 1969 GMC 3/4 ton camper special with a long bed and heavy duty helper springs in the rear. Drove that truck on the fire roads in the Stanislaus National Forrest when I was 15 years old before I had my permit. That was also the first engine I rebuilt, small block 350. Man that truck was squirley in the rain.

Learned to drive a stick in a 1947 Willys Jeep, military convert, that had a 283 and a three speed on the floor. The thing had a roll cage, no seat belts, side pipe exhaust, was painted hugger orange, and the texture of the finish was orange peel. It was a real beater/beast. I would come home from school and drive my friends around, one time I let out the clutch and heard a BANG, then a grinding noise. My buddy and I pushed it back home for a half an hour. When my Dad got home, he took one look at it and said I know what that is. He started the engine, locked the front hubs, engaged the transfer case, and drove it out the drive way. Then backed it back up and said, that would have been easier than pushing it all the way home. Snapped a rear axle, told me not to gas it hard on take-off, the axles were designed for a 48 hp 4 cylinder, not the torque of a V8.

[Bryce]

My falcon. I bought it before I had my permit.

[Bryan O]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c299/boates/1971_Datsun_240Z_Series_I.jpg

[rickpaw]

Nice Z.

I learned how to drive in a 70 monte carlo. Was 14 at the time

[Shark Racer]

First car I fired up and drove: 79 Bronco 400, belonged to my dad.

Driver's ed was split between a 97 Acura 3.0Cl, 99 Toyota Sienna, and my 78 Corvette.

First car was the 78, still have it now. :)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t31/1149657_10100118280057684_1919804604_o.jpg

[Yelcamino]

When I was 14 my dad bought a '69 Bronco and we completely stripped it down to bare metal, painted it in our single carport with laquer and then reassembled it.

The instant I got my learner's permit, he taught me how to drive in it - 3 spd on the column, manual brakes & steering. After I got my license, we shared it.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii131/hlumpp/Gone%20but%20not%20forgotten/1969Bronco_zps34043e89.jpg (http://s263.photobucket.com/user/hlumpp/media/Gone%20but%20not%20forgotten/1969Bronco_zps34043e89.jpg.html)

Then I bought my first car, '70 Torino GT. Naturally it didn't have an engine or transmission, so I continued to drive the Bronco!

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii131/hlumpp/Gone%20but%20not%20forgotten/1970TorinoGT_1_zps5e5e7822.jpg (http://s263.photobucket.com/user/hlumpp/media/Gone%20but%20not%20forgotten/1970TorinoGT_1_zps5e5e7822.jpg.html)

[ProTouring442]

I learned to drive in my father's 1961 Chevrolet Impala, 348, 3 two barrels, and a 3 speed on the column. Manual brakes and manual steering too.

The car pictured here is not the car (I don't have a picture of it on my computer), but it's close. Dad's had a white roof, no front bumper guard, and no rocker panel moldings.

http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Chevrolet/61-Chevy-Impala-SS_DV-11-SJ_02.jpg

[huggerz]

I learned the concept of a clutch on a 4020 John Deere. When I turned 14 my dad gave me the keys to grandpa's old 80 El Camino. He said "This one is on me, take care of it because it is all your getting". I thought dad was being hard on me, but now I realize he was teaching me a life lesson. When I turned 17 I saved up my paychecks from working at the gas station to buy a 83 Cutlass for $1200, I still have it (I am 35 now)!

[waynieZ]

When I was 14 my oldest brother bought a 67 MGB the day he bought it he took me and taught me to drive a stick. God I miss him...

[Vince@Meanstreets]

it was one of these, just like it but that one's nicer....3 on the tree and a sticky gas pedal. I was 13, it was 5:44 PM and I got to drive from China Basin to Fort Mason. It was pretty terrifying being the first time I drove anything other than a dirt bike and a Green Machine.

[Nonhog]

69 Impala SS427 390HP auto on the column. bench seat. 2 something gears

[silvermonte]

Im a bit younger then some of you, but my first car I drove as a kid was a 70s Grand Prix. I remember the doors being huge and had a hard time shutting them.

Drivers Ed was a 1990 Pontiac Sunbird and my first car that I got when I was 15 is my 1988 Olds Cutlass Supreme and I still have it to this day 16 years later.

The first stick that I learned to drive was my younger brothers 2.2 Turbo dodge K-car, that thing was a blast.

[FETorino]

When I was 14 I used to roll my dads 74 superbeetle commuter car out of the driveway in the middle of the night and go cruising.

I had watched my dad shift the car and I rode motorcycles (a fact unknown by my parents at the time) and figured that was all the training I needed. :lmao:

So the first time I did it there I was for 10 min struggling with the shifter until I figured out only reverse required some downward pressure on the shifter.

I guess I didn't pay close enough attention after all.:bang: By the time I cut the motor and coasted back into the driveway I had the shifting down.

[Streetking]

1974 Fiat X19 :)

[Jay Hilliard]

I learned on my dad's 1966 Chevrolet C-10 Truck (4 speed) when I was 13. The driver's learning car in HS was a 1985 Chevy Citation (4-door). Has to be on the top 5 list for GM's ugliest car.

[zz430droptop67rs]

I'm probably the oldest member to post in this thread.

I learned in a 51 Desoto flat head 6 with the semi auto gear box. The 1-2 shift was manual, but the 2-3 shifted just by lifting off the gas pedal and it would clunk into high.

My first car was a 54 Ford 4-door with the 239 V8 and 3-speed stick. I put a floor shifter in it. The levers wouldn't clear the floor so the pattern was upside down. When cruising, I made sure people saw me push the shifter forward for first gear so it looked like I had a 4-speed. :confused59:

[GregWeld]

When I was 14 I used to roll my dads 74 superbeetle commuter car out of the driveway in the middle of the night and go cruising.

I had watched my dad shift the car and I rode motorcycles (a fact unknown by my parents at the time) and figured that was all the training I needed. :lmao:

So the first time I did it there I was for 10 min struggling with the shifter until I figured out only reverse required some downward pressure on the shifter.

I guess I didn't pay close enough attention after all.:bang: By the time I cut the motor and coasted back into the driveway I had the shifting down.




I spent the weekend in JDH.... when my buddy "borrowed" his dads 289 Mustang -- and I "borrowed" my parents '63 Buick so we could drag race.... Funny -- the judge suspended my license for one year -- but since I was only 14 it really didn't matter did it?!?!?!? To this day I think the judge was dumber than a stump.

[GregWeld]

Damn "rich kids".....









1974 Fiat X19 :)

[aidanfancystang]

I learned in my dad's 81 VW rabbit it was a 5spd 4 door, it later became one of my many vehicles.

[wiedemab]

My earliest memory is riding along with grandpa on his Farmall A and steering...

http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/szocki/projects/spring_10/26/images/a_big.jpg

We always had a bunch of different vehicles around, but I remember driving Dad's '75 F100 302 2bl, 4spd. I also remember learning that it didn't have a neutral/clutch safety by starting it in gear.....scared the **** of me!

[Ummgawa]

I "learned" to drive at eight years old, if you can call it driving.

http://flogginyourblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/learning-how-to-drive-at-eight-years-old.html

[pro71bird]

It was an El Camino that my father had at the time.

[chichirone]

I learned to drive in a 1984 Chevy Conversion van. 4 shades of brown and tan velour interior. I took my drivers test in a Chevy S10 Blazer.

My first car was a 1981 Jeep CJ7. $650. My dad and I bought it one weekend when mom was traveling. Boys weekend...woohoo! So what do we do...go buy a Jeep. On the way home he says we HAVE to clean this POS up before your mother gets home. We rattle can painted it, bought some used tires and right as we were putting it all back together, I stepped right through the passenger floorboard all the way up to my knee. Flintstone style!!! Of course she pulls up within minutes of that happening and I throw the rubber floor mat in the foot well to conceal the hole. She goes in the house and we grab a piece of sheet metal, bend it up and screw it in place with self tapping screws. What a hack job looking back on it!! A few minutes later here comes mom ready for a ride in the "Heep" as it was affectionately referred to by my parents. Man I wish I still had that thing!! So many great memories.

[BMR Sales]

1st Car I drove - 64 Impala
Car I learned to drive in - 72 Ford Ranchero
1st Car I drove legally - 1972 Mustang, 351 Cleveland, 4 Spd
1st Race Car - 1969 Porsche 911S

[Firebirdsteve]

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee503/westcansteve/240z_zps52db5e7e.png (http://s1231.photobucket.com/user/westcansteve/media/240z_zps52db5e7e.png.html)


My older brother taught me in his 240!
I will own one some day!!!

[WILWAXU]

Learned to drive in a 1969 Bronco, column shift :D But, that was mostly off road... long before I was eligible for a license.

Road experience was in my 1978 Celica GT, bought with $1000 loan from my parents.. out of a junkyard :D

[transam]

1979 cutlass salon fastback/88 mustang gt

[rustomatic]

I'm suspicious of all who learned to drive in vans. My awesome vehicles included the late-'80s Camry that the driver's school psychos owned (dual brakes, yeah!)--this was paid for by working with stoners in a restaurant on weekends. They'd s-canned driver's ed when I was in high school.

The license test came on my third car, a '77 Mercury Capri with a completely powerless 2.3 four-cylinder/four-speed stick. I had to buy the car (washed a lot of dishes) to really teach myself how to drive, while my brother gave me tips on using a stick. The Capri was preceded by a '79 Celica and an '80 V6 Mustang, neither of which had the stuff for DMV exposure.

These cars were not deserving of film (this experience pre-dated digital cameras).

[RECOVERY ROOM]

73 Gremlin v8/3speed... Thats just embarrassing

[Damn True]

My earliest memory is riding along with grandpa on his Farmall A and steering...

http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/szocki/projects/spring_10/26/images/a_big.jpg

We always had a bunch of different vehicles around, but I remember driving Dad's '75 F100 302 2bl, 4spd. I also remember learning that it didn't have a neutral/clutch safety by starting it in gear.....scared the **** of me!

Someday Id like to have a hunk of property large enough to justify an old Farmall or Ford 8n