Art & Inspiration Teaching others how to drive

I have taught my twin girls how to drive I've also taught two of my grandchildren and they all have been driving for quiet sometime and have shown themselves to be proficient at handling a car or truck, that is if it is a automatic, today the eldest granddaughter ask me if would teach her how to drive a car with a manual transmission.

The car is Brenda's Ranch Wagon and when the time come the car will be hers as the oldest grandchild, so today I decided to teach drivers education.

I'm sure all you guys can remember your first time driving a car or truck manual transmission, the jerky starts and stalls, the tire screeching and the horrible sounds of grinding gears, if your like me you also remember the look in the eye of your teacher, whither it as your dad, mom,uncle or grandparent they did their share of squirming and talking in tongues.

We loaded up ad I drove to rge local high school and put her under Hannah under the wheel, she had the usual starts along with a couple of head snaps but I was amazed just how quick she mastered the take offs, only once did she stop without pushing in the clutch.

Within the hour we were driving around the back streets and she drove us back home, all in all she picked it up pretty fast, it may be in part to her having been driving for the past 5 years.

I learned how to drive with a 3 on the tree, we didn't own a car with a automatic and I didn't pick it up as fast ether, the fact is when that day soes come when she inherits the wagon she will be able to drive it.

Any of you guys teach your grandchildren to drive? HRP

 

Great story and great teaching.

I remember when my aunt bought a mid 80’s Volvo diesel 5 speed because she liked it no clue how to drive a manual trans.
My uncle tried for 3 days to teach her
No luck just stalls and grinds “ gave up” he did
My dad taught her in all about an hour
She drive that car for 25 years up until the turbo took a crap.

As much as the student needs to be willing you got to have a good teacher!!

Soooo...... cars in the will??? Looking to adopt ?
Lol

 

Didn't have the chance to teach grandchildren to drive, but daughter Amy picked it right up. Older daughter Hedy didn't care so much, content to drive her OT Honda Accord.
Amy now drives a three-letter 5 speed car, (no, not a Kia! The German 3-letter one)
I was lucky, older members of the racing team said I should learn to drive!
Ted DeMello's '33 tudor, black, mad rake...'53 Merc flattie, '39 box...Perfect student learner. I kept looking down at the shift tower when shifting, and steering to the right... LOL
Who'da thought I'd be steering the club drag car back on the return strip a week later?
Thrilling...Just thrilling!
So yeah, Danny. I'd like to 'pass it on'...

 

Never had kids but when I was 16 I tried to teach my twin sister to drive. She promptly managed to hit my fathers boat when she mixed up the gas pedal and the brake pedal.

 

We were lucky - grew up in farm country. Most of us were driving tractor by 8 or 9. It wasn't unusual to see 13 - 14 year old girls hauling 20,000 lbs. of grain to the elevators in town driving '40s - '50s Fords & Dodges with crash boxes … nary a grind !

 

I don’t have any grandkids yet, but I taught my 13-year-old son to drive a standard in a 38 Ford. He now drives my pickup with a 3-on-the-tree fairly regularly and is 15. He actually wants his pickup to be a 3-on-the-tree too.

I would upload the video of him learning in the 38...but don’t know how. Appears I would have to save it to YouTube or something?

 

Taught myself at 13. Bought a 53 Chevy 6 stick for $15.00 and had to get it home. I made it but it was something of a white knuckler as I never drove anything before.

Fast forward 20 years and my wife needed a new car and in my absolute genius mind I figured a 76 Alfa Romeo was right up her alley. It had a 5 speed DeDion transaxle in it and you shifted it like any other stick shift except there were these long ass cables that controlled the transaxle. We spent a day in an abandoned parking lot the day before she had to go to work and she got it enough that I felt she could do it. Well it snowed like a bitch that night and then turned to ice. Thank god she was on the early morning shift and had to be there at 5:30AM. It was her maiden voyage and nobody else was on the road at that time. She did and hasn't looked back. She loves stick shift and wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Even with the few stops and starts, it must have been enjoyable for you and your granddaughter, Danny. That's great.

9 year old Zander comes here to the farm. He helps his dad and me during haying season. Last year, when he was only 8, he was driving his dad's pickup truck pulling the hay wagon. That's only an automatic, but we'll get him shifting something pretty soon.

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Taught my oldest daughter to drive in a 3 speed column shift 62 Falcon. Oldest son was taking Driver's Ed in a new (73-74) automatic Chevy. Tried to teach him how to drive the Falcon, he knew it all and kept telling me everything I was doing wrong. Then he was pissed off when he couldn't get a job where he had to drive a stick. Middle son picked up driving a stick shift right away as did the middle daughter and youngest son. Taught the youngest daughter to drive in a 4 speed F 350. Later, taught her and her mother to drive a 13 speed double over Caterpillar powered Freightliner. Tried to teach

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two of the grandchildren. The girl wouldn't listen to anything I said, told my wife I was a terrible teacher, so my wife taught her. The boy listened just enough to get his license, then wrecked the OT Olds I bought for he and his sister to drive.

 

I taught Brenda how to drive when we were teenagers, that's probably why she has a lead foot! HRP

 

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When teaching my kids to drive I’d take them about a mile away from the house in a rural road. tell them to stop the car, put the car in reverse and drive backwards all the way home. Boy did they complain.
Not a one of them has trouble backing up as adults.
I remember teaching my wife. She scared me quite often. I have a vision I encountered I can never get out of my head.
Riding shotgun at 50mph with a mailbox coming right at my head.

 

My buddy...
With my baby LOL.

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When I was 14 I got a job sweeping the floor in an auto body shop. Traded a few days wages for a ot Mustang with a 5speed. My dad taught me and my brother to drive on that car, then we sold it to a neighbour kid and he and his brother also learned to drive on it.
I also learned how to change a clutch, open a door with a coat hanger, push start, and do a hot patch on that old car.

My dad’s teaching method mostly consisted of giving directions followed by calling you stupid.
“Push in the clutch stupid”
“Use your turn signal stupid”
“Don’t hit that mailbox stupid”

I’m glad he taught me all that he did, I can driver anything with wheels and somethings without wheels.




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Taught both of my kids to drive on manual transmission vehicles. Daughter occasionally drove the deuce and a half when her Army unit couldn't produce a clutch capable man.

 

I have a nephew, who has always been into cars and bikes that grew up hanging around with me and my younger brother. When he was 14 I gave him a turn in a '66 GTO I had back then, and he had so many miles under his belt riding shotgun, that he was just a natural with a 4 speed. I was amazed, he even knew to shift into 1st or 2nd before going into reverse, and was the only 8th grader in his class who drove to school in the morning (it was two blocks from home, and I drove to work from there). Getting back to the topic, I was pleased that he could drive so well, because I am a poor instructor, with little patience at times.

 

Figured it out.

 

Taught my son to drive a 5 speed in his O/T ricer. Took a bit of doing but he got the hang of it with no major catastrophes. Fast forward to when he was pledging a frat at college and his frat brothers would call the pledges at all hours needing someone to drive them and their car back to the frat house after consuming too many adult beverages. Some of them had some pretty fancy rides with stick shifts and my son was the only pledge that could drive a stick. On one had he got to drive some pretty nice cars but on the other he always had to answer the call if it was a stick no matter what time it was.

 

I drove my parents 49 Plymouth, standard shift when I was around 10/11. My Dad said you think you can drive this and I said yes. And I did without any issues. Just from watching my parents drive. When I was 14 I worked on Saturday mornings at Stamford Studebaker. They were also a Mercedes dealer. My uncle was a salesman there and got me a job working 4 hours a week for $5.00. I did not care about the money. At first I just cleaned up, but after a while they let me help the mechanics and move vehicles around. I taught my kids to drive and I tell all my nieces and nephews this when they are getting their license's. #1 Never follow too close. #2 Expect everyone else on the road to do the wrong thing. Do this and stay off the phone and you will be OK.

Oh almost forgot. When I was taking drivers lessons (a requirement in CT back then) my last session I asked the instructor where should I drive to. "He said anyplace you want. You already drive better than me". It was a 58 Ford standard shift. I also taught my wife to drive standard shift.

 

Which ones your buddy?


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5 Kids, I did not teach any of them how to drive. In Wisconsin, they had to take Driver's Education in school and our High School did not have the behind the wheel, so they went to a certified driving school and the instructor signs off, then they took their road test, all passed on their first try at 16. Different times, I went driving (early 60's)with my older sister at 15 and had many miles of experience by 16, passed test after a few miles with test instructor, His comment was, John just how long have you been driving, you passed.

 

Took my Son (about 10 at the time) behind Sears and let him go at it in a 3 speed manual Datsun. He didn't scare me as much as I did my driver's ed teacher in High School. 50 mph left hand turn in front of traffic, no signal and tires screaming for mercy. Or was that the guy's in the back seat screaming?

 

Learned myself in a 71 Chevy pickup, taught both my boys in various vehicles, VW Bug, Toyota pickup, 68 Ford F100 pickup. An old man taught me how to shift a 13 speed truck transmission, have driven everything from 4 speeds with 2 speed axles up to 18 speeds. What really irks me is the company I have my truck leased to is buying automatics now for their company trucks. A lot of the “ drivers” they are hiring now can’t even drive a manual transmission! WTF is this country coming to when a grown man can’t drive a manual? Those with disabilities exempted, of course.

 

It's the same over here. I retired last year from the local council. They are replacing the fleet of trucks including the 2 tonners with autos because the young ones can't drive a stick. One day I went into the tyre bay to get a puncture repaired. I thought I'd give the young bloke a hand with his driving experience and told him to run the 12 yard tipper in. He shook his head, "don't know how to drive a manual". Wouldn't even have a go.
If there was weekend overtime on I'd be the only one to volunteer to drive the oldest truck and trailer (we call them truck and dogs over here) because it had a Roadranger 13 speed in it. Everyone thought I was looney. They'd grab the autos or the full syncro European rubbish.

 

I was taught from an early age to drive as my Dad had a smash repair business. I'd work after school and holidays with him and got to move the customer's cars around. When about 12 year old we had been getting a customer's car finished after hours. He'd promised delivery so I got the job of driving it to their house. It was dark so I drove it up their drive and hopped into Dad's car before the owner came outside. Did it a few more times after that.
When it came time to teach my kids to drive I insisted it would be a manual or not at all. I would get them to drive up our driveway, change into second, stop at the top and then reverse down the driveway using the outside mirrors only. They learnt clutch control, gear changing and reversing in one go. After they seemed proficient with that I'd get out and go inside for a coffee and tell them to toot the horn if they had a problem. They both ended up pretty good drivers.

 

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YEP! And lookit that left elbow hit the window sill right after second gear. A natural born cruiser.

Roger

 

Haven't had the chance yet, with my grandkids. the girl is 11, and the boy is nine this year. (I know, it's almost getting too late.) I did find a "farm find", '92 Jeep that I'm resurrecting. 4-banger and 5-gear. Figure it will be a good one to teach them with, even if they never drive a stick again in their lives.
Teach them to multi-task now, and still pay attention to steering properly, and they'll never have a problem driving normally.

Roger

 

I usually teach other people on the road how to drive from the comfort of my own vehicle.

 

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Now, that's some funny shi--stuff, right there.

Roger