well seeing as I'm fed up of my damn truck just sitting in my backyard, I want to learn how to drive stick. Also seeing i'll be driving in a year (or two) I figured I should learn sooner or later. does anyone have any goood reference sights for learning to drive a three on the tree? my mom says we should just put an automatic in the truck but I figure me learning to drive my own truck is much easier and cheaper.
Pick times to practice driving when not that many people are out so you reduce the chances of running into someone.
I really just need to learn how to shift my truck. when I ask my dad to he says " oh we will one day" (for about 6 months)
just remember the shift pattern is in an "H" just like a floor shift Pull the shifter towards you and up is reverse pull the shifter towards you and push down is first back up to neutral push the stick away from you and up is second straight down through neutral below second and into hbigh gear Nothin' to it-just need a lilttle hand -eye-ear-foot co-ordination--EASY
Go with an automatic and put in an aftermarket shifter ,Should only be a couple of hundred bucks ,And this way you can have your arm around your dream gal ,Instead of shifting all the time .
Good for you, every kid should learn on a stick, then they can drive anything they get in. I taught my kids to drive a stick before they ever had a car or even a liscense .
I learned to drive in a Pinto with a stick. Had the tall gears in the rear from having been built with an automatic. My daughter learned to drive in both stick and automatic cars; we had one of each when she was learning. She prefers manuals. FWIW, I'd want to do my initial learning in a car with an AT here in the Seattle area today. The traffic here is getting really crappy. Anyway, take that truck out on Sunday morning, about seven o'clock. Start, let warm up. No use trying to fight it if it's cold-blooded when you're learning... when she's warm, push in the clutch, put 'er in gear, and let the clutch out. Volia! you're moving. Oh, and a tip, put your heel on the floor, with the ball of your foot on the clutch pedal, and rock your foot up slowly. You won't even need to step on the gas if you move slow enough (at least not on level ground), but it's much easier if you put your right foot on the gas pedal, and just push down a tiny bit you your big toe; bring the speed up to a fast idle. Just ease that clutch pedal up reaaaalllll slow until you feel the car begin to move a little bit. HOLD YOUR FOOT RIGHT THERE FOR A HALF OF A SECOND. The car will start rolling, and the clutch will be slipping somewhat, but applying some power. Then, you can ease it up the rest of the way. Don't let it rattle ya' if the car stalls, you've got a starter. No problem. If the car starts 'bucking' when you let the clutch up, you dropped the hammer too quick. Just step on the clutch, give 'er a tiny bit of gas, and let the clutch out slower this time. Just take your time; you'll get the hang of it within a few hours' time, and you'll be able to do it for the rest of your life. -Bill
If the clutch throw is too far to keep your heel the floor, try restin your knee against the door, that's what I do in my truck. Far better to learn to row the gears before you work on getting your arm 'round that girl. Go out to the truck sitting in the yard and practice pushing/releasing the pedal and rowing through the shift pattern.
OK, dad tried to teach me how drive a stick in 1985, I am 40 now. He had me jump in a shop truck with worn out bushings and such. I failed, didnt get teh parts chaser job that summer. Sold my musclecar at teh same time for a Fox bodied Mustang that would not get fucked with at school. Got pissed off after a few days of not driving my new car. Jumped in it and just rocked after a couple starts. Hard to explain but a cluthch car should not wind up under normal starts but sound closer to something your folks drive. Jeebus, will stick knowlege be Voodoo in a few years? it is close now
For us Europeans this is kinda funny,we dont have alot of automatic cars. Manual is the most common. If you get a driving license for a automatic in Sweden its illegal to drive a manual car. Ive learned to drive with a regular floor shift (in my dads old Mercedes Diesel ha ha) and when i bought my first "stick" (Chevy 51) i thougt it would be hard to drive but it isent. If you never been driving a car with a clutch it will be harder but you get the deal. Good Luck!
Now is the perfect time for a floor shift conversion, its hard to look cool shifting a three on the tree.
If you learn how to drive on a stick, you can drive an automatic. If you learn on an auto, then you are stuck with them till you learn a stick. My son in law was looking for a truck last year. He lost out on a LOT of good deals simply because he can't drive a standard.
Don't let it scare you man, but a bit of advice, the first few times you go out to learn to drive stick let your ride take a break every now and then. By that I meen pull over and park for a few. I've tought a few people how to drive stick and after a while the clutch can heat up. That's not great for the car and really not great for the confidence of the person trying to learn. A hot clutch is a whole new handfull you don't want to deal with while you are trying to learn. Your best bet at first is to find a nice big EMPTY parking lot and just get used to starting and stopping. Most bad things that can happen will be during acceleration and stopping so get that down before you turn it loose. Also rememeber, when in doubt, don't panic! If things get goofy just push in the clutch and you'll be fine, the car can't go anywhere with the clutch pushed in. And MOST important of all.....HAVE FUN!!!
Driving four on the floor is so much fun, driving automatic is very boring... here in Lithuania people have cars with 6 gears and reverse (7 gears), if cars battery is dead you can turn ignition... push it to approximately 5mph jump in and get it in second push the gas and up up and away you go (you can't do nothing like that with automatic). In driving school here you sit in the car for the first time ever and instructor just show what pedal is what show you where the gears are and you have to drive right to a city traffic, you be sweating like a pig, but it will be so much fun (thats how i was learned to drive a manual transmission).
So I'm guessing that you are 14 or 15? Push the clutch to the floor and put it in 1st gear, ease the clutch out and give it the juice, when it gets would up let off the gas push the clutch to the floor and slide it into second. SDide step the clutch ad gass it. Do the same for 3rd. If it gets to bucking and jumping a little your are probably going to slow for that gear, mash the clutch and move the shifter down a gear. First probably isn't syncronized so you'll probably have to stop to put it in first. Practice a ton.
Stick a piece of masking tape on the dash where you can see it easy and draw a H on it .Mark the upper left with a R,lower left 1st,right upper 2nd,lower right 3 rd.It will help you to glance at it when shifting. Changing to a automatic is a lot of work.Tell your dad to get away from the tv and help you learn to drive the truck.
Practice makes perfect. I learned how to drive manual on a 49 Hudson with 3 on the tree. Give it a week or two and it will be like second nature.
Great idea, but if you cant afford it or just don't have the time to do it, you need to be familiar with shifting. I know it sounds kinda stupid and looks very uncool but sit in the truck and keep shifting through gears until you know the pattern that well that its second nature. That way you can concentrate on clutch control and steering when you first drive it and don't have to think, 'Shit, where's that gear?' Doc.
Ive honestly thought about this. another thing ive heard is that you can put the clutch on a handle on the shifter.is this true? then you could just squeeze and shift.
I think it's a great idea that you learn to drive a stick, especially if you're going to build that pick up of yours. However, I strongly recommend that you have some adult supervision when you learn. There's a lot of things to control when driving (steering, acceleration, braking, etc) and I think it's very important that you learn these skills in a controlled environment.
when I bought my first car at 16 the only driving experience I had was the cars from drivers ed and my buddies mom's 65 Impala that I used to get my license. on the day I bought it my buddy drove it home because I had no license yet. once I got all licensed and legal a week or so later I just went out and started driving... 6 cyl with 3 on the tree. no one taught or showed me anything. yeah I killed it a few times, did the old bucking bronco act a few times then it was all good. driving a stick is a no brainer. If you get a driving license for a automatic in Sweden its illegal to drive a manual car. ^^^^ that's the most ridiculous thing I have read here in quite some time.
Why? They are just allowing you to drive the way you took the test. I take my drivers test with glasses on and its illegal for me to drive without them, even though I could. I dont have a motorcycle endorsement either, even though I was riding dirt bikes 35 years ago. Until I take it on a bike, its a no no.
I remember my uncle taking me on one of the local backroads with a steep hill leading toward a very seldom travelled intersection. I don't remember how long we sat there and he had me practice starting out in first on the grade over and over again to learn how not to stall it out or jerk the car forward. After that, the rest was pretty easy. You'll learn to listen to your ride and love it. Good luck and be safe.
I never learned to drive a stick until a few years ago (27 now). First learned how to ride a motorcycle so i had an idea how things worked. Then when i needed a new daily driver, i picked up a Chevy Colorado work truck (cheap). Once you get it going its easy. Its all about finding the friction point in the clutch. A little thing i did to get use to it. Find a small hill, just enough that the truck will roll back slightly. Start it up and with just the clutch and no gas, let out the clutch slowly until you roll forward. Let out the clutch to roll back and repeat. Decided to do this after i got stuck at a stop light on an overpass. Ended up just dropping the clutch and hopping the back end sideways a bit. My mom told me a story of my uncle learning how to drive a stick with my grandfather. Got stuck stalling out at some rail road tracks, with my grandfather laughing, my uncle jumped out of the car and hitched a ride home.
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