Thread: Gear Jammer/Stipper Stories

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My mom was born in 1910, so of course she grew up without automatic transmissions. When I was a kid, we always had manual trans cars and both mom and dad drove them. I learned in a '55 Stude 3-speed. In 1957, my dad bought a brand new '57 Stude Golden Hawk, blown 289 automatic. The first automatic he or mom had ever driven. He took her out to the country to learn to drive the auto. She came up to a 4-way stop and used her left foot to jam in the clutch. Problem was, there was no clutch and she jammed on the power brakes. Well, you'd have to know my mom, but she could put a sailor to shame with her mouth. Madder than a wet hen, she got out and changed places with dad, never again to drive an automatic. She was still driving at 86years old, a 4-speed Chevette.

I learned to drive in high school, my sophomore year (56-57); they still had driver training available back then. The school had two new DT cars, one a '57 Ford Fairlane 500 4 door hardtop, and the other a '57 Plymouth 4 door hardtop, and they also had an old dark green '52 Chevy coupe. The two new cars had automatics, but that Chevy was a "3 on the tree", and we had to learn to drive it well, before they would let us drive the new cars. Now my Dad had never taught me anything about driving, other than what I picked up by osmosis, so I was really green. The first time I got into that Chevy, it was sitting in a parking spot by the school offices. I got the lecture about how to do things, practiced a few engine off dry runs, then the Teach told me to start it up, trans in neutral, foot on the clutch. I did what I was told, and he said I was to put it in reverse and back slowly out, then pull it back in. I got it in second, instead, and dropped the clutch, jumped the curb, and stalled it in the Principal's flower bed. I did learn, though, and rather quickly. Ever since, I have preferred a stick to an automatic for the most part, at least for recreational cruising.

I taught my boys to drive when they were each about ten or eleven; had a Toyota 4X4, and took them out into the boonies on a dirt road, stopped the truck and got out and walked around to the passenger side and said get out, get in, and drive. And they did. Youngest is now a trucker, and his big bro gets to play with the big truck when they cross paths here, from time to time.

i was about 6 or 7, had already learned to drive an automatic, dad said it was time to learn a stick. took me over to a park with giant parking lot in our tow truck traded spots and i haven't wanted an automatic since.

my dad had a towing company from the time i was 6 till i was 17, course he'd been doing it alot longer that, i picked up alot just watching the feet.