What car did you learn to drive on?...

[Tschupp]

Dodge 330 push button transmission I think it was a 1963 but that is a maybe sorta that time period guess!

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Tschupp

Dodge 330 push button transmission I think it was a 1963 but that is a maybe sorta that time period guess!

OMG!
My best friend's family had one of those. We'd take it down some back country road at about 60 and push "R" and floor it. The first sensation was tire smoke coming in the cracks around the windows.

[nitzo]

I learned to drive in a 73' like this one:





My first car was a 76' like this:





Both cars had the same motor, the mighty 455

[nswhite]

My dad’s ‘67 Chevy Biscayne. First car he owned with an automatic.

[jcl]

On the road, a 1969 Ford Cortina with a manual transmission. Other than on public roads, a whole series for Ford wagons; Fairlanes, Torinos, and LTDs, usually in campgrounds, often hitched up.

Driver’s license test was in a 1976 LTD Country Squire (with a 460 and wood grain panels)

First car was a 1966 Mustang, 289 auto. Bought it myself at 14, restored it wit.h my dad for a year and a bit, and it was ready weeks before my 16th birthday. It had rare factory options most had never seem. Cable operated trunk release. AM 4 track tape deck. And so on. We tracked iit back through Ford and it was originally purchased by a dealer in Alberta for his wife. I still have the 1966 Mustang owners manual I got from Ford in 1976, never opened.

First new car was a 1986 Volvo 245.

[ROBERT CROSS]

My biggest regret.....Selling "The Saint" 64 P1800s

Bob
🇺🇸

[davidrrand]

I learned to drive on the gravel roads around Lake Lanier at the age of 11 in my older brother’s ‘63 Corvair Spyder, brand new, 4spd of course. Our neighbor owned the local Ford dealership in Buford he would bring hot rod trade ins like 57 chevys and let me drive them, too. Had to sit on a boat cushion. First car for me was a ‘68 beetle that was two years old and drove the wheels off that one, literally eventually in a stupid accident. Last manual I owned was my ‘99 F350. Miss manual transmissions.

[crispyboy]

Learned to drive at age 9 on a 1964 Jeep J200 pickup truck with manual steering, 3 on the tree and had to know how to double clutch. My actual driving test was on a 1974 Jeep CJ-5 which is still in the family.

[SeeMore]

Like a few earlier posts I learned to operate wheeled machinery on an AZ ranch growing up but my first street legal ride and beachside cruiser waited until I had moved ocean side. That was a ’65 Datsun Fairlady 1600 (a SPL311) which was Nissan’s first two seater sports car and the forerunner to the Z cars.

[mikeinca]

Originally Posted by Tschupp

Dodge 330 push button transmission I think it was a 1963 but that is a maybe sorta that time period guess!

Could have been a '63. My '61 Plymouth had the 3 speed push button TorqueFlight transmission and it was available until 1965 when Chrysler Corp switched to a column mounted shifter for their automatics.

The push buttons were actually pretty cool because it was almost impossible to select the wrong gear by accident when shifting manually.

[Mikebrady62]

I learned to drive in a 1974 Volkswagon Thing. Usually with the top down, doors and windows off.

[Mikebrady62]

Originally Posted by Oreg52

My uncle thought it would be fun to teach me how to drive. He was 17 I was 12. Car was a 59 Chevy wagon belonging to my grandfather.
Legally it was a 61 Belvedere Drivers Ed car with a three speed stick when I was 15 but my dad had been teaching me for a few years beforehand with his Caltrans (California Division of Highways) vehicles he drove home every night. 64 Mercury Comet and a 65 F100.

The family car when I was 16 was a 68 GTO. I still own it today.

The GTO is an Awesome car now! I can't imagine how happy your are that you hung on to it.

[David F]

For me, a 1972 International Harvester crew cab 4x4 pick-up in frost green metallic.

https://www.google.com/search?q=inte...mNjIdikTifLxTM

[jondrew55]

Hard to remember so far back, but I think it must have been my dad's 70 barracuda with the enormous 225 CI straight 6. But I really learned on my '59 CJ-5. I also learned how to replace the clutch in the Jeep out of necessity.

[featherbedder]

Lots of discussions about manual trans, but how about 30s era manual brakes that were norm when I learned to drive. You quickly learned defensive driving w/out being taught, and white knuckle experiences. Steel fenders, real running boards no radios, air cond. etc. Do I miss those days of learning to drive NO but I think it made me a better driver than is taught in drivers ed in new cars with all the modern inventions.

[Stormalong]

I learned to drive in a Jeep CJ2A. We were hunting, dad twisted his ankle and couldn't drive so I took over and learned fast. Logging road and gravel. Lots of fun, I kept the Jeep for over 20 years after my dad died.

[tjdonahoe]

1947 ford F6 farm truck…my last one I owned was a t800 kw with 4 axles and a 500 hp cat engine pulling a 3 axle pup…

[subfan1]

I learned to drive in the family’s 1960 Pontiac Catalina station wagon. 389 with 3 speed automatic. My first car was a 74 Volkswagen super beetle 4 speed stick shift. Glad I learned to drive a stick

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by featherbedder

Lots of discussions about manual trans, but how about 30s era manual brakes that were norm when I learned to drive. You quickly learned defensive driving w/out being taught, and white knuckle experiences. Steel fenders, real running boards no radios, air cond. etc. Do I miss those days of learning to drive NO but I think it made me a better driver than is taught in drivers ed in new cars with all the modern inventions.

In addition to those things, there were no Interstates and few 4 lane roads. When I was learning in the early 60s (some Interstates, mostly unfinished), we drove a lot on 2 lane roads that followed old horse and buggy lanes around property lines. I've been back to some of those roads and they were supposed to be 2 lane with a 35 mph speed limit. They aren't much wider than a driveway and had sharp bends and hills in them. I'm pretty good on country roads now.

If by 'manual brakes' you mean no power brakes then yes, even in the 50s the cars that I drove had no power brakes or power steering. Brakes were shoe brakes and they would fade out if you got them too hot. If you had a blowout, hit a pothole or got into a rut you'd better have a tight grip on that steering wheel. Wipers were vacuum powered so if you were driving in the rain and had to accelerate hard to get into traffic...they stopped. You had to let up on the gas to get them working again. Outside mirrors were an option. Early cars had a solid steering column and if you had a front end collision you could end up with that shaft in your chest or head. Solid steel dashboards would put a dent in your head if you went out through the windshield, but then the windshield would cut you to ribbons before they put in safety glass.

It goes on and on.... Ah, the good old days of driving. I don't miss them at all. Cars, for all their current faults, are MUCH safer to drive or ride in, thankfully.

[JohnandDonna]

1970 Chrysler Newport. 383 big block V8 with a 2 barrel carburetor. Vinyl bench seats front and back. It was a huge boat. You could put two full size bicycles in the truck and still have room left over. You could fit 4 across on the beach seats. However the 4 wheel drum brakes were a just a suggestion when they got wet. So you stood on them and prayed!!!