What Did You Learn To Drive In?

fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
had stop and go pedals on the quarter midget i got thrown in at 5.
everything after that was the same-same till i got a 4 speed...
then later an 18 wheeler,, that was different... LOL, RTO, 18 speed, 10 speed, 8 speeds, you were just expected to be able to figure it out when you got told to drive it.

but i guess you'd have to say the 68 charger i bought from the neighbor for 400$ was what i 'learned' in.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
hporter said:
Terrible photos - but a 1962 Ford F100 uni-body short wide.View attachment 36367View attachment 36368

It was a 3 speed that used to be on the tree, but had been "shifted" to a floorboard mounted Hurst shifter. 292 V8.

It costs me all of the $300 I had to spend the month before I turned 16. And had genuine shag carpet, one of those Indian blanket seat covers and dual purpose channel locks on the door handles. Dual purpose because you had to unclamp them from the door and attach them to the windows to raise and lower the windows.

I had the truck all the way through my University years. Wish I still had it. Back then, $50 in your pocket at the wrecker yard could replace any part on that truck - save the engine.

I would love to have another 1960's Ford truck, but they seem to want crazy amounts of money for them now. I had no idea what a bargain I got for $300 at the time.
Click to expand...
Neighbor has one of those sitting down the road from me. Problem up here is rust, and it's got a bit.
 
Tom

Tom

Well-Known Member
Dad's work truck, a 66 chevy 292 and 4 spd, iirc. It was brand new and I'm sure I aged it a couple years in the first month.
We had drivers education later, but I don't recall any students that didn't already have a fair amount of experience prior to drivers ed.
 
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Hawk

Hawk

Well-Known Member
After the 1963 Pontiac Star Chief I got a brand new 1968 Camero SS.
My brother and I put a 3/4 racing cam, fuel block, duel 4 barrel Holly's, custom exhaust and headers on it.
Never wore seat belts and I never had an accident in it.
I really don't know how I survived!
 
Snakeoil

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
My Dad's '65 Chevy wagon. Then in my senior year in high school, he gave me my Mom's car, a 1960 Impala that he bought new as the family car. By the time I got it there was 140K miles on the odo and it had been broken for a few years. You still could not hear the 283 engine run at idle.
 
P

popper

Well-Known Member
Driver's Ed? Some Pontiac barge automatic. Heck, I helped teach D.E., already had D.L. Funny, kids would get in, floor the pedal and crank the starter - and keep foot on the pedal!
 
Gary

Gary

SE Kansas
1954 Ford F100 inline six with 3 on the column. Great pickup; every Saturday morning dad would get me and we'd go to town to load up water for the well. Mighty dry back in the 50's. Dad's F100 was a light blue color (glacier blue?) . Only time it was in the shop was after dad broke off a spark plug and had the shop replace it. The pic is a representation of the truck and color.
 

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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Snakeoil said:
.......... a 1960 Impala that he bought new as the family car. By the time I got it there was 140K miles on the odo and it had been broken for a few years. You still could not hear the 283 engine run at idle.
Click to expand...
Of all the Small-Block Chevrolet engines, the 283 was the quickest revving and smoothest running of the lot.
The 302, which used the same 283 crank with a 3" stoke but had a 4" bore was nearly its equal.
 
Urny

Urny

Missouri Ozarks, heart still in the Ruby Mountains
1960 (+/-) Panhard 4 door with it's 11 or 1200cc opposed twin, four speed, column mounted shift and front wheel drive, a car my dad really liked. Allegedly water tight and could float, a notion we did not care to verify.

The first I-bought-it-myself car was a 1968 Javelin SST, a demonstrator from City of Ramblers, later American City, in Sacramento, PDRK, for $3,132 OTD. Remember demonstrators?
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
yep the 65 Valiant my Aunt bought was a demo car.

she drove it for about 20 years then sold it to my dad who gave it to me, i sold it to help pay for the Dodge, before it was even registered.
probably should'a kept it and fixed the super minor problems it had, probably coulda got another 20 years out of it.
it still had the plastic bubble cover on the back seat.
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Ok , I learned to drive in my Dad's 3 speed on column 1963 Buick Skylark-Special & This thing was unique for the times:
It had a 215 Cubic Inch 8 Cylinder aluminum engine At 12 to 1 compression ratio producing 200 BHP! No it was not the 216 6 cyl engine! It had the first Electronic ignition! It only could run on Sunoco 260 Gas (at that time 1968!)
It sported a huge, for the engine, Rochester 4 barrel carb! Covered near half the block!
My Dad didn't know what he had!
After passing my test I took most of the control of this car. I put in a 3 speed -bang shift 3 speed on the floor! Put on a Dome foam air intake on the 4 bbl. Ceramic coated the headers and brushed them out to look chrome! Tinted the windows and it became my chick pick up car! It could lay rubber for 1/8 mile when I was being foolish! The engine was a kin to a formula one engine of the time. It was a real sleeper and I won many of drags and the other guys were astounded!
Wish I had photos of it!
So When my Dad bought me my first car it was to be a 1967 Buick GS 400! and I souped the heck out of it ! Front rake and L60's in the rear with hijaker air shocks. It was the auto but it was fast! Think I only have one photo of that somewhere
 
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