Slick 60's

piggy (ripsnorter) is teaching me how to drive a stick on Sirius. i've actually done quite well (according to piggy) and haven't managed to kill it once. yesterday i had some troubles though (blush)

yesterday, the truck was parked behind our other car, chubbles, and when i started the truck for my driving lesson i kinda confused reverse and first and unfortunately also had the gas pedal down. so sirius charged toward chubbles like a bat out of hell. then i kept hitting the clutch with all my strength thinking it was the brake and frantically thinking "WHY AREN'T YOU STOPPING!!!", and couldn't figure out why sirius kept rolling dangerously closer and closer to chubbles. meanwhile piggy is moving his leg back and forth in the passenger seat like some mad insane chicken stratching around in the field, hoping to hit the imaginary brake on the passenger side. he managed to hit a mountain dew can with his foot that exploded everywhere. all in all it wasn't bad. i came about an inch within chubbles before i got the truck stopped, and piggy had to go change his undies, and chubbles had to empty his muffler, but besides that it wasn't bad.

With a name like "chubbles" it's gotta be an import, I say smash it.

Hey my wife has that same aflection when I drive, done wore a hole in the carpet even

If ya can't find em, grind em...

Actually surprisingly she hasnt ground the gears at all. With the one exception of accidently briefly put it in reverse, but a 3 on a the tree is a bit odd to learn on. Shes actually done fairly well all things considered. I was a mite concerned though for a moment

Chubbles is a Pontiac Grand Prix by the way

learned to drive stick with 76 econoline 300 six three on the tree. scared the crap out of the old man a couple of times
if you can drive a tree stick all others are easy.
accelarated heart rate is good from time to time
besides no contact no harm no foul

I had 3 on the tree down so good I could double clutch into first before a stop light, on my Dad's old '66 Dodge.. Never did learn how to keep a straight axle in my lane crossing train tracks though. Learn on that 3 on the tree, you can drive anything.

I remember my Dad trying to teach my Mom to drive manual tranny in a 65 Fairlane 2 door (nice car). Well suffice it to say that maybe it's why I am a cowboy, started to rodeo a 5 years old.

I had a '74 Econoline 300 inline 6 with the 3 on the tree, kept a 12" 1/2" drive ratchet extension in the cab for those times when the gears would cross up.
Just stick it though the grill and pop one of the rods and your off again.

Also drove it many a time without a clutch thanks to one of the rods snapping an end off.
Throw it into neutral at a stop light, cut off the engine, put it in first gear and crank it up in gear when the light changes.

ABA wrote:
Also drove it many a time without a clutch thanks to one of the rods snapping an end off.
Throw it into neutral at a stop light, cut off the engine, put it in first gear and crank it up in gear when the light changes.

I've done that a few times myself.

Shortly after my Son got his '65, his clutch rod broke about 30 miles from home. He called me up, saying that he broke his pedal or something. Once I got there & surveyed the problem, I just said "you ride shotgun & watch this".
Drove it all the way home that way. Admittedly, I was a bit rusty though, I haven't had to do that since sometime in the 80's.

When I was about 14, Grandad bought a 68 F100 with a 3spd tree shifter. The front cab mounts where rusted out and made the shifter bind. Being the old "depression era coal minin' farm boy" he saved money by using a piece of flat iron to make a shifter for 1st and reverse that was on the floor, and he left 2nd and 3rd on the tree. After a few stops and take off in that truck, I was ready for any driving test to get my liscense! It is amazing what old time engineering can come up with. That's why I like these old trucks.

1971 dad threw me the keys to a 64 Chebby with a high torque 230 three speed and said go out in the field (14 acres) and dont come back until you can park it between the two trees. Several "small" bumps onthe bumpers and about 4 hours and I was a pro. From that time on until I had to pay for them I belonged to the clutch of the month club. I suppose at my age and $ I could drive a new truck if I wanted, but I want to drive the slicks. Nothing like them.