DodgeCharger.com Forum

Just curious how many can drive a standard car
I have been gathering parts to swap my Charger over to a 4 speed got me to thinking this
When I got my driver permit I learned on the family farm truck which was an auto
Dad got me my first very own car from the local junk yard and it was a standard so it was sink or swim right from the very start   :icon_smile_big:

And when I say standard I do not mean lawn mowers or motor cycles or 4 wheelers or farm equipment

I tried a dirt bike once but it did not go well so ever since any thing I have driven has had at least 4 wheels   

Story from my kids was that one of their friend's brother's manual transmission car get car-jacked and then driven about a block and abandoned at the next intersection.

We own two older manual transmission cars.  The charger is one of them. I would have bought one if it had been available at the right price and if my daughter hadn't 'claimed' she wouldn't be able to drive it.  This argument annoyed me because she has driven my son's older manual transmission car when necessary.  So everyone except my daughter would say they could drive a manual transmission.

I'm 48 ! learnt to drive with a manual transmission   :yesnod: , my daily driver for the last 11 years is standard transmission ,
thinking more about it out of all the daily drivers ive had since passing my test late 80s almost all my daily drivers have been a stick shift 

Short answer.....yes. First real street experience (well...dirt road) was a 1966 Dodge truck 3 on the tree when I was 13-years old (11 in an automatic '59 Merc in a farm field). Taught my son on my car as his feet were too-big for his mothers 5-speed Volvo (and 440s are comparatively rather hard to stall).  Heck, with the 3.54 Dana, mine will start off in 3rd if you so-desire.

I learned to drive a stick at one of my first jobs. Used to wash tow trucks when I was 16. Boss told me to move the tow truck and I told him I don't know how to drive a stick. He said if I blow the clutch, just use the other tow truck to tow it.

Learned to drive standard in a Ford 150 3 speed on the column.  Anything after that was quite easy.

67 Charger - converted from automatic to 6 Speed

I learned to drive a 4-speed on my cousin's 1972 LS5 454 4-speed daytona yellow t-top Corvette. On the backroads of Centralia, WA the year was 1975

I have had a few 4 speed vehicles. I converted a 76 Camaro, a 74 Duster and might convert my Charger to a manual transmission.

I learned to drive a stick in my 64 Impala super sport with 327 4 barrel when I was 16.

Daily driver years ago was a 3 on the tree Dart.

198 with a 3:55 rear end !!  Fun times!  Spanked many Gremlins, Mavericks and Novas on the street!    :coolgleamA:

Yep. Taught my wife and 2 sons how to drive the Charger years ago. Just in case we were out and Daddy got attacked by adult beverages.  :cheers:

What a wonderful reason!   :smilielol:

Learnt how to drive standard when I was 11. Our 70 D-100 three speed on the tree. Does that count. If not Fuller 18 speed should qualify me then. When I was a kid use to load potato trucks under the boom and run them to the road. After that about 20 years over the big street.

So 162 have read the thread and only 32 have voted and all 32 can drive a standard
Does that mean the 130 that did not vote can not drive a stick ??????

Well it looks good that Dodge people can drive by the votes so far  :2thumbs:

learned on a 54 chev 3 on the tree six popper what a hoot ran it in the ground too

Quote from: nchrome on February 29, 2020, 09:36:28 PM
learned on a 54 chev 3 on the tree six popper what a hoot ran it in the ground too

Wow, pretty close to me.  53 Chevy column shift.  I learned in Kansas City Mo.  If anyone remembers it, KC is a series of hills, all up and down.  I learned early how to feather a clutch!

Learned on a 80 something Chevy Luv with a worn out clutch before I even had my license
Perfected on a 70 something Datsun 620 pickup
The 73 Cuda I sold had a 440 and a PG-4
Sold my 99 Ranger manual when I got my new Ram... The ranger was the easiest to kill with too much clutch and I did it so regurlarly I felt like I was learning for the first time....lol

I much prefer them, actually. Autos leave you disconnected from the pavement. No stick, no sale. Praise Jesus for the late model Challengers!

I played in a few work trucks with a clutch, but the first time on the road was in a Neon headed to auction.  Told the guy I never drove one; he said I'd figure it out.  Drove plenty ever sense. :2thumbs:

Would say yes, that is my preference but getting harder to find.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAW5pOggjrg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMpOTDJUGlk

It had flat front fenders, four wheel drive, a four cyc. and was painted red over olive drab paint. I would drive it down the dirt road to the local gas station to buy candy. It went slow. I may have been around ten years old. No cops on the back roads around the farm. I do not recall using a seat belt :o. Then I graduated to three on the tree and three and four on the floors. Lately these past years the knees hurt so bad. It's funny these days, that when I drive an auto. on the center console, I have the left hand on the steering wheel at 12 o'clock and the right hand on the auto. shifter knob. Maybe more then one time in an auto. and power brakes, I had to brake fast and hard, both feet went on the brake pedal at the same time, good thing I had the seat belt on that time. Old habits never die.

Learned to drive a 62 Willy's Wagon. It has a Muncie 4 speed and a 283 my dad converted. It was a pretty smooth shift. My Charger is a 4 speed, and my truck is a 6 speed.
I prefer them.

In regard to knees, I've not experienced issues with that but would say that may not be an issue with hydraulic actuation and diaphragm pressure plate compared to mechanical actuation and borg and beck pressure plate.

Quote from: chargerperson on February 29, 2020, 01:13:40 PM
Learned to drive standard in a Ford 150 3 speed on the column.  Anything after that was quite easy.

67 Charger - converted from automatic to 6 Speed

I learned to drive in my moms  1965 Buick lesabre. then moved up to my dads 1973 Ford F150 , six cyl with 3spd column shift. My wife can drive a stick, my daughters can not . and neither have any desire to learn

Seems most if not all  of my 'non car people' friends can not, yet ALL the car people can.

Im looking for a classic car and if its a 4 spd, I keep looking as Im not interested

Funny to see, so far, all who cannot drive a stick shift trans are not responding. LMAO  :rofl:

I drive a Toyota Corolla 5 speed every day to work.  Also have an old non sync 4 speed in my big old 47 Dodge truck.  How many can drive double clutch?!  :smilielol:


Todd

Quote from: XS29L9Bxxxxxx on March 01, 2020, 09:23:47 AM
Funny to see, so far, all who cannot drive a stick shift trans are not responding. LMAO  :rofl:

Suspect there are few here that cannot drive a standard

I learned how to drive stick in an 83 Volkswagen rabbit "pickup."
Then around the time I was 17 I got a farming job and drove wheat trucks, Dodge d700 and d800 mostly with a 2 speed axle. Also drove tow truck after that on long haul, but mostly local towing. Lots of middle of the night state patrol calls and AAA calls. All the tow trucks were manual transmission. My brother has a lot of big trucks so he has showed me how to drive truck as well, 10, 13 and 18 speeds, although I do need a lot more practice with them and don't have a CDL. My daily driver for quite a few years was a beater 68 GTX with a 4 speed.

Yes, I can drive a manual transmission, also called a stick shift.

I don't know why some of you call it a "standard" ?  :shruggy:

I guess maybe, back in the dark ages, the cheap cars came with a three speed manual shifter mounted on the steering column "standard" and anything else was an extra cost option?  :shruggy:

Someone up North is bored to death posting a thread like this.  :Twocents:

Quote from: Daytona R/T SE on March 01, 2020, 11:03:59 AM
Yes, I can drive a manual transmission, also called a stick shift.

I don't know why some of you call it a "standard" ?  :shruggy:

I guess maybe, back in the dark ages, the cheap cars came with a three speed manual shifter mounted on the steering column "standard" and anything else was an extra cost option?  :shruggy:

You are right. The term "standard" did refer to the base model equipment, the 3 speed manual was most often the standard transmission, the 4 speed or automatic were extra cost options.

Quote from: ACUDANUT on March 01, 2020, 11:24:29 AM
Someone up North is bored to death posting a thread like this.  :Twocents:

LOL

Quote from: Kern Dog on March 01, 2020, 12:39:40 PM

Quote from: Daytona R/T SE on March 01, 2020, 11:03:59 AM
Yes, I can drive a manual transmission, also called a stick shift.

I don't know why some of you call it a "standard" ?  :shruggy:

I guess maybe, back in the dark ages, the cheap cars came with a three speed manual shifter mounted on the steering column "standard" and anything else was an extra cost option?  :shruggy:

You are right. The term "standard" did refer to the base model equipment, the 3 speed manual was most often the standard transmission, the 4 speed or automatic were extra cost options.

:cheers:

Quote from: Kern Dog on March 01, 2020, 12:39:40 PM
You are right. The term "standard" did refer to the base model equipment, the 3 speed manual was most often the standard transmission, the 4 speed or automatic were extra cost options.

Good subject for debate; "standard" could also mean the standard of the time wherein automatics were a new phenomenon and manual transmissions were the norm. "Stick shift" covers the whole gamut from 3 to 18-speeds.

BTW, my first stick shift car was a '55 Buick Century ex-CHP car...circa 1960.

First vehicle I ever drove was in the mid 90's as a teenager: my Dad's Ford F100 with a 3 on the tree. A pretty rare setup by this time.
Of course I didn't actually have lessons, nor his permission for that matter.........

Without being able to operate a manual, I would not be able to drive my current, or past Vipers, as they only come in manual.

:Twocents:

Manuals are fun in rural settings.  They aren't much fun in dense urban traffic.

So how many of you have chirped the brakes on an automatic with a big wide brake pedal because you were reaching for the clutch.  I was a slow learner did this a few times as a teenager with my Pontiac. All my parents cars were manual and that is what I was taught on.  I remember my dad having me drive to the barn on the windy one lane road with stops starts and big hills.  After I got there he said to drive the mile back in reverse gear. not only a clutch and hills, but a sore neck.   

Almost rolled a new Dodge Mirada because my foot went for the clutch at a high speed.  It was a real Starky and Hutch experience.

I had a 72 Chevy C/10 with a badly worn 3-on-the-tree.   It was the ultimate theft deterrent.  Sometimes for me too.

Last fall I rolled up on a dead Silverado at an intersection.   The guy jumped out and asked asked for a little push.  It felt like the old days.

Did anyone else make sure they were parked down hill when when their battery was getting tired?

First time driving was kn an automatic.  But when I actually bought my own first car it was manual. So I taught myself how to drive stick

I can drive standard very well. My first insured vehicle was a 1990 5.0 Mustang I bought at the age of 18. Taught myself how to drive standard on it. Currently own 3 standard transmission vehicles. For the record since the poll asked about age, I'm 27.  :cheers:

Many of my "toys" are manual transmissions, so I make sure that all of my kids are proficient with them. Here's a clip of my 14 year old son driving my 1967 Lamborghini Miura. It was my first time in the passenger seat, which as you know, offers a much different enjoyment experience (and you can see, in the video, I enjoyed it)!

https://youtu.be/FEVtLY4TvBU

Same 14 year old son, at age 12, driving our "project car" S-code 1967 mustang 390 GT. You can tell that he doesn't pay for the tires.

https://youtu.be/0VBM01CrcPI

It's what I learned on and mostly what I've driven.

We have an '02 Accord with an automatic and an '94 F150 with manual transmission.  I really prefer to drive the F150.

I made a point to have all my cars being factory 4 speeds. But for my daily driver I like an automatic.
I did not learn to drive stick until rather late, but in an old car it just adds to the fun of it.

I'll be 54 this year, just learned to drive stick, two years ago. My daily driver, 2003 Cooper S 6-Speed.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/1777/29152271628_80c89b17a0.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Lq61GU)

I had to learn if I wanted to drive. My parents gave me my first car, a 1981 Chevy Chevette with a 4 speed. Sink or swim for me.. 

I converted my 68 to a 4 speed, nothing like rowing the gears in a muscle car!!

Taught my son (now 20) to drive when he was sixteen on my ranger. He has a 00 pontiac sunfire coupe and just recently acquired a 91 prelude SI with 4 wheel steering both manual

He's part of the manual gearbox preservation society  :lol: :lol:

It was a 79 Ford van with a 4 speed, my Dad just got a company car and I had just got my license.  I used that till I found a $200.- Super Six Aspen, but it was an auto.   

That 300 six was a good running motor too.

since I was twelve  I learned how to start out on a hill with out putting it in the hog pen  took a lot of tries   It took a 8 year farm kid to show me how to do it   my kid was about ten when I taught to drive a twin stick truck  5 by 4 speed

What % of new cars and trucks in North America are manual anymore? It's got to be single digits at this point. Even a low-power car is fun to drive if it is at least a manual transmission.

Yes I have owned as many standards as autos. I took my drivers test in a 6 cyl chevy truck with a truck 4 speed. Its odd that I have had as many over the years but dont have one now. I can remember at 15 driving my grandmother to church in their vega. That little 6 cyl 4 speed car was fun on dirt roads when I was 14 & 15. We lived in the sticks and were aloud to drive pretty young.

I've driven more trucks with a manual transmission than cars though. Living in the Atlanta area a stick would be a hassle in this traffic.

Learned on a three on the tree.

Learned on a Geo Metro in '98.  I could probably still do it but it's been years since I've touched a manual...

Quote from: myk on March 05, 2020, 07:03:29 PM
I could probably still do it but it's been years since I've touched a man...

What ? ? ?   :rofl:

Oi vey...

Come on, man....THROW one back at me ! :nana:

My first manual transmission experience was at the age of 14 or so with the Test Drive PC game on an EPSON APEX LOL.

But being serious, I learnt by myself using the video game experience. I stolen couple of times my Dad's 1988 Jeep Wrangler Limited ( long chassis ) and went pretty much well. He was out of the country for couple of months and my Mom never noticed I took the Jeep. Then after that went to a driving school just for practice with their car, not really to learn.

Some years later got my Charger ( Auto ), and being driving my Dad's W116 Mercedes ( Auto ), while at work I was driving a T1 VW panel. That was pretty much my only relation with manual transmission on last 10 to 12 years.

Being now in Spain, I'm driving a 1997 Range Rover P38 ( with a SLOOOOOOOWWW 2.5 diesel BMW engine , 5 speeds ).

Well, I'm driving is just saying! It has being more time at the mech shop than on the streets.


OH, forgott also drove couple of times my Dad's 1980 Manual Range Rover before get my Charger operative but this was under permission. Then he changed it for the Mercedes.

Just to say, my Dad never got all these cars at the same time

.

Come to think of it, It must have been a manual transmission I was driving in the early 1980's when I hit my dad's charger in the driveway.  :nana:  Wonder if I popped the clutch.  Only thing I remember was panic when I hit the car and then my dad saying "you might want to back up" when I asked min what I should do next. 

When I learned how to drive, it was in my dad's Ranger which was a manual. This was in 1999 and all of my friends cars were automatics and none of them could drive stick. I was lucky because I didn't have to worry about any of my friends wanting to borrow the truck once I bought it from my dad. I have a 03 Mustang now that's a street/strip car with a manual transmission. I know automatics are faster in the quarter mile but there's just something about powershifting at 7K that lets you know that you're in control of the car!  :drive:

I learned to drive on manuals in a '66 Beetle and a '66 Chevy truck. When my kids were ready to learn to drive, I made them learn on a manual in my '83 Shelby Charger. I think they hated me for it at the time, but, in the long run, I think they're glad I did that. Over the years I've had a lot of manual trans cars ('68 Barracuda, '83 Shelby Charger, '82 Camaro, 2000 Neon, 2003 Neon, 2004 Neon, '10 Challenger SRT8, '15 Challenger Scat Pack, '17 Corvette, '10 Wrangler, '13 Wrangler, '94 Cherokee, '95 Wrangler, '55 Plymouth and probably a couple more that I'm forgetting).

I took the '55 Plymouth to the local Quick Lane to have the differential and transmission oil changed as I didn't feel like crawling under there. They gave the job to a very young tech. I watched him get in the car, start it, then just stare at the shifter for about 30 seconds. Then he shut it off and walked back in and asked one of the older guys how to drive it. The "three on the tree" baffled him.

Im 36 and can drive and race stick shift cars. I have been told my 4 speed shifts on the track sound like automatics.

Sticks require you to become part of the machine. A mixed blessing these days, of course, as most of the traffic conditions around any modern metroplex are misery itself for stick cars.  In something like a sportscar or a traditional American musclecar, however,  they are much-preferred by the "purists" because the real fun of driving is embodied in the immersion of the man (or woman) into the machine. In musclecars the pleasure is doubly-fun as you can be a total horses-ass with a clutch, coupled with just about any big block V-8.  Impressive to both behold and employ, especially at closing time at roadside speakeasies back in the days before predatory policing.  In all likelihood however, a few nimrods still practice such late-night festivities to this very-day... at the more-rural establishments scattered around the flyover parts of this country. It usually starts with the classic pronouncement of "here, hold my beer...".

My dad was born in 1914 and drove only stick shifts until '53 when he bought a '50 Olds with a Hydramatic and stayed with automatics after that. In '58 we flew far away to visit my grandparents and he borrowed grampa's '53 Chevy with a stick. At one point he was getting ready to back up and pulled the shift lever all the way down where Reverse was in the Hydro; as he eased the clutch pedal out I warned him he was in 1st and not Reverse.

He cussed and said "I can't believe I did that, never thought I'd forget how to drive a stick". Never made that mistake myself (yet).

Ive been driving the girlfriend's 2019 Elantra with the auto-stick and it's made me realize that although I love my Charger, I really wish I had held out just a few more weeks for this red with black vinyl top 68 Charger R/T with the 4 speed that came up for sale in the auto trader magazine, just weeks after I bought my car back in 1994.  If you are able and truly enjoy driving,  manuals are the only way to go...

 
I wouldn't wanna be daily-driving a stick in modern L.A. traffic.  That would get old real fast. 
 

Quote from: Kern Dog on March 05, 2020, 07:50:14 PM

Quote from: myk on March 05, 2020, 07:03:29 PM
I could probably still do it but it's been years since I've touched a man...

What ? ? ?   :rofl:

Quote from: Kern Dog on March 05, 2020, 09:44:57 PM
Come on, man....THROW one back at me ! :nana:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCQ-zml9rfc

I bought a corvette last year for a quick flip (Stick) I like banging the gears and can't seem to let it go.

Quote from: Mike DC (formerly miked) on March 07, 2020, 04:17:04 PM
 
I wouldn't wanna be daily-driving a stick in modern L.A. traffic.  That would get old real fast. 
 

Eh.  Good point...

Yesterday I drove my sons 91 Prelude si with 4 wheel steering 5 speed, fun car!  Like driving a go cart!

My daily is a 2012 Challenger R/T Classic with a 6 spd manual.

Column or floor shift, synchro or non synchro, straight rod pull, oval track sliders and couplers.
Almost a third of all the miles I have ever driven were in a vehicle with a manual transmission.
I prefer manual transmissions, they just last longer and I can get a lot of mileage out of clutches.

My friends 1969 Pontiac Firebird 400 4 speed  :drive:

Have driven many different manual transmission vehicles from older honda accords and preludes to old ford trucks with the three on the tree and the old granny four speed transmissions. I had two 69 F100's that were both 3 speed on the column trucks and my dad's old 85 F350 which I still have has the granny 4 speed in it which usually you just use 2nd through 4th in normal driving. 1st gear is really really low which most everyone know's which is why I call it the old granny gear four speed. My charger is a factory 4 speed car which was pretty neat I thought when I bought it and I recently purchased a newer dodge challenger and I actually test drove a 6 speed which was nice out on the open highway but in stop and go traffic I got tired of gear shifting really quick and it was a little out of my price range but i'm not 20 years old anymore and actually wound up with a low mileage 2010 challenger R/T with the automatic in it.  I don't mind a straight shift but the older I get I really just like dropping into drive and driving comfortably from there. I still enjoy the 4 speed in my old charger tho, the old 4 speed really makes driving it the fun factor but I only drive it when the weather is good so lately it's not getting driven much since it rains here every day now it seem's.

I learned to drive in a 1955 Dodge military Power Wagon. 4 spd un-synchronized trans. The only time I have owned an automatic since then was when a manual was not available in the vehicle. Like the Jeep Liberty CRD's that are our current daily drivers.