What kind of car did you learn to drive in and what was your first car

[Mikemapva]

I learned to drive on a 1969 VW Squareback. The first car I owned was also my first new car that I bought with a 9% interest loan from my mom. It was a 1981 Dodge Colt RS with a twin stick manual transmission that gave you 8 forward gears (and 2 reverse gears). Had to prove the reverse gears to all my friends in miscellaneous parking lots, lol.

Original Owner Twin-Stick: Preserved $1500 1981 Dodge Colt | Bring a Trailer

 

[mrsrobinson]

Good old Dodge Colt, I remember those cars.

I opted for no air conditioner on my first new car, the 1986 mustang, to save money, boy did I regret that later.

 

[Tucker K5]

My first vehicle did not have AC or power steering or power brakes.

I think my parents figured that as a form of birth control in the Alabama heat. Worked flawlessly.

 

[Mikemapva]

My first vehicle did not have AC or power steering or power brakes.

I think my parents figured that as a form of birth control in the Alabama heat. Worked flawlessly.

Yeah, none of that stuff on my car in the Virginia heat. Not quite as bad as Alabama, but plenty hot.

 

[Flyer5]

I first learned to drive sitting on the edge of the seat between my fathers legs as we drove around the roads near the mine camp in the Yukon. The car was a black 1968 Galaxie 500 with a 302. Picture below the year Dad bought it. That's the Yukon and the log house the mine provided for employees. The bug was his "company car".

My first car was a 1976 Chev Monza I bought for $250 in about 1983. I "rebuilt" the engine (a 4 cylinder) by honing the cylinders and re-ringing it. All with very loose measurements and cheap tools. It was blowing blue smoke before, and after it barely burned any. I also replaced the clutch and all the brakes. I did a bunch of bad bondo body work, primed it and then had a paint shop shoot it candy red. Then I drove it for about 4 years and then sold it for $250. By then the cheap rebuild had raised its ugly head and it was burning a quart every tank of gas! No pictures of that thing LOL

An old GF had a 76 Monza originally had the 262. She hit a manhole cover with the oil pan. So I did what any logical bF would do and put a slightly worked 350 in and welded the rear spyders. That thing would leave 2 stripes through all 3 speeds.

 

[Creekwood]

An old GF had a 76 Monza originally had the 262. She hit a manhole cover with the oil pan. So I did what any logical bF would do and put a slightly worked 350 in and welded the rear spyders. That thing would leave 2 stripes through all 3 speeds.

I buddy of mine had the same car with a v8. I am pretty sure it was the 305 though. It had a bit more power than my 4cyl but not much. Nothing had any real power in those days.

 

[Maggieiscrazy]

The first vehicle I ever drove was my older brother’s Chevy truck with a 3 in the tree. My first car was a 79 Mercury Capri like the one in the pic. It was $1400 my parents paid for half and I was supposed to pay them back. Which I never did. Oh the ladies I had in that car. I wish I could go back in time. FJB.

 

[dtfeld]

I learned in an old Audi 100. POS!!! It would run Monday-Thursday, and break down at the same stop sign on Friday morning. I'd spend the week-end repairing it.

My dad co-owned a International Harvester dealership so we always had a 1970's Travelall floating around. Had 2 gas tanks (one in the front quater panel, a second in the rear. Run the first dry pull and turn a knob and you swapped tanks running down the road. F*ck'd 10, party'd 8, slept 2. Oh and it would hold 20 cases of beer and 10 buddies simultaneously!

 

[Blueone]

When I was considering a car for the kid, I was really trying to push the manual transmission idea. Figured, it would be all but impossible to text and drive.

When my wife and I started to live together I bought a Honda CRX manual…. Little 2 seater. Her car was in the shop and I was told Saturday I was flying out Monday. I said you’re going to have to learn stick tomorrow….. we go out in the morning….. I shit you not this girl somehow could bounce a car…. I swear the car left the ground…. It was hilarious….. I still get punched in the arm if I tell the story

 

[Nater Potater]

Reading all these post the thing that stands out is all of learned to drive a manual at a young age. Ask any kid now and they couldn't even tell you how to put one in reverse.

At 12 years old, I learned to drive a stick in my dad's '68 Land Rover. 4-speed stick, but First and Second weren't synchro'd, so you also had to double-clutch.

As for the stick-shift being a theft deterrent, this is what we're up against:

 

[jmcdboater]

Learned to drive in a Corvair, 3 on the column.

First car was a 1960 Ford Falcon. A/C? Hell, it didn’t even have heat! Made driving it to Slippery Rock State College (near Erie, PA) pretty dicey in the winter, but I managed. My Dad told me it took me two hours of work on it for every hour I could drive it, I did learn a lot, though.

Also lost my virginity in that car, which means every minute I spent on it was WELL worth it!

After Ford Falcon puberty, I moved on to Mopar and spent every penny I made over food and beer on Barracudas. Had four of them, took a ‘69 with small block and converted it to 383 lg block. Bored it 5” to 388 and shaved the heads. Snapped my neck back hitting second so hard I was hospitalized…….. (ok, not really, lol) BUT, at local drag strip did actually get the front end off the ground, which was a huge thrill for a country kid using his own money and no more help than his mechanic friend. Loved, loved, loved them ‘Cudas! Also had a ‘68 that had a ‘318’ emblem on the hood. I dropped a worked 340 with Edelbrock intake and Holly 4 killer on it. Too funny, I’d cruise the Loop in Lancaster, PA looking for red-light to red-light races. Won lots of them against 396s, won some nice bets with my ‘318 Cuda’ . Gotta love that power in those muscle cars!

 

[my3sons]

Learned in a ‘66 Dodge Coronet, 225, 3 on the tree. First car was a ‘69 Camaro that I had to sell to buy my first new vehicle, a ‘76 Chevy pickup. We needed trucks for work, the company I worked for contracted with us for the trucks. I got to buy 10 new pickup trucks throughout my career, roughly one every 250k miles. I bought another 69 Camaro in the ‘80s and restored it as a show/cruise car. Always have just driven trucks.

 

[mrsrobinson]

I think that 225 "Slant 6" is what was in my dads Dodge p/u and my first car, the Duster. I think I had to rebuild the carb on that thing every month.

 

[Espos4]

After Ford Falcon puberty, I moved on to Mopar and spent every penny I made over food and beer on Barracudas. Had four of them, took a ‘69 with small block and converted it to 383 lg block. Bored it 5” to 388 and shaved the heads. Snapped my neck back hitting second so hard I was hospitalized…….. (ok, not really, lol) BUT, at local drag strip did actually get the front end off the ground, which was a huge thrill for a country kid using his own money and no more help than his mechanic friend. Loved, loved, loved them ‘Cudas! Also had a ‘68 that had a ‘318’ emblem on the hood. I dropped a worked 340 with Edelbrock intake and Holly 4 killer on it. Too funny, I’d cruise the Loop in Lancaster, PA looking for red-light to red-light races. Won lots of them against 396s, won some nice bets with my ‘318 Cuda’ . Gotta love that power in those muscle cars!

340’s put a lot of big blocks to shame!

 

[Nater Potater]

...oh, and my first car. '66 Mustang, 200CI straight-six with the worst 3-speed manual ever put into a car. My dad bought it from a family friend in '74, then I bought it from my folks in '76 when I turned 16. Ford went super-cheap on the poor thing with four lugs on the wheels, drum brakes all around, manual steering, and the worst manual transmission I've ever had the displeasure of driving. First gear was as tall as a "normal" second gear which meant you had to routinely downshift into First, but it wasn't synchro'd! My experience with the Rover seen in post #70 helped immensely. I had to rebuild the trans twice in the years I owned it. That transmission was so tiny, you could just about hold it in the palm of your hand. I finally got so sick of it that I built a C4 for it. Much better! Besides, I don't think the little three-speed could have handled the power after having installed two more carbs on the six-banger. No, I don't have pictures of that!

The Mustang nosed up against the '69 Dodge Superbee. 383 Magnum, 727 Hemi-spec'd transmission, ran 14.00 @98 mph the one time I had it on a legitimate drag strip. That was on pump gas without having done anything to it. Sold it to get out from under some crushing loans. Damn!

 

[BlueYonder]

I learned to drive in a 1965 mustang with a 3 speed manual. Took my drivers test in a huge 1970 Pontiac Catalina station wagon with a 455 4bbl V8. My first car was a 1964 Jaguar Mk II sedan that my dad gave me after he bought a new Volvo Station Wagon. (We were living in England at the time). That Jag had a huge rear seat that came in handy, but it wouldn't run if it even looked like it was going to rain. "Lucas Electronics, the people who invented dark"

 

[Nater Potater]

...but it wouldn't run if it even looked like it was going to rain. "Lucas Electronics, the people who invented dark"

Lucas, Prince of Darkness.

Question: Why do the British drink warm beer?

Answer: Lucas makes their fridges!

And, for when (not if) your Jaguar/Land Rover/Triumph loses the smoke out of the wiring harness, you can replace it with this:

Your results might vary...

 

[Shoyrtt]

My Dad was a Type 1 diabetic. We used to ride and race dirt bikes starting when I was about 8. One day he said I needed to learn how to drive his vehicles just in case he had an emergency. I could barely reach the pedals sitting on the edge of the seat of his 68 3/4 ton Chevy, with the 3 on the tree.
My first car was a 66 VW Bug that I bought at 15 with the money I had saved mowing lawns in the neighborhood. It was $700 and stuck in second gear. Dad’s contribution was the John Muir “Idiot” book. He said he would help me but I needed to do the work to keep the Bug on the road. I sure miss him.

 

[Nater Potater]

Dad’s contribution was the John Muir “Idiot” book. He said he would help me but I needed to do the work to keep the Bug on the road. I sure miss him.
View attachment 144285

Boy, that sure brings back memories. I still have my copy.

 

[jmauld]

Learned to drive in a farm truck. First vehicle was a ‘72 duster, which was handed down from my mother and it was her first vehicle.