How I learned to drive a stick

Many things can trigger a memory. A scent can take you back to another time. A song can make you remember things that you might have forgotten. An old photograph and the story behind it. Recently I had a memory triggered by a question asked on Facebook. What car did you learn to drive a stick in. This was something I really wanted to learn, and I had the perfect teacher.

It was 1982 and I had saved some money and was ready to purchase my first car. My dad took time to help me search out the perfect car for me. I remember three of the cars we looked at. The first was a camaro. I thought it was perfect, but then we drove it. We could see pavement below our feet as we drove. For some reason dad thought this car may be unsafe for me to own. The next one was a sunbird. I don’t remember the year of the car, but I do remember it was white and looked pretty good. It was a stick, and I was excited to learn. Dad drove it first and said the cutch didn’t feel good to him. None the less, he put me in the driver seat, and I couldn’t get the darn thing to move. Dad convinced me that this car would require a lot of mechanical work and he thought I could do better. The third car was a 1974 Ford Maverick, it wasn’t a stick, but it ran. It also was only 500 bucks. The body of the car wasn’t the best, had some rust spots, but it was a decent car. I paid cash and bought that car.

I hung on to that car for about a year before trading that out for a 78 mustang II. It too as an automatic and I was thrilled to have a mustang. Even if it was only a 4 cylinder with very little power. I didn’t have dad help with that one, probably should have. It had an oil leak that I had to have repaired and the timing belt broke which once repaired never really ran the same.

In 1984 I see an ad for a new car, brand new and the advertised price was only $5995. Yeah, that was the price on a 1984 Pontiac T1000. A very small basic car and it was a stick. A four speed without power steering. I went to the dealership and looked at the car, yeah, I just looked. I didn’t know how to drive a stick yet. Did that stop the dealer from trying to make a sale, no. I traded in my mustang, did all the paperwork and then had my dad cosign on the loan for it.

Ever buy a car without test driving it? This is exactly what I did. I couldn’t drive it. I had the salesman take me for a ride in it. Show me all the features of the car (it had a door over the glove box) no radio and that was it. I had them install a radio and made arrangements to pick it up the next day.

I don’t know about other people’s dad, but it seemed that when one of us needed something, Dad always found a way to come through. I didn’t need much, just his signature and some of his time which he gladly gave. I know the dealership must have been laughing at me since I couldn’t even drive my new car off the lot, but that didn’t stop my determination to learn. I had to now, I just bought a stick. Dad got behind the wheel and got us to a less traffic area and put me behind the wheel.

I put the car in gear release the cutch ever so slowly and we were moving. Dad coaching me all the way having me listen to the engine and what it was telling me. I don’t recall if this car had the shift light or if that was on my Pontiac sunbird, I bought afterwards in 87, but I don’t recall having too much problems driving this car. We get home, have dinner and I decided to go out and practice. I got out in the country on a dirt road and stopped on hills and just played. Learning not to roll backwards before I go forward. I drove over 100 miles that evening and felt I had mastered it.

Looking back I realize how lucky I was. Dad could of never cosigned for the car. He certainly could have decided that he didn’t have time to teach me to drive a stick. But he did and it’s a memory I have with him that I will always cherish. Funny how the little things seem to mean the most.