I was about 12 and my dad taught me on our street on his 1978 Fiat 128 Coupé, about a year after he bought it. It didn't take but a few tries in order to get the car going. I had been shifting for him on the passenger's side for years already.

 

Funny, i got my Celica GTS in 1983. It was a stick and i was 17. Mom taught me how to drive it. Wonder if she could drive my Carrera S 6 speed 27 years later.

 

I learned in 1968 on a 1967 tricarb GTO. Learned alot about how to leave rubber accidently

 

Well, i know this sounds crazy but when i was about 6 1/2 - 7 years old my Father began teaching me how to drive stick. I use to take pillows off the couch in my living room and put two of them below me and i jacked the seat forward as far as it could go lol i started learning the whole concept in our driveway and it honestly took me two days before i progressed to driving around our neighborhood. It came very natural to me.. ive been in love with cars since i can remember anything and i was blessed to learn how to drive them so young. Now, as you can imagine from being on the road from such a young age i have become an excellent driver.. So i thank my parents for allowing me to learn so young and develop these skills.

cool thread idea by the way, very interesting hearing all the different stories. REP points =D

 

I was 16 in my dads 65 Corvetter Roadster. I'm 31 now so it was 15 years ago.....learning in a classic vette was a little nerve racking, but an afternoon, an empty parking lot, and a patient father made for a great father son day.

 

In 1960 my uncle let me drive his new 1959 Corvette. It was a stick and I had never driven one. We went to a large parking lot and within fifteen minutes I got the clutch-gas-clutch gas thing down. I was fifteen and did not have a license. In 62 he bought a new corvette, black on black with a black top. One Friday night he asked if I wanted to take it to the drive-in, alone! I was seventeen, driving a new black Corvette, what a feeling.
That started my love affair with sport cars and the feeling that comes with driving them. One Austin Healy 3000, one Corvette, and eight Porsches later I still get it.

 

Very long driveway...My mom's mint, 8 year old, low mile, Datsun/Nissan (had both badges)1984 300ZX...white with tan leather, full computer dash with voice warnings, T-tops...I thought that was the coolest car ever...

In reality, it was an overweight, slow, pig...but I would still buy one in great shape today.

 

Dharn - I had a '58 Hillman Husky Wagon back in '66. Cost me $50, my first car. A friend rolled it and I found another the next weekend, $100. Same color, too. Old one went into the hangar by the barn for parts. I learned on a '50 Chevy pickup, three on the tree. I think I was 11 : ) Drove it to school when I was 12. Some of the joys of growing up in rural Iowa. Oh, used to (ditch) hunt pheasants on the way to school, too.

 

Around 14-15 yrs old...Dad took me to the local high school and said I needed to learn in case anything ever happened. It was a big 'ole Chevy pickup - 3 on the tree and the clutch weighed more than I did at the time. Didn't take too long to get the hang of it - what a great memory...thanks for giving me the opportunity to think back!

 

I hope they never do away with the manual shift option...but future is looking bleak here in US of A

 

Iwhen I learned It looked like the car was entering a rodeo. Bucking and stalling.

 

I was 16. I talked my Dad into looking at a used Porsche 924. I asked if I could give it a try on a quiet road. Jumped in ran through 1st-3rd gears upto 60mph just like I do today. He bought the car!

I learned by sitting in the passenger seat as my parents would allow me to shift gears for them when I was 10-12 yrs old, this was in Singapore in a right-hand drive car. The accelerator/clutch timing I learned by just pretending.

 

When I was 13 I borrowed my dad's 41 Chevy and learned by necessity...needless to say this adventure did not endear me to my dad or the local gendarmes...however, it is still one of the most memorable drives of my life

 

My Dad's old Ford Ranger truck.