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The trick to starting out on a hill is a good parking brake. You set the parking brake, shift into first, let the clutch out until it picks up the vehicle weight off the brake, and release the brake. Away you go. It's really pretty easy. Feather the foot feed when you change gears so you don't get jerky. When I was a kid I irrigated beans in a '40 Ford truck with no synchro and no clutch. I put it in granny and started the engine to get going, then shifted gears up and down by matching RPMs. It was easy because it didn't have a muffler either, so hearing the engine was a snap.
i learned on a john deere tractor long before i drove a car .. plus riding motorcycles and lawn mowers with clutches ..
I think everything is hydrostatic drive these days. My JD 4110 is. Our Ford 3000 is a 1969 so has a clutch --- a two stage clutch. I love that old girl.
When my son was learning to drive, he already had years on a dirt bike with a clutch. I informed him there would be no driver's license until he could get the truck moving at the traffic light on top of the worst hill in the county, without rolling backward "one iota". He got his license a lot faster than I had hoped for lollol
My only advice to the OP is to get over the bad experience with your dad, since that sounds like the crux of the issues. If you want to drive standard shift bad enough, you'll get the hang of it soon enough.
What you need is a friend who will let you practice on their car or truck without fear of you burning their clutch out in the process lollollol
Good call, learning to drive a stick is something that is very satisfying. Practice in an empty lot and practice good clutch control (the clutch is not a footrest!).
The one thing that a lot of drivers with manual transmissions do that is a bad habit is using neutral while their car is in motion.
What I often notice is people putting their vehicle in neutral to coast down a hill or to a stop sign. A lot of drivers say that it saves gas and it is easier. While both 'might' be true, it is dangerous. When you are in neutral your engine isn't connected to your drive train which means you won't be able to accelerate out of dangers way if needed. Also, inertia (something that we have no control over) can pull a car whichever way it likes a lot easier than if your drive train is giving it some resistance. Don't take a graveled or slick corner in neutral or with your foot on the clutch.
Other than that have fun and I'll see you at the drag strip!
Last edited by gwilliger; 06-22-2015 at 09:30 PM..
Thanks for your responses guys. I figure now, after almost 25 years of experience being behind the wheel, it won't be quite the challenge as it was trying to learn with very limited driving experience and having to learn on a truck that was about ready for its transmission to drop! I know the mechanics, I just need the experience. I believe a seasoned driver like myself can pick it up a little faster now, simply because the art of driving itself is not a new experience.
While I don't assume the manual sport drive in my Honda is anything similar to a true stick shift transmission, it does force you to learn when you need to shift gears, but of course you have paddles on the steering wheel and no clutch.
A good way to get highway practice with a stick is to just go out & drive at around 2:00am. I don't think you'd get very good practice in a parking lot.
That's what I did, just got out there when the roads were deserted and learned well that way.
ZoomZoom, being a new daddy, there's a chance that I might be up at 2am, but if I have the choice between learning to drive a stick at 2am or sleeping, I'm taking the latter, lol!
Eaton, that's almost what I think I should do when I get ready to buy a new car. I should get my brother to test drive it, and then I should just buy it. even if he had to drive it home, I have a great road to test it on.
ZoomZoom, being a new daddy, there's a chance that I might be up at 2am, but if I have the choice between learning to drive a stick at 2am or sleeping, I'm taking the latter, lol!
Eaton, that's almost what I think I should do when I get ready to buy a new car. I should get my brother to test drive it, and then I should just buy it. even if he had to drive it home, I have a great road to test it on.
That's pretty much how I did it. Late night driving in the shopping center up the street from where I was living. I learned by watching my friends drive their cars first, and getting an impromptu lesson occasionally, and finally buying a car that was stick and teaching myself. It's second nature now, and I don't want to go back to an automatic any time soon.
ZoomZoom, being a new daddy, there's a chance that I might be up at 2am, but if I have the choice between learning to drive a stick at 2am or sleeping, I'm taking the latter, lol!
Eaton, that's almost what I think I should do when I get ready to buy a new car. I should get my brother to test drive it, and then I should just buy it. even if he had to drive it home, I have a great road to test it on.
For years, most of my friends had manual transmission cars, and I was always bugging them to let me try and drive them, without much success.
A few years ago, I was in the market for a new car and was considering a stick shift. One dealer had a lot full of manual transmissions that they weren't going to be able to unload, so I could expect a pretty good deal. The test drive was the sales guy taking me around, teaching me how to drive stick shift.
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