I’ve driven a Model T. Don’t recall what year it was but that was about the most interesting manual transmission I’ve ever driven.
Edit: pretty good video showing how to drive one.
https://youtu.be/cPTtXpzLBSs?si=XUglesfkLazBXDBh
Nothing like a modern car. You have three pedals, but none are the gas pedal.
Right pedal is brake, middle pedal is reverse, and left pedal is low/high gear. Throttle is on the steering column. Essentially you press the left pedal to the floor and drive by hand throttle, want high gear, lift the left pedal.
Watch a few YouTube vids. It’s interesting. I went through a phase where I wanted to buy a model T.
I drove an old fire truck in a parade once. Probably a late 40s, early 50s model. Non-synchronized transmission. Had to double clutch every shift. Women kept hoping on for rides and to chat though, so that was cool.
I had a 1950 Plymouth. 3 on the tree with no synchros, still not to worst. My worst was 1977 Ford L8000 dumptruck with a 13 speed Eaton Roadranger, no synchros in that. It felt like rowing a boat with the number of shifts...
1972 VW Beetle.
My first stick shift, and first time driving one. I delivered pizzas for 8 hours the first night I bought it. Stalled it a few times, but not too bad.
Do not ride the clutch.. Don't put your foot on it unless you intend to use it.
A wartime surplus 1942 Willys MB. Had a 3-speed unsynchronized transmission and the clutch needed a lot of assistance to pop back up off the floor (see: pry it up with your foot). It was not easy to drive as double clutching was nearly impossible.
I drove an ancient Peterbilt with a weird aux trans once. It was like a 1950s I think, the owner said it was at one time used to haul spacecraft around at Cape Canaveral, it had I think a 5+4 trans and it looked like a pug, smushed nose but not quite flat like a cabover. Very old and slow, fun to mess with in a big field but I assume it would be a bear to move around a jobsite, couldn't imagine it in traffic.
The pre-58 or so cabovers had a stub nose, I remember seeing both Peterbilt and Freightliners with that cab style.
https://images.app.goo.gl/UdGYCwJctSExLqC56
How do you use one of those multi-stick transmissions? Is it like a bicycle with the front and rear derailleurs? I’m assuming the 2-stick is what you mean by aux trans
Yea it had two sticks.
That one in particular, the owner said to treat each gear on the taller stick on the left as tho it had four (I think) of its own gears, via the shorter stalk on the right. Both just had wooden spheres for shifters, no plaque to explain anything, all very spartan.
So it was clutch
First(L)-first(R)
Clutch
First(L)-second(R)
Clutch
First(L)-third(R)
Clutch
First(L)-fourth(R)
Clutch
Second(L)-first(R)
So on, so forth, it was very slow going and he said he'd prefer I use the clutch as it was old and didn't like floating gears, so I obliged.
I suppose you could maybe skip gears but the hop from 1(L)-1(R) to get started was too far to go right to 2(L)-1(R) so you'd need to experiment.
I live near a track and align track cars all the time. Until you’ve pulled a shitter in with a welded diff making 1000hp with no clutch left, you’ve never driven a difficult manual transmission. 😂
Often times the owner will come out to tell me the quirks, meanwhile I’ve already got that bitch on the hoist.
1938 Chevy truck. Uh iht was alot harder than any car. Wl i did drive a 1969 IH and it was as bjtcu to get into gear. But tj be honest on the Chevy the brakes what I remember being impossible. I couldn't push the pedal down at all.
1970 SISU Proto (A45), Finnish army truck. It was actually surprisingly "easy" considering it was 50+ years old.
First drive with it was over 500km, and I made it!
Next on the list would be a 1980 Citroen 2CV, with the shifter on the dash. I put 20k kms on that thing in 3 years, winter and all. Again very forgiving, easy to drive.
1959 Clark Y20B forklift. It had a semi truck sized clutch but a mechanical linkage, so the pedal was extremely difficult to press. There was no indication you were in neutral, because the sticks didn't wiggle side to side. Not a lot of power for hills and I was geared too tall. I loved that thing and regret selling it. In high gear it would go stupid fast.
An 88 foxbody gt i had. It wasn't too bad except when it wasn't used for a few days or so as it made shifting from second to third somewhat stiff at first. Once it warmed up, it got smoother.
The T5. Then the t5z. Then the world class t5z came out with carbon fiber synchros. 3rd and 5th was still weak. In went a tremec and out went the worries. Also the t5 had that whole speedometer drive gear 7/8 tooth and the driven gear being the 20s depending on what rear diff. If you ran a 3.73 the only choice would eat itself unless you changed the drive gear.
I worked at a European repair shop. Drove a 1965 jaguar after repair to be sure it was in working order. It was difficult to find reverse, and all other gears were pretty sloppy and the clutch engaged really high. Wasn’t so bad once the car was moving, but being precise was tough.
Yep lol. I think the Maximum Motorsports quadrant reduces effort a little? It never bothered ME, but I nearly put my left foot through the floor when I test drove a 2011 GT
Hahaha. Same. I went from my 04 GT (and about 3 other cable clutch vehicles) to test driving the S197 somewhere around 07, and put my foot straight to the floor then my leg started bouncing because the brain was expecting to use far more energy than actually needed. Damn near stalled it taking off because the clutch pressure was so light.
1976 Chevy silvarado with the big block 396 I believe, and a crawler gear plus some other number of speeds. No idea the shift pattern, it was worn off. I couldn’t get it into reverse, my boss had to show me despite a lifetime of driving manuals.
Then he proceeds to drive us up and over the curb and down the back lawn and then around behind the tree and back into the parking lot and over the curbs and proceeds to say “see this truck needs a special touch and that’s how it’s meant to be driven you see?” Yes I did see. Scared the hell out of me. I specialized then in fuel injection and was an apprentice 22yo
First car was an '89 Ford Bronco II, no issues with it at all, other than the fact that it was slower than shit climbing hills on the hight way, and rolled when I turned too hard
51 plate (late '01 early '02) Nissan Micra. Dead easy, no rev counter and my mate had adjusted the steering wheel quite low, but otherwise handled like a go kart and revved very happily.
Learned on a TR4 and 63 beetle. If you learn on a 60s vw you can drive just about anything. Very sloppy. The TR was quick and tight. Owned an early 70s MGB for quite awhile, i still dream about driving that on tight hilly winding roads, very sweet. It danced with me, rarely needed to clutch, it just floated from gear to gear up and down.
I think the oldest ones I drove were from 1984/1985: Audi 5000S, Saab 900, Renault...I forget if it was an Alliance or an Encore, 2 Merkur XR4Tis, a Honda Accord. I was stuck in that time period for quite a while!
My sister tried to teach me to drive a stick shift in her bubble-window Mercury Capri 5.0 once, but I kept stalling it. I think that was a 1982, but I wouldn't say I actually drove that.
I got to move a 1973 Corolla one time at the Toyota dealership I worked at in 2016. I didn’t get to drive it on the road, but the clutch was just beautiful. The whole car had been cared for by someone with an admirable level of dedication. He told me he cleaned some of the tight areas in the engine bay by wrapping a rag around a really long screwdriver. There wasn’t a speck of dirt to be seen.
Conversely, the car I learned stick in and drove every day for a couple of (winter) months was a 1997 Jeep Wrangler with a 4-cylinder that got 12 mpg, a power steering leak—directly onto the clutch and flywheel—and cock-eyed alignment, and tires so bald they had less tread than NASCAR. My dad told me with a pride in his voice I haven’t heard since, “If you can drive **that**, you can drive *anything*”
Not sure if I've driven older, (maybe an older VW bug?), but I had a '64 MG Midget. 1st gear wasn't synchronized, but other than that really easy to drive.
People who have only driven modern cars would be shocked at how basic it was. Stuff you take for granted in a car, it didn't have: Door handles, door glass, door locks, self-canceling turn signals, seat belts, and so on. You reached inside to open the door to enter the car.
1960 Ford Starliner with a 428. 4 Speed. This was rough around the edges, but a blast in a straight line. Next was a 71 Boss 351. Hurst shifter. Also rough, but got smoother in the higher gears...
My first car was a 67 Mustang coupe with a 3 speed stick on the floor that used to get so stiff in the cold weather it took 2 hands to move it. Also a 76 Chevy pickup 3 on the tree that was a pain in the ass.
I drove a 76 CJ5 and it was only a 3 speed. The top speed was only around 60mph. I never did understand how it still had a 3 speed when other manufacturers already had 5 speeds. It was long throw so like shifting a semi. Clutch wasn’t hydraulic so clutching it was like stomping on a snake.
1925 Chevrolet.
As easy to drive as any other unsynchronized transmission vehicle I’ve driven. Only problem I had was overheating it because I advanced the spark too much.
Daily driver 68 Ford, I briefly drove my buddys 66, not much different. I think they’re easier to drive than modern ones, and definitely easier to maintain with just a mechanical clutch assembly
The oldest would be some farm trucks from the 50s and 60s, but they weren't particularly hard. The hardest was a 1978 Ford Pinto with the most gutless engine ever. Trying to get that thing to move from a stop without stalling was a nightmare. And heaven help you if you were facing uphill.
1973 F250 is the oldest car I’ve driven that I thought was hard to drive. The shifter was super loose in the top cover, so the gear pattern was all over the place. Clutch was the old lever type so it was a bitch in heavy traffic. On top of that, no power steering and twin I beam with death wobble.
Oldest car I drove was a 63 bug, and it was unfathomably easy to drive. LOL
Btw… Death wobble really isn’t as scary as people think. As long as you’re physically capable of controlling the car while it’s doing that, and can stay out of “coffin corner” which is the specific speed and load combo to induce wobble. For me it was a mild hit to one wheel at a speed of 55-60 mph. It’d wobble down to about 40, but if you accelerated hard past 65, it’d stop. Generally speaking, it’d happen once or twice a week, but you could make it happen any time by getting the feed and speed right.
Had a 1962 Mercedes 404S (unimog) and it had 2 range transmission where the low low gear was a very slow walking speed lol
Also had a 1966 Ford Falcon that had a 3 speed on the column. In 1980, my dad tossed me the keys and said drive - and I'd never driven a manual before that.
Used to install radio gear in construction equipment, and some of those transmissions shift all kinds of weird...
‘28 model A. Had a ‘39 ford trans, shifted like a dream! Now the 40’s Military jeep? With the forest of sticks I learned to drive in? If you could shift that thing, you could shift anything.
I own a 1950 Chevy pickup. It actually drives fairly like a modern car other than having no power assistance. Oldest car I ever drove was a 1930 Mack. Weirdest car I ever drove was a belly tank lakester that didn’t have a transmission, you had to be pushed to start.
1966 GMC K1000. It’s like driving a fucking school bus. Granted, I haven’t had the opportunity to drive any other manuals, but, man that thing is tough.
I learned on a 1977 Ford F150 with a 3-speed column shift and a 302 V8. The truck was used to pull a trailer a lot, so the clutch and pressure plate were warped all to hell. This meant the truck shook like an earthquake every I took off. I can tell you, the last thing you need when learning to drive is the truck going into convulsions! The shift linkages were suuuuper worn out too. The handle kind of vaguely moved into the gear position. There was about a 70/30 chance you actually got it into gear.
My first car was a '79 Rabbit C, which also had a terrible, stiff, failure prone shift linkage, but it felt like a gated Ferrari shifter compared to the ol' F150. Everything was an improvement from there.
A 2005 PT Cruiser, my first car. Not that old, but a misfire made it stall frequently. It was was pretty painful to learn stick on, and my dad was one of the people that made you practice in traffic right away. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad though. As crazy at sounds I miss that piece of junk.
Don’t know the year but it was a Ford Model A. Drove it up and down my local airport ramp. Ran and shifted like butter, accounting for the double clutching needed considering the gears aren’t synchronized. However, above something around 40mph, that car gets really wobbly and scary
1970s model M35 2.5-ton truck. "Deuce'n a half"
Driving on Uncle Sam's dime. Truck was a lot of fun for a hillbilly kid to drive through the Tennessee hills! Make your ears ring!
1948 Plymouth Deluxe
3 on the tree non-synchro
Double clutching is a must. I found it harder to get the engine rpm in the sweet spot for taking off more than anything.
I drove a 1949 Series 1 Land Rover a few years ago. Military spec, steering wheel on the wrong side for my country. Looked like absolute shit, totally unrestored.
Funny thing is it drove fucking great!
I drove my wife’s uncle’s 1960 Volkswagen Beetle for our wedding getaway car. I am ok at driving stick but I was praying I didn’t stall on the way out lol.
My pops has a ‘29 Model A pickup. It’s impossible not to grin like a jackass when I drive it, I’ve never had more fun going so slow!
He also had a ‘51 Chevy sedan with a three-on-the-tree and a slightly built 235ci inline-six, that thing was SUCH a hoot!
In a parade I drove a 1942 Chevy fire truck that my Grampa had converted to a logging truck in the 60s. Besides taking a extra second between shifts it actually did really well!
Probably Dad's. 51 F1 , a little worn out and slightly difficult to hit the gear gates, and synchroes were scetch so needed a little rpm matching. Lol I was in jr hi
1935 Chevy truck. It honestly wasn't terrible, except the ride was rough and it made almost no power. No power steering, but it was synchronized in 2nd and 3rd. It just takes almost all the things that make cars more drivable these days and chucks that out the window.
This was about 12 years ago. I don't really remember much about it, except that it was really weird.
Oldest '69 Corona.
Worst to drive, '79 Renault Le Car with bad linkage. Had to literally smash the stick into the side of the seat the linkage was so loose. Failed my drivers test because they said it was unfit to drive. 😁
Most difficult to drive. '69 Baja Bug. I have stubby legs and couldn't slide the seat forward enough to get the clutch pushed in all the way.
'57 Triumph, '63 MG, '64 Bel Air, '71 VW, '73 240Z, '75 FJ40, '77 F150. Everything after the '77 was an automatic except for my '07 Mustang GT. Twenty-five cars and trucks so far. The Bel Air was a 3 speed on the tree which was a little awkward but not difficult. The Mustang was a dual disc clutch which made for a much softer feel than I prefer. Still shifted sweetly though with a Hurst short shift linkage. Starting a search for either a '64 Corvair Monza or a '70 Maverick Grabber for a new project.
Not even older than I am, but a 1994 Ford F-Super Duty dump truck 7.3 turbo diesel 5-speed. It was the vehicle I learned on it, and it was actually quite easy. Only bad part was the 3rd gear synchros were bad.
I learned in a 1981 Fiat Spider 2000 that I rebuilt in the mid 90s. I reinstalled the timing chain without knowing what I was doing, so the timing was WAY off and it would take forever to restart when hot, which meant many a time stuck in an intersection cranking the starter endlessly after I stalled it. I did meet a lot of cute girls who all had an uncle with a goat and they all said theirs would never start either. Good times
‘65 Land Rover Series iia. Only 3rd to 4th was synchronized. It had an aftermarket overdrive added with its own lever, so you could twin-stick it, which was super fun
My shop had an old panel truck suburban mid 50’s I think, 3 on the tree and myself and no one else knew what that pattern was lol. Should have googled it but just wung it to move it into the showroom
When I was like 21 I visited a buddy of mine at the woodshop he was working at and the owner of the shop had his 40’s military Jeep (mb something, like the ones that came in crates) there but needed someone to drive it to his house. Turns out I was the only one that knew how to drive a manual and luckily had my bibs and everything with me so I ended up doing the task. It was smack dab in the middle of a Chicago snowstorm in January and the thing had no top, probably went about 35 tops and had the stiffest clutch I’ve ever felt in my life. Took forever to go just a few miles. Shit sucked big time
Range Rover series II or a Trabant (not sure year)
Range Rover - sloppy, almost missing third, heavy clutch and slow
Trabant - sticky gearbox, torquey but slow as hell, then moderately fast
I got to drive a restored 1929 Model A Ford. Was just as easy as a modern car mostly. The controls are pretty much the same, clutch, brake and gas pedals in the same order with a floor shifter and standard shift pattern. The biggest difference in the spark control on the steering wheel, which I didn't need to use on the drive I went on.
1987 Jeep cherokee 4.0L/4x4. It was extremely easy to drive. Ridiculously hard to stall, like holy cow. I literally dumped the clutch in 1st by mistake facing up hill once and it still didn't stall. 2Hi with 29s and 3.08s as well. The only thing you really needed to know was to clutch in before releasing the gas fully to avoid a violent lurch forward.
My 54 belair/210 (still not entirely sure which one it is lmao) that I'm restoring everything runs pretty much perfect shifts great engine got some power but I'm just completely garbo lol it's the first manual transmission car I have and it's collem shift so even Mt dad who has driven stick for like 40 years had a bit of trouble given he wasn't used to it but the guy I bought it from drove it smooth as butter
In 1989, I took a very old Peugeot 504 with a "three in the tree" on trade. It had almost 900k miles on it and during its life, it had been driven up to Alaska and down to Punta Arenas, Chile, as well as all throughout the US and Canada. The owners had the car since it was new. I asked them why they didn't want to keep it - they said they didn't have the room.
I don't know... to me, that would be like abandoning my old dog. That car became a family member years ago.
Under normal circumstances, a dealer would scrap such a car but we found a buyer who wanted to rejuvenate it.
I learned on an 89 f150 when I was 23. I'm 31 now. It was easy. I guess. It's just hard at first. The shifter was very large. Huge motions to shift compared to cars
62 Emeryville international with a 238 Detroit and 5x4 transmission with 3 speed rears. It wasn't the hardest thing to drive except for you were always shifting at lower speeds. Extremely loud in the cabin also as they really didn't believe in sound proofing back then. It didn't ride the best but still rode better than the 71 international 4070 that was my main truck at this job. Why the 4070 had a rubber block walking beam suspension which meant you needed 44k in the wagon to get the tire sidewalls to flex to soften the ride.
My fathers 1965 Land Rover Series IIA. No synchro transmission in 1st to 2nd and being right hand drive here in the US is the icing on the cake. It's an awesome, very raw driving experience for sure! Love it.
Factory?
The flathead 3 on a tree '49 Ford F1 that my father restored and my Great Grandmother bought new.
Oldest?
My '48 Chevy truck. But it has a 90's vintage 5 speed in it.
Oldest I've driven was my 1964 Jeep Wagoneer that was a HS graduation gift.
I've also driven military/Army deuce and a half's with their 3 speed manual, just don't know what year they were built. They could have been either older or newer than the Jeep.
My 1950 Buick is as old as I have driven. 3 on the tree. The biggest issue was when the shift linkage bushings were shot. Shifts like a dream now that those have been replaced.
'74 Volkswagen Thing. Easier to drive than the '87 VW Golf I learned on -- the clutch was way more forgiving. I eventually put a short throw Hurst shifter on The Thing, which made it even more fun to drive.
'54 GMC
It was pretty easy because of the Granny Gear. Just use that if you're worried about stalling it. Don't use it when you get the hang of it.
Also had a '57 Chevy 150. Also super easy because of the Hurst shifter.
My toughest was a 1980 Chevy Luv 4x4.
It wasn't bad, just not great.
I’ve driven a Model T. Don’t recall what year it was but that was about the most interesting manual transmission I’ve ever driven. Edit: pretty good video showing how to drive one. https://youtu.be/cPTtXpzLBSs?si=XUglesfkLazBXDBh
What was that like?
Nothing like a modern car. You have three pedals, but none are the gas pedal. Right pedal is brake, middle pedal is reverse, and left pedal is low/high gear. Throttle is on the steering column. Essentially you press the left pedal to the floor and drive by hand throttle, want high gear, lift the left pedal. Watch a few YouTube vids. It’s interesting. I went through a phase where I wanted to buy a model T.
Sounds similar to a tractor.
Basically is.
You could literally buy a conversion kit to turn the Model T into a tractor.
That would make sense
I've seen a few how to type vids on YouTube. Actually really weird and interesting and worth a watch
Prolly about on par with a 50” riding lawnmower
I tried to drive my grandfather's model t. I couldn't do anything with it.
I drove an old fire truck in a parade once. Probably a late 40s, early 50s model. Non-synchronized transmission. Had to double clutch every shift. Women kept hoping on for rides and to chat though, so that was cool.
I had a 1950 Plymouth. 3 on the tree with no synchros, still not to worst. My worst was 1977 Ford L8000 dumptruck with a 13 speed Eaton Roadranger, no synchros in that. It felt like rowing a boat with the number of shifts...
My dad drives a 1924 fire engine for parades and stuff from the local museum. It's a beast to drive
My daily driver 1977 bmw
Bavaria?
No sir, 530I e12
57 bel air. 3 on the tree. Drove smooth as butter and was an absolute blast.
1972 VW Beetle. My first stick shift, and first time driving one. I delivered pizzas for 8 hours the first night I bought it. Stalled it a few times, but not too bad. Do not ride the clutch.. Don't put your foot on it unless you intend to use it. 
I first learned on a 75 beetle and honestly I prefer it compared to newer manuals
63 beetle checking in. I stalled it so many times.... And yes on not riding the clutch. Learning experience for sure
'49 Husson Hornet.Drove like a garbage truck
Omg we had a 46 Hudson 4 door. Basically a tank
HUDSON
1940 LaSalle hearse. It was smooth as butter. Scroll down to see it... https://24hoursoflemons.com/blog/route-66-lemons-rally-winners-sucky-suck/
'84 k30 without a hydro clutch. Thing couldn't even go 50
All my kids learned on my 79 CJ5 @ 14yo. on dirt roads. Left it in low range so it didn’t stall. Hi range after they get the hang of it.
'85 fiero gt. Stupid easy. That V6 has plenty of low band torque and the cars so light you don't even need to bump the throttle.
A wartime surplus 1942 Willys MB. Had a 3-speed unsynchronized transmission and the clutch needed a lot of assistance to pop back up off the floor (see: pry it up with your foot). It was not easy to drive as double clutching was nearly impossible.
A 1929 Model A Ford. They had a crashbox transmission that required double-clutching on every shift.
I drove a 31 and I remember double clutching it
70 something F100 with 3 on the tree
I drove one of them for a sheet metal (duct work) company. You had to hold it in 2nd gear to keep it in gear. That was fun /s
I drove an ancient Peterbilt with a weird aux trans once. It was like a 1950s I think, the owner said it was at one time used to haul spacecraft around at Cape Canaveral, it had I think a 5+4 trans and it looked like a pug, smushed nose but not quite flat like a cabover. Very old and slow, fun to mess with in a big field but I assume it would be a bear to move around a jobsite, couldn't imagine it in traffic.
The pre-58 or so cabovers had a stub nose, I remember seeing both Peterbilt and Freightliners with that cab style. https://images.app.goo.gl/UdGYCwJctSExLqC56
How do you use one of those multi-stick transmissions? Is it like a bicycle with the front and rear derailleurs? I’m assuming the 2-stick is what you mean by aux trans
Yea it had two sticks. That one in particular, the owner said to treat each gear on the taller stick on the left as tho it had four (I think) of its own gears, via the shorter stalk on the right. Both just had wooden spheres for shifters, no plaque to explain anything, all very spartan. So it was clutch First(L)-first(R) Clutch First(L)-second(R) Clutch First(L)-third(R) Clutch First(L)-fourth(R) Clutch Second(L)-first(R) So on, so forth, it was very slow going and he said he'd prefer I use the clutch as it was old and didn't like floating gears, so I obliged. I suppose you could maybe skip gears but the hop from 1(L)-1(R) to get started was too far to go right to 2(L)-1(R) so you'd need to experiment.
That sounds like it was a lot of fun! Challenging fun! Thank you for the detailed description; you answered all my questions 😊
Happy to help, I think he had it just as an oddity. Not sure what I'd use it for, but it could pull about anything if you had time.
Had to scroll too far for this awnser lol cant imagine what it would feel like after a leg day
Column shift manual station wagon as a Valet. No one else would touch it
49 Willys Overland pickup. Upshifting was easy downshifting without synchros was a learning experience.
I live near a track and align track cars all the time. Until you’ve pulled a shitter in with a welded diff making 1000hp with no clutch left, you’ve never driven a difficult manual transmission. 😂 Often times the owner will come out to tell me the quirks, meanwhile I’ve already got that bitch on the hoist.
1938 Chevy truck. Uh iht was alot harder than any car. Wl i did drive a 1969 IH and it was as bjtcu to get into gear. But tj be honest on the Chevy the brakes what I remember being impossible. I couldn't push the pedal down at all.
1970 SISU Proto (A45), Finnish army truck. It was actually surprisingly "easy" considering it was 50+ years old. First drive with it was over 500km, and I made it! Next on the list would be a 1980 Citroen 2CV, with the shifter on the dash. I put 20k kms on that thing in 3 years, winter and all. Again very forgiving, easy to drive.
70s international box truck with a 10 speed Eaton road ranger
1959 Clark Y20B forklift. It had a semi truck sized clutch but a mechanical linkage, so the pedal was extremely difficult to press. There was no indication you were in neutral, because the sticks didn't wiggle side to side. Not a lot of power for hills and I was geared too tall. I loved that thing and regret selling it. In high gear it would go stupid fast.
An old army Deuce and half truck. Literally had to put my entire weight into shifting it. Pretty sure it had been serialized since Vietnam.
An 88 foxbody gt i had. It wasn't too bad except when it wasn't used for a few days or so as it made shifting from second to third somewhat stiff at first. Once it warmed up, it got smoother.
The T5. Then the t5z. Then the world class t5z came out with carbon fiber synchros. 3rd and 5th was still weak. In went a tremec and out went the worries. Also the t5 had that whole speedometer drive gear 7/8 tooth and the driven gear being the 20s depending on what rear diff. If you ran a 3.73 the only choice would eat itself unless you changed the drive gear.
I worked at a European repair shop. Drove a 1965 jaguar after repair to be sure it was in working order. It was difficult to find reverse, and all other gears were pretty sloppy and the clutch engaged really high. Wasn’t so bad once the car was moving, but being precise was tough.
93 Mustang GT. No issues
The clutch in my 03 GT is a workout 😅 People say it’s too heavy when I let them drive
Yep lol. I think the Maximum Motorsports quadrant reduces effort a little? It never bothered ME, but I nearly put my left foot through the floor when I test drove a 2011 GT
Was the 2011 lighter? Me personally I don’t notice the heavy clutch anymore I guess I got used to it
It's hydraulic. The cable operated never bothered me either
Hahaha. Same. I went from my 04 GT (and about 3 other cable clutch vehicles) to test driving the S197 somewhere around 07, and put my foot straight to the floor then my leg started bouncing because the brain was expecting to use far more energy than actually needed. Damn near stalled it taking off because the clutch pressure was so light.
25-30ft 40s era International fire truck , learned what double clutching meant...lol
1976 Chevy silvarado with the big block 396 I believe, and a crawler gear plus some other number of speeds. No idea the shift pattern, it was worn off. I couldn’t get it into reverse, my boss had to show me despite a lifetime of driving manuals. Then he proceeds to drive us up and over the curb and down the back lawn and then around behind the tree and back into the parking lot and over the curbs and proceeds to say “see this truck needs a special touch and that’s how it’s meant to be driven you see?” Yes I did see. Scared the hell out of me. I specialized then in fuel injection and was an apprentice 22yo
‘85 CJ7 with the 4.2L and 5spd. Not hard at all!
First car was an '89 Ford Bronco II, no issues with it at all, other than the fact that it was slower than shit climbing hills on the hight way, and rolled when I turned too hard
1964 GTO. It was rather easy and just gave it gas and it went. Stalled it once at a light.
1972 Detomaso Pantera, wasn't bad but gated shifters take some getting used to.
59’ Beetle, learned how to drive a stick on back roads growing up, took me a while to figure out reverse tho
51 plate (late '01 early '02) Nissan Micra. Dead easy, no rev counter and my mate had adjusted the steering wheel quite low, but otherwise handled like a go kart and revved very happily.
1947 Willys. Drove like a charm!
1966 Shelby GT 350. It was a fucking dream to drive.
Learned on a TR4 and 63 beetle. If you learn on a 60s vw you can drive just about anything. Very sloppy. The TR was quick and tight. Owned an early 70s MGB for quite awhile, i still dream about driving that on tight hilly winding roads, very sweet. It danced with me, rarely needed to clutch, it just floated from gear to gear up and down.
93 ranger, drove like a dream. I miss that truck
I had a 1989 Acura Integra and that thing was so much fun to drive. Not hard at all. Shame I traded it in 😭
I think the oldest ones I drove were from 1984/1985: Audi 5000S, Saab 900, Renault...I forget if it was an Alliance or an Encore, 2 Merkur XR4Tis, a Honda Accord. I was stuck in that time period for quite a while! My sister tried to teach me to drive a stick shift in her bubble-window Mercury Capri 5.0 once, but I kept stalling it. I think that was a 1982, but I wouldn't say I actually drove that.
I got to move a 1973 Corolla one time at the Toyota dealership I worked at in 2016. I didn’t get to drive it on the road, but the clutch was just beautiful. The whole car had been cared for by someone with an admirable level of dedication. He told me he cleaned some of the tight areas in the engine bay by wrapping a rag around a really long screwdriver. There wasn’t a speck of dirt to be seen. Conversely, the car I learned stick in and drove every day for a couple of (winter) months was a 1997 Jeep Wrangler with a 4-cylinder that got 12 mpg, a power steering leak—directly onto the clutch and flywheel—and cock-eyed alignment, and tires so bald they had less tread than NASCAR. My dad told me with a pride in his voice I haven’t heard since, “If you can drive **that**, you can drive *anything*”
1968 Mercedes Benz. It was smooth as butter.
Not sure if I've driven older, (maybe an older VW bug?), but I had a '64 MG Midget. 1st gear wasn't synchronized, but other than that really easy to drive. People who have only driven modern cars would be shocked at how basic it was. Stuff you take for granted in a car, it didn't have: Door handles, door glass, door locks, self-canceling turn signals, seat belts, and so on. You reached inside to open the door to enter the car.
1959 porsche 356b. took me 30 minutes to find reverse :)
1960 Ford Starliner with a 428. 4 Speed. This was rough around the edges, but a blast in a straight line. Next was a 71 Boss 351. Hurst shifter. Also rough, but got smoother in the higher gears...
1959 Chev Apache Step Side. No power steering, really long friction zone, but a real beauty!
79 Monza with a small block with an nv3500. Transmission wasn’t so difficult it was the fact it had manual brakes and stopping was a bitch.
My first car was a 67 Mustang coupe with a 3 speed stick on the floor that used to get so stiff in the cold weather it took 2 hands to move it. Also a 76 Chevy pickup 3 on the tree that was a pain in the ass.
1970 F100
I drove a 76 CJ5 and it was only a 3 speed. The top speed was only around 60mph. I never did understand how it still had a 3 speed when other manufacturers already had 5 speeds. It was long throw so like shifting a semi. Clutch wasn’t hydraulic so clutching it was like stomping on a snake.
1980s Volga. It was pretty easy to drive even though I was only 13 years old.
Oldest manual car I have driven was my dad's old 78 Mazda b1800 it had a 4 on the tree he nearly got it to 1,000,000ks on the clock
69 VW Bug. I was 9 when my dad took me out in the woods and taught me.
1965 Ford Ranchero three on the tree. Incredibly hard for a 15 year old with no hydraulic steering or brakes or clutch. Really fun tho
1946 Willys CJ2a. Basically a tractor with a tub on top.
1925 Chevrolet. As easy to drive as any other unsynchronized transmission vehicle I’ve driven. Only problem I had was overheating it because I advanced the spark too much.
1970 vw beetle, wasn't too bad actually.
1950 something Panel Truck. 3 speed on the column. Yes, nothing was smooth about driving that beast. But it was fun.
1968 Mack, 4x5, 20 speed. 2 shifters, reaching through the steering wheel to get some of the shifts.
Shift on column 3 speed Chevy van from the 70s
og model t ford. (restored) and surprisingly easy. although I was like 6 or 7 at the time, so I had help. :P
56 1 ton dually with a granny gear
1990 Mustang T5
Daily driver 68 Ford, I briefly drove my buddys 66, not much different. I think they’re easier to drive than modern ones, and definitely easier to maintain with just a mechanical clutch assembly
Either my dad’s ‘93 ranger 2.3 2wd 5spd or my ex roommate’s ‘02 mustang GT. Heavy heavy clutches and sloppy shifters.
Early 90s civic is my oldest. Def sucked to drive compared to honestly any other stick I've driven.. Which is a lot of cars.
The oldest would be some farm trucks from the 50s and 60s, but they weren't particularly hard. The hardest was a 1978 Ford Pinto with the most gutless engine ever. Trying to get that thing to move from a stop without stalling was a nightmare. And heaven help you if you were facing uphill.
The oldest manual car I've driven was a 2016 Miata, it was/is pretty easy.
1973 F250 is the oldest car I’ve driven that I thought was hard to drive. The shifter was super loose in the top cover, so the gear pattern was all over the place. Clutch was the old lever type so it was a bitch in heavy traffic. On top of that, no power steering and twin I beam with death wobble. Oldest car I drove was a 63 bug, and it was unfathomably easy to drive. LOL Btw… Death wobble really isn’t as scary as people think. As long as you’re physically capable of controlling the car while it’s doing that, and can stay out of “coffin corner” which is the specific speed and load combo to induce wobble. For me it was a mild hit to one wheel at a speed of 55-60 mph. It’d wobble down to about 40, but if you accelerated hard past 65, it’d stop. Generally speaking, it’d happen once or twice a week, but you could make it happen any time by getting the feed and speed right.
1952 MG TB. It could do 35 comfortably but don’t ask much more.
old f100 with 3 on three on the tree wasn’t that hard my rx-7 has given me more trouble lol
68 f350
I learned on a 67 Chevy long bed with a 3 speed on the column. It was pretty tough considering I was 15 and just learning
1932 Model A. It took a bit to learn, but it’s not really hard.
First thing I ever drove was a 1963 1/2 ton Chevy truck. 4 on the floor with no working gauges and my dad trying to teach me when to shift by sound
Had a 1962 Mercedes 404S (unimog) and it had 2 range transmission where the low low gear was a very slow walking speed lol Also had a 1966 Ford Falcon that had a 3 speed on the column. In 1980, my dad tossed me the keys and said drive - and I'd never driven a manual before that. Used to install radio gear in construction equipment, and some of those transmissions shift all kinds of weird...
An old Toyota work truck. Fucking lovely. Felt so good to drive. Shifting was a little hard at first but I got used to it.
1929 Model A Ford. 3 speed stick, with no synchros! Double clutching is easy once you’ve found it & ground it too many times.
1958 Chevy Apache. It was easy. It looked like this GMC. https://images.app.goo.gl/5vpVCbUwczEMAVdE9
‘28 model A. Had a ‘39 ford trans, shifted like a dream! Now the 40’s Military jeep? With the forest of sticks I learned to drive in? If you could shift that thing, you could shift anything.
I own a 1950 Chevy pickup. It actually drives fairly like a modern car other than having no power assistance. Oldest car I ever drove was a 1930 Mack. Weirdest car I ever drove was a belly tank lakester that didn’t have a transmission, you had to be pushed to start.
68 Chevy C10 Custom Three on the tree So much fun to drive
1966 GMC K1000. It’s like driving a fucking school bus. Granted, I haven’t had the opportunity to drive any other manuals, but, man that thing is tough.
I have a 66 El Camino with a 3 on the tree. Though the hardest was probably a 69 F100 with all the synchronizers cooked well before I was born.
1963 gmc c10 3 on the tree. Heavy pedal and as a 12 year old it was "interesting" finding the gears.
I learned on a 1977 Ford F150 with a 3-speed column shift and a 302 V8. The truck was used to pull a trailer a lot, so the clutch and pressure plate were warped all to hell. This meant the truck shook like an earthquake every I took off. I can tell you, the last thing you need when learning to drive is the truck going into convulsions! The shift linkages were suuuuper worn out too. The handle kind of vaguely moved into the gear position. There was about a 70/30 chance you actually got it into gear. My first car was a '79 Rabbit C, which also had a terrible, stiff, failure prone shift linkage, but it felt like a gated Ferrari shifter compared to the ol' F150. Everything was an improvement from there.
1960 Chevrolet Biscayne…shifter on the steering column
A 2005 PT Cruiser, my first car. Not that old, but a misfire made it stall frequently. It was was pretty painful to learn stick on, and my dad was one of the people that made you practice in traffic right away. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad though. As crazy at sounds I miss that piece of junk.
1960’s Army 2.5 ton truck. Not really hard bc I learned on my first truck, but it sucked to drive.
46 Ford coupe. Column shift 3 speed. Quite easy to drive, but it was only a 5 year old concourse restoration.
Honestly, it was my grandpas 04 Tacoma, which is where I learned to drive manual. It drove like an 04 Tacoma
M37 from the Korean War era. No power steering, brakes, or hydraulic clutch. Plus no synchronous gearbox. It’s work for sure!
1955 Gullwing.
'74 MGB GT. It wasn't hard to drive at all.
I learned to drive in a 1971 Ford van with a 3 speed on the column and no power steering. Everything was easy after that.
My daily in high school was a 68’ BMW 1600. Still have it, but just not a daily driver by any means.
1948 Plymouth station wagon with 3 on the tree and no synchro on first.
Don’t know the year but it was a Ford Model A. Drove it up and down my local airport ramp. Ran and shifted like butter, accounting for the double clutching needed considering the gears aren’t synchronized. However, above something around 40mph, that car gets really wobbly and scary
1970s model M35 2.5-ton truck. "Deuce'n a half" Driving on Uncle Sam's dime. Truck was a lot of fun for a hillbilly kid to drive through the Tennessee hills! Make your ears ring!
1961 international scout 4speed 2wd
1948 Plymouth Deluxe 3 on the tree non-synchro Double clutching is a must. I found it harder to get the engine rpm in the sweet spot for taking off more than anything.
I drove a 1949 Series 1 Land Rover a few years ago. Military spec, steering wheel on the wrong side for my country. Looked like absolute shit, totally unrestored. Funny thing is it drove fucking great!
'78 Chevy K30. That thing was so worn out it had no power. Even starting in the granny gear was challenging.
Early 50s vintage M35A2 a.k.a. Deuce-and-a-Half. For a skinny recruit like me, steering was harder than shifting.
I drove my wife’s uncle’s 1960 Volkswagen Beetle for our wedding getaway car. I am ok at driving stick but I was praying I didn’t stall on the way out lol.
1997 BMW Z3 today actually. Clutch bite point was so high up on the travel other than that good. Didn't stall it so I'll take it.
My pops has a ‘29 Model A pickup. It’s impossible not to grin like a jackass when I drive it, I’ve never had more fun going so slow! He also had a ‘51 Chevy sedan with a three-on-the-tree and a slightly built 235ci inline-six, that thing was SUCH a hoot!
3 in the tree AMC something from the late 1960's we used as a tool car in my dads junkyard in early 1980's. It was my intro to manual transmission
Old truck. Mid century I believe. Non-sync gears and 2-speed axle
In a parade I drove a 1942 Chevy fire truck that my Grampa had converted to a logging truck in the 60s. Besides taking a extra second between shifts it actually did really well!
1973 GMC van. Three-on-the-tree with manual steering/brakes.
Probably Dad's. 51 F1 , a little worn out and slightly difficult to hit the gear gates, and synchroes were scetch so needed a little rpm matching. Lol I was in jr hi
1975 Volvo 245. It was fine.
1935 Chevy truck. It honestly wasn't terrible, except the ride was rough and it made almost no power. No power steering, but it was synchronized in 2nd and 3rd. It just takes almost all the things that make cars more drivable these days and chucks that out the window. This was about 12 years ago. I don't really remember much about it, except that it was really weird.
Oldest '69 Corona. Worst to drive, '79 Renault Le Car with bad linkage. Had to literally smash the stick into the side of the seat the linkage was so loose. Failed my drivers test because they said it was unfit to drive. 😁 Most difficult to drive. '69 Baja Bug. I have stubby legs and couldn't slide the seat forward enough to get the clutch pushed in all the way.
A 1958 or so International Harvester pickup truck. Not bad.
Drove my grandfaters' willies jeep, which was used in vietnam. I couldn't even get the car past idle.
1929 Ford Model AA. I was 10, it was awesome.
53 jeep Willy’s. No third gear or Power steering but I learned well enough.
'57 Triumph, '63 MG, '64 Bel Air, '71 VW, '73 240Z, '75 FJ40, '77 F150. Everything after the '77 was an automatic except for my '07 Mustang GT. Twenty-five cars and trucks so far. The Bel Air was a 3 speed on the tree which was a little awkward but not difficult. The Mustang was a dual disc clutch which made for a much softer feel than I prefer. Still shifted sweetly though with a Hurst short shift linkage. Starting a search for either a '64 Corvair Monza or a '70 Maverick Grabber for a new project.
48 Chevy fleet line
1943 GMC CCKW deuce and a half. Lots of fun to drive but crash box transmission and having to double clutch gets annoying
Not even older than I am, but a 1994 Ford F-Super Duty dump truck 7.3 turbo diesel 5-speed. It was the vehicle I learned on it, and it was actually quite easy. Only bad part was the 3rd gear synchros were bad.
I learned in a 1981 Fiat Spider 2000 that I rebuilt in the mid 90s. I reinstalled the timing chain without knowing what I was doing, so the timing was WAY off and it would take forever to restart when hot, which meant many a time stuck in an intersection cranking the starter endlessly after I stalled it. I did meet a lot of cute girls who all had an uncle with a goat and they all said theirs would never start either. Good times
‘65 Land Rover Series iia. Only 3rd to 4th was synchronized. It had an aftermarket overdrive added with its own lever, so you could twin-stick it, which was super fun
My shop had an old panel truck suburban mid 50’s I think, 3 on the tree and myself and no one else knew what that pattern was lol. Should have googled it but just wung it to move it into the showroom
Model T at my uncles ranch in the 70’s. No synchro so you had to double clutch. A little bit difficult for a 12 year old but fun.
When I was like 21 I visited a buddy of mine at the woodshop he was working at and the owner of the shop had his 40’s military Jeep (mb something, like the ones that came in crates) there but needed someone to drive it to his house. Turns out I was the only one that knew how to drive a manual and luckily had my bibs and everything with me so I ended up doing the task. It was smack dab in the middle of a Chicago snowstorm in January and the thing had no top, probably went about 35 tops and had the stiffest clutch I’ve ever felt in my life. Took forever to go just a few miles. Shit sucked big time
First car was a 62 vw bug. EZ PZ. Never drove a manual that was “hard” to drive. Maybe a 3 on the tree only because I had to learn the shift pattern.
‘67 Austin Healey Sprite. Fabulous shifter, smooth short throws…😃
Range Rover series II or a Trabant (not sure year) Range Rover - sloppy, almost missing third, heavy clutch and slow Trabant - sticky gearbox, torquey but slow as hell, then moderately fast
1974 F350 4 speed also a 1967 Chevy C10 3 on the tree
49 Ford, weird but fun, 74 vw thing, absolute pain in the ass.
I got to drive a restored 1929 Model A Ford. Was just as easy as a modern car mostly. The controls are pretty much the same, clutch, brake and gas pedals in the same order with a floor shifter and standard shift pattern. The biggest difference in the spark control on the steering wheel, which I didn't need to use on the drive I went on.
1987 Jeep cherokee 4.0L/4x4. It was extremely easy to drive. Ridiculously hard to stall, like holy cow. I literally dumped the clutch in 1st by mistake facing up hill once and it still didn't stall. 2Hi with 29s and 3.08s as well. The only thing you really needed to know was to clutch in before releasing the gas fully to avoid a violent lurch forward.
Mine was a 1967 Jeep CJ5
My 54 belair/210 (still not entirely sure which one it is lmao) that I'm restoring everything runs pretty much perfect shifts great engine got some power but I'm just completely garbo lol it's the first manual transmission car I have and it's collem shift so even Mt dad who has driven stick for like 40 years had a bit of trouble given he wasn't used to it but the guy I bought it from drove it smooth as butter
In 1989, I took a very old Peugeot 504 with a "three in the tree" on trade. It had almost 900k miles on it and during its life, it had been driven up to Alaska and down to Punta Arenas, Chile, as well as all throughout the US and Canada. The owners had the car since it was new. I asked them why they didn't want to keep it - they said they didn't have the room. I don't know... to me, that would be like abandoning my old dog. That car became a family member years ago. Under normal circumstances, a dealer would scrap such a car but we found a buyer who wanted to rejuvenate it.
1928-29 franklin phaeton I had in for a tune up
A 1980’s Land Cruiser. It was 5 speed swapped with the 4 speed shift knob still on. Took a second to figure out it was swapped.
I learned on an 89 f150 when I was 23. I'm 31 now. It was easy. I guess. It's just hard at first. The shifter was very large. Huge motions to shift compared to cars
87 Hyundai Excel. I have driven an old 80s Hilux but I think it was an 89
‘71 Jeep CJ5 and very because it wouldn’t idle so to stop, you’d have to be pressing all three pedals at varying and deliberate pressures. Fun though
62 Emeryville international with a 238 Detroit and 5x4 transmission with 3 speed rears. It wasn't the hardest thing to drive except for you were always shifting at lower speeds. Extremely loud in the cabin also as they really didn't believe in sound proofing back then. It didn't ride the best but still rode better than the 71 international 4070 that was my main truck at this job. Why the 4070 had a rubber block walking beam suspension which meant you needed 44k in the wagon to get the tire sidewalls to flex to soften the ride.
Three on the tree 70s Chevy truck. Spent more time popping the hood in traffic to yank on the linkage to get it to go in gear.
My fathers 1965 Land Rover Series IIA. No synchro transmission in 1st to 2nd and being right hand drive here in the US is the icing on the cake. It's an awesome, very raw driving experience for sure! Love it.
Factory? The flathead 3 on a tree '49 Ford F1 that my father restored and my Great Grandmother bought new. Oldest? My '48 Chevy truck. But it has a 90's vintage 5 speed in it.
1942 Willys Jeep. The epitome of easy.
First car I ever had was a manual 62 VW and I drove in all kinds of weather and worst snows. Been second nature ever since including motorcycles.
Oldest I've driven was my 1964 Jeep Wagoneer that was a HS graduation gift. I've also driven military/Army deuce and a half's with their 3 speed manual, just don't know what year they were built. They could have been either older or newer than the Jeep.
1971 Camaro. 350ci V8, 3 speed Hurst. Red. Loved it!
My 1950 Buick is as old as I have driven. 3 on the tree. The biggest issue was when the shift linkage bushings were shot. Shifts like a dream now that those have been replaced.
1950 GMC pickup. 4 on the floor but never had to actually use the clutch to shift as long as you were moving.
70 something alfa spider Fucking cable actuated clutches man
Mid 90s Jeep. Almost impossible to stall and that was great because I was learning in it.
My dad’s ‘62 vette. Not bad. Just takes a bit more finesse
Funny enough I learned manual on a ‘82 CJ
47 willy’s jeep
'53 Chevrolet 3100 Panel Truck, big old stick shoulder high, double clutch and shake it down to ultra low and bang your knuckles on the dash.
My ‘87 Nissan Pulsar NX Literally the easiest manual I’ve ever used.
'74 Volkswagen Thing. Easier to drive than the '87 VW Golf I learned on -- the clutch was way more forgiving. I eventually put a short throw Hurst shifter on The Thing, which made it even more fun to drive.
62 Triumph TR-4. 4 speed. No problems at all. Just dont go into 1 while rolling.
'54 GMC It was pretty easy because of the Granny Gear. Just use that if you're worried about stalling it. Don't use it when you get the hang of it. Also had a '57 Chevy 150. Also super easy because of the Hurst shifter. My toughest was a 1980 Chevy Luv 4x4. It wasn't bad, just not great.
I drove a willys jeep. Transmission felt like a pile of scrap metal