Mark B. Morrow Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 (edited) A friend of mine is teaching his daughter to drive and it got me thinking back to my driver's ed days. I took my test in my mom's '71 Vega Wagon. The choice was between the Vega and my dad's '74 Chevy Laguna S-3. I figured that I would get sympathy points with the Vega. It was only 5 years old but the front fenders were mostly Bondo and most of the panels had been sprayed with touch up paint. Pennsylvania had State Troopers administer the test. The guy who got me was about 6'5" and the front passenger seat in the Vega didn't adjust. The poor guy had his knees under his chin. I took the test less than a week after my 16th birthday. It all went well, I didn't run any stop signs on the closed course and completed the 3 point turn without hitting anything. As we were approaching the parallel parking stall, the right rear tire started going flat. The Trooper told me that he would pass me if I could change the tire correctly. Thankfully the spare was up and I passed. One kid from my school took his test in the '76 Trans Am his parents bought him for his 16th birthday. He failed twice in the TA and finally passed in an old Cutlass. Edited November 20, 2007 by Mark B. Morrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomaro Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I took it in my fathers 1970 Honda 600. The guy looked at me and said you got to be shitting me. http://www.honda600coupe.com/Jons_1970_Honda_600_sedan.html Talk about a dream to park. It was a lot easier to park than my 85 Buick Regal. The 600 was neat, 2 cyl...air cooled...4 speed. Slowest car ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I learned to drive in my dad's '87 F-150, which I later bought. I learned to drive a stick in my sister's 86? Lynx RS. Took drivers ed. and my driving test in a '89 Escort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suv_guy_19 Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I learned to drive in my dad's '87 F-150, which I later bought. I learned to drive a stick in my sister's 86? Lynx RS. Took drivers ed. and my driving test in a '89 Escort. First time, 97 Chrysler Intrepid. I got the guy who fails everyone the first time. The second time I used 2005 F-150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macattak1 Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 A friend of mine is teaching his daughter to drive and it got me thinking back to my driver's ed days. I took my test in my mom's '71 Vega Wagon. The choice was between the Vega and my dad's '74 Chevy Laguna S-3. I figured that I would get sympathy points with the Vega. It was only 5 years old but the front fenders were mostly Bondo and most of the panels had been sprayed with touch up paint. Pennsylvania had State Troopers administer the test. The guy who got me was about 6'5" and the front passenger seat in the Vega didn't adjust. The poor guy had his knees under his chin. I took the test less than a week after my 16th birthday. It all went well, I didn't run any stop signs on the closed course and completed the 3 point turn without hitting anything. As we were approaching the parallel parking stall, the right rear tire started going flat. The Trooper told me that he would pass me if I could change the tire correctly. Thankfully the spare was up and I passed. One kid from my school took his test in the '76 Trans Am his parents bought him for his 16th birthday. He failed twice in the TA and finally passed in an old Cutlass. BMW 2002. I later found out just how aluminum those are when I rearended it afte3r my buddy drove through a snow drift and stopped and I drove through the snow drift and stopped...after I pushed 2' of his trunk into the engine compartment. That was with my Plymouth Sapporo. Man I loved that Sapporo. Good sized engine, roomy, and not that ugly. Peace and Blessings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 I took it in my fathers 1970 Honda 600. The guy looked at me and said you got to be shitting me. http://www.honda600coupe.com/Jons_1970_Honda_600_sedan.html Talk about a dream to park. It was a lot easier to park than my 85 Buick Regal. The 600 was neat, 2 cyl...air cooled...4 speed. Slowest car ever. I went to high school with a kid who had an Orange Honda 600. I never understood how he drove that thing in Pittsburgh with all the hills. He did occasionally find his car up on the sidewalk or turned sideways in the space since a few big guys could lift it up. We also had a family with a bunch of Subaru 360s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Kerluck Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 My drivers test car was a 1986 Chevy Corsica. Man that car was so much nicer then our Chevy Citation. MY tester was pretty good too, and I passed no problem. I did take Young Drivers of Canada, and I know that was why. 20 years later, I've still never had an accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemiman Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 My dads 1973 Ford Pinto Runabout (hatch back). 2000cc 4cy, AT, Passed! Not a bad car didn't rust nearly as bad as my other choice: My moms 72 Ford Country Sedan wagon. The Pinto had a really cool Weber carb on it. It was a staged 2bbl with a primary and secondary throttle. Me and my buddies used to call it a "half a quad". Learned to drive a standard in a Pinto too. My friends brother had a 1971 Pinto with a 4 speed. Not a bad car to learn on cause you really had to learn how to ease the clutch out on launch. Not like a big V-8 where you could rev the engine, drop the clutch, and take off with a little wheel spin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettech Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 1974 Olds 88 .. It was a beast to parallel park. :happy feet: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaZor Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 A six year old '57 Chebby. A little more than a year later, whilst drag racing on a back country road, that I'd never been on before, with a buddy in his '59 Chebby, I had him beat by several car lengths when I saw the road was a "T". We were going far too fast to make the turns, so I slammed on the brakes. He was slower at doing that too, so he hit me in the rear. Too bad there is no video (it hadn't been invented yet), because the '57 fell apart (just like one of those comedy skits where someone slams a door and the bumpers, fenders, doors, and almost every other body panel falls off). This all occurred in Michigan so the car had had 7 years of salt, and '57 Chebbies had a propensity for sheet metal perforation (rust that ate through the metal in just a couple years) so it was not unexpected. We needed one of those Nascar track debris pickup trucks to throw all the parts that came off, but alas, there wasn't one around, so we picked up the majority of them, threw them into the back seats (etc) of both cars, and limped them home. Mine went directly to it's new home. . . the junkyard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 Showin' my age (or lack thereof)....took my test in mom's old '93 Taurus. What an exciting car. :boring: I learned stick by fire though -- driving my drunk friend home one night in his '88 Celica 5-speed. Then I drove my dad's 69 Stingray once. Then I bought the Cobra. Wheeewwwie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I learned how to drive in my 78 Ford E250 Conversion Van (All black outside, wall-to-wall orange, tan & brown shag carpet on the inside with a 460 V8 under the hood, my friends & I called it the BEAST) and I took the test in May 1991 in my parent's 1980 Buick Century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johns Goat Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I took the road test in a chevy lumina... auto school car.... I learned to drive stick on my dad's 93 escort wagon he then gave it to me as my first car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
focus05 Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 '92 Aerostar. And it was fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 Brand spankin' new 1984 Renault Alliance Convertible. Oy....I wish they would have failed me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironhorse Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 (edited) 1979 Fairmont Futura...... Edited November 20, 2007 by ironhorse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 (edited) 5 speed Singer Vogue, complete with twinchoke weber carbs......BEAT THAT!.....even if someone remembers Singers or Hillman hunters.....1st car 1969 german built VW beetle w 1750 overbore and Holleys.... Edited November 20, 2007 by Deanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StangBanger Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 Mine was in a 1974 Ford Maverick sedan. Other then the frt suspension squeaking like mad if there was ANY moisture in the air, it was a great little car. Right after I passed, my Mom suprised me with a new 1977 Pinto as a pre-graduation gift. Aw, the good ol days....LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Local1111 Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 65 Plymouth Fury III Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 (edited) 1979 Fairmont Futura...... (laughing) I'm laughing because that picture was from my old Ford site. Man I need to get that site running again. Me? I'll sound like a young kid but I learned to drive in a '99 Mercury Mountaineer V8. My dad still has it for towing purposes. I passed the driving test no problem with that beast. Edited November 21, 2007 by Roadrunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danglin Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 :happy feet: :happy feet: :happy feet: :happy feet: 1981 Dodge Aries K Car!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemisbc Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 In 1950, drivers test in a U.S. Army, 2 1/2 Ton GMC 6 X 6, 5 speed non-synchromesh. I never had a civilan license until I was out of the Army. At Fort Campbell which is located in TN and KY we had to take written test for Army, TN and KY, plus a simulated driving test with reaction times from accelerator pedal to brake. They would not issue me a license without first consulting with my Company Commander because they wondered if I had somehow cheated due to my test score being much higher than had ever before been made by anyone. C. C. said, no problem. Anyhow I had the pleasure of hustling that old DUECE and a HALF round trip across the Smokey Mountains in convoy from Ft. Campbell to near Ft. Bragg, NC to be on a manuevers exercise. Later on I was lucky enough to get to drive a Company Commanders Jeep at which time I convoyed from Campbell to Ft. Hood, TX and back. And then one time, an old boy from GA named McCluskey and I had a semi-permanent job hauling water at night to the rifle range to water the grass; we had 6 X 6s with water tanks mounted on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemiman Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 In 1950, drivers test in a U.S. Army, 2 1/2 Ton GMC 6 X 6, 5 speed non-synchromesh. I never had a civilan license until I was out of the Army. At Fort Campbell which is located in TN and KY we had to take written test for Army, TN and KY, plus a simulated driving test with reaction times from accelerator pedal to brake. They would not issue me a license without first consulting with my Company Commander because they wondered if I had somehow cheated due to my test score being much higher than had ever before been made by anyone. C. C. said, no problem. Anyhow I had the pleasure of hustling that old DUECE and a HALF round trip across the Smokey Mountains in convoy from Ft. Campbell to near Ft. Bragg, NC to be on a manuevers exercise. Later on I was lucky enough to get to drive a Company Commanders Jeep at which time I convoyed from Campbell to Ft. Hood, TX and back. And then one time, an old boy from GA named McCluskey and I had a semi-permanent job hauling water at night to the rifle range to water the grass; we had 6 X 6s with water tanks mounted on. Nothing more nerve-racking than driving in a military convoy in hilly terrain. Unless you have a really good driver in the lead vehicle, it becomes a great big accordian. One minute you've got the gas to the floor, the next you're standing on the brakes. On it goes hour after hour. As a mechanic, I was alway in the 5 ton wrecker at the rear of this cluster-*%#@! Got so mad at the CO once, that we passed the entire convoy with the wrecker, pulled in front of him in his jeep and stayed there, until he figured out how to lead a convoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJSteve3 Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 72 Monte Carlo. It was 1/82, right after I turned 17, and it had snowed about 4 inches the night before the test, and the DMV did not bother to plow the driving course. The trickiest part was the parallel parking - couldn't see the curb. I think I was too far away on the first cut, but the instructor was forgiving, especially given the conditions.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted November 21, 2007 Author Share Posted November 21, 2007 My dads 1973 Ford Pinto Runabout (hatch back). 2000cc 4cy, AT, Passed! Not a bad car didn't rust nearly as bad as my other choice: My moms 72 Ford Country Sedan wagon. The Pinto had a really cool Weber carb on it. It was a staged 2bbl with a primary and secondary throttle. Me and my buddies used to call it a "half a quad". Learned to drive a standard in a Pinto too. My friends brother had a 1971 Pinto with a 4 speed. Not a bad car to learn on cause you really had to learn how to ease the clutch out on launch. Not like a big V-8 where you could rev the engine, drop the clutch, and take off with a little wheel spin. I learned to drive a stick in a '71 Pinto too. Ginger Glow Metallic (the parts that weren't rust colored) I started out at the bottom of the steepest hill in Pittsburgh knowing I would have to shift on the way up. Fear is a wonderful teacher. HEMISBC: I knew you would have an interesting story for this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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