[Squidward]

My son and I went driving this weekend. He is 17, but still on a permit. Many kids these days aren't in a hurry to get the license at 16 like I was, but that's another story.

I thought I would introduce him to my 67 Firebird. Initially it took him a little bit of getting used to the Hurst ratchet shifter, but 30-40 miles later he was all smiles!

I laughed to myself when I told him to punch it in the a$$ while manually shifting the gears from a stoplight. He was still a little bit intimidated.

He loved the quick ratio steering, even tho I don't care much for it. He was a big fan of the handling and road feel. His only frame of reference has been my 2001 GMC 1500 extended cab.

It all started out as a short run to Quik Trip, and spontaneously ended up out of town down along the Salt River. It was a great time, and a moment I had waited for almost half a century!

[njsteve]

Enjoy the moment.

I gave my daughter her first driving lesson at age 14 in her Great Gramma's 1975 Firebird. (We named my daughter after my her great grandparents). She was having boy troubles at the time and I thought it would take her mind off it. Over the years whenever she had similar issues, I would always volunteer to take her out and let her drive the "Gramma Car". She still teases me about it a decade later, saying that it was my way of relating to the psychology of raising a teenage daughter. :-)

[The Champ]

That is always a special pleasure.

Did it with my daughter back in 1994, weeks after getting the '64 GTO back from a 2.5 year frame off. She came home to wash clothes (she was in college at the time) and hadn't had a chance to go for a ride in it yet.

She said, "Sure, you'll take me for a ride, but you won't let me drive it.". I said, "Who said I won't let you drive it? Her eyes got real big and she ran in the house to get her laundry started and I drove her out to the country and we swapped seats. Now my daughter did know how to drive a stick, so I just reminded her that this wasn't a 4cyl with a 5 spd....

She did great, never killed it. After cruising around out in the country for about 20 minutes, she asked if she could drive it into town to her boyfriends house. Sure....

Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2017, our grandson was up with his mom for Turkey day and on Saturday it was clear and sunny. I asked him if today was the day he was going to learn how to drive a stick. Once again the big eyes... Having never driven anything but an automatic, he did stall it several times in the HS parking lot before I let him drive it back home from the HS.

[OCMDGTO]

Awesome!!! First car my son drove was my 70 GTO sitting on my lap through a construction site when he was 5 in the early 90s. First car my niece drove was my 69 GTO when she was 15 six yrs ago. First car my brother drove was an old 454 Chevelle I had in the late 80s, got him doing burnouts in the school parking lot on the wknd. None of them got the car bug, unfortunately, although my niece shows the most interest in my car. Good job getting a kid behind the wheel!

[TAKerry]

That's Awsome! Great memories for the both of you. When my daughter turned that age I was afraid to even get in the car with her to teach, let alone go for a joy ride. My son has very little interest in cars as well. Hoping it skips a generation and I can get my grandson on board.

[Big Mike]

I was listening to my Pandora and heard this song by Alan Jackson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQe3DKDQRRs It's along the same lines as these posts. Got me a bit bleary eyed really.

[sdbob]

Thanks for the stories. I learned on my dad's GMC to drive a std shift.

[Hikin Mike]

That's great!

I have two daughters, 20 & 18. Neither have their license or permit. Neither have plans to do so. Guess it saves us on money.

[Squidward]

Originally Posted by Hikin Mike

That's great!

I have two daughters, 20 & 18. Neither have their license or permit. Neither have plans to do so. Guess it saves us on money.

I don't get this at all. My daughter dragged her feet, and had little to no interest in driving practice after she got her permit at 15. Didn't get her license until way into 17. My son failed his first test for permit at 15, and didn't feel motivation to study for a retest. Something clicked in January, and he passed it. He asks to drive all the time now, and I am pleased with that.

My daughter drove the Firebird when she was 19 or 20. She enjoyed it, and drove it more aggressively. My wife has never driven my classics - her choice.

[Hikin Mike]

My father-in-law taught both kids. My oldest took her permit test and failed. I think she just gave up. She works next door to us, so no issue going to work. I think my other is just afraid to drive. My wife has driven both of my classics. When we were first married, she drove my convertible as her daily-driver.

I didn't get my permit right away, but I got it around 17.

[flyingn]

great memories. I remember the first drive our Son had in both our cars. He loved the 4 speeds. The smiles were from ear to ear the whole time

[Jeff Hamlin]

Very cool to see Him get a taste of power.

My daughter has been around vintage cars since day one.
She knew the value of freedom and responsibility that comes with driving and couldn't wait to get behind the wheel!

She's now 22 and jumps at any opportunity she gets to drive a classic.

[thepontiacman]

Great to hear that your Son enjoyed the Firebird drive.

Sounds like you all had a good time.

[Squidward]

Thanks to all for sharing your stories! I wonder sometimes why I go through all of the BS, pain, frustration, and money in this hobby. Then you see your kids enjoying it, and you think "OK, my work here is almost done"!

I wonder if the musclecar hobby would be enjoyed more by kids in a "middle America" rural context. I grew up in rural Michigan, and it was part of my lifeblood and local culture. Out here in the suburbs of AZ, car and youth culture is different.

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by Squidward

I wonder if the musclecar hobby would be enjoyed more by kids in a "middle America" rural context. I grew up in rural Michigan, and it was part of my lifeblood and local culture. Out here in the suburbs of AZ, car and youth culture is different.

I think it just depends on the people they hang around with.

I bought my first car before I even had a permit. It was an 86 Monte Carlo SS with a Vortec headed 350 .030 over with the typical bolt on stuff. I need to find a few pics of it.

All the guys I hung out with in HS were car guys. We built all of our own stuff, most of which were lifted trucks. By my senior year I built and sold an 85 K10 and was driving 89 Stepside, both of which were lifted and sitting on 35s.

[eaglesan13]

My oldest daughter turned 16 on a Sunday. I remember how upset she was that the DMV was not open on Sundays, and she had to wait an extra day to take her driving test on Monday.

[Squidward]

Maybe kids these days are too into the internet to care a lot about the outside physical world. When I was in high school, a car was my high speed router to the outside world. Going to movies, parties, sports events, etc. was our Facebook.

OK. Grandpa will shut up now. Get off my lawn.