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canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
22,592
22,457
Canaderp
stoney said:
If she breaks it, she takes the blame for it. I'm trying to find a really big parking lot with no lights. I think the Arapahoe Community College lot is my best option for learning, but I'll need to find one for donuts still.
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Have you done a clutch replacement yet?

Whats that smell in the air? :busted:

Fun fact: I purchased a manual car, without knowing how to drive it. I learned pretty damn quick... I think anyone can do it, as long as they aren't afraid of hurting the car. The timid and super nervous drivers will be the bad ones to learn, you can't half ass the clutch and expect it to be smooth.

Hill starts still make me nervous, if someone is right on my ass. Even more so in the Subaru compared to other cars; the damn hill assist feature only activates if you follow the procedure of putting the clutch in, sticking it in first, all while pressing the brake harder than you actually need to.

I still avoid parking in spots that require me to back out, up a hill. Yep I'm a pussy.
 
Serial Midget

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,897
Fort of Rio Grande
I learned to drive a clutch when I was in my early teens, it was in a farm truck and I had to sit on the very edge of the seat in order to engage the clutch. The steering wheel sometimes blocked my vision.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
22,047
7,983
Colorado
6thElement said:
Handbrake
Find bite point
Release handbrake
???
Profit
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There's enough torque that she only needs to slowly let up the clutch. It's more so about getting her comfortable with listening to the car and multitasking to drive.
 
Pesqueeb

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
42,809
20,412
Riding past the morgue.
Serial Midget said:
I learned to drive a clutch when I was in my early teens, it was in a farm truck and I had to sit on the very edge of the seat in order to engage the clutch. The steering wheel sometimes blocked my vision.
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I learned to drive in a very similar fashion. My best friend growing up had grandparents with a pretty large farm in Strathmore. When we were about 8 or 9 we spent a week on the farm and were given free reign of the place as long as we stayed off the highway. We started on a ancient John Deere 70 with a hand clutch. When I ran it into the silo Nick's grandpa gave us an old GMC automatic pickup instead. I would't learn to properly drive a manual until I was 17.

Edit: Even screwier than I remember it.

 
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6thElement

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
17,731
15,295
stoney said:
There's enough torque that she only needs to slowly let up the clutch. It's more so about getting her comfortable with listening to the car and multitasking to drive.
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My response was directed more at @canadmos and his ability to hill start in a manual transmission :D
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
68,649
14,745
In a van.... down by the river
Ha. I grew up on a farm, so got to drive all sorts of primitive clutched vehicles. Hand clutch Farmall and John Deere tractors, an old 8N (?) Ford, shitty old pickups with 3 on the tree... hell, I think my old man's Valiant had a steering column shifter too.

The John Deere riding lawn mower was probably the most civilized of all of them.
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,523
9,311
jonKranked said:
how do you fit both a house and a yard on a lot that small?
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Literal answer:



This lot is actually pretty big for our neighborhood. We chose it so that we'd have a non-negligible back yard, and now I get to pay the price for that choice.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
89,788
27,943
media blackout
Toshi said:
Literal answer:



This lot is actually pretty big for our neighborhood. We chose it so that we'd have a non-negligible back yard, and now I get to pay the price for that choice.
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sucks. when wife and i were looking, we rarely bothered looking at anything around 4/10 acre.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
22,047
7,983
Colorado
Toshi said:
Literal answer:



This lot is actually pretty big for our neighborhood. We chose it so that we'd have a non-negligible back yard, and now I get to pay the price for that choice.
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Want an extra electric mower? I have a spare as I decided to hate nature and get a gas.
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,523
9,311
stoney said:
Want an extra electric mower? I have a spare as I decided to hate nature and get a gas.
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I, too, have decided to hate nature and get a gas powered something or other. Currently trying to talk the wife into a lawn tractor since they're not that much more expensive than the Honda self-propelled one I'd want otherwise. Plus I could mount a tiny snow plow blade on it for kicks. :D
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
89,788
27,943
media blackout
Toshi said:
I, too, have decided to hate nature and get a gas powered something or other. Currently trying to talk the wife into a lawn tractor since they're not that much more expensive than the Honda self-propelled one I'd want otherwise. Plus I could mount a tiny snow plow blade on it for kicks. :D
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pro tip: plows generally also require chains
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,523
9,311
And farm-style wheel weights, no? Realistically I don't really have the room to store it. I should really just pay some Juan to mow the lawn...
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
22,047
7,983
Colorado
Toshi said:
I, too, have decided to hate nature and get a gas powered something or other. Currently trying to talk the wife into a lawn tractor since they're not that much more expensive than the Honda self-propelled one I'd want otherwise. Plus I could mount a tiny snow plow blade on it for kicks. :D
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Isn't your lawn podunk?
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
22,592
22,457
Canaderp
stoney said:
Point. Clearly he needs to learn how to e-brake. If I could figure it out in SF with a V8 CJ-7 with no e-brake, he can figure it out in a WRX.
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I've never tried the e-brake trick. I just get a good parking spot and avoid the entire situation. :brows:

Its just something about going backwards, uphill, in tight confines around other cars and peoples that sketches me out.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
22,047
7,983
Colorado
canadmos said:
I've never tried the e-brake trick. I just get a good parking spot and avoid the entire situation. :brows:

Its just something about going backwards, uphill, in tight confines around other cars and peoples that sketches me out.
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It's pretty dummy proof. It's not like you're at risk of spinning the tires due to lack of traction.
 
johnbryanpeters

johnbryanpeters

Hero
Sep 27, 2001
37,187
19,390
Making moss sad in New Haven, Vermont
I had a John Deere Model B with a stick clutch for a number of years. Starting was by reefing the flywheel by hand, keep your thumb out of the way of the housing...

At some point managed to get the damn thing with one wheel backed up against one of the poles on our pole barn, sort of panicked with the wheel trying to climb the pole, but hit the clutch and things calmed down.

I could get the old girl started even when the weather hit minus thirty F...
 
Serial Midget

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,897
Fort of Rio Grande
Toshi said:
I, too, have decided to hate nature and get a gas powered something or other. Currently trying to talk the wife into a lawn tractor since they're not that much more expensive than the Honda self-propelled one I'd want otherwise. Plus I could mount a tiny snow plow blade on it for kicks. :D
Click to expand...
I saw a guy killing it today on a stand up mower, that thing was dancing!
 
Serial Midget

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,897
Fort of Rio Grande
I took the GT out for an afternoon spin and was schooled by a guy climbing on a single speed hardtail, as he passed me he said you got a make it hurt, assured him I was hurting. I still tried to chase him back up to the car park, he gained a quarter mile on me in less than a mile. I was pleased not to be walking anything... tomorrow I'm going to take my 02 XTC hardtail with the Ardents and do some hill repeats until my quads burn, my old Giant is the best climber I've ever had. I haven't spun the Ardents yet, curious to see how they work for me.
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,523
9,311
SkaredShtles said:
Why not get a plug in electric? Much lighter, more power, cheaper (?)
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My solution: pay neighborhood high schooler $25 to tend the grounds mow the lawns each week. He has his own mower and I get to help fund his private pilot's license (and don't have to mow!).
 
Full Trucker

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
11,267
9,125
Exit, CO
Officially one week into #funemployment and it's going pretty dang alright. Been on a few dates, gotten irreparably drunk, and ridden awesome rides in Fruita and Salida. STILL waiting on my Canadian buddy to sort out if he's breaking up with his girlfriend or not so we can plan this BC trip.
 
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