PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Found a picture, that's me in the back, about 4 years old lol!

 

LONG STORY SHORT: It took me TWO YEARS to convince my uncle to teach me how to drive stick in his prized 1991 Toyota pickup. He was convinced I'd wreck the clutch, but to his surprise, I mastered driving stick in less than 20 minutes! He literally went from "You'd better not f**k up my clutch!" to "You're a f***ng natural! I'd let you borrow my truck whenever you want!"

My uncle taught his two daughters (my cousins) how to drive stick. He taught my cousin who is my age in the 2002 Tacoma S-Runner he used to own when she was 16, and to put things lightly, she probably took a lot of life out of the S-Runner's clutch. My cousin is a GREAT driver, but she doesn't like driving stick.

He taught his younger daughter (born 1992) to drive stick I believe in the same truck he taught me in. My younger cousin was out of high school when she got lessons if I remember correctly, and things went much better. She was so good at it that she was driving the truck solo on the first day she learned!

My uncle was extraordinarily hesitant to teach me how to drive stick in his 1991 Toyota pickup, because he had put a fortune into basically building the Toyota truck that Toyota SHOULD have built in 1991 and was absolutely convinced I'd destroy the clutch. It took me 2 years to convince him to teach me, and only after he made my dad (his older brother) promise pay for a new clutch if I destroyed the new one he'd just installed. The truck had the original clutch when he bought it and the clutch had a lot of life left, but my uncle put a new one in just because he could. After all, he installed A/C in this truck as well, so a clutch was nothing.

My uncle was living in Myrtle Beach by then, and the street his house is on is on a big circle. My uncle drove around the circle a couple times, ordering me to keep quiet and pay close to attention to his feet while he shifted gears. After two times around the block, I had the basic concept down. 1)Foot off gas, 2)Depress clutch QUICKLY, 3)Shift gears, 4)Release clutch SLOWLY, 5)Give it some gas, 6)Repeat as many times as needed until you reach the gear you want.

My uncle pulled the truck over in front of my house and shut the engine off, and we switched places. I did better than even I thought I would. I did not dump the clutch, grind the gears, or even stall while we were moving! I also did get great downshifting when coming to a stop sign. The biggest problem I had was getting going again from a dead stop without stalling, but my uncle was more impressed than I was and told me I could now officially brag to my friends that I knew how to drive stick. He also said I could borrow the truck to avoid paying money for a rental car if I came out to visit on my own! Not bad considering less than 30 minutes earlier he made my dad promise to buy him a new clutch before I even got behind the wheel!

I learned how to drive stick in this:

 

That's a pretty bad ass Warranty and glad you got a new camera. I was expecting a photo of the dually you mentioned after I was done scrolling down

 

I have Asperger's Syndrome, and I am on the higher-functioning end of the spectrum. Roughly 50% of the highest-functioning young adults with Aspergers get driver's licenses. The half who chooses NOT to drive is just as intelligent as the ones like me who do get licenses, but even the ones who go on to have successful careers choose not to drive because they don't think they'd be focused. I am in the 50% that defied that statistics and got a driver's license at the age of 22. I know a lot of people, but this list includes only my closest friends, both AS and non-AS. I am one of only two people in my "inner circle" who knows how to drive a stick shift! My one close friend who can drive stick is a 29-year old married guy who drives an 18-wheeler for a living and does not have Asperger's. This career trucker friend has another friend, also a trucker, who has Asperger's and of course knows how to drive a stick. I am friends with him but he lives in Georgia now and I don't talk to him outside of Facebook. This post is about people I see regularly and am particularly close to.

I finally learned how to drive stick at the age of 25 when I talked my uncle into taking me around the block in his 1991 Toyota pickup. I surprised him AND MYSELF when I mastered the art of the third pedal in like 20 minutes! I am by no means an expert at driving stick since I don't own a stick shift, but almost 2 years after my first time, I talked my dad's boss into letting me drive his 2002 5-speed Saturn and drove it like I'd been driving stick for years. I have a gift that not many people have. I was born after 1975 and not only can I drive a stick, but I can get behind the wheel of a stick shift vehicle after years of not driving one, and COMPETENTLY drive it better than anyone I know who is my age, Aspergers or not.

It saddens me that the stick shift is all but dead nowadays and Americans just don't feel like driving them. Everyone in my family born before 1975, with the exception of my Grandma born in 1938 and my step-Grandma born in 1945, knows how to drive a stick. I am on the younger side of eight cousins. I have 2 girls cousins and 2 guy cousins on my mom side, all older than me and born between 1980 and 1988. I was born in 1989. On my dad's side I have 2 girl cousins younger than me, born in 1989 and 1992 respectively. All 8 of us have driver's licenses, but not only am I one of just three cousins who can confidently say they know how to drive stick... I'm the only guy in the group who can drive stick! The oldest girl (age 36) and the youngest girl (age 24) are the two besides me who are good at driving stick. All of the girls got their licenses at 16. The oldest guy got his at 17. The second youngest guy is the younger brother of the oldest guy, and he got his license at 21. I finally got mine at 22. I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed...

 

I'll find it and upload it eventually. I just had eye muscle surgery and I am very busy with work.

 

Instead of being embarrassed or proud

Teach them to drive manual

 

1982 Toyota 2wd 22r manual
1984 Toyota 4wd 22r manual
1992 Nissan hard body 2wd manual
1988 Toyota 2wd 22re manual
1986 Suzuki samuri 4wd manual

 

About that... one of the younger girl cousins is the oldest daughter of the same guy who taught me how to drive stick. My uncle attempted to teach her in his 2002 Tacoma S-Runner, and she probably took some life off the clutch. She has driven manual since then but prefers automatic. Again, direct descendant of the same man who taught me how to drive a stick. If he can't teach her how to do it, what makes you think I can? LOL.

Older boy cousin attempted to drive stick in his dad's 2002 Nissan Frontier, and both his dad and his grandma attempted to teach him. He kept stalling and gave up. The middle boy cousin is the older one's younger brother. His dad (my uncle) still has the 2002 Frontier, and my uncle would be much better at teaching him than me. He has a valid license and a flawless driving record, and just does not feel like learning how to drive stick.

 

Also the autistic trucker friend mentioned in this post OWNS a 1988 Peterbilt 379!

 

Be proud most people your age can't drive a manual

 

First off, let me say this. You may notice that I refer to some relatives on a first-name basis, or as my uncle's wife, aunt's husband, etc. This is because my biological grandparents on my dad's side (dad's parents) divorced in the 1960s and both remarried in the 1970s. My biological grandpa, no longer with us, had a daughter with his second wife who was born in 1975. What did all this mean for me growing up? More birthday and Christmas presents.

The uncle who taught me how to drive stick is also remarried. My aunt from my grandpa's second marriage is also married. The reason I don't just refer to them as aunt and uncle and am on a first name basis is because I was legally an adult by the time my uncle and my aunt remarried and when they were dating their future spouses I was just told to call them by their first names. It seems weird to address them as aunt or uncle.

The titular "Badass Step-Grandpa" here is my dad's mom's second husband. Why is a he a badass? Let's see... Let's see, he chose to join the Navy and fight in WWII when he turned 18 instead of going to college. He was a Navy SEAL who fought in Japan! Back then they were not even called Navy SEALs, they were called Frogmen. After being honorably discharged when the war ended, he did go to school at the University of Arkansas and became a legend on the football field. After college, he played for the NFL! First for the New York Giants, then for the now-defunct Los Angeles Kings. After that he got married and had quite a few kids, but his first wife died. He still has a huge family in his native Arkansas. He went on to have a successful career as an executive aluminum company and met my Grandma in the mid-1970s and they married in 1977.

I could go on and on about my Grandpa, but lets focus on 2003-2004. He let me drive his 1993 Lincoln Continental when I was 14 or 15! My Grandparents had two lakefront houses next door to each other on two huge pieces of land in Maine, and since I only drove on this private property, I broke no laws by driving my Grandpa's car before I was old enough to have a license. My Grandpa had a bad heart, but he was a better driving teacher than my dad! He just sat in the front seat of HIS Lincoln smoking a pipe while I blasted a Meat Loaf tape in the cassette player and drove the yard. I guess I must have been a good driver because though my Grandpa had to give up his license in 2010 for health reasons, he's still alive and kicking at 93 years old!

 

If he fought Japanese how does he feel you driving Tacoma ?

My grandfather stopped talking to us after we bought Japanese cars

 

I think not knowing how to drive a stick is more embarrassing than admitting you've never kissed a girl... Luckily I can drive a stick and without going into detail and keeping things PG I can say I've done way more than kissing... LOL

 

He doesn't care LOL. His wife (my Grandma) has a 2002 Lexus RX300 which he drove... My grandma on my mom's side was the one who busted my balls for driving an import (and my parents for buying me one) and had a strong dislike for Japanese products.

 

Like Walt Kowalsky in Gran Torino?

 

Not sure what that is

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Torino

 

Thank you

Sounds interesting

 

A lot of people here on TW have noticed that I am one hell of a writer... There's a reason for this. As early as the 4th grade I showed an abnormally high talent for writing. My associate's degree major is journalism. I wrote articles for my college newspaper and the owner of the bar where I worked liked my feature on her business so much that she had a copy framed.

Anyway, I've lost faith in the media. The job of a good reporter/journalist is just to get the story out without taking sides, for lack of a better description. It is IMPOSSIBLE not to become emotionally connected to certain stories in some way, but a good reporter is supposed to be the unbiased messenger. The media, especially since last year's circus of a presidential election, has been extremely biased and slanted. The vast majority of TV channels and newspapers are too liberal, with few exceptions, and radio tends to be a bit too conservative again with few exceptions. One of those exceptions is Newstalk 990 AM which is what the radio in my Tacoma is often set on. My political affiliation does not matter here, folks... I'm just fed up with my country being divided, and even more angry that the industry I devoted my college education to seems to be encouraging it.

So, yeah... I think the off-topic section of TW is a better place to share writing talent with the world than anyplace else.

 

The title pretty much says it all... Ask me ALMOST anything... We'll see where this thread goes...