First drive was a '63 4 door Fairlane with a 3 on the tree when I was 15. My friends dad took us up to the Junior High parking lot and taught us to shift it and parallel park, how to tell where the clutch should release and about engine braking. He put a couple of Green Stamps (remember those!) on the hood to show where your right side wheels were on the road. After that I worked at a Church camp above Gunnison and the Caretaker took a liking to me and let me drive the '39 Fordson tractor they had to take firewoood to the cabins. There wasn't any E-Brake so on the hills by the cabins you had to set the front of it it against a tree! It had a power take off setup connected to a large saw blade he'd use to cut wood with. Three pedals on the floor - 2 brakes and a clutch. No synchros for the gears but you could stop (had to to shift gears) and put it in 3rd, let out the clutch and it would take off! After that my sisters 3 speed '60 Corvair. Another friend took me out in it and put me on a hill and said go! One time I tried to "lay rubber" with it taking off and the fan belt flew off but didn't break. My Senior year I had a '57 Chevy with a 4 speed with no Power Brakes or Steering. In the winter there wasn't a heater so my Dad taught me how to defrost the windows with the windows part-way open.
The summer after my senior year (1970) I worked in a Pontiac/Jeep/AMC/ Rover dealer and got to learn to drive all sorts of hot rods! Good times.