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My first vehicle was a truck with a column shifter. I liked that you could change from 2nd to 3rd while accelerating. Just push the clutch in and the shifter dropped from 2nd to 3rd.
That clutch required a full leg press to get in. If the seat was too far back, I couldn’t change gears.
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That’s the damned grease they use to lubricate everything; it dries and hardens, and screws everything up.
You have to use strong solvents to dissolve it and it’s a bitch to find the same grease again.
I used to use red grease in a spray can as a replacement. It was relatively expensive but stayed lubricating forever. We used to use it on linkages in burglary safes too.
I learned to drive on an automatic but bought an MGB when I was 21. Taught myself to drive a standard transmission in a few hours. I love working through the gears on a fast, twisty road but hate having to use a clutch in city traffic, especially during rush hour. Ugh.
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My slave cylinder went out one night. My dad drove it all the way home on the freeway. Just stayed out of first (no synchromesh) and didn’t stop the whole way home.
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By getting to the right rpm and shifting fast, you can shift post 1960 or so manuals sans clutch. Works fine I my BMW bike too, which has an automotive style transmission.
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“I’m cranking my tractor right now”
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I don’t think the Model A had a crank starter.
I do, and I’m sure that lots of people here do, if motorcycles with kick starters count. Last one I had was a '72 BMW R75/5 “toaster”.
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'67 Triumph Tiger, and boy do kickbacks hurt like a sonovagun.
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I get that feeling too. You lose so much control (and FUN! ) with an automatic. It’s getting hard to buy a new American car with manual trans unless it’s a dedicated street rod, sports car, or 4WD boonie basher. I passed the love on to my kids, though, and will to my grandchildren too, one day.
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For some reason, I get a feeling that a lot of discussions you have with your son involve “I meant to do that! You see, this is why…”
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I had three criteria for the last car I bought: two doors, under a tonne, and manual. It made for a short list; I got a CE Lancer (Mirage outside Oz).
The car before that had a cable-actuated clutch, which was easy to tweak. I adjusted it so the friction point was just above the floor, which made it piss-easy to use quite deftly. That lowered the pedal, so I adjusted the brake pedal to match, leaving all three at the same much lower height. Felt heaps more sporty.
The Lancer has a hydraulic clutch, so I couldn’t figure out how to manage the same trick. I just got a small block of wood and cut a slot in it and jammed it on the back of the pedal arm. Still quite an improvement.
There’s your problem. Its supposed to have a brake pedal there.
bought a VW Jetta GLX, which was smooth as butter.
I just bought a VW caddy van which is probably quite similar. Taking it home I was stumped initially by the reverse which is push in, then way left then forwards and left-right a bit until it engages. I am picturing the reverse bolted on to the outside of the gearbox.
VW also has the great DOWN AND BELOW 1st for Reverse. Makes shifting really interesting on older cars.
Yeah I think my caddy has that. Its a bit odd in that you can use reverse, then come back to neutral, then push forwards to first and get reverse again. Its like it has a separate neutral area just for reverse.
The synchromesh is a bit so-so on reverse as well.
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I’ve always preferred manual cars (and I’m a millennial), but my latest car is electric and they only have one gear. And it’s a damn good one.
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Seconded. In the {mumble mumble} years I’ve had a driving licence, of all the cars I’ve owned, hired, borrowed, or otherwise driven in the UK, precisely one was an automatic.
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Millennials? A stick shift has been an anti-theft device for decades.
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I learned how to drive a stick - never really had a Manual but driven them and …it’s not a big deal. Maybe an enthusiast will get a little more pleasure from it over an automatic. But I have paddle shifters and I never use them - I enjoy my driving just fine on modern auto. There should always be room for enthusiasts of all sorts of older technology or practices - like vinyl records, not using the microwave, using slow methods, growing a big beard - whatever - but I never really see other antiquarians be so abusive about other old fashioned things as manual enthusiasts - downright pompass bullies.
Is that from tractor? Who needs one gear lever when you can have three. In Finland you have be 18 to drive a car… Tractors you can be 15 and as far as I remember there was just a written test. I only drove on the fields so all I needed was to see over the wheel and reach the pedals.
This might be a fuel cost thing - Traditional torque converter automatics were much more thirsty and a lot of power was lost in the transmission - hence larger and even more thirsty engines were prefered. Not something that was popular where fuel (production) was not subsidized by your government.
Modern autos - especially DSG gearboxes, are much more efficient. My mid-sized SUV gets 40+ MPG mixed usage.
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