So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[ChiTownScion]

When I go from driving a manual for awhile to an automatic, I find my left foot constantly searching for the not-there clutch.

With me, it's reaching for the gear shift at a stoplight.

 

[Fading Fast]

With me, it's reaching for the gear shift at a stoplight.

Done that too - very funny if it's an "on the floor" stick shift you are used to because then you are just reaching at air.

 

[tonyb]

Gotta wonder how many people born after, say, 1965, have ever driven a car with a steering column mounted manual gear shifter.

The latest-model such car I recall driving was a '65 Ford Falcon -- straight six, three on the tree -- which I had in the early 1970s.

Are column mounted manual gear shift cars still made?

 

[2jakes]

I've mentioned this before but manual gear driving and having
to stop at a steep hill is quite an
experience .
Something that today's young generation will probably never
know or would want to.

Same thing with that heavy
black contraption that was known
as a "telephone" .
And all you could do with it
was simply talk.

This post was made possible with
my iPhone while I lay in bed reading & enjoying the wonderful
stuff "ya'll " have posted while I
try to get over a nagging cold.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

One of the most harrowing experiences of my life was in 1967 when I drove around San Francisco in a stick shift. Guaging that clutch-accelerator coordination was a killer. I was told that natives burned out their clutches every few months.

 

[tonyb]

I learned that with my '65 Ford Econoline -- another straight six, three on the tree drivetrain -- it was best to avoid certain routes under certain weather conditions. Starting from a dead stop whilst pointed uphill wasn't the problem in and of itself. A person operating such a vehicle learned how to make his right foot do double duty -- toe on the brake pedal, heel on the gas -- or, alternatively, how to employ the hand brake to keep from rolling backwards before the clutch engaged and forward motion was again attained.

Seattleites familiar with the four-way stop at Sixth and Yesler might well envision the challenge it posed to eastbound motorists in '65 Ford Econolines, especially on a rainy day, of which Seattle has a few. Cars leak oil and tranny fluid and such slippery stuff there whilst stopped at the stop sign. In that lightweight breadbox of a van, traction was damn near impossible to attain when attempting to go uphill from a dead stop when that old oil and such got rained upon. Speedo says you're going 40-plus, but if you're moving forward at all you count your blessings.

Driving that thing in the snow was a fool's errand.

 

[2jakes]

This was called "Shamu" by the folks at work.

This '67 never failed to start in all kinds of weather.
About the only thing that was a bit disconcerting was when
I had no choice but to drive on the freeway.
Any passing vehicle would sway this buggy from side to side.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^^
Beetles were bad enough that way. VW "station wagons," aka microbuses, of which I had a couple, just weren't meant for limited access American highways. Passing trucks had a person thinking he was driving a kite. And long uphill stretches, such as mountain pass highways, had you poking along in the right lane, if not on the shoulder.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Gotta wonder how many people born after, say, 1965, have ever driven a car with a steering column mounted manual gear shifter.

The latest-model such car I recall driving was a '65 Ford Falcon -- straight six, three on the tree -- which I had in the early 1970s.

Are column mounted manual gear shift cars still made?

I think there are still some industrial-grade trucks made that way. I had a friend who used to have a 1976 Volare with column shift, but I don't think they went much beyond that with passenger cars.

My '41 Plodge was the third year the column shift was available, and they'd gotten the bugs out of it by then. When it first came out in 1939 it used a cable instead of linkage rods, and there were -- issues.

What's confusing is switching back and forth between the Plodge and my '99 Subaru -- I often forget where to reach for the shift lever.

 

[2jakes]

Once drove a VW "rabbit" edition from San Antonio to Los Angeles.
By the time I got to El Paso my right foot was cramping badly from
pressing on the gas pedal.
The pedal was not of the type that went to the floorboard.

I took some masking tape & a 2x4 and created my own pedal so that
I could rest my foot on the floor while I applied the gas.

Some vehicles were never meant for long-distance driving.

My '46 pick up doesn't like going on the freeways.
So I take her on the back roads when ever possible.

 

[Trenchfriend]

@LizzieMaine
Which Subaru do you drive?

 

[tonyb]

I think there are still some industrial-grade trucks made that way. I had a friend who used to have a 1976 Volare with column shift, but I don't think they went much beyond that with passenger cars.

My '41 Plodge was the third year the column shift was available, and they'd gotten the bugs out of it by then. When it first came out in 1939 it used a cable instead of linkage rods, and there were -- issues.

What's confusing is switching back and forth between the Plodge and my '99 Subaru -- I often forget where to reach for the shift lever.

^^^^
Can't recall when I last heard the sound of grinding gears. Some people just couldn't get the hang of double-clutching with those old non-synchro gearboxes.

It's sorta like the infield fly rule that way. It's easy to understand, yet is apparently beyond the comprehension of many otherwise capable people.

Is that old Mopar of yours all crashbox? Or are there synchros on two and three? Do you typically come to a dead stop before downshifting into first? I recall using the engine as something of a brake, leaving the tranny engaged in second with the idling engine going some ways toward arresting forward motion. And then depressing the clutch pedal just as I came to a complete stop, so as not to stop the engine.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Synchro in second and third. It's got so much torque that I often start off in second gear -- sometimes on purpose, sometimes because I forgot to shift down.

Braking with the engine is something I've had to do from time to time. I had a VW Fox -- one of the lemoniest of lemon cars -- that had all kinds of brake problems, and I got in the habit, whenever the pedal felt squooshy, of engine-braking whenever possible.

 

[2jakes]

Can't recall when I last heard the sound of grinding gears. Some people just couldn't get the hang of double-clutching with those old non-synchro gearboxes.

It's sorta like the infield fly rule that way. It's easy to understand, yet is apparently beyond the comprehension of many otherwise capable people.

Is that old Mopar of yours all crashbox? Or are there synchros on two and three? Do you typically come to a dead stop before downshifting into first? I recall using the engine as something of a brake, leaving the tranny engaged in second with the idling engine going some ways toward arresting forward motion. And then depressing the clutch pedal just as I came to a complete stop, so as not to stop the engine.

My first truck was 1939 Chevrolet.
I could adjust gears from 3rd on down by merely adjusting the fuel control
on the dash without have to use the stick shift.
Changing gears without grinding is possible if you handle it with "kid gloves".

 

[tonyb]

Once drove a VW "rabbit" edition from San Antonio to Los Angeles.
By the time I got to El Paso my right foot was cramping badly from
pressing on the gas pedal.
The pedal was not of the type that went to the floorboard.

I took some masking tape & a 2x4 and created my own pedal so that
I could rest my foot on the floor while I applied the gas.

Some vehicles were never meant for long-distance driving.

My '46 pick up doesn't like going on the freeways.
So I take her on the back roads when ever possible.

Some vehicles just don't fit certain people. My recently deceased sister-in-law briefly owned a Honda Accord that gave her shooting pains up her leg after an hour or so in the driver's seat. I had similar difficulty with a Dodge Neon I rented at Midway in Chicago. Got as far as Rockford (on my way to Madison) when I just had to get out of the thing and take a walk around that big gas station/restaurant/convenience store in that wide median there.

 

[2jakes]

^^^^^^
Beetles were in my "I-can-afford-that" price range when I was young.
They could be found crawling all over the city.
The fact that I was 6'3" tall was something beyond my control.
But being young the body would flex more without too much pain.

Not as much today, but "it is what it is".

 

[tonyb]

Synchro in second and third. It's got so much torque that I often start off in second gear -- sometimes on purpose, sometimes because I forgot to shift down.

Braking with the engine is something I've had to do from time to time. I had a VW Fox -- one of the lemoniest of lemon cars -- that had all kinds of brake problems, and I got in the habit, whenever the pedal felt squooshy, of engine-braking whenever possible.

I found that with torquey six-bangers and three-speed trannies second gear is your friend. Good from zero mph to highway (but for freeway) speeds. Uphill on 50 mph roads, especially, was easier on the engine (and the nerves) in second than in third.

 

[2jakes]

^^^^^
My condolences for you loss in the family,tonyb.

 

[LizzieMaine]

@LizzieMaine
Which Subaru do you drive?

It's a '99 Outback. Paid $500 for it last winter when my '97 Toyota finally rusted itself to death, and aside from having a driver's door seal that doesn't, a rusted-out rocker panel, and dash lights that don't work, it's been a reliable Classic Maine Beater.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
My condolences for you loss in the family,tonyb.

Thanks. You get to a certain point in this life and that's what happens. The departed sis-in-law's only child, her and my deceased brother's kid, is now orphaned, at age 33. One of my bestest, longest-term friends is likely to succumb to lung cancer before long. (We're maintaining hope that an experimental treatment will arrest the disease's progress, but we ain't betting the farm on it.) Two old girlfriends have shuffled off over the past couple-three years (ovarian cancer in one case; what I suspect was a drug overdose in the other, although those who know ain't saying). Old man croaked last year. Mom's still kicking, but she is indeed an old gal now. No denying that.

But, as Yogi put it, you gotta go to other people's funerals or they won't go to yours.