Automotive and transmission folks...

[Regolith]

On a side note, After I took my current truck for a test drive, and was about to leave the dealer, the manager came by and asked if I could move the truck, because there was nobody in the place that could drive a manual.

 

How do you have a car dealership where nobody can drive a manual? I'd figured it'd be part of the hiring requirements.

[KD5NRH]

Oddly, even the WalMart tire guy was able to figure out not only the 5 speed stick, but the large starter button in the floor.

Of course, he only figured out the starter on the way out.  He push started it to get it into the shop.

[Tallpine]

I don't mind the "engine idling" requirement for checking ATF level, but the "transmission hot" requirement.

Generally, I figure if it is up to the "add" mark when cold then it is okay 

Do Not Overfill!

[230RN]

Oddly, even the WalMart tire guy was able to figure out not only the 5 speed stick, but the large starter button in the floor.

Of course, he only figured out the starter on the way out.  He push started it to get it into the shop.

What?  No hand crank?  No advance-retard or choke levers on the steering column?  

One of my many regrets was I loaned out a pre-1900-1920s book on automobile maintenance and care on the road.  It spoke of how to replace the leather on the clutch, brush carburetors, all kinds of archaic automotive things like that there.  I seem to recall mention of carbide headlamps, too.

The dirty rotten low down bottom feeding skunk moved away without telling me and the book went with him.  I asked his landlord if he knew where he'd gone and his response was "If you find out, tell me."

Sure, I only paid about two bucks for it, but it was a rare and precious acquisition.

Gr.

Terry

[KD5NRH]

No advance-retard or choke levers on the steering column?

You know, if I could figure out how to rig those aftermarket on a Toyota forklift, things might sound better in the shop.  Most cold natured beast I've had the displeasure of restarting every 15 seconds until it finally warms up, which is usually about the time the last pallet is loaded.

[Tallpine]

Somewhere I think my mom has the owners manual for her 1951 Chevy pickup.

As I recall it even has instructions on how to drive, for people who just traded in their horse  

[230RN]

I remember at some point driving something with the headlight dimmer switch on the floor.  Might've been my 1950 Plymouth... ?

Commuted to college with it.  Three on the tree.  Necking knob.  Wet air filter.
Wet back seat if I got lucky.  Barbara.

[Regolith]

I remember at some point driving something with the headlight dimmer switch on the floor.  Might've been my 1950 Plymouth... ?

They had those all the way up into the early 1990s, at least on Ford pickups.

[RoadKingLarry]

The latest model I've owned with the dimmer switch on the floor was my '83 Chevy pickup. Currently only my '68 M715 has a floor mount dimmer switch. It came stock with a floor mounted starter switch but that was replaced probably when the 292 was swapped in. Current starter button is on the dash. I get people asking me to let them d4ive the M715 pretty regularly, I tell them if they can start it we'll go for a ride. So far it's been one out of about 8 tries and they have to make sure the brake lights are enabled as well.
The last vehicle I owned that still had a mechanical starter switch on the floor was my '54 Chevy pickup. I sold 8t in '95.

[RoadKingLarry]

Oh, and automatic transmissions are the work of Satan. 

[charby]

The latest model I've owned with the dimmer switch on the floor was my '83 Chevy pickup. Currently only my '68 M715 has a floor mount dimmer switch. It came stock with a floor mounted starter switch but that was replaced probably when the 292 was swapped in. Current starter button is on the dash. I get people asking me to let them d4ive the M715 pretty regularly, I tell them if they can start it we'll go for a ride. So far it's been one out of about 8 tries and they have to make sure the brake lights are enabled as well.
The last vehicle I owned that still had a mechanical starter switch on the floor was my '54 Chevy pickup. I sold 8t in '95.

Mine was a 84 Suburban I had 15 years ago. I like the floor switch better than on the column.

My 49 Chevy I owned many moons ago had a starter switch on the floor. Kind of a chore to feather the gas pedal and engaging the starter when the engine was cold. That was a fun truck.

[Tallpine]

The latest model I've owned with the dimmer switch on the floor was my '83 Chevy pickup. Currently only my '68 M715 has a floor mount dimmer switch. It came stock with a floor mounted starter switch but that was replaced probably when the 292 was swapped in. Current starter button is on the dash. I get people asking me to let them d4ive the M715 pretty regularly, I tell them if they can start it we'll go for a ride. So far it's been one out of about 8 tries and they have to make sure the brake lights are enabled as well.
The last vehicle I owned that still had a mechanical starter switch on the floor was my '54 Chevy pickup. I sold 8t in '95.

My 1976 GMC has the dimmer on the floor - directly underneath the clutch pedal 

I'm pretty sure that my 1958 C-60 had the starter switch on the floor.  I know the battery was under the passenger side floor.

[Gewehr98]

You know, you manual trans guys are like car hipsters.

"I drive a manual, but you've probably never seen one"

Starting to piss me off, because finding newer manual transmission trucks is getting to be more difficult.

Wife #2, I'll buy her automatic transmission vehicles until the cows come home, no problem.

My own vehicles have a proper clutch pedal and floor shifter, 5 or 6 speeds, thank you.

Although, it's kind of nice knowing peple may not want to steal your vehicle because then never learned how to drive one...   

[Firethorn]

My own vehicles have a proper clutch pedal and floor shifter, 5 or 6 speeds, thank you.

The trick I have with this, and likely why my next vehicle will be an automatic, is that the newest autos both drive a lot better than they used to AND get better gas mileage than the manuals.  I'm curious to see how the modern 8 speeds drive.

[Gewehr98]

I test drove a newer Chrysler 300 S V6 with the 8-speed automatic slushbox.

It seemed like it was always hunting for the right gear.

Dunno why they can't just put a CVT in the darned thing and call it done, unless CVTs can't handle much torque or horsepower yet.

(Nissan Murano comes to mind...)

[rcnixon]

First, for the first time in decades, i am without a clutch pedal. The best insurance policy I ever bought was a Saturn SL-2 with a five-speed I bought for my daughter when she was in high school  Her boyfriend couldn't drive the car; I rode him unmercifully about that. Not one of the little b*****s at the school ever asked to borrow her car "just to run downtown".

Second, my wife's whip is a 2003 Thunderbird with just over 100K miles on the odo. The five-speed auto trans was not quite right and the Ford dealer quoted me $3500.00 to REPLACE the trans. They wouldn't fix it, they would only put in a "new" one. I found a reputable shop in the next town over and they opened it up and found no scrap metal in the pan (a good thing) and installed a "servo kit" for just over $600.00. The gearbox shifts like new. The shop gave me a one-year warrantee on the work. I know a bit about old-fashioned autos, Nissan sent me to school to learn how to fix their early 70's three-speed; it was just like a miniature Turbo-Hydramatic. They were all analog, the new ones have a digital control box that buzzes the servos all the time (pulse-width modulation) and can lead to premature failure. The Ford dealer sells me a $3500.00 trans and then fixes the old one for between $500.00 and $1500.00; lather, rinse and repeat. The T-bird box is also used in the Explorer and some Lincolns. It's a nice racket.

By the way, I asked and the new shop will rebuild the trans for around $2000.00. There is a two-year warrantee on that and they belong to a shop network that will do warrantee work in over 7000 shops nationwide.

I'll be testing the new shop with my '02 Saturn L-300; If they do good with that one, they'll have a new regular customer.

Russ

[RoadKingLarry]

The first time I remember being face to face with a male that couldn't drive a manual transmission was probably 1989. My boat was newly deployed to the Med. I had checked on board just a few days before we left port. Prior to the deployment the command had trained and gotten international drivers licenses for what should have been a sufficient number of the crew. As it turned out the vehicles provided for the ships use were all equipped with manual transmission as it also turned out only about 1/3 of the international drivers could drive a stick.  Much hysteria ensued.
The designated international driver from my division suffered unmerciful derision from his LPO in which his very manhood was called into question due to his lack of such an essential manly skill. I felt bad about it later.
Some years ago I reconnected with my former shipmate via some submariner website. He was quick to inform me that he now knows how to drive a stick and that his current car had a manual transmission. 

[Tallpine]

Doesn't help much that apparently even the heavy Army trucks are automatic.

Our VFD has a 5 ton 6x6 with Allison automatic.  The surviving M35 is a five speed and now the only manual in our fleet.

[KD5NRH]

Dunno why they can't just put a CVT in the darned thing and call it done, unless CVTs can't handle much torque or horsepower yet.

Didn't CVTs pretty much originate in tractors?

[Boomhauer]

Doesn't help much that apparently even the heavy Army trucks are automatic.

Our VFD has a 5 ton 6x6 with Allison automatic.  The surviving M35 is a five speed and now the only manual in our fleet.

The Allisons in our trucks at my FD were great transmissions.

[Tallpine]

The Allisons in our trucks at my FD were great transmissions.

Yes, I have to grudginly agree.  They are very smooth - not rev/lurch, rev/lurch ....   About all that you can tell is that the rpm changes.

And in the brush trucks - well, the automatic is helpful for pump and roll on grass fires.  Otherwise, the driver about wears out his/her left knee.  But the automatics are not as strong.  We have a rule to put in low range whenever getting off of a maintained road, even a level looking two track.  With all that water weight, the low speed stopping/starting/creeping burns up the automatic in a hurry.  One of the other county departments had to replace a transmission at about 300 miles 

[230RN]

^ "And in the brush trucks - well, the automatic is helpful for pump and roll on grass fires.  Otherwise, the driver about wears out his/her left knee."

I remember an old time bus driver telling me that before they had automatics, what with stopping and starting every two blocks, the drivers had left legs the size of oak trees.

He was kidding, of course... I think.

[Tallpine]

I remember an old time bus driver telling me that before they had automatics, what with stopping and starting every two blocks, the drivers had left legs the size of oak trees.

He was kidding, of course... I think.

I had a rural bus route, so the stops were far between.  The few buses back then with automatics were worthless on ice and snow, but most everything had IH 5-speeds.

I've got an old tractor with a front loader (clutch and no power steering), and after running it for an hour or two I'm ready to get off and hand shovel for a break