polara71
Old Man with a Hat
Funny stuff but as I remember it, it would do 70, or maxed out there.
And no.... The Jersey Turnpike at 5 in N jersey is bumper to bumper and crawling. I stayed to the right and followed the herd
'fess up. Who here hasn't driven a stickshift?
- Thread starter commando1
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Funny stuff but as I remember it, it would do 70, or maxed out there.
And no.... The Jersey Turnpike at 5 in N jersey is bumper to bumper and crawling. I stayed to the right and followed the herd
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
I asked my wife if she wanted to trade the 2010 and hunt down a purple Hellcat. I was happy to hear her say no..... of course she wasn't opposed to just buying one without the trade of the 10
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
I took the Mrs to Maple Grove and she asked why our Challenger doesn't do that. She wants to pull the wheels ........
I learned on a 65 Chevy Chevelle that belonged to a friend. I've owned a bunch of stick cars.
I drove a friend's T bucket once with a blown SBC and a 4 speed. That was a lot of crazy fun.
I drove a friend's T bucket once with a blown SBC and a 4 speed. That was a lot of crazy fun.
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Good girl!
You can surprise her with a Hellcat for her birthday.....
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
No place to cage a Hellcat
At 13 I had a 55 chevy standard that I learned on. It was a lot car and we had plenty of property to drive it on. I gotta say through my life up until about 2000 I always drove standard shift trucks which I love. Now that I am older and travel some everything is automatic just because if I get stuck in traffic while traveling it is a pain in the *** to keep shifting. I do have a soft spot for standards!
When I was nine years old, I learned to drive in a stick shift '52 Buick.
stubs300
Senior Member
First time behind the wheel was in a 64 Ford w/a 3 on the tree. When I was 10 or so Mom used to let me shift gears for her. All I had to do was watch her foot and when it went to the floor, jam on!
TheFearlessFury
Active Member
Well, it's good that it lives up to the hype. I really hope Chrysler can turn things around
You wouldn't be able to count me among the new Challenger's fans though, the look of it never really grew on me. I always liked the Charger though.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
... for those that consider their modern car as..
1. an extension of their penis, or...
2. a Maytag.
Even my wife preferred a stick when she used to be able to handle a clutch.
Can't remember all the sticks I drove but a few memorable times were having a guy pull up tight behind me on a hill when I was first learning to drive. Had to dump the clutch and smoked em taking off. I've improved since.....
I had a 71 International 1100 and the granny gear saved my life. Came up on an intersection to have the brake pedal hit the floor board. steered into a field and downshifted to a stop before I got into the cross traffic. Drove back home downshifting into the granny to get slowed down enough for what little break I had to stop me.
Last one was I was sitting in an intersection in the winter waiting on on-coming traffic. As the car passed me I looked to my left just in time to see a car sliding through the intersection right at me. I turned the wheel hard left, dumped the clutch and swung the back end out of the way just as he slid through. I then bitched myself out because it was a 70 AMC GREEN Hornet with about a trillion miles on it and 3 on the tree. Don't know if I would have got enough for another car with the insurance but I would have like to have a reason to get rid of that one sooner then I did.
I had a 71 International 1100 and the granny gear saved my life. Came up on an intersection to have the brake pedal hit the floor board. steered into a field and downshifted to a stop before I got into the cross traffic. Drove back home downshifting into the granny to get slowed down enough for what little break I had to stop me.
Last one was I was sitting in an intersection in the winter waiting on on-coming traffic. As the car passed me I looked to my left just in time to see a car sliding through the intersection right at me. I turned the wheel hard left, dumped the clutch and swung the back end out of the way just as he slid through. I then bitched myself out because it was a 70 AMC GREEN Hornet with about a trillion miles on it and 3 on the tree. Don't know if I would have got enough for another car with the insurance but I would have like to have a reason to get rid of that one sooner then I did.
TheFearlessFury
Active Member
Hah, was the Hornet really that bad? I sometimes feel that way about my Golf though
Don't get crabby with me about it. Talk to your boy.
That's why there's different flavors. I don't love them either, even though I own one, but they make great race cars with all the modern amenities.
The kitty is an absolute beast though & for about 5 grand you can run very low tens at the track.
I would rather have a Hellcat Charger than a Hellcat Challenger.
livininharrow
Senior Member
I remember the throttle cable breaking on my 340 4 gear. not a problem after I thought about it for a minute on the side of the road. crank up the idle a **** load and you are good to go. a little embarrassing pulling up to an intersection revving 4 grand. lol got me home.
Boomer
Active Member
Can't recall what I learned on but suspect it was a Chevette, one of three Drivers Ed cars our high school had. I do remember the first time I was in the position of having to drive a stick.
Was the summer of my senior year, had just graduated high school and was headed off to college in the fall. A gal (Lisa) at my school who was a couple years behind me had introduced me to a nice red-head girlfriend of hers she grew up with from another school about 25 miles away. Lisa's parents had also recently divorced and her mom got the summer camp on a lake maybe 30-35 miles in another direction. The friend, who I'd been seeing a bit, was up visiting her for a week, and Lisa's boyfriend was also there. They called to tell me we were all going to her parents' camp in half an hour, be ready.
Up they drive in this bright orange '75 or so Vega-Wagon-GT thing, almost dragging, crammed full with three people and 'stuff'. Lisa comes over, tosses me the keys and says "You're driving". I say "Can't, don't know how to drive a standard". She smiles and says "You have to - none of us has a license yet". Great.
Had no idea what I was going to do but I knew this much: we had the use of a camp on a lake with no one to bother us; at 18 I was old enough back then to buy beer (they were all 16-17); her friend was sitting in the front seat with her long red hair blowing in the open window, batting her piercing, blue eyes at me; and my parents were due home anytime, sure to inquire as to what we were up to. Didn't care to have that discussion, so.....
I only stalled 3 times trying to get going. Once we were on the road, we only hit 2 traffic lights, one of which was red. Made it across from uncertainty to paradise at the cost of some ground gears, dumped clutch attempts, and tire chirps, but the Vega took the abuse. The drive home was considerably easier.
A few months later in October I bought my first 4 spd - a 1971 MGB ragtop for $500, a step up from the VW 411 wagon I was driving. Compared to the Vega, it felt like a Formula One car that was built around me. Drove it around New England for nearly 2 years without a spare tire or wrench(it had wires and a big nut instead of knock-offs). Don't think I could remember all the vehicles I've had since with a manual transmission - four (or five) on the floor to three on the tree. There's plenty of time for automatics when you get to the 'home'. And those funny van buses.
Was the summer of my senior year, had just graduated high school and was headed off to college in the fall. A gal (Lisa) at my school who was a couple years behind me had introduced me to a nice red-head girlfriend of hers she grew up with from another school about 25 miles away. Lisa's parents had also recently divorced and her mom got the summer camp on a lake maybe 30-35 miles in another direction. The friend, who I'd been seeing a bit, was up visiting her for a week, and Lisa's boyfriend was also there. They called to tell me we were all going to her parents' camp in half an hour, be ready.
Up they drive in this bright orange '75 or so Vega-Wagon-GT thing, almost dragging, crammed full with three people and 'stuff'. Lisa comes over, tosses me the keys and says "You're driving". I say "Can't, don't know how to drive a standard". She smiles and says "You have to - none of us has a license yet". Great.
Had no idea what I was going to do but I knew this much: we had the use of a camp on a lake with no one to bother us; at 18 I was old enough back then to buy beer (they were all 16-17); her friend was sitting in the front seat with her long red hair blowing in the open window, batting her piercing, blue eyes at me; and my parents were due home anytime, sure to inquire as to what we were up to. Didn't care to have that discussion, so.....
I only stalled 3 times trying to get going. Once we were on the road, we only hit 2 traffic lights, one of which was red. Made it across from uncertainty to paradise at the cost of some ground gears, dumped clutch attempts, and tire chirps, but the Vega took the abuse. The drive home was considerably easier.
A few months later in October I bought my first 4 spd - a 1971 MGB ragtop for $500, a step up from the VW 411 wagon I was driving. Compared to the Vega, it felt like a Formula One car that was built around me. Drove it around New England for nearly 2 years without a spare tire or wrench(it had wires and a big nut instead of knock-offs). Don't think I could remember all the vehicles I've had since with a manual transmission - four (or five) on the floor to three on the tree. There's plenty of time for automatics when you get to the 'home'. And those funny van buses.
I can make that happen!!
Wildaugust
Senior Member
First time I ever drove and shifted a manual trans was a '65 Biscayne 4-dr 6-cyl that belonged to friend's mom. It had three-on-the-tree. A few months later I got my license and within a few months was driving my own car. It was a '63 Chevy 6-cyl with three-on-the-tree. Not too long after that, another buddy managed to buy a '67 Monaco 500 383/4-speed car. It was a 2-dr hardtop. The car was solid, but rough. He let me drive it once or twice. To this day, that is probably as close as I have come to driving an actual 4-speed factory "muscle car". I still have a couple of pictures of that car somewhere.
I remember working for a farmer one autumn, way back in my other life, and getting to drive a New Holland bale wagon similar to this.
It was powered by a 400 Ford and had some kind of a 4-speed trans it. It took me awhile to learn how to run that.
Since then I've also driven quite a few larger trucks, including an International that shifted 1-2-3-4-5, flip the little lever and grab 6-7-8-9. It had air brakes and tandem axles. I have never driven a semi, but at that time I was thinking of going for my class 1 license with air.
My other project is an F-100 and it also has a manual trans. As you can see, it has three pedals.
When I bought it, it had three-on-the-tree with overdrive. The OD was shifted by a cable under the dash. It worked quite well and I liked it. There were a couple of things to remember though. Shift out of OD before going downhill because the OD unit freewheels and provides no engine braking. Don't park in gear with the OD engaged without using the parking brake for the same reason.
I really wanted power steering and did convert, but required a shorter steering column. I tried an aftermarket floor shifter, but couldn't find one that would fit that trans. I swapped out the Warner T-85N for a Toploader OD with a floor shift. I didn't want a non-OD trans and I wanted to stay with a manual. I do love the 727 in my Newport though.
I remember working for a farmer one autumn, way back in my other life, and getting to drive a New Holland bale wagon similar to this.
It was powered by a 400 Ford and had some kind of a 4-speed trans it. It took me awhile to learn how to run that.
Since then I've also driven quite a few larger trucks, including an International that shifted 1-2-3-4-5, flip the little lever and grab 6-7-8-9. It had air brakes and tandem axles. I have never driven a semi, but at that time I was thinking of going for my class 1 license with air.
My other project is an F-100 and it also has a manual trans. As you can see, it has three pedals.
When I bought it, it had three-on-the-tree with overdrive. The OD was shifted by a cable under the dash. It worked quite well and I liked it. There were a couple of things to remember though. Shift out of OD before going downhill because the OD unit freewheels and provides no engine braking. Don't park in gear with the OD engaged without using the parking brake for the same reason.
I really wanted power steering and did convert, but required a shorter steering column. I tried an aftermarket floor shifter, but couldn't find one that would fit that trans. I swapped out the Warner T-85N for a Toploader OD with a floor shift. I didn't want a non-OD trans and I wanted to stay with a manual. I do love the 727 in my Newport though.
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