Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Standard transmission

I floated the gears in a 73 pinto. Fouck yeah!!!


One time we pulled into some derelict’s yard to ask him about a gran torino in his backyard. A big ass german shepherd cone hauling ass out from under his trailer skirting. We dove back into the little red pinto and were trying get that mofo i to reverse. It didnt have a clutch.

That damn dog had his mouth around one of the front tires. We started rolling backwards to jam into gear and that dog’s head was stuffed up under the fender well. lmao
Somebitch did a full revolution before shaking off and we got the hell outta there. It was like a gator rolling in the water. 🤣

Same as OP - 2001 Cummins in a Dodge 2500 with 6 speed manual. The 67 Corvette is manual as well.

Nine other 50+ year old trucks here, all with Muncie SM465 4 speed trans

I much prefer manual trans but have kept the 72 Chev with a Turbo 400 because it only has 35k miles on the meter and don't want to part with it just yet, and he 2003 Silverado has an Allison because I wanted a Duramax and they only come with the auto - but it about as good/durable auto as one will find in a light truck.

Good visual...

Been there...

I never had a 73 Pinto however.

Had a 71 Pinto. I was 16 and a new driver. Tried my hardest to blow it up but that little 4 banger held tough. Had a 5 speed and a very unforgiving clutch.

Automatics should be banned. Too old, ignorant, or preoccupied with your electronic handheld device to drive a manual transmission? Good stay home.

Nope. The "floor board" on the C8 is actually a structural member of the car so a hole in it cannot be accomodated. As noted previously, the twin clutch autos are a fair bit quicker than a manual.

Yes let’s bring back carburetors and points too. And the annual changing of the spark plugs and wires. Cracked distributor caps were fun. Oh I almost forgot drum brakes. We can live like the Cubans running around with 46 Fords.

Don't forget, no delay wipers or better yet vacuum operated wipers.

No sealed bearings so we can spend Saturday morning packing front wheel bearings.

Where did I leave my Dwell meter?

We have three rigs that all have manual transmissions.

'97 4-Runner, '04 Tacoma, and a '13 Jeep Rubicon.

The brakes last longer on these because of shifting down and using compression to slow down.

Virgil B.

Can do the same with an auto or just let off of the gas a bit sooner.

End dependence on foreign oil and solve global warming simply by banning automatic transmissions. More at 6.

Automatic transmissions are smarter than all drivers and most mechanics- - - -it's virtually impossible to get one into the wrong gear.

2001, dodge 2500, 5.9, six speed and a 2007 F350 7.3 power stroke five speed. That’s what I have now. I’ve had quite a few manual, transmissions in cars trucks a few hot rods. I learned to drive clutch in a motorcycle about age 9, maybe 10. And stick in a car, Volkswagen, lol, at age 11, what a freaking blast that was!

Since a standard transmission is the default,
Automatics are standard today.





Not really.
Automatics are smarter than 90s of the non driving SOBs piloting a car.

But they are not even close to being smart enough to pre select a gear for atypical situations. Heck, many American cars won't even let you lock an automatic in a gear. They suck balls in bad weather.

This is good info. No reason to play big truck driver in your 3/4-1 ton diesel pickup. I have an 05 Ram 2500 4x4 with a 5.9 and 6spd trans that I’ve owned since new, 200k on it now. Factory clutch lasted until 185k, and this has been a work pickup that has towed plenty. You can float the gears, especially between 2nd-3rd-4th but I resist the urge to do so because it’s pointless and obviously doesn’t save on clutch wear.

I had several vehicles with manual transmissions the first one I drove was memorable.

It was a 1963 Ford Galaxy with the a 427 R engine. (R-code, which produced 425 horsepower using a pair of Holley 650 four-barrel carburetors. The engine featured cross-bolted main bearing caps, reinforced steel connecting rods, 11.5:1 compression, solid valve lifters, tuned cast-iron exhaust manifolds).

This engine was all set for racing with a close ratio four speed, heavy duty racing clutch, heavy duty suspension and heavy duty drum brakes. I was on the track team primarily pole vaulting and was in good shape. I had just gotten my learner's permit at 16. Brother picked me up at school and on the way home he said it is time to learn how to use a clutch.

The vehicle's clutch was very stiff and took some serious effort to depress. With the rated torque of 480 ft/lb I would bet I could have just let my foot slip off the clutch and it would have chirped and proceeded easily.

I got the hang of using my first manual transmission and clutch and was doing just fine until we came to a stop sign. There was a bit of traffic on the cross street, I held the clutch down with shifter in first, waiting my turn. My clutch leg's calf began to shake trying to keep that petal down. Brother said "put it in neutral, rest the leg". I still remember that so vividly, the date was 1966.

The car was black just like the one in this article:

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/ford-galaxie-500-r-code/

Longevity of parts is one thing but there's not a driving test in the world that you could pass using a manual transmission in this way.

You maintain control of the vehicle by manually selecting the appropriate gear at any time. Whether you're accelerating, maintaining, or decelerating.

Especially if you're towing.

Holy uncontrolled coasting Batman!

Toyota or Jeep if you want 4WD. I think Nissan bailed on stick shift. Chevy, Dodge, and Ford did a long time ago. You might just have to bite the bullet, buy some tampons, and start driving an automatic. Either that or find a used truck to rebuild. Running out of options.