Standard Transmissions

Ken Anderson

Ken Anderson

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Like many of you, I suspect, I hated the transition to automatic transmissions, and thought that as long as they still made a standard shift, I'd stick with that. But then, when it came to buying my first new car, a Datsun/Nissan pickup truck, I went to two dealerships in Southern California, and they told me I'd have to wait several months for a standard, so I went with the automatic transmission. I can't say that I hate the automatic transmissions and it would probably take me a while to figure out how to drive a car with a standard transmission now, but there was something about shifting that made driving more enjoyable, particularly with a floor shift.
 
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In my early years, I've owned some cars that would stall out sometimes, and would not enjoy driving a standard transmission car that stalled often in a place with a lot of hills like San Francisco.
 
I remember my brother had an old 1960's Studebaker Lark in dark green and rust. It was a standard shift and the floorboards had rusted out in front of the front seat so the seat was not bolted down in front. If you started off from a stop too fast, the seat would rock back and your feet would leave the pedals, so you'd better have a good grip on the steering wheel.

Ah, the good old days.
 
I loved standard transmissions, especially in the winter. I always thought it gave me more control. They are really fun in small cars on twisty roads. I remember terrifying my wife when I drove her little Datsun on the Blue Ridge Parkway when we first moved to North Carolina. Having been raised in Iowa, even a bump or a curve in the road made her nervous😅
 
We had to take driving classes with a set curriculum and after passing the written test an about one hour road test. You could go automatic but that limited driving privileges to automatic only.
My last new standard was a bright red Chevy Blazer. Nobody wanted to borrow it.
 
Don Alaska said:
I remember when our driver's ed dropped standard transmission from their "required" list. It was three on the column and the left-handed kids kept ripping the turn signal lever off the column when they shifted.
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I had a 60something Chevy with that shift. Could bit myself for having traded that beast in.
 
I also liked manuals. My last one was a 1991 Honda Accord. Before that, my 1971 Corolla was a 4 speed. But it had an emission control that kept the engine revving up while shifting, which took most of the fun out of it. Luckily, an unnamed mechanic disabled it for me.
I don't know if manual transmission even exist now.
 
Manual would stink in a congested stop & go traffic area. I always preferred manual. I had a 1990 Volvo with nearly 200,000 miles on it that had a floor shift that I loved until a deer ran in front of it. This was maybe 10 years ago.

I've been in older vehicles that have lost their engine compression where you would end up downshifting all the way to 1st gear in order to get up really steep hills (gotta love the flat-head 6.) When 1st is not synchronized, you come to a complete stop and give it a lot of gas while feathering the clutch. A couple of them burned oil. I felt bad about the guy behind me.
 
I learned to drive with a standard transmission, and that is what I drive most of the time, at least with a truck. Most of the cars were an automatic transmission of one sort or another. Some of the Chrysler products had the push-button automatics, but most were just on the steering column.

My dad had a large 1-ton line truck with 4 wheel drive and a low and high range; and that is the vehicle that I first learned to drive. I was able to go to work with my dad back in those days, and when we were out on the back roads for him to fix the power line out there somewhere, he would put the truck in compound low, and let me drive down the dirt road.
Eventually, I was adept enough at driving that I learned to shift gears, and could drive in regular 2-wheel drive and not the 4-wheel drive compound low.

For most of my adult life, I lived in the country somewhere and we always had a truck, often one that had 4 wheel drive; so even if we had a car also, I often drive the truck to get hay and other farm supplies.
The most unusual transmission was in a really old Datsun pickup.
It must have been one of the first ones brought over from Japan, and it had a column shift, but it was totally backwards to where the gears usually were.
First and second gear were away on the column, where usually 3rd and reverse were at, and those were on the near side. I was always trying to start out in 3rd gear, because that was where 1st gear was usually located.
 
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I had a VW Rabbit with a standard and I hated it. At the time, I had to take I-4 to work, which was stop-creep along-stop-creep along....

No matter how fast ...or slow...traffic was going, it was either too slow or too fast for whatever gear I was in, so I was either straining or bucking.

I was so glad to get an automatic.
 
I learned to drive a manual, starting with tractors, then pickups, and later trucks. I have driven far more manuals than automatics.

I have driven both 3 and 4 speed with shift on the column. I converted my 55 Chevy Bel Aire to a floor shift. Three on the floor. My old Mercedes had 4 on the column. It was tricky to shift. I forget which car or pickup I had that was my first 5 speed on the floor. It might have been my Mazda pickup.

All kind of trucks including those with 5 speed trannies and 2 speed rear ends. Old grain trucks had that combo as did drill rig trucks.

My 49 Ford pickup was my favorite as it required double clutching to shift quickly and smooth. Doubling clutching was an art.

Learning to drive in Colorado with all the hills and ice, was a real trick in a manual. You had to let out the clutch where it barely grabbed and then quickly hit the gas, but not to much. In time it was an automatic reflex. I had the four wheel drives with the hubs that required getting out to turn in.

I suppose that motorcycles with foot operated shifts are not off topic here. I had a few of them. My favorite was my dads old rusty Cushman with the 2 speed. It was a real gas to run around the ranch on. Get out on the back gravel road and open it up in 2nd gear with pony tail flying at top speed of 45 MPH. No helmet or googles, just squinted eyes and sheer courage, one with the elements ... born to be wild! 🤣
 
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Yvonne Smith said:
I learned to drive with a standard transmission, and that is what I drive most of the time, at least with a truck. Most of the cars were an automatic transmission of one sort or another. Some of the Chrysler products had the push-button automatics, but most were just on the steering column.
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We had a Rambler Ambassador station wagon with push-button transmission in the dashboard. If I recall correctly, it was at the bottom left of the dashboard, since you only used it to get going or to park. Don't know what year it was, but I know we had it in 1963.

I remember when we moved from Indiana to Virginia and the old man loaded the car with 6 kids, crammed the camping trailer with stuff, hooked it up to the station wagon, and got on the road. We were going up some mountain in Pennsylvania when a couple in a red convertible pulled up next to us (she was wearing a scarf) and told us our transmission was on fire!!!
 
Tony Nathanson said:
My Accord hybrid has no gearshift; just buttons to push. I don't know what kind of transmission it has but there is no feeling of any gears shifting.
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Probably the e-CVT; that's what was in my CRV. I never felt it shifting at all.

ETA--my Pilot has the "push button" transmission but it is a 10-speed paired with the 6 cylinder ICE.
 
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I dunno if I could handle a standard,but it would certainly be an experience!

I have heard people going from 1st gear to 3rd gear..

Is it possible to rev up high enough and go from 1 to 4?
 
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