Standard Transmissions

[Beth Gallagher]

Of our five kids, only one can drive a standard shift. Middle son is a heavy equipment operator with a CDL and can drive anything. When he was about 20, he spent a year as an OTR trucker for a large trucking company out of Salt Lake City. He finally gave it up because long haul trucking is a hard and lonely life.

When he'd come home for days off, I'd pick him up at a local truck stop. I'd watch him back a 53' trailer into a parking slot that looked like a Volkswagen wouldn't fit. He made it look so easy while I held my breath.

 

[Krystal Shay]

I can still drive a 4-speed manuel stick shift. When I was a teeager, I learned how to drive a stick shift from my boyfriend. He had glass pack mufflers on his car, and I liked the sound of them with each shift.

 

[Marie Miller]

My 500 Vulcan had five gears. She kind of coughed and then did nothing when you did not shift clean. SO found a bike with automatic transmission by the time I upgraded Miss Priss to a 750.

 

[Don Alaska]

I wish my 2010 Kubota tractor had a standard transmission. The hydrostatic [sorta automatic] transmission is not strong enough to pull even the smallest of saplings. 50 years ago I helped clear a lot using a 1933 Farmall. That tractor could pull any stump out there--even though it had fewer HP than my modern diesel Kubota--largely because of the gearing of the standard transmission.

You could try a snatch block or a series of them to amplify the pulling power, or get a winch. An old truck works too

 

[Tony Nathanson]

I learned to drive a stick by watching other people drive theirs. My first car was a 1957 Ford It had three in the tree. I only had it for a few months. Then I bought a new 1973 Toyota Corolla with Four on the floor, which I really liked. Total price was $1,850. Later, I had a used Benz 240 diesel with 4 on the floor. I got a really good deal because the dealer said it was hard to sell with a manual transmission. My only other car with a manual trans was a 1991 Honda Accord with a 5 speed which I loved. After that I couldn't find any more manual transmissions.