HELP!!!!!!!

[Guest oldster]

I "borrowed" a friends 1925 Hupmobile touring car, and discovered the brakes were down. I had driven around about a half mile, and returned the car to the shop where I added brake fluid, to no avail. (I had set the hand brake when I parked) I got back into the car to drive it back into the shop, but when I released the hand brake, there was no tension as before. I started the engine, when I tried to put it into first gear, it was "locked out." In fact, I could only use neutral, but the car would drive in neutral only, all other gears being locked out. I did finally manage to get first and reverse, but when the cluth is released, the engine stalls and the car won't move. What's wrong? I did not force anything nor was there any other indication of trouble prior. HELP! This isn't my car and I need to fix it! My email is: nananpoobie@hotmail.com

[Guest cben09]

What year and model,,,standard 3 speed??? Could it be that the lever is in "neutral" the shift forks have viberated into a gear,,,when you move the lever you get 2 gears at once,,,I had a Pierce with a broken detent spring that did something like that,,sometimes there is a shift fork shaft sticking out,,only other thing I can think of is pull the floorboards and then the tranny cover and look in,,,Good luck,,dont get nervers,,uou'll think better in calm mood,,Ben

[Guest oldster]

Thanks, cben! I looked beneath the car and I did see what appears to be a shaft sticking out a bit from the trans case. I will try to put it back if possible. I did notify the owner (who is out of the country) of the vehicle (this car is pristine) and he simply said that these things do happen, and I should try to fix it if I can. If not, he will have it looked at by an expert in the transmission field. The car is a 1925 touring car with the 8 cyl engine. It has a hydraulic clutch, which seems to be operating OK. Thanks again!

[Guest oldster]

Found the Solution to the transmission problem of the 1925 Hupmobile!

After hoisting the vehicle and finding nothing wrong, an old friend dropped by just as I let the car off the hoist. After explaining the problem to him, he stated that he had a tractor that had the same problem years ago. He discovered that the shift lever had worn on the transmission end, and would not slide the gears properly every time. He discovered that by exerting downward pressure on the shift lever, and bumping the lever to 2nd gear position, that the lever would have sufficient length to clear the gears into proper position. We tried it and lo and behold, it worked! I thought I'd share this here in case anyone else is faced with the problem.

[Guest oldster]

I notified the owner of the solution and he was very happy to know it didn't require dissembly. A win-win thing!

[Guest oldster]

A photo of the '25 Hupmobile:

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v129/poobie2/?action=view&current=HPIM2768.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/poobie2/HPIM2768.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[Guest cben09]

On the early 6cyl Chevvys,,30-34 about,,,there was a threaded cap that held the shift lever down into its socket,,,and every once in a while it would unscrew enough to be a problem,,,,once discoverd, it was simple to tighten it down,,Perhaps there is a similar design here,,,Just a guess,,There is a similar Hupp owned by a Volvo dealer here in NewEngland,,,Cheers,,Ben

[Guest oldster]

Thanks for the tip, cben. I don't think the Hup has that design, but the shift lever can be pushed down about 3/4" which was enough to solve the problem.