how many guys on here know how to drive a standard shift transmission-in a vintage truck ?.....or think they know how HA

[arcticbuicks]

Rare old vintage truck driving know how these days,many old trucks in the 50s and 60s and 70s....and i think even further back..... had these three stick trans ........even smaller gas trucks .....sorry i couldnt find a good video of older truck [1974 and up dash though].....but heres the idea.......now a days its just press the "D" button on the dash......anyone remember shifting these ?

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

Hands on the wheel at all times.

[Skvitt]

Wouldn't it be much easier if sticks were half shorter?

[TAKerry]

Pretty crazy. First 'big' truck I drove was a 67 Dodge. I cant remember what the trans was but I do remember it having a funky shift lever. It may have been a straight 4 speed? I have driven a few road rangers, trucks with a straight shift and a 2 speed rear, 13 speed trans and maybe another oddball thrown in the mix. Surprised me that there are so many automatics now. My brother was at his shipping terminal and was instructed to take the new guy out for a run down. The guy got in the truck and had no idea what the shift lever was even for. He looked around the cab for a few minutes before asking my brother where the shifter was. He pointed out to the big stick coming out of the floor. The guy was a recent graduate from a truck school! Never taught a manual.

[arcticbuicks]

@Skvittthe tall shifters keep your eyes looking ahead or from looking down too much

[Dandy Dave]

Helped a friend move a few days ago. He had me drive the 20 foot box U-Haul truck as his eyesight is not what it was. It has been a long time since I have been in one. The last one I drove for a family was in the early 1980's and still had a standard transmission. The new one has an automatic. It seems driving anything with a standard is becoming a lost art.

[arcticbuicks]

i cant imagine in a 1940s truck in the city traffic with no power steering or syncro and three shifters with 38 possible gears and  you had to know the combinations to select,just to get up to 50 mph.....then gear down to a stop sign  and then ............ start over again

Edited February 1, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[edinmass]

 

We were doing it in the 70's on the yard trucks when making a local delivery........and we didn't have a drivers license. No big deal.........driving the shuttle for farm work was more difficult. 

Edited February 1, 2023 by edinmass (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

my bud has a Rambler convertible in the shed i think a 880 v8 in the 60s and it has standard transmission with two shifters in console

[drhach]

I used to drive big trucks. I saw those units but never got to drive one. At this point, it probably will never happen. My first truck had a two-speed rear axle with a splitter on the transmission (1978 International Transtar II). 21 forward gears and manual steering. Most of the time you never used them all and you were just showing off if you did. With the narrow power range of most diesels, there were times when a slight change meant the difference between getting up a hill safely and blocking lots of traffic. You also get pretty good a floating gears instead of using a clutch. That's an even rarer skill than knowing how to drive a stick. Those were good days. 

[Terry Harper]

1 hour ago, edinmass said:

 

We were doing it in the 70's on the yard trucks when making a local delivery........and we didn't have a drivers license. No big deal.........driving the shuttle for farm work was more difficult. 

Yup! 14 and driving a bulk potato truck under the harvester and to and from the potato house. 

[60FlatTop]

A long time ago my grandfather had a shortened 1936 Dodge 1 1/2 ton with a steel weight box that he used for snow plowing and hauling dead stuff around the property. The rear gears failed for some reason and he picked up a used third member for the full floating rearend.

 

The bolt pattern on that third member was symmetrical.  I guess that was un-obvious to us. He got into the truck when we finished it, started it, put it in first, and it lurched backward. He figured out real quick that he had one granny speed forward and three speeds in reverse. We offered to fix it but he was fine.

 

He was quite happy with that low pusher gear for moving snow. The lane was about 1500' long with turn offs for various menageries. He'd be way to the back and we would her him shifting through the gears heading to the shop backwards.

 

Maybe it is my younger experiences that make it easy for me to adapt. He is the one who gave me confidence to drive without brakes. But those stories are more animatedly told by my wife and my daughter.

[John Kelso]

Our kids were not allowed to drive an automatic until they had mastered a manual transmission. I also taught them how to recover

from a slide. This was taught in a pickup truck, the reward was being able to drive our XKE

[28 Chrysler]

The International KB7s were used to move houses,  I had an empty dump truck up to 60 MPH with the 20" tires singing.

[Pfeil]

BDT,   or someone said shorter stick

[kbeach]

Have a sign around here somewhere that says "Real trucks have two sticks".

In 2001 our Fire Department surplused a 1970 Segrave fire engine. A small department in eastern Washington lost all of thier equipment in a wild fire so we offered to donate the Segraves. They were real excited about it until I told them it was a 5 speed manual. The offer was turned down because they did not have anyone who could drive it or wanted to learn.

[Canadian PB Kid]

After about 25 years on the road I retired six years ago from the 5AM till 9PM work force, I started driving the big ones in 1979 and my first unit was a B model Mack with two sticks, as mentioned above, if you use all the gears you are just showing off (unless you are moving a 80 thousand pay load) but it also take a bit of experience to be able to skip gears smoothly. As my career was winding down I asked for a unit with three peddles as I didn't feel comfortable with the auto trans on black ice and in the snow. Oh, it was a very hard living on the family life but I truly enjoyed seeing the country side, I always considered myself as a professional tourist..  Never had a preventable incident...

 

 

 

Here's a picture of one of my earlier R model Mack units and a map of most of the roads I covered, yellow highlight is with the truck and green was with my personal vehicle.

 

Dave

 

STAY SAFE!

 

 

 

[zepher]

Back in my early 20's, I worked on a bridge maintenance and specialized equipment crews.

Most of the fleet had manual transmissions ranging from 10 speeds to 13 speeds, 18 speeds and whatnot.

I operated a 1974 Gradall excavator with a manual trans and a Brownie box.

The shift pattern was very strange and you had to get the shift just right when shifting the Brownie box or you would have to pull over and start again.

But, it's been so long that I have had to shift one of those beasts that I know I would have a little bit of trouble for the first few miles until I got the hang of it again.

 

I still have my Class A CDL even though I have not needed it for work for around 27 years.

I keep it for when I have to tow my Pierce in an enclosed trailer.

With a Class A I don't need to worry about getting stopped at truck scales or elsewhere and being hassled for being overweight with a standard Class C license.

Edited February 1, 2023 by zepher (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

The 1928 Lombard Model 'T" Tractor-Truck we have at the museum has a four speed Cotta transmission with a separate forward and reverse lever so we have four speeds forward and four speeds in reverse. Unfortunately, while the main gearshift lever is to the right of the driver, the reverse/forward lever is mounted to the left with reverse engaged when the lever is way down almost flat on the floor so its a stretch to use. It's rather a pain when your in a tight spot trying to maneuver. Its also not fun to climb over when you get in or out! The PTO lever is further to the right of the gear shift lever and hand brake. Its also very short so that it too is a major pain. Especially since you have to lean way over to the right while keeping the clutch pedal depressed.

 

However all of that is offset watching a newbie try to figure it out!

 

 

 

[PONTIAC1953]

well I've driven cars or pickup trucks with 3,4,5 speeds, and I drove 18 wheeler for 22 years with 9,10,13 speed manual, and a 12 speed automatic trans.

[Phillip Cole]

I still can and still do.  Learned how on a straight gear driver's education car. Yea, when they started driver's ed in NC, most cars were straight gear.  Think they were cheaper than automatics.  Used to drive a Thomas school bus. If you can drive a school bus and take a sharp curve uphill, you can basically drive most anything.  One of these days I'm going to let my grand daughter take the VW Beetle out for a spin, because everyone needs how to drive a four speed.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Phillip Cole (see edit history)

[carbking]

Why didn't you just ask for our ages?

 

The first truck I owned with a dogmatic transmission was about 15 years ago.

 

Before that, about 45 years of:

 

3 on the tree

3 on the floor

4 on the floor

4 on the tree

5 (electric O/D) on the floor

 

Most of the above were non-synchronized low, some no synchonizers period.

 

2 speed rear ends.

 

Currently have 2 trucks: passenger is A/T, shop truck is 4 speed.

 

And as someone mentioned above, my kids were taught on a 5 speed in a truck. No dogmatics until they were competent with the sticks.

 

Interesting that the first four wheel drive I owned was the vehicle with the dogmatic about 2005. Grew up with chains, and still have them. Spare set of rims with older but still serviceable tires with chains installed. If needed, jack up the rear, and switch wheels.

 

Jon 

[31Buick96S]

I've always had at least one manual transmission vehicle. The spring repair shop I managed in the eighties and nineties had a 1958 B Model Mack with the triplex transmission. We used it for spotting trailers and occasionally to pick up or deliver a trailer that had been repaired. Besides the elderly partner in the business, I was the only who bothered to learn to drive that monster. I wish I had bought it when the shop went out of business 15 years ago, it would have made a great hauler.

[Marty Roth]

as Jon @carbking also noted, our kids and grandson had to master the clutch and non-syncho world before anything else - and it made them more aware of "Driving".

 

With a freshly minted license back in 1959 & 1960, soon struggling with a ROAD-RANGER gearbox - totally Non-Synchro - 18 Speed (if memory serves?).

Later Pushed a K-Whopper, sometimes a Diamond-T, Mack ThermoDyne, or a Reo Comet pulling a flatbed with sheet steel from Pittsburgh back to NJ,

 

Early "Outlaw" floorshift, Reverse patterns on Brass-Era Oakland and Buick, '09 Rambler 4-speed gated proprietory pattern, Citroen DS-21 4-on-the-tree, 2-CV 4-thru- the dash with an "Umbrella Handle", Jaguar XK-120 MC 4-speed Crash Box, HRG Pre-Selector, others I don't recall at the moment-

 

I recall a Dutch brand - DAF - in the early - mid-1960s had a Variomatic, possibly among the earliest of CVT - Constantly variable trans

Edited February 1, 2023 by Marty Roth
typo (see edit history)

[drhach]

A manual transmission car is just an anti-theft device for pretty much anyone under 40. 

[Steve S. in PA]

  Two shift levers in a truck was a quite popular setup at one time, but three sticks have never been common. Yes, they are around, but they were usually built for extreme duty, heavy loads, or difficult terrain. No city truck was ever built on purpose with three shift levers. There would have been no practical reason for it. Some of the vintage three stick trucks you might see these days have been re-built that way as a novelty. Perhaps the most famous twin stick trucks are the Thermodyne Diesel equipped Macks of the late forties to the late sixties. Due to the narrow power band of the Thermodyne engine, many gears were required just to keep the engine pulling at its best rpm. High torque rise engines eliminated the need for all of those gears. With the introduction of the Maxidyne diesel in the mid sixties, Mack  replaced the ten, fifteen, and twenty speed transmissions with a 5 or 6 speed transmisson. 

[George Cole]

Yes.  My dad had an owner-operator trucking business in the 1960s-1970s.  I learned to drive on a John Deere Model B, then moved into the trucks.  Dump trucks, side-rack flat-bed trucks, little ones, big ones, and ones that went ssshhh-ssshhh and bent in the middle.  Most complex was a 1969 GMC 18-wheel dump truck, 5 speed backed by 4 speed, with split rear axle.  I could drive most of them without ever using the clutch.  My dad told me to drive them that way to save the clutches.  My most recent was my 1970 cab-over Chevy fire truck with a 5-speed and split rear axle, which went to truck Heaven 2 years ago.  The chassis was identical to one my dad had in the 1960s.  During my 1970 senior year of high school, I used that truck to pick up 120 cans of milk (standard 10-gallon cans,) from farms in the morning, deliver them to the creamery, drive the truck to school loaded with all the empty cans, and deliver the empties to the farms on my way home from school in the afternoon.  By the time I got to school the parking lot was full and there was no place to park a 30-foot long truck anyways, so I used to park it alongside the street on the school front lawn, directly outside the principal's office window.  I expected to eventually get called to task for it but never did.  Sure got a lot of looks though, as a 17-year-old kid wheeling that truck around the school every day.

Edited February 1, 2023 by George Cole (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

quite a few were cement trucks and gravel trucks etc ,and would have been quite common driving in cities delivering concrete etc,some newer semi show trucks have for sure had vintage 3 stick trans put in for the fun

[Marty Roth]

Our 1951 Ford F-6  Pumper with Boardman Fire Equipment had the 4-speed with "Granny" Low-Low, and the 2-speed rear differential. Once you got the feel of it, the truck was easy to drive, and we even did Louisiana AACA Region Tours with it. It could, and did run highway speed, but would also crawl at Mardi Grade parade pace when I would get out and stroll alongside with our pair of Dalmatians, Gypsy and Dottie. The Federal Siren didn't have a brake, so once sounded, it would drone on for what seemed forever. We used it to compete in New Orleans Fire Dept's 100th Anniversary Parade and always looked forward to the chance to show off in a Muster.

 

The F-6 was Built by Boardman, carried 500 gallons, could pump or draft from either side at 250-500 gpm, and had a high pressure fog at the tailboard.

It was originally delivered to the Monsanto Chemical Plant in Luling, LA, donated the the St. Rose VFD in 1966, and later went to Bayou Gauche, LA before coming home with us. The F-6 eventually moved to Lafayette, LA, serving to advertise Edie's Restaurant, a lunch spot in the strip mall at Pinhook & Ambassador Caffery Drive.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[TTR]

I learned to drive and took my test for DL in a 3-axle, air brake, Scania dump truck with 6-speed (with single splitter, so essentially a 12-speed) at the tender age of 18 over 40 years ago and while most of my cars/drives since have been with automatics, I have driven countless 3-, 4- and 5-speed manuals, including many vintage Ferraris (most with 5-speed transaxles), some of which I've rebuilt myself, etc. 

Does that qualify ?

 

I just finished temporarily rigging up a Cord 812SC 4-speed transaxle for preliminary road testing that will commence within couple of days.

Car was delivered in December due to "transmission quit working" and initial inspections/test revealed a number of electrical, and vacuum shift control malfunctions (some of which I've already repaired) + some mechanical problems, necessitating a complete overhaul, but since I never driven one before, I just want to get a "feel" how it in generally works and to have comparative reference, before proceeding with removal and subsequent overhauls.  An interesting project.

Edited February 2, 2023 by TTR (see edit history)

[nickelroadster]

I just had a trip o South Africa.  We were driven around in a stretched twelve passenger van that still had a standard shift three on a tree.  I have never seen anything like that here in the states.

[zeke01]

And then there is this. Zeke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgJCprHYd2w

 

[arcticbuicks]

i love the old two stroke Detroits ,they sound like twice the rpm 

[Dandy Dave]

12 hours ago, Steve S. in PA said:

  Two shift levers in a truck was a quite popular setup at one time, but three sticks have never been common. Yes, they are around, but they were usually built for extreme duty, heavy loads, or difficult terrain. No city truck was ever built on purpose with three shift levers. There would have been no practical reason for it. Some of the vintage three stick trucks you might see these days have been re-built that way as a novelty. Perhaps the most famous twin stick trucks are the Thermodyne Diesel equipped Macks of the late forties to the late sixties. Due to the narrow power band of the Thermodyne engine, many gears were required just to keep the engine pulling at its best rpm. High torque rise engines eliminated the need for all of those gears. With the introduction of the Maxidyne diesel in the mid sixties, Mack  replaced the ten, fifteen, and twenty speed transmissions with a 5 or 6 speed transmisson. 

The twin stick is called a Duplex. If you can master one you can drive anything. It is split shifted with one hand thru the steering wheel. 5 speed on the main and 3 speed on the spliter box.

[jpage]

I've never driven a semi but our '75 Chevy C65 has a 5 spd. with a 2 speed rear which can keep one fairly busy! Unfortunately, the rear end doesn't always shift when you want it to. I guess she's just gettin' old!  

[arcticbuicks]

I had a rented storage place at a building movers friends yard and he had a 1964 im guessing 'Autocar" for pulling houses ......it was even worse as it had another factory transmission ,years ago i went on a couple moves and no class 1 licence yet and he had me drive......i said i dont want to......he said "dont worry the police are in front of you with their lights on !"......i ground some gears and never did figure it out and was not hwy speed shifting..........and my close friend i met through him has a huge business moving bridges etc ,and been on discovery channel moving grain elevators etc,he has several 3 stick kenworths

Edited February 2, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[Steve S. in PA]

2 hours ago, Dandy Dave said:

The twin stick is called a Duplex. If you can master one you can drive anything. It is split shifted with one hand thru the steering wheel. 5 speed on the main and 3 speed on the spliter box.

In Mack terminology the Duplex is a five speed main transmission with a two speed compound transmission for ten speeds forward A Triplex is a five speed main with a three speed compound (15 speeds), and a Quadruplex is a five speed main with a four speed compound (potentially 20 speeds). The compound in a Mack is attached directly to the main gearbox as opposed to an auxiliary transmission (Brownie) which is separated from the main gearbox by a driveshaft. Mack compound transmissions are noted for smooth shifting.  You don't have to shift both sticks at once-through the steering wheel or otherwise- but it does impress people. 

[R Walling]

 I own a repair shop and started driving trucks in 1966.

 According to my work orders, I have driven over 15,000 different trucks and have driven just about every different shift pattern that there is.

 One truck still stands out in my mind, I drove a Unimog once with very low gears.

 I drove it up against a gravel bank and placed in in the lowest gear possible, I engaged the clutch and got out. I watched the rear wheel and yes, it was moving!

 

[ojh.]

I remember Dad reaching thru the steering wheel to shift both levers on his Mack B-63 Thermodyne logging truck.

[Jubilee]

 I was in the trucking business for over sixty years and my father and brothers before me. Over 5 million miles. I’ve driven them all, except auto shifts and automatics. Two sticks, cable shifts, air shifts, unishifts, two speeds, three speeds, spicer, road ranger,triplex,quadaplex, and etc. Everything unsynchronized. 

  I learned two sticks when I was 12 years old. My Dad had some three stick setups, but these were just to get another power tower (think power takeoff) to run extra winches, pumps, etc.

   If you were going to drive two sticks on anything but completely flat ground, you’d better learn how to shift with no clutch and both hands or you’d be dead stopped ( or rolling backwards) on a good incline or rolling out of gear ( and out of control) on a steep down grade.

   Those multiple trannys were necessary to spread out the torque loads for the metallurgy of the day and make design size linear.