On Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:10:04 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:41:44 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm,
clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada quickly quoth:

On Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:00:20 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

When I first drove one of those things I'd almost come to a stop, in
neutral, while my brain re-adjusted.

Or like the old International Fire Truck I used to service a lifetime
ago. Belonged to the Naugatuk Chemical plant in Elmira Ontario - 1937
or something like that. EVERY shift was complicated, with adjacent
gears next to each other and, IIRC, one a reverse step. All straight
cut (crash box) too. Thankfully the engine was large enough that 1st
and 3rd were not necessary unless starting uphill. Start in second,
jump to 4th, and in town 5th and 6th (IIRC) were not needed.

You sure learn how to drive with your own synchros on a crash box,
don't you? I did that with my old Corvair and impressed lots of
friends, both male and girl-. Sync the engine with the box and not
ever touch the clutch, except for stop signs and lights. Ah, the good
old days...
Yeh - I started driving on a '61 Mini 850 and "cut my teeth" on a 1943
ex-military PowerWagon that was the "tow truck" for the garage I
apprenticed at. Later I had a '28 Chevy that was fun to shift too.
I drove the mini without the clutch most of the time. When I get into
my daughter's Neon I don't use the clutch much either.


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