Finally learning how to drive stick!!

I learned to drive a stick with a 3-on-the-tree, a 3 speed that had the
shifter on the side of the steering column.





"Shant M" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> With my lease ending in late March, I decided no more automatic trans
> for me. I've been learning how to drive stick and I'm getting pretty
> good at it. Hills are still a bit tricky for me, but i'm getting the
> hang of it.
>
> The '06 330i i've been eyeing will be oh so sweeter in a nice 6-speed!!!
>

Jeff Strickland wrote:
> I learned to drive a stick with a 3-on-the-tree, a 3 speed that had the
> shifter on the side of the steering column.
>

Hell-yeah...

My first car was a '63 Ford Falcon ragtop w/ the 260cu.in. V8 & 3 on the
tree. I couldn't stick with the column shifter though (too granny for
me) so I put a Hurst floor shifter in it.

That was back in what, 1973? I paid $250 for it with ~35 k miles on the
clock. But I think it was only around a $2k car when it was new and I
remember buying gas then at ~ .35/gal.

--
-Fred W

On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:02:31 -0400, Malt_Hound
<""Malt_Hound\"@*spam-me not*yahoo.com"> wrote:

>Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> I learned to drive a stick with a 3-on-the-tree, a 3 speed that had the
>> shifter on the side of the steering column.
>>
>My first car was a '63 Ford Falcon ragtop w/ the 260cu.in. V8 & 3 on the
>tree. I couldn't stick with the column shifter though (too granny for
>me) so I put a Hurst floor shifter in it.
>
One of my early ones was a '62 or '63 Ford Cortina - pre-crossflow,
unfortunately - with a *four* speed column shifter. The shifter
actually wasn't too bad at all - quite positive. At that time Ford
definitely had the better gearboxes. The only other column shift that
I had that came close to being good was a Renault 16 TS. But that car
rusted even faster than the Cortina did.
--
Dan.

On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 18:08:54 -0400, Dean Dark >
wrote:

>... At that time Ford
>definitely had the better gearboxes. The only other column shift that
>I had that came close to being good was a Renault 16 TS. But that car
>rusted even faster than the Cortina did.

The Mercedes column 4-speed of that era on my old 190 was quite good as well.

-- Larry

"Dean Dark" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:02:31 -0400, Malt_Hound
> <""Malt_Hound\"@*spam-me not*yahoo.com"> wrote:
>
>>Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>> I learned to drive a stick with a 3-on-the-tree, a 3 speed that had the
>>> shifter on the side of the steering column.
>>>
>>My first car was a '63 Ford Falcon ragtop w/ the 260cu.in. V8 & 3 on the
>>tree. I couldn't stick with the column shifter though (too granny for
>>me) so I put a Hurst floor shifter in it.
>>
> One of my early ones was a '62 or '63 Ford Cortina - pre-crossflow,
> unfortunately - with a *four* speed column shifter. The shifter
> actually wasn't too bad at all - quite positive. At that time Ford
> definitely had the better gearboxes. The only other column shift that
> I had that came close to being good was a Renault 16 TS. But that car
> rusted even faster than the Cortina did.
> --
> Dan.

Your 16 TS' shifter must have been better than the 4 on the floor in my '78
Renault 5 (Le Car). My poor daughter learned to shift on that car; with the
usual technique involving a lunge forward and towards the steering wheel for
1st, aim for the back seat for 2nd, into the glovebox for 3rd and we won't
discuss 4th. Like most American owners, I didn't keep the Renault long
enough to find out about rust!

I was lucky to have a '52 Dodge 6 as my first car. Due to the fluid
coupling in concert with a column shift 3-speed & conventional clutch, I
learned how to shift and manipulate the clutch without the worry of stalling
the engine. Of course, after a year or so, I had the stator blades welded
together which improved the fuel mileage from about 9 to 14 mpg.

Tom

On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:43:47 -0400, "Tom K."
> wrote:

>Your 16 TS' shifter must have been better than the 4 on the floor in my '78
>Renault 5 (Le Car). My poor daughter learned to shift on that car; with the
>usual technique involving a lunge forward and towards the steering wheel for
>1st, aim for the back seat for 2nd, into the glovebox for 3rd and we won't
>discuss 4th. Like most American owners, I didn't keep the Renault long
>enough to find out about rust!

I bow to your experience with your Renault 5. However, the 16 was a
different beastie, and mechanically it was pretty good. That it was
also a tinworm magnet probably explains why none are left, though I'm
sure someone will chip in with a tale of how their Uncle Norman has
one that's still as good as the day he drove it off the showroom
floor.

ISTR that Lotus used the 16's engine, gearbox & transaxle in the first
versions of the Europa, the only change being a crown wheel
side-switch mod. to avoid having four reverse gears and one forward
one.

What does all this have to do with BMWs? Damned if I know. Except
that I'd *love* to see BMW selling a decent, mid-engine sports car.

I caught the mid-engine bug years ago. Once you've got it, there's no
going back. It's all about polar moments of inertia, turn-in and
corner speed.
--
Dan.

Tom K. wrote:
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> >
> > Dodgy wrote:
> >> An automatic is either something you move on to as you learn that
> >> start stop traffic jams are a pain in the left leg or something you
> >> borrow off your dad!
> >>
> >
> > ..or you don't like 4 gear changes to get to 30mph in a 6-speed.
> >
>
> So you normally drive your BMW in 5th gear at 30 mph. How does it cruise at
> 1200 rpm?
>
> Tom

Should have said 3 changes from 1st (or four in total from neutral.)
1200rpm in top is about 30mph.

That's what I was thinking - I am only in 1st or 2nd depending how much
a I pushing the car.

>
> What kind of truck do you drive adder?!
>
> Dodgy.

"Dodgy" > wrote in message
...

> Pssst... You really should keep quiet about this, or keep it to a US

:-)))


--
It's a good idea to drive a little Japanese/Ford/whatever shopping
machine once a year to remind yourself why you're in a BMW for the
rest
of the year. by John Burns.
'98 328i coupe
t.

"Corey Shuman" > haute in die Tasten:

> why limit yourself to the six speed... the new m5 has a 7 speed
> smg... not quite as connected as the actual clutch pedal... but
> wow... 7 speeds... what fun I could have....
>

7 speeds, how boring, even my bicycle has 8 speeds;-) If you really
want a challenge, go for a 8x8 heavy truck with 450 HP and 16 speed
gearbox;-)
Frank (who knows how to shift and therefore prefers auto trans;-))

BTW: I just recently read a test, where a 7 speed tiptronic launch
control itzy gitzy M5 was simply beaten at 0-60 mph by a Mercedes CLS
55 AMG with an ordinary 5 speed slushbox - this is really
disgusting...

Frank


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