Technical automatic transmission or 3 speed manual?

The auto can be built to bang shift just like the manual . The manual trans is where it’s at in a hot rod for me . I have everything but a shifter to swap my 32 to manual . My old Harley still has the extra pedal , also . It’s not for shiftin it’s for startin ! My OT Power Wagon is a 5 Speed , I could have found and purchased 4 autos for the cost and rarity of the 5 speed , but it’s a real truck now !

 

I'll throw another "me too" comment for the Centerforce. When I was going through the drivetrain in my '80 'Vette about 25 years ago I put one in, along with a Super Shifter and some goodies in the 350. The original clutch was junk, but I was amazed at how the new clutch gripped - when I dumped the pedal it immediately latched. But holy smoke, it took a strong leg, and getting caught in rush hour was misery.

Today...I just don't have the leg/knee/ankle anymore, so I get my daily jollies in my M6.

It has two clutches, but only has two pedals.

 

I simply enjoy shifting, get the rpm right and doi g downshift at right time & save brake pads.
1 for the standard!

 

Any manual in the 57 will get rid of 100 lbs.

 

WELCOME HOME BROTHER!!!
LOL!

 

Guys, before you spend big bucks on clutch assemblies, I suggest you contact Ky Clutch. They are clutch rebuilders with a small company in Brooks Ky. EVERYBODY around here uses their stuff. They make dual friction or anything you want and they are much less expensive to deal with. I became friends with them from buying clutches over the years, but don't have any financial incentive........just putin good people in contact with good people.

 

I dunno, it looks like your avatar is saying "Whaaaaaaaa" and dreaming about shifting a gear...........

 

It's been a long journey, but I'm glad to be here

 

Ni

Nice setup elco.
I m hip to the nit wits on the hills, both my AA and roadster have airplane gears.
Usually the faint smell of clutch in those situations. They like to get right up on ya.

 

Very few of the builds on here are dedicated daily drivers. Manuals are hot rod material, 3 speeds are fine if theyll hold the torque. If you already have the parts, even better.

 

Yawning Man* says "nahhhh." Don't get me wrong, I have a '31 A-V8 coupe (originally build in '62) that has an '80s RUG 3-speed/overdrive that really gets with it, but I drive my '40 Plymouth (273/Torqueflight) a WHOLE lot more, and a convertible M6 in Arizona is really The Thing! The '31 has been sitting around enough that it's going to be going on the block fairly soon. Time for another caretaker.

I'm glad the OP got an option that works for his projects - and I'm glad the debate rages on!

(*From the 1958 movie, Tom Thumb)

 

Line Loc is your friend!

 

^^^^^

 

I was just pokin fun at ya.........his hand looked like it was shifting gears

 

Put a 4 speed in it and drive it like a 3 speed. Just remember reverse isn't where 1st is

I think it was the beverage(s) I had with dinner....

 

Since you are asking go with the stick. But If you have reason to need an automatic go for it! As for me I have a theme going.

31 A roadster chassis - 51 Merc 3spd OD
34 V8 chassis - plan 39 trans behind 365 Caddy
55 Chevy 150 gasser - 4 spd
57 210 jr stock - 4 spd
57 210 wagon - 3spd stick
60 Catalina factory 3spd stick car
61 vette - 4spd car
Even took my first car (OT 67 pwr glide) converted to a 4 spd sag OD in high school. Dropped the pwr glide from a tall oak tree out back to see if it would die.....it didn’t so it ended up in someone’s sprint car. Lol

Sometimes when driving home from work in the 57 210 with the4spd if I get off at a certain very round about off ramp too fast I can feather the gas and clutch to where the rear tires go in and out of slipping and the rear end starts to come around just for fun! Now that is a little harder to do with a 3 spd auto.



Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Yeah I've caught hell from a couple of friends over the automatic, but it was already in the car so the path of least resistance if you will lol. But like I said earlier, I keep having this dream about busting gears in this car, and it's raised up more, not a straight axle, just sitting right.

 

If you go with a floor shift get the vintage Hurst Synchro-Loc its basically a 3 speed Comp-Plus unlike the later Hurst Indy or Mastershift or whatever they call that pile.There are still quite a few floating around just make sure to get the correct installation kit for it.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll put the 4 speed in the 57, not fully committed yet but that's the plan I've got a couple of floor shifters for the 3 speed but they're probably the Hurst indy

 

The synchro-loc will look almost identical to a comp-plus except 2 arms instead of 3,it will also have synchro-loc stamped right in main body side,if 1 of yours is a synchro-loc then thats about as good as it gets for a 3 speed shifter.

 

I yanked a turbo 350 out of my coupe and it now has a Saginaw 4 speed shifted on the tree. ;-)

 

When planning my AV8 I was at first intending to use an auto tranny, but determined it to be cost prohibitive. The sad truth is I never learned to drive a stick and still have no idea. But I guess I’ll be cutting my teeth on an un-synchro’d 3 speed.

 

Hello,

I taught my wife to drive a 5 speed sporty car when we were a lot younger. She drove that car for 13 years. Then another 5 speed sedan for another 16 years. Before that and after, it was an automatic transmission. She liked the idea of starting the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery with a 327/automatic transmission and get going where she was headed. The sedan delivery had the “stuff” for her needs and it was the idea that SHE was driving, not how many speeds she can shift. But, when I taught her to drive the small sporty car with 5 speeds, she took to it like bees like flowers.
327 + AUTO + A/C
At first the stick transmission episodes needed consistent practice on empty streets. It did not matter how many times it stalls or grinds, she was learning the coordination and braking power. Finally after spending a month and a half driving around the industrial tracts of OC (after 3pm, they are relatively empty) she was ready to take a final test. What was the test? A long road trip from the OC to San Francisco via Highway 1 all along the coast.

Uphills, sharp curves, 2nd gear corners and off camber stop sign corners are all part of the coastal drive. A sheer cliff with a drop to the ocean on one side, and blind side curvy turns in a single lane were the obstacles. We practiced all expected scenarios and she passed with flying colors. But, the tests were on empty industrial complex streets and not in actual traffic.

When she started the Highway 1 drive, it was daunting, but, she knew the importance of driving, and not getting upset at anyone. That winding coastal road was pretty amazing, but when we got to San Francisco, those hill stops in traffic were killer situations. But, she learned my brake starts well and all hill stop scenarios were taken with an expert motions and smooth starts. No slipping back into the driver behind us at any time. Clutch, brake, emergency brake handle, 1st gear and go…

Jnaki

So, for her, for 29 years of daily driving was in a stick shift car. She was a pro. But, what has she driven for the past 14 years of granddaughter years? Different sizes of station wagons with an automatic transmission. Her mantra was she can’t be responsible for shifting and all that goes with that method, versus taking care of our little toddler to teenager sitting in the back seat. So, in the past, it was stick shift…the present is all automatic transmissions.

I drove a 3 speed stick in two cars during high school a C&O Stick Hydro in another and finally settled into driving an automatic for at least 200k miles in two other El Caminos. But, when my wife got her sporty stick shift car, that was our go to spiffy driving hours and destination vehicle. Then for the next 25 years, I drove a different sporty 5-6 speed cars as a daily driver.

Which do I prefer? My current car has a different version of the old C&O Stick Hydro episodes. It is the modern version of a manual transmission with a computer brain to shift it automatically without a physical clutch pedal. It fills the need to shift manually, but for most of the daily driving, it is in automatic mode. The perfect solution of “which to choose.”

 

Bear in mind that the automatic transmission was introduced to the mainstream public in the early '50's so they are period correct also. With the aging population of which I am one after over 150 jumps from air planes and alot from 10,000' my knees prefer an automatic. When driving in my Model A Banger I shift without using the clutch with engine RPM as I did for years with 14+ gears to choose from. Now retired, I have no daily drivers with a standard and prefer to tow with my OT F250 SD. The automatic in Tow Haul holds back and down shifts when the engine needs it to all while achieving 14 MPG towing. My $.2 1/2.

 

Some people like mashed potatoes, some like crispy french fries... LOLOL

 

Well i bought a 350th for my wife's truck, got a T-10 from one of my buddies here, but I'm gonna use it in my El Camino, and leave the automatic in my wagon. Might change that later, but for now I'm gonna leave it alone

 

^^^The Pepto-El CamiNO^^^. Looks like one of those funny little cars like Moriarity has.
I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Yikes!!!

 

I’m sorry guys.
Couldn’t resist