If the a '49 had the heavy 4 speed it would have the non-synchro tranny. Ford didn't have them stock until '51, and only in the bigger trucks, F-4 and up. Try this: http://www.fatfenderedtrucks.com/shifting.html
The Unimog trucks the Army have are synchro boxes 6 forward and 6 back, but it paid to double clutch them when under heavy load. Same with the 110 Landrover 6x6s, 7.8 tone of vehicle (dry weight) with a poxy 4 cylinder diesel. Broke many a box and transfer case in them!! Doc.
Had a Hewland tranny in my porsche race car. You could just yank em cause they were dog cut, but double clutching was faster and smoother. Now it's a habit, I double clutch naturally and I'm convinced it's way smoother.
With a non synchro box, you disengage the clutch, move the selector to neutral, re-engage the clutch to allow the counter shaft(s) to speed up (to near synchro speed), disengage the clutch again and complete your gear change. Do it this way for every gear change-both up and down. When coming down you'll probably have to blip the throttle while in neutral to speed things up to match output shaft speed (which is being controlled at that point by road speed).
Try floating the gears- no clutch, let off the gas and put it into neutral, rev the engine slightly to match the gear speeds, and ease 'er into the next gear. Thanks, Kurt
like sgtlethargic said. when you get the feel for it, you can go both up and down without using the clutch. takes practice, but when you master it, you will be the man!
I have a 46 Ford PU and double-clutch it, too. My Nomad has an M21 Muncie, and it is easy to shift up and down without using the clutch.
Once you've driven a vehicle (truck) like that, it becomes a subconscious thing. You don't even realize you're doing it. It's also the right thing to do if you're driving a stock Model A.
So you always take the easy way out of a situation? Part of the fun and satisfaction of owning and driving an old car is doing it just like Grandaddy did. Plus - lots of newbies can't drive your car without the old double-clutching skills. A 3-on-the-tree really screws 'em up!
Uhh..........no, my last four rides have been sticks. Two with '39 trans, one three on the tree and the Comet that was a factory auto had a T-10 swapped into it.
I usually take the easy way out. I am granpa. These days if I drive a stick any length of time the only time the clutch gets used is for starting and stopping. Long story and if you weren't around in the first half of the 20th Century you probably wouldn't understand.
I very seldom use the clutch when i drive. The semi i drive has a 15 speed .I sure aint gonna mash that clutch that many times with my worn out knees OldWolf
I didn't know that's what that was called, I've been doing that for years. Ya learn something new everyday here in HAMB land.
I have been getting better, Thanks for asking the question Spinner Thats funny,..... but not happening.... Thanks for the advice all This truck sat for 40 years or so. When I sit at a light in neutral then try to shift into 1st it grinds badly. I must go to 3rd,then 2nd to get into first. Is it possible the 1st gear could be seized on the shaft or is this normal?
If the thing had been sitting 40 years, you might want to check the pilot bearing, throwout bearing, and pressure plate anyway if you haven't already. Your throwout bearing might not be engaging your pressure plate enough (or your pressure plate may be worn?) Have you tried adjusting the clutch linkage? When I purchased my Model A, I found that I couldn't shift it into first gear. This was primarily due to the fact that my clutch linkage wasn't set properly (as well as not having enough throw on my pedal and having a worn pressure plate). My idle setting was also a bit high and it would take quite a while for the clutch plate to stop spinning. As long as you let the clutch stop spinning before you put it in gear you shouldn't get any grinding. Grinding would occur due to the input shaft not being disconnected from the flywheel by the pressure plate(which would indicate that something is either too worn, or your linkage is not adjusted properly)
Somehow it seems somewhat sacrilegious to post a video of an old technique used on an old car, but... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiCF08a2Js0
Just listen to the chase scene in Bullit; for some reason unknown to me, there's a lot of double clutching going on.
It's even more fun with a quadroplex while double shifting at the same time! Now that was trucking at it's finest. Gawd, I sure do miss those old B Model Macks.
I replaced the throwout and visually inspected the clutch and pressure plate when I put my Merc motor . The original is rebuilt but not in as it was wore plum out so I would not doubt the tranny is too I have not since the first time. There is no slippage at take off under full throttle and it will roll back when the pedal is pushed in and it is running. Can I do more ? I was assuming operator error. My 68 Ford was the same way 20 years ago with the Granny gear to second shift ,you had to stop to go into low being non synchro but this seems different. How long for the clutch plate to stop after pushing the clutch in while in neutral? More than just a few seconds? You may be onto it as I am sure my pressure plate is weak as it can get..... I have had to shut it off to get into 1st and occasionally it howls loudly so I replaced the throwout bearing but that was not it. I gots more parts to throw at it but it just seems this gear should not be spinning ,this tranny had been wet before at some point so I thought maybe that this was rusted /seized to a shaft or something ........
Did you check if the pilot bearing has siezed? That would cause the input shaft of the transmission to spin even with the clutch fully disengaged. It could also explain the howling sound.
Man i once took a job driving a mack off road end dump with a quadroplex. drove it for 6 months. Never did know what the fuck i was doing. Everybody else on the job thought i was the ace driver. I dont think anybody there knew anything about macks. OldWolf
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