OT: "Mixed up the brake and accelerator"?!?

[rbowman]

Yeah but did you ever drive a push button AT when Mopar was on that kick?

[Jim Joyce]

I did. 1964 Dodge Polara with a 318 2-bbl and pushbutton auto. Rocking it between R and D to get unstuck was as easy as it gets.

[Clare Snyder]

Yes, several. What was your problem? It was better than Edsel's "typewriter steering wheel"

Not sure what the worst car was I ever drove - the TR7 and an Audi

100 have to be close to the top. 63 Pantiac station wagon was up there too. But then I've driven litterally thousands of cars.

Cars I've OWNED is another story - I'm on somrthing like 29 and 30 0r

30 and 31 at the moment from a quick mental count.Not counting motorcycles.

[Tim+]

The oddest one I’ve driven was my parents first Renault 4 with a three speed box. Reverse was left and forward, first was left and back. To go from first to second required a dog-leg move though the gate (like second to third, fourth to fifth etc in most cars). The lever was spring loaded towards the second/third plane.

R 2

1 3

Tim

[The Natural Philosopher]

Same as my column shift CA Mk II

[NY]

My mum had a couple of Renault 6s which had a conventional 4-speed layout

1 3 2 4 R

but using the same "hockey-stick" gear lever that came of the dashboard: it pulled in and out to go between 1 and 2, and rotated by about 45 degrees to go between 2 and 3 or 3 and R. It's the first car I drove that actually had a spring to bias it into the 3/4 plane - my mum's previous Morris Minor had a lever that was equally at home in 1/2 or 3/4, so you had to be very careful not to hit the wrong gear.

It was a very easy action (even if it looked bizarre) because there was no confusion whatsoever between the 1/2 plane and the 3/4 - I never hit 1st instead of 3rd etc.

However the linkage under the bonnet/hood was very primitive. The R6 (and probably the R4 and the Citroen 2CV) had the gearbox in front of the engine (ie closer to the radiator) with a rod sticking up which moved in the same way as a conventional floor-mounted gear lever would move. There was a long rod from the gear lever which went over the top of the engine. A flat plate, welded to the rod, and with a large hole in it, meshed with the gearbox rod, with a large rubber grommet between the two.

As you pulled the gear lever in and out (1 to 2) it moved the gearbox lever fore and aft; as you rotated the gear lever (2 to 3) it moved the gearbox lever side to side.

Except... that rubber grommet could come loose. While I was learning to drive, my dad told me to turn round by reversing into a farm gateway. So I went into reverse, turned and stopped, and went to put it into first. As I took it out of reverse, the lever went floppy, came out of my hand and the knob on the end turned upside down and bashed me on the knee. My dad maintains that I came out with the inane question "Daaaaad. Is it *supposed* to do that?". We looked under the bonnet and the grommet was lying on the ground under the car, and the plate and gearbox lever had come unmeshed. It was a simple task to put the car into first by operating the gearbox lever directly, drive out of the gateway, retrieve the grommet from under where the car had been, refit it and drive home. But we took the car to local Renault garage to get it looked at. They said it was a known problem.

[Bob Eager]

The one I remember most was this one... the car also had a valve (tube) radio...

[Tim Lamb]

The series 2 Morgan 4/4 had an interesting arrangement. Ford 3 speed plus reverse box, mounted so far forward that they put a yoke on the stick and a sliding *push me pull you* operator hung below the dashboard.

This had the interesting effect of reversing the gear positions laterally.

[Ralph Mowery]

I would have thought that was the 'standard' for a 3 speed in the floor. Also on the colume.

I was at a local teen hangout in my teens and a VW with 3 girls had pulled in and was facing a wall. They did not know how to get it into reverse so they could pull out. I had to do that for them. Forgot where the reverse was, but I do remember having to push the gear shift down. I think it was push it down and then over to the driver side and up.

My 1965 Plymouth Satallite 4 speed had the Reverse way over to the right with a stiff spring and it was either up or back.

I bought a 1972 Dodge Deamon with a 4 speed. Worst car I ever had. Got rid of it with less than 20,000 miles on it. I bought it new and had driven it several days with no problem. Pulled in to fill it up with gas and went to start it. Would not start. The service station man told me to push in the clutch. Then it started. I guess that I must have been doing that all along. I usually put the 4 speeds in neutral and start the cars. Then they added the clutch safety switch.

[rbowman]

No problem, it was just a bit strange.I guess Mopar thought it was what the Jetsons would drive. I had it in a '60 Plymouth but went to a manual when the Torqueflite died.

That was a never ending project. Getting the tranny in and fabricating a hydraulic clutch and linkage wasn't bad or putting in the floor shifter. The AT had a drum brake on the tail shaft for an emergency brake, the manual didn't. No problem, until a state trooper said 'Okay take it out of gear and show me how the emergency brake holds on this little hill." Next step was a rear axle with an emergency and more fabrication to apply it.

It was a bit of a Frankenplymouth when I got through with it. I pulled the engine, gave it to a friend, and sent the rest to the crusher when Uncle Sam called. I wasn't convinced I'd need it anymore.

Nothing like being young, stupid, and having good mechanical skills.

[rbowman]

That's even stranger than the M6.

I had a '49 Chrysler New Yorker with one of those and a cast iron straight eight engine. No PS and I learned about my wife's extended vocabulary when she had to parallel park the beast when acting as designated driver. 0 to 60 sometime that day but once it got rolling...

[Ed Pawlowski]

Oh, that brings back a memory. It was 1964 and I was taking my now wife to her senior prom. My car was a Corvair Monza, not a very good car for a double date on prom night.

My brother-in-law though, recently bought a '49 Chrysler from the older lady that lived behind us. I borrowed it for the prom. It was a high car that you could almost stand up in, great for girls in prom dresses.

Every girl at the dance was jealous when they saw us arrive in that beast. It has some sort of odd transmission too. I think it was a semi auto that you had to depress the clutch to put it into gear.

[Tim+]

Probably a pre-selector box.

Tim

[Clare Snyder]

On the 68 and newer (4 speed) it was even stanger, the inly "in line" shift was 2-3 and 3-2 First was to the left and back. 2nd was center and forward. Third was center and back. forth was right and forward, while reverse was ahead of 1st. Strange little critter but it soaked up bumps like a sponge soaks up water.

[Clare Snyder]

ANd virtually every "3 in the tree" or 3 speed stick shift on just about every car equipped with one.

[Clare Snyder]

The difference between the 6 and the 4 was the six trans was designed as a 4 speed. The 4 trans was a 3 speed with an added overdrive - kind of like the common 5 speed (like in a coroll;a SR5) was a 4 speed with an added overdrive. On the other hand, "granny" boxes in a lot of trucks were 4 speeds with an additional "granny gear" tacked on the bottom. If reverse on the 4 speed was left and back, the "granny gear" ended uo left and forward, requiring the "dogleg" shift from granny to low - or 1st to second.

[Clare Snyder]

[Clare Snyder]

Only if you had the stick pointing up. Mounting the lever hanging down from the dash gave a conventional shift pattern.

[Bob Eager]

I was going to post that link as well as the Armstrong Siddeley preselector one...but I forgot!

[Clare Snyder]

The stangest part of SOME of the Mopar push buttons was the location on the LEFT of the steering. Then there was the dash mounted shifter on the 55 savoy (and other doges and plymouths) I think it was a one year experiment - and they went to the typewriter in '56