4spd compared to auto driving experience

[70chall440]

But Ronnie Sox (aka Mr. 4 speed) ran a manual...

 

[70bigblockdodge]

If you have to think about shifting gears in a stick car, you learned wrong.

 

[Budnicks]

But Ronnie Sox (aka Mr. 4 speed) ran a manual...

so did Dick Landy, at 1st

 

[biomedtechguy]

Herb McCandless would take exception to Sox being called what they called Herb.."Mr 4 speed"
McCandless says they called Sox "the boss" and McCandless was "Mr 4 speed"
Mr Herb also rowed the gears when the a833 was king at the track.

http://mccandlesscollection.com/herb-mccandless/

 

[70chall440]

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/mopp-0609-ronnie-sox-drag-racing/

 

[biomedtechguy]

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/mopp-0609-ronnie-sox-drag-racing/

Good, short story, thanks.

McCandless says they called Sox "the boss" and McCandless was "Mr 4 speed"

From the article:

 

[65pacecar]

I am ADAMANT about my 3rd pedal, and even though I have been accosted by the "harbingers of DOOM" in regards to my future stroker motor, practically having been guaranteed by them that my "infinitely adjustable stall speed" transmission will scatter miscellaneous pieces of shrapnel from my fan to my Dana 60 differential the entire length of the 1320, I say "SAVE THE STICK"...
Shift on my brother!
Oh, and my wife loves her 3rd pedal too!
automatic slush boxes

 

[biomedtechguy]

View attachment 966938

Should have had a blow proof bellhousing. When my stroker goes in, so does the steel bellhousing.
Here's a 727 auto...well there was a 727 auto...

 

[65pacecar]

Should have had a blow proof bellhousing. When my stroker goes in, so does the steel bellhousing.
Here's a 727 auto...well there was a 727 auto...View attachment 966942

WOW

 

[64BEL]

 

[Cranky]

I have both. Generally a manual is a lot more fun and preferred, but when I'm feeling old and cranky, sitting back and letting the car do the shifting in a nice luxury.

Hey I resemble that remark lol

It depends how old you are and how good of shape your hips and knees are. I have one of each. My 4 speed clutch is quite mild and smooth. Not much pedal pressure but after driving it around town for an hour or two my left leg gives me some problems. The next Mopar will be an automatic. (with power steering) LOL

Yeah, my knees are starting to give me some trouble but so far, not enough to not drive a stick!

Depends on the car

how fast you want to go
if it not a track car, closer to a street car, yeah fun as hell

at the track unless it's a Jeffco, Lenco or Clucthflite
then hell no

I've owned a bunch of both, I like rowing thru the gears
if they are cruisers, it's really fun to row thru the gears
it becomes a PITA too at times, like in bumper to bumper traffic
when the novelty wears off some

especially in any "real" traffic, albeit I don't live within 80-100 miles
of a freeway or let alone commuter traffic anymore, haven't for 23+ years

I like my 68 RR with the 727tf too, I like the way it shifts

IMO A manual valve-body with a low gear band apply
& a bolt in (min. of a pinned) sprag/overrunning clutch
is a must f you want to downshift & drive them like a beast

about half or more of all my cars & trucks (111 total to date)
are or have been manual trans, a sports-car especially
most all my street driven Vett's, Camaro's, Firebird's & Trans Am's, 442's & GS's
have been manual trans, especially early 1st & 2nd gen cars
I've had 13) 68-70 RR's now, 8 have been manual trans 4 speed cars
I've had a 12) 68-70 Charger R/T's, 7 were Automatics
I had a few 4 speed & 6 cylinder 3 on the tree cars,
like Duster's, Dart's, Barracuda's of both manual & automatics
& many, many trucks, most all 4x4's or Jeeps, most all were manual trans
Had a bunch of other cars MG's, Porsche, Jag etc. all manual trans

I have a 2002 F-350 4x4 Powerstroke 5 speed 4x4 Dually
(sort of a PITA towing sometimes, but I can't keep it in the gear I want)

My 1999 Dakota SLT 4x4 5.2ltr has an O/D auto, I like driving it
I actually looked for a 5 speed, they're like hens teeth,
they were hard to find here anyway
I didn't want to wait 12+ weeks to order one
I don't regret it at all

I don't scoff at a car/truck because it has an automatic
I don't look down my nose at someone, because they have an automatic
that's being a transist

to each their own, do what makes you happy

certain muscle cars, sports-cars & especially daily street driven cars
or eco-boxes are better as a manual trans
I could list more of them, but you already know I'm sure

I like them both, the more stock it is, the more I like the manual trans

What the hell is a Jeffco?? lol

That's cool. I've had two pretty quick drag cars with autos in them and yeah, they're fun but......

And that's not even quick shifting let alone speed or power shifting

 

[70chall440]

I will say this, in 2010 I bought a new PCP Challenger RT Classic with 6 speed, immediately put int a Mr. Norms pistol grip handle and have never looked back, I LOVE THAT CAR and that shifter. I have a short throw and round ball in my Viper which is awesome, but there is just something visceral about that pistol grip.

 

[Budnicks]

What the hell is a Jeffco?? lol

Jeffco, http://jeffcoperformance.com/

It's a racing (even street use) generally 3 or 4 speed
manually shifted planetary (& clutch pack) adjustable 'hit' transmission,
each can is a gear ratio, keep stacking them on for more gears
^ make shifters & bell-housing (or clutch Cans) attachments too
much like a Lenco (sort of knock off),
it's a (or was, I don't know of late, since 2007) less expensive billet version
pretty widely known, many used by the "faster" racecar/streetcar crowds

a Bruno-drive BRT converter drive, is another cool transmission conversion

 

[kiwigtx]

The difference in performance for the average driver is negligible. It all depends on how you want to drive the car. My preference is a 4-speed manual, because I like to be the one who decides when to change gears, and not allow the transmission to make those decisions for me.
I prefer to have total control of gear selection when I have my car going sideways in the wet or around corners, and not have an unexpected gear change to tip the balance. Automatics are great if you drive around yapping on a cell phone, slurping on the mocha frappe you bought from Starbucks or chewing a meat pie on the run.

 

[Cranky]

This meme is appropriate:

View attachment 965980

Nope lol

Mine is manual. Its fun at times but it also can be a pain in the ***. And it does seem slow from a stop light. First gear is pretty short and then your taking time to shift again into 2nd. Meanwhile all the new cars are flying by you.

Like mention, all the new cars fly by but they are all electronic crap!

Our '71 Challenger is a 4 speed. The pistol grip is cool and everything but I'm wondering was the driving experience that raw back in the day? Manual steering, manual brakes, I would hate it as a daily driver. The '97 Camaro has a 6 speed and I love it. For traffic between Colorado Springs and Denver, the automatic is the only way to go.

Never have like the pistol grip shifter......T handle is what I like and with a good shifter.

The manual doesnt feel as smooth as the auto cars. Love my 4speed and the sound when you drive, its build as street car with alot of torque so im struggling not do any burnouts its so easy to just release the clutch to fast and hit the gas and its on - but when in drive or rides my father in law autocars its just smooth even if i drive the manual smooth it cannot be compered!

Imo, you need someone to show you how to be smooth with a stick. It does take practice but it can be done.

The Torqueflite 727 was noted in early 60's magazines of the day as being the first automatic to actually
be able to beat a 4 speed in the quarter mile. It was (and some say, still is) the gold standard of automatics.
That said.....gimme a stick any day.

The Torqueflite is damn good......but......if someone has the same car with a stick and things are done right as in clutch and shifter (non stock), the stick will be faster.

More fun, yes. I drive it every chance I get. My fondest memory is the kid in the back seat trying to get some of her ice cream cone and her idiot father hitting the throttle at each attempt, never laughed so hard.
More effort, I disagree. It's no big deal, it actually makes it less effort for me as my car has manual steering, and I use the clutch to rock the car back and forth when backing up/turning around.
Not as fast as an auto, most likely, don't care, it's not how fast you go but how you go fast.

I agree but with stock shifter and clutch etc, a stock auto is generally faster.

The Ramchargers race team used autos because they were quicker and more consistent with no missed shifts.

A good driver won't miss shifts.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/mopp-0609-ronnie-sox-drag-racing/

Thanks!!

Jeffco, http://jeffcoperformance.com/

It's a racing (even street use) generally 3 or 4 speed
manually shifted planetary (& clutch pack) adjustable 'hit' transmission,
each can is a gear ratio, keep stacking them on for more gears
^ make shifters & bell-housing (or clutch Cans) attachments too
much like a Lenco (sort of knock off),
it's a (or was, I don't know of late, since 2007) less expensive billet version
pretty widely known, many used by the "faster" racecar/streetcar crowds

a Bruno-drive BRT converter drive, is another cool transmission conversion

Thought you were talking about a Jerico....

 

[451Mopar]

I'm torn on preference. When I was younger I had a few manual 4 and 5 speed vehicles that were fun shifting, but those were 4-cylinder vehicles where you actually had to shift quite often. When I bought the '69 Coronet 440 with 833 4-speed and 4.10:1 gears, normal driving was like take first and second gear were optional, and the old Borg and Beck clutch was really stiff. That all got changed to 3.54:1 rear gear, 5-speed OD trans, and diphram style clutch. The new clutch setup is way nicer to drive, and easier on the knees. Over Drive (manual or automatic) makes these old cars much nicer to drive on the highway.
The Charger has the slap stick which is a nice and fun shifter forward pattern. With the reverse manual VB, and the conversion plate in the slap stick, the shifter is more notchy. Really need to work on it to get it to shift smoother. Even though the manual Reverse VB shifts harder, the high stall converter softens the shifts.
Mocajava put a TCI 6x six speed auto (4l80e) in his car which was alot of work, but it changes gears really quick, and has the manual mode with the shifter switches to bump the gears up or down.

 

[Dennis H]

Fast schmast. Drive the 8 speed ZF Torqueflite.
Hard to believe it’s German. No one can describe it. Have to drive it to know. Intuitive amazing shifts. German heritage does show itself though. Slight delay when dropping into gear. And some kind of lurch when parking. CAR CANNOT BE PUT IN NEUTRAL UNLESS ITS RUNNING.

 

[Cranky]

Fast schmast. Drive the 8 speed ZF Torqueflight.
Hard to believe it’s German. No one can describe it. Have to drive it to know. Intuitive amazing shifts. German heritage does show itself though. Slight delay when dropping into gear. And some kind of lurch when parking. CAR CANNOT BE PUT IN NEUTRAL UNLESS ITS RUNNING.

Yup....it's the electronic stuff. It's cool but.....I hate it lol

 

[biomedtechguy]

 

[BDF6]