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Yep...good eye. 1951 Studebaker Champion. My poor Mom....trying to learn to drive it, taking lessons from my Dad. It had a non-synchro 3-speed column-mount shifter, and, of course, you either had to shift slowly and double-clutch it, or learn to match the engine/transmission RPM on every shift with the gas/brake to avoid crunching the gears. I think I also remember her telling me it lacked some power-assists, so you were also muscling the steering wheel and brake pedals.
LeX2K.......Some old Studes have been posted in this thread before, but I'm not sure about this one.
Yep...good eye. 1951 Studebaker Champion. My poor Mom....trying to learn to drive it, taking lessons from my Dad. It had a non-synchro 3-speed column-mount shifter, and, of course, you either had to shift slowly and double-clutch it, or learn to match the engine/transmission RPM on every shift with the gas/brake to avoid crunching the gears. I think I also remember her telling me it lacked some power-assists, so you were also muscling the steering wheel and brake pedals.
I owned a Ford Falcon briefly with 3 in the tree don't remember if the transmission had gear synchros but that was not an easy car to drive. Honestly it was dangerous since you had to put so much effort into shifting instead of paying attention to the road.
If I recall correctly the Falcon has no power steering.
I owned a Ford Falcon briefly with 3 in the tree don't remember if the transmission had gear synchros but that was not an easy car to drive. Honestly it was dangerous since you had to put so much effort into shifting instead of paying attention to the road.
If I recall correctly the Falcon has no power steering.
I do remember that Falcons, in the 1960s, and the original 1970 AMC Hornet, had fully-sync (1-2-3) manual transmissions before their Chrysler competitors did (Dodge Dart/Plymouth Valiant)....the Chrysler compacts had a non-synchro first gear. I'm not sure about the GM compacts.
Frankly, I don't see where it was dangerous. You get used to it. All you have to do is to remember not to drop the lever into first until you come to (almost) a complete stop, maybe 1 or 2 MPH....or you'll get gear-crunching. Do it once, and you won't forget the next time LOL. I once took a 1968 Valiant on a long trip from D.C. to Ohio and back...over a lot of back roads across the mountains and through towns with lots of shifting. No problem at all....but, then, driving was something that came naturally to me...I had a natural chemistry for it, at least with non-aggressive driving.
Yep, early '60's Corvair, possibly Monza version. Had one like it in blue with a stick shift. Fun little car while it lasted.
They had all kinds of problems. Too much weight in the rear, sudden snap-oversteer, tire tuck-under and tendency to flip from rear swing-axle suspension, exhaust gas would leak into cabin from cracks in the piping, air-cooled engine was loud and clattery, took forever to warm up in the winter, excessive oil consumption from constant failure of oil-seals, oil spatters all over rear of engine compartment, dangerous steering-column design in an impact. Ralph Nader writes about this car extensively in his book Unsafe at any Speed....and he was correct on most counts.
The mid-60s re-design helped with some of the worst problems, but others remained.
04-06-24 | 04:17 PM
