[PLUG] Re: Survey: who drives a stick shift?

[george@georgesbasement.com]

Fifteen-year old Toyota Corolla station wagon. Best car ever.
Original clutch after 186,000 miles. Synchro's were iffy when
car was serviced by dealer. Now that I'm having car serviced
by an independent who greets me by name, they work fine. Lots
of control - I always downshift for turning maneuvers, and the
four-valves-per-cylinder engine will run, even slightly up a
hill, at 1000 rpm in fifth gear. Smoothest engine ever.

First real car was a '52 Jaguar XK120 bought in 1956 for $1500;
that one had essentially no synchro's - had to double-clutch
all the time.  I tried a "racing clutch" but one couldn't get
the car to move without severe oscillation of the engine in its
mounts or screeching the wheels.  Terrible in traffic ! The
clutch force that I had to exert was on the order of 200 lbs.
I quickly put the original clutch back in (myself).

Then I got a 1960 Citroen ID-19, with power nothing.  The clutch
wasn't so bad, but I couldn't skid the front wheels unless I
pushed hard enough (again, around 200 pounds) to feel as though
I was gonna break the brake pedal.  Steering was the same - it
felt as though the steering column would break when parallel
parking. Jag was the same. Then the Citroen's clutch cable broke
one night on the way home - a 35 mile drive.  I quickly got used
to changing gears w/o the clutch, and I even reversed up into
my driveway by coasting backwards before shifting into reverse.
That Night I made a patch to the broken yoke at the upper end
of the cable (Atlas milling machine in basement) and clamped it
into place with a one-inch C-clamp. which stayed with the car for
the rest of its existence.  I tried to buy a replacement cable,
but it came after about three months and was the wrong size. I
complained, but the dealer said, "tough sh*t," and I never went
back.  I found a mechanic - Norman Vachon - who was the only one
in the Boston area who could work on the car - and chased him
all around the Boston area in order to get good work. Sigh.
Norman may even be still living ...

George Langford

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