Topic: CORVAIR VERSUS MUSTANG.

[69cobrajetrugae2]

These are factory training films for car salesman. Corvair vs Mustang.



I didn't know that Ford called the high horsepower engines "Challenger series".

White dot, green dot, denoting axle ratio on the automatics? What are they talking about?

The 1965 base 6 cylinder had a non synchromesh 3 speed with a synchromesh 3 speed optional?

Here is Chevrolet Corvair rebuttal. I chuckled a few times. What a joke.

[CharlesTurner]

White dot, green dot, denoting axle ratio on the automatics? What are they talking about?

That's just the shifter setting for a cruise-o-matic C4.

[Toploader]

White dot, green dot, denoting axle ratio on the automatics? What are they talking about?

I didn't grasp that one either. I believe the logic must have been: Starting in the first with shifter at D white dot, is equivalent of starting in first with a 2.80 rear, while starting in first with with the shifter at D green dot is equivalent of starting in first with a 4.11 rear. But, if this is true, the speaker mixed up which was which. But then again, this was a 3rd party promotional film. Nonsense anyway...

[drummingrocks]

The 1965 base 6 cylinder had a non synchromesh 3 speed with a synchromesh 3 speed optional?

Same with 1966 6-cylinder cars.  My '66 coupe is a non-synchro 3-speed; you have to stop completely to put it back into 1st gear without grinding.  This is only for the 6-cylinder 3-speeds; the 289 3-speeds were fully synchronized.  If I remember correctly, all 3-speed transmissions became fully synchronized in 1967.

[JohnRB]

Same with 1966 6-cylinder cars.  My '66 coupe is a non-synchro 3-speed; you have to stop completely to put it back into 1st gear without grinding.  This is only for the 6-cylinder 3-speeds; the 289 3-speeds were fully synchronized.  If I remember correctly, all 3-speed transmissions became fully synchronized in 1967.

Have you ever tried double clutching when downshifting from 2 to 1st?

JohnB

[drummingrocks]

Have you ever tried double clutching when downshifting from 2 to 1st?

John, no, I've heard about doing that but wasn't sure exactly how, and I wasn't willing to risk the original transmission.  Dad bought it in 1968, and I figured if he drove it all those years with the non-synchro first, then I would too!   

It's not really an issue at all.  If you're still rolling, the car has plenty of torque to take off and go in 2nd gear.  The only time it ever comes up is the rare occasion where you're climbing a long hill in 2nd and need to slow down (and shift into 1st).  The road leading to my house is like this; I always just stop, put it back in 1st, and take off again.

I'm interested, though: tell me more about double clutching, and how to do it properly.

[67gtasanjose]

I'm interested, though: tell me more about double clutching, and how to do it properly.

Practice makes perfect Try learning first to drive a fully syncronized drone car without using a clutch at all...Once you figure out how to do that, it teaches you all the basics of driving non-syncro cars and also being a drone car, you won't risk damaging anything of great value. The biggest key is matching the transmissions internal spinning parts RPM's (blindly) so they slip together easily with only a light feeling of pressure to get it into a gear. Double clutching is intended to help get the internals spinning at the same speed, but you still need to match engine (input) RPM's to where the car would be travelling (speedometer speed) in the same gear you are trying to get into. (e.g. if you are downshifting, bring the engine up to the RPM speed of the lower gear you are attempting to go into) To me, it is easy...but I grew up driving old cars and tractors and still have an old Ferguson tractor that is non-syncro.

Richard

[Toploader]

Practice makes perfect Try learning first to drive a fully syncronized drone car without using a clutch at all...Once you figure out how to do that, it teaches you all the basics of driving non-syncro cars and also being a drone car, you won't risk damaging anything of great value. The biggest key is matching the transmissions internal spinning parts RPM's (blindly) so they slip together easily with only a light feeling of pressure to get it into a gear. Double clutching is intended to help get the internals spinning at the same speed, but you still need to match engine (input) RPM's to where the car would be travelling (speedometer speed) in the same gear you are trying to get into. (e.g. if you are downshifting, bring the engine up to the RPM speed of the lower gear you are attempting to go into) To me, it is easy...but I grew up driving old cars and tractors and still have an old Ferguson tractor that is non-syncro.

Please, don't discourage the gentleman!

It's easy to learn, but as Richard said it takes some practice to master with elegance.

You can start with your Mustang IMO. Sound will guide you. Eventually there should be no sounds coming from the gearbox during the downshift. And remember using force is absolutely no-go.

Here's an excerpt from Automotive Dictionary:

You depress the Clutch pedal, shift to neutral, lift up on the Clutch pedal blip the throttle, then depress the Clutch pedal again and shift to the next gear. While this action seems complicated, you can get used to doing it to avoid the grinding noise heard in non-synchromesh transmissions.

These steps should be done fairly quickly as the engine revs will drop fast setting you back to square one.

If you want to take this exercise a step further, then learn to brake the car at the same time (heel and toe). Then you'll be a true race driver!

[drummingrocks]

Believe it or not, it doesn't sound that hard to learn.  But I'm stubborn.  I don't know that I'll take a chance on damaging the Mustang.  All of my other vehicles are fully synchronized--does anything about this method apply to a synchronized transmission, or is it only for non-synchros?

[67gtasanjose]

--does anything about this method apply to a synchronized transmission, or is it only for non-synchros?

Sort of, yes. Synchros are designed to pre-engage the rotating parts so they become rotating at the same speeds, allowing them to mesh together easily. Have you possibly ever noticed a bit of effort on the shifter handle when downshifting? Then, if you Goose the gas (or "blip" the gas) and the effort goes away? That is almost the same thing. Double pumping the clutch also helps to get internal sprockets spinning at the same speeds, and helps you to prevent grinding, but it works in conjunction with "blipping" the gas. What I was saying in the earlier post about driving a full synchro car without a clutch, it will help you get the "feel" a bit easier. You might though want to do this in areas without too much other traffic, like back in the days when you first learned to drive. Probably nobody put you right directly into a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam. Open roads where you can stop and start without somebody offering you sign language, you know...not getting the symbol that you are #1

[drummingrocks]

Sort of, yes. Synchros are designed to pre-engage the rotating parts so they become rotating at the same speeds, allowing them to mesh together easily. Have you possibly ever noticed a bit of effort on the shifter handle when downshifting? Then, if you Goose the gas (or "blip" the gas) and the effort goes away? That is almost the same thing. Double pumping the clutch also helps to get internal sprockets spinning at the same speeds, and helps you to prevent grinding, but it works in conjunction with "blipping" the gas. What I was saying in the earlier post about driving a full synchro car without a clutch, it will help you get the "feel" a bit easier. You might though want to do this in areas without too much other traffic, like back in the days when you first learned to drive. Probably nobody put you right directly into a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam. Open roads where you can stop and start without somebody offering you sign language, you know...not getting the symbol that you are #1

Gotcha, I think I understand.  I'll give it a try soon--I know where there's a nice, empty parking lot near the house, so maybe I won't get too many one-finger salutes...