2 stick 8 speed Dodge

[bmw2800cs]

Always got a kick out of this car. Test drove a turbo version when it came out. The car would fishtail a bit when the turbo charger kicked in I'm guessing that the second stick is like the front derailleur on a road bike. Anyway - just for kicks:

Twin-Stick 8-Speed: 1981 Dodge Colt

In the 1970s, Ford and Chevrolet countered the small car “invasion” led by Volkswagen by developing new products of their own. That led to the Pinto and Vega which combined for five million cars that decade. Chrysler went the other direction, using badge-engineered versions of Japanese...

barnfinds.com

 

[JMinPDX]

That’s pretty cool. I didn’t know they existed. How many times did you wish you had that second reverse gear.
The only other “twin stick” I was aware of were these early 60’s Ramblers. Just a cool way to shift into overdrive.

Two to Go: Rambler's 1963-1965 Twin-Stick Transmission

Always zigging where the rest of the auto industry was zagging, little American Motors introduced its own novel transmission control in 1963, known as the Twin-Stick. Here’s what that was all about. With only a fraction of the … Continue reading →

www.macsmotorcitygarage.com

 

[bmw2800cs]

That’s pretty cool. I didn’t know they existed. How many times did you wish you had that second reverse gear.
The only other “twin stick” I was aware of were these early 60’s Ramblers. Just a cool way to shift into overdrive.

Two to Go: Rambler's 1963-1965 Twin-Stick Transmission

Always zigging where the rest of the auto industry was zagging, little American Motors introduced its own novel transmission control in 1963, known as the Twin-Stick. Here’s what that was all about. With only a fraction of the … Continue reading →

www.macsmotorcitygarage.com

I'd rather have the Rambler!

 

[boonies]

In my misspent youth I learned to drive, and got my commercial drivers license, in a twin stick 1954 Peterbilt with a Holmes 850 twin-boom wrecker. Twin stick was a main and "brownie" gear box. No synchro's so matching gear and engine RPM was very helpful. I suspect the Colt is a lot easier to drive (but less fun).

This was a truck that no one had used for some time and oof it was a mess. I remember losing brakes on a moderate down-hill outside Port Costa (near Martinez) California. Couldn't stop at the stop sign...and rolled right through it. Turns out the air brake system was full of water and the air brakes had not been maintained nor adjusted for some time.

 

[Krzysztof]

In my misspent youth I learned to drive, and got my commercial drivers license, in a twin stick 1954 Peterbilt with a Holmes 850 twin-boom wrecker. Twin stick was a main and "brownie" gear box. No synchro's so matching gear and engine RPM was very helpful. I suspect the Colt is a lot easier to drive (but less fun).

This was a truck that no one had used for some time and oof it was a mess. I remember losing brakes on a moderate down-hill outside Port Costa (near Martinez) California. Couldn't stop at the stop sign...and rolled right through it. Turns out the air brake system was full of water and the air brakes had not been maintained nor adjusted for some time.

Lucky! But how you than stopped? Engine only? Was the slope continued after the STOP sign?

 

[boonies]

I was able to slow the truck (down hill) and shift into lower gears. There was a car in the rural intersection, I was going slow enough as I approached the stop sign to look for traffic and then just glide through the intersection and drive slowly into the small town where there is (was) a parking area where I could leave the truck for a bit to drain the air brake system.

I remember opening the air tank and the tank draining the gray sludge onto the ground. I filled the tank a few times and drained it to get as much water and oil sludge out of the brake system, then drove back to the shop and then cleaned and adjusted the maxi's (brake actuating chambers) to enable the brakes to more fully engage.

I was lucky that this happened in a rural, low traffic area rather than having the failure occur in a higher traffic or higher speed environment.