How many of you fellas are using a FULLY manual valve body behind you street machines ?! I know there are plenty of "tricked-up" A/T with shift kits/shift 'improver' kits but how many use the full manual A/T? I wonder about the life of one one the street...... (How many fellas forget to down shift or up shift while driving in traffic?) Any remorse in doing it? I'm thinking about the streetability of doing such a mod. (It seems like a cool mod with a capital COOL!) 6sally6
33k miles on this one, full manual 400. Not a problem. Also has a switch pitch converter up front with a toggle switch, and a GV overdrive behind it with a manual engagement button and a tricky relay. So I get to do all kinds of fun things with the shifter.
Yep ,, You need to know how to drive / use thoe , like changing gears with a stick No clutch & less like poor mans Lenco
oh...also keep in mind that there are reverse pattern manual valve bodies, which are kind of tricky to deal with on the street.
Some of them you can't downshift, so check that with the manufacturer you intend to use. I run a reverse full manual th400, I wait till I'm almost stopped before going from 3rd to 1st. My only recommendation is to have some kind of cup holder because it gets busy making a turn then shifting, especially if you have a stiff gear in the rear and non power steering.
I would have to say "why?" I think the novelty would wear off pretty quick. Mr.Forbes not withstanding, but he's a special case.
Making a vacuum modulated transmission shift at the right time with a blower, under all conditions, is kind of tricky. A full manual valve body does away with that issue. And it's fun.
I have a reverse full manual in my 57 and I have driven several other fast street cars for years with them. Most of my cars have 3 pedals so I suppose I like full control of gear changes.
I do have a clutch T400 that I would love to try one day , but I've heard they are pretty harsh on the street.
If you go with a RVPMVB most have no engine braking in 1st or 2nd gear and take some special consideration driving on the street. So depending on what you are doing with the car that can be a big factor. But there are a lot of valve bodies to choose from today.
I have a full manual with a glide in my 36. course it easy when you just have 1st and drive, but I don't mind.
I built a full manual Torqueflite for my 70 Road Runner when I swapped in a good 440. It was still in it when I sold it around 1973. I used all the B&M stuff valve body, clutches, convertor, even their blue trans fluid. The only thing I didn't like about it on the street was the higher stall speed.
I have a full manual valve body on my TH350 in my Austin gasser for 13 years and 20,000 miles now. Works just great and between the drags and even more street miles it's never given me any problems. There was a little learning curve at first because it coasts freely in 1st or 2nd if you let off the gas. And of course it starts out in whatever gear it's in if you forget to down shift back to 1st.
This must be the case, because when I bought my Austin it had a full manual TH350. Fun, I thought. But you couldn’t downshift it without locking up the rear tires. That made it just about impossible to drive around my neighborhood. I removed the manual valve body and replaced it with one that holds it in any gear until you move the lever, much better. (From TransGo, IIRC) I used a B&M vacuum interface for modulator control and it works fine. I put a C&O ClutchFlight in my ‘33 many years ago and Weber provided a 9 roller pressure plate and a clutch disc with springs designed to take some of the shock out of gear changes. It worked ok but driving around normally, it always barked the M&Hs. Now that one was fun….
My trans is a full manual reverse pattern, no engine braking in 1st. Works great and is fun to shift with my lightning rods type shifter.
Had a manual power glide . was not reverse pattern and I wished it was but other than the it ws no big deal to shift it by hand . Chevy even made there own version power glide that was manual shift .
You mean because you are away from neutral ? Unless you have a trans with a clean neutral you don't want to put it in neutral at speed. Same with no engine braking you got to watch down shifting as it might come through the floor.
You have to remember, most of these were only made to upshift, they are not made to downshift. There is no engine braking. So, in my opinion, the best way to drive it is, upshift to high and when you come to a stop you pull it all the way back down to first and start over.
That is right, the intermediate band is left out to reduce drag and the main function of this type trans is to up shift. I have this set up in my old Studebaker but it is not built for cruising. Down shifting at speed is ok as long as you are on the throttle or going slow .
I'm glad I don't have a racing transmission...just a manual valve body on a normal transmission. Makes driving simple.
Oh yeah your better off, mine is what I had on hand so that is what I used. You don't want to loan it out to a novice !
I used the trans go kit for the th350 in the race car, it has engine braking. I would be scared to try a reverse manual, I would move the shifter the wrong way every time.
Mine only locks up the rear tires if I downshift into 1st gear. If I do downshift to 1st I need to be going less than 5 mph, or it's pretty violent.
The Henry J and the 41 pickup both had the exact same shifter except the J was standard forward pattern and the 41 is reversed, talk about confusing after you swap cars after a couple weeks. That's another reason I'm swapping shifters in the 41 !
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