Hot Rods I heard it once said...

All the 2-pedal vehicles I own are bicycles.

 

3 pedals = more fun, there's just something elemental about shifting gears. One of the things that really attracted me to my wife when we were dating was the way that girl could shift a 4-speed.

 

For my coupe, I happily traded my $150 700r for a beat-up used Saginaw 3-speed with the intention of upgrading to any other good manual when I could afford it. And that happened way sooner then I expected.

There's just something cool about seeing and hearing a healthy hot rod pull in or out of a fairgrounds kinda place with a clutch.

 

All my cars until recently have been 3 pedals, but the last two are two pedals. One the 57 Olds has the originial drive train and was built that way, and the 34 had a TH400 added. With the small foot room (and my big feet) in the 34, 3 pedals would be difficult. At my age I have enough physical problems that having to deal with a 3rd pedal in the 34 would be a bit much.

For my daily driver, I still prefer 3.

 

I've got a 5-speed in the Daily, an Auto in the Hot Rod, I wish it were the other way around.... letting the clutch out 1,000 times during evening rush hour sucks.

 

I have a crapped out hip and back and it is hard to get enough legroom and be comfortable shifting. I have considered a 3 on the tree when I build my Stude-powered modified but my Bozo the Clown feet get in the way.

 

My knees are wore out and the semi i drive has a 15 speed. But i hardly ever use the clutch only when starting and stopping. Most of the cars and trucks we drive are stick. Autos are for street rods. Working vehicles and hot rods have a stick. How in the world can you side step the clutch at 6 grand with a automatic. Also i have never had a auto that i used that i didnt have to pour fluid into at sometime. also when you take a broken stick apart it is easy to tell what the problem is. OldWolf

 

I've got a 5-speed in both the daily and the hot rod. My wife's daily is an auto. I always feel like a lazy tired old man driving it. Almost like I'm missing out on something.

I'm convinced that those who drive manual transmissioned cars pay attention more while driving.

 

Well said. If it weren't for Hydro's there might be some truth to it but that aint the case ........

 

Our 2 daily's = a 5 speed and a 6 speed manual. 55 pontiac cruiser is 700r4. It's a relaxing change of pace but my wife says the next rod project will have 3 pedals and a blower! God I love that woman!

 

I'm in total agreement. I'd also like to add that even at my age it's hard as heck not to get into the load pedal and go through the gears when you find an open road. In no way can an automatic compare to the feeling when you go banging gears and chirping tires between them, especially when you have some horsepower to back it up. Pure acceleration at it's best. Makes one's blood flow and heartbeat pick up. Gotta love it.
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umm, yeah, arent ya>?????
for the record, most the cars ive ever owned were stick! my first real car was a 70 amx 390 4spd! and i agree with vance, it makes you more aware of whats goin on! and you learn to control your vehicle better~! but with my gimpy ass these days, ill have my coupe as an auto, and when my pills work well, ill kick it in the amx!

 

I've become a 2 pedal guy....
1. I used to be 400+ pounds so the knees and ankles are shot.
2. 3 pedal cars are harder on the equipment because I drive them MUCH harder
3. I can't AFFORD the TICKETS and insurance hikes I get with 3 pedals.

I love 3 pedals.
i need my Drivers license.

 

Glenn's third line sums it up pretty well for most of us, I'm sure. Although the way I like to drive, his second one really hits me hard. I don't drive near as hard as I'd like to because I can't afford it.

 

mine 32 ford has 4!. ha! (cutting brakes).

oh and 3 shifters. 4 speed with a brownie and a 2 speed rear, no one will ever steal my car.

 

B+M hydro ONLY exeption

 

If it's a traditional hot rod you are after... yes, "only real hot rods have 3 pedals".

If you want to go fast in a street strip car or even a drag car down into the 7's... and be consistent... No, "real Hot Rods don't have 3 pedals".

So, it depends on your objective... what you want.

FWIW, an auto tranny in an otherwise period perfect traditional car is just as bad as a vega steering box in one... maybe even worse.

Sam

Sam

 

Depends on the "period"........sure were alot of cars in the early 60's runnin' AT's..... No way is an A/T worse than a Vega box (wait, I have both...crap!)

Seems alot of guys consider "period correct traditional" as being pre '55 or so????

Look what ya started Cab....hehe

 

When I drink and drive, my rod has like 6 pedals!!!

 

To me, it's gotta be an auto. I do a lot of driving, and a lot of it is in stop and go traffic... and I can only afford one car.

EDIT:

"Stick shifts and safety belts
Bucket seats, have all got to go
When I'm driving in my car
It makes my baby seem so far

I need you here with me
Not way over in a bucket seat"

etc. etc.

 

Back in the 60s..as soon as I got a car..55 chev..the first thing to go IF it had one was the powerflop. When we built a rod..'31 built in 1967..there was never any thought about using a auto..never saw one.
Played a lot of sports..have bad knees. Used to clutch with my leg still in a cast..now I use a Hydro clutch..and just got the latest brace off my knee..
Still lovin slammin' a stick..the Heretic 120 is a Super T-10. My other sports car is a stick.
My daily truck is an auto..only way a Tahoe is.

I guess "traditional" means stick..but so what..

My next project willl get more daily use..auto.

 

autos are fast at the track but i'd rather be listening to my m22

 

Ditto that!

 

3 Pedals for me,Thanks!

 

I own 4 cars all automatic. Two with floor shifts, one column, one pushbutton. I have enough trouble figuring which hand to use and where to use it with out throwing in a foot challenge. Bottom line, it's your car, you get to pick tranny.

 

A guy at work bought a '06 Corvette with an automatic. When I told my wife, she said "with an automatic? What's the point."

HOT RODS have three pedals. Street rods have two pedals. Daily drivers have two pedals. Drag cars may be faster with an auto, but if it's a street-based car, it should have three pedals. Dragsters or full-on quarter-milers just need to get the job done, so an auto, a Lenco, a slick-shift stick or an in/out box...makes no difference there. Road race cars only come with three pedals.

So, to sum up, yes, hot rods have three pedals. Because it's traditional.* And this is, after all, a traditional hot rod board.
(* Traditional shouldn't figure into safety equipment such as seat belts and brakes)
-Brad

 

I learned to drive a stick 44 yrs ago....so now my '46 pick up has the floor style dimmer switch mounted on the dash......

 

I used to have a license frame that read "Real Hot Rods Have 3 Pedals". I did it as a joke, even though the car does have a Top Loader 4 Speed. The comments were hilarious. Personally I love rowing the gears and it just feels hot rod to me but honestly - Who Cares?

 

I am a "Hot Rodder", always have been, and will die one. At 16 I thought anything with out 3 pedals was a pussy wagon. After spending my 17th summer in a body cast with 3 snapped vertabras, and now, 46 years later, with a wad of calcium on my spine the size of a soft ball, my roadster has a TH 350. Had I not got on my head at 150 at El Mirage in 62, it would have a clutch and a Doug Nash 5 speed, and I would have some feeling in my left leg. That said, I consider my roadster a Hot Rod. Sometimes you do what you have to do to drive 'em.