[DML] Re: Slam/RPM Shifting, Part Deux

["content22207" <brobertson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sussex Avenue, between Morristown and Dover. I was promised a truck
that could tow an AMC (purchased both as a package deal). Truck is
actually in very good condition, save for what I suspect is a piston
tangled up in the internal spring of the clutch master cylinder --
pedal is dead to the floor and fluid can not pass from the reservior
to the slave bleeder screw. Previous owner has been mashing ever
living mess out of the thing to trigger the starter safety switch
rather than replace it. Guess my tow finished what he started.

AMC and the tow dolly were quickly jetisoned in a residential
neighborhood. Was having very good success driving the truck until I
missed 2nd gear after a stoplight before a steep hill. It very quickly
coasted to a stop before I had a chance to try 1st. As stated, the
hill was too steep to start on again until I turned around.

Slam shifting is a perfectly valid emergency technique. Everyone who
owns vintage straight drive vehicles will either learn to do it at
some point, or pay for a tow. In fact I've gotten in the regular habit
of slipping all my cars out of gear sans clutch as I slow down for
stop signs and lights. Do not regularly slam shift into gear because
it's more difficult to match RPM's on the way back up, but I do
practice from time to time to stay fresh. BTW: my part of North
Carolina is very flat.

Nothing is going to explode or disintegrate if you match engine and
transmission RPM's. In fact, they will be the smoothest shifts you've
ever made -- much smoother than rev'ing a thousand RPM's or more past
the progressive shift point and relying on clutch disc springs to
cushion the shock. Linkage will slip in and out so effortlessly that
you can literally flip it with your fingertips.

Bill Robertson
#5939

>--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "David Teitelbaum" <jtrealty@xxxx> wrote:
> 
> 
> Slam-shifting (aka speed-shifting) is changing gears without using the
> clutch. Many books about racing touch on this subject. It is not for
> the faint-of-heart. You cannot drive in traffic and you put yourself
> and the people around you in jepordy. You put tremendous stresses on
> the whole drivetrain, the transmission in particular. You can strip
> gears, wreck synchros, bend or crack the shift linkage and explode the
> gearcase. If anyone was to try this they should try to practice first
> and not on a public road. A missed shift or a WRONG shift can cause an
> accident. Now that you have all the disclaimers it is a technique that
> can be useful in certain SPECIAL situations. I would not let someone
> try it on MY car though! At least if I cared about it. Try it on a
> beater first. It is like driving on a hiway without brakes. It can be
> done right up until that accident that you can expect to have! Let me
> know what road you will be driving on and when so I can know to stay
away.
> David Teitelbaum
> vin 10757 
> 









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